Mitsubishi’s soon to be released LASERVUE rear projection TV has been receiving a great deal of attention lately at the expense of its 2008 line of noteworthy LCD HDTVs.
Last year Mitsubishi introduced a line of full-featured 1080p LCD HDTVs featuring 120 Hz refresh rate, CableCARD, TV Guide and exceptionally thin bezels (less than one inch) that allow, for example, a 46†panel like the new set reviewed here, to fit in the same space as a 42†set with a standard bezel.
This year’s line retains all of last years hot features, while adding updated “judder-free†120 Hz signal processing and a TV first: a built-in, 5.1 surround sound audio system. You remember loudspeakers? Those old-fashioned “thingies†that turn your favorite stunning high def movie into a “talkie†by adding dialog, music and sound effects?
Mitsubishi engineers managed to place a sound bar the company calls an Integrated Sound Projector (iSP) within the cabinet that effectively produces sound from the front, sides and rearâ€â€minus the wiring and amplification clutter that normally are requiredâ€â€from any of the set’s four HDMI connectors.
The LT-46149 ($2799 MAP) measures (inches) 29.9 H x 42†W x 4.8†and weighs 64.4 lbs. (without included table stand). The remote control backlight made operation in a dark room easy. The on-screen menu is a traditional layered structure. My only complaint is the 5-second time-out, which occasionally is not sufficient to make adjustments and which then requires the re-entering of the menu selection. Mitsubishi should either lengthen the time-out or add a “10 second till menu disappears†option.
This Mitsubishi is among the most full featured LCD HDTVs available for 2008. Many other top of the line LCDs incorporate 120 Hz, judder free display film conversion, variable backlight and 24 Hz input, but few include TV Guide Daily (a free program guide service) and CableCARD a feature that permits viewing standard and premium subscribed programming without a cable box (on most cable systems). Also included is a fully and easily programmable learning remote control.
The LT-46149 has a plethora of inputs including two antenna/cable input jacks (a rarity today: most 2008 HDTVs now only have one), the four aforementioned HDMI jacks, three composite video jacks, one S-Video input, three component video inputs and a USB jack for cameras and JPEG files. There are also 5 pairs of analog audio inputs.
Performance
The out of the box brightness (white) level measured a blazing 88-foot lambertsâ€â€far too high for any sanely lit viewing environment. Black measured at .22 ft. lambertsâ€â€too bright of a level for optimum viewing in a room that has low to moderate amounts of ambient light, as it produces gray looking blacks.
Changing the picture mode from “Brilliant” (showroom) to “Natural” (in-home) and lowering the “backlight†control from maximum to “25” (around 30%) reduced the black level to 0.023 ft lambertsâ€â€a level comparable to many top-of-the- line LCD sets. The calibrated image brightness produced 26 ft. lambertsâ€â€making a bright, snappy picture that can be viewed comfortably in most rooms.
Changing the color temperature setting from factory default “High†to “Low†achieved neutral dark grays and blacks with, slightly bluish whites, and near-whites. Utilizing the controls within the LT-46149’s service menu and a Photo Research spectroradiometer corrected these issues. Finally, adjustments of the standard user accessible controls (color, tint, contrast etc) and the TV’s (user selected) Perfect Color Control resulted in a very pleasing, very accurate image.
The only area where the Mitsubishi fell short (as a number of other flat panels do) was the primary color point of green, which measured a slightly towards blue and slightly oversaturated. The primary points of Blue were “spot on†the HDTV standards; and red was within .002 (x&y). The readings were (with the HDTV standard numbers in parenthesis) Red .x .642 (.640) y.332 (.330); Green x .256 (.300) y.632 (.600); Blue x .15 (.15) y .06 (.06).
Using the Silicon Optix HQV Blu-ray test disc to test signal processing I confirmed that the set properly de-interlaced 1080i content and displayed all 1080 lines of resolution contained within a 1080i signal. The 3:2 film conversion test failed, producing noise at the edges. Failure of the 1080i film test is something many other top-of-the-line 2008 sets have in common with this Mitsubishi. The jaggies test produced few artifacts, earning an “excellent†rating. The noise test revealed only a slight effect when selecting the “High†setting of noise reduction circuit to reduce random video noise.
The upconversion of 480i signals using the standard def HQV test disc produced mixed results. The set’s processor passed the single bar “jaggies†test with a “good†rating, while failing the three bar, flag, and detail tests.
