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menu. The clock sets itself automati-
cally with a signal embedded in the
PBS broadcast signal.
As with the 720p set, I found the
owner's manual to be sketchy and the
remote cluttered. To its credit, the
remote is backlit (though the L
button is impossible to find in the
dark), and the buttons used for typi-
cal
operation
(except
inputs) are intuitive and fairly easy to
find. Changing inputs was a royal
pain in the neck, requiring sequential
button pushes and long waits to
scroll through the list.
The HD-56FH96 is
the king of light
among 1080p
sets, but it's not
quite as bright as
the 720p model.
One serious drawback is in the
video-memory design. Most inputs
don't have separate memories for user
video settings (C
, T
OLOR
Change settings on one input and
you've changed them on most others.
The component inputs do have a sepa-
rate memory, but the tuner and both
HDMI inputs must share. To work
around this, you can assign the
T
picture mode to your DVD
HEATER
player (component connection) and
set-top box (HDMI), then assign
S
mode to the tuner to get
TANDARD
independent picture adjustments.
Unfortunately, S
TANDARD
hibits nowhere near the accuracy of
T
. Its color temperature, even in
HEATER
the L
setting, is over 14,000K (way
OW
bluish), and because it has "enhanced"
contrast, the detail in darkest grays is
missing. An ISF calibration can correct
S
's color-temp idiosyncrasy
TANDARD
(though you'll still have some contrast
enhancement); calibration can also
perfect the T
a slight greenish tint.
Performance
The 720p version of this set nearly
knocked me off the couch with light
output when I first turned it on. The
IGHT
HD-56FH96 is still the king of light
among 1080p sets, but it's not quite
changing
as bright as the 720p model. Initially,
it starts up in D
find little use for that. S
mode was still bright enough for
viewing on the surface of the sun but
didn't look nearly as cartoonish. It
most closed position for a noticeable
drop in black level. If you think it's
not bright enough, you can increase
, etc.).
C
INT
ONTRAST
crush and only a shift toward blue in
the brightest whites. Turning it down
significantly, however, is sometimes a
problem. Black-and-white movies in
a dark room often required setting
C
ONTRAST
then it was too bright. T
might not impress you when you first
switch from S
self some time to get over S
excesses of brightness and bluishness.
mode ex-
I
usually
enhancement circuitry, but they
weren't objectionable on this set.
With last year's model, S
, which changes contrast
PICTURE
according to the average picture
level, could make enormous changes
in light output. On the HD-56FH96,
its operation was subtler; still, it
sometimes caused small but notice-
mode by removing
HEATER
mode; I could
YNAMIC
TANDARD
might be okay for view-
ing in bright environ-
ments, but this mode
exhibits a very bluish
color temperature and
crushed blacks, although
edge enhancement and
noise are far less evident
than with the 720p set.
T
mode's color
HEATER
temperature is close to
the D65 industry stan-
dard (sometimes with
just a bit of a greenish
bias). It also lowers the
overall light output some
and adjusts the iris to its
up to +6 with no white
to minimum, and even
mode
HEATER
, but give your-
TANDARD
's
TANDARD
disable
any
video-
MART
MARCH / APRIL 2006 ❘ www.theperfectvision.com
J V C H D - 5 6 F H 9 6
able fluctuations in picture level. I
left it on anyway. D
(video noise reduction) was highly
effective in its A
UTO
slightly softened the picture.
The whole video-setup procedure is
very much like the 720p model. With
broadcast material, C
to be reduced to about -5 (though test
patterns measured perfectly at 0), but
other user controls were very close to
ideal at the default 0 position. D
could sometimes be run as high as +15
with no objectionable artifacts, espe-
cially with 1080i sources. Once it was
set up properly, I was impressed with
the picture of the HD-56FH96.
HD on this set is undeniably strik-
ing. The Voom HD channels from my
DISH 942 receiver/DVR have never
Technical Ratings
Resolution
Black Level
Grayscale Tracking
Color Accuracy
Video Processing Quality
Overall Picture Quality (HD)
Overall Picture Quality (SD)
0
1
2
3
4
5
Poor
Good
Note: Color decoder best I've ever tested;
video noise reduction best I've ever seen;
clean, smooth, artifact-free picture held
back mostly by black level; T
grayscale flawed only by slightly greenish
dark grays.
Practical Ratings
Features
Connectivity
User Interface
Viewing Angle
Tolerance of Ambient Light
Value
Cool Factor
-
0
1
2
3
4
5
Poor
Good
Note: Some physical inputs must share
selectable video inputs; lacks separate
memories and program guide; input selection
via remote is poor; brightest RPTV you can buy;
among the most expensive RPTVs you can buy.
VNR
IGITAL
setting and only
often had
OLOR
ETAIL
6
7
8
9
10
Excellent
mode
HEATER
6
7
8
9
10
Excellent
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