I believe that the only restriction is that the digital tv tuner can only be displayed in the left side. Though there may be an HDMI restriction, as well. I have no HDMI device to test.

OKAY, I have been reading posts for months, doing my research, my wife is on board because of net command, and I am ready to buy the 52725. I have read posts talking about the latest firm of .05, and trying to get the latest manufacturing date possbile. What other things do I need to make sure and get? Shoud I get a warranty? How long should I get if I should and how much should I pay? I will probably buy local simpy because I prefer having somewhere I can drive to if I have a problem. On the other hand I will probably go big box so I can get the lowest price possible. Of the chains do any have better warranties and/or warranty service? I have Fry's, Best Buy, and Good Guys to choose from. I saw one at Fry's for 2999 and that seems to be a decent price? But I just hate the junky store and horrible video feed they have. I suspect I will end up at GoodGuys if they will match. Any tips would be helpful. By the way, for the guy that posted the box size, THANKS! I think I will opt for delivery since I am one of the masses with an SUV. One last thing. Any tips on a stand? The matching stand is a joke. No way I can fit my componants on that. I could probably pick this up on line if anyone has a tip.

Shoud I get a warranty? How long should I get if I should and how much should I pay?

Yes.


How long should I get if I should and how much should I pay?

5 years.


Any tips on a stand?

BDI

Hooked up a Denon 2805, and now I can receive the digital audio output from my 52725, so it would seem that the problem was NOT with the TV. Looks like the Pioneer 1014 is going back to the store.

rknott: regarding stands, avoid the Mits stand like the plague. While it matches the TV nicely, it doesn't have any room whatsoever. I bought the Mits stand when I got the TV since it had two shelves and all I had was a D*TiVo unit and a DVD/VCR combo. Now having a receiver I've been in a pickle for what to do next.

Fortunately, while I was at my dealer to get the new Denon, I complained about the stand for the TV and he offered to take it back in on trade (even though it's been in my house for 6 months!) for a new model they have . He'll have his guys deliver the new stand, swap the TV over to it, and hook everything back up for the price difference in the stands plus $50. Toton's TV in Crest Hill, IL. :) :) :)

Just an fyi on the stand... if you can find one the stand for the Philips 55" LCOS fits the Mits 52" perfectly... 49.5 inches wide. It has a swivel top and has a shelf that is 12" in height, 16.5" in depth and 48" wide. My Denon reciever and Sony DVD recorder and Motorola cable box fit perfectly.

If you do get this stand leave the side chunks off the stand that are designed to match the philips TV. They are purely cosmetic.

I used to work at a SoundTrack/Ultimate Electronics and they were clearing these stands out at $50.

I have been playing GT4 this past week on my PS2. I have not noticed the bars you guys are talking about, but I was not looking that hard. I had to change some settings on my PS2, my TV, and on the game itself. When I first played the game it looked pretty bad (too bright and rough around the edges) so I made some changes and I think it has made the game look a lot better. The PS2 that I own is the first one that came out 5 or so years ago, so I know its capabilities are limited when compared to some of the other gaming systems.

I am running Monster Component cables directly to the back of my 62525 and added the device to the TV.

I changed the settings on my PS2 to show that I am using component output and a 16:9 screen. However, the game does not fill up the entire screen. I have little black bars (very minor, not like 4:3 bars) on the left and right of the picture.

I changed the GT4 game options to show that I am using a 16:9 screen that is capable of 1080i. However, I do get some wierd white slashed lines with a black backdrop when it switches from 480 to 1080, but only for a second or two.

I changed my TV settings as well. I don't have the Perfect Color settings or Video settings available right now, but if anyone would like them I could post them later today. Different for everyone, but worth a try.

Overall I am very pleased with the game on my 62525. I have seen some X-Box games played on HD TV's and yes they do look a lot better than the PS2 picture on this TV, but it is still an improvement over past games.

Lastly, the Dolby Pro Logic option is very nice. You can hear a car comming up from behind you or listen to it fade away as you blow by it.

Just went out and pulled the trigger on the 52725 a few days ago. Just moved in to a new place so I dont even have cable yet (getting it tonight). All my roommates and I have used it for is xbox and it looks amazing with the high def pack. My question is do I really need to go out and buy the DVE or Sound and Vision disc to set up my TV or can I copy someone else's settings? Im just curious about how much adjusting will need to be done and what all I have to do. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Also, I was a little worried after reading all the complaints about the fan noise and that almost stopped me from buying this tv. Well, to be honest, I cant hear it. Maybe I just got lucky and got one that doesnt have a noisy fan, but I have to mute the TV and really listen closely to hear anything at all.

Originally posted by DubC
I have been playing GT4 this past week on my PS2. I have not noticed the bars you guys are talking about, but I was not looking that hard. I had to change some settings on my PS2, my TV, and on the game itself. When I first played the game it looked pretty bad (too bright and rough around the edges) so I made some changes and I think it has made the game look a lot better. The PS2 that I own is the first one that came out 5 or so years ago, so I know its capabilities are limited when compared to some of the other gaming systems.

I am running Monster Component cables directly to the back of my 62525 and added the device to the TV.

I changed the settings on my PS2 to show that I am using component output and a 16:9 screen. However, the game does not fill up the entire screen. I have little black bars (very minor, not like 4:3 bars) on the left and right of the picture.

I changed the GT4 game options to show that I am using a 16:9 screen that is capable of 1080i. However, I do get some wierd white slashed lines with a black backdrop when it switches from 480 to 1080, but only for a second or two.

I changed my TV settings as well. I don't have the Perfect Color settings or Video settings available right now, but if anyone would like them I could post them later today. Different for everyone, but worth a try.

Overall I am very pleased with the game on my 62525. I have seen some X-Box games played on HD TV's and yes they do look a lot better than the PS2 picture on this TV, but it is still an improvement over past games.

Lastly, the Dolby Pro Logic option is very nice. You can hear a car comming up from behind you or listen to it fade away as you blow by it.

OK, this is really helpful to me. It appears then that I do have a problem with my television set.

These bars aren't horrible, but they should be pretty easily noticed. It almost looks like you're looking through a second, slightly dirty screen before the game image. If you're in 16:9, 1080i mode then you should be able to see them pretty easily against a blue sky backdrop, especially when you move your car around. Colors are also a little screwy around the lines.

This is a similar problem to what I've seen on some computer monitors, where vertical lines that look like shadows are displayed across the screen at uniform intervals.

I'm just not sure why I only see it on some things and not others.

I guess it's time to call for service!

Not to mention the fact that the TV decided to stop picking up digital signals over the air last night. I know it's not the antenna because I was flipping through the digital channels when I noticed one wasn't being picked up. So I did a channel scan and now the televison picks up NO digital channels.

Electronics can really be a headache.

Originally posted by NovaHokie

Also, I was a little worried after reading all the complaints about the fan noise and that almost stopped me from buying this tv. Well, to be honest, I cant hear it. Maybe I just got lucky and got one that doesnt have a noisy fan, but I have to mute the TV and really listen closely to hear anything at all.

I think some people are just really sensitive to white noise or something. I'm the same way you are, I don't even realize there is fan noise until I turn the TV off and it's not there. I certainly don't notice it when I'm watching something.

I don't know, maybe after all these years of computer fans I just subconciously ignore it or something.

Placement of the TV has a huge impact on fan noise. If you sit your TV close to a rear wall, then the sound will reflect back towards you. If the rear of the set is facing more of an open area, the sound will be diffused quite a bit. I have mine sitting in a 3 foot deep alcove which is open on one side and I can hear the fan when the volume is low. It's not too bad at all though and I could put some foam on the rear wall behind the set to help with the sound...

NovaHokie,

Based on the settings that I have seen posted and my own experience with adjusting my set with DVE, I think you would be very happy with the following settings:

VNR: Reduction
TV Def Edge: OFF
Color Temp: Low
Contrast: 31
Brightness: 31
sharpness: 10 - 20 (there was not much of a difference from 0-63 in the DVE test, I kept it on the lower end if by chance it did introduce picture noise).
color: 31
tint: 31

Basically set everything at the mid setting (the Mits DLP setting range is 0-62) except for the sharpness which you want lower.


Here is the exact settings that I am using right now:

VNR: Reduction
TV Def Edge: OFF
Color Temp: Low
Contrast: 31
Brightness: 31
sharpness: 20
color: 31
tint: 29


Jeff

I would think that that contrast setting would make the image look washed out. I keep mine up all the way, and still don't see any white crush. Every time I go to adjust it, I come back to the 63 setting for contrast.

However, I know for a fact that not all of these TVs are exactly the same. My old TV (swapped out because of the bright spot) had a green tint to some images, but my replacement has no such issue.

IMO the noisy fan issue is either a faulty fan (which would be extremely noisy) or people who are very sensitive to backround noise. I only hear the fan on my 62725 when I mute the audio. Its maybe a hint louder than the Sony LCD I used to have. Maybe because it has two fans.

I've noticed peoples picture settings vary quite a bit. The two things I believe that are subjective would be the sharpness and contrast setting. The other settings are pretty straight forward to setup using a calibration DVD or something similar. I find Avia easier to use DVE for setting color, tint and brightness. Also my DVD settings through HDMI vary quite a bit from my HD converter box settings through component.

DVD:

VNR: Standard (manual states using standard for good quality signals)
TV Def Edge: OFF
Color Temp: Low
Contrast: 58
Brightness: 33
sharpness: 28
color: 27
tint: 26

HD:

VNR: Standard
TV Def Edge: OFF
Color Temp: Low
Contrast: 52
Brightness: 42
sharpness: 23
color: 27
tint: 26

Thanks a lot Jeff and Ben. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it looks. I appreciate you sharing your information. Now hopefully the Comcast guy get to my house this evening so I can watch some of the ACC tournament.

derailed

The loss of digital channels is pretty common with the new DLP's if your TV has software version 4.02 or 4.03. I went through the same thing. Make sure you have the most updated software version. I believe it is 4.05

How do you get the software updated? Would I have to take my TV back to Tweeter to have them do it and also where can I find out what version my TV is currently running. Thanks

From another thread

Call (866) 252-4333, tell them that you are experiencing random lock-ups, and that occasionally the TV just turns itself off. Tell them that it is really annoying you and that you would expect a tv of this price to operate more reliably. They will want the serial number off of your tv, and will want to check to firmware version(So make sure you call from home). Just play dumb and let them walk you through finding it(even though you already know what version you have). They will then want your address etc. Ask them when you should expect the update. I received mine in 2 days.

You can also call (949) 830-8364 if you want. It used to go directly to a rep, but now it asks you to press 1 or 2 if you need a software update. If you choose to do this you will be prompted to leave a detailed message. Unfortunately people have been having problems with leaving messages on this number. You can stay on the line and a rep will answer in about 10-40 minutes.........Yes you read that correctly. One time it took 40 minutes to speak to a rep.

Its long distance but they will reimburse you if you send your bill in to them.

Software updates are sent via UPS and are in the form of a memory card (like a digital camera memory card). You plug it into the front of your TV and it downloads the software.

Thanks Dub, I think I will give them a call on Monday.

You can see what software version you have by selecting the setup icon in the menu. The version will be displayed on the right. Should read something like V26 004.05

Well, I do have version 4.03 on my TV, so that could explain the digital channel problem.

Unfortunately, I will still need to get service for the display issue.

Thanks for the info, DubC.

My question is do I really need to go out and buy the DVE or Sound and Vision disc to set up my TV

I think NEED is too strong of a word, but I think you should get one or the other. I have DVE and it's a no brainer to spend $20 after spending $3500 to tweak it. Note that it's quite good at determining what you need for your input that your DVD player is on, but these settings do not translate to the other inputs. So, DVE is great for the DVD player but for the digital cable it's only useful as a general guide.

...Tech,Tech, VPI

I would think that that contrast setting would make the image look washed out. I keep mine up all the way, and still don't see any white crush. Every time I go to adjust it, I come back to the 63 setting for contrast.

Wow, all the way up? On my set that does very strange things, such as make the lip gloss and hairspray on news anchors be ultra reflective (The Today show is a killer).

To my tastes I like the contrast in the 40's but I've found that to make the rainbows tolerable to me I need to set it down in the 20's - which is washed out more than I would like.

Does anyone have audio crackling problems with their HDMI input? I just had a rep out to replacve the TV chassis due to audio problems (popping and crackling) that I heard on a number of inputs. I have not had time to play with it yet, but preliminarily things are better except the HDMI input. I do not think its the DVD player or cable as I took those to the store and plugged them into another Mits and it was OK.

ideas?

have owned 62725 for about 1 month absolutely love picture quality,no rainbows,no bright spot on regualar cable pciture ok direct tv better on voom tv picture is outstanding can anyone recommend which connection would be better for voom to tv component connection(now using) or dvi to hdmi connection appreciate any help thanx very much

I get the crackling noise on mine. I am not sure if it is the Tv, the cable or the hd Tivo

Hi guys,
I have tried a few times to read through this thread at different times but I have until this afternoon to advise my brother before his 30 day return expires.

He purchased the WD 52525 without me knowing last month and he has a couple of issues. The sales person is coming to his home tonight to take a look (yes on a Sunday afternoon) so I will give a plus for that alone to keep it within 30 days.

What are the differences and would it be best to have it replaced with the 525725. They told him it would be $200 more. Is it just the screen, speaker cloth or firmware differences also?

I think the issue is they have it connected via digital cable box using coax but he said the set up people came and left without doing much of anything else, had to ask for the remote that came with it and get it working.

Has a green cast to the side of faces and he has a problem with a smooth transition from SD format, he doesnt have HD, antenna or the Smartcard yet.

Can someone help? Thanks in advance. Doug

The anti-glare screen and the cloth covered grille are the only differences... Everything else is the same between the two sets.

Originally posted by Doug Baisey
I think the issue is they have it connected via digital cable box using coax but he said the set up people came and left without doing much of anything else, had to ask for the remote that came with it and get it working.

Has a green cast to the side of faces and he has a problem with a smooth transition from SD format, he doesnt have HD, antenna or the Smartcard yet.

Can someone help? Thanks in advance. Doug

I think the best thing he can do is get a better signal. Getting HD could be as simple as a small indoor antenna for $20 depending on where he lives. Minimally, upgrade the connection from the digital cable box to component if possible (may need to upgrade box if that output isn't available on his). If that doesn't help, be sure the cable company checks his signal quality.

DC,
Thats what they are going to try tonight, he does have component out on the cable box.

If I could ask, if he has a Smartcard what advantage is there to the quality using the internal HD tuner compared to the one offered by the cable company. Thanks guys. Doug

All,

Need some help. Not sure if the problem existed before or if I did something weird. Here is the story. Wanted to hook up an HTPC that I am building to my 52525. Used the DVI-HDMI(Monlink). It all worked pretty well and I was happy. Video drivers allowed to adjust for the PC's oversan, blah blah. Then...

