Products: Sharp Aquos LC-37HV4H Price: HK$53,800 Pros: Big, beautiful and very sharp pictures Cons: No slot to take flash cards, no built-in wireless technology
Beauty comes at a price. This is true for Sharp's 37-inch liquid-crystal display television, the latest in its popular Aquos line. Priced at HK$53,800, the Sharp Aquos LC-37HV4H costs HK$15,000 to HK$20,000 more than a 30-inch system from Samsung or Philips.
Sharp was first to abandon cathode-ray tube TVs and announce that LCD technology was the way of the future.
It enjoyed early market share but now faces stiff competition from Philips, Samsung, LG Electronics and Sony. While the first three are competitive in terms of price, Sharp's real competition is from Sony.
In image resolution, screen clarity and brilliance, Sharp's technology matches Sony's. You can judge for yourself which brand is better by going to a Fortress store and seeing them side by side. However, Sony does not have a 37-inch LCD model - its largest is a 30-inch Wega.
Weighing just 16.25kg with a thickness of 8.8cm, the 37-inch Sharp Aquos LCD TV will be a talking point in any living room. It would be nice, though, if it came with a wireless media receiver unit so wires connecting to the DVD and hi-fi systems did not show.