Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Televisions | 50 INCHES AND UP<br />
Pioneer PDP-5080HD<br />
$3,500 • pioneerelectronics.com<br />
Pioneer’s video processor virtually eliminates jaggies, and it ran our HD testsource<br />
obstacle course with ease, posting great scores in most categories.<br />
Once we dialed out some contrast and added a little brightness and color,<br />
we almost enjoyed its dark-but-clear image enough to forget we were<br />
watching a 50-inch picture at only 720p resolution.<br />
WIRED Stately black case. Attractive menus. Easy setup. Noise reduction<br />
cleaned up messy sources without removing much detail. Four HDMI jacks.<br />
TIRED Automatic picture-adjustment mode pulsed the display distractingly;<br />
we disabled it. Three-plus Gs for 720p is just offensive.<br />
Sharp LC-52D92U<br />
$4,500 • sharpusa.com<br />
Kudos to Sharp for producing the only LCD in our big-and-tall category—a<br />
feat. The 52-inch set’s 120-Hz refresh rate helped it lock on to the toughest<br />
of our crazy-cadence HD test sources, and it’s tops in <strong>sm</strong>oothing out grainy<br />
video noise. But the otherwise great processing left lots of jaggies, and<br />
we couldn’t completely ditch its slightly oversaturated reds and oranges.<br />
WIRED 1080p gives great viewing resolution at living-room-couch<br />
distance. Thin case looks very modern.<br />
TIRED Good processing doesn’t cover up bad color. All but the lowest<br />
level of noise reduction did more harm than good.<br />
Samsung HP-T5054<br />
$2,499 • samsung.com<br />
A jack of almost all trades, Samsung’s 50-inch pla<strong>sm</strong>a couldn’t master<br />
the art of re-interlacing 24-fps HD video in our tests. Still, we loved its soft,<br />
natural colors and crisp blacks, which made it a Blu-ray movie favorite<br />
among testers—actors’ skin tones looked particularly realistic. Its simple<br />
styling won’t compete with your movie for attention, and the easy-tounderstand<br />
menus let you swap sources and picture settings quickly.<br />
WIRED Antiglare coating works well in bright rooms. Good color. High<br />
contrast. Noise reduction cleans up picture without being intrusive.<br />
TIRED No USB connection for music or photos, a staple in this category.<br />
Vizio VM60P<br />
$2,500 • vizio.com<br />
At less than half the price of our test’s other 60-inch pla<strong>sm</strong>a, the VM60P is<br />
a great value. And it scored high in our processing tests, rendering difficult<br />
sources well. But bargain hunters gotta compromise: Vizio shorted this set<br />
in the color department—no amount of twiddling will tame the oversaturation.<br />
It’s like Playboy: perfect for the man interested only in size.<br />
WIRED Ten inches larger and about $500 cheaper than many 50-inch<br />
sets. Case is only 5 inches thick.<br />
TIRED Big screen does no favors for Vizio’s trademark 8-bit, game-style<br />
menus. At 60 inches, 720p resolution looks like a Lite-Brite.
Change language