Sharp Aquos LC52D64U 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased the Sharp LC52D64U via a direct promotion with Sharp USA. The deal I was offered was too good to pass up. I have never bought a large format TV in my life and always got by with a Sony CRT 27" in my bedroom running SD TV. I was just fine with that for many years and when I moved into a new apartment with a nice big (and empty) living room and ordered HD cable, I decided to consider purchasing a large HD panel TV.
When I did my research, I was overwhelmed at the number of choices, formats and connections types, such as LCD, plasma, projection, 720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, Hdmi, HD channels recievers....argh!?!?!?!
Well after I did enough research, this Sharp LCD has everything that I need for at least the next 5 years. I am running a Tivo Series 3 HD reciever pumping 1080i HD channels over digital cable into one of the 3 available HDMI ports. The image quality is, to say the least, MAGNIFICENT!!!! The deep blacks and rich colors really cut through exceptionally well. I have not yet played an HD DVD or Blu-Ray movie through it, but if the 1080i HD channels look this great, I can only expect the same from watching Spiderman 3 on Bluray at 1080P when it's available this late October.
When I was researching large format panel TV's, my eye kept going to plasmas like Panasonics and the Elite series from Pioneer. Suffice it to say, these brands were very much out of my budget and consdered LCD's instead. So I did some research on the Aqous series and found alot of useful information. I also read many reports of the Sharp Aquos series suffering from a bad phenomenom known as "banding" and a recent review of the LC52D64U on cnet.com indicated that the problem was still present in this new model. This made me nervous about buying the TV, but then I reminded myself that those reviewers have eyes like a hawk and scrutinize every little detail that an average consumer (like me) probably wouldn't even notice until pointed out.
Well I don't know if I can't see it, or if it is not present in my particular unit, but I have NOT experienced any "banding" issues that may appear as color bleed, ghosting effects or ongoing pixilation.
Sharp does offer Aquos models that have a higher refresh rate as much at 120 hertz. This unit, I believe, operates at a 60 hertz refresh rate. The higher 120 refresh rate is supposed to handle fast moving images (such as football player running across a field) and improve the image so as to reduce any bluriness or undesireable pixilation.
Well I do not watch alot of sports, so this is not a deal breaker for me. There were a few times I was watching a movie and saw some pixilation occurring due to fast moving images. But as long as you watch your 52" sharp LCD from a practical viewing distance and loose yourself in the entertainment and not scrutinize every single image that's on the screen, you probably won't notice it when it does occur, if at all.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the Sharp LC52D64U. Remember that to get the most out of this LCD panel, be prepared to spend some money and feed it a high resolution data feed for both audio and video. Everything I am sending it comes in at full 1080i/1080P, if not upscaled from 720/480. I plan to get the new X-Box 360 elite and it has an HDMI output port and many of the newer games run at 1080P, so I can only imagine that there's more visual pleasure to come my way.
I hope this non-technical review was helpful. Now go out and buy this damn thing and be a happy couch potato!!! :-)

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Large-screen 52 flat-panel TV offers full HD Spec 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution. Sharps proprietary Advanced Super View/Black TFT Panel with multi-pixel technology provides a native 2000:1 contrast ratio and a dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000:1 with Enhanced Picture Contrast Technology, 4ms response time and wide viewing angles (176 degree horizontal x 176 degree vertical). Multi-pixel technology divides each pixel into two sections and adds an advanced driving system to provide 60 percent improved color reproduction. Built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC Tuners provide access to DTV and analog TV channels. Includes two HDMI inputs and two HD component video inputs. Compatible with 1080p signals. Features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle, recessed bottom-mounted speakers. Included table stand easily removes for wall mounting applications. Flat-panel TV offers 16:9 LCD panel, S-video input, 15 watt speaker system and removable stand. Screen measures 52-1/32 diagonally.

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Sharp Aquos LC52D65U 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)Only had this TV for a few days now (got it on 12/5/08). Ordered it with Amazon and it arrived within a week with no issues.
So far I love it - the picture looks so amazing. Upgraded from a 45" Projection LCD I've had for about 5 years now and I feel like I'm watching HDTV for the first time again.
Has more inputs then I'll ever need - can't see me ever using up all 5 HDMI ports. Even tried hooking up my Laptop through the VGA port and it was crystal clear.
Can't really comment on the speakers since I'm using a receiver/surround system. So far I haven't found any issues with it, but I've only had it for 4 days so I'll keep you posted if anything new comes up...

