Sharp LC-32GP3U review

duckymcse

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 5, 2005
Messages
113
Finally got the newly release Sharp 32" 1080p (LC-32GP3U) today. After about 3 hours messing around with it, I'll give my initial thought on it.
Highlight Spec: 32" (1920x1080), HDMI 1.3 (xvYCC), 4 wave backlight, 6ms Grey-to-Grey, 10,000:1 Dynamite Constrast (2000:1 constant), Vyper Drive
The Press Release on this LCD mention of 24fps support for 1080p movies, but I don't see it mention on the menu. There is a film mode option, maybe that is the 24fps support.
This is perhap the best looking LCD-TV for a 32" display. It's slim in design and perhap the lightest 32" available (TV + Stand = 39.7lbs). The glossy black paint is top notch. The build is solid and nothing on this LCD looks cheap.
Unfortunately, the mounted bottom speaker is not detachable. It's only add about 3/4" to the LCD, so that's isn't so bad. It does make the LCD looks really nice with it.
duckymcse

The main reason i bought this LCD-TV is mostly for PC usage. How does a 32" with resolution of 1920x1080 display? Not bad at all.
I have to sit about 3-4 feets away from it. Text is bigger than anything you will see from any LCD for the computer. It's good for the eye, but you will see more flaw on the text with the sheer size of the pixel.
I can open 2 web browser side-by-side comfortably. For web browsing, reading emails or writing with MS Words, it's great.
The black level is awesome, colors is very vivid and bright. I have to tone down the backlight and contrast because it's too bright on default setting.
http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh251/duckymcse/?action=view&current=web.jpg
What this LCD-TV really shine is gaming!!! It's the most incredible experience when you play PC games (COD4, GoW, Crysis, UT3) due to 32" of viewing at 1080p. With my Q6600 and 8800GTX, all games run smooth with high quality setting.
The 6ms handle games with ease with very little noticable (or barely at all) lag. With V-syn trun off, screen tearing is not that bad. Perhap the fast response time of this LCD does help.
As for consoles gaming, I do have the Xbox360 and PS3. I'll hook it up some other time. I'm sure it looks great on it since it is design for console gaming. If anyone have any question on it, I be glad to test it for you.
Overall, it's a great all around LCD. You can use it as PC display, watch TV/Movies with hi-definition and play consoles games. What else can you ask for :)
 
wow nice thread

I was actually looking at this model

when you get around to hooking it up to a console (ps3 :)) post some pics if you would. Also does it have an audio out or headphone jack?

thanks
 
wonder how this would do head to head against my 37" 1080p Westinghouse LVM-37w3se.

does the panel have a glossy or matte coating?
 
wow nice thread

I was actually looking at this model

when you get around to hooking it up to a console (ps3 :)) post some pics if you would. Also does it have an audio out or headphone jack?

thanks

There is audio output using AV audio cable (red and white).
There is a headphone jack at Input #7. But it only for VGA connection.
Is there a way to upload the pics directly from hardforum?
 
i recommend photobucket for easy/free image uploading and hosting. they have a batch uploader that works great. once everything is uploaded you can select all (multiple sub albums are handy for this) and click "generate HTML links" and then paste the output into the forums for lots of images with thumbnails or whatever.

edit: noticed you're already using photobucket, lol... but yeah try the bulk uploader and generate code tools, very useful

oh yeah, handy tip for viewing 2 windows side by side.

on the taskbar, hold ctrl and right click the other window and do "show windows side by side" (vista) or "tile windows horizontally" (xp/2k)
 
Your new Sharp looks great! How high does it sit on its stand? Do you find yourself looking up at it when you sit in front of it?
 
thanks for prompt answers

but ya pics of games and jacks would be great whenever you get to it.
 
wonder how this would do head to head against my 37" 1080p Westinghouse LVM-37w3se.

does the panel have a glossy or matte coating?

I don't know, 37" is way too big for PC usage. Even at 32" looks big already.
I only sit like 3.5 feet away.
I think it use matte coating. Definitely not glossy for sure.
 
Your new Sharp looks great! How high does it sit on its stand? Do you find yourself looking up at it when you sit in front of it?

No, at 3.5 feet away, I barely need to move my head to read from top to bottom and left to read. Oh, the text is very readable.
Unlike the 30" Dell, I have to be like 1 feet away to read the text. I got really dizzy with the Dell 30", but not this one.
 
