Toshiba DLP TV Review

Model: Toshiba 52HM84 DLP Television
Description: 52-inchg HDTV Rear-Projection DLP TV, Widescreen 16:9 Format
Resolution: 1280 x 720 (WXGA)
Includes: Built-in 40W sound system with separate woofers and tweeters, integrated low profile DLP tabletop stand, and universal remote
Color: Silver with gray bezel
Reviewer: William Becker
Date: 08-23-04

INTRODUCTION

The 52HM84 is part of Toshiba's new first-generation TheaterWide line of high-definition DLP TVs powered by Texas Instruments' advanced HD2+ Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), which Toshiba chose for its enhanced contrast ratios over the newer HD3 chipset. Toshiba's line of fixed pixel DLP TVs utilizes a number of proprietary technologies specifically developed by Toshiba for use in their new line. Among these new technologies is Toshiba's TALEN light engine, which utilizes advanced optics in conjunction with the step-up HD2+ DMD chipset to enhance picture quality. Also new is Toshiba's PixelPure, a suite of eight digital video processing circuits, which coordinate to reduce video noise. Finally, the 52HM84 employs an innovative 120W high-output Radiance DC Lamp, with two power settings, enabling viewers to adjust the unit's light output according to viewing conditions.

The Toshiba DLP TV produced bright pictures with vivid colors.

PICTURE: 92.5/100

Toshiba has gotten a lot of things right with its 52HM84 DLP TV. The contrast ratios on this unit are stunning, its black levels especially deep and rich for a DLP TV. Toshiba does not specify the exact contrast ratios on this unit, but, measured with the Philips PM 5639, we found them to be in the neighborhood of 795:1. Toshiba has also equipped its 52HM84 with a stellar anti-glare screen coating that blocks or muffles ambient light reflections, which can compromise the integrity of the set's black levels, especially in harsh lighting conditions. This no doubt helped with the black levels on the 52HM84 DLP TV when we watched it with the lights on in our screening room.

While the 52HM84 came out of the box with super-saturated and therefore totally unnatural looking greens (something that seems to happen a lot with DLPs), this problem was easily remedied by edging the TINT toward the red side of the spectrum. Set slightly more on the red side (at R 2, to be exact) this DLP television screen looked great: The 52HM84 displayed flesh tones quite accurately (not pinkish or "ruddy") and its greens looked natural.

Leaving the unit's lamp set at HI BRIGHT (the other option being LOW POWER), we used test material from Video Essentials to set our 52HM84 as follows: CONTRAST at 65 (scale = 0 to 100); BRIGHTNESS at 67 (scale = 0 to 100); COLOR at 48 (scale = 0 to 100); and TINT at R 2 (scale = R 50 to G 50).

As expected, the Toshiba 52HM84 performed quite well with the 720p HD signal from ABC's Monday Night Football broadcast. The 720p video signal matched up perfectly with the 52HM84's native resolution; therefore no scaling was required to display this signal at its optimum. The result was a crystal-clear picture, largely free of the graininess that many people associate with last-generation DLP picture performance. It looked as though we were watching the game from the stands! A 1080i signal from NBC's broadcast of the Olympics looked good as well, maybe 5% less crisp than the impeccably crisp 720p broadcast. There could be a number of reasons for this loss of sharpness. Before we chalked it up to sub-par scaling, we decided to test the 52HM84 with another 1080i signal source -- this one guaranteed to be flawless. We screened U-571 in HD on our D-Theater-compatible VCR, the JVC HM-DH40000. The movie had been re-mastered at 1080i and looked considerably clearer and crisper than the 1080i broadcast HD signals we viewed. With both of the primary HD signal formats (i.e., 720p and 1080i), the 52HM84 was a stellar performer.

The Toshiba DLP TV performed brilliantly with HDTV signals

The Toshiba DLP further proved its scaling capabilities to us when we watched Starsky and Hutch at 480p on our progressive-scan DVD player. The 52HM84's interpolation of the 420p DVD video signal was flawless. The coloration was spot-on, and the dark material detailing unusually good for a DLP TV. In the opening scenes of the movie, Hutch robs a bookie. One can plainly make out the knitting of the black mask he is wearing. The gray scaling in dark scenes was also good, so good that we were able to see the steel girders underneath a bridge shown at dusk. Impressive.

Less impressive, though, was the 52HM84's handling of SDTV signals. Converted to 720p, 480i signals looked slightly fuzzy and occasionally even jagged. Video noise aside, these signals -- more so than 720p, 1080i, or even 480p ones -- seemed to exaggerate the so-called "screen-door" effect common to some fixed-pixel display devices. The pixels were slightly more visible with regular broadcast television signals, which made them look grainy, though far from unwatchable.

