Mitsubishi

[Lebowski]

Anyone have some personal experience with Mitsubishi TV's? I'm looking at getting my first big screen lcd or plasma by the end of the year, and the TV I keep coming back to is the Mitz 62527 rear-proj LCD. I have found mostly raving reviews about the picture and the performance, and the only criticisms I've found are about remote features and menu items. What I'm really looking for is to be able to get out of a new set is versatility. Top two uses will be DVD's and PS2, will eventually will be looking at hooking up to my PC. Anything you know about Mitsubishi's would be helpful. Thanks!

[Otto]

Hi there Jeff,

I keep coming back to is the Mitz 62527 rear-proj LCD

I have the Mits WD-52725, which is their 52" DLP, purchased about a year ago. I looked briefly at the Mits site for the 62527, and aside from the technology, I think a lot of the features (inputs, menus, etc) are similar.

I have found mostly raving reviews about the picture and the performance, and the only criticisms I've found are about remote features and menu items.

This is my first "big" HDTV. For my wife and me, it works great. The picture is robust, bright and clear. That said, I'd list these as my complaints:

1. Glare on the screen. I installed a black out curtain behind my couch, and things are a lot better. The predecessor to my 52725 (52525, I think) was said to have a more pronounced problem with glare that the 52725 was supposed to improve with their "glare screen". However, I'd still say it's not that great. Someone somewhere suggested to remove the glare screen, and I did, but it doesn't look so hot. I understand that the glare screen is just for protection of the actual screen, so it's OK to remove it, but it looked pretty rough. They need to make a plastic frame that will cover up the innards of that thing if you remove the glare screen. I ended up with it back on.
2. Convergence problem -- Picture is bowed at the top and clipped at the bottom. I have a service call under my "extended warranty" (yeah, I *never* buy extended warranties, except in this one case...). I think they will be able to adjust the "pincushioning" that I see. There's also a little overscan in some cases, but I don't think you'll have that with the LCD.
3. "NetCommand" menu system -- it's just kinda dumb they way they implemented some of the setup, but once you get used to it, it works. Just my personal preference, and I suppose some people like it.
4. The remote is "OK", but I use a Harmony, so the OEM remote doesn't see the outside of a drawer very often. (Aside: Anyone else use a Harmony 890? I'd love to talk about its quirks...).

What I'm really looking for is to be able to get out of a new set is versatility. Top two uses will be DVD's and PS2,

I watch DVDs using my Denon DVD-1910's upconversion using the HDMI input on the TV (actually, I think it's DVI coming out of the DVD player and I'm using an adapter). I have no problems and the picture looks great. There is some blocking effects in blacks, but that's more a limitation of the DVD player, I believe.

I also had a PS2 hooked up for a while; a friend brought one over. I was using a composite input on the front panel of the TV and had no problems.

I watch HDTV using Dish. All I can say is that HD pictures are stunning. You will be missing something if you don't get HD signals from somewhere.

will eventually will be looking at hooking up to my PC.

I have a Dell E510 hooked up using the VGA input on the TV. Here I have some overscan and convergence problems. I have about 1/2 - 1" of black at the top of the screen, and I'm cut off at the bottom by about the same amount. I've read a lot of stuff on AVS about PowerStrip (any PowerStrip pros around here?), its settings and the Mits xx725 in general, and I just can't quite get it right. Hopefully, the service call to take care of the convergence problems will help me some of the overscan as well. That said, the picture quality from the PC is awesome at ~1200x700. I'm using an ATI (I think) x600 video card that came with the PC, and I'm sure it would be even better with a stronger video card.

FWIW, here's a link to an old post of my system. You can see the TV, and the window behind it that causes glare problems. During the day, you pretty much must have that curtain down. I have since rotated that room 90 degrees clockwise, such that the TV is up against the "other" wall. I now get glare from the other room, but it's tolerable. We mostly watch movies at night, so we can "control" our glare problem that way as well. Of course, if you are in a dedicated theater room, all this glare talk will be moot. I'm in a living room setting, so I have to compromise...