How does this monitor handle blue on black text? I my GP1U makes it look like ass :(
 
I don't know how yours look. Wish I can see an example of it.
On my, I use MS Word typing with black text and highlight it with blue background. I don't see any problem with it. I can see the black text well.

How does this monitor handle blue on black text? I my GP1U makes it look like ass :(
 
After i get a 42 inch tv for my room i might need to pick one of these up... how much did it run you??
 
  • How does it look with a full black screen? Is it pretty uniform or do you see any banding / non-uniformity?
  • Do you see any dimming / brightening effects on the background (for example a mostly black background such as the hardforum webpage in full screen mode) if you open a full white window and resize it from very small to increasingly large? Does the background change in brightness / color?
  • How is the gaming? Do you notice any input lag or any strange effects when gaming? (Hopefully not since the 32GP1U got this right.)

Exciting to hear a review on this display. Above are some questions raised by sethk on a parallel thread...
 
I bought it at JR.com for $1350 shipped from NY to CA.
The more I use this unit, the more I fall in love with it. At first, the big pixel size need some time to get use to, especially when you go from a smaller LCD with much smaller dot pitch. Once you get use to it, everything just looks fine.

After i get a 42 inch tv for my room i might need to pick one of these up... how much did it run you??
 
duck, congratulations on a great set ! Beautiful TV !! How was JR to do Biz with? Did shipping carton have any damage when it arrived (holes or tears)?
Can we see some big closeups of faces? (Fill our screens with Big pic, show hairs on guy's face). Hey, how about some close-up Combat scenes? :D
Great job duck it took guts to lay out $ for new model sight-unseen. A gutsy thing and we appreciate it cuz it really helps us decide.
 
ClearType did a miracle in helping to sort out the text on an older, lower resolution, Aquos...
 
.... the big pixel size need some time to get use to, especially when you go from a smaller LCD with much smaller dot pitch....
I'm sure you already know this, but someone else might not. So, here it is....

Whenever I change Monitor size----I then "fine-tune" the Text to the exact size I like. Here's how....
In 'Control Panel' I drag a shortcut of the 'Display' icon onto my WinXP desktop.
I then click on it..... 'Display' / 'Settings' / 'Advanced' and I'll see a little window labeled "DPI Settings".
I open that and click on 'Custom Settings'---and a Ruler appears, with marks on it.
I put mouse anywhere on Ruler, hold down button, drag mouse, l. or. r.

On 32", I begin by dragging mouse along the Ruler till "%" Box reads about "133%".
Then hit "Apply" button and start backing out towards the Desktop. As you back out screen by screen, hit 'Apply' wherever you can, otherwise hit 'OK'.
Somewhere along the journey back to Desktop, WindowsXP will say it has to 'reboot computer'.
Let it, and when Desktop re-appears you see new Font-sizes.
Repeat operation till you get exact Font-size you like.
 
I bought it at JR.com for $1350 shipped from NY to CA.
The more I use this unit, the more I fall in love with it. At first, the big pixel size need some time to get use to, especially when you go from a smaller LCD with much smaller dot pitch. Once you get use to it, everything just looks fine.

hopefully in a few months its in stock at local stores cuz Jr is a great store but i gotta pay tax cuz im located in ny so after tax and shipping its not much cheaper. and if i got dead pixels i can just bring it to the store.

Duck, congratulations on a great set ! Beautiful TV !! How was JR to do Biz with? Did shipping carton have any damage when it arrived (holes or tears)?

i cant say on there tvs but i ordered my receiver and subwoofer from them and ive never seen ups handle a box so well, box was perfect prob cuz were both located in NY. There great store so if ur thinking of buying from them do it.
 
I think JR is a respectable dealer online. Everytime I called them, I got someone on the phone. The box did came well, nothing broken on the outside, but the foam inside the box did crack. I was a little worried when I took out the LCD out the box, luckily it was in excellent condition. No dead pixel or scratch. Sharp did well on packaging it. As for the UPS delivery, I am sure they toss it around since the foam inside the box did crack.
I really hate to take picture on this LCD, becuase pictures really doesn't do this LCD justice. The pictures I took looks much worst what it looks on this LCD.
Anyway, I upload 2 pics with close up shot of face with hairs, lol.

http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh251/duckymcse/

Duck, congratulations on a great set ! Beautiful TV !! How was JR to do Biz with? Did shipping carton have any damage when it arrived (holes or tears)?
Can we see some big closeups of faces? (Fill our screens with Big pic, show hairs on guy's face). Hey, how about some close-up Combat scenes? :D
A Great job, duck you had guts to lay out $$ on new model, sight-unseen. A gutsy thing to do and we appreciate it 'cause it really helps us to decide.
 