I noticed that on non HD signals from my cable bos, the image is stretched. Mostly vetical. Letters cut off at top and bottom. Completly seperate inputs from the PC. Using component 1. Now I am 99% sure the problem did not exist before. I think (hope) the screwing with settings I was doing on the PC were strictly adjustments for the PC output and not some bizaro backdoor into TV settings.

So -- may all be just a coincidence, but I still have stuff cut off at top on bottom. It is not a TV format issue as it seems to indicate that the input signal in 1080 and only gives options for 1080 regular and 1080 expanded. The problem is with the non expanded setting.

Any help is appreciated.

Originally posted by BosoxDanJ
All,

Need some help. Not sure if the problem existed before or if I did something weird. Here is the story. Wanted to hook up an HTPC that I am building to my 52525. Used the DVI-HDMI(Monlink). It all worked pretty well and I was happy. Video drivers allowed to adjust for the PC's oversan, blah blah. Then...

I noticed that on non HD signals from my cable bos, the image is stretched. Mostly vetical. Letters cut off at top and bottom. Completly seperate inputs from the PC. Using component 1. Now I am 99% sure the problem did not exist before. I think (hope) the screwing with settings I was doing on the PC were strictly adjustments for the PC output and not some bizaro backdoor into TV settings.

So -- may all be just a coincidence, but I still have stuff cut off at top on bottom. It is not a TV format issue as it seems to indicate that the input signal in 1080 and only gives options for 1080 regular and 1080 expanded. The problem is with the non expanded setting.

Any help is appreciated.

The first question I would ask is whether your cable box includes setting for stretching the picture?

I have a satellite system through E* and when I first set up my system, I didn't realize that the satellite box was stretching the picture at the same time the TV was stretching it. So I lost parts of the picture. I set the box to send out a "normal" picture and let the TV do the work. Works fine for me.

I hope that helps.

I have this periodic crackling with a simutaneous video static. It only lasts a second, and can occur maybe 2 x/hour. I only see it when I'm watching satelite thru the HDMI port (my primary veiwing device). Watching DVD's is fine. Those of you out there who have this problem, do you think it is the signal or the port?

Also the PIP/POP. issue. We can't seem to view multiple satellite channels at the same time since they all come from one device. This doesn't make much sense to me. What I'm I missing??

You need multiple tuners for PIP. You only have one satellite tuner. Get another one, and you can use PIP on the other one.

Hello.. This is an excellent Forum. I've learned a lot from reading through some posts.

At first I wanted a Front Projector. But, now I know I have to go with a Rear Projection. There's just too much light in the viewing area. Besides that, a 60 inch screen (or so) would be enough.

I hope to get the 62725 sometime. That is when the hurricane damage is repaired at the house. Looks like another month to go...

Originally posted by GeeWhiz1
The first question I would ask is whether your cable box includes setting for stretching the picture?

I have a satellite system through E* and when I first set up my system, I didn't realize that the satellite box was stretching the picture at the same time the TV was stretching it. So I lost parts of the picture. I set the box to send out a "normal" picture and let the TV do the work. Works fine for me.

I hope that helps.

Thanks -- that was it!

Well I finally got comcast cable installed friday and hooked up to my new 52725. Cable was already installed when I got home friday evening so the first thing I did was turn it on and put on ESPN HD. To be honest, it looked good but it wasnt really that great. I was a little disappointed because it seemed like the picture looked so much better in the show room. I started tweaking with some of the video adjustments because it just didnt seem right. I messed around with the the picture format on the mits remote and made sure it was set on 1080i standard. Nothing was working and it just didnt seem right. So I switched to the regular ESPN channel for a comparison when I noticed that the regular channel was stretched out accross the entire screen (no black bars). I knew that wasnt right so I started looking over the comcast remote and there it was "HD ZOOM". Apprently my roommate at some point before I got home had hit the zoom button on the cable remote. So I turned off the zoom and went back to the ESPN HD channel and WOW! The picture I had been waiting for. I must admit, it had me a little worried for about 10-15 minutes. Obviously if you zoom in on anything, even HD, its not going to look as good and it didnt. Needless to say I am very happy with the performance. Pleasantly surprised with SD on this set. I have noticed however that the black levels arent very very good on my TV right now. I havent really made any tweaks or adjustments to the set but I am getting almost no shadow detail at all. Anyone have any suggestions on what I may need to adjust to get my black levels a little better?

raise your brightness a bit... to the point where you see the detail in the picture, but just short of the point where it starts to look washed out. Try these settings:

Contrast : 41
Brightness: 45
Color : 31
Tint : 31

Originally posted by NovaHokie
Well I finally got comcast cable installed friday and hooked up to my new 52725. Cable was already installed when I got home friday evening so the first thing I did was turn it on and put on ESPN HD. To be honest, it looked good but it wasnt really that great. I was a little disappointed because it seemed like the picture looked so much better in the show room. I started tweaking with some of the video adjustments because it just didnt seem right. I messed around with the the picture format on the mits remote and made sure it was set on 1080i standard. Nothing was working and it just didnt seem right. So I switched to the regular ESPN channel for a comparison when I noticed that the regular channel was stretched out accross the entire screen (no black bars). I knew that wasnt right so I started looking over the comcast remote and there it was "HD ZOOM". Apprently my roommate at some point before I got home had hit the zoom button on the cable remote. So I turned off the zoom and went back to the ESPN HD channel and WOW! The picture I had been waiting for. I must admit, it had me a little worried for about 10-15 minutes. Obviously if you zoom in on anything, even HD, its not going to look as good and it didnt. Needless to say I am very happy with the performance. Pleasantly surprised with SD on this set. I have noticed however that the black levels arent very very good on my TV right now. I havent really made any tweaks or adjustments to the set but I am getting almost no shadow detail at all. Anyone have any suggestions on what I may need to adjust to get my black levels a little better?

You should have your Ccomcast box sending out 720p for optimum pq as espn is 720p native.

Kipp, I thought ESPN HD was 1080i. Also, I dont have to make any adjustments to my comcast box do I?

Originally posted by NovaHokie
Kipp, I thought ESPN HD was 1080i. Also, I dont have to make any adjustments to my comcast box do I?

ESPN-HD is a 720p station...

I'm 99.9999% sure ESPN HD is 720p. I don't have a Comcast box, but I assume it has some sort of "output format" setting where you can select the output resolution (that's what my HD sat. unit does). I set mine to output 720p to avoid a lot of annoying "flickering" when the TV has to switch from one resolution to another.

ESPN, ABC, FOX are 720p

INHD1/2, DiscoveryHD, CBS, NBC, WB, PBS are all 1080i

In the cases where you are tuned into a 720p station, you definitely want the cable box to output 720p. For 1080i stations it will depend. If the scaler in the cable box is poor, you want it to pass 1080i untouched to the TV to let the TV do the scaling. If the scaler in the cable box is ok, then just leave it at 720p and send that to your TV. You will need to experiment a bit... :)

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
ESPN, ABC, FOX are 720p

INHD1/2, DiscoveryHD, CBS, NBC, WB, PBS are all 1080i

In the cases where you are tuned into a 720p station, you definitely want the cable box to output 720p. For 1080i stations it will depend. If the scaler in the cable box is poor, you want it to pass 1080i untouched to the TV to let the TV do the scaling. If the scaler in the cable box is ok, then just leave it at 720p and send that to your TV. You will need to experiment a bit... :)

There is one slight exception to the info above, and since NovaHokie doesn't indicate his location, I'll throw it out there just in case. In the Dallas area, the ABC affiliate is broadcasting 1080i. I won't bore everybody with the explanation, but they are 1080i here....

-Randy

hehe... that should cover all the bases then :)

It's strange that your local affiliate would do that... :confused:

Originally posted by IFLYSWA
There is one slight exception to the info above, and since NovaHokie doesn't indicate his location, I'll throw it out there just in case. In the Dallas area, the ABC affiliate is broadcasting 1080i. I won't bore everybody with the explanation, but they are 1080i here....

-Randy

Actually I would think the explanation of that would be interesting!

Originally posted by spiff72
Actually I would think the explanation of that would be interesting!

As you wish...I PM'd Terp about it to try and avoid boring everybody else! Belo owns WFAA, the local ABC affiliate here. They also own a number of stations across the US, most of which are affiliated with 1080i broadcasters. In order to simplify their world and support only one standard, they chose to broadcast here in 1080i rather than 720p. That's it.... :)

-Randy

With some HD STB's you can set to native and it will go to what ever format it is broadcast in.

Im not up on the digital sets as yet or this one but Im reading along trying to learn what this one does. Doug

Thanks for the help everyone, I guess I'll have to go home tonight and play around with the cable box because I believe it is outputting 1080i. I could be wrong but I believe that is the case.

My 2 month old 62725 died today !!!! Fast flashing timer light, no picture. Tried resetting, and unplugging for an hour. As soon as I plug it in, timer light flashes and no picture. Repair man coming back out tomorrow. I want a new tv.

The following is from the Motorola DCT6200-6208 manual:
You can use this on-screen menu to configure your high definition
settings for TV type, DVI and/or YPbPr video output and closed
captioning.
"To access your high definition settings, ensure that your DCT* is plugged
into a power outlet and is turned off. Press the MENU key on the front
panel. If your TV is on, the on-screen display menu appears listing the
settings you can configure.
DVI/YPbPr OUTPUT
Use your remote control or the cursor keys on the front panel to navigate
the on-screen display. Press the ▲ and ▼ keys to highlight the setting
you wish to change. Press the ► key to select an option for that setting.
To exit the setting and move to another setting, use the ▲ and ▼ keys.
To exit the menu and save your settings, press the POWER or MENU key."

I just took delivery of my 52725 this weekend and am in the process of tweaking the picture. I have noticed people posting their settings on the TV. I am wondering how to use the Perfect color adjustment. I see the color bars on the lower right. Am I just supposed to eyeball the colors as I adust them or is there a more scientific way?

Im interested in buying a 52725 but there are few questions i have about it. Any info you can give would be appreciated. Thanks :)

1. Are there any outstanding problems with this model?
2. How does SD look on it?
3. Is there and lag during video games or movies?
4. Are the viewing angles decent?

I have the 52725 and an Xbox. No lag problems that I've noticed. I used it to finally beat Halo 2 and it was great. Sharp pictures and really good black levels compared to my previous rear projection setup.

Viewing angles have impressed my wife more than anything. Compared to the rear projection setup we had previously you can see the screen from anywhere in our room even the dining room table.

SD looks fine to me but you can tell a difference between it and HD very easily. All of my family has been impressed with the SD picture until I show them a HD channel.

I've not experienced any of the problems that have been mentioned in this thread. However, I've only had the TV around 2 weeks but have put it through it's paces so far.

BTW, I justed ordered my firmware update. Should be here tomorrow or Thursday at the latest via next day UPS.

My manufacture date is January 2005.

Thanks.
Looks like i'll have to read through this massive thread to see what problems others have complained about.

Whenever I hit format on my remote it says 1080i in the upper left hand corner. Does this mean that my HD cable box is outputting everything in 1080i? I think that is why I thought ESPN was in 1080i because the only thing I really watched this weekend after I got the cable hooked up was ESPN HD and it always said 1080i in the upper left hand corner when I hit the format button. I tried messing with the cable box last night but got no where. Hopefully SK8_MD's post will help even though I have a different model box. Ill give it a shot trying it that way. Sucks that I never got an owner's manuel for my HD box.

Yes, it means that your box is sending a 1080i signal to your TV for all channels.

Originally posted by NovaHokie
Kipp, I thought ESPN HD was 1080i. Also, I dont have to make any adjustments to my comcast box do I?

720p and you will see a difference in pq after changing to 720p output. Yes, you need to go in and change the output to 720p. Turn the box off, press menu, the menu will come up on your screen, change to 720p. Hit menu to exit, power up and there you go, very easy.

anyone have the SA 8000hd hooked up through a DVI to HDMI cable and how is the performance? Right now I have the my digital cable hooked up via monster component cables and was wondering what kind of improvement I would see with a DVI to HDMI cable. Also anyone have any suggestions on where to look for a good DVI to HDMI cable? Thanks

I picked up a Monster DVI to HDMI cable from best buy (had a gift certificate) for around $119.00 or if you have a DVI cable they sale a converter for $29.00.

My last HT setup we got a 66' Fiberoptic DVI cable made for $800 and I thought that was high. Now I feel like it was a baragin compared to the $120 for a 6'!

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/DVI-hdmi_cables.html

reasonable prices and good cables... spending so much on cabling is not at all worth it.

Originally posted by Blaine3119
My 2 month old 62725 died today !!!! Fast flashing timer light, no picture. Tried resetting, and unplugging for an hour. As soon as I plug it in, timer light flashes and no picture. Repair man coming back out tomorrow. I want a new tv.


Repair man came out today and checked set and called Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi said they would overnight a new chassis, hopefully to be installed by end of week..

Well I finally got comcast cable installed friday and hooked up to my new 52725. Cable was already installed when I got home friday evening so the first thing I did was turn it on and put on ESPN HD. To be honest, it looked good but it wasnt really that great. I was a little disappointed because it seemed like the picture looked so much better in the show room

This is not surprising as in the showroom the contrast is generally set all the way up, really juicing the picture. This looks great in some ways but does create strange artifacts. it seems most people prefer a setting in the 30s or 40s.

Originally posted by CADCONV
I picked up a Monster DVI to HDMI cable from best buy (had a gift certificate) for around $119.00

ebay..do a dvi hdmi search..got my cable for $13 delivered..:D

Ditto.

ebay rules...sometimes :(

I am still waiting to get feed back on the perfect color settings.
Is it worth adjusting or is the UM tweaks good enough?

Thanks

Can anybody help?

I have the 62725 and a Denon 3910 connected via HDMI. I am getting crappy color on DVD's only. I checked my 3910 settings and it appears I am not getting the HDMI output to the TV. When the 'HDMI Select' button on the 3910 is pushed, the TV only outputs anything when set to 'HDMI/DVI OFF' which is the factory default. When I try to set it to 'HDMI Y Cb Cr' I only get a blue screen on the MIts - same when I set it to 'HDMI RGB' - ARRGHH. The 3910 manual is pretty good - the Mits manual on the other hand is terrible. I figure I've either:

1. Got a bad HDMI cable or

2. Failed to set the Mits up properly to see that HDMI signal

I'm guessing it's me rather than the cable :rolleyes:

Can anyone guide me through what I should check? The menu's on the Mits are very counterintuitive to me - I couldn't even figure out what to do from the manual!:confused:

Please help - my family is killing me - watching 'The Incredibles' on DVD last night was so bad color-wise I almost had to turn it off!!

