NuVision Lucidium FX10 3D 55 inch LED Flatscreen Television Review

We have had the opportunity to take a good solid look at the NuVision Lucidium FX10 3D LED Flatscreen Television over the last several months.   We actually got a 55” pre-production model from NuVision in early October 2010 and while I’ve read other articles about “What the television should be like”, this is the real deal; what the NuVision FX10 3D TV IS like.

The first thing you should note is there are some issues with 3D.  I’ve been told by the NuVision rep that there is some type of in-line adapter to support some of the “Different” 3D formats (outside of the Side by Side and Over/Under configurations).

That said they are bundling the the Lucidium FX10 with Panasonic Bluray players that they KNOW will work.  What surprises me though is the fact that they are selling them without mentioning it.

The other issue I have is the glasses.  The unit is shipped with 2 sets of glasses which is fine.  However, what is not fine is they are backordered and you couldn’t buy another set of glasses regardless of cost (which is $150 when they are in stock).  This makes the acquisition of the 3D screen kind of ho-hum because you can’t invite the friends over to movie night and if you have more than 2 people in your family well they will have to sit it out and watch the movie the next time around.  This is monumentally stupid and unforgiveable.

Now that I have the two gripes out of the way I’m going to have to say that the NuVision Lucidium FX10 3D Television is absolutely STUNNING.  This is without a doubt one of the finer televisions in terms of quality (brushed aluminum frame) and performance.  I didn’t notice any Mura effecting whatsoever on the television no matter how high or low I raised the contrast and brightness. 

The Premium Customer Service is pretty nice, although the term is for only 2 years, and the swap out warranty is only for 30 days.  The customer service goes like this:  If your unit has issues in the first 30 days they will swap it out no questions asked.   If your unit has issues after that they will come to your house and repair the problem within two business days.  So while it is a great service, the 2 year period on an $8,500 television seems a little light.  I’d like to see 3 years.  After that anyone that has spent $6999 on a television is probably planning on changing what they have anyway.

Now you can have what NuVision calls a “Mirror” finish added on for an additional $1500.  It’s a coating they put on the screen that makes it very reflective.  The idea is when the unit is off it can double as a mirror on the wall. The problem is it does NOT work like the screen add-ons you can put on cell phones.  It does not look like a mirror at all (I was told by the VP of Engineering that the picture on their website is actually a piece of Real Mirror and not a television at all).  Instead of looking like a mirror it looks like a really shiny television and while that sounds like it might be ok, it is also very shiny while you are watching it.  For instance my wife and I sat in front of the television to watch a movie and we could see ourselves just as much as we could see what was on the television (at night in the dark or in the daylight).  It’s distracting and we didn’t like it at all.

For those of you with narcissistic tendency you might really love the idea of watching your favorite program with your favorite person over-layed on top of the image.   That said I HIGHLY recommend that you skip the “LS” feature and save the $1500 for something else like their U Color which is a GREAT idea in practice and theory.  It allows you to basically color match your television to anything in your house.   Your TV can finally match your curtains or your rug!

Now I might sound like I’m bashing NuVision and I assure you that I am not.  In fact, NuVision is one of the best kept secrets in the industry.  Their televisions are wonderful, there are just a few pitfalls that you need to be aware of while making a buying decision that is going to make sense for you.

Operation of the unit was very straight forward, the remote control was nice, it wasn’t too big or too complicated.  We were able to stream 3D content to the NuVision TV with a Seagate GoFlex Media Player and an HDMI cable (We used both 1.3 and 1.4 and it didn’t seem to make a difference it worked great with both cables).  Comcast also has a 3D offering which we were able to use with the television without issue as well.  If you are planning on renting 3D movies then you’ll want to use the Panasonic 3D Bluray Player that comes with the unit until the in-line adapter is available.  Of course, if you are renting physical discs you are a kind of like the old guy with the remote control that gets up, walks over to the TV and changes the channel by hand…  Get with the times and start streaming your digital media to your television .  Bluray format is neat, but burning them onto discs is bad for the environment. 

Speaking of the environment NuVision has made this television mercury free and it requires 40% less power to operate than a comparably-sized CCFL set.  The frame is made from recyclable aluminum and NuVision holds their dealers responsible for recycling the televisions when they are end of life.

NuVision has only been around for 5 years.  As they continue to grow so will their offerings.  I am looking forward to seeing what they have planned for the future.  I’d give the NuVision Lucidium FX10 3D television a solid 9 out of 10 stars.  We did not get the LS (mirror)version of this system (We did get to see it in the FX5 they shipped us, which is another review).