Screen Tests
Big HDTVs are big news--so we lined up eight plasma and DLP models in our lab to separate the flat-out fabulous from the flops. Plus: A guide to getting high-definition programming.
Sean Captain
Mitsubishi PD-5030
Price when reviewed: $7000; Current prices (if available)
Mitsubishi's PD-5030 tied the Pioneer in overall image-quality tests and beat it in displaying detail. Our judges liked the way DVD movies and standard-definition TV looked on this HDTV monitor. Images were crisp and bright; colors were also rich, though some judges found them a bit too red, as evinced sometimes in overly pink flesh tones. The Mitsubishi offers sophisticated controls such as gamma adjustment (which changes midtone brightness), independent high-end (gain) and low-end (bias) adjustment for each of the four color-temperature presets, and separate controls for levels of red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow in images. An excellent--if intimidating--manual describes these options.
But the unit has no stand or speakers, and only basic audio-processing circuitry. It was the only set in our review without a TV tuner, ATSC, or standard NTSC. While it has DVI and component inputs for attaching HDTV and NTSC cable or satellite boxes or a DVD player, you would have to spend a lot to turn this HDTV monitor into a true HDTV set.
