The Sharp LC 45GD7U 45 inch LCD is one of those high-priced lcd that are capable of showing all 1080 lines provided by high definition signals.

With a native resolution of 1920×1080 pixels (the highest so far), tv like the LC 45GD7U are the first with the potential to display all 1,080 lines in the most common high-definition 1080i format,

For your information, until now, a lot of tv resolution are maxed out at 1366×768. Thus your 1080i HD signals are commonly down-converted to match the TV’s less-detailed display capabilities.

Because of that, you’d see significant different between Sharp LC 45GDU’s picture quality compared to most HDTV. The pictures are unbelievably sharp (no pun intended), bright, detailed and colorful.

The standard tv signal however is just like other ordinary lcd in the market.

The titanium silver LC-45GD7U has a contrast ratio of 800:1 and detachable speakers. It has all the connections you need, from DVI for your PC to CABLECARD compatibilty. Unfortunately it has only 1 HDMI slot.

Oddly, many 1080p TVs can’t accept a 1080p signal from an external source such as a high-definition DVD player. The Sharp LC 45GD7U falls into this category too.

However, that isn’t such a big problem. It can still accept 1080i as input and up-convert that to 1080p. Thus, you’ll still get a great quality display, albeit a shade lower than true 1080p.

Other Reviews:

“The picture is just unbelievably sharp. We’ve owned an 50″ 1366 x 768 HDTV and the new TV just blows us away. It’s like 2003 all over again - we find ourselves watching things just because they are in 1080i.

On our old HDTV there really wasn’t that much difference between a well made DVD and a 1080i D-VHS or broadcast show. Now it is like night and day…or more accurately like a fog has been lifted. Now, in the opening scenes of Independence Day, each and every flower in the White House scenes is BEAUTIFUL. We even found ourselves watching ‘Love Monkey’ on CBS because the street scenes of New York were irresistable.

One thing that these new high resolution HDTVs may change is the standard TV viewing layout. The old rule of thumb was that you wanted to sit at least twice the screen size away from the TV set. We can sit about 4 feet away from this one and still enjoy the picture.”

At Amazon, the set has not performed so well, mostly because buyers are complaining that the set doesn’t accept 1080p input. However, in general most buyers are happy with the 45GD7U’s picture quality. One said :-

“Sharp G series displays today’s signals beautifully, but just know the limitations. It’s worth noting that most of the nominally capable direct-display 1080p units on the market (like the JVC LT-40FH96) have the same problems with actually displaying 1080p, so don’t get me wrong - the G series is still at the top of the heap in display quality. (There are also some recently released sets with full 1080p compatibility, but as they use different technologies like rear-projection you’re comparing apples and oranges.)

With the recent price drops, I continue to recommend them, especially if you can land one of the earlier models in a closeout sale. Just know what you’re buying first! “

The Consumer Report recommended this set. Their researchers said that the Sharp LC 45GD7U is :-

“one of the best LCD TVs we’ve tested, with an impressively large 45-inch screen and first-rate picture. Its $5,000 price tag makes it pricey compared with a similarly sized plasma TV, but its picture quality may justify the premium.”

RETAIL AT: around $5000

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