Sharp Aquos LC42D64U 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

We bought this TV in August 2008. On Thanksgiving Day (3 months later), it began to turn itself off after about 15 minutes. The first time, I thought it was a fluke and unplugged the set and tried again. After several more attempts and more of the same, the TV went in the box and was returned.

The picture was spectacular. The options- incredible. This is a great set, but ours lasted a whole 3 months before being replaced.

The TV shipped with Hotel mode enable, I have difficult time to figure out how to disable it.
When in Hotel Mode you can not get to EZ setup and Ch setup menu.

With so many well-written reviews of this TV, what can I possibly add? Well, it turns out I can review the support I got when the TV didn't work. The short story is that Sharp's support was fantastic.

First, the Amazon White Glove delivery was great. Scheduling TV delivery was easy. The delivery was on time. The delivery guy explained that the service does not include assembly of the TV to the stand. This could have left me with a problem, as I would have quite a difficulty assembling the TV and placing it on the TV stand myself. But when I started assembling the stand immediately (which was simple and bullet-proof), the guy was quite helpful and actually ended up doing much of the work himself. I also appreciated the offer to take the packing material away. I have heard that thieves sometimes cruise the streets, looking for boxes like this on the curb as a marker of houses to "hit". The TV was on with a great picture. Having done more than his job, the delivery guy left.

But when I went to set up the TV, it didn't work. The "Easy Setup" and "Channel Setup" options were not available. If you already have a digital TV, you know that you can't just select a channel number. The TV has to scan the signals from your antenna / cable box / satellite dish, decide what signals are available, and configure itself to receive those signals. The option that does this for the Sharp TV is called "Easy Setup" or "Channel Setup". Not having these available meant I couldn't receive TV except by using my old digital TV converter box.

The service flier claims this TV qualifies for exclusive Aquos Advantage service. They offer a toll-free number and a web site. Yada yada. I called the toll-free number, and was shocked when a technician answered right away. I ended up calling several times and talking to several technicians. Each time a tech answered promptly. Each time the tech couldn't believe my problem. Each tech went through a simple and quick troubleshooting process with me, then offered a suggestion which involved some lengthy period of time with the TV turned off; followed by my calling again. Throughout the process, the support techs were polite, professional, and helpful. They did a great job of tracking previous calls. When it became obvious this problem was not going to be solved over the telephone, they arranged for a local company to come to my house.

The local TV support company was just as great as the telephone support team. Before they came, they ordered a main computer board. Unfortunately, the main board was the wrong one for my TV. The tech wrote down the correct part number and left. A few days later, the new main board arrived and another tech came to our house. The tech successfully replaced the main board, but it did not solve the problem.

At this point, the tech called his contact at Sharp. After a lengthy conversation, they decided the TV was stuck in "hotel mode". The purpose of hotel mode is to prevent hotel guests from re-programming the TV. After they went through the secret dance to put the TV in consumer mode, everything worked great.

So here's my addition to the reviews already posted. Not only is the Sharp Aquos a great TV with a great picture. It's a product backed up with amazingly awesome support. Way to go Sharp!

I cannot give the product a high rating, since it was defective right out of the box. If it hadn't been damaged in shipment, I assume it would have been great. As I said in the caption of the digital image I uploaded, I contacted Sharp, which had me send digital images of the product and advised me that it was damaged as a result of impact and therefore not covered by the manufacturer's warranty. When I contacted Amazon, they offered me a comparable product, since they no longer had this model in stock, and picked up the damaged Sharp Aquos when they delivered the new Sony Bravia. I could not have been more pleased with Amazon's customer service.

We purchased this TV for use with movies and Xbox games. It was an easy set up though some confusion with the remote controls. Overall good, clear picture - we are pleased with the purchase.