I don't know how yours look. Wish I can see an example of it.
On my, I use MS Word typing with black text and highlight it with blue background. I don't see any problem with it. I can see the black text well.

Testing

Not sure how to do a black backround on top of blue..... but the above text on my monitor looks extremely blurred. Highlighting fixes the problem though. Not sure how yours look.

I'm using the default layout on the forum FYI.
 
The blue Testing text look perfectly fine on my GP3U. Hope that is what you were asking.

Testing

Not sure how to do a black backround on top of blue..... but the above text on my monitor looks extremely blurred. Highlighting fixes the problem though. Not sure how yours look.

I'm using the default layout on the forum FYI.
 
next time you take pics, could you get some of the tv in relation to the desk and the rest of the room?

thanks
 
Have you seen any kind of switch, or checkbox, (or whatever) that lets you turn on / off "Dynamic Colors"?
Some GP1U owners complained that the TV sometimes "shifted" colors a little bit, darker or lighter, for no good reason.
They wanted to shut-off the tv's ability to do thst----but there was no control or switch or whatever, that would let them do it..
On your GP3U screen, do you ever notice any slight, unexpected, "color-changes" in faces or walls or grass, etc.?
 
I Think sharp is trying to get rid of the old LC32GP1U models because through accomodations @ circuit city I can get that TV for 575 bucks. a hell of a deal, I might bite on it because its still 1080p for less than 600 bucks shipped... o_O
 
duck, thanx for the "close-up" pic of the young mean-lookin' dude. wow you can see the pores in his skin.
Also, he's kinda 'red' like a lobster :D
Is this a 'Calibration' issue? do you have one of those cd disks that calibrates colors (like NewEgg sells the Spyder-2) or have u calibrated by eye?
I notice the old guy and the scenery around him is Red, too.
:eek: Hmm, I think we're asking you to do "too much in one day", heck, you just got the set !!:eek:
:D Go take well-earned rest, thanks for everything :D

Postal, you really mean that, "$575" ?? ---- thats incredible, you must be boss or big stockholder ?
 
In the picture setting, there is option to turn Off/On/On:Display for Dynamic OPC. I'm not sure if that is Dynamic Colors you are refering to. I turn off the Dynamic OPC and Active Contrast. I don't see any shift in colors or display get darker or lighter unexpectedly. The colors, contrast, black level and clarity is pretty good with this unit. Perhap they fixed many of the flaw from the GP1U.

Have you seen any kind of switch, or checkbox, (or whatever) that lets you turn on / off "Dynamic Colors"?
Some GP1U owners complained that the TV sometimes "shifted" colors a little bit, darker or lighter, for no good reason.
They wanted to shut-off the tv's ability to do thst----but there was no control or switch or whatever, that would let them do it..
On your GP3U screen, do you ever notice any slight, unexpected, "color-changes" in faces or walls or grass, etc.?
 
Hey duckymcse,

Would it be possible for you to measure the dimensions of your TVs base? I want to know if it will fit on the monitor stand on my desk.
 
The flaw you saw from the pictures is not from the display, it's from my camera. The pictures doesn't come out exactly what is it display from the TV. Think of the pictures and imagine it 3x better, that's what it looks like display on this LCD. If you worried about colors issue, you can adjust individual colors(R,G,B,C,B,M) based on hue and saturation. The default setting already good enough for me, I only end up needing to adjust the backlight level, contrast, brightness, colors and sharpness to make it looks perfect for me.

duck, thanx for the "close-up" pic of the young mean-lookin' dude. wow you can see the pores in his skin.
Also, he's kinda 'red' like a lobster :D
Is this a 'Calibration' issue? do you have one of those cd disks that calibrates colors (like NewEgg sells the Spyder-2) or have u calibrated by eye?
I notice the old guy and the scenery around him is Red, too.
:eek: Hmm, I think we're asking you to do "too much in one day", heck, you just got the set !!:eek:
:D Go take well-earned rest, thanks for everything :D

Postal, you really mean that, "$575" ?? ---- thats incredible, you must be boss or big stockholder ?
 
Swivel base measure about 20" x 12".

Thanks for getting back to me so quick :D.

The rear of the monitor stand looks a little narrower than the front in your photos. Would it also be possible for you to give me the width of the stand's rear?

Thanks again.
 
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