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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 something of the past with new attractive flat panels quickly
taking their place. Mitsubishi has entered the 120Hz flat panel market
with their 148 series and more recently with their 149 series. Both series
offer customers a very thin bezel design that looks fantastic. However,
the new LT-52149 incorporates Mitsubishi's innovative Integrated Sound
Projector (iSP), which eliminates the need for separate speakers to enjoy
the effects of multi-channel surround sound. The science behind this requires
some advance audio processors with individual 2-Watt amplifiers for each
of the small speakers used in the 16-speaker array. By time aligning the
sound at specific regions in space, phantom speakers are created from
a single set of drivers. Using this speaker array at the base of the display,
sound can be projected into the room at different angles producing a surround
sound effects without installing cumbersome speakers throughout the room.
 Setup
The LT-52149 requires that the user define the placement of the display
to optimize the speaker projection performance. Five predefined locations
are provided with each position adjustable for obtaining the correct sound
projection algorithm. Our display was placed in the center of the front
wall for test purposes. Additional information was provided in the setup
menu for TV Wall Length, Other Wall Length, and TV to
Sofa distance. What is nice about the design is the user can customize
the phasing of the sound when projecting the audio so that it is directed
at the listener. Every situation is a little different and Mitsubishi
provides the flexibility needed to get it right.
 Custom
Menu
The custom menu has adjustments for each of the five projected beams allowing
the user to direct the sound of each of them. Even if the listener is
slightly off-axis, the system can correct for this using this menu system.
Each beamed channel is color coded on the screen to help the user identify
the beam being adjusted. There was plenty of range for each of the beams
to cover virtually any situation. Having side walls and a back wall help
project the sound where needed to give the effect of a real speaker. However,
there will be those cases where this is just not possible. Users will
need to run through the test sounds (pink noise) to determine if the sound
is controlled properly at their seating position. Changes in the seating
position can alter the performance of the sound projector.
Operation
The user can select stereo mode to hear all programs in stereo
sound or surround mode to hear all programs in surround or virtual
surround sound. Audio can be sourced using the HDMI™ or coaxial PCM
inputs, making it easy to connect to a DVD or Blu-ray™ player. The
LT-52149 features Mitsubishi's Smooth120Hz Film Motion, providing
viewers with a full 120Hz frame rate that dejudders film-originated content
that is prone to 24Hz artifacts. The set also includes an advanced 10-bit
per color LCD panel, which offers a larger color gamut with Deep Color,
x.v.Color™, a 6-Color Processor™ and their Tru1080p
processing. The result is a stunning picture with textures that look almost
three-dimensional.
The LT-52149
has an attractive chassis design and offers a wide viewing angle. The
surface of the screen is matte, so screen reflection issues are minimal.
The base on this unit does not swivel, so wall mounting might be a better
option for many. The pixels have a fast 6-millisecond response time that
virtually eliminates motion blur commonly seen on earlier LCD displays.
The 4 HDMI v1.3a (accepts signals up to 1080p — 60Hz, 24Hz) with
Deep Color gives the display the ability to support more colors and gray
levels, making it less susceptible to false contouring (banding). 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 and features Dolby® Digital and Dolby Pro Logic™ processing.
The amazingly high quality picture broadcast over the air for free is
always impressive and with the built-in ATSC tuner it is easy to take
advantage of this.
 Panel
Controls
The LT-52149 has a set of buttons on the top of the display that give
the user full control of the panel. They have a very low profile, but
are easy to see if you have access to the top of the display. For those
who choose to wall mount the panel, it may be more difficult to access
the controls. However, savvy users will quickly realize that the Power
button is on the extreme left and the Input select button is on
the far right. A total of nine buttons give the user good control of the
display functions. There are controls for Power, Volume Up/Down,
Channel Up/Down, Format, Menu, Guide, and
Input. All the buttons except the Power and Input
buttons have secondary functions depending on the mode of the set. A recessed
System Reset button is also provided in the event the internal
processor 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.
Side
Interfaces
 Rather
than have the A/V connections on the back of the panel as found on some
of the earlier Mitsubishi flat panels, the LT-52149 design places the
interfaces on the left rear side. This makes it a lot easier to access
the interfaces when the screen is mounted or sitting close to the wall.
Four HDMI™ 1.3 inputs with Deep Color and x.v.Color™
support handle the new digital generation of video products such as Blu-ray,
digital set-top boxes, gaming consoles (such as the PS3) and HDMI-based
DVD players. In addition, two antenna/cable inputs (via F-connectors),
a coaxial digital output, and several standard analog video connections
are provided. The digital output can be connected to an A/V receiver for
full Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding of over the air or cable programs. We
connected the antenna input to our Terk TV38 terrestrial
rooftop antenna for local reception. Signal quality was excellent using
the over-the-air antenna with a superb looking picture.
