Review: JVC HD-58S998 HDTV

When it comes to buying a new HDTV many first-timers go with a rear-projection TV because there a lot less expensive than flat panels (although flat panel prices continue to drop). The thing most people don't realize is how sleek and unboxy projection TVs are becoming. One such HDTV is the JVC HD-58S998 which has a cabinet that's only 10.75-inches deep and while that may not be sleek enough for some consumers, it's a great HDTV on a budget. According to a review of the JVC HD-58S998 at CNET:

From the front, the JVC HD-58S998 looks like a typically sleek, modern-day HDTV, and in fact it's one of the most attractive examples we've seen yet. We love that the bezel along the top and sides of the screen's edge measures a mere 1/3 of an inch wide (!), even thinner than that of the former thin-bezel champ, Mitsubishi's WD-65831. That sliver of a bezel allows this 58-inch set to occupy just 51.5 inches of width. As is par for the RPTV course, the area below the screen is significantly chunkier and glossy black, interrupted only by a big JVC logo and a cool-looking power indicator that can be disabled--a boon for home theater fanatics who demand a minimum of superfluous illumination. All told, the HD-58S998 is probably as compact as any 58-inch RPTV could be, measuring 51.5x37.9x10.8 inches, and weighing a feathery 115 pounds.

Overall the HD-58S998 got high marks except:

The biggest problem we had with the JVC's picture quality had to do with its uneven geometry. Ideally you want a grid displayed on a TV screen to have perfectly straight horizontal and vertical lines, and with most microdisplays and all flat-panel sets, they come pretty close. With the HD-58S998 we reviewed, however, it was a different story. The most egregious issue was with horizontal lines in the top two-thirds of the screen, which curved upward toward the sides, the left more than the right, for an effect that kind of resembled a crooked smile. Other areas of the grid looked funky, too; vertical lines toward the edges bowed inward at the top and slightly outward toward the top middle, in contrast to the screen's lower third, which was mostly even.

Be sure to check out the JVC HD-58S998 at CNET

At CNET.com

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April 20, 2007

Review: JVC HD-58S998 HDTV