By Richard Fisher
Maintenance
None that I am aware of.
Problems
During the HQV Benchmark Blu-ray test I was checking how the 120 Hz processing was responding to the panning stadium test which requires bringing the menu up and multiple cursor key presses to navigate to the setting finally exiting from the menu to view the image. On one occasion the menu was stuck on the screen and all controls locked out with no way to recover without pulling the AC cord from the wall. I just let it sit and fortunately within about 1 minute the display recovered returning to normal.
Viewing Angle
The display offers a wide horizontal left to right viewing angle without the typical washed out look of older generation LCD panels. It does slightly change the black levels and slightly discolors at extreme angles. Vertical angles were another story and in that case the display did significantly wash out and discolor. If you are installing the display over a fireplace for example you will want to use a mount that tilts it downward to try and maintain a 90 degree viewing angle to your favored sitting position. If you are using the display at a normal screen height lined up with your viewing positions, either mounted on the wall or using the supplied stand, you should be fine.
If viewing angle is important in your application there are other brands that perform better in both the vertical and horizontal planes.
Subjective Viewing Results
As noted in the bench testing portion the display is not inclined towards ISF calibration but does provide a surprisingly good response with factory settings. The only time calibration errors were clearly visible was when viewing content I am intimate with limiting such perception to test materials or menus from sources.
With the Smooth 120 Hz LCD Processing turned off, a variety of material and sources were viewed for over two months with not one complaint. There were rare occasions where having Smooth 120 Hz turned off revealed significant motion artifacts with 24 or 30 frame sources. Nobody in the house wanted it turned on due to the artificial CG outcome of the feature and I was the only one who ever noticed the occasional motion errors. The display has ample light output, a great contrast ratio and the appearance of deep dark blacks. The unique back lighting design provides a wide range of light output to match your viewing environment. Image details were sharp and crisp. HD sources looked fantastic along with upscaled SD content from DVD or from a TiVo Series 3 DVR and cable service. If you are not going to provide sources that upscale to HD, using the internal Plush 1080p scaler of the display instead for standard definition sources such as the antenna input for analog cable, you may wish you had your old analog TV back. SD scaling is quite poor so upgrading your sources is highly recommended for the first time HDTV buyer. If you are replacing an older HDTV display, you more than likely have all this covered already.
Putting it in Perspective
This display was used in the upstairs casual viewing environment. While the ultimate in all performance attributes is not the main goal for that application, I prefer a display that can at least be calibrated to video standards for an accurate color response. I can do better in that regard with a different brand and it is a shame Mitsubishi does not want to provide at least that level of calibration capability.
With videophiles out of the loop I can concentrate on the typical viewer, but need to break that down into two groups; casual viewer with some money to spend on sources and casual viewer on a budget.
For the budget casual viewer who intends to just drop this display into a current standard definition setup using the same standard definition connections that you always have, then you can also do better with a different brand due to the flaws of the internal Plush 1080p scaler.
For the casual viewer who intends to provide HD service via an external set top box, provide an upscaling DVD player or Blu-ray / DVD combo player, an Xbox 360 or PS3 or use a PC, this display has a lot to offer mostly because of the better than average factory calibration available at your fingertips.
Price versus performance may be the faltering point though, even for the casual viewer that will spend money on upgrades. Even if the flaws can be overlooked one might wonder why they would do that since they can do better in some performance areas for plus or minus $200.
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