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 Flat
panel displays have become so popular that conventional picture tubes are being
treated like, well "tubes". Selling large bulky sets have become difficult
for stores when new, attractive flat panels are flooding the market. Mitsubishi
recently introduced their new LT-52133, a large Full HD 1080p 52" LCD display
that measures 48" wide, 30.4" high and only 5.7" deep. Add the
base and the height increases by 2" and allows the display to swivel up to
±30 degrees. The display weighes only 84 pounds with the stand and 75 pounds
without it, making it compatible with a wide variety of wall mounts. While the
flat panel can be easily on a table or cabinet, there are some nice advantages
when using a quality wall mount such as the Omnimount
UCL-X Dual Arm Cantilevel design. Once mounted, the display can be tilted
up or down and adjusted horizontally at a much wider angle than is offered with
the stand.
The
Mitsubishi LT-52133 features x.v.Color™ support and Mitsubishi’s Full
Spectrum Color™. The x.v.Color™ is a relatively new standard for HDTV
and enables many more colors than conventional HDTV displays resulting in more
realistic looking images. In addition, Mitsubishi’s Full Spectrum Color™
results in 25% more color than standard LCD displays thus producing more vivid
reds and yellows. The LT-52133 also features a Color 4D Noise Reduction and PerfectColor™
that allows for advanced color processing and color adjustment. The three HDMI
1.3 inputs with Deep Color give the display the ability to support more colors
and gray levels, making it less susceptable to false countouring (banding). A
pair of built-in speakers are provided for those with a basic set up. Video and
audio can be carried through a single HDMI cable for simplicity. The integrated
ATSC and NTSC tuners let users see local terrestrial broadcasts in standard and
high definition without having to subscribe to cable or satellite. The tuner is
QAM cable compatible, but does not support an integrated Cable-Card slot. The
amazingly high quality picture being broadcasted over the air for free is always
impressive. More people should be taking advantage of this. The LT-52133 has an
attractive chassis design and offers a wide 178°(H) x 178°(V) viewing angle. The
surface of the screen is not shiny, so screen reflection issues are minimal. The
pixels have a fast 8-millisecond response time that vitually eliminates motion
blur commonly seen on earlier LCD displays. The LT-52133 features a full 10-bit
per color display panel that creates over a billion possible colors with the Plush1080p®
digital video processing. All video inputs are upconverted to the native 1080p.  Panel
Controls
The LT-52133 has a narrow set of hidden controls on the right side. There are
nine buttons that give the user control of the unit. The Power button is
on top followed by Volume Up/Down, Channel Up/Down, Format,
Menu, Guide, and Input. All of the buttons except for the
Power and Input buttons have secondary functions depending on the
mode of the set. A small pinhole button is provided to reset the internal processor
in the event the unit becomes unresponsive to the user. This is a common feature
on products that have a microprocessor, but we never encountered any issues requiring
the use of it.
Five
RCA connectors are provided for either component (Y, Pr, Pb) or composite video
with two channel audio. The Y input carries luminance information and is common
to both video format used here. The side panel jacks provide an easy way to connect
video to the display when using a camcorder, portable video player or game console.
For the best video performance, the component video inputs should be used on this
interface. A
really nice feature of the LT-52133 is the USB interface on the side. This provides
an easy way to show off your picture to your family and friends. Upon plugging
a USB memory stick into the side of the LT-52133, the USB
menu pops up on the screen. Photos can be shown in a simple slideshow or displayed
from a list of thumnails on the screen. Settings can also be configured for the
photos. Manual or automatic slideshows are possible with the content repeating
once, twice or continuous. The slide interval can be set to 5 seconds, 10 seconds,
30 seconds or 1 minute.  Rear
Interfaces
The back of the LT-52133 has two antenna/cable inputs (via
F-connectors), a coaxial digital output, and 3 HDMI™ 1.3 inputs with Deep
Color support. The digital output can be connected to an A/V receiver for full
Dolby Digital decoding for over the air or cable programs. We were happy to see
the inclusion of three HDMI inputs which helps eliminate the need for an external
HDMI switcher. Due to the deep placement of the HDMI inputs, some active cables
with large connector assemblies may have problems plugging into the tight quarters.
We found this to be the case when using VizionWare and Altona active cables. Luckily,
most users will be using standard HDMI cables connected to their components and
should have no problem at all. We connected the antenna input to our Terk
TV38 terrestrial rooftop antenna for local reception.