Thanks for your support!

Paul

I am getting crappy color on DVD's only. I checked my 3910 settings and it appears I am not getting the HDMI output to the TV

I'm not clear on your problem - are you getting no HDMI signal or are you getting a poor quality HDMI signal? Does you DVD player work OK using your other inputs (component, S-video etc)?

Has anyone tried hooking up a Directivo? Unfortunately, the SD version only supports S-video or composite, so the picture is not very good. Has anyone had success with fine tuning the picture, to make it at least bareable to watch.

Hi August,
Thanks for the reply. I guess I don't know what I don't know! The only outputs from the 3910 are:

1. HDMI direct to the 62725

and

2. Component cables to the Denon 3805 AVR which in turn has component cables going to the 62725

I think that the problem is that I have in someway incorrectly identified the incoming connectivity to the Mits. I don't know which source I am actually seeing! The color is terrible either way, but only on DVD's. I've used DVE to do some fine tuning on the TV itself and the colors look fine on broadcast programs, the only problem is with DVD's. The menu's and manual for the Mits really leave something to be desired, so that's why I'm asking the collective for some help troubleshooting this. BTW, even if part of the problem is that the signal that the Mits is seeing is from the component input as described above rather than the HDMI, it still shouldn't look this bad as far as I understand it!!!!

Did I mention that any help is GREATLY APPRECIATED?????

I know I'm just being a Bozo somewhere, and don't mind taking some public humiliation to learn where it is!!! :p

Thanks to all,
Paul

1. HDMI direct to the 62725

In order to know which input you are seeing you need to know how you labelled them. if you did NOT set up using netcommand the HDMI input is called "Monlink" in the input menu and your component input is called "COMP-1". if you used Netcommand to set up your inputs these have likely been renamed, depending on what you described each input as being. I don't use the Netcommand feature myself.

Once you determine you have the right input selected I would suggest using DVE to create your settings. Note that each input has a memory for video and audio settings, so the settings you choose for the Monlink input will not be transferred over to the COMP-1 (or other) inputs. If you plan on using several inputs for your DVD player (or want to compare inputs head to head) you should run DVE for each DVD player input.

Also, check the video settings on your DVD player, if your player has these. Are they screwed up? For me, I have all my DVD player settings as neutral (except sharpness, which I turned down and brightness which I had to move up a bit to get the DVD player to pass BTB).

Not sure if this is what you were looking for. good luck

I have a Dish 811 connected to my Mits via component AND DVI to HDMI cable. The colors on component are more vibrant than the HDMI input, but some might argue that these colors are more "natural". I don't actually watch via HDMI - I use the component video input 99% of the time.

I have a Dish 811 connected to my Mits via component AND DVI to HDMI cable. The colors on component are more vibrant than the HDMI input, but some might argue that these colors are more "natural". I don't actually watch via HDMI - I use the component video input 99% of the time.

Does your dish send out a 720p in both component and HDMI? if so this is not the case with some other HDMI devices.

With my Panny S97 DVD player, for example, component is 480i and the HDMI is selectable between 480p, 720p and 1080i. I use the HDMI at 480p right now although I have not spent a lot of time comparing to the component input.

Originally posted by August West
Does your dish send out a 720p in both component and HDMI? if so this is not the case with some other HDMI devices.

With my Panny S97 DVD player, for example, component is 480i and the HDMI is selectable between 480p, 720p and 1080i. I use the HDMI at 480p right now although I have not spent a lot of time comparing to the component input.

Yes there is a menu where you can choose 1080i, 720p, or 480p (and maybe 480i). This is sent out on the DVI as well as on the component video output. Note that the 811 has a DVI connection, not HDMI, and I am using a DVI to HDMI cable to connect to the Mits.

August, thanks again for the informative reply. I have a couple of questions:

What specifically do you mean by the 'input' menu?

My remote only has the following buttons that I think are related:
Device Up/Down - next to the channel up/down button
TV Menu - has 'Setup, Netcommand,Antenna, Time, Captions, VChip,Audio/Video
Device Menu - which does nothing at all when I push it

None of these specifically indicates an 'input menu' where I could make the appropriate changes. When I select 'TV Menu' and then 'Setup', all I can do there is select 'Language' and 'Color Balance', nothing else. My slider at the top of the remote is set to TV on the left, because at least so far I don't use this remote to control any of my other devices. Why doesn't the 'Device Menu' button do anything??? My Denon 3910 DVD player wasn't one of the products the Mits had pre-programmed into it, so since I saw no other way to input device connectivity to the Mits, I guess I did use the NetCommand menu intially. What other way is there? The owners manual does not give any info to do this as far as I can see. What am I missing??

Could anyone else chime in if August isn't around??

Thanks,
PF

You will need to use the "Device Up down" and look for the "MonLink" device. This would be your HDMI input. If you renamed it to something else when you set up Netcommand for that device, it should show up there under that name. To see if you have renamed it (or to see if it will even show up in the list of devices, go to your "TV Menu" button, and then pick the "NetCommand" item. Once in there, go to the "Review" option. It should show a list of ALL of the possible inputs (their default names are in the second column), along with assigned names for each (these are in the first column), and the third column shows the audio output or your receiver input that is assigned to each of these items. Look for "Monlink" in that second column, make note of what it is called in the first column, and make sure that line is checked on the far left. This controls whether they show up in the list you get when you press that "Device Up/Down" button.

The "Device Menu" button is one that is assigned to devices like DVD players when you set up the Netcommand software. It has default values that are assigned, and you can customize it somewhat for each device. Find the reference card that came with your TV (the one that is glossy and folds out if I remember right) - it shows what these buttons do for the various modes (netcommand and maybe the modes that can be chosen with the slider switch at the top of the remote). This "Device Menu" should probably be called the "Device-Specific Menu", since it is often used as the "Menu" button for the selected device. As an example, it is the "TiVo" button for my stand alone TiVo, and it is the main menu for my DVD recorder.

While you are looking at the Netcommand review screen, take a look at the input that your DVD's component video cables are connected to. (It should be called something like "Comp-1" or "Comp-2").

I hope this helps.

Jeff


Originally posted by PauldF
August, thanks again for the informative reply. I have a couple of questions:

What specifically do you mean by the 'input' menu?

My remote only has the following buttons that I think are related:
Device Up/Down - next to the channel up/down button
TV Menu - has 'Setup, Netcommand,Antenna, Time, Captions, VChip,Audio/Video
Device Menu - which does nothing at all when I push it

None of these specifically indicates an 'input menu' where I could make the appropriate changes. When I select 'TV Menu' and then 'Setup', all I can do there is select 'Language' and 'Color Balance', nothing else. My slider at the top of the remote is set to TV on the left, because at least so far I don't use this remote to control any of my other devices. Why doesn't the 'Device Menu' button do anything??? My Denon 3910 DVD player wasn't one of the products the Mits had pre-programmed into it, so since I saw no other way to input device connectivity to the Mits, I guess I did use the NetCommand menu intially. What other way is there? The owners manual does not give any info to do this as far as I can see. What am I missing??

Could anyone else chime in if August isn't around??

Thanks,
PF

Is there a way to directly select an input immediately without cycling through the device up/down options, selecting the desired input, then hitting the "enter" button?

Thanks to you guys, I have fixed one major issue - my HDMI link was never working - it wasn't set up properly in the Netcommand menu when I 'Reviewed' it!

DVD color is now flat out spectacular!!!!

As far as it goes, I still don't quite understand how to set up all the other devices through the AVR. I'm not sure how to have both the component and HDMI connections configured from one DVD player - although now, I'm no longer sure why I would want to. Getting all the other devices routed correctly through the AVR will be a challange.

Thanks again so much for just taking the time to give me a nudge in the right direction!

I am struggling with a similar issue having a series 2 Tivo. You can try running your s-video through you progressive scan DVD player if you have a decent one for a minimal improvement. Otherwise I think you are in the same boat as me . . . . . shelling out $3500 for TV, Stand, Warranty, and cables just won't cut it. You need shell out another grand for Direct Tivo or deal with it until prices come down. Or bury the Tivo and that is impossible to do once you have it.

Originally posted by rknott
I am struggling with a similar issue having a series 2 Tivo. You can try running your s-video through you progressive scan DVD player if you have a decent one for a minimal improvement. Otherwise I think you are in the same boat as me . . . . . shelling out $3500 for TV, Stand, Warranty, and cables just won't cut it. You need shell out another grand for Direct Tivo or deal with it until prices come down. Or bury the Tivo and that is impossible to do once you have it.

I have a standalone TiVo (One of the first Series 2 models) hooked to my TV via Svideo, and it looks fine. I have both cable (analog) and satellite hooked up to the Tivo inputs, and the satellite picture definitely looks better than the cable picture. I don't understand why a directivo would be worse, unless I am just not as picky about PQ than I thought I was. :D

You might want to try hooking up the Tivo via a composite connection and see how that works. I haven't tried it, but I have heard that the Svideo input usually bypasses some of the comb filters on the TV. Composite does not bypass them. This is just pure speculation though.

Or if you are watching the Tivo "stretched", I would recommend watching in "Narrow" mode. I watch all SD content in narrow mode because I don't care for the stretching.

Jeff

Originally posted by gvc
Is there a way to directly select an input immediately without cycling through the device up/down options, selecting the desired input, then hitting the "enter" button?

Yes, but you'll have to buy a programmable (not just "learning") remote control so you can use a computer to tell the remote which signals to send. Do some searches for JP1 remotes. Or buy something like a Pronto.

Originally posted by Lombard
Yes, but you'll have to buy a programmable (not just "learning") remote control so you can use a computer to tell the remote which signals to send. Do some searches for JP1 remotes. Or buy something like a Pronto.

there's a way to put the Mits remote into a mode where it sends these signals discretely. Then it's just a matter of 'teaching' these codes to a 'learning' remote. I did it with my AVR remote, with no computer involvement. I believe the details are hidden somewhere in this long thread.

BUMMED

I saw the earlier note on a set dying and I think my 52525 died yesterday as well (whatever that means). I have only had it for a week and all I get is a bunch of grey rectangles and a flashing green power light. How common is this? I am getting a new one delivered on warranty Friday but geeeez, I have never had a TV die that quick in my entire life. Were there any known production issues? Anyone know what happened to it?

Mine "died" last week. Had it for two months. My picture went totaly out and the timer led was flashing fast. Ended up replacing the whoe chassis with a new one, 1,500 dollar part. All is good now, even came with the latest .05 software.

On my 52725, I don't have a noticeable bright spot and the lag only occurs when I change channels between SD and HD. What's wierd is that just preceding the lag, I get a lot of horizontal colored lines. In other words, when changing from SD to HD or vice-versa, I get horizontal colored lines, followed by the black screen lag, then the channel and everything works fine. I'm using a Comcast DVR box and a HDMI connection, but the same occurs with component video hookup. I'm going to call Comcast to see about switching DVR boxes.

Has anybody seen this before?

Originally posted by tseitter
... when changing from SD to HD or vice-versa, I get horizontal colored lines, followed by the black screen lag, then the channel and everything works fine. ...

Has anybody seen this before?
Try setting your cable box to output 720p. IMO the TV should do a cleaner job of swicthing between formats, but it doesn't.

Does anyone know what fixes have been implemented between firmware versions .04 and .05 other than the audio switching fix?

It seems to have eliminated the "lockups" I would experience when "surfing" digital channels with the remote.

Also, the Comcast digital music channels now produce a digital output. In .04, they only showed up on the analog outputs.

I've been very pleased with .05.

Originally posted by Gordon Shumway
My parents just took delivery of their 725 this afternoon, and the Cox cable guy showed up a couple of hours later to install the new cable card.

I was scared to death after reading this thread but we're very happy to say that we see NO rainbows, no bright spots, and it's very quiet overall. Best of all NO major glare problems..even with three lamps on in various areas in the room.

I was also scared that this was the FIRST install of a card this guy has ever done, and there were some nervous moments listening to him chatting with the main office (oh and he got two back to back calls from his bitchy girlfriend) but I'm happy to report that we are getting all the HD channels now and even the non HD stuff looks amazing!

Now I want one!!

G.

What area of the country are you in, Gordon?

I have now had a Cox Communications tech here 3 times trying to install a CableCard in my 52725.

First attempt (using software version 4.03), he would get "Host certificate invalid" when he inserted the CableCard.

Second attempt, same result (thought the card used the first time were bad). This time, i figured it might be a problem with the TV, so a call to Mits later and they sent out the 4.05 software update. (Apparently it is supposed to correct many CableCard related problems)

Third attempt (now using software version 4.05) today, same "Host certificate invalid" error. I tried to call Mits but they are close for Good Friday.

Anyone else have (or have heard of) this "Host certificate invalid" error? I'm pulling my hair out trying to get this working and it should be a lot easier than this.

I just received my 52725 about 3 weeks ago and immediately fell in love with it. My wife was extremely hesitant about spending this much money on a TV, but after watching some of the travel shows on the HD channels, even she is blown away by it. We have been loving every minute of viewing it up until last night. We put in a DVD and noticed what appears to be a "tear" or a "discoloration" in the top right section of the TV. This mark is about 2 or 3 inches wide and about 5 or 6 inches long and runs down vertically from the top of the TV, about 8 or 9 inches from the right corner. This is extremely difficult to describe but I am wondering if anyone else has heard of such a thing? It is most visible when there is something bright on the screen and is pretty much invisible during dark scenes. This shows up when running through regular cable, through the cable box, through the Tivo and on DVD's. I was hoping that after we had turned off the TV last night and gone to bed that it would just rest and everything would be better by morning. Of course, this was not the case.

I am planning to call the store where I bought it tomorrow and see what they say. I was just wondering if someone else might have seen this, so I can perhaps know exactly what the problem is and maybe what is involved with getting it repaired. Any info is much appreciated and if I didn't do a very good job of explaining the issue, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

Originally posted by Diggit2001
I just received my 52725 about 3 weeks ago and immediately fell in love with it. My wife was extremely hesitant about spending this much money on a TV, but after watching some of the travel shows on the HD channels, even she is blown away by it. We have been loving every minute of viewing it up until last night. We put in a DVD and noticed what appears to be a "tear" or a "discoloration" in the top right section of the TV. This mark is about 2 or 3 inches wide and about 5 or 6 inches long and runs down vertically from the top of the TV, about 8 or 9 inches from the right corner. This is extremely difficult to describe but I am wondering if anyone else has heard of such a thing? It is most visible when there is something bright on the screen and is pretty much invisible during dark scenes. This shows up when running through regular cable, through the cable box, through the Tivo and on DVD's. I was hoping that after we had turned off the TV last night and gone to bed that it would just rest and everything would be better by morning. Of course, this was not the case.

