Sharp’s newest 42-inch LCD TV delivers pictures in Full HD 1080p resolution and comes with a built-in HD tuner. So is it a Blu-ray player’s best friend or will it just leave you with the blues?
The LC42D83X makes an impression before you even turn it on. The frame and the included pedestal stand are come in a glossy black finish with a thin silver trim that runs along the bottom of the screen. The two 15W speakers are also discreetly tucked away on the underneath left and right hand sides of the screen, making this one stylish looking set.
Installation was straight forward and was a matter of securing the bracket to the stand and securing the stand to the TV with the included screws and allen key. Once installed, the stand can be rotated 15 degrees to the right or left, depending on your viewing preference. As with most high definition consumer tech products, a HDMI cable is not included in the box, so you'll have to remember to buy one or try and haggle with the salesman to score one for free.
Connectivity-wise, there’s almost every connection that you'd need. We say almost because it still uses a 15-pin D-Sub port (otherwise known as VGA) rather than DVI to connect to a PC. That’s a shame since most current PCs sport DVI jacks, which give you a pure digital output rather than converting the signal from digital to analog and back again.
There are three HDMI connections, one S-Video, one RS-232C, one 15-pin D-Sub with audio out and a headphone jack, all located along the back right hand side.
If you don’t like cables visibly sticking out of your TV, you will have to sacrifice one HDMI port and the S-Video, as they aren’t positioned back far enough to hide the cables. Like most side ports, they’re best reserved for occasionally connecting camcorders and the like. The two rear HDMI sockets should be plenty for most anyway – enough to handle a DVD player and a PS3.