LCD TV Reviews

Comparisons & Conclusion
Compared with some of the other LCD TVs I've reviewed lately, I'm afraid the LT-47X899 comes up a bit short. Perhaps most importantly, its colors are not nearly as accurate and its black level is not as deep as the Samsung LN52A750 ($3200), Sony KDL-52W4100 ($3000), or Toshiba 52XF550U ($3300), though its grayscale is much better than the Toshiba's. And just to level the playing field, the list price of the 52-inch LT-52X899 is $3700, which is much more than any of the other three sets of the same size.

Another deal-breaker for me is that darned aspect-ratio control, which reverts to an overscanned setting each time you change inputs or the HDMI signal is interrupted for any reason. Granted, this didn't seem to affect the real-world program material I watched, but it annoyed the heck out of me to think that I was missing 2.5% of the picture on all four sides, and it could cause certain finely detailed images to be softened and shimmery.

Overall, the JVC LT-47X899 does a few things very well, such as grayscale, shadow detail, and 120Hz frame interpolation, and the menu system is vastly improved over previous generations. Detail on HD material is excellent, but SD content looks a bit softer than I've seen on other sets. Also, the inaccurate colors, relatively high black level, poor off-axis performance, and aspect-ratio problem make it difficult to recommend this set.

Highs
Accurate grayscale, even out of the box
Excellent 120Hz frame interpolation
Excellent shadow detail
Great detail on HD content

Lows
Inaccurate colors
Relatively high black level
Detail on SD material a bit lacking
Poor off-axis performance
Detail (sharpness) control unavailable for HDMI inputs
Aspect ratio reverts to overscanned mode when switching inputs or HDMI signal is interrupted