LC-45GX6U First impression

As 1080p TVs start to hit the market we thought we would take a look and report back what we see. These are not full reviews. This report consists of our observations made at a local electronics store and looking at the sets. We do adjust the TVs to get the best picture we can. For this look we watched the Incredibles on DVD and a Tennis match in High Definition at 1080i.

Features:

·     1920X1080 resolution

·     800:1 contrast ratio

·     HDTV tuner with CableCARD

·     PC Card Slot

·     12 ms response time

Underwhelmed is the word that comes to mind when looking at this LCD. Now don't get us wrong the Sharp does look good but we really couldn't say they looked better than 720p LCDs. The Incredibles looked blocky. The upscaling from 480 to 1080 left us thinking that we could have done better with less expensive TV. High Definition programming at 1080i did a little better. At this point in time there is no way to really evaluate how the set would do with native 1080p material. We will have to wait a year or so before we can do that. Since most of your viewing will be 1080i or 720p you may want to save a few dollars on a 720p set.

Universal Remote Controls

The one thing everyone needs in their home theater, whether they have a plasma or a projector, satellite or cable, a receiver or separates, is a good universal remote control.  A good universal remote does so much more than simply consolidate all of your various other remotes into one.  It will simplify your life and make it so much easier to watch HDTV, view a DVD or listen to music.  So easy in fact, anyone should be able to do it, including the baby sitter, your kids, and even grandma.

There are many remote controls available that will consolidate all your other remotes into one; they're available at grocery stores, construction supply stores and, of course, electronics stores.  Many of these remotes, however, only consolidate, they do not simplify, so we'll leave them out of this discussion.  These remotes, which typically advertise, "controls up to 10 devices" or "controls up to 27.3 devices"? make you select which device you want to control before you can do anything.  In essence, you have to say "now I want to use my cable box remote so I can change channels," then say "now I want to use my receiver remote so I can adjust the volume," etc.

That's the difference between consolidating and simplifying.  A good universal remote will know that you control volume on you receiver, so all you have to do is hit the volume up or down and it just works.  Likewise a good remote will know that you always change channels on your cable box, so all the channel controls will be routed there.  It's just that easy.  These remotes typically have a set of modes, such as: 'watch TV', or 'watch DVD' that tell the remote how to function.  They probably switch all of your components on or off, and select the correct inputs, based on what mode you select.

The two main companies in the space are Harmony, now owned by Logitech, and a company simply called Universal Remote Control, makers of the Home Theater Master.  Several other products, such as the Philips Pronto and iPronto, the Onkyo CHAD and the RTI T2+ and T3 also compete in this space, but the first two are widely available, and widely used.

Harmony remotes range in price from $150-$250.  They are very easy to program, and very simple to use.  They tend to have small buttons that may frustrate some people, are somewhat hard on batteries, and, at times, lack the IR strength to control all devices (depending on how far you're sitting from them).  The programming software requires an Internet connections, so customizing them can be a chore, unless you have an internet connection and a laptop in front of the TV.  All in all, they are an excellent choice for any home theater.

Universal remotes range in price from $80-$1000, so they offer a full spectrum of products to choose from.  They are larger and have larger buttons than Harmony remotes, making them slightly less attractive but possibly more functional.  The computer programmable ones are relatively easy to program, but not as easy as the Harmony.  The non-computer programmable ones tend to be a challenge for most casual users, and may require professional (expensive) help.  Programming does not require an Internet connection, so small modifications are less complicated.