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The AQUOS LC52D65U sets a new standard for large-screen flat panel TVs. With Full HD 1080p resolution and an elegant new design, it produces a breathtaking picture quality that is second to none. The LC52D65U utilizes Sharp's proprietary Advanced Super View/Black TFT Panel with Spectral Contrast Engine, providing high Dynamic Contrast Ratio, 6ms response time and wide viewing angles (176�H x 176�V). The LC52D65U is HDTV with built-in ATSC / QAM / NTSC tuners and include 5 HDMI� inputs, compatible with 1080p signals, and 2 HD 1080p component video inputs. The LC52D65U features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle recessed bottom-mounted speakers. The included table stand easily removes for wall mounting applications.

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Sharp Aquos LC42D64U 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)After researching for 3 weeks, I was set on a Sharp TV. Sony was too expensive for my price range, and while I read a lot of good things about Samsung, this TV's features for the price sold me. After having it for a little while now, this is how I would rate it.
Price - Excellent. 4.5/5 Sharp was the cheapest prices between the top 3-4 brands I looked at that had a familiar name and plenty of reviews. I did examine other brands with lower prices on 1080p TVs, but I couldn't really obtain enough informational reviews or enough good ones to justify purchasing any of them just for the lower price.
Picture - Excellent. 4.25/5. I'll be honest, I was a little worried when purchasing a Sharp TV. First of all, I saw it's previous model (the D62U) at a Best Buy and a Circuit City and was not totally impressed with the picture, but I had heard that sometimes bad feeds or other issues can make a store-display not as attractive. However, my real concern was if my TV would have the infamous "banding" that seemed to plague some of Sharp's earlier models. You can easily find out what banding is by searching something like "Sharp banding issues". I won't go into specifics myself about that. Anyway, I had read this model of TV -can- have banding, but that it is not near as common nor as significant in earlier models. My TV has no noticeable banding issues at all, and I'm not going to go out of my way to nitpick and search for any small issues that may be there as I can't see them now.
As for the picture itself, it is great. Much better than the store displays for the earlier model that had me worry. Obviously, out-of-box settings aren't the best. At first I tried to change picture modes (of which there are several) to a User setting and tweak it using recommendations from some tech forums. This became tedious as people posted different specs and none were really quite looking right for me. So I gave up on that and just tried them on the default settings for what I was doing. I set my HDMI PS3 input to Gaming picture and it looks great. I see no reason to change it beyond that, it looks exactly as I was hoping for. Same with the Movie setting as well for my DVD input. No dead pixels and a crisp clear picture with good contrast black levels and brightness make it a great choice.
Plenty of options available for picture adjustment as well.
Features - Very Good. 4/5 Plenty of inputs. You can read the specs in the item description. My only reason for docking it a point is because the 3rd HDMI and 2nd Component are located on the side and stick out when plugged in. I can understand this could be an eyesore for those wall-mounting it or just not wanting to see them sticking out. I am not using that 3rd HDMI port (yet), but I do have 2 component items hooked up and the cords sticking out the side and noticeable from looking at the TV straight-on plus the location of my TV itself does make it a tad annoying, but I am getting used to it and it's not really bothering me as much as it might others.
Overall - Excellent. 4.75/5 (note, the overall is not meant to be an average of the other scores). Overall, it's definately a great buy. There is more that I could say and some things I have probably forgotten about that I wanted to say, but that's ok. I don't want to make this too awful long a review. So, yeah, basically my experience with this TV is amazingly good and I would easily recommend this TV to anyone who asked me. It's price, features, and picture easily won me over.

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The AQUOS(R) D64U Series raises the bar by fitting large screen sizes into incredibly small footprints. Depth is reduced by 36%, allowing placement in virtually any setting. The D64U Series utilizes Sharp`s proprietary Advanced Super View/Black TFT Panel with multi-pixel technology, providing 10,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio with Enhanced Picture Contrast Technology and 4ms response time. The D64U Series are HDTVs with built-in ATSC / QAM / NTSC tuners and include 3 HDMI(TM) inputs, compatible with 1080p signals, a PC input and 2 HD component video inputs. Side terminals are included for convenience as well as RS-232C input for control. The D64U Series features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle, recessed bottom-mounted speakers.