I am planning to call the store where I bought it tomorrow and see what they say. I was just wondering if someone else might have seen this, so I can perhaps know exactly what the problem is and maybe what is involved with getting it repaired. Any info is much appreciated and if I didn't do a very good job of explaining the issue, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

Can you take a picture of this and post it here? I haven't heard or seen this yet...

Jeff

Originally posted by Diggit2001
I just received my 52725 about 3 weeks ago and immediately fell in love with it. My wife was extremely hesitant about spending this much money on a TV, but after watching some of the travel shows on the HD channels, even she is blown away by it. We have been loving every minute of viewing it up until last night. We put in a DVD and noticed what appears to be a "tear" or a "discoloration" in the top right section of the TV. This mark is about 2 or 3 inches wide and about 5 or 6 inches long and runs down vertically from the top of the TV, about 8 or 9 inches from the right corner. This is extremely difficult to describe but I am wondering if anyone else has heard of such a thing? It is most visible when there is something bright on the screen and is pretty much invisible during dark scenes. This shows up when running through regular cable, through the cable box, through the Tivo and on DVD's. I was hoping that after we had turned off the TV last night and gone to bed that it would just rest and everything would be better by morning. Of course, this was not the case.

I am planning to call the store where I bought it tomorrow and see what they say. I was just wondering if someone else might have seen this, so I can perhaps know exactly what the problem is and maybe what is involved with getting it repaired. Any info is much appreciated and if I didn't do a very good job of explaining the issue, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

I had the same problem but it was multiple spots like you are describing. Appeared after I had the tv for about 2 months. Ended up just being dust settled on the mirror, tech came out and cleaned the mirror and all was good, actually a little better than new. I have read on these forums that the Mitsubishis come really dirty from the factory.

Sub/Cancel

I must be the only guy who didn't see this useful info, cause its right in the manual. Our cable has HD locals via QAM on:
105-3
105-5
105-8

You can add the "-" with the sub/cancel button!

To tune directly to 105-8, for example, press:
1
0
5
sub/cancel
8
enter

Just posting this in case anyone else missed it too.

Blaine3119 and Diggit2001,

I just noticed something like the "tearing" you are describing this weekend while watching a DVD. It lasted for 10 seconds or so before it disappeared. Are your experiences intermittent or persistent?

I chucked it up as a DVD thing but they usually skip or lockup. I'm concerned that this may actually be the TV now since I hadn't seen an artifact like that before.

I'll have to find some time to check the DVD again but was curious about your experiences.

Thanks.

Pdubya,

I first noticed the problem while watching a DVD as well and was hoping it was just a DVD issue, but it also shows up from other input sources as well. It is a constant problem but isn't really noticeable unless there is something pretty bright on the screen.

I called Gramophone, where I bought the TV, and told them about it this morning. They mentioned that it could be related to some magnetic interference from a speaker nearby but I told them that my front speakers were'nt very close to the TV. They are sending someone out this Wednesday. I'll let you know what I find out.

Originally posted by Diggit2001
Pdubya,

I first noticed the problem while watching a DVD as well and was hoping it was just a DVD issue, but it also shows up from other input sources as well. It is a constant problem but isn't really noticeable unless there is something pretty bright on the screen.

I called Gramophone, where I bought the TV, and told them about it this morning. They mentioned that it could be related to some magnetic interference from a speaker nearby but I told them that my front speakers were'nt very close to the TV. They are sending someone out this Wednesday. I'll let you know what I find out.

Just an FYI...

I am no electrical engineer, but there should not be any issues with an unshielded speaker causing magnetic interference on a DLP TV. That would only be an effect you would get with CRT based sets, since the magnetic fields would deflect the electron beams in the tube. Since the DLP chip doesn't use this type of technology, it shouldn't be an issue.

Jeff

Yeah, honestly it kinda sounded like they were feeding me a bit of BS on the phone. I am assuming at this point that it has something to do with the dirty mirror as Blaine3119 pointed out above.

I'm just hoping that it's something that simple...

FYI... For those of you who removed your protective screen, the screen frame (i.e. trim kit) is available at Good Guys, at least the one in Tigard, Oregon. They are asking MSRP which I believe is 49.99 for the SF-52. Just picked one up last weekend. The box has a nice bubble pack that you can use to store your protective screen.

So I have had my tv for about 2 weeks or so and I am pretty happy with it. Some of the HD channels dont look as good as I would like but I dont really think that is my TV. ESPN HD looks amazing but some of the others like FOXHD just look so so. Maybe its just the signal that I am receiving from comcast. Right now I have my digital cable box hooked up via monster component cables but I have already ordered a DVi to HDMi cable and will use that in the future (hopefully this will help a bit). Question I have is right now my 52725 has firmware v. 4.03. I'm really not experiencing any major problems with the tv so is it worth calling mits and going through the hassle of upgrading to version 4.05? What exactly will I get out of the newest firmware? Thanks is advance.

Fox's broadcasts are a bit second rate. The resolution is fine. But the video looks really grainy.

Cable companies tend to re-compress digital video, too, which makes it look a lot worse than what you could get with an antenna.

The latest firmware will enable a cablecard to work, and it will eliminate some freezes when switching between inputs. It will also fix a bug that keeps some receivers from switching between analog and digital audio automatically. It is definitely worth the upgrade.

Wow, just read through 131 pages.... boy are my eyes tired.

Because of price, I think I'll be getting a 52525, removing the shield, ordering the trimming, and then calling up for the firmware upgrade (if it needs it) to .05.

Thank for the TONS AND TONS of info guys.

Usually I relagate myself to the ReplayTV thread, but avsforums has so much more I'm finding out. Kudos.

While I was at my local Mits dealer, I happened to see a WD-52327. From my initial observation, it did NOT have any kind of shield over the screen (for those concerned about glare). Checked briefly on www.mitsubishi-tv.com, and also learned that this set does NOT have an internal HD tuner. So, it would appear this set is worth considering for someone using a cable-box (and thus don't need the internal tuner), AND who's concerned about glare. Not sure what other options are different, so caveat emptor.

Myself, I get my HD from OTA, so I couldn't live without the internal tuner, and glare isn't a problem in the basement so I'll stick with my WD-52725.

The 52327 also won't accept a 720p signal as an input. A 720p TV that won't accept a 720p signal. I don't get the point. It would basically cripple the TV.

Oddly enough, Tweeter dropped carrying the WD-52525 in favor of the WD-52327!

Originally posted by tbone526
While I was at my local Mits dealer, I happened to see a WD-52327. From my initial observation, it did NOT have any kind of shield over the screen (for those concerned about glare). Checked briefly on www.mitsubishi-tv.com, and also learned that this set does NOT have an internal HD tuner. So, it would appear this set is worth considering for someone using a cable-box (and thus don't need the internal tuner), AND who's concerned about glare. Not sure what other options are different, so caveat emptor.

Myself, I get my HD from OTA, so I couldn't live without the internal tuner, and glare isn't a problem in the basement so I'll stick with my WD-52725.

Is this an old model? I thought it was a requirement that any TV that is either built or sold (can't recall which) after July of 04 and is larger than 40" or so (can't recall the size) MUST have an internal ATSC tuner.

Am I way off base here?

Jeff

Jeff,

The requirement is July 05, not 04.

Originally posted by Shape
Jeff,

The requirement is July 05, not 04.

Ahhhhh...

That explains my confusion! :D

How are they pricing this model in comparison to the 52525?

Originally posted by spiff72
How are they pricing this model in comparison to the 52525?

As I recall, it's about $400 or so less than a 52525.

I'm not advocating it by any means, just brought it up for discussion here since people use this thread for research (as I did myself before I bought mine). Thought this set might be a good option for someone who doesn't want the glare screen and doesn't need the internal tuner, similar to the Sammy offerings of late last year (not sure what they have out now). The inability to accept a 720p input, if true, has me wondering though.

Does anyone know if there is a way to get the TV to display the signal strength coming in via the digital cable? I know about the OTA strength via "menu 2-4-7-0" but this does not work for anything but OTA.

Originally posted by August West
Does anyone know if there is a way to get the TV to display the signal strength coming in via the digital cable? I know about the OTA strength via "menu 2-4-7-0" but this does not work for anything but OTA.

Actually it does show a value if you are watching a digital cable channel. I think it is reasonably accurate from what I have seen. It says "N/A" or something like that if you check it on an analog cable (or OTA channel). It really is a "Digital Signal Strength".

Jeff

Other than the fact that it is a little slow to update, it seems to work fairly well... I did some experimenting with it a while back when I had an indoor antenna and the ATSC could pick up the station with as little signal strength as 2 or 3.

Originally posted by tbone526
As I recall, it's about $400 or so less than a 52525.

I'm not advocating it by any means, just brought it up for discussion here since people use this thread for research (as I did myself before I bought mine). Thought this set might be a good option for someone who doesn't want the glare screen and doesn't need the internal tuner, similar to the Sammy offerings of late last year (not sure what they have out now). The inability to accept a 720p input, if true, has me wondering though.

It is missing a lot of the XX525 series' features...

No HDMI (just DVI - but this may not be too bad)
No PC input
No ATSC tuner
No Firewire
No netcommand
No 720p support (seems to support the rumors that its guts came from a CRT RPTV)
No card reader (that I can see)
No Cablecard

I probably missed some :D

Jeff

bwahaha... I think I remember posting that it sounds like the hardware chassis of the 327 came from a CRT... I never thought that it would become rumor especially since I have no proof to back that up... but it certainly seems plausible ;)

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
bwahaha... I think I remember posting that it sounds like the hardware chassis of the 327 came from a CRT... I never thought that it would become rumor especially since I have no proof to back that up... but it certainly seems plausible ;)

Sorry Terp - I should have credited that rumor to you - I think I saw it in your posting in the other Mits thread. That is how rumors get started, you know!

:D

Guys, a quick question. My searches didn't find anything so I thought I'd turn to the experts. My 60 day old WD-52525 lost it's internal speakers today. No problems for the first two months, everything was fine before I turned it off last night, but when I got home today and turned the TV on - no sound. There was no power outage, no kids at home to mess with things. I went thru the manual and tried everything plus a 20 minute session with a Mitsubishi CSR. Everything we tried didn't work. Please don't ask if the mute button is on, I'm not that bad off! Just wondering if anyone has heard of internal speakers quiting like that on a Mitsubishi DLP
I can't get a service rep out until next Tuesday so only DVD's for a week.
By the way- a GREAT forum everyone - I've learned a TON
Charlie

There is a spot in the TV menu that lets you turn off the speakers. I prefer not to do that so that I can hit mute and turn on the closed captioning.

Are you sure that you didn't do that by accident?

It is under Audio/Video, on the far right.

Has there been any success in the newer versions of the firmware? I have moved my PC away from the TV (long story). I am thinking about getting a new Powerbook, though, and I know that they have a pretty slick DVHS emulator.

I just wonder if I can record off cable, or if I am stuck with OTA only yet.

Thanks!
Jeff

I currently have a case open with Mitsubishi regarding this issue. It has been a week since I last called them back and will be calling them again tomorrow asking for an update. From my own experimentation, it seems that cablecard or not, recording from the QAM tuner is broken. I've attempted to record from an authorized cablecard channel to my Mitsubishi DVHS deck and every time either I get a blank recording, or a copy protection error on the VCR. It does not matter what channel it is... HD or digital SD. I have a Motorola cablecard and under the cablecard device menu's Conditional Access screen, copy protection is listed as being disabled and the CCI field is "00", meaning copy freely for every channel.

I have since then also removed the cablecard and scanned for stations that are broadcast unencrypted from my cable company. As it turns out, all my local stations are broadcast in the clear. I tried to record from those as well and the same thing happens meaning that cablecard or not, the recording from the QAM tuner over firewire is not working.

From what others have posted, it seems that people using PCs are getting 0-byte files and such indicating that the data going across the firewire network is either invalid or just not there. Given everything in the TV user manual, specifically page 18, this function should work. All of my testing has been done with software revs starting from 01 all the way to the latest 05. I have had three different cablecards since then and all of them yield the same result. At this point, I would not put the blame on the card anyways.

If I have any more information, I will post it here.

EDIT: OTA works just fine... pretty much flawlessly as far as I can tell. I have no antenna anymore, so I did not test this with the latest firmware rev, but it was working up to rev 03.

Well I am an unfortunate member of the bright spot club. I purchased a 62825 a month ago, and my bright spot is there. Build date is November 2004. I'm calling my dealer this morning. I waited a month to see if it went away, but it hasn't. Overall, I have mixed emotions about this set. I have a Denon 3910 and the dvds thru the hdmi are stunning; i also have the LG hi-def Tivo for directtv, and the high def channels are great thru hdmi. (I use the hds-21r switcher) .....however, i've been very disappointed in the standard def pictures from direct tv and the HD on the over the air channels. I watched CSI last night and what was suppose to be a HD pix was not very good. This, however, could be more of a DirecTTV problem. I'll update on what my dealer has to say. Is there any processor available that would get the standard def pix looking better??? If i could get that fixed, i could live with the bright spot.

UMD_Terp,

I agree on the OTA recording - I had good luck with it too, but was never able to get any recording from the cable channels. The ones I tried were the HD "in the clear" locals.

I only use the antenna for CBS now, since that is the only station my Charter doesn't carry. I would hate to have to use the antenna for HD recording, when I have 3 perfectly good HD cable channels.

I got zero byte files when I tried it, as well.

Please keep us posted on this issue. I think it is a serious one that Mits should give priority to.

Thanks,
Jeff

Originally posted by mfrizzzz
Well I am an unfortunate member of the bright spot club. I purchased a 62825 a month ago, and my bright spot is there. Build date is November 2004. I'm calling my dealer this morning. I waited a month to see if it went away, but it hasn't. Overall, I have mixed emotions about this set. I have a Denon 3910 and the dvds thru the hdmi are stunning; i also have the LG hi-def Tivo for directtv, and the high def channels are great thru hdmi. (I use the hds-21r switcher) .....however, i've been very disappointed in the standard def pictures from direct tv and the HD on the over the air channels. I watched CSI last night and what was suppose to be a HD pix was not very good. This, however, could be more of a DirecTTV problem. I'll update on what my dealer has to say. Is there any processor available that would get the standard def pix looking better??? If i could get that fixed, i could live with the bright spot.

CBS OTA can be pretty bad, but I blame it on my local affiliate doing the multicasting of the SD subchannel. PQ suffers in fast motion scenes. I think this will be the case regardless of the TV you watch it on. DirectTV could definitely be compressing it even further, worsening the problem.

