Sharp AQUOS LC-37D40U 37" LCD TV

(Background: I had purchased this TV to replace a Vizio 37" LCD. In short, the Aquos costs a few hundred more than the Vizio, but I am very satisfied with the Aquos.)

Image Quality:
For LCD televisions, you usually have to lower your expectations with respect to contrast ratios (i.e., it is difficult to distinguish details within a dark or black area of your image.) The Sharp Aquos is no exception; however, Sharp has a significant improvement with the 1200:1 contrast ratio; dark images are rendered a lot better than some of the less expensive competitors like Vizio, but probably not as good as plasma monitors.
For normal situations, the image is crisp and the colors are vibrant. Of course, both color and sharpness are controllable. I usually like to keep my colors realistic and sharpness at about 75%...with that, the HD picture looks great to me. This monitor has the capability to be very bright. I usually set the LCD backlight and brightness settings below 75% and I am still able to get decent contrast. A nice (optional) feature of this unit is an optical sensor that will adjust the brightness of the LCD according to ambient conditions, so you will not need to readjust brightness when the sun sets or when someone turns on the room light. You can probably leave it on a fixed setting and not be bothered by changes in ambient room light.
Like all LCDs, the specs state a 179 degree viewing angle; however, the best position to see the screen is within 90 degrees of the center. Beyond this point, the screen image begins to wash out. In other words, if you are watching the screen from the side, your image will appear less defined (a bit faded). This might be typical for all LCDs in this class and not necessarily an exclusive weakness for Sharp.

Image Processing:
Response time is a fast 6ms. I experienced relatively less or no pixelation of fast images compared to some of the less expensive competitors. However, please note that pixelation may be caused by your set-top box or HD source, not necessarily by your monitor's ability to process the data.
One thing I noticed on the Vizio is a tendency for the monitor to reset to blue after the broadcast depicts a bright light spike (e.g. an explosion, or a white-out situation.) The Vizio would then take a few seconds to recover. I have not experienced this problem on the Sharp Aquos, which does an excellent job of handling such spikes.
The Aquos has several display modes ('side bars', stretch, and widescreen.) These modes are not automatically detected and set by the TV and must be set manually...I do not think the settings are stored in memory. For most purposes, you should be able to leave it in one mode and be content. In some cases (depending on the channel source), as little as one display mode will be available.
The TV does not have dual tuners, so there are no Picture in Picture (PIP) features. I never used those things anyway.

LCD TV Operations:
There are about 6 buttons at the top of the unit to control basic functions: channel select, volume, input choice, and power...that's it. I don't think you can access the onscreen menu fully from these buttons (you will need to use the remote.)

Remote Operations:
Operations with the remote are fairly straight-forward, and most operations are laid out plainly. The remote also has buttons that can light up. One thing that I find missing (that is commonly missing for most TV remotes) is a button that can go to a specific input choice (e.g. AV1, AV2, etc.). Instead, there is just one Input button that toggles down the list of available input channels. This is a bit of a challenge for people who are programming macros onto their universal remote controls.

Display Menu:
The on-screen display is very easy to use and intuitive, with the option to drill down to more advanced functions. You shouldn't find yourself wrestling with this menu layout, and most of the settings can accomplished with the 4-way directional and center button on the remote. The Aquos gives you the option of 'hiding' certain things that are not used frequently (like unused Input choices) in order to speed up navigation.
Channel Setup is a breeze with the wizard-style guide. I did not see any options to delete unwanted channels...but it might be there.

Sound:
Sound is very basic; somewhat lacking in bass, but pretty much what you can expect from small speakers. The speakers have a surround mode also. I usually do not use TV speakers and it would have been nice to remove speakers from the overall design as the bottom speakers add (unwanted) height to our setup. But at least, Sharp elected not to put the speakers on the sides, which can be good for people who are trying to maximize their entertainment center space.

Inputs/Outputs:
The Aquos has a very basic selection of inputs/outputs on the rear panel, highlighted by 2 HDMI inputs, which can be masked out on the onscreen menu if not needed. Other inputs include composite and RCA. Digital sound out is also available (optical I think). I would have liked to see a front interface for when you want to attach a digicam source.
2 of the AV channels can be set to 'auto', which I think means that the TV will automatically switch to AV1 or AV2 based on which one is actively sending a signal. I supposed this can be very convenient for certain setups. I'm not sure why the 2 HDMI channels don't have this, unless HDMIs are implicitly auto sensing.

Cabinet notes:
The TV runs relatively cooler than the Vizio I owned before, and is silent with respect to its internal fan. (The Vizio had a noisy internal fan, and you could usually hear metallic internal components expanding and contracting when the unit heated up or cooled down.)
The 37" Aquos weighs just over 55 pounds, so an average person should be able to lift and move this unit without assistance.

Documentation and physical setup:
Documentation is very complete. There is also a helpful quick-guide. Physical setup mainly involves attaching the support base with the included hex key...simple! You cannot adjust anything (pitch, height, or swivel) with this base...it is fixed.