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Sharp LC 42SB45U - 42" LCD TV - widescreen - 1080p (FullHD) - HDTV - black Review

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(More customer reviews)Before I start, let me point out that this Sharp 1080p HDTV, LC-42SB45U, is *not* a model from their state-of-the-art Aquos line, which costs much more. I bought mine from Dell at a great price, and then realized this was not an Aquos. This is from what Sharp marketing geniuses call their "traditional LCD" line. (The Japanese are really great at marketing, aren't they?) This TV is made in China, underlining its value branding.
I struggled between giving this a 4-star vs. a 5-star rating. I'll explain. Picture quality-wise, it's excellent at 1080p -- I use it with my 60GB PS3 (which upconverts DVDs) -- with great contrast, smooth graphics and vibrant color (Sharp is best at color reproduction on LCD panels). The response time is 6 ms, and the viewing angle is an astonishing 176 degrees, both horizontally and vertidcally. (A flat surface has 180 degrees.) The maximum brightness is sufficient to allow you to use this set outdoors, on a patio, for example. (My old LCD TVs could not do this.)
I'm a movie buff so I watch a lot of Blu-rays and DVDs and have been very happy. (Tip: when using PS3's upscaling, set it to Normal, not Double Scale.) The built-in speakers (non-detachable) are passable for a small living room; you might want to use a home theater for hi-fi sound anyway.
When playing non-HDMI input materials -- e.g., from a traditional non-upconverting DVD player, an old VCR or non-HD cable content -- the picture quality is only average, hence my originally hesitation at giving this set a full 5-star endorsement. My guess is for this "traditional" (i.e., value) line, Sharp does not have a good non-HD upscaling engine that can improve the quality of non-HD images, or maybe it doesn't have one such engine at all. You'll notice aliasing artifacts that are absent from upconverted and native 1080 materials. (The Aquos models, on the other hand, excel at non-HD images as well.)
In the end, given the price I paid and given the solid build of the set, I feel I got a really good value, and when used with a PS3, this inexpensive 42" (actually 42 1/64" diagonally) 1080p LCD HDTV is terrific. Since I use it pretty much exclusively with my PS3, I'm very happy. Of course, you should be aware of its middling performance with non-HD content.

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The 42" Class (42-1/64" Diagonal) LC-42SB45UT, with full HD Spec 1080p resolution and an elegant new glossy black design, produces superb picture quality. The LC-42SB45UT features high contrast, fast response time and wide viewing angles. The LC-42SB45UT includes built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners, three HDMITM inputs, is compatible with 1080p signals and has 2 HD component video inputs. The LC-42SB45UT features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle, recessed bottom-mounted speakers, and the included table stand easily removes for wall mounting applications.