My SD picture is pretty good on the 62525. I would advise not stretching SD content to fill the screen if that is what you are doing. I watch SD in 4:3 - it just looks a lot better to me.

Actually it does show a value if you are watching a digital cable channel. I think it is reasonably accurate from what I have seen. It says "N/A" or something like that if you check it on an analog cable (or OTA channel). It really is a "Digital Signal Strength".

Hmmm. I have digital cable and all I got was the "NA" reading. I do NOT have digital HD cable, for what that's worth. I will check this again but I know I tried this.

however, i've been very disappointed in the standard def pictures from direct tv and the HD on the over the air channels.

I'm surprised about your comment on OTA HD. I live in Maryland too and think the HD OTA is quite good. You may want to go to the local HDTV OTA thread for Baltimore and poke around. Without getting off topic here, the only complaint I have for Baltimore channels is that the OTA SD programming on NBC Channel 11 is terrible as they put the SD into some kind of stretch mode.

Relative to SD via direct TV I can't comment as I have cable but I will say that my SD picture quality was not very good until I put a signal booster in the line (there are two 4 way splitters in the cable causing signal degradation). That helped quite a bit although the lower VHF channels still are not great. I don't think this is the TV, though, I blame Adelphia. Are you sure it's not a direct TV problem and not the TV?

Originally posted by August West
Hmmm. I have digital cable and all I got was the "NA" reading. I do NOT have digital HD cable, for what that's worth. I will check this again but I know I tried this.

I would bet that you were watching an analog cable channel when you looked at that menu. You have to remember that if you have digital cable, most (if not all) cable systems still deliver some of the channels in analog (usually channels 2-99). Digitals will often start once you get to channel 100 and higher.

would bet that you were watching an analog cable channel when you looked at that menu. You have to remember that if you have digital cable, most (if not all) cable systems still deliver some of the channels in analog (usually channels 2-99). Digitals will often start once you get to channel 100 and higher.

I'll try that out. Assuming this to be the case is there any way to gauge signal strength on the analog channels? Per one of my posts above some of my lower VHF channels are not of great quality even after adding a signal booster and i'm trying to determine if additional boosting is a possible fix or if it is just a bag signal from the cable folks.

The obvious answer is "call the cable company" of course.

Well, I just talked to my local dealer at the Big Screen Store about the bright spot on my 62825. He was very helpful. He said I was the first of his customers to experience the problem (lucky me), but he had read about it on the internet and he said they would take care of it to my satisfaction. The first step is having a service tech come out and look at it. I'll update once this happens.

Yeah August, it could very well be that the SD prgoramming problem is a DirectV issue, but I was just expecting so much more for the $$$$ spent on this set. Maybe fixing the bright spot will also improve picture quality. Figure if that light is leaking from somewhere, maybe it can be redirected towards improving the pix.

Originally posted by spiff72
I would bet that you were watching an analog cable channel when you looked at that menu. You have to remember that if you have digital cable, most (if not all) cable systems still deliver some of the channels in analog (usually channels 2-99). Digitals will often start once you get to channel 100 and higher.


I only get the digital signal strength number when viewing direct cable input from using the built in QAM tuner and only "N/A" when viewing any channel through the cable box input(hdmi). I assume that the higher the number the better the signal? what is the actual number range,, 1 - 10? Also , when looking at the "menu 2-4-7-0" screen, what are the other listings for..."Power Restore" and "Direct Key Input"? thanks

Originally posted by gvc
I only get the digital signal strength number when viewing direct cable input from using the built in QAM tuner and only "N/A" when viewing any channel through the cable box input(hdmi). I assume that the higher the number the better the signal? what is the actual number range,, 1 - 10? Also , when looking at the "menu 2-4-7-0" screen, what are the other listings for..."Power Restore" and "Direct Key Input"? thanks

This is the way that it should work. The meter is indicating the strength of the cable signal, so when you watch another input like HDMI, it won't show anything.

The range is from 0-10, and it can lag a bit behind being "real-time". It still allows for a relative comparison if you make any changes (like adding a distribution amp).

The other items on that screen should probably be left alone. The only one that I know is the one that says something about DTV (DTV port, maybe?). This controls what type of signal you are using when connecting to the DTV input on the back of the TV. This is the one that has the Y, Pb, Pr and the additional two connections for the H and Vsync (I think that is what they are at least). It is best to leave this on "Auto" unless you have a good reason to do otherwise. I don't use that connection.

Thanks,
Jeff

I believe power restore is used when in the case of a power outage shutting the TV off. Upon restoring power, the TV will turn on by itself... I think that is what it is for... not sure but I have not tested it.

Update on the QAM tuner/firewire recording issue...

I called Mitsubishi customer service today to get an update on my pending case with them regarding not being able to copy to my DVCR from the QAM/cablecard tuner. I spoke to Caroline and she informed me that Mitsubishi was aware of incompatibility issues between the cablecard and the Mitsubishi HD2000U DVCR specifically. I told her that in all likelihood this issue extends further than just the DVCR and cablecard in that data from the QAM tuner (cablecard or not) is not getting over firewire properly. A product specialist is supposed to contact me regarding this. She went further and said that there has been or is planned a software update to resolve this issue and she was not sure whether or not it had been taken care of with the 05 firmware. From all indications I have seen, the issue is still there but she was going to put an inquiry in as to whether it was in there already or not.

When I hear from someone else or find out anything new, I'll post here. It seems many other people with firewire equipped PCs and DVHS software are awaiting such a fix as well...

By the way... I would encourage anyone else who wants to get the firewire recording issue resolved to contact Mitsubishi and inform them that you want it fixed. As it stands, I doubt they have a lot of pressure on them to get this fixed as it seems not very many people have a DVCR or are using firewire. If you want this fixed, please call Mitsubishi at 949-830-8364 and open a case with them about this.

I had previously set my dvd player to output 480p, based primarily on my testing using "Finding Nemo." Using 480i causes jagged edges to appear on the coral during the opening credits, and causes some of the small reef fish to break up into horizontal lines.

I have recently found, however, that with low quality recordings (dvd's of kids tv cartoons come to mind), the 480p is horrible. Really jagged edges almost all the time. Switching to 480i and letting the Mits handle the de-interlacing works much better.

Any ideas why this might be? I know this might be a question for the dvd player forum, but I thought I'd try here first.

What DVD player? It could be that the DVD player is not handling the video flag properly or the DVD may have incorrect film/video flags and that is causing the player to apply 3:2 pulldown on the source material when in actuality it should not be doing so.

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
I believe power restore is used when in the case of a power outage shutting the TV off. Upon restoring power, the TV will turn on by itself... I think that is what it is for... not sure but I have not tested it.

Speaking of a power outage, if one occurs, will the tv lose all the user settings and return to factory default, including losing its channel memory?

Originally posted by gvc
Speaking of a power outage, if one occurs, will the tv lose all the user settings and return to factory default, including losing its channel memory?


no. Removing power will not clear out settings that have been saved. Removing power will however cause a reinitialization of the cablecard that may possibly change the channels... All settings that have once been saved will be retained. Any settings you were adjusting when the power went out may be lost...

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
By the way... I would encourage anyone else who wants to get the firewire recording issue resolved to contact Mitsubishi and inform them that you want it fixed. As it stands, I doubt they have a lot of pressure on them to get this fixed as it seems not very many people have a DVCR or are using firewire. If you want this fixed, please call Mitsubishi at 949-830-8364 and open a case with them about this.

I will call them tonight and do that. But, would you suggest that I tell them I am trying to use a PC to do the recording? Or tell them I have a DVHS (which I don't).

Thanks,
Jeff

Originally posted by gvc
Speaking of a power outage, if one occurs, will the tv lose all the user settings and return to factory default, including losing its channel memory?

But, a power outage could shorten the life of the TV if you are watching when it happens, since the cooling fan that normally runs for a minute when you turn off the TV does not get a chance to cool down the lamp. A UPS for the TV might be a wise investment (although I don't have one here)...

Originally posted by spiff72
I will call them tonight and do that. But, would you suggest that I tell them I am trying to use a PC to do the recording? Or tell them I have a DVHS (which I don't).

Thanks,
Jeff

Be sure to tell them that you are trying to copy an unencrypted digital cable broadcast to a firewire device. Are you sure that your cable company is not setting any 5C copy protection flags? I think you mentioned that you are getting 0-byte files which would indicate that no data is being sent over firewire. If the stuff was 5C encrypted, I would think you would get non zero byte files that would be garbage essentially. They may come back and say you don't have a 5C compliant recorder, but if you can verify that your cable system is free from any copy flags, it should still work.

Also, tell them that ATSC recordings work with your recorder, so there is really no reason why the QAM tuner should be any different.

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
Be sure to tell them that you are trying to copy an unencrypted digital cable broadcast to a firewire device. Are you sure that your cable company is not setting any 5C copy protection flags? I think you mentioned that you are getting 0-byte files which would indicate that no data is being sent over firewire. If the stuff was 5C encrypted, I would think you would get non zero byte files that would be garbage essentially. They may come back and say you don't have a 5C compliant recorder, but if you can verify that your cable system is free from any copy flags, it should still work.

Also, tell them that ATSC recordings work with your recorder, so there is really no reason why the QAM tuner should be any different.

I will give it a shot. I don't know if they are sending the 5C copy protection flags. I don't even know how to find out (their support staff is a joke). These are just "in the clear" local HD broadcasts.

I am guessing Mits will say that I don't have a 5C compliant recorder, but I want to share with them the fact that NO ONE (that we are aware of) has gotten this to work.

Thanks,
Jeff

Well, I just talked to my local dealer at the Big Screen Store about the bright spot on my 62825. He was very helpful. He said I was the first of his customers to experience the problem (lucky me), but he had read about it on the internet and he said they would take care of it to my satisfaction. The first step is having a service tech come out and look at it. I'll update once this happens.

i got my 52725 at the Big Screen Store in Ellicott City and they did well with sericing my TV when I reported audio problems. they sent a tech from a place in Catonsville who quickly called in to Mitsu and got a new chassis on order. I was skeptical as he did not do a lot of diagnostics but the new chassis seems to be working (it also came with the .04 software vs the .03)

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
What DVD player? It could be that the DVD player is not handling the video flag properly or the DVD may have incorrect film/video flags and that is causing the player to apply 3:2 pulldown on the source material when in actuality it should not be doing so.

I am using a JVC DR-M10S DVD Recorder as my DVD player. So if my unit is not reading flags correctly or incorrectly applying 3:2 pulldown, it's possible that only the 480p signal would be affected?

3:2 pulldown is only used in conjunction with deinterlacing... it may be an improperly authored DVD... that is why your player may be tripping up.

Originally posted by spiff72
I will give it a shot. I don't know if they are sending the 5C copy protection flags. I don't even know how to find out (their support staff is a joke). These are just "in the clear" local HD broadcasts.

I am guessing Mits will say that I don't have a 5C compliant recorder, but I want to share with them the fact that NO ONE (that we are aware of) has gotten this to work.

Thanks,
Jeff

good luck with it... I told them about the others with the same issue... hopefully you can drive that point with them too :)

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
good luck with it... I told them about the others with the same issue... hopefully you can drive that point with them too :)

Crap, I got into "Lost" and didn't get through before closing. I will give them a call tomorrow, since I have the day off. (Pretty good episode, btw) :-)

Jeff

hehe... its all good... if you can, try and call as close to 7AM PST... the lines are not busy at all around then.

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
By the way... I would encourage anyone else who wants to get the firewire recording issue resolved to contact Mitsubishi and inform them that you want it fixed. As it stands, I doubt they have a lot of pressure on them to get this fixed as it seems not very many people have a DVCR or are using firewire. If you want this fixed, please call Mitsubishi at 949-830-8364 and open a case with them about this.

Terp, thank for pressing the issue with them. I'll be calling that number as well to lodge a complaint. I'm very curious to hear what the 'specialist' has to say about this, and it is also encouraging to hear that a firmware fix might be in the works. Of course this might be something the CSRs say when there is no fix for a problem, known or otherwise, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. This problem is the only reason I rent a firewire enabled STB (no DVR capability). As soon as it is fixed, the STB goes back and I get myself an HD-DVR.

Check this thread:

http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=522998

seems like if this is truly the case, a firmware fix to the QAM tuner would be able to fix this issue.

Originally posted by spiff72
This is the way that it should work. The meter is indicating the strength of the cable signal, so when you watch another input like HDMI, it won't show anything.


OK, I checked this out again and even using channels above 99 I still do not get a signal strength using "menu 2470". The exact setup is digital cable to a cable box and into the ANT-1 (coaxial) input (I tried it on INPUT-1 via S-video for kicks and could not try HDMI as the cable box is not HDMI compliant). All I can assume is that having the cable box interposed in the line must screw this up somehow. Ideas?

Actually, it isn't much of an update, but here goes:

I called the customer relations number this morning, and spoke to a woman (I think her name might have been Angela - I think I have talked to her before, though). I explained that I had a PC connected to the TV's firewire connection, and that I had success using this computer to record HD programming via the antenna input, but the cable channels that I tried recording would just give me zero length files. I also explained that the PC was running a program that emulated a DVHS machine.

She put me on hold, and came back and said that she (and the tech that she had just talked to) was surprised that PC was even able to do this. According to them, PC's don't usually speak "HAVI" (sp?). This is some sort of handshake protocol. I told her again that it worked fine for the antenna recordings.

She also mentioned this "fix" that is in the works for the Mits DVHS compatibility problem.

She also mentioned that the cable company might be using the 5C encryption, and that could be the issue.

Terp: Do you know if your cable company has implemented these flags? I don't dare call mine and ask, since I don't think they realize that the HD locals are available to those of us with QAM tuners. I don't want to jinx that!

In the end, I just told her I would check in when that firmware is released. So I will have to count on you guys that have cases open, so please make sure to post here when you become aware of the new firmware release!

Thanks,
Jeff

Originally posted by August West
OK, I checked this out again and even using channels above 99 I still do not get a signal strength using "menu 2470". The exact setup is digital cable to a cable box and into the ANT-1 (coaxial) input (I tried it on INPUT-1 via S-video for kicks and could not try HDMI as the cable box is not HDMI compliant). All I can assume is that having the cable box interposed in the line must screw this up somehow. Ideas?

I don't know if I have an answer on this one...

If I understand this right, you have the coax cable from the wall going into your cable box's coax input, and then from the cable box's coax output to the TV's ANT-1 input.

