Technology Blog

Mitsubishi boasts unparalleled audio quality from its Unisen series of HDTVs, and the LT-46249 certainly lives up to that claim. With its massive speaker bar and wireless subwoofer, this 46-inch LCD TV produces a wall of sound that comes very close to the quality of a dedicated multi-channel speaker system. There's more to this model than just its audio prowess, however—it displays a crisp, detailed high-definition picture with spot-on colors, and it offers integrated Vudu video-streaming capabilities. I was not as impressed with its standard definition performance however, and found the remote and user interface frustrating. Also, its $2,600 price is expensive for a 46-inch non-LED set too.

Design and Features

The 31-by-42-12.9-inch (HWD) set is framed by a thin, 3/4-inch piano black bezel and has a 5-inch high speaker enclosure that runs the 42-inch width the cabinet. The two-tone sound bar is black and silver and houses sixteen 2-watt speakers, which are driven by an on-board Dolby Digital surround-sound processor. The TV also comes with a Polk Audio PSWi225 wireless subwoofer and a four-channel transmitter, allowing for placement anywhere in the room.
There are no buttons on the front of the TV. The Power, Channel, Volume, and Activity (input source) buttons are mounted on the left side of the cabinet. Just below those controls are a set of component audio and video jacks and a USB port, but you won't find an HDMI port here, which is odd considering it is the most widely used connector these days. Instead, all four HDMI ports are located around back, two of which are tucked away in a recessed area along with a secondary set of component A/V jacks and the coaxial antenna connector. The power jack is also recessed so as not to get in the way when mounting the TV on a wall. Other rear-accessible connections include two USB ports, a third set of component A/V jacks, a digital audio output, DVI/PC audio inputs, and a sub-woofer output. There's also an RS-232 port and an IR-NetCommand jack that lets you control external devices, such as cable boxes and DVD players, with a single remote, and there's an Ethernet port for connecting to Vudu's streaming movie service. While it's nice to have access to Vudu, I'm surprised there aren't more online services such as Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, or Twitter, to name a few, like you'll find on Samsung's UN40B7000 ($2,199.99, ).
The 7-inch 40-button remote is poorly designed and inadequately labeled. Although it is backlit and can control up to five devices, the lighting is a dark red that doesn't do a very good job of illuminating the buttons. And, what little light it does produce stays on only for a few seconds. You'll need either long fingernails or very skinny thumbs to use the four-way rocker switch, which is extremely thin and crowded by the Enter, Volume, Page Up/Down, and Channel buttons. A longer remote, such as the one that comes with Panasonic's TC-P46G10 ($1,499.95, ), would help ease the crowding.
The on-screen menu system lets you adjust basic picture settings such as contrast, brightness, color intensity, and sharpness. More advanced settings include Mitsubishi's PerfectColor and PerfectTint adjustments, where you can change saturation levels, and Smooth 240Hz Film Motion, which helps reduce judder and motion blur. Whereas most HDTVs offer several preset modes, with sports, cinema, game, standard, and vivid being the popular choices, this set has only three: Brilliant, Bright, and Natural (a Game preset is available only when you're connected to a gaming console or a PC). The Brilliant preset has a significant problem with green tinting, while the Bright preset is way too bright and produces oversaturated colors. The Natural preset offers the best overall picture and is what we used to calibrate the TV using images from the DisplayMate HDTV setup software. There are also two Advanced Picture modes that are reserved for customized settings, such as when a professional installer has calibrated the TV.
Performance Tests
The LT-46249's measured dark room contrast ratio of 1,504:1 is decidedly middle-of-the-road, especially when compared with other CCFL (cold cathode florescent lamp) TV's such as the Sony Bravia KDL-46Z5100 ($2,599.99, ) and the Insignia NS-L42X-10A ($749.99, ). Still, the set delivers a sharp HD picture with wide viewing angles and accurate colors. Results from the HD HQV video quality tests were mostly all positive; the LT-46249 aced the Noise Reduction, Film Resolution Loss, and Video Resolution Loss test segments but stumbled a bit on the De-interlacing (aka jaggies) test, processing two out of the three bars cleanly. The third bar was a bit rough around the edges, indicating a slight de-interlacing weakness. The good news is that the error is minor and mostly unnoticeable while viewing high definition content. Zombieland on Blu-ray appeared crisp and detailed, with no apparent background noise. And that sound system rocks, delivering meaty bass and biting mid-tones with each shotgun blast. The virtual surround sound effect worked quite well too, thanks to the use of Sound Projector technology that allows you to calibrate audio output for specific room dimensions by bouncing left, right and center audio levels off of the walls.
Standard-definition performance was mixed. Some background noise was apparent while watching The Fifth Element on DVD, and results from the HQV standard definition Noise Reduction test confirmed the flaw. The LT-46249 also failed all three standard definition jaggies tests. This is not to say that standard definition quality is unwatchable, but rather that it is merely mediocre when compared to the set's HD picture quality.
The LT-46249 consumed an average of 155 watts of power while displaying a Blu-ray movie, which comes to a cost of $2.68 per month based on the 2008 national average price per kilowatt hour, with five hours of daily use. While it's certainly more efficient that LG's 42SL80 ($1,699.95, ), another CCFL model that used 210 watts, it can't compete with the latest LED models, such as Sony's 52-inch Bravia KDL-52NX800 ($2,799.99, ), which uses just 125-watts of power.
If audio quality is as important as HD picture quality, the Mitsubishi LT-46249 has you covered. Despite its cramped remote and soft standard-definition output, this 46-inch TV is a good choice for users who want to enjoy full theater-like sound while watching their favorite movies, sporting events, and other broadcast programs. A few more Web applications would be a welcome addition considering the premium price, but sets with those features, such as the Samsung UN40B7000, can't match the Mitsubishi TV's top-notch audio capabilities.
Benchmark Test Results:
Calibrated display settings
HDMI video input @ 1080p24/1080p60
Objective Testing (higher is better):
Average Contrast Ratio: 1504:1
Average Power Consumption (default settings): 155W; $2.68/month @ $0.1135/kWh (2008 USA average)