*** Review JVC AV-56WP30 *** (1 Viewer)

[David E Smith]

The first review I have found. As an owner, I concur with his opinions.

Got...DVI ??? Let JVC take you into the HDTV Revolution!
by quiq | Sep 14 '02 (Updated Sep 14 '02)
Pros: price, DVI, 2-tuner Split Screen, Great picture enhancement technology
Cons: little room on top, shield produces glare, theres more advanced CRTs out there
The Bottom Line: JVC thinks about your future with DVI port in back. Picture quality is excellent even on regular signals. Priced lower than many other brands, it's a very tempting choice
Recommended: Yes
I am a couch potato no doubt. TV is probably more important in my life than it should be! So this summer I felt it was time to get rid of my 12 year old Panasonic 46" and take the step up into the exciting world of HD. After doing a lot of shopping around I decided the JVC I'Art Pro 56" was right for me.
Straight to the point. Why your next TV set should be HDTV ready like the JVC I'Art Pro
Think DVD is great? Well imagine watching everyday television with a picture detail well over twice as good at 1080 lines of resolution compared to DVD's 480! In a nutshell the picture quality is like looking out a window plus you get digital quality surround sound. You will also be able to watch your everyday TV programming in the panoramic screen shape 16:9 like theatres use (wide- screen) instead of the traditional box shaped screen (4:3). Pure Excitement Baby! With prices plummeting into the sub $2000 range its a perfect time to get in. Watch a demonstration in person. It sells itself.
The argument against buying now
Right now the HDTV scene is a wild new frontier. HDTV programming is scarce to say the least right now. Only a small handful of shows at any given time are aired in HDTV. You'll also need to buy a separate HDTV receiver and have either a satellite and/or antenna to receive HDTV programming. It is rare to find any cable companies that support hdtv at this time. You could save several hundred $$$ and buy a non-HD screen right now but BE ASSURED traditional analog broadcasting will rapidly disappear in the near future just like cassette tapes and VCRs have died out in favor of digital CD and DVD! By 2006 EVERY channel will be broadcasted in digital (forced to by the FCC). Ask yourself is it worth saving a little money now but then having to buy a digital TV in a couple years anyway??
Now lets look at the JVC I'art Pro 56"
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-The Brand: Japanese owned JVC is well known for their quality video and audio components such as VCRs (they invented VHS format), camcorders, direct-view TVs etc. However not so much for their big-screens as of yet. The I'Art Pro series is their first dip into the high definition projection TV market (April 02' for the 48" model and July 02' for the 56"). They come with the usual 1 year parts/labor warranty.
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-The Cabinet Itself: The charcoal black frame is made out of some sort of plastic mold. When you knock on the cabinet it sounds rather hollow. Not as sturdy as good old wooden frames but is satisfactory. The dimensions are
Height 54 5/8"
Width 53 7/8"
Depth 26 3/8" (the whole unit weighs 209 pounds)
The unit rests on what looks like a detachable base with rollers underneath, but its permanently connected to the unit. Transportation-wise it does not roll on carpet as easily as my old big screen did but does the job ok. The top of the frame is quite narrow. You can place remotes and small items on top easily but it's not quite broad enough to be able to place your VCR, DVD player, audio receiver etc. on top unfortunately. At least there's a sleek neon blue power light in the front that looks real cool
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-The Screen: The 56" screen is probably over-kill for people with small rooms but I say "the bigger the better". Size is all a matter of opinion and I personally enjoy the in-your-face realism it provides me at 9 ft away. Being in 16:9 wide-screen form, DVDs utilize the WHOLE screen WITHOUT those black bars (which can lead to screen burn-in over time) you get on box-shaped screens. There is a protective shield that fits tightly over the screen to protect it from scratches and other damage. This is nice to have but on the downside you see a lot more distracting glare from lighting in front of the screen. It's a trade-off. (mainly only Panasonics offer un-shielded screens)
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-Picture Perfomance: There's a myth that HDTVs actually look worse than regular TVs while watching normal analog programming. The story goes... since HDTVs have a max resolution of 1920 X 1080 compared to non-HDTV's 720 X 486, the imperfections of regular TV look ugly on large HD big-screens.....
This is NOT true with the JVC. First and foremost, signal strength is the most important factor. At the electronics store I bought mine at the picture quality was kind of blotchy and pixilated. The salesman told me the signal was heavily degraded since they were sharing the signal through many TV's in the store. When I turned it on at home using my regular cable, it looked fantastic. The I'Art uses Natural Progressive de-interlacing (line doubler) to get rid of annoying scanning lines, 1080i Digital Image Scaling Technology which upconverts any low-resolution analog signal into 1080i, and a 4mb 3d comb filter to make regular signals smoother (this by no means creates HD quality, but it sure looks as good if not better than a regular TV. Colors are vivid, edges are smooth, text is very clear.