If the coax output is a pass through, I would expect the signal meter to work if you watch the cable input (ANT-1 or whatever it is called) and tune the channel on the TV's tuner. If this is just an "RF" output (that requires the TV to be tuned to channel 3 or 4), then it will not work. You have to be able to tune the TV's cable tuner to the actual channel number (in my case, the HD locals are 102-1 thru 102-3) to see that signal strength. It will not work if you watch the output from the cable box via svideo, composite video, component video, etc, since the TV's tuner is not being used in these cases). If you have to tune in the cable channel with the cable box, it will not work...

I hope this helps.

Jeff

Originally posted by spiff72
Actually, it isn't much of an update, but here goes:

I called the customer relations number this morning, and spoke to a woman (I think her name might have been Angela - I think I have talked to her before, though). I explained that I had a PC connected to the TV's firewire connection, and that I had success using this computer to record HD programming via the antenna input, but the cable channels that I tried recording would just give me zero length files. I also explained that the PC was running a program that emulated a DVHS machine.

She put me on hold, and came back and said that she (and the tech that she had just talked to) was surprised that PC was even able to do this. According to them, PC's don't usually speak "HAVI" (sp?). This is some sort of handshake protocol. I told her again that it worked fine for the antenna recordings.

She also mentioned this "fix" that is in the works for the Mits DVHS compatibility problem.

She also mentioned that the cable company might be using the 5C encryption, and that could be the issue.

Terp: Do you know if your cable company has implemented these flags? I don't dare call mine and ask, since I don't think they realize that the HD locals are available to those of us with QAM tuners. I don't want to jinx that!

In the end, I just told her I would check in when that firmware is released. So I will have to count on you guys that have cases open, so please make sure to post here when you become aware of the new firmware release!

Thanks,
Jeff

I actually at one time called my local cable company and asked them if they had enabled copy protection. I spoke to the customer service people at the cable co. and the person put me on hold to check with a tech. The tech told her that they did not have any copy protection on their system. I don't know how reliable that is, but I still think there is no copy protection. With a cablecard you have accecss to a device menu on the TV that gives you quite a bit of network information. Under the 'Conditional Access' menu, there is an entry for 'Copy Protection' and 'CCI'. The copy protection field is set to 'Disabled' and the CCI is set to '00'. Both of these indicate that everything should be clear for copying. You can't see this info if you are not using a cablecard though. I think cable companies are obligated to provide local HD channels without cablecard and even if you ask them, all should be fine. I think this is a feature that the cable co. does not want you to be aware of since they want you to use their HD box. But if you have a QAM tuner, you can take advantage of it like you are doing :)

Anyhow, it may very well be that the internal QAM tuner is sending the entire channel over firewire and not just the subchannel as it should. I think if this is the case, the internal QAM tuner needs to take the whole channel's stream, strip out the subchannel and reframe the channel according to the firewire DTV spec. Perhaps this is what they have not yet implented.

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
I actually at one time called my local cable company and asked them if they had enabled copy protection. I spoke to the customer service people at the cable co. and the person put me on hold to check with a tech. The tech told her that they did not have any copy protection on their system. I don't know how reliable that is, but I still think there is no copy protection. With a cablecard you have accecss to a device menu on the TV that gives you quite a bit of network information. Under the 'Conditional Access' menu, there is an entry for 'Copy Protection' and 'CCI'. The copy protection field is set to 'Disabled' and the CCI is set to '00'. Both of these indicate that everything should be clear for copying. You can't see this info if you are not using a cablecard though. I think cable companies are obligated to provide local HD channels without cablecard and even if you ask them, all should be fine. I think this is a feature that the cable co. does not want you to be aware of since they want you to use their HD box. But if you have a QAM tuner, you can take advantage of it like you are doing :)

Anyhow, it may very well be that the internal QAM tuner is sending the entire channel over firewire and not just the subchannel as it should. I think if this is the case, the internal QAM tuner needs to take the whole channel's stream, strip out the subchannel and reframe the channel according to the firewire DTV spec. Perhaps this is what they have not yet implented.

It seems like a plausible explanation of the problems that we are having. I would suspect that this is fixable - I just hope that it really is what they are fixing with the firmware update.

here is an excerpt from the troubleshooting section of the 725 manual:


47. Cannot record to or from the IEEE 1394 device, including Dub recordings.

Either the program is copy protected, or if there are multiple
subchannels and one of the programs (not necessarily the
program requested) is copy protected.


leads me to believe that the whole channel is being sent out and even though it is not copy protected, the total bandwidth is too great...

Originally posted by spiff72
I don't know if I have an answer on this one...

If I understand this right, you have the coax cable from the wall going into your cable box's coax input, and then from the cable box's coax output to the TV's ANT-1 input.

If the coax output is a pass through, I would expect the signal meter to work if you watch the cable input (ANT-1 or whatever it is called) and tune the channel on the TV's tuner. If this is just an "RF" output (that requires the TV to be tuned to channel 3 or 4), then it will not work.
Jeff

This is the case, which makes sense to me. Thanks.

Originally posted by August West
This is the case, which makes sense to me. Thanks.

you are not in actuality using the TV's internal tuner so the signal meter will not give you anything. If I may suggest, you will see a big improvement in PQ if you go to at least a s-Video connection or if you can, a component or HDMI connection for your cable box. If that requires getting another cable box, tell your cable company to give one to you. Using the RF modulated output from a cable box is one of the worst ways to connect up to your TV in terms of PQ.

I am now able to record from the cablecard/QAM tuner to my DVHS deck as long as it is only the digital weather channel or a music channel :) :D

To test out the theory that the entire channel from the QAM tuner is being sent over firewire, I attempted a few different things. Basically, I went through all my digital cable channels and figured out which main channel all the subchannels had been mapped to. This information is readily available in the TV Antenna menu. Every channel had at the very least 3 HD or 6 SD digital subchannels mapped to it. So I thought to myself that I need to find the subchannels that have the lowest bandwidth in the entire cable channel allocation scheme. Naturally, the digital weather channel and the music channels are the lowest bandwidth subchannels and luckily, all 55 music subchannels and the digital weather channel were mapped to a single channel on my cable system.

So from there I tuned to the digital weather channel and verified that indeed that and every music channel was mapped to a single main channel (channel 115 as indicated by the Antenna menu). So I hit the record button and off went the DVCR to record. No copy protection errors or any other flaky behavior at all. I let it run for 2 minutes or so. I played it back and Success! The digital weather channel was recorded successfully. I hit the Guide button and found the 55 additional streams as well. All of the music channels had also been recorded. I stopped the playback, switched to another stream, and then played back some random music channel.

I think this little experiment proves that instead of a single subchannel being sent over the firewire link, every single subchannel in the allocated channel is sent over firewire. While this works just fine for ATSC channels (they are limited to 19Mbps), but for the QAM tuner, this could mean a much higher bandwidth. This higher bandwidth is not supported by the DVCR and thus causes recording failures and such.

If Mitsubishi can modify their firmware to strip off the individual subchannels from the QAM tuner data stream and repackage them before they are sent over the firewire link, everything should work as it should. I can see now why they did it this way. The ATSC tuner bandwidth is supported, but cable systems that are using 256QAM, are exceeding the bandwidth of the link...

Nice work Terp. Now the $56,000 question remains. Can the required subchannel stripping and repackaging be accomplished through a rewriting of the firmware alone? Be it yes or no, it would be nice if Mitsubishi would come out and say so. If the answer is no, then we can move on.

UMD_Terp:
Very nice job tracking down the problem. I hope that Mits gets there head out of there you know what and fixes this problem. I was so frustrated by my inability to record from cable card to my HS-HD2000U that Mits bought it back after 6 months of my complaints! When the cure this problem, I will likely buy another...until then.

Well, the funny (or not so funny for 825 owners :o ) thing is that this is even more serious for 825 owners...

The firewire hub and everything inherent to the QAM tuner has to be identical between the 525/725/825 except for the presence of the hard drive in the 825. I bet that this same implementation exists and when an 825 user goes to record a single channel, they in reality get all the subchannels as well. This means that they are not recording a single stream, but several (possibly HD) streams. This has the potential to be very wasteful of the already limited hard disk space in the PVR. This is also why they can not get the TV to stream out from the DVR to a DVCR. The bandwidth is potentially too great.

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
SNIP

If Mitsubishi can modify their firmware to strip off the individual subchannels from the QAM tuner data stream and repackage them before they are sent over the firewire link, everything should work as it should. I can see now why they did it this way. The ATSC tuner bandwidth is supported, but cable systems that are using 256QAM, are exceeding the bandwidth of the link...

Nice going, UMD_Terp...

Just wondered if you were going to get in touch with Mits Customer Care and see if this is the issue that they are fixing? I wonder if they would even divulge this info.

If they can do this in a future update, this would greatly enhance my TV experience!

Thanks,
Jeff

Well, if that product specialist ever gets around to calling me, I'll for sure tell them what the deal is and how we think they should fix it. If nothing, I'll call them again later next week and try and tell them all this.

For the interim, I've ordered an indoor antenna off Amazon... the cheap-o Zenith ZHDTV1... my dad has one and it works great. I actually am closer than he is to the broadcast towers so I am hoping it will work for me. I used to have the Terk indoor antenna and it was a piece of junk. Anyhow, one way or another, I will explot the ability to record HDTV :D :D

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
Well, if that product specialist ever gets around to calling me, I'll for sure tell them what the deal is and how we think they should fix it. If nothing, I'll call them again later next week and try and tell them all this.

For the interim, I've ordered an indoor antenna off Amazon... the cheap-o Zenith ZHDTV1... my dad has one and it works great. I actually am closer than he is to the broadcast towers so I am hoping it will work for me. I used to have the Terk indoor antenna and it was a piece of junk. Anyhow, one way or another, I will explot the ability to record HDTV :D :D

Hopefully, none of your HD channels are in the VHF range. If that is a silver sensor, it is UHF only. I have 2 of the 4 networks in the VHF band (CBS is digital channel 2, and NBC is digital channel 7). The channel 2 assignment really sucks, and they are the only network that is not on cable here in HD.

Thanks,
Jeff

Originally posted by spiff72
Hopefully, none of your HD channels are in the VHF range. If that is a silver sensor, it is UHF only. I have 2 of the 4 networks in the VHF band (CBS is digital channel 2, and NBC is digital channel 7). The channel 2 assignment really sucks, and they are the only network that is not on cable here in HD.

Thanks,
Jeff

All OTA digital stations here are UHF in this area. My parents live about 7 miles away from me and they have a Mitsubishi Diamond CRT hooked up to the same antenna. It picks up pretty much every station just fine. My dad has the antenna actually mounted outside on his deck. I can do the same with a little bit of wiring :)

Turned on my 62725 to get ready to watch the final four (MSU class of 79). For some reason I could not get any DT or HD stations, only SD. I got the blue screen for the DT/HD stations. Had to do a reset. Now all is fine. Anyone else experience this?

I have firmware version .03.

Originally posted by rcarlton
Turned on my 62725 to get ready to watch the final four (MSU cass of 79). For some reason I could not get any DT or HD stations, only SD. I got the blue screen for the DT/HD stations. Had to do a reset. Now all is fine. Anyone else experience this?

I have firmware version .03.

Yep.

Been there. I called and got the .05 firmware, and it hasn't happened since.

does anyone out there have the .05 firmware upgrade that can be emailed as a file attachment? I could put it on an sd card and slap it in my 62725. Thanks. I've had the set 3 months and no bright spot, no smudges, no nothing so far, although I have had a couple of times the power light would sit and flash and the set wouldn't come on. I'd wait a few, try it again and it worked.

Originally posted by markvdb
does anyone out there have the .05 firmware upgrade that can be emailed as a file attachment? I could put it on an sd card and slap it in my 62725. Thanks. I've had the set 3 months and no bright spot, no smudges, no nothing so far, although I have had a couple of times the power light would sit and flash and the set wouldn't come on. I'd wait a few, try it again and it worked.

I would recommend calling Mits customer care and ask for the upgrade. I think that they even have an automated system for requesting firware updates. I can't speak for everyone, but I doubt that anyone will send it to you...Mits will overnight it to you so you could have it by Tuesday if you called them on Monday.

You are better off getting it from Mits - that way you have a legit explanation if the upgrade went south for some reason.

The cards are erased when you do the upgrade too, so to "save" it, you would have to copy the contents of the card before you stuck it in the TV and actually did the upgrade.

EDIT: I don't think it can be installed from an SD card either - I think it has to be a compact flash.

Has anyone ever been watching TV through one of the internal tuners (QAM or the ATSC tuner), and noticed that the left and right sides of the screen were not synced? On mine, there was a split where the left 1/3 of the screen was slightly behind or ahead of the right 2/3 of the screen.

Come to think of it, I've only ever seen this on Fox. Once during the superbowl, during the Constantine HD advertisement, and a couple times while watching 24. In fact, it happened last week while watching 24. I don't think I have seen it on other channels, though I don't watch much live TV these days.

Originally posted by Shape
Has anyone ever been watching TV through one of the internal tuners (QAM or the ATSC tuner), and noticed that the left and right sides of the screen were not synced? On mine, there was a split where the left 1/3 of the screen was slightly behind or ahead of the right 2/3 of the screen.

Come to think of it, I've only ever seen this on Fox. Once during the superbowl, during the Constantine HD advertisement, and a couple times while watching 24. In fact, it happened last week while watching 24. I don't think I have seen it on other channels, though I don't watch much live TV these days.

It is called tiling... The specific incidence with the Constantine HD advertisment was actually on the broadcast side... it was really bad. I think everyone saw that...

Oh, so that is what tiling is! What exactly causes it? The tuner? The broadcaster?

Originally posted by Shape
Oh, so that is what tiling is! What exactly causes it? The tuner? The broadcaster?

probably both... hard to pinpoint the culprit in every case. But I do think the Constantine Ad was the broadcaster as so many people saw it...

I finally purchased an AVR to enjoy surround sound with my Mits. I went in last night to add the AVR into NetCommand but I was only partially successful. I can add the AVR (as an "other" manufacturer and "Learn" the remote commands) and I defined 3 inputs to the AVR (DVD, Cable, Other). The problem is when I go to update/change the Video devices to use the AVR as the sound source, I am unable to select the AVR input. As an example for my Hi Def cable (from an external box) does NOT allow me (through NetCOmmand) to define the input as "Cable". The options are "greyed" out in the NetCommand menus.

I can of course use the AVR remote to select right AVR input and it sounds great... but just can't get NetCommand to automate the input selection step.

Anyone else having problems defining the Audio Inputs?

Thanks in advance!
David

Originally posted by davidncsu
I finally purchased an AVR to enjoy surround sound with my Mits. I went in last night to add the AVR into NetCommand but I was only partially successful. I can add the AVR (as an "other" manufacturer and "Learn" the remote commands) and I defined 3 inputs to the AVR (DVD, Cable, Other). The problem is when I go to update/change the Video devices to use the AVR as the sound source, I am unable to select the AVR input. As an example for my Hi Def cable (from an external box) does NOT allow me (through NetCOmmand) to define the input as "Cable". The options are "greyed" out in the NetCommand menus.

