One of the biggest drawbacks of conventional rear-projection TVs is the relatively short lifespan of the lamp that lights up the screen. Most lamps last a few thousand hours at best, which means you can expect to spend a few hundred dollars every year or two to replace that bulb.

NuVision is one of the first manufacturers to offer an RPTV that uses LEDs (light-emitting diodes) instead of a conventional bulb. The payoff is a light source that will last the life of the TV. Although my lab-measurement results weren’t the best I’ve seen, the NuVision 52LEDLP produced a surprisingly good-looking picture.

Features Besides the LED illumination (which you can read more about on AVguide.com), the NuVision 52LEDLP is a fairly straightforward single-chip DLP TV with 1920×1080 resolution, a 52-inch (diagonal) screen, and integrated off-air and cable tuners. I was very happy to learn that the set can accept 1080p signals at 24 frames per second (fps) and display them at 72fps, repeating each frame three times. Why is this important? Because movies are shot at 24fps, whereas video oper¬ates at 30 or 60fps. The picture can appear “jerky” on TVs that convert from one rate to the other. Avoiding this conversion ensures a smoother image. The RS-232 port offers the pos¬sibility of controlling several devices with infared (IR) blasters, turning the TV into a central control hub and allowing you to hide other components behind closed doors. NuVision should have accessories for this purpose by the time you read this.

The remote control is one of the best-organized I’ve seen. I especially like that it has a dedicated set of input buttons instead of the usual “one-for-all” input-selection button. On the downside, the remote is not backlit, making it tricky to use in the dark. NuVision’s menu system is similarly easy to use. I just wish the main menu would go away while you’re using its controls to adjust the picture; you can move it to various positions on the screen, but it always blocks some of the image you’re trying to improve/
One potentially confusing point: some of the menu items do not corre¬spond with the owner’s manual.

For example, the manual describes an RGB Expansion control that expands the color space, but in the menu sys¬tem, this is called DVI Expansion. The manual describes a DVI Only mode, but there is no such mode in the menu.

Performance According to many in the industry, one of the touted benefits of LED illumination over conventional bulbs is that the technology is supposed to make an image appear on the screen more quickly. In my experi¬ence, however, the NuVision’s start-up didn’t seem much faster than the many conventional RPTVs I’ve reviewed. According to the company, it takes some time to initialize the DLP system.

Also, normal lamps usually take an¬other 30 to 90 seconds to stabilize their color and brightness, whereas LEDs are 100 percent correct as soon as they turn on. As I settled in to watch The Fifth Element DVD, I noticed that the blacks were not as solid and deep as they could be, and that the letterbox bars didn’t “disappear” the way they do on some TVs. However, performance in this area was better than I expected, given the high black-level measurement (see my technical notes online).

NuVision says light meters can be fooled by the high switching speed of the LEDs, which could account for this discrepancy. Colors were rich and vibrant, though, weaving a vivid tapes¬try of life in the 23rd Century. Likewise, small details were deftly rendered, drawing me deeper into the movie as if I was one of Korben’s cab fares. As you would expect from a high-def source, detail on the King Kong HD DVD looked even better.

I felt Ann’s apprehension as she took that fateful step onto the gangplank, and in scenes showing the dimly lit cargo hold, I was able to easily discern the cages in the background. Turning to HDTV via Charter Cable, American Idol on Fox looked great—especially if you enjoy seeing every tiny physiological response to extreme humiliation clearly rendered.

Dancing with the Stars on ABC looked similarly good, though why anyone would want to watch celebrities making fools of themselves is beyond me. While watching movies on the NuVision was an enjoyable experience, “hot-spotting”—in which one area of the screen is brighter than the others—was an issue when I moved to off-center seating positions. And the farther I moved away from center (left or right), the dimmer the picture became. You really need to sit direct¬ly in front of this TV.

Bottom Line There’s a lot to like about the NuVision 52LEDLP. Color and detail are both very good and you don’t have to worry replacing any lamps. At $4,299, the price is on the high side for a 52-inch screen, but LED illumination is still a new technology, and it will save you money in the long run. As for the hot-spotting, only you can decide if it’s a significant distraction.

The Last Word
Pros
• Excellent color and detail
• Accepts 1080p/24 and displays at 72Hz
• Excellent remote control and menu system
Cons
• Significant hot-spotting
• Some “light spill” from rear grille
• Menu stays on screen while making adjustments

Specifications: NuVision 52LEDLP
• Technology: DLP with LED illumination
• Screen size: 52″
• Pixel resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Accepts 1080p: Yes; 60, 30, 24fps
• Displays 1080p/24 at: 72Hz
• Video inputs: 2 HDMI (v1.2), 2 compo¬nent, 2 S-video, 3 composite, 2 RF
• Other connections: coax digitalaudio out, RS-232
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 49.6″ x 36.5″ x 14.8″
• Weight: 100 lbs.
• Warranty: 2 years parts & labor, in-home
• Lamp life: >50,000 hours to halfbrightness
• Price: $4299