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Sharp Aquos LC46D65U 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)Shazaaam! We went from a 15 year old, 28-inch Hitachi CRT to this puppy and couldn't be happier. Granted, the cheap thrill is less than a week old (Boxing Day special) but the screen speaks for itself. Why didn't we jump at the better rated Samsung or Sony 46 inchers? Price! I honestly can't see that big of a difference -- if any -- in picture quality over the others and they normally cost hundreds more. To calibrate your 46D65U, start with the online CNET review of the LC52D65U and use the recommended settings given in the blog link. Then fine tune the levels as you get better acquainted with the big screen. The banding issue of the older models? Gone. Or at least I haven't seen any bands so far and neither have recent reviewers. I find the remote control very easy to use once you know where everything is and can't believe the reviewers who whine about the remote's size etc. If you don't like the color in a particular show or movie, it's extremely easy to pull the menu down on the screen and quickly adjust things to improve the picture quality.
We set this black beauty up in less than an hour (getting it safely out of the box and onto the stand took most of that time) and have been watching our old DVDs and VHS tapes as a test before purchasing a newfangled Blu-ray player. Sure the old stuff isn't as sharp as a 1080p hi-def source but it was still more than acceptable to our old eyes -- surprisingly so. In fact, I've decided to go with the Toshiba DVR7 DVD/VCR combo player with the upconvert feature so I don't have to abandon my huge pile of old VHS tapes and DVDs. If the DVDs upconvert to a better quality image that's even half close to hi-def we'll be more than happy. The VHS tapes will have to play as they are since they can't be upconverted. Hopefully, Blu-ray players will be significantly improved in the coming year or two and tempt us out of our old ways. [UPDATE: See my review of the Sharp BDHP21U blu-ray player...we went that route instead and are happy we did.]
Bottom line: With this TV you get a nice big screen and full HD capability. If you're traditionalists like us, you may be delighted to find that the LC46D65U also brings new life to old technology!
UPDATE UPDATE (early February): New firmware available online for the companion BDHP21U Sharp blu-ray player which will fix any current play issues with the latest blu-ray DVDs. What I LOVE about the Aquos Advantage is that they phoned me and personally alerted me to that new update after I lodged a complaint about not being able to view my WALL-E blu-ray several weeks ago. Tip to Sharp: Keep those firmware updates rolling in on a weekly basis, not every few months!!
Also note that if you are wavering between the Sharp LC46D65U and the similar 85U (the more expensive 120Hz model), CNET noticed no discernible real life difference in blurring between the two. Verdict? Save your money and go with the 65U. I watched the Superbowl with it and saw no blur. My family is loving it! UPDATE on blur comparison late March: Went into Best Buy yesterday for the latest Bond DVD and had a critical look at the 65U and 85U which were conveniently wall-mounted side by side. Quite frankly, I couldn't see any difference between the two in terms of color, saturation or blur during sports sequences including twirling snowboarders midair (and the 85U has 10-bit color and 120Hz). I did think the top-end 800 series Samsung beat them both hands down, but then it's more than double the retail price (and three times what I paid for my 65U on sale). Does that Samsung provide triple the viewing pleasure? Not in my (pocket)book!
I also note a recent reviewer handing the 65U a pitiful 1-star rating because it was "Very contrasty, lots of digital noise". Huh?? I suggest learning how to properly calibrate your set before low-balling this beauty with a trash score. See above for info on CNET link.
Along the same whining "1 star" lines comes a reviewer who says the unit is contrasty and pumps out heat. Well, again, I'd use the CNET review to tweak your settings. If that didn't turn your crank then go spend double or triple on another make. Pumping heat? I live in a cold climate and if the unit actually did produce heat, I'd be more than happy to report it! Holding my hand a few inches from the set, I felt virtually nothing. I should point out that all recent Sharps are Energy Star compliant and are produced in a solar powered "green" factory to boot. That's one of the reasons I bought a Sharp. Although plasmas are known to have better darks and contrast, they're also bulky, suck energy and pump out heat. Last week, the 65U was going out the Amazon doors for under a thousand bucks with free shipping for cripes sake. It may not be perfect, but you can't beat that for value.

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The AQUOS LC46D65U sets a new standard for large-screen flat panel TVs. With Full HD 1080p resolution and an elegant new design, it produces a breathtaking picture quality that is second to none. The LC46D65U utilizes Sharp's proprietary Advanced Super View/Black TFT Panel with Spectral Contrast Engine, providing high Dynamic Contrast Ratio, 6ms response time and wide viewing angles (176¿H x 176¿V). The LC46D65U is HDTV with built-in ATSC / QAM / NTSC tuners and include 5 HDMI¿ inputs, compatible with 1080p signals, and 2 HD 1080p component video inputs. The LC46D65U features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle recessed bottom-mounted speakers. The included table stand easily removes for wall mounting applications.

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Sharp HTSB200 2.1 Sound Bar Audio System Review

