QUICK PICK REVIEW: MARCH 6, 2008
Sharp LC-32GP3U Aquos LCD HDTV
Sharp’s new 32-incher has 1080p resolution and a full rack of side-mounted AV inputs for gamers.
Figure 1. Sharp's LC-32GP3-series comes in three different colors, including red and white.
The LC-32GP3U features the latest Advanced Super View (ASV) LCD panel technology with 1920x1080 resolution. I first saw this set at CES 2008, where they were featured as “gaming LCD TVs” and came in a variety of colors. Although this set doesn’t have the thinnest bezels of Sharp’s new series 4 models, it’s pretty compact, measuring just 31 inches in width.
It’s not often that I review HDTVs this small. Prices of 32-inch sets have fallen off the cliff the past few years and there are many models priced under $1,000. However, there are not that many with full 1080p resolution, and this particular Aquos model is the first that I’ve had a chance to test out.
OUT OF THE BOX
The LC-32GP3U is a complete HD television, with a single RF input for reception of NTSC and either ATSC or QAM (digital cable) signals that are unscrambled. (You can’t have both terrestrial and cable reception at the same time.) There are also quite a few AV inputs for such a small HDTV, with three composite video jacks, 1 S-video jack, two component (RCA) inputs, one of which is on the right side, and a 15-pin VGA computer input.
Sharp has also given you three HDMI 1.3 inputs, two that reside on the rear panel and one that is parked below the side component video input. I should add that all HDMI and component inputs are compatible with 1080p signal sources, which is important for video game owners.
In addition to a pair of analog stereo audio outputs, there’s a Toslink jack for SPDIF digital audio connections to an external AV receiver. Sharp has also included a separate RCA jack for connection of LFE audio to a powered subwoofer. The internal audio system is rated at 10 watts per channel and includes surround audio. (An RS-232C jack is included for wired remote control.)
MENUS AND FEATURES
Sharp has made a big deal of this set’s VyperDrive option, which is supposed to minimize lag time between a game console and the TV. It’s activated when you select Game image mode (image brightness is also reduced slightly to minimize glare). Other image presets include Use, Dynamic (fixed), Dynamic (adjustable), Standard, and Movie.
In PC mode, you can also activate xvYCC extended color space, although there isn’t any pre-packaged content available in that gamut to my knowledge.
There are four selectable aspect ratios (Normal, Zoom, Stretch, and Dot by Dot) for native 4:3 signals, and two (Stretch and Dot by Dot) for 16:9 sources. In addition to the usual image adjustments, you have a wide range of backlight settings as well as an automatic backlight/image adjustment (OPC) found on other Aquos sets. It can be shut down if you prefer, an option other manufacturers don’t always offer with their auto brightness systems.
Images can be fine-tuned with five different color temperature settings (no user settings, though), a six-primary color saturation and hue adjustment that you shouldn’t touch without a calibrated colorimeter, a monochrome mode for viewing older movies and TV shows. Film mode, edge enhancement, active contrast, and film mode on/off round out the tweaks.
The supplied remote control is the standard Aquos “bat,” finished in silvery gray. It’s backlit and the button layout is plentiful — right on the edge of being confusing. There is no direct access to inputs. Rather, you push the Input button and scroll to the desired AV source.
Sharp uses a two-tone color scheme to differentiate composite and component/digital inputs, but it doesn’t tell you if a given input is active unless some sort of EDID (extended display identification data) is sent to the TV. During my tests, it did identify a Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray player by its model number, but couldn’t tell me anything about an OPPO DVD player through a component video connection.
Figure 2. The gamma response is pretty flat no matter what mode you select.
Figure 3. Don't expect consistent color temperature tracking on the LC-32GP3U.
ON THE TEST BENCH
After calibration for best grayscale images in Standard picture mode, I measured brightness at 208 nits; about 60 ft-L. Brightness ranged from 354 nits in Dynamic mode to 100 nits in Movie mode, and those readings were taken using the factory default backlight settings and the OPC switched off.
Contrast numbers were decent for an LCD, measuring 197:1 ANSI (average) and 264:1 peak in Standard mode. Peak contrast measurements were as high as 435:1 in Dynamic mode, but close (345:1) in Game mode. The difference? Lower black levels (.5 nits Game vs. .8 nits Dynamic).
Gamma was pretty flat no matter which picture mode I selected, particularly above 100 nits. But you won’t see S-curve gamma performance unless you’re in Dynamic mode (stay way from it, it’s too bright and harsh!). While gamma performance was acceptable, grayscale tracking was nothing to write home about. The LC-32GP3U drops almost 2000K in color temperature from 10 to 100 IRE in Warm mode, and almost 1800K in Medium mode. (Again, there are no user settings for RGB gain and/or contrast.)
Figure 4 shows the plotted color gamut for the LC-32GP3U. If the value of green had a bit less cyan mixed in, coverage would pretty much be equal to the BT.709 HDTV standard gamut. Greens with a cyan shift are pretty common in LCD HDTVs and monitors. I’ve also seen this shift in plasma HDTVs.
Figure 4. With some tweaking, the LC-32GP3U could easily
cover 100% of the BT.709 HDTV color gamut.
IMAGE QUALITY
The recent debates over Blu-ray and HD DVD also included arguments as to the minimum screen size for which either blue laser format would hold any advantage over red laser, and the consensus seems to be around 42 inches. This screen is ten inches smaller, but offers 1920x1080 resolution. Can you actually see all of that detail?
Truthfully? No, unless you are sitting right up in front of the screen. I’m writing this review while seated eight feet away from the LC-32GP3U, and a Blu-ray copy of Mission Impossible III doesn’t look any crisper or more detailed than the red laser version of the same movie.
Surprisingly, standard definition analog and digital video looks pretty good scaled to 1080p at this distance! HD, of course, looks even better, with plenty of fine detail and contrast. Even with the lowest color temperature setting, I noticed what appeared to be a slight reddish-magenta bias to all images, something that is more noticeable in Game and Movie picture modes.
Sharp claims a 6 millisecond (ms) LC response time for this TV, but I didn’t see any noticeable improvement with live HD sports, such as basketball and hockey. In fact, none of the 120Hz LCD HDTVs I’ve had a chance to view really make a significant improvement to fast motion rendering — you can still see plenty of blur.
CONCLUSIONS
The LC-32GP3U is a nice package. The value of 1080p resolution in such a small screen is debatable — if you use this TV for video games, or even as a computer monitor, then you’ll see the benefit. For viewing television, I don’t think you’d see a big difference between 1080p and 720p resolution at normal viewing distances. A scaling DVD player, such as OPPO’s DV-980H, works wonders with the LC-32GP3U.
Power Consumption: During an 8-hour test with normal widescreen SDTV and HDTV programs, the LC-32GP3U consumed 108.4 watts on average for a total of .875 kWH.
