Mitsubishi LT-46244

There's nothing wrong with the Mitsubishi LT-46244 that a massive discount wouldn't cure. It isn't a bad TV, though it's nowhere near good enough to justify its $2500 price tag.

Our judges rated its overall image quality as good, with a performance score of 77, which ranks fourth among the nine 46- and 47-inch HDTV sets we tested contemporaneously and is only 3.6 points behind the top-performing Samsung LN46A550. On the other hand, you can buy nearly two Samsungs for the price of one Mitsubishi.

I found some of the images a bit light and pale, with occasional reddish skin tones (though far less pronounced than with the LG 47LBX Opus). More troubling was a moire pattern in Mission Impossible III's Vatican wall--something I didn't expect to see from a Blu-ray disc screening on a 1080p set. Other judges noted some excess brightness and blur.

The on-screen menus are clear and pleasant, with useful icons. But they have some annoying quirks. For instance, after you change a video setting, the menu vanishes, forcing you to bring it back up before you can change other settings.

The LT-46244 swivels on its stand, which comes in handy for watching it at odd angles and for accessing its rear inputs. You'll want that access to be as easy as possible because several of the inputs face downward, making them unusually difficult to use (luckily, you get a good selection of easy-to-access side inputs as well). Other worthwhile features are a USB port for photo slide shows, and an energy-saving option that reduces power consumption when the TV is off (at the price of turning on slower).

The LT-46244's built-in speakers sounded lousy. Even simple dialogue was a bit muddy. For such a steep price, I expected more out of this Mitsubishi's speakers.

On the plus side, the set's documentation is superb. The quick setup guide gets you started with the basics, and the 87-page (all-English) manual offers clear explanations throughout.

For $1600, the LT-46244 would be a reasonably good TV. But for its actual $2500 list price, this set is out of the question.