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(More customer reviews)Bought the wife a new 40" Samsung LCD and while I was very pleased with the picture, I was severely disappointed in the sound quality. No matter how much I played with the adjustments, it just sounded very flat with absolutely zero bass. After reading up, it appeared that a sound bar was exactly what I was looking for. This was for the living room which is primarily where my wife watches TV. She doesn't care about having the sound of a big 7.1 system like I have in the den. Her primary requirements were something that didn't add clutter like speaker stands, wall mounts, etc. but still improved the sound quality a bit.
I bought two sound bars to compare and just planned on taking one back. The first was a Vizio VSB200 and the other was the Sharp HTSB200. Since they are probably two of the closest that people will be comparing when looking for a budget sound bar, they are the two I will compare. Of the two, I chose the Sharp for the following reasons:
1. It is much smaller in size but sounds as good. The Vizio was large enough to stick up above the bottom of the TV on it's stand.
2. The Sharp remote is an actual remote unlike the Vizio which comes with a very cheap looking remote with the bubble buttons on it - in my experience, remotes like the Vizio's don't last very long.
3. The Bass and Treble are adjustable on the Sharp, on the Vizio they are not.
4. You can adjust the "subwoofer" on the Sharp, I don't even know if the Vizio has anything resembling a subwoofer. I use subwoofer loosely because while the sound bar does have some bass, don't expect anything like a stand alone subwoofer.
5. The Sharp has an actual display on the front, the Vizio just has a series of lights behind the cloth cover.
A few things I liked abut the Vizio over the Sharp:
1. Has an optical input, the Sharp does not (the next model up in the Sharp line, the HTSB300 DOES have an optical input).
2. Is controllable by my Dish Network universal remote. The Sharp may be as well but I haven't found a code that will work yet.
Make no mistake, neither provides a true surround sound experience. At no time did I feel as if sounds were coming from anywhere other than in front of me. I think it's stupid for the companies to even promote them as a surround sound experience. What they both do and do well is expand the sound stage of crappy flat screen speakers but the Sharp does it in a smaller package and with more features and adjust-ability.
Edit:
May have spoke too soon with such a positive review for this unit. After having it hooked up all day, I am frequently experiencing an annoying, random half second drop out of the audio. I have contacted Sharp CS but haven't heard back yet. Saw on a few A/V forums where there are others with the same problem. I'll update here as the situation progresses.
Edit 2: Contacted Sharp by phone regarding the audio drop out. I was impressed with their customer service. Very short wait, rep acted genuinely interested in helping. The problem relates to a power saving feature that turns the speaker off automatically when a signal isn't detected. I had my TVs internal speakers turned off (I bought the sound bar due to my TVs crappy speakers in the first place, of course I'm going to turn them off). This apparently tricks the circuitry in the sound bar into periodically thinking there is no sound so it clicks on and off, thus the audio drop out. The rep had me turn my TVs speakers back on and put them at a low setting of 5. I can just barely hear them with the sound bar off and not at all when the sound bar is on. I was skeptical but it apparently worked because I watched a few hours of DVDs and the issue didn't reappear. Poor engineering on their part if you ask me but I can live with it. They should have given an option to turn the power saving feature on and off. Next issue is tracking down a code that allows the sound bar to be controlled by a universal remote.
Edit 3: Problem still occurs occasionally but as I turn the volume up on the TV itself, it happens less frequently. At this point though I can't turn the TV up any louder without hearing it in conjunction with the sound bar, which actually degrades the sound quality. Contacted seller and they agreed to send me a replacement unit to rule out the first one as a defective unit. I'm not willing to give up on this product yet but it still baffles me that it could be engineered so that you have to leave your TV volume up a bit to get past the power saving feature. Makes no sense.
4th and hopefully final edit: Got a replacement unit and knock on wood, this one seems to be working properly. I have my TV volume set at zero and have experienced no drop outs with the new unit. I guess it can be chalked up to a defective unit. At this point I am completely satisfied with the product and would recommend it. Still no luck with a remote code though.
If any other owners of the product are experiencing the same drop out, please post a reply.

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Designed to simulate a surround sound effect without the bulk and added cost of a full home theater audio system, the Sharp HTSB200 Sound Bar provides a 2.1-channel surround sound environment. The compact Sound Bar encases left and right speakers, as well as a subwoofer, in one clean unit for 32 watts of total power output (5W x 2, plus 22W subwoofer). It can be placed on a TV stand (32-inch class LCD and up) with included mounting plates and adjustable feet to straddle the base of an LCD TV.
The Sharp Sound Bar simulates a surround sound effect without the bulk of adding a full speaker set.

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Sharp AQUOS BDHP52U 1080P Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I found the firmware upgrade process a little tricky. The player detected my router and I was able to get the RSS newsfeed. It even checked the internet, and said a new firmware version was available. In spite of the player having an obvious internet connection, it said there was a network error when I went to download new firmware.
I was succesful only after I entered the Communication Setup menu, selected Change the Current Ethernet Setup, Yes to Automatically obtain an IP address, and then continue until I saw that an IP address on my network was acquired and acknowledged by the player.
I have been able to use this player with my Netflix instant que after upgrading the firmware.
Good Luck.
update: It seems like when ever I select a netflix movie, the player will say "sorry, the selection is currently unavailable". If I select the movie immediately again, then the movie will play. Also, it seems that Netflix allows this device to have access to more HD content than my computer.

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Now you can enjoy the best of 1080p video on your AQUOS LCD TV. Especially designed to work with AQUOS LCD TVs, the BD-HP52U AQUOS Blu-ray Disc Player provides seamless operability via the AQUOS LINK function through the HDMI connection. Performing as if it were all one system, the BD-HP52U's BD Live Profile 2.0 allows connection to the internet for studio content on BD-Live Blu-ray Discs, Quick Start feature lets you enjoy gorgeous Blu-ray Disc video with the touch of a button in as little as 10 seconds. With HDMI outputs and 1080p as well as DVD up-conversion, you can enjoy full digital high-definition video and high-fidelity audio. JPEG Digital images can be viewed as a slide show from recorded CD-RW/R with digital images, and MP3 Audio Files too.