I can of course use the AVR remote to select right AVR input and it sounds great... but just can't get NetCommand to automate the input selection step.

Anyone else having problems defining the Audio Inputs?

Thanks in advance!
David

I think this was mentioned a few posts back, but you have to make sure that you aren't watching the input you are trying to modify. For your example, switch to something besides the cable input, and then try to modify its settings.

Jeff

Originally posted by Shape
Oh, so that is what tiling is! What exactly causes it? The tuner? The broadcaster?

I don't think it is the tuner, since I have noticed it most often when I am watching other sources (my Series 2 TiVo specifically) connected to the TV via Svideo.

This is one of the only things on my TV that I can complain about.

I think it may be related to bad source material. I have the TiVo connected to my analog cable and satellite, but most of the channels I have it set up for are the cable channels (long story short, I did this because it frees up the sat receiver for the HD channels). I seem to see this vertical misalignment (or "tiling") when I watch stuff that is on the cable broadcasts...

I can't say that it never happens on Satellite, but I would say that most of the time I see it, it is during SD content (viewed in "Narrow" mode with the pillarboxes).

Jeff

Been lurking here the last month as a research-a-holic, and finally pulled the gun on a 52725 last night. I LOVE IT! Thanks everyone in this thread for all your informative posts. This place is great. I decided on this over the Panasonic commercial 50" Plasma monitor. I think the PQ is fabulous, and any difference in quality is not worth the extra cash. So what I saved I spent on a Denon 2910 Universal DVD player and the matching stand.

Comcast came out and set up my high-def Motorola DVR this morning, and I have no idea how I lived without it.

The TV I took home was manufactured in November, it turns out, and I am noticing a slight tilt problem, like I've read about. I'll have a tech come out and fix it later on. So far it's nothing that actually bothers me.

I purchased everything at Magnolia and also purchased their 4-year performance guarantee on both the TV and DVD player. I was assured that the performance guarantee DOES cover bulb replacement when it wears out. $400 for the guarantee, and 4 years of total in-home service including bulb replacement. Sounds like a no-brainer deal.

Anyway, no questions yet. I'll get Mits to send me the FW update, and in a few days my video essentials disc will arrive and I'll get it calibrated. I can't believe how good it looks out of the box. It's going to be amazing when it's totally tuned in.

Does anybody have a HTPC connected to their Mits DLP via DVI->HDMI Cable? How? What Settings?

I have my HTPC connected to my WD-52725 via VGA(PC Input) right now and it looks pretty sweet. However, I decided to try out the HDMI connection to see if it is any better. I ordered a RAM electronics "High End" DVI->HDMI cable and hooked it up. No Video At All! No boot up screen, no image in windows, nothing. At first I suspected the cable. So, I hooked up my RCA DCT-210 HD DirecTV Receiver with it and it works perfectly. I also have a 17" Flat panel monitor that I tried on the DVI and it works perfectly. Oh, I know somebody will suggest this, so let me say this now. YES I do have the TV set on Monlink. If I have both the tv(VGA) and monitor(DVI) hooked up it works fine. But as soon as I put the tv on the dvi I get no video. It's like the videocard doesn't see the tv. If I put the monitor on vga and the tv on dvi and go into the Advanced video settings it only shows the monitor on vga connected.

Video Card: 9800PRO
Driver: Catalyst 5.3 (I am going to try 5.4 when I get home)
Screen Size: 1280x720

The PC to HDMI connection had been discussed previously in another thread. Perhaps your answer can be found there.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4477444#post4477444

I called up Mitsubishi consumer relations again to see what the progress was on the QAM tuner -> DVCR fix. Apparantly, there is another firmware update in the works. I asked specifically about the fix involving sending out only the tuned subchannel rather than the entire channel as is being done now and Ray (the consumer relations guy) said he was aware of this issue and they are working on this fix. ETA is not known at this time but as soon as they have one, someone will call.

Thanks Terp. Okay, so they said they are working on the fix and also on the next firmware upgrade, but they didn't commit to saying whether the fix would be included in the next firmware. I suppose Ray isn't in any position to say more then he did, but at least they're talking about it. I've come close to turning in my CableCARD and keeping the firewired STB, but will bide my time a bit longer.

Originally posted by delar
Thanks Terp. Okay, so they said they are working on the fix and also on the next firmware upgrade, but they didn't commit to saying whether the fix would be included in the next firmware. I suppose Ray isn't in any position to say more then he did, but at least they're talking about it. I've come close to turning in my CableCARD and keeping the firewired STB, but will bide my time a bit longer.

Well, from whatever I heard him say and the way he said it, it sure seemed as if the next update will include this fix. Only time will tell... hopfully not too much time :)

I still think the cablecard gives the best PQ, but have never tried the firewire input for a long time. I bet it is pretty good too. I did notice that you can now save video settings for the firewire input. This bug was present up until the .02 firmware... you actually could not save the firewire device Video settings. I don't know when they fixed that, but apparantly now you can. Funny how things go unnoticed.. :)

Jeff thanks! You saved me from losing my mind. Indeed the problem was that the current device was selected so the options were "greyed out". Now my AVR is configured correctly... very cool.

Wondering if anyone else is having this problem with their set.

I have a 62725 using a cable card. I use Cox as my service provider.
I came home from work the other day, turned on the set, and got a message to the effect that "Cable card is being updated, unable to change channels" in yellow letters on the screen.

Fortunately, I had left the set in the "Tivo" device input, so I was able to change channels via the Tivo remote. However, the message stayed on the screen the entire time. I could not change devices, volume, or anything. Essentially, the remote and the buttons on the front of the set were dead.

The only way to turn the set off was to stick a paper clip in the "reset" switch and it would shut down.

While the set was off, I unplugged the unit from the wall, and left it unplugged for a while. I plugged it back in, and the remote would let me turn the set on, but the message would again appear after about 30 seconds.

I called Cox and they said that they were not doing any upgrades to STB's or cards at the moment. Turned the set off via reset, and gave up.

The next day, I turned it on and it started just scrolling through all the channels, non-stop, with no control from the remote or the set buttons.

Called Mitsubishi, and they said it was probably a software issue and they'd send out version 5 (I was running ver 4). Of course, they only sent it 2-day air, so I was down for a few more days.

Firmware arrived yesterday (CF card), and I installed it per the instructions (I had done this once before so was familiar with the process).

The set read the data, the device lamp quit blinking, and the set started up.
The lamp and fans turned on, but the "success" verbage never appeared. Just a real dark grey screen for about 20 seconds, then the set shut itself down, and started reading the card again. And again. And again.

You get the idea? It's just an endless loop now of reading the card, turning off, and starting up.

I removed the card and essentially the set is dead. The lamp fans don't turn on, nor does the lamp.

Of course, Mits is closed on weekends, so I can't get any action until tomorrow.

Set is 5 months old, so warranty is no issue, but I am concerned about it being a while before this gets fixed/replaced.

Anyone have any ideas?? Thanks for the help!!

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
Well, from whatever I heard him say and the way he said it, it sure seemed as if the next update will include this fix. Only time will tell... hopfully not too much time :)

I still think the cablecard gives the best PQ, but have never tried the firewire input for a long time. I bet it is pretty good too. I did notice that you can now save video settings for the firewire input. This bug was present up until the .02 firmware... you actually could not save the firewire device Video settings. I don't know when they fixed that, but apparantly now you can. Funny how things go unnoticed.. :)

Thanks Terp...

I am anxious to hear if Mits ever fixes that issue. I just bought an Apple Powerbook and have successfully used it as a virtual DVHS. The Mits controlled it perfectly via its own Record functions (hitting record on the remote while watching an OTA digital channel).

I also played back with no issues back to the TV via firewire. I can play an SD broadcast right on the computer, but it uses a lot of the CPU, so it may have trouble with the higher bitrate of an HD broadcast (does this make sense?).

Unfortunately, there is no HD on right now on the big networks, so I can't record HD yet. I will see if I can record any of the Masters tomorrow.

It would be great if I could do this from cable!

Thanks,
Jeff

Boy this thread is HUGE...I doubt this message will be read, but wanted to say that my parents 52725 is still looking/working great since they got it right after Christmas.

However, this week we finally gave up using the Cox cablecard because the channels changed way too slow, and my parents missed having a live guide.

So today cable guy came out and installed HD DVR and I spent half a day showing the parents how to use it. I think they are getting the hang of it.

I must say, if you plan on getting this TV, go with an actual HD cable BOX and avoid the shortcomings of using a cable card (slow channel changes, No PPV, no guide etc).

Thanks

I'm really happy with this set so far and have started diving into calibration.

Now that I've adjusted the color and tint controls in Avia, how do I start using perfectcolor? Is there a primer somewhere?

Do I just pull up the blue/red/green flashing bars and adjust the blue/cyan, red/magenta, green/yellow pairs respectively?

Any help is appreciated.

To get the best color settings, leave the color and tint at 31... their default settings. Then go in with your color filter and try to make the color adjustments in the perfectcolor settings only.

I cannot get my 52725 to recognize any mp3s on a 256 CF card. IT can see all the pictures on there, but not the music, so i don't think it is a size issue of the card. Any ideas? Thanks

how is it formatted? It needs to be formatted as FAT... not FAT32

UMD_Terp,

Any hints at this Perfectcolor calibration?

I can’t seem to get the blue and green levels correctly because they interact with one another. If I set my blue levels first, I can’t set the green hue set correctly without raising the cyan level. That of course, changes my blue levels.

I’ve also noticed that my set seems to overscan more at the top of the screen than on the bottom. Is there an overscan setting or is the best I can do to go into the service menu and even out the vertical position?

Are these issues easily fixable by me or does it require a tech to come out?

Thanks.

Originally posted by pdubyu
UMD_Terp,

Any hints at this Perfectcolor calibration?

I can’t seem to get the blue and green levels correctly because they interact with one another. If I set my blue levels first, I can’t set the green hue set correctly without raising the cyan level. That of course, changes my blue levels.

I’ve also noticed that my set seems to overscan more at the top of the screen than on the bottom. Is there an overscan setting or is the best I can do to go into the service menu and even out the vertical position?

Are these issues easily fixable by me or does it require a tech to come out?

Thanks.

For what it's worth, my TV seemed to have a little bit of color error. I coulnd't get the test patterns to look right with the color filters in DVE.

I'm getting ready to buy a receiver and have pretty much decided on the Pioneer 1015. I remember a while back in this thread some people were experiencing some problems with the 1014 and the xx725. Does anyone know if these issues have been resolved yet or if they still exist with the 1015?

Thanks

Originally posted by Diggit2001
I'm getting ready to buy a receiver and have pretty much decided on the Pioneer 1015. I remember a while back in this thread some people were experiencing some problems with the 1014 and the xx725. Does anyone know if these issues have been resolved yet or if they still exist with the 1015?

Thanks

I'm one of the ones that had a problem with the 1014 (returned it for a Denon 2805.

Can't say if the problems have been resolved in the 1015 or not. I would just suggest that you try out the digital audio from the TV (and any other sources such as satellite receiver) right away. Make sure they all work properly in DIGITAL, not just analog modes. That way you'll know pretty quickly if you have a compatability (sp?) issue or not. This is a case where I'd strongly recommend buying from somebody locally with a good return policy (so you don't have to eat any shipping costs just in case).

For what it's worth, I hope the 1015 works out. I felt the Pioneer was initially easier to use than the Denon, and the manual was MUCH easier to understand. But now, after a few months, I'm quite happy with what I have and I've got NetCommand working like a charm with everything.

Good luck!

*Bump*

Sorry, I hated seeing this thread fall 9 pages back, and while I'm aware that even the largest threads inevitably die off, I'm not ready yet.

About 6 months ago I had to have the entire chassis replaced on my 62725, because the sound didn't work. When the service guy was there we decided to take off the screen and clean the mirrors because there were some smudges. Now these and more smudges are coming back. It's noticeable on bright white or sky type shots. Consequently, it's becoming annoying.

Finally my question is: How often have any owners of these fine DLPs had to clean the mirrors?

With the TV set OFF, remove the filter plate on the side of the TV. Make sure that the filter itself isn't bunched up anywhere, letting unfiltered air into the TV. If it is particularly dirty, wash the filter as shown in the manual.

When you put the filter back, make sure that it doesn't get bunched up, particularly on the bottom. That is where most of the air comes into the TV to cool the bulb. If it bunches up, it can let unfiltered air into the unit, causing smudges.

I have had my TV for 8 months (a 62525) and just had the mirrors cleaned last month, for the first time. The primary mirror (small one) was absolutely filthy. I will now be cleaning the mirrors every 2-3 months.

Originally posted by DubC
I have had my TV for 8 months (a 62525) and just had the mirrors cleaned last month, for the first time. The primary mirror (small one) was absolutely filthy. I will now be cleaning the mirrors every 2-3 months.

Would it be safe to use a lens cleaning cloth for this? I have been thinking I need to clean mine, but I would like to use some sort of antistatic cleaner to see if it prevents buildup in the future.

Thanks,
Jeff

A camera lens cloth is perfect. When cleaning the primary (small one) mirror make sure you DO NOT put any pressure on it. Fold the cloth and hold one end, then let the loose end just barely wipe the dust off the mirror. The large secondary mirror usually does not need to be cleaned....at least mine didn't.

An antistatic cleaner sounds terrific,......however, I have heard that you should not use any sort of chemicals on these mirrors. Errr, Ummm.....keep us posted.

I've owned my 52525 for 9 months, logging almost 2000 hours on it, and I've never seen a hint of smudging.

Shape, thanks for the note about that filter. I sort of forgot about it. Just checked it for the first time and it was full of dust.

Hi all,

I just took delivery of a 62725 yestersday, and after having time to sit down with it, I am starting to see the dreaded "rainbow" effect. (Even though I tried to see if I was susceptible in store viewing, I never saw it. Guess I shoulda spent more time trying.) The real problem is probably that I seem to be fixating on it. Maybe with time, I will just get used to it, or subconsciously learn how to avoid doing things that allow me to see it, but right now I am a little bugged. I did a quick dial in using DVE, nothing thorough, so the contrast and brightness have been lowered some from default. I put in a "backlight" behind the set, and anything else I could think of/have read here to possibly lessen the effect. Don't get me wrong, I am not one who gets nauseus (sp) with it, or see it all the time, but I do see it in the same places others seem to, bright objects surrounded by darkness, if I happen to look past the bright object to look at a different part of the screen because of dialog/action. It just annoys me a little, and I am looking for anything which might help me with that. Which leads me to my next question, which is about "firm-ware". How do you get these updates, and how do you install them? How can I find out which ones I have/need? Do any of them do anything which could possibly have an impact on my seeing the rainbows?

