As the prices of flat-panels keep dropping, the key to survival for rear-projection HDTVs has been their value at screen sizes bigger than 50 inches. So I found it a little strange, not long ago, to be reviewing this 52-inch DLP set at $4,399 — easily $2,000 more than other like-sized 1080p models. Could the NuVision 52LEDLP 52-inch 1080p DLP HDTV possibly be worth it?
Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, NuVision first entered the LCD market before releasing this LED-driven DLP late last year. LED light engines offer several theoretical advantages over traditional lamp-based designs. For single-chip DLP projectors, the use of separate red, green, and blue LEDs eliminates the need for a color wheel (a potential source of rainbow artifacts) and can yield a wider array of more accurate colors — in this case, a claimed 40% wider than the NTSC standard. These projectors also eliminate expensive lamp replacements.
The 52LEDLP's price tag reflects the higher cost of its LED technology as well as NuVision's focus on providing over-engineered, high-performance products for the custom-installation market. That can also be seen in some installer-friendly aspects of the TV's design, including an RS-232 connection to facilitate advanced home-control systems, and a built-in infrared repeater that allows control of other components through the TV's front-panel IR receiver.
Visually, the 52LEDLP strikes a modern pose with its wholly unclutterd black façade. Around back are two HDMI inputs (version 1.2) that accept 1080p signals at 24, 30, or 60 frames per second and two each of component-video, composite-/S-video, and RF inputs. There's no VGA input, but the HDMIs recognize RGB signals up to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels from a computer with a DVI output. A perfunctory composite-video convenience input is set so far back on the lower-right of the TV's body, it's oddly inconvenient. Also odd is the lack of any power-on indicator. Hitting the button generates a soft relay click, but you may not know the TV is on until the screen lights up 15 seconds later. At least that's a rather speedy power-up cycle — another nice benefit of the LED light engine.
The compact, black remote is an inexpensive, off-the-shelf affair that's too small, has too many similar keys, and lacks backlighting — an overall disappointment, given the TV's price. Things are so tightly packed, it's possible to misassociate labels with neighboring keys above or below, as I frequently did. But NuVision gets kudos for including direct keys for all inputs as well as for the most widely used aspect-ratio display modes. (Among those not directly accessible but reachable with some toggling of the arrow keys is a 1-to-1 mode that passes digital signals with no overscan.)
SETUP
Graphically refined and intuitive, the menu on the 52LEDLP is simple to use. But even when it's moved to any corner of the screen (a nice option), it still blocks a chunk of the image during video adjustments. Another nit: The tiny orange number indicators are tough to read.
The 52LEDLP offers four video presets, any of which can be associated with any input and then customized. The default Movie mode engaged the Warm color-temperature and Movie gamma settings and proved most natural out of the box. I turned off the noise reduction for most high-def viewing and, notably, the menu option for NuVision's proprietary Digital Switching Deep Black circuit. This processing, which controls the output of the LEDs on the fly to generate deeper blacks, is on all the time. But while engaging the menu option extends its range for even darker blacks, it also creates subtle halo-like contours (bands) around objects in many dark scenes.
Even so, I was immediately struck by the set's punchy contrast, fine clarity, and especially its extremely natural color. The factory settings for the basic controls were close to perfect, and the grayscale was close to the industry-standard gray. Calibration using the dedicated red, green, and blue controls in the user menu resulted in even more neutral grays.
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The Short Form
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| Price $4,399 / nuvision.com / 877-738-7641 |
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Snapshot
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| Outstanding image quality carries the day in this pricey, LED-driven DLP. |
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Plus
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| •Highly accurate, well-saturated color •Bright, dynamic picture with solid blacks •Excellent out-of-the-box performance •No rainbow effect or lamp replacements |
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Minus
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| •Expensive next to the competition •Small, user-unfriendly remote |
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Key Features
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| •1,920 x 1,080-pixel screen •LED light engine based on Luminus Devices PhlatLight •Built-in ATSC tuner •SRS Tru-Surround XT, TruBass, and Dialog Clarity audio processing •Inputs: 2 HDMI, 2 component-video, 2 composite-/S-video, composite-video (convenience); 2 RF antenna/cable; RS-232; stereo audio (for HDMI in) •49.6 x 36.5 x 14.9 in; 95 lb |
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Test Bench
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| With the 52LEDLP's Movie and Warm color-temperature presets, grayscale tracked slightly to the blue side of the 6,500-K standard. User-menu adjustments brought it to within ±140 K and typically within 70 K from 20 to 90 IRE. The set's primary color points were very accurate; color- decoder tests showed a —10% error on red and a —17% on green, but these colors looked natural on program material. The NuVision cleanly resolved 1080i and 720p test patterns but exhibited high-frequency noise via the component inputs. It handily passed the jaggies deinterlacing tests on the Silicon Optix HQV DVD and HD DVD discs, though 1080i content via HD DVD and Blu-ray occasionally exhibited noticeable jitter on horizontal lines that disappeared when the same content was delivered as 1080p. Full Lab Results |
Spinning the Blu-ray Disc of the high-peaks thriller Vertical Limit, I was quickly impressed with how well the NuVision transitioned among the movie's varied outdoor environments. From the sun-washed desert to the snow-capped Himalayas to the whiteout conditions atop K2, the 52LEDLP never missed a beat, maintaining excellent picture quality and color accuracy across a wide range of demanding scenes.
In the opening shots of climbers on a rock wall in the Southwest desert, a brown-and-orange cliff bathed by the yellow sun was offered up with vivid contrast and highlights that came across like natural illumination. The green-and-yellow climbing rope popped out from the rocks, and I noted that the red of the climbers' slings looked red — with no hint of orange, a common foible of many sets. And the 52LEDLP delivered superb clarity as well, showing the stubble and the sun-worn wrinkles on the tanned face of one of the climbers, along with the many crags and undulations in the rock.
Dramatic helicopter views of the snowy Himalayas were also vivid and natural. So, too, were shots of the colorful tents and clothing of the climbers and Sherpas at K2 base camp, displaying saturated shades of purple, aqua, blue, red, and brown. And a close-up of a Pakistani military cannon unloading shells at the Indian border was striking for the realistic look of the fire shooting from the tip of the cannon and the purity of the blue sky behind. Even with the Deep Black menu option turned off, blacks in dark scenes — such as the big pre-climb party under the stars at base camp — were nice and solid. And shadow detail was also excellent, if a notch below the best I've seen.
Broadcasts originating in HD video were equally startling, with the best-looking shows — such as Sound Off with Matt Pinfield on HDNet — displaying notable detail. When Matt interviewed Meat Loaf, I caught every mark in the texture of the aging rocker's face, and even the fine stitching in the lapel of his black blazer. The 52LEDLP also did well with DVDs pumped in at 480i or 480p; the set's tendency to minimize inherent noise in the signal — rather than exacerbate it — was welcome after several other TVs I've tested recently.
BOTTOM LINE
Even putting aside its high price, the NuVision 52LEDLP 52-inch 1080p DLP HDTV could use some refinement on details such as the remote and the user interface. But the picture is what really counts, and this set's bright, dynamic image and natural color are among the best I've seen. You can argue about whether it's worth $2,000 more than its competition. But you can't deny that the folks at NuVision know what they're doing.
Full Lab Results
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