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Sharp Aquos BDHP21U 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)The player ships with component cables but no HDMI cable so make sure you have one in your cart if you don't have a spare laying around the house. The unit doesn't support blu-ray live and since the network hardware and connections aren't present you'll never be able to upgrade this to support that feature, so it's not future-proof.
The player is also quite large and deep, more at home in a high-end component audio rack. This isn't really a drawback since the unit is quite sturdy and you won't feel to worried setting a decent size TV on it.
Setup was a snap, plugin HDMI, plug in power, power up, chose english as the language, put in a disk and you're watching the movie. Eventually you'll want to get to the configuration screen (like the sharp TV's the navigation is clean and easy) and enable quick load which, for some reason, is not enabled by default -- it really makes for a better product experience. There's also a setting to disable all the dashboard lights save for the power indicator which is a really nice touch.
Out of the box, this unit played all my blu-ray disks, not one failed to play and it upconverted my regular DvD's nicely. As expected the picture was sharp (heh), crisp and played smoothly.
The big selling point for me was the integration with my sharp TV and the unit does not fail to deliver. They work flawlessly together.
Without network support (BD-Live) product upgrades are handled by downloading a file to a usb thumb drive with your computer and connecting the drive to the player. I haven't had to use this option yet and since this unit adheres to the final spec I don't expect to need to use it.
You can find much cheaper players these days, but I'm satisfied with the purchase. It works as advertised.

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Now you can enjoy the best of 1080P video on your AQUOS LCD TV. Especially designed to work with AQUOS LCD TVs, the BD-HP21U AQUOS Blue-ray Disc Player provides seamless operability via the AQUOS LINK function through the HDMI connection. Performing as if it were all one system, the BD-HP21U's Quick Start feature lets you enjoy gorgeous Blu-ray Disc video with the touch of a button in less than 10 seconds (Quick Start time may vary depending on movie content, type of video connection and type of monitor being used, Blu-ray Disc must also be preloaded for Quick Start operation). With HDMI outputs and 1080P as well as DVD up-conversion to 1080P, you'll enjoy full digital high-definition video and high-fidelity audio. JPEG Digital images can be viewed as a slide show from recorded CD-RW/R with digital images.

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Sharp AQUOS BD-HP22U 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)Great picture, easy setup, but I agree with D. L..M about the AQUOS LINK. In fact, after reading that review I called Sharp to make sure my TV (1 month old) supports AQUOS LINK before ordering this player. They said it supported this feature so I ordered the player.
After getting the player, I couldn't get the AQUOS LINK function to work. I called back tech support, asked the same question - does this TV support AQUOS LINK? Yes they said. OK, tell me how to make it work. I'm put on hold, they come back after 10 minutes and tell me it is not supported.
So, heads up, these items might indicate your Sharp TV doesn't support AQUOS LINK: The remote doesn't have DVD function buttons, the little feature sticker on the side of your tv didn't say AQUOS LINK or your manual doesn't mention it. I guess that seems obvious, but since tech support said it would work, I just figured this was just a sharp feature that was inherent with the TV's and wasn't anything special.

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Now you can enjoy the best of 1080p video on your AQUOS LCD TV. Especially designed to work with AQUOS LCD TVs, the BD-HP22U AQUOS Blu-ray Disc Player provides seamless operability via the AQUOS LINK function through the HDMI connection. Performing as if it were all one system, the BD-HP22U's Quick Start feature lets you enjoy gorgeous Blu-ray Disc video with the touch of a button in as little as 10 seconds. With HDMI outputs and 1080p as well as DVD up-conversion, you'll enjoy full digital high-definition video and high-fidelity audio. JPEG Digital images can be viewed as a slide show from recorded CD-RW/R with digital images.