 Analog
Connectivity
The back of the LT-52133 supports legacy analog formats including
composite, s-video, and component video. Two sets of composite/s-video inputs
along with their corresponding two channel audio is provided. There are also two
sets of component inputs available that support both standard definition (480i/480p)
and high definition (720p/1080i) video. Line level inputs and outputs are also
provided for use with external video recorders. The LT-52133 has a feature that
automatically detects a new video input when it is activated. The on-screen information
notifies the user of the new input. Due to the number of cables typically connected
to this type of display, a pair of cable ties with rivets that attach to the back
are provided for better cable management.
Remote
and Menus
 The
remote included with the LT-52133 has a nice layout, with fairly large buttons
making it easy to use. The design work well in dark environments thanks to the
built-in backlighting. A top slider switch on the remote selects different components
from other manufacturers (Refer to the User's Manual for a list of supported products).
Standard (Power, Sleep, Input, Format, Volume,
Channel) and navigation buttons are provided. Dedicated buttons for Guide,
Info, Audio, Video, Menu, and Exit are located just below the navigation buttons.
There are also VCR/DVD buttons (Play, Pause, Stop, Record,
Forward, Backwards) near the bottom for convenient control of these
components. The F1 thru F4 keys are used with Mitsubishi's NetCommand. The buttons
can be used as alternate keys for some components operating independent of NetCommand.
A Low-Battery condition will be displayed by a blinking power key.
The menu system on the LT-52133 is similar to other Mitsubishi displays we have
seen. The top level menus are Setup, Captions, A/V and Lock.
The Setup menu is used to select the Language (English/Spanish),
Scan for active channels (Air/Cable), set the Clock, adjust the
Timer, and define the Energy settings. The
Captions menu supports both analog and digital channels. Caption data on
the analog channels can be decoded from the ANT 1/2 and INPUT 1/2 inputs. Broadcasters
can send either standard closed captions or text service. Standard closed captions
follow the dialogue of the program and display in a small section of the screen.
Text-service closed captions often contain information such as weather or news
and cover a large portion of the screen. Caption data for the digital channels
is only supported on ANT 1/2. The
A/V Menu has submenus for Audio (Speaker Control, Bass, Treble,
Balance, and SAP/Stereo), Video (Picture Mode, Contrast, Brightness, Color,
Tint, Color Temp, and Backlight Level), Perfect Color (Adjust the saturation
of Magenta, Red, Yellow, Green, Cyan, and Blue for the current image source),
and Reset. The Picture Mode allows the user to select from four
different (Brilliant, Game, Bright, and Natural) display settings. Color Temperature
can be set to High or Low (6500°K). The
Lock menu allows the user to lock the display based on Ratings or
Time. The side panel controls can also be locked to prevent curious fingers
(little kids) from changing the settings. The Ratings lock is controlled by the
Parent Menu, which allows the parent to lock the content based on TV Ratings (TV-Y,
TV-Y7, TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14, and TV-MA), TV Content (FV, D, L, S, and V), or Movie
Ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17, X, or Not Rated). For Time based control the
user can enter the Start and Stop time for TV viewing. Display
Formats
Several display modes are available on the LT-52133 that correct
for geometric differences in the source material. The Standard mode, which
is the default mode used with HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio), evenly distributes the
image across the full screen. This mode is also used with anamorphic (16:9 enhanced)
DVDs. The Expand mode is intended for non-anamorphic DVDs that would normally
stretch the image horizontally and insert bars on the top and bottom of the screen.
This mode stretches the image vertically correcting the aspect ratio distortion,
while cropping some of the video on the top and bottom to reduce the black bars
that are normally seen with these discs. This emphasizes the importance of anamorpphic
DVDs and why they maximize vertical video resolution. Ideally, you do not want
to use this mode, but it exists to make non-anamorphic DVDs viewable on this widescreen
display. The
Zoom mode essentially increases both horizontal and vertical overscan to
help eliminate the top and bottom black bars on movies that have wider aspect
ratios. This will also crop the right and left side of the picture, so you will
lose some of the original picture on the sides. The Stretch mode is one
of my favorites as it takes a 4:3 source and distributes it across the full screen
in a way that doesn't make it look too objectionable. This is accomplished by
stretching the sides more than the center area, resulting in a fairly good looking
center picture. However, scenes that pan will quickly reveal the technique used
here to help the center of the image. The Stretch Plus mode works great
for standard 4:3 broadcasts, but not for 16:9 source material. The Narrow
mode exists for 4:3 content that uses gray bars on the right and left side of
the image to preserve the aspect ratio on this display. It must be noted that
the Expand, Zoom, Stretch, Stretch Plus and Narrow
modes are not available when using 1080i or 720p video.  Calibration
Our color temperature measurements were made using our Sencore CP5000 All-Display
Color Analyzer. The graph shows the results of the factory settings (in red) using
the Natural Picture Mode with the Color Temperature set to Low.