The Toshiba 52HM84's other shortcoming had to do with its less than obtuse viewing angles. This is a problem for DLP technology generally, so we expected relatively small horizontal viewing angles and virtually zero "give" in the vertical viewing angles to begin with. All of which proved true: The 52HM84 can really only be viewed about 40 to 45° off center before the picture's contrast degrades noticeably. The vertical viewing angle is even more severely limited at about 30°. Unless one watches the screen at a typical, eye level viewing height, the picture will be less than ideal (i.e., dim).

The 52HM84 DLP TV includes a Picture-On-Picture double-window feature, as well as various picture formats. They include: NATURAL, which displays the image in its original formatted proportions (i.e., 4:3 or 16:9); THEATER WIDE 1, which stretches the side of the image for widescreen; THEATER WIDE 2, which enlarges the entire image uniformly; THEATER WIDE 3, which stretches the picture wider (not taller) to fill a letterbox widescreen format; and, FULL, which enlarges the picture non-uniformly to suite a 16:9 widescreen format. We favored the THEATER WIDE 1 setting, as it left the material in the center undistorted and stretched the sides of the film almost unnoticeably.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: 91/100

The Toshiba 52HM84 is a large, efficiently designed TV unit with two full-sized speakers on either side, but this 52" diagonal DLP TV is surprisingly slim at only 15.25" deep. The two 20W speakers were impressive by integrated audio standards -- some of the loudest we have heard built-in to a television. The key to its superb sound is Toshiba's use of separate woofers and tweeters in each speaker. To maximize the effect of these speakers, it was necessary to enable WOW audio features. We enabled the TRUBASE (to HIGH), turned the SRS 3D surround sound effect on, and turned on FOCUS, the vocal emphasis effect. Do this by pressing MENU on your remote, selecting the AUDIO option at top of the on-screen menu, and then scrolling down to each of the audio effects under the WOW heading.

We were also excited by another audio element on the Toshiba 52HM84: its Stable Sound feature. Since audio engineers will record commercials at the upper legal limits of the volume range, one needs a secondary filter-type device to control extreme changes in volume. The 52HM84 has just such a device, and it can be enabled by pressing MENU, selecting AUDIO, and scrolling down to STABLE SOUND, selecting it, and choosing ON.

Aesthetically, we were unimpressed by the Toshiba 52HM84's gray plastic casing, which seemed ill-suited to a television of its caliber. Certainly weight was a consideration when Toshiba designed the unit this way (the unit weighs less than 85 pounds), but we would gladly have shouldered a bit more weight for a bit more substantial construction on this DLPT TV. This DLP RPTV also seemed like it ought to have a lot more in the way of designer good looks than it does.

Toshiba has engineered its 52HM84 DLP TV to run extremely quietly. The 52HM84 runs far more quietly than other DLPs we have reviewed, and it also warms up comparatively fast. We timed it at 88 seconds from a cold-start to full lamp brightness. Another nice feature is Toshiba's Quick Restart, which puts the TV in standby mode (with the cooling fans running) for several minutes after it has been turned off, and thus avoids a warm-up delay should one require the full picture to appear immediately.

The remote for this unit is easy to use, and has a nice feature, which allows one to switch among component devices using an actual switch -- the advantage being that one knows exactly which setting the remote is on beforehand, thereby avoiding unnecessary button-pushing. The remote is a nice complement to the Toshiba 52HM84's on-screen menu, which was highly functional and required few "extra" steps to make adjustments.

The Toshiba 52HM84 is built for the future and designed to last. The mercury lamp on the 52HM84 can be easily replaced with part LMP-TB25. That lamp sells for about $270 dollars at various parts distributors online (Toshiba lists them at its service website, www.tacp.toshiba.com/service).

The 52HM84's connectivity includes: 3 RCA-type composite video inputs, 3 S-video inputs, 2 component video inputs, an HDMI digital interface, and 3 audio inputs. The unit also has a composite video output, as well as a stereo audio output.

VALUE: 92/100

With an MSRP around $3799, the Toshiba 52HM84 is an exceptional value for a DLP of its size and caliber. Performance-wise, this is the best DLP TV we have seen thus far. Granted, there is not much competition (yet) in the DLP TV category, but given what competition there is, the Toshiba 52HM84 holds its own, both price- and performance-wise. It is comparably priced with another good performer, the Samsung HLN507W. The 52HM84 outperforms less expensive RCA (HDLP50W151) and Optoma (RD50) models.

All in all, the Toshiba 52HM84 is a great value as far as high-resolution DLP TVs go. With Toshiba DLP TVs, one gets quite a bit of screen for a little bit of money. The 46-inch model (46HM84) retails for $3299. For $500, one gets a full 6 inches more screen -- less than $100 an inch! The savings are even more dramatic for the 62-inch model (62HM84), which offers 10 inches more screen for just $200 more (or $20/inch). That is a phenomenal value for a high-resolution flat-screen television.


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Toshiba DLP TV Review

INTRODUCTION

PICTURE: 92.5/100

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: 91/100

VALUE: 92/100

OVERALL RATING (with Picture double-weighted): 92/100