These issues can be bypassed when viewing DVDs by using an upconverting player with better internal scaling such as those equipped with the Silicon Optix Reon or Realta chips. The set failed the 480i 3:2 film test as well. According to Mitsubishi, the 3:2 works at 480i but the circuit activates too slowly for the HQV racecar test sequence.
The standard definition noise reduction circuit was excellent, with some of the best test results of any HDTV tested to date. It does a tremendous job with the simulated noisy broadcasts and poor video test signals.
The Mitsubishi passed the 1:1 aspect and bandwidth test, proving this Mitsubishi can resolve all the fine detail within a top quality HDTV source, down to a single pixel and display all of an HDTV image without cropping (“overscanâ€Â).
The set’s static and motion resolution tests provided a result which put it at the top of all the standard (CCFL) backlit 120 HZ flat panels tested to date, with full 1080 line “static†resolution (per picture height) and 620 lines of motion resolution. Only LED backlit LCDs and Plasma flat panels have tested higher in motion detail. The ability to handle motion well is a necessity for watching any fast moving sports programs, especially football.
The dejudder circuit has three settings (“Offâ€Â, “Standard†and “Highâ€Â). The “Standard†setting reduced judder (seen as jerkiness on horizontal pans with film-based content, due to 3:2 conversion of 24 frames per second into 60 fps). The “High†setting eliminated judder, but also smoothed the image to the point where all film based content appeared to have the look of video tape with no film grain visible. The image image that was reminiscent of viewing an HD episode of the video taped daytime drama “The Young and the Restlessâ€Â. Full dejudder circuits on all of the other 120 Hz sets test produced the same type of artifact. Some consumers seem to like the effect, but I feel it detracts from the film experience.
Audio
The 16 speaker integrated sound bar, aided with the “on screen†set-up guide produced an amazing surround sound effect (using the built-in test signals) which creating the illusion that the source was emanating from the center, left front, right front, sides and behind me. The technology to pull it off is similar to the one used in Yamaha’s highly rated sound bars, though somewhat downsized to fit nicely beneath the 46†screen. Once the iSP was optimized for the room, the LT-46149 delivered the promise of built-in surround sound. My only dispute, the .1 designation, which stands for a low bass channel, and needs to have the frequencies handled by a subwoofer. However, the LT-46149 has a subwoofer channel output (RCA jack) that can be connected to any powered subwoofer to add low bass response found in sources such as Blu-ray movie discs and many HDTV cable and broadcast programs. I sampled a number of HDTV programs with and without a powered subwoofer connected. The subwoofer added oomph to explosions and other sound effects as expected, though the lack of the subwoofer did not detract from the surround sound separation or clarity.
The sound pressure level peaked at an ample 97 decibels at 10 feet, without any audible clipping distortion (measurement was made without a connected subwoofer). The sound that emanated from the iSP did not have the point focus or power of a full blown, expensive surround sound receiver with discrete speakers. However, the iSP produced a far more satisfying sonic experience than the audio quality I have hear from lower end “Home Theater in a Box†systems with 5 separate speakers .
Simply stated, the LT-46149’s built-in iSP Dolby Digital surround sound provides the highest level of audio sound quality of any HDTV I have every tested!
A variety of Blu-ray discs were sampled. A stand out was the opening color sequence of Casino Royale with its fast motion, fine details, and wide variations of lighting and effects. When played with the iSP cranking, one clearly hears the gunshots ricocheting of the side walls. I felt engulfed by the crowd in Madagascar. Overall, the brilliant Bond soundtrack provided an enveloping smorgasbord of aural delights. It’s pretty amazing, considering all the sound heard was being generated by the built-in TV speakers directly in front of me.
The Verdict
Mitsubishi has created an HDTV first, combining a high quality LCD flat panel with a one-piece built-in surround sound system. Considering this panel’s good color accuracy, fast motion sharpness, and fine HD bandwidth performance, even without the integrated sound projector, HD Guru would rank it near the top of the LCD heap. As readers will learn next month when the HD Guru publishes its 100 model HDTV test report, many other LCDs have inferior HD performance when measuring static and motion resolution and bandwidth. The only HD area where the Mitsubishi LT-46149 did not excel was its black level, where it is average compared to a number of other LCD displays and not as good as some other top of the line models.