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Sharp Aquos BDHP20U 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently reviewed my Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player, which gave me an insurmountable amount of quirkiness. In that review I commented at length about firmware updates (and more updates and more updates) to which finally spelled doom for my player. I also commented on replacing my Sony S300 with my newly purchased Sharp Aquos BDHP20U 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player. At this point I must say that this Blu-Ray player is exceptional - Dolby True HD Sound, HDMI output to 1080p video, etc - all the extras without the cost (without a HDMI cord included of course, but most players come without it).
Out of the box, this needed no firmware updates to play even the newest movie I owned (i.e. Superbad [Blu-ray]- released the same week as this review) - which my Sony BDP-S300 tried to load for 15 minutes before locking up (and this was with firmware 2.6 installed already - firmware 3.30 was needed but it couldn't load due to a system error - now my old player sits in Pennsylvania at a Sony service center). The load time on the Sharp BDHP20U for SuperBad was about 1-2 minutes, not too bad as you might know some players take much longer. The boot up time from off to on was only about a minute also.
The entire system seemed quick, and not to mention quiet. From the beginning I was completely happy. The system startup was simple enough - I connected my HDMI and opened the setup menu to finalize my preferences. In less than 10 minutes of opening the box I was watching a movie that my previous Sony BDP-S300 died attempting to do.
For the money, this is a great player with fairly speedy load time. Compare that to the $440 I paid for the Sony BDP-S300 which I bought and now loathe.
12-29-07 update - Player finally needed an update to play The Simpsons Movie [Blu-ray] - not a problem though! Unlike the Sony S300 I mentioned before, the Sharp Aquos BDHP20U uses a USB port via any ordinary thumb/flash drive loaded to the back of the player to deliver the update files. No more senselessly throwing away DVD-R's and waiting 30+ minutes for updates, my Sharp Blu-Ray player updated in about 8 minutes. That little USB plug on the back and the 8 minutes are two good reasons I'm glad I purchased the Sharp Blu-Ray player. Honestly that's the real reason I like this player... it's design (inside and outside) is well thought out.
02-03-2008 update - Encountered my first glitch problem. While watching Damages: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] my player froze up. I stopped the disc and checked it for scratching or debris - nothing, looked great. So, I instead checked the Sharp website for a player update since this Blu-Ray disc set was so new. The website showed that I had the most recent update already. I then decided to restart the disc. The player froze up again at a different point on a different episode. This time I knew something was wrong. I attempted to eject the disc and the player would not respond, it just powered down. But, it had no response to re-power on or anything else for that matter - only thing that was happening was that the Standby light was flashing - no other lights or responses. I checked the SharpUSAdotcom website, but it had no real error response information. So I checked the handy dandy manual that my player came with. There was information on the very last page of the English section which described power / static electricity / lightning strikes / other interference scenarios. I followed the steps by holding the power button down until RESET appeared on the front LED section. It then re-powered on perfectly - another simple solution that was unavailable on my Sony S300 Blu-Ray player when it froze up.
Sure I might truly be comparing apples to oranges with this problem and my Sony problem, but when I originally asked the Sony customer service rep for help on my S300 - she replied with this for resetting my system. She told me to unplug the AC chord and wait 2 minutes. When that didn't work, she said we could try it a few more times or possibly leave it off for a longer amount of time. She also mentioned that this system reset could cause my latest firmware updates to reset also (as well as my player preferences). With my Sharp Blu-Ray player, the reset only rebooted the system (within 20-30 seconds) - all of my preferences and my latest firmware update were still intact. I must say this was much easier than I would ever guessed. Maybe Sharp needs a newer update for playing Damages: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] and it plans to release it soon, who knows? Well not me. But I DO know this, the reset feature on my Sharp Blu-Ray player was better than sending my Sony S300 to Pennsylvania for over a month.
For those of you who have asked and those of you who are wondering, yes I did finish the entire season of Damages: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] without any other problems. I am still not sure what caused the freeze up, but believe me - I tolerated much worse from my Sony S300. I use this player usually three to five times a week and this has been my first "hiccup" since buying it. So all and all, I am still very pleased with my Sharp player and consider it among my smartest purchases of 2007.
04-14-2008 - New problem that as of now is unfixable. When playing 30 Days Of Night [Blu-ray] there is no dialog in either English or Spanish, all of the background sound works and the other languages work as well. Apparently this model has had some trouble with the True HD sound on some of the newer discs - and the only language tracks on this particular movie in True HD were English and Spanish, so in other words - turning to any other non-True HD audio language fixed the problem... if you listened in Korean or French or whatever then you would have no problems. I went to the website to get any updates, which the latest firmware update claimed to address True HD problems (so Sharp is aware that something is wrong). But, the newest update still didn't fix the problem. I tried the disc on my Sony BDP-S500 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player and on my Playstation 3 40GB - both of which played the audio perfectly. After contacting the Sharp customer service via email they emailed me 3 days later with no answers. So, maybe there is a new fix coming and maybe not, either way this makes the Sharp BDHP20U closer to a 3 1/2 star or 4 star until new firmware fixing the True HD audio problem is released. Personally I didn't mind watching the movie in another room, but not everyone has that option.
04-30-2008 - There was another update listed on the Sharp website, this update again addressed the True HD problem. Fortunately this time was the trick to finally fixing the problem I had with 30 Days of Night. This movie now plays perfectly, so now everything seems perfectly once again. Back to 5 Stars!
04-07-2009 - It's been a year since anything out of the ordinary has happened. The player recently started having trouble with some of the newer Blu rays we were renting. At first it wasn't a big deal, but eventually I decided to check for updates. The newest update (Oct 2008) was loaded but somehow it refused to accept the new firmware. So we had to call Sharp for help. They walked us through a few steps but soon realized that there was something wrong with our BD drive. We shipped our player to Sharp and they emailed us to keep us updated through the process. They had my player fixed, updated, shipped back to us within a week. They shipped it back via FedEx overnight and we were watching movies on the player within 8 days of my original phone call. I can't say that this player is perfect, but I can say that I feel very lucky to be dealing with Sharp. The Sony process for returning my player was very complicated and ended with me spending over $200 to receive a completely different Sony model. That was never an issue with Sharp. The woman at Sharp said what was going to happen and politely assured me that this was going to be a painless process. She was right. Thanks Sharp!
More updates to come...

