Dell W5001C Review
Date reviewed: February 18, 2006
When testing video quality, I do several things. First, I use Microsoft Windows Media HD clips from my PC test system, high-definition video clips, and test patterns from a Sencore VOP-920 HD video player. I also spend time watching MediaCom cable HDTV content to make subjective observations about image quality. Then, I use DVD movie content coming from a Denon DVD-3910 progressive-scan DVD player (check prices) connected via the panel's component video connectors. I've been doing this testing using Sin City (great dark on dark scenes) and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers DVDs (excellent action sequences), and use both bright, intense action scenes, as well as darker scenes to gauge dark-tone response. Dark tone response is especially important for a display because we perceive light the same way we perceive sound—logarithmically. This means our eyes are very good at distinguishing subtle changes in luminance values in dark scenes, but as we move toward fully bright scenes, our sensitivity diminishes, and almost everything appears bright to our eyes.
I also use the DVDs to look for banding, also known as false contouring. This effect can be noticed in scenes where a single color (usually dark gray or white) transitions from one shade to another. These transitions should be a smooth blend, but some displays produce noticeable banding. I find it funny that most plasmas find it difficult to display Conan O-Brian's pale face smoothly.
Standard Television
By definition, standard television doesn't have as much detail as high-definition pictures. When you enlarge a standard image, you will also enlarge it's artifacts - whether you use a rear-projection TV, LCD, or plasma display. That is exactly what happens with the 50-Inch Dell W5001C. The picture quality is not any worse than it would be with any other large-screen set. Basically, a little "grainy" and nothing to show off about. The graininess is less apparent when you sit far away from the set.
The Dell W5001C's rendering of standard television was good, but not too impressive. I needed about 15 minutes of calibration (using the DVE DVD) to get a good picture with SD feeds. On the one hand, there's almost no ghosting, and practically no false contouring. On the other hand, some blacks tended to have a purplish-greenish tint to them. As I understand it, this is an image scaling problem and can be solved by buying an external scaler (which is about $1200!). That is so far the only picture-related flaw I've seen with standard television signals. To be fair, this is common with ALL budget-priced plasma TVs. Upper end plasma have a better built-in scaler - hence the "upper end" classification. But why would anyone use an HDTV to watch SDTV?
High-Definition Television
The best way to discern the quality of your HDTV is to watch hockey on ESPN HD. This is not a macho statement, but it's a fact that sport HD content is compressed the least because it is the most popular reason for most people buying an HDTV set. I go a step further (as I pointed out earlier) and use Microsoft Windows Media HD clips (1080p) from my PC test system. All high-definition sets shine when given an appropriate HD signal, but some more than others. HDTV signals do not have to be scaled (or at least no where near as much as SD signals are) so the purplish-greenish blacks that show up on SD are virtually gone when viweing HD signals. Again, some HD differs from others - but I don't like blaming the TV when it's not its fault.
On a related note, when watching HDTV from my cable box, I have noticed some posterization in very dark scenes. Also known as "black crushing" this means some detail is lost on black on black scenes. Although technically a digital artifact seen on all digital televisions, it is highly dependent on the source and differs between different HD channels (depending on the amount of compression your cable provider uses). For example, when viewing over-the-air high-definition signals, I saw no posterization. Remember, over-the-air signals are not compressed - so if you can receive them, they actually look better than cable HDTV. Also, different cable companies compress their signals differently, so when I see CBS for example I might get more posterization than when you see it across the country. Basically, the cleaner your source, the better your image quality - on any plasma TV.
The best image is obtained using the HDMI connection. If you have to get a cable box, ask if they one with HDMI output (usually it's their DVR model). If you are going to buy a DVD player, get an upconverting one with HDMI output. Component feeds look almost as good, but there is a loss of some brightness and color. You can correct for that using your calibration.
In regards to HDMI - there is a known problem with using Dish Network receivers via the HDMI input on the W5001C. The problem is basically that the HDMI input fails to show the signal. There is currently no fix for this, but Dell is "working on it." If you plan on working this TV with a Dish Receiver, you will have to use the component connections.