Analog
Connectivity
Legacy analog formats including composite, s-video, and component video
are supported with the LT-52149. Two sets of composite/s-video inputs
along with their corresponding two channel audio are 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
or A/V receivers. The LT-52149 has a feature that automatically detects
a new video input when it is activated and notifies the user. The analog
outputs can also be used to drive a powered subwoofer to give the system
a punchier bass response. The user will be prompted to choose whether
an A/V receiver or subwoofer is connected to the right output channel.
Due to the large number of potential connections on the back of this unit,
a pair of ties are provided for cable management.
 Input
4
Mitsubishi also includes the Input 4 panel on the lower left side of the
unit, which provides users with yet another set of A/V connections for
convenience. The quick access port provides an easy way to connect analog
camcorders or game consoles to the display. Standard composite video as
well as component video are supported along with two channel analog audio.
In addition, this panel has a USB interface that lets users plug in a
memory stick for instant digital photo playback on the screen. This is
a great feature for those that do not have access to a media server.
Viewing
Pictures
The LT-52149 has the ability to view photos stored on a standard USB memory
stick. When a USB stick is inserted into the side slot, the display allows
the user to select from the Slideshow Thumbnail or Setup
menu. Photos can be set to be viewed automatically or manually with user
adjustable display intervals (15 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, 2 min or 5 min) and
frequency (once, twice, or continuous). Depending on the file sizes, photos
can take a significant amount of time to load and be displayed. Obviously
higher resolution pictures take longer, but look better than those with
less resolution.
Remote
and Menus
 The
illuminated multibrand remote control included with the LT-52149 has a
great layout, with fairly large buttons making it easy to use. The remote
has remained largely unchanged for several models we have seen in the
past. The design works 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 through
F4 keys are used with Mitsubishi's NetCommand. The buttons can be used
as alternate keys for some components operating independently from NetCommand.
A Low-Battery condition will be displayed by a blinking power key.
The menu
system on the LT-52149 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 that correct for geometric differences in the source
material are available on the LT-52149. 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 well 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-52149 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-52149 produced a reasonably good
6500°K across all IRE levels. Overall, the display exhibited good
shadow detail with an impressive 53 foot-Lamberts of light output.
Contrast
measured 1825:1 (74.3fL/0.041fL) with the display set to Natural
and Brilliant. This will allow the LT-52149 to be used in rooms
where ambient lighting is significantly high such as rooms with windows.
Direct sunlight makes the picture difficult to see, so this needs to be
considered when purchasing the display.
 Display
Primaries
The primary colors produced by the LT-52149 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 by the three
small points that make the 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. The LT-52149 produced excellent primary and
secondary colors, which were near ideal with this display. Colors looked
well saturated with accuracy confirmed by the measurements. Skin tones
had a natural look without being oversaturated once calibrated. Several
primary and secondary color adjustments are available to the user for
color saturation.
Setup
We connected several sources to the LT-52149 including our Dish Network
ViP722 HDTV DVR, Sony PlayStation3 with Blu-ray, and OPPO DV981HD. All
sources supported a direct HDMI connection with audio included. Using
a single cable for both audio and video makes it very convenient for users.
The power was connected to our Panamax MAX 7500-PRO power conditioner
during all testing.
Performance
Picture quality on the LT-52149 was much better than the earlier displays
lacking 120Hz frame rate conversion technology. The majority of our viewing
was performed 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) broadcasts from our local stations here in Los Angeles looked beautiful.
Colors were well saturated and the picture took on a three-dimensional
image. Bright scenes were equally impressive with the high light output
of this panel. 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/24 coming from our PlayStation
3. We could not come up with a better combination for an incredible reference
quality image. The LT-52149 fully supports 24, 30 and 60 Hz frame rates
from sources. Our results were mixed with standard definition DVD content.
The best results came when using our OPPO DV981HD HDMI-enabled DVD player
connected to the HDMI input on the LT-52149 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.
 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-52149 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-52149 is loaded with features and looks fantastic with
high 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-52149 has four 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 Media Servers players. This provides the much
needed HDMI video switching required for many of today's home theater
setups. The LT-52149 produces a bright, high contrast picture that will
work in rooms that have significant non-direct ambient light.
What really
sets this display apart from others is the inclusion of the advanced 16-speaker
Integrated Sound Projector that places 5-channel surround sound
effects in different places in the room without the hassle of setting
up multiple speakers and running cumbersome wires. Mitsubishi's 148 series
is virtually identical in performance to the 149 series, but lacks the
Integrated Sound Projector, variable subwoofer output, TV Guide
Daily®, and the CableCARD slot. Interestingly enough, the 148 series
includes a swivel base whereas the 149 series lacks this feature. If the
Integrated Sound Projector feature is something that you might
want to have, it would be in your best interest to check out this display.
Mitsubishi's 10-bit display technology and advanced video processing coupled
with Deep Color & x.v.Color™ support, makes the
LT-52149 (and LT-52148) highly desirable models.
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Kevin Nakano
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