Summary: Purchasing this television was a MAJOR financial committment -- one that I do not regret in the least! The out-of-the-box experience has been extraordinary and I'm looking forward to years of viewing pleasure.
The first thing I noticed about the 37G4U was that it weighed considerably less than the 27" Sony Trinitron it replaced. I've chosen to not mount the speakers as the television will serve as a monitor -- audio chores will be handled handled by my sound system.
The 37G4U is a very attractive unit -- its narrow silver frame and black bezel balance atop a sculptural metal base. Although the screen is large and dark, its non-reflectivity causes the television to visually recede when not in use -- it's not the "big black behemoth" one expects of a large-screen television and, at a mere three inches deep, its "gee-whiz" factor is off the chart!
I live too far from an HDTV OTA broadcaster to receive signal, I don't have a clear southern horizon for dish, and my cable provider is charging a premium price for only one HDTV channel -- so my only experience with the 37G4U and how it handles an HD signal is from in-store viewing: The image is STUNNING.
My primary use for the 37G4U will be to view DVDs and cable television. Sitting approximately nine feet from the screen, progressive-scan (480p) DVD playback is gorgeous. The same cannot be said for regular cable programming: The image is a bit "soft" -- almost blurry. I wish my digital cable box was able to provide the television with a digital (DVI) signal -- DVI makes a real difference with my LCD computer monitor...
Sharp has used the 37G4U as a test-bed for a number of seemingly frivolous technologies -- not the least of which is the television's ability to record still photos and short videos onto memory cards held in an unsupplied PCMCIA adaptor card. It also has the ability to read a 32-image slide show from images recorded to the memory card, if those images are recorded to the card in a carefully prescribed manner. I have not tested this feature and, probably, never will.
The 37G4U does not automatically detect the type of signal it receives: One must manually select the input and than choose the manner in which the signal will be displayed. The menu offers four screen size/shape choices: One displays standard NTSC 4:3 with black sidebars, one proportionally stretches that image to fill the entire 16:9 screen, one zooms the image to fill the screen, and the last -- for widescreen films -- fills the screen from side to side with black bars above and below the image.
I've found that television shows broadcast in widescreen format look best when using the zoom mode. Widescreen DVDs look best in the last mode, and I prefer to view standard television programming in the 4:3 mode. The stretch mode loses a bit of the top and bottom of the image and makes everything on screen appear a bit wide.
The television has the ability to adjust the picture automatically in response to lighting conditions in the room. I'm still endeavoring to find the perfect balance of backlight, contrast, and brightness -- the 37G4U tends to be overly bright at its default settings. The automatic adjustment, however, tends to make light too light and dark too dark.
There are two fans built into the rear of the 37G4U -- they're really only noticeable when one is behind the television. The fan in the external tuner, however, is just plain loud -- about the same level of sound as a desktop computer. The film, "Contact," has moments of absolute silence -- the fan in the tuner unit was clearly audible during those scenes.
My cable box has an S-video output, but the only S-video input on the 37G4U external tuner is on the front of the box, beneath a decorative panel. This necessitate my using the composite video input, further lowering the image quality.
As I mentioned above, "leading-edge" technology -- I'm sure that many of the things I've mentioned will be corrected or automated in future generations of LCD televisions. For the time being, however, I'm delighted with the 37G4U -- I hope that my pleasure will grow as I learn more about optimizing its many settings and become more familiar with its operation.
I purchased the 37G4U from Setco, a PriceGrabber Storefront Merchant, at a very good price. The unit was shipped the within two business days via FedEX -- again at a reasonable price -- and arrived at my home four business days later without major incident.
The television has no "dead" pixels and, as an LCD, will not suffer from "fade" or "burn-in" -- the destroyers of plasma displays. When an LCD's brightness diminishes over time its lamp can be replaced -- plasma displays can only be discarded.
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