 Product Reviews
You've seen them in malls, at airports and other high-traffic areas. You might also start seeing more of them in churches, as they're gaining in popularity at an exponential rate. These thin, sleek and vibrant displays epitomize the new world of high resolution and high definition video. It's big. No, it's really big! It's hard to describe just how large NEC's 61" diagonal image plasma really is until you are sitting in front of it. It's just a huge, glorious image. And, unlike most rear projection, large screen TV sets, the image is just as bright and glorious through 170 degrees of viewing angle - both horizontal and vertical. In other words, it looks great from edge to edge.
I tested the 61XM1A in my office, both with the window shades drawn and open. Because plasma is a direct-view device, like a TV (only brighter than a TV), it has the advantage of cutting through high ambient light conditions. This is a distinct difference between projection systems, as even rear projection systems have a hard time punching through significant ambient light without the normal loss of contrast. At five feet in diagonal, the 61XM1A has 2 ½ feet of viewable height and nearly 4 ½ feet of viewable width. This is a large display intended for either large public spaces or very high resolution presentations to smaller audiences. High Resolution and HDTV capable In fact, that high resolution has a tremendous advantage when it comes to displaing fine graphic details or text, as you can easily read fonts from a distance and walk right up to the plasma without losing pixel clarity. Boasting 1,365 by 1,024 pixels of resolution, the 61XM1A is a high resolution device capable of showing 1600 x 1200 computer graphics or high definition video (480p, 480i, 525p, 525i, 540p, 625p, 625i, 720p, 1035i and 1080i). Pretty much, this massive display can handle just about anything you plug into it. With inputs connected along the right side (perfect for wall mounting), you have a slew of connection options, including: - RGB 1 (analog) 15-pin mini D-sub (common use with RGB out, selectable) - RGB 2 (analog) 5-BNC (RGB/HV) (common use with 5BNC Y/Pb/Pr input, selectable) - RGB 3 (digital) 25-pin DVI (digital only) - Video 1 Composite BNC x 1 (common use with Video out, selectable) - Video 2 Composite RCA x 1 - Video 3 S-Video 4-Pin DIN - HD Video 1 - 1 set RCA Component (Y,Pb,Pr/Y,Cb,Cr) - HD Video 2 - 1 set BNC Component (Y,Pb,Pr/Y,Cb,Cr) (common use with 5-BNC Y/Pb/Pr input, selectable)
I ran my component, progressive-scan, widescreen DVDs into the HD Video 1 Input and nearly had to remind myself to breathe, as my brain almost stopped processing all else at the first sight of the stunning picture. I then used standard definition DVDs and VHS tapes through the component, S-Video and composite video inputs. Just as with the NEC projector line, the 61XM1A has phenomenal video processing. Sure, the component video was significantly better than the composite video input, but that's a function of the signal type. Still, the composite video, while no longer stunning, certainly did a good job of reproducing the content favorably. Most impressive, however, was the computer display. The 61XM1A does a very nice job of taking the current standard computer resolution of 1024x768 (XGA) and stretching it to fill the 16:9 widescreen aspect. Through simple menus, or a few button pushes on the supplied remote control, you can choose to turn off this stretch feature and allow the image to display in standard 4:3 aspect and blank the sides. The plasma's processing did a fine job of compressing or stretching various computer resolutions to make quite impressive images. As with all fixed matrix devices, the plasma looked best at 1365x768. This may prove to be difficult for many of today's computers that do not include drivers for this widescreen format. Fortunately, you have a few options to deal with this newer resolution.
The first is to simply let the 61XM1A stretch the image to fit, which it actually does quite well. Another option is to make sure any new computer you purchase has drivers available to handle these new resolutions. The third option, which I chose during my testing, was to download a PC utility called Powerstrip which provides advanced, multi-monitor, programmable hardware support to a wide range of graphics cards. It is in fact the only program of its type to support multiple graphics cards from multiple chipset vendors, simultaneously, under every Windows operating system from Windows 95 to the 64-bit edition of XP. A simple menu that pops up from the system tray provides access to some 500 controls over your display hardware, including sophisticated color correction tools, period level adjustments over screen geometry, and driver independent clock controls. A powerful application profiler can detect when programs are launched and respond by activating specific display settings, gamma adjustments, performance switches and even clock speeds - returning everything to normal when the program closes.
I think that if you're going to purchase a plasma as amazing as the 61XM1A, you might as well download this free (not included with the plasma) utility to make the most of your computer graphics! Almost perfect The 61XM1A did perform brilliantly, created stunning pictures and handled every signal format during my tests. But this plasma shares something in common with all plasmas, an "Achilles Heel", if you will: it's still a plasma. In spite of the tremendous benefits of this technology, the simple fact is that gas plasma will inherently be susceptible to burn-in. The 61XM1A I reviewed had experienced this due entirely to the carelessness of someone before me. Smack dab in the center of the screen was the very faint "ghost" image of a circle with the word "concert". It was mostly likely caused by someone leaving a static image of a computer graphic with this logo on the screen, without a screen saver, for an extended period of time. That's the inherent risk with plasma technology, and NEC's instructions are very clear about not leaving a static image on the screen, or using the plasma for a console gaming station (such as XBOX, PlayStation or Nintendo). The reason is that games typically have a set graphic (HUD - Heads Up Display) that doesn't change during the game. All plasmas must have content that moves frequently. Even a 30-minute static image can start to cause burn-in, so computer screen savers should be set to engage at 5 minutes of inactivity. Apparently, someone before me didn't pay attention to these obvious warnings. Don't let this scare you too much, however, as it's not difficult to set a screen saver on a computer. Plus, since they're great at video displays with lots of motion, you'll often see them in public spaces with either live or pre-recorded video looping or possibly even used as a Digital Signage system with rotating content, such as at my church, which currently uses eight 42" NEC plasmas at the Information Kiosk in the foyer of the auditorium.
At a list price of $19,995, the NEC 61XM1A 61" plasma isn't in the budget for everyone. But for large gathering areas with a great deal of ambient light, such as next to a window, this plasma can easily fit the bill. Anthony Coppedge Anthony Coppedge Consulting 1001 Clear View Drive Bedford, TX 76021 Please visit Anthony's Website © Copyright 2004 by TFCinfo.com |