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Now you can enjoy the best of 1080p video on your Sharp AQUOS HDTV. Especially designed to work with AQUOS LCD TVs, the BD-HP20U AQUOS Blu-Ray Disc player provides seamless operability via the AQUOS LINK™ function, through the HDMI connection. Performing as if it were all one system, the BD-HP20U's Quick Start feature lets you begin enjoying gorgeous Blu-ray Disc video with the touch of a button in less than 10 seconds.* The BD-HP20U provides outstanding versatility and is compatible with a wide variety of formats including BD-ROM/RE/R, DVD Video, DVD-RW/R and DVD+RW/R.Additionally, the BD-HP20U plays audio CDs as well. With eight terminal outputs including HDMI inputs and 1080p as well as DVD up-conversion to 1080p, you'll enjoy full digital high-definition video and high-fidelity audio. The piano black finish and slim profile design make it the ideal HD source for a large screen AQUOS TV.*Quick Start time may vary depending on movie content, type of video connection, and type of monitor being used.

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Sharp BDHP210U Blu-ray Disc Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Other reviewers warn to stay away from this player, so I thought I'd balance things out with somewhat more positive comments. The trouble I had in the past with the BD-HP21U consisted of:
1) Inability to play certain discs
2) Slow to very slow loading times
3) Poor performance by the remote control- had to be very close to the unit to operate
Each time that I encountered a disc that wouldn't play I upgraded the firmware (have done so 3 times over 15 months- right after purchase and 2 other times), which took care of the playback glitch. However problems 2 and 3 remained. About 2 weeks ago the movie "Ponyo" wouldn't play, so I upgraded the firmware for a third time and voila! All 3 problems solved! Movie played, loading is now MUCH faster, and the remote works at the same distance as other remotes. I went from being at best lukewarm on the unit to quite pleased.
The most recent firmware is available at [...]. Hopefully that link will display- if not just go to sharpusa and navigate to the customer support/product downloads section. You'll have to manually enter the model number in the appropriate box since this model isn't listed in the drop down, but after you do this the correct firmware download is displayed (which is Version PN9110600).
Are there better/less bulky players out there for the money? Perhaps. But if you can find this at an attractive price, I think that you'll be more than satisfied after you upgrade your firmware.

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Now you can enjoy the best of 1080p video on your AQUOS® LCD TV. Especially designed to work with AQUOS LCD TVs, the BDHP210U Blu-ray Disc™ Player provides seamless operability via the AQUOS LINK™ function through the HDMI™ connection. Performing as if it were all one system, the BDHP210U's Quick Start feature lets you enjoy gorgeous Blu-ray Disc™ video with the touch of a button in as little as 10 seconds. With HDMI™ outputs and 1080p as well as DVD up-conversion, you'll enjoy full digital high-definition video and high-fidelity audio. JPEG Digital images can be viewed as a slide show from recorded CD-RW/R with digital images.

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