Sharp LC46D92U???

[solomr2]

Has anyone auditioned or bought the new line of Sharp Aquos LCD (92U)?

When I first saw it in the big box stores it looked pretty darn good, the blacks were surprisingly dark, the colors looked good, and the feature list is quite rich (120hz, 4ms, 3 hdmi inputs, two tuners, etc.). But after reading a couple of pro reviews (LINK (http://reviews.cnet.com/Sharp_LC_52D92U/4505-6482_7-32306273.html?tag=prod.txt.1) to CNet Review) there were complaints on the 52" about banding (which I could not detect in the big bright store).

Any thoughts?

[solomr2]

A little searching brought these up...

LINK1 (http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29211&highlight=sharp+92u)

LINK2 (http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30375)

But neither mentions the banding issues that are highlighted in the reviews.

[solomr2]

I saw the 46" D92U again today at BB, they had next to the Hitachi Plasma and I could swear the blacks on the Sharp were darker than the plasma. Although the colors were definately more saturated than the plasma. Still, it looked pretty damn fine!

[MDS]

Has anyone actually seen this 'banding' first hand? I didn't notice anything unusual when I viewed both the 46" and 52" at the store, but with my luck I'll get one and the problem will be immediately obvious.

[Hi Ho]

Has anyone actually seen this 'banding' first hand?
I saw banding on an LC52D62U but I have not seen it on any other D62U models I have seen.

I have seen no banding at all on the LC52D92U but I have only seen one of them.

The banding problem is not something that would bother me but appearently it bothers others. It's noticable when the camera is panning or there is a solid white screen. It looks like uneven light saturation.

Another note about the new models, on the 52" I have noticed that the light seems to be much more evenly distributed when compared to the Sony XBR 2. I have always noticed uneven brightness on the Sony screens when displaying a totally black screen (there shouldn't be brightness at all...) but on the Sharp it just looks black.

[MDS]

This stuff just plain hurts my head. It's best not to read anything because then you always have doubts. I was reasonably sure the 52DU was the answer for me but now I'm waffling wondering whether I can get by with the 46 (seating distance ~11 feet). Add to that the possibility that I will see this so called banding and I end up waiting yet again!

[solomr2]

Yeah, reviews are sometimes misleading. I think the only way to know for certain is to get a test disc and run it through TV to see if anything obvious stands out.

From what I've seen so far of this TV, it appears to me like the best looking LCD out there. The only TV I've seen that look significantly better is the new 1080P Pioneer Elite plasma, at rougly $7000. I love the Pioneer, but I can't justify spending that kind of mula on a TV.

[logsend]

Does anyone care to compare and contrast the Sharp LC-46D92U with the Pioneer Elite Pro-940HD? I'm buying one of these!

Randy