Sharp Aquos LC-37XD1E: Game on

Whenever a 1080p television comes into the Crave office, there is always a certain shimmer of excitement in the air. With the imminent arrival of the PlayStation 3 we don't want to be playing our games at 1080i: these days we demand 1080p.

So when the Sharp Aquos LC-37XD1E arrived we couldn't get it out of the box quick enough. This wasn't entirely due to our excited fumbling as Sharp delivered this TV in, well, we've never before seen packing tape this tough: it appeared to be made of transparent titanium gripping vines.

When we finally did manage to laser our way in, there was delight all round: this is one sweet-looking TV. It's finished in glossy black, a style we're really keen on. A quick hunt for speakers led us to the underside of the screen, where a beautiful thin speaker grille is located. It was easy to fit the included stand too, which is always a bonus.

Aside from supporting 1080p, this 37-inch screen also has an integrated Freeview receiver, two HDMI sockets, the usual Scart and composite video-in, as well as an RGB connection for hooking up a PC. Curiously, despite having a 1,920x1,080-pixel panel, the Sharp can only accept a PC input of up to 1,280x1,024 pixels, which is something of a missed opportunity. That said, its 6ms response time should make the TV ideal for gamers -- something we plan on testing with the aforementioned PS3. Extensively.

If we were the sort of people who judged books by their covers, we'd almost certainly say "buy this TV now". But we aren't, so stay tuned for a review of the Aquos LC-37XD1E soon. -IM

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• Sharp,
• Sharp Aquos LC37XD1E,
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• HDMI,
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