LCD TV Reviews

Real-World Performance
The pan across the staircase that opens chapter 8 of Mission: Impossible III on HD DVD (played at 1080i) had only mild moiré—better than most TVs I've seen lately. Shadow detail in the catacombs was not great, but it wasn't the worst I've seen, either.

As I started watching real-world content, I immediately noticed the low audio level—I had to max out the volume control to understand dialog. This won't be a problem for anyone who pairs the NuVision with an outboard audio system, but relying on its internal audio requires sharp ears. According to the company, the audio level can be adjusted in the service menu.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl on Blu-ray looked great in the detail department, from the brocade in Elizabeth's dress to the bricks in the buildings of Port Royal. The black screen at the beginning looked fairly deep, though the shadow detail in the dungeon was only so-so.

Colors were surprisingly good despite the measurements to the contrary. Skin tones looked quite natural, and greens were not as limey as I expected, though some green foliage was ever-so-slightly exaggerated. Also, the gray dungeon walls sometimes took on a hint of greenish tint.

If you want to see some serious green, look at Planet Earth on Blu-ray. I played some of the "Jungles" episode, and the greens were pretty close to the mark, only occasionally looking overblown. As you might imagine, there are many different colors of green in a jungle, and that differentiation was well-represented on the NuVision. Other colors, such as brown earth and blue sky, were superb, as was the bright orange slime mold.

I saw no banding in shots of the sun emerging from behind the Earth, and mist-shrouded jungles were nicely nuanced. Detail was likewise excellent in the hair on monkeys, feathers on birds, and bark on trees. Some camera pans looked a bit jerky, and some detail was clearly lost in moving areas. Night scenes were slightly washed out, and shadow detail was mediocre—not the worst I've seen, but certainly not the best.

There's plenty of motion in Cars, which I watched on Blu-ray. As expected by now, a lot of detail was lost in areas of fast motion, but otherwise, the image was sharp and clear, from individual cars in the bleachers to the promotional stickers on the racers. Colors were beautiful, though the green of Chick Hicks and his team was a bit hyped, as was the green flag.

Turning to DVD, I played some of Star Trek: Insurrection. Of course, the image was softer than Blu-ray, but it was about as good as one can expect from upconverted DVD. Colors were generally good, but shadow detail in the duck-blind observation post was not so great.

The off-axis performance was pretty good, with minimal color shifting. The black level did rise once I got beyond about 45 degrees, and the picture lightened somewhat, which was especially evident in skin tones.