LG RU-52SZ61D

September 9th, 2004 | by Dennis Barker

Evaluation

Well, it's the first major DLP offering for LG, and I have to admit that they've done a decent job.  Image quality is quite good!  And, for them, it is certainly the right choice.  Right now, LG is hemming their bets by offering both Micro Display DLP and LCD rear projection models.  Personally, I prefer DLP as it an exciting new technology offering picture quality on-par with the best rear projection CRT sets out there.  . 

HDTV images from CBS and ABC were simply above reproach from my over-the-air HD antenna in NY.  HD offers unparallel image quality to begin with.  CBS shows like C. S. I.: Crime Scene Investigation, or Cold Case, for example, looked especially realistic and gritty with newly found clarity.  On ABC, shows like “ALIAS,” and NYPD Blue show off HD content to the fullest offering clarity ten times that of standard TV.  The 2004 Summer Olympics in HD on NBC via DirecTV HD's Ch.84 (even though delayed 24-hours) conveyed an especially realistic appearance of the Games.  Events like swimming and diving make you watch out for splashes.  On the satellite front, HD-Net is always is my first choice to watch HD images because there is such a variety of programming from sporting events to concerts (like Gloria Estafan's Unwrapped) to older TV shows shot in HD (like The Agency) to numerous travelogues like Across America.  DiscoveryHD continues to show travelogues and nature programs in HD, which look simply stunning!  All I can say is that they looked especially compelling on LG's RU-52SZ61D.  Of course, films on HBO-HD (like Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones or Minority Report) and Showtime HD's original series Jeremiah or Dead Like Me looked especially compelling also.   

Another test for any new HDTV is how they display images from a high-end progressive scan DVD player.  For this evaluation, I used my one of my current reference players — the Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai using progressive scan HD-level component video inputs.    Images produced were very natural and life-like.  Different types of programming was watched to get a good feel as to how different films looked on this television display ranging from restored classics like “Yankee Doodle Dandy” to “1776” and “Casablanca” to more recently released films such as “Bad Boys 2” to “The Butterfly Effect,” to “The Bourne Identity-Special Ed.,” and “Spiderman - Special Ed. (SuperBit).   Whether the images were in black & white from the 1940s or 21^st century color, the images displayed were crisp and stunning offering a wide palate of colors or shades of gray.  Each looked as good as the best 35mm film copy showing very little color noise or image artifacts.  Of course, like most Micro Display televisions today, the blacks could be a notch or two darker.  However, this is an inherent problem with all light-engine televisions, but it should not be a detractor.  It should be noted that it was not as objectionable as some light-engine sets currently in the marketplace especially rear projection LCD models from a major Japanese company (Sony).

Conclusion

To sum up, LG's RU-52SZ61D is a better-than average HD Capable display device.  It is an HD Capable model, which to this reviewer's mindset is more desirable these days than a fully integrated model with CableCARD.  Let's face it; you'll either going to add a satellite HD set-top box or a cable HD one.  So, why bother paying for tuning that you don't want or need.  At a suggested retail price of $3,499 (probably less than $2,999 Street), it offers new DLP display technology, which is a worthy successor to the old-fashioned CRT picture tube.  It's also housed in an attractive black cabinet that can sit on a base with storage, or it can be easily placed into a wall unit.  It has all of the right connections presently needed for any upscale Home Theater and then some.  The RU-52SZ61D (or its identical, but smaller 44-in. sibling — RU-44SZ61D) is strongly recommended for repeated viewings.