Which potential HDTV buyer should consider this Mitsubishi? Anyone that is interested in superior audio without the wiring or complexity of an external audio system in a room or viewing environment that does not lend itself well to surround sound systems. Immediately bedrooms, secondary rooms such as a den and rooms with brick, stone or plaster walls come to mind.
The LT-46149 overall image quality rates an HD GURU recommended ♥♥♥. Add another ♥ for its groundbreaking, built-in surround sound system.
Copyright ©2008 Gary Merson/HD Guru® All rights reserved. HD GURU is a registered trademark. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.
My Mitsubishi LT46149 will not accept any TV headphones. This is a problem in my house. I bought this TV to get away from surround sound systems.
I purchased a Mitsubishi LCD-46149 last year and have been happy with the performance. I also have a cable card plugged into the TV and it is free (Comcast does not charge for the first card).
A few issues I have encountered:
1. When the cable company performs their “digital conversion” tests, the message that flashes across the TV screen does NOT clear up on its own. It requires a manual power reset of the TV — not sure why.
2. I frequently lose the TV Guide. This is very frustrating as I have performed a myriad of resets and card removals to get it back. The TV Guide screen just displays the Setup Progress screen and says the search for TV stations with TV guide data is still in progress.
I know the TV Guide feature works – I just don’t know how to get it back. When I re-acquire the cable card and perform the setup on the TV Guide, it gets stuck on the setup progress screen searching for channels. Anybody else had this problem? I sure could use some help!
-JG
You should have mentioned in your conclusion that the Cable card can save the owner a substation amount in cable costs as well as no need to clutter your house with another cable box. For me it is $1.50 verses $14 per months for a box saving $150 per year, 10years it paid for the TV. I told comcast it is in a tivo box as it is $6.50 if in a separate TV and not a tivo attached to an existing tv with box. Makes absolutely no $en$e to me as they are servicing the same card as a node on their network either way. $$$ Is probably why they insist on installing the card so they can see where it is. I see no reason I could have not installed the card (looks like a PCMCIA card from the old laptop days slips right in to the tv) and called in the Cable Card, Host and Data numbers myself. For that mater I should be able to buy my own Cable card period Remember AT&T pre 90s. After all they called in the numbers wrong on their fist visit causing me to have a second visit and a third maybe they were hoping I would break down and just get a box as that is much more reliable according to them Really. It seams like they don’t want folks heading in this direction because they want $150 extra a year per device. One final comment here is the Tivo boxes as well as the new cable boxes all have cable cards in them funny how they seam to work well. Looks like the back end is setup correctly when there is money to be made or a potential lawsuit form Tivo. Mitsubishi tells me that the cable card slot will be compatible new two-way cards that are installed in the new cable boxes and coming down the pipeline next year. I was told that they are been tested in the Chicago area and these cards will should give you access to on demand, pay for view and the cable companies interactive menu system. Personally I really like the TV guide menu built into the TV and find it more condensed, able to view more information at once on a single screen and more in depth information on programming. The TV Guide would work great with an antenna based TV signal. Sorry for that rant on the cable card but I think it is a huge feature and we should all be getting the providers out of the business of renting us equipment at great expense to us, anyone still own a AT&T rental phone? I bought this TV a month ago and the only negative is the black levels but the colors look very realistic and not over saturated like many other TVs. The picture is very smooth. The size with the very small bezel is a huge advantage if trying to fit into an existing cabinet. Worth at least $300 if you have to modify a cabinet. I have a Boston Acoustics system 5.1 on my primary TV, which sounds unbelievable $1200. On this TV I attached a Yamaha YST FSW100 powered sub ($80 from best buy on clearance retail $199 web$140) that the TV automatically found and setup this nearly sounds as good as my other setup and better then any other TV I have heard period. What more can I say that you did not I am thrilled with this TV tons of inputs I paid $1799 from Bestbuy on Saturday after black Friday a sale price not in their flyer or on line but in their computer system. The only question I am asking myself is should I have got the 52†model for $500 more? Or got them both when they where both $700 of MSRP. Must remember this is technology and the price is heading in only one direction long term.
I’m trying to decide between the Mitsubishi LT-46149 and Sony KDL-46z4100. The Mitsubishi has x.v., but fails the 3:2 pulldown. The Sony doesn’t have x.v. but passes the 3:2. The Mitsubishi obviously has better audio. The Mitsubishi is approx. $1k more. The bottom line is which has the best picture, particularly for sports, blu-ray and HD?
Thanks.