All in all, we've been really happy with the TV, and I'd recommend one to a friend or family. I think you'd be happy with the LCD you're considering. Good luck, and let me know if you have any more questions that I might be able to help with. Oh, and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

[Lebowski]

Awesome! Thanks for the response. I'm sure I probably will get Directv or dish network if I go this route... at least eventually. Highdefforums had quite a bit of useful lookin info on the PowerStrip and computer hookups in general.

http://www.highdefforum.com/showthread.php?t=1703

I'm also curious to see how some of the net tv programming (and particularly sports) comes across on an LCD. I keep reading how plasma would be better suited for that, but I wonder if it is at least watchable on LCD.

[Lebowski]

Ooh I just noticed you were from Colorado. Me and my wife have been talking about moving there for some time now. Love it there!

[Otto]

Lebowski wrote:

Ooh I just noticed you were from Colorado. Me and my wife have been talking about moving there for some time now. Love it there!

Well, we were in New Mexico and Illinois before coming to Colorado. NM and IL were NOT for us! I grew up in Oregon and was looking for more mountains and outdoors stuff. We really wanted to come to Colorado when I finished grad school (1997), but it just didn't work out till about three years later. In Feb 2000, I was working at Motorola in Illinois, and we were vacationing in the Denver area. During that vacation, we just said, "that's it, we are moving to Colorado NOW!" We immediately put our house on the market when we returned, my wife transferred her job in March, and I started a new job in April. We've been here since 2000, and if we were to move away, I just don't know where it would be -- I'd consider Portland, OR, but it's awfully rainy up there. I love the rain, I grew up in the rain, but it's really rainy up there. And we've grown to enjoy our ~300 days of sunshine a year.

So, moral of the story about moving to Coloraro ----- Just do it! You won't regret it.

[Cap'n Preshoot]

I'm looking very seriously into getting the new Mits 65732 - so seriously in fact that I already have a deposit down and have been promised the first one. According to my dealer it should be here around the end of the month. The new 732 series are supposed to ship from the factory on the 25th.

My previous Mits went paws-up after only 4½ years and is not repairable due to parts not available. It needs a whole main circuit board, which admittedly is pretty radical. The good news is I bought an ext. warr. on it and they're working up a settlement offer as I write this. We expect to recover all or nearly all of our original purchase price. Gee whiz and to think I normally don't buy extended warranties because 30 years ago I used to sell them and know they're a huge profit center for the retailer. That plus the customer's chance of ever breaking-even with the up-front cost is historically slim. I honestly cannot say what moved me to buy one this time, just a feeling I guess, but it has sure saved my bacon.

In spite of this unfortunate experience with my old Mits, I'm told mine was an unusually rare type of failure, so I'm definitely not poisoned against the brand. Believe me, I've looked in the stores and the new Mits DLP is 'where it's at' as far as i'm concerned. The new Mits DLPs have also been recommended to me by 3 other people so I'm going back for another. After seeing the 65731 in the store I'm about to pee my pants waiting for the 65732.

Don't know how much there is to this, but I've also been told that the 732 series will only be available through the high-end specialty stores, which of course precludes price wars with Best Buy, etc. and generally prostituting the product in the marketplace. Yes, quite frankly it irritates me to see 'Bubba' hauling one home in the back of his pickup for $500 or so less than I paid, so this restricted availability appeals to me. Not too sure I'd want "The Geek Squad" of prepubescent pimple-faced kids making the adjustments either. Call me old-fashioned, I appreciate the extra level of care and personal attention you get from the professional and adult staff at the high-end stores.

We have DirecTV satellite service and have been quite happy with that for the last 6 years. Hands-down better than cable.

[RollsRoyce]

Cap'n Preshoot: That board failure wasn't due to CRT coolant leakage, was it? I've been reading about that over on another forum, and since I also have a Mits (46807), the threat of it's making me a little nervous.

[lcaillo]

IIRC the ...807 sets have a gutter to catch any coolant. I can't recall ever having a coolant leak in one of those. Mitsubishi is not special in terms of coolant leaks. Other vendors have had the same problem. The difference is that Mits has been very accomodating to customers with OOW catastrophic failures like this.