The backbone of the TV's performance are based on 7" 4-element CRTs (the main devices that display picture onto screen) which is basically the standard in all good HDTV rear-projection TV's. Many high-end systems have more complex 5-element CRTs with supposedly better focus (I couldn't tell a difference at the store) but at a higher price. Screen brightness is right on par with any other TV I've seen. At only about 45% max contrast it looks very bright and lively. During HDTV viewing both major HD formats, 1080 interlaced (most popular) and 720 progressive formats are supported as well as 480p/480i. The TV performs well enough with regular DVD players that you should not have to upgrade to the new progressive-scan models (I can not tell a difference). There is no HD receiver built-in, but this is a very good thing for future flexibility. (I'm not hooked up to HD at home yet, but got to see HD-Discovery Channel on it at the store...so good I almost cried)
For the complete specs list visit http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?model...L026923&page=2
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-Features/Functions: I'll spare you every boring detail and just list the important/unique stuff...
Changing channels with it's built in tuner is very fast (half-second transitions) compared to many others I've tried like the Hitachi's annoying tuner which fades to black for about 3 seconds in between channels!
Split Screen modes: You can watch 2 channels at once, both at the same size (2 separate boxes). It also has Index Mode which allows you to preview 12 channels (freeze frames) all at once to get a feel for whats on.
4 aspect modes: Panorama, Cinema, Full and Regular are provided to adjust the format of the screen in different situations. For example, Regular mode gives the screen a 4:3 format (gray bars on right+left side) so people don't look stretched out on non-HD programs that aren't made for the 16:9 screen. Panorama compromises by giving you a full-screen but with just a little bit of stretch distortion.
Convergence control: Over time projection TVs may need convergence adjustment. Videophiles love being able to manually adjust convergence (aligning the red/green/blue across the screen for accurate images). JVC offers 9-point manual convergence (opens up 9 white grids on the screen). This is good enough for the average Joe.
Alarm Timer: TV turns on and shuts off at the times you program. Good wake-up/security device. The clock can also set itself automatically.
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-Connections and the DVI Conspiracy!:
What's DVI? It's a very important connection in the back which Satellite and Cable companies in the near future will use for their HDTV receivers. Also the next generation of DVD players called HD-DVD or Blue-laser DVD will require the connector. DVI is used already in all flat-panel computer monitors. It has much greater bandwidth than analog connections such as component, so video data can go uncompressed in a digital-to-digital connection between the signal source to the TV. It offers the best picture quality and makes the big-wigs of the entertainment industry happy as it will protect their movies from being pirated to digital perfection. If your HDTV does not have one, odds are that you wont be able to receive a lot of HDTV content in the future, putting you out of luck. DVI is not an official standard yet, but it's in your best interest to get a TV with one. JVC along with Sony and Hitachi are the only ones at the time of this review, who have them, but the other brands will follow their path in new models later on.
If sales reps at the store you visit truly know what they are talking about, they can inform you about DVI if you ask (some may want to liquidate the old sets that don't have it). Television specialists at Sears and Video Only highly recommended that I chose a TV with DVI.
Other connections: In the back there are 3 sets of composites (yellow/red/white), 2 S-Video, 2 sets of components (red/green/blue) and 1 RF jack. The front has a panel with 1 composite set and 1 s-video input for quick access to connecting a camcorder or whatever you want.
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-The Remote: Nothing special here. It's a long grey universal remote which I have to use both hands to reach all the little buttons. It's called an "illuminated remote" but the only buttons that light up are the Channel +- and Volume +- buttons (some kind of a sick joke JVC?).
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-The Speakers: The built in sound unit is a 20watt 4-speaker system. Listening to MTV and movies I can say it pumps out enough power to more than fill the room up with respectable highs and lows. For not having a subwoofer its "Bass Reflection" design actually does a pretty good job at producing that BOOM. JVC chose BBE sound enhancement (fine tunes the audio) along with Hypersound (a surround sound format like SRS). I can definitely tell a difference with them both on rather than off. There's Left + Right amplifier out ports in the back to use the TV's speakers as the center channel in a Dolby Digital or DTS home theatre setup.
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-Final thoughts: If your finally ready to take your home entertainment system up a few notches and go HDTV, the JVC AV-56WP30 l'Art Pro 56 is a great choice. What separates this from many of the competitors right now is that for it's size, its priced much lower than the Sony's, Hitachi's, Mitsubishi's without sacrificing features, picture quality and flexibility with future technology. Other brands may have more advanced CRTs inside, but with the naked eye I really can't tell a difference and that's what counts. I bought mine from Video Only for $1999.00 in August and am happy with my decision. If you want to upgrade your TV now and have it last many years into the digital age, take a look at the JVC.
I've tried to make this as informative as possible. Any comments/questions welcome
Amount Paid (US$): 1999