Toshiba 52HM84 Review

The new line of DLP PTVs employs the new TheaterFine DFP Screen technology with a Digital Fine Pitch and Anti-Glare Coating that results in incredible detail and noticeably deeper blacks.

Summary

In conclusion, Toshiba’s TheaterWideHD 52HM84 combined with the RCA’s DTC-210 DirecTV HD Receiver produced and reproduced the some of the best regular over-the-air HD, Satellite, Satellite HD, and DVD signals possible.  This is a set that has to be seen in all its glory to be fully appreciated.   In many ways the 52HM84 is superior to its competitors in both design and function.  Here is a television with the capability of showing each type of signal in the best possible way.  While it’s somewhat pricey, it produces some of the best images on the planet!  And, as the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for." 

 

Since the 52HM84 is a HD capable television with all of the right connectors (including HDMI), you’re set for many years to come.  And, you don’t have to pay extra for an integrated HD tuner.  It gives you the choice of going either to HD satellite or Digital Cable to receive those pristine high-definition signals.  So, get comfortable.  You’ll be receiving and watching the most pristine and compelling HDTV signals on this or any other planet!  Clearly, it’s your new window onto the world, and just the ticket for watching your favorite TV shows in HD and viewing your growing DVD collection.  Pass me the popcorn!

Introduction

 

Recently, there has been a lot of “buzz” about Plasma and other next-generation flat-panel High Definition televisions.  Some models have been given fairly high marks by several reviewers.  Many of these sets have been excellent in displaying HDTV images in different ways and for the most part, many are relatively affordable.  Some models have used old-fashioned CRTs, and others have employed non-CRT Micro-Display technology like LCD, D-ILA or LCoS to display stunning high-definition visual images.  Well, I have seen the future and for the time being it’s Micro-Display with Texas Instruments DLP (Digital Light and Processing) chip being the apparent leading innovator on the forefront today.

 

Toshiba, who had originally been part of the LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) camp, encountered severe chip shortages last year and was unable to produce those compelling 3-chip LCoS-designed HDTV’s.  However the company has bounced back from the brink with their own version of DLP in a stunning first offering – their 52HM84 HDTV set, which is one of ten new DLP models in their line.  
 

Consumer DLP presently uses a single-chip design, which means there are no convergence problems (like CRT Televisions) or phosphor burn in problems (like plasma displays).  DLP front and rear projectors have the capability of displaying images up to HD quality of 1,280 x 720 pixels for true 720p (p = progressive) or 1080i native HD resolution. All of Toshiba’s new line of DLP sets uses Texas Instruments new HD2+ featuring the dark video enhancement (DVE) chip (aka DarkChip2) that improves brightness and contrast over previous versions.  TI’s HD-2+ optical semiconductor 16:9 chips use in excess of 1,300,000 digital microscopic mirrors (DMD) that build a digital image by switching on/off more than 50,000 times a second via a digitally controlled light beam source.  Earlier versions of TI’s DLP chips had problems with dark areas and black images, which the HD2+ dark chip addresses quite well.

 

Toshiba’s TheaterWideHD 52HM84 is a striking example of an HDTV Monitor (called a monitor because it does not have an integrated ATSC HD tuner), which to this reviewer is preferable these days.  The reason that I say preferable is that people primarily receive their TV signals in two ways — via satellite (30-percent) or cable (70-percent).  And depending on your preference, each camp offers HD Receivers that will decode their signals as well as “over-the-air” HD signals.  So there’s really no need to buy redundant hardware.  Plus, both cable and satellite companies also offer HD Receivers with built-in HD recording capability.

 

Toshiba’s 52HM84 is a 52” widescreen 16:9 HD-Capable rear projection TV designed to produce exceptional images from all – both standard and high definition — video sources.  It’s part of a family of three models (a 46-in. model – 46HM84 and a 62-in. model – 62HM84) of which it’s the middle sibling.  The 52HM84 is certainly a crowd pleaser!  If ever a TV was designed for watching High Definition programming (standard definition images aren’t too shabby either), enjoying Home Theater or just viewing movies, this is the one!   Happily, it’s not just the size of the screen that impresses but clearly the images displayed on it. 

Evaluation

 

Connection was easy and straight-forward.  Since I currently have one source component using DVI (RCA’s second-generation DTC-210 DirecTV HD Receiver), it was attached directly to the separate HDMI-DTV input.  Since the set-top box uses DVI and the TV HDMI, I used Monster Cable’s new Monster 400 HDMI to DVI Video Cable with a DVI connection on one end and a DVI connector on the other.  It worked flawlessly passing both 720p and 1080i HDTV signals.  Other video signals came into Component Video 1 (from my Pioneer Elite VSX-49TXi A/V Receiver).  In fact, there are two separate component video inputs (HD level) with their own respective analog audio inputs.  There’s also twin A/V/S-Video inputs along with 1 A/V out.

 

The inputs on the back of the Toshiba 52HM84

 

To calibrate this DLP set for optimal picture playback, I used a special DVD entitled Digital Video Essentials by Joe Kane Productions.  This special disc allows you to correctly set contrast, brightness, black levels, color, sharpness, and gray scale among other video settings.  It also educates about different signals received, and helps set-up your audio system also (if need be).  Set-up was relatively easy, but you have to remember that aspect ratio, and image quality for this DTV is controlled via the DTC-210.  The on-screen menus are clear and concise.  However, you always have to remember that (except for DVD) all video signals are coming from RCA’s DTC-210.

 

Using the DTC-210 as my HD DirecTV HD Satellite Receiver in-place, the displayed images on the 52HM84 produced realistic color with unprecedented picture detail and resolution free from any perceived artifacts.  In the end, it all comes down to images and pictures.  Either way picture quality is nothing short of spectacular for this exceptional Toshiba set!   I had thought that I had seen excellent HD images in the past.  Well, I was wrong.  Both broadcast and satellite HDTV images were simply stunning!  They were among the best that this reviewer has seen to date.  I am at a loss to find negative things to say about picture quality.  In prolonged viewings of numerous Prime Time TV shows the HD images that were received (via rooftop antenna and satellite dish) came in perfectly clear and crisp without any signal degradation or loss of detail in both 720p (ABC-HD and FOX-HD) and 1080i (CBS-HD and DirecTV HD). 

 

The colors displayed on the 52HM84 were truly vibrant and very life-life giving you the feeling that "you are there."  It cannot be understated!   It’s almost like watching the world through a clear pane of glass.   DirecTV’s HD-Net and DiscoveryHD in particular produced some of the most compelling HD images.  Test grids from Digital Video Essentials and Silicon Optix’s HQV Benchmark DVD Ver.1.0 certainly confirmed what my eyes were telling me, that image clarity was right on the mark.  Color bars, for example, were in perfect alignment with no coloring bleeding between colors.  As well, the lines between colors were straight and true with no jagged edges.  Grayscale transformed itself from light to dark seamlessly.  Test patterns clearly re-affirmed image clarity with image resolution!  Also, using THX’s video optimizer as well, you can certainly delineate white balance from the eight different squares.

Evaluation Cont’d

 

High Definition images seem to produce a truly "life-like" 3-dimentional effect on the viewer as HD adds a considerable amount of depth