Mitsubishi WD-65731 DLP HDTV

Much like the Olevia, there was one major thing and one slightly less major thing that conspired to drop the WD-65731 down in the rankings. These were black level and edge enhancement.

At 0.127 foot-lamberts, the Mitsubishi’s black level was more than 3.5 times as high as the second worst one. Not only is this a lot higher than the others in this test, but it is significantly higher than most of the other displays we’ve reviewed lately (even LCD flat panels). Unfortunately, the WD-65731 didn’t have a high enough light output to offset the high black level. Most RPTVs have terrible ANSI contrast ratios due to the amount of reflections that happen inside the cabinet (among other things). Mitsubishi had the best ANSI contrast in last year’s Face Off. This year’s model is slightly lower than that, but two other sets (the Toshiba and the Samsung) both made large strides in increasing their ANSI compared with last year’s models.

The other main negative is disappointing on several levels. More than the others, the WD-65731 had noticeable and non-defeatable edge enhancement. At first lance, this makes the Mitsubishi look detailed. On closer inspection, however, you can see thin white halos running along all of the edges. Displays use edge enhancement typically when, for some reason, they don’t have the resolution to look detailed on their own. Ironically (and sadly), the WD-65731 has that detail. It was one of only three displays (and the only DLP) that passed the onepixel-on/onepixel-off test both horizontally and vertically. So, the resolution is there, but the edge enhancement covers it up.

The Mitsubishi’s 3:2 pickup with 480i was about average, and, like most of the other TVs, the Mitsubishi didn’t pick it up with 1080i. Its video deinterlacing with 480i resulted in some jagged edges on the flag, but its 1080i deinterlacing was fine.

The color points, while not as accurate as the Samsung’s, were more accurate than those of all of the other sets here. The new remote is smaller and easier to use than the old one. It’s pretty basic, but the important bits are backlit. Decrease the black level and the edge enhancement, and you’d have an OK TV.

[via:hometheatremag]