The LT-52133 tracked the ideal 6500°K well at the higher IRE levels, but was
on the high side at the lower IRE levels. Mitsubishi does not have a user-level
menu for adjusting color temperature at the bias and gain levels. Doing so requires
going into the service menu, which can be dangerous for those lacking experience
in calibration. Once adjusted, the LT-52133 produced a stable 6500°K across
all IRE levels. Overall, the display exhibited good shadow detail with an impressive
53 foot-Lamberts of light output.
 Display
Primaries
The primary colors produced by the LT-52133 were measured using the DataColor
ColorFacts Pro 6 software with a Milori Trichromatic-1 color sensor. The CIE chart
indicates where the ideal primaries are located where the three small points make
a dark triangle. The measured primary colors are marked by the red, green and
blue markers connected together with the white triangle. Only colors inside this
triangle can be produced by the display by definition. As you can see from the
data taken the measured primary colors were near ideal with this display. Colors
were well saturated and looked excellent with accuracy confirmed by the measurements.
Skin tones had a natural look without looking oversaturated. Secondary colors
were also quite accurate on this display.
Setup
We had several sources available to test with the LT-52133 including our Dish
Network ViP722 HDTV DVR, Sony PlayStation3 with Blu-ray, Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD
player, and OPPO OPDV971. All sources supported HDMI with the exception of the
OPPO, which used a DVI to HDMI cable. Power was connected to a Panamax MAX 7500-PRO
power conditioner. Performance
Picture quality on the LT-52133 was excellent with the majority of our viewing
done with the new Dish Network ViP722 high definition
satellite receiver. The set-top box was connected through an HDMI cable and was
set to output 1080i video. Seeing high definition content was a great experience
on this display. Terrestrial (over the air) from our local stations here in Los
Angeles worked perfectly. Colors were well saturated and the picture took on a
three-dimensional image. Programs such as Las Vegas produced excellent
video quality and the many night shots revealed the great shadow detail this set
is capable of. Bright scenes were equally impressive with the high light output
this panel is capable of producing. We had to drop the contrast down from the
full factory setting, yet there was still plenty of output for a punchy picture.
Blu-ray
discs looked even better with full 1080p coming from our PlayStation 3. We could
not come up with a better combination for truly reference quality video performance.
The LT-52133 fully supports 24, 30 and 60 Hz frame rates. Our results were mixed
with standard definition DVD content. The best results came when using our OPPO
OPDV971H DVI-enabled DVD player connected to the second HDMI input on the LT-52133
display. This player has both excellent deinterlacing and scaling, but we let
the display scale the native 480p from the player and the results were great even
with many of the torture tests on the HQV disc. The analog inputs on the display
did not work as well with some noticeable artifacts showing up using the same
test disc. The real problem turned out to be our 400-disc Sony DVP-CX985V DVD
changer. It became clear that this was not a good combination with this display.
Both motion artifacts and color bleeding were obvious with this set up. As it
turns out, the Sony DVD changer has some issues that became very obvious with
this high resolution display.  Status
Display
Pressing the INFO key on the remote activates the on-screen status
display. Here in Los Angeles most of the common displays are active as seen in
the picture here. The antenna input, channel, program, program description, received
signal type, screen format, V-chip rating, audio type, day and time, and signal
strength are displayed. The remaining time on the sleep timer will be displayed
next to the day and time in the same window. Pressing the timer button increments
the sleep timer by 30 minutes, for up to a maximum of 120 minutes.
 ChannelView
The LT-52133 features ChannelView, a system that provides channel listings
that are accessible via the GUIDE key on the remote. ChannelView displays
only digital channel names and program information as sent by broadcasters or
local cable providers and may be incomplete depending on the area. To receive
ChannelView updates, the TV should have the Energy Mode set to Fast
Power On with the TV clock properly programmed and should have the power off
for a while each day. The information we received in Los Angeles was quite impressive
for something broadcasted over-the-air.
Conclusion
The Mitsubishi LT-52133 is a feature rich LCD display that looks fantastic with
both high definition and standard definition content. The video performance in
terms of deinterlacing and scaling was excellent. Feeding 1080i video from our
Dish Network box produced pleasing results that made watching television an enjoyable
experience, especially with high definition content. The LT-52133 has three HDMI
1.3 (with Deep Color and x.v.Color™ support) inputs making it easy to interface
to multiple high quality sources such as high definition set-top boxes, Blu-ray
players, and HD-DVD players. This provides the much needed HDMI video switching
required for today's home theater setups. The LT-52133 produces a bright, high
contrast picture that will work in rooms that have ambient light. We liked this
display so much that we decided to keep it in our system. -
Kevin Nakano |
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