Digital Trends

Toshiba 52HM84 November 7th, 2004 | by Dennis Barker

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.