It's a funny thing, 1080p. As TV-resolution specs go, it's pretty damn popular — 1080p has gotten so much hype over the last year, I swear it must be represented by Lizzie Grubman. I mean, it's great if your HDTV can display it (it is the highest of high-def formats, after all), but outside of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs (and a bit of stuff on the Web), there's really no material actually in 1080p.

All HD shows on cable, satellite or off-air are in either 720p or 1080i (still pretty good), and DVD lags way behind at 480p (for what all these numbers mean, check out this primer). One could even argue that since most material on Blu-ray or HD DVD is converted from film, it doesn't actually make use of 1080p's full 60-per-second frame rate (since film is 24 fps). So really, for now, the key issue with a 1080p HDTV isn't whether or not it can actually handle 1080p but what those fancy processors and pixels can do for "lesser" material, since that's what you're going to be watching for the most part. Let's see how well Mitsubishi's LT-46231 LCD set did on that score.

Before I could judge the TV's capabilities, though, I had to set it up. Getting it out of the box was mercifully simple, as 46-inch HDTVs go, with the stand already integrated with the set — just take 'er out and plop 'er down. The first time you turn the TV on, you're encouraged to set up the built-in program guide, TV Guide OnScreen. I wanted to get straight to watching HD, so I skipped that step in lieu of connecting my cable box, but I shouldn't have.

Why? Okay, if you take anything from this review, it's this: off-air HDTV often looks better than the stuff coming out of your cable box. The colors are richer, the signal doesn't hiccup (or at least hiccups less) and the clarity is just as pristine. Which makes sense — in the airwaves, the signal doesn't have to fight for bandwidth like it does in your cable line. In any case, if you get your HD via cable or satellite, you should go out and get an antenna just to see what HDTV can really do.

One of the cooler things that Mitsubishi's TVs do is "know" when you connect something to it, and then only give you the inputs you're using when you call up a list. It's all part of the company's NetCommand system, which can actually do a lot more than juggle inputs, though to really take advantage of it, you need equipment that uses FireWire (a.k.a i.Link or IEEE 1394). For most, here there be dragons, but simplifying the connectors is most appreciated.

Okay, it's time to watch some stuff. Every video signal you feed the Mitsubishi is converted to, you guessed it, 1080p. Which I've gotta say really brings out the stubble on Mohinder's face in his close-ups on Heroes (broadcast in 1080i). Is the quality really so much better than TVs that can only do 720p (i.e. most other flat panels)? Tough call, though I was amazed at how close I could sit to the set without seeing obvious pixelation — just a couple of feet. The smaller pixels really make a difference.

Sports fared pretty well. A Rangers game looked beautiful on the Mitsubishi, with the crisp brightness of the ice seemingly a perfect match for an LCD. College basketball looked good, too — even with balls and players zipping by in close-ups, I couldn't detect any motion blur, which can be a problem on some LCDs. Contrast wasn't the best I've seen, though I didn't expect it to be, this being an LCD. Still, it wasn't bad, especially with off-air material.

Is 1080p just hype? Or even mainly hype? Probably, though you'd never know it looking at this TV. Even upconverted material looked glorious on it, though the blacks could have been a tad blacker. But you probably won't miss the tradeoff in contrast, though you will notice the absence of useful features (like the input detector) should you ever switch to another TV. This is one set that really knows how to spoil you. — Peter Pachal