Measurements are not everything. In fact, I'd have to say that in terms of practical viewing, the Mitsubishi looked excellent. It had vivid color, good shadow detail and plenty of brightness. The real world contrast ratio of this set was more than adequate and over twice what you might get in an average movie theater. The only thing that niggled at me was the inconsistency of the black level when a large amount of black was on the screen. The light which seemed to leak through in splotchy amounts here and there really made watching really dark scenes a disappointment.

Blu-ray: The Forbidden Kingdom
Not only did this movie look great - it sounded pretty good as well. The many scenes of fighting and throwing objects lent plenty of opportunity to hear the 5.1 audio emanate from the sound projector speaker. Specifically, we really liked watching the fight scene in the beginning between the Monkey King and the Jade Warlord. There are tons of spears being flung around the room and the sounds literally whipped past my head, being accurately directed to my ears form the reflected DSP-driven speakers.

When the hero is walking through the bamboo forest (obviously lifted right off the House of Flying Daggers set) the vibrant greens contrasted well against the dark background and put away any fears I had of the CIE chart measurements leaving me with green envy. Later in the movie, Jason enters a scene where Golden Sparrow is playing an instrument and the colors are just vibrant. Green, red, cyan and yellows are all present in ample quantity and it really made for a luscious scene.

DVD: Wall-E
Wall-E was a great movie for checking out detail (as animations often are) and black level detail. In the beginning when Wall-E is "introducing himself" to Eve, there are countless places, like the piles of old tires, which demonstrate excellent shadow detail. I could still tell in some scenes that there was a slight amount of clipping occurring, but in practical terms it was difficult to come away with anything but a pleasant experience overall. The colors in this movie were vibrant and it was just great to watch such a clean look on the display, especially when we kicked in the Smooth120Hz mode and the image immediately took on a resolution that seemed 4x the original DVD.

Conclusion

While I don't feel the video aspects of the LT-46149 are all that different from its earlier counterpart, the LT-46148, this television presents a compelling choice to consumers with its new 16-speaker sound projector technology. This isn't one of the most expensive 46-inch LCDs on the market, but it is also not the cheapest, which marks it as an average value in our travels. Some consumers will undoubtedly be surprised by the sound quality of the speaker technology, while others may simply buy this TV on reputation, looks and price alone. Those who already have a surround sound system in their homes would do well to check out the less expensive LT-46148 while they can still get it. Our hope is that people will recognize that a one-speaker surround sound solution like Mitsubishi offers is a god-send and those who never thought they could add 5.1 to their living areas will now have a reason to rejoice - and try something new.

Mitsubishi LT-46149
$2799

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. (MDEA)
9351 Jeronimo Rd.
Irvine, CA 92618
800. 332.2119
www.mitsubishi-tv.com

About Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc.
Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc., an Official Sponsor of The PGA TOUR, manufactures and markets a comprehensive line of premium quality 1080p DLP® HDTVs and 1080p LCD HDTVs. Recognized as the world leader and innovator of large display high-definition televisions, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America builds products that lead the industry in quality, performance and ease-of-use. For additional information about MDEA, visit www.mitsubishi-tv.com.