Also, I am using a Pioneer DV-578A-S connected via component.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

And oh yeah, NO BRIGHT SPOT!!!!!!!
It is a Dec 2004 build.

Firmware needs to be obtained by calling Mits Customer Care.

Ripped from elsewhere in the thread:

Call (866) 252-4333, tell them that you are experiencing random lock-ups, and that occasionally the TV just turns itself off. Tell them that it is really annoying you and that you would expect a tv of this price to operate more reliably. They will want the serial number off of your tv, and will want to check to firmware version(So make sure you call from home). Just play dumb and let them walk you through finding it(even though you already know what version you have). They will then want your address etc. Ask them when you should expect the update. I received mine in 2 days.

You can also call (949) 830-8364 if you want. It used to go directly to a rep, but now it asks you to press 1 or 2 if you need a software update. If you choose to do this you will be prompted to leave a detailed message. Unfortunately people have been having problems with leaving messages on this number. You can stay on the line and a rep will answer in about 10-40 minutes.........Yes you read that correctly. One time it took 40 minutes to speak to a rep.

Its long distance but they will reimburse you if you send your bill in to them.

This will NOT help at all with rainbows. It is inherent with DLPs. When I first got mine I noticed it a lot too, but now I barely notice at all. I think I just got used to it.

What exactly are random lock-ups?

When using my Qam tuner to view HD stations it really takes a couple second to switch between HD stations (a lot more time then it does between SD stations). Is this normal? Will a firmware update alleviate this?

I heard turning down the contrast as much as you can tolerate helps make 'rainbows' occur less. I haven't tried it yet.

Originally posted by Bruce/Fl
Hi all,

I just took delivery of a 62725 yestersday, and after having time to sit down with it, I am starting to see the dreaded "rainbow" effect. (Even though I tried to see if I was susceptible in store viewing, I never saw it. Guess I shoulda spent more time trying.) The real problem is probably that I seem to be fixating on it. Maybe with time, I will just get used to it,
It is a Dec 2004 build.

I had a similar experience. I never saw a rainbow in the store and saw them riht away at home. I think this is because a lot of the HD material in the stores tends to be bright, colorful......and with no dark sequences. I think the stores know better than to show X-files / 24 type material in the store.

For me it took about 4 months to get to the point where the rainbows are only visible some of the time. I was very close to returning the set but am OK with it now. Note that "OK" does not mean "unbelievably thrilled" but rather "good enouhg for the money I spent".

Still waiting for a 3 chip DLP RPTV.

I've recently had my 52725 replaced by a new one because of a strange bit of smegma on the screen. Now when I go in and enable the devices I want to use and disable the rest, I get a different result when I hit the device up/down button. On my first set, it would only show the devices that I had enabled. On this replacement set, it shows all of the inputs, although the ones that I have disabled are grayed out and not selectable. Does anyone know how to get rid of the grayed out/inactive devices from this list?

Thanks

I have had the 52725 for about 6 months with no probs until last week. Random shut off while watching TV. It shuts off normally as if I pressed the power button and will turn back on ok after it finishes shutting down. Called the number listed a few threads above and they are sending me the .05 software. I have .04. I could not find much on this in the forum except that it happens. Does it makes sense that this would just start happening if the software was the problem?

Originally posted by jmiliz
I have had the 52725 for about 6 months with no probs until last week. Random shut off while watching TV. It shuts off normally as if I pressed the power button and will turn back on ok after it finishes shutting down. Called the number listed a few threads above and they are sending me the .05 software. I have .04. I could not find much on this in the forum except that it happens. Does it makes sense that this would just start happening if the software was the problem?

Lamp light wasn't flashing, was it?

It flashed green while it was shutting off like it normally does when powered off. No red lights or anything unusual like I read about.

HTPC timings,
I used the Powerstrip timings suggested in this thread for 1184x666 to eliminate the overscan. My HFP and BFP had to be altered big time to center the picture, but it came out pretty good as far as the overscan goes. However, the signal is not perfect. There are certain vertical sections where text appears bold/fuzzy, and there are few places where it is even flickering.
I was able to get this all to go away in 1280x720, but have been unsuccessful with the 666 res.
I just swapped from a HLP5674, and it had an auto fine/course adjustment that worked pretty awesome at perfecting the computer image.
The mits has an auto position option, but it doesn't fix the image. The "fine" adjustment moves the bold areas left or right, but doesn't get rid of them.
Is there a target pixel clock that might fix this? I am also unable to fix the H freq at 45 khZ, and 60 khZ. I can get pretty close, 44.8, 60.01, but not exact.
Any help would be much appreciated. I am using the VGA input of the 52725, since that probably makes a difference.

Is this the timing you used?

PowerStrip timing parameters:
1184x666=1184,120,56,304,666,28,3,49,74556,274

Generic timing details for 1184x666:
HFP=120 HSW=56 HBP=304 kHz=45 VFP=28 VSW=3 VBP=49 Hz=60

Linux modeline parameters:
"1184x666" 74.556 1184 1304 1360 1664 666 694 697 746 -hsync +vsync

These were what I used.

I think it looked perfect if I adjusted the Fine Tuning setting on the TV a few ticks from the center.

I don't have this PC connected to the TV anymore, though.

jdwk

Though my settings are a little different, those that spiff72 posted work fine as well.

PowerStrip timing parameters:
1200x666=1200,112,136,216,666,28,3,49,74556,2050

Generic timing details for 1200x666:
HFP=112 HSW=136 HBP=216 kHz=45 VFP=28 VSW=3 VBP=49 Hz=60

Linux modeline parameters:
"1200x666" 74.556 1200 1312 1448 1664 666 694 697 746 -hsync +vsync

You should be able to remove the fuzziness you see by adjusting the Fine Detail setting. To help you set it correctly, go to the following site and download DisplayMate v1.3 Demo. It's a small program that has several test patterns that will help you adjust different aspects of your PC display. There is a particular pattern under the Tune Up column that displays every pixel. Just adjust the Fine Detail setting until all the noise is gone from the screen and the pixels are displayed clearly.

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,6690,00.asp

On another note, I've noticed lately that I've been having to constantly adjust the Fine Detail after I power up the set on the VGA connection. I'm not sure if this is an issue with the TV or the PC's graphics card, but I've never had to do this until recently.

Here are mine. Looks like we all have the same stuff, except for that last number. I think that is the "Vertical sync width."

Mine seems to work pretty well, but every once in a while, the TV ends up shifting the display over to the left by half an inch, or the text will get all flashy in a certain part of the screen. Usually a combination of selecting 1280x720 and then 1200x666 again or selecting a different input on the TV and then going back to VGA gets it working again.

PowerStrip timing parameters:
1200x666=1200,112,136,216,666,28,3,49,74556,3

Generic timing details for 1200x666:
HFP=112 HSW=136 HBP=216 kHz=45 VFP=28 VSW=3 VBP=49 Hz=60

Linux modeline parameters:
"1200x666" 74.556 1200 1312 1448 1664 666 694 697 746 -hsync +vsync

Is there any reason that you guys are not using a true 16:9 resolution (with 1200x666). I always had good luck with the 1184x666, leaving only a pixel or two of underscan on each side.

I don't use this resolution for watching any video. I only use it for web browsing or ripping DVDs, etc...

I use 1280x720 for watching DVDs and HDTV. I have the resolution change as soon as media center starts up.

Thanks guys. 1200x666 works pretty good.
What is strange is that my set doesn't like 45kHz and 60kHz for 1280x720, 1216x684, and 1184x666. They all prefer something a little slower (in fact the last one likes 42 and 57). I changed all the timings in the ini file to 74556, 2050 (what is that second number), as per one of the HTPC threads and it took me forever to get those three clean again.

I have a 62725 and a Pioneer Elite 59avi. Using Avia or DVE to set up the color, I am able to set it up almost perfectly using the color filters and color bar patterns. I can get Blue, Red and Green almost perfect (at least to my eye) using the perfectcolor settings and the test patterns. However, when I put in a DVD or watch HDTV, there is way too much red and the picture looks like cr_p.

I have done this so many times always the same outcome. Why is this? It would seem to me that if the color bars are set up properly then the picture should look good. If I set the colors to what I think looks ok, the color bar patterns are way off.

I have a turned off all the setting that affect the picture such as define edge, VNR, have color temp set to low etc. black enhancement off.

I am connected via HDMI directly into the TV.

Any thoughts?

Originally posted by petdetec
I have a 62725 and a Pioneer Elite 59avi. Using Avia or DVE to set up the color, I am able to set it up almost perfectly using the color filters and color bar patterns. I can get Blue, Red and Green almost perfect (at least to my eye) using the perfectcolor settings and the test patterns. However, when I put in a DVD or watch HDTV, there is way too much red and the picture looks like cr_p.

I have done this so many times always the same outcome. Why is this? It would seem to me that if the color bars are set up properly then the picture should look good. If I set the colors to what I think looks ok, the color bar patterns are way off.

I have a turned off all the setting that affect the picture such as define edge, VNR, have color temp set to low etc. black enhancement off.

I am connected via HDMI directly into the TV.

Any thoughts?

I have the 59avi as well... are you using HDMI?

List your perfectcolor settngs as well as your video settings and I will post mine here as well later tonight... I used DVE...

EDIT: Please list your settings on the 59avi as well...

Thanks for the quick reply my settings are:

62725:

Tint: 27
Color: 28
Cont:49
Bright:38
Sharp:31
Def edge: off
Color Temp: Low
VNR: off
Black enhan: off

Magenta:37
Red:46
Yellow:52
Green:37
Cyan:39
Blue:34

Using HDMI Direct from 59avi to TV. These are the settings that using DVE or AVIA should be correct but look Horrible.

59avi:

HDMI Direct
HDMI standard
Auto 2
No changes to default

Well, first of all I suggest you not use the same settings for both the HDMI input and the other inputs. It seems that the two paths need to be set up differently. Your DVD player settings match mine, but just make sure you are using a black setup of 0 IRE and HDMI Color setting of standard, or the numbers will be off from mine...

here are my settings on the DVD Player (HDMI)

Contrast : 45
Brightness : 39
Color : 31
Tint : 31
Color Temperature : Low

Magenta : 38
Red : 48
Yellow : 35
Green : 26
Cyan : 27
Blue : 30

The settings for sharpness and Definedge are up to you. I've found that the Definedge changes the chroma response as is evidenced by the test patterns on DVE. I would turn it off during calibration and then if you desire, turn it on depending on the source... sharpness seems to have a more subtle effect and is your preference as well.


These are my settings for the Internal Tuner

Contrast : 41
Brightness : 45
Color : 31
Tint : 31
Color Temperature : Low

Magenta : 53
Red : 43
Yellow : 41
Green : 37
Cyan : 31
Blue : 44

I used the DVE color filter with the built-in color bars in Perfectcolor to tweak these settings. The brightness and contrast are pretty good to my liking. The Definedge and sharpness should be set to your liking here as well.


I noticed in both cases a slight timing error probably in the color wheel that is allowing a primary color to leak into the red color. When I use the red color filter, I can see that there is a slight amount of either green or blue present in the bars that should be dark... It's not really a big deal, but it is an error I could not fix. I suspect that the color wheel timing needs to be adjusted or perhaps the color filter gains in the service menu need to be tweaked. I know how to access the individual color gains for each primary and each temperature setting, but I doubt that is the issue...

Overall I think these settings look great with the player as well as HD. Try these out and let me know how it goes...


EDIT : The DVD player settings I am referring to are for the Pioneer 59avi over HDMI... they are most likely different depending on the specific player. Also, with a 7.5 IRE black setup over HDMI, the brightness needs to be turned down to about 30 as verified by the BTB test pattern on DVE. Setting the HDMI color to Enhanced on the 59avi shifts the black setup causing you to readjust the settings anyways, so make sure to leave it to standard as you have it.

I've found Black Enhancement does strange things in lighter scenes. It apparantly dynamically shifts the black level depending on the amount of brightness in the current picture. This causes l a slight loss of detail in the darker parts of a bright scene. I'd leave it off... it may make the picture look a little washed out at first, but that is the way it should be.

Thanks, I'll give it a try. I too am using 0 IRE. I don't use the internal tuner but rather a HDTIVO hooked up to the component video directly to the TV. I find I can make this look ok if I set all the perfect color setting to 31 and set color down to about 25 and tint around 30. This even looks ok from the dvd player, at least better than the settings I posted above.

Your setting are similar to mine so I must be on the right track, I just don't understand why everyone looks sunburned if I have things set up so the color charts look correct.

Thanks again, I'll play with it some more and let you know.

Component hookups are very similar to the internal tuner settings for me... just a few tweaks to the brightness/contrast setups to get everything right... I've found that adjusting tint and color leave a lot to be desired. The perfectcolor settings give you much better control with the color and tint left at default.

I just purchased a Dishnetwork 942 receiver for HD content and was wondering if anyone else has one hooked up yet? (See DBSTalk.com http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=39968 for a description of the unit.)
I haven't gotten mine yet but I'm sure I will have a bunch of questions regarding how to set the 942 and my 62725 to play nice with each other.

I don't have the new 942 but do I have the older HD model. From looking at the other dish receivers for multiple room I would just say that you need to make sure the receiver is in the room with the HD tv and hook it up via DVI/HDMI or comp. and be fine. I wish Dish had more HD programming. $10 / month for a few channels is crazy.

For another $5 you can get 10 of the Voom specific channels that were just picked up by Dishnetwork. Another 11 or more are to be added in 2006. I would assume these would cost a few bucks more as well. Look at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=535477

My main reasoning is that I spent so much for a HD TV, I want more HD to watch. Also I will soon be able to record HD content.

Originally posted by TomTx
I just purchased a Dishnetwork 942 receiver for HD content and was wondering if anyone else has one hooked up yet? (See DBSTalk.com http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=39968 for a description of the unit.)
I haven't gotten mine yet but I'm sure I will have a bunch of questions regarding how to set the 942 and my 62725 to play nice with each other.

Part of me wants one of these, another part says "don't do it - it isn't MPEG4 compatible", and the other part says "screw dish, I am going back to cable"!

Let us know how it works out.

I would have a hard time getting another coax feed to it if I got one (you need two for the dual tuner capabilty - but I think with some expensive switches, you can feed it with a single cable).

Originally posted by TomTx
I just purchased a Dishnetwork 942 receiver for HD content and was wondering if anyone else has one hooked up yet? (See DBSTalk.com http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=39968 for a description of the unit.)
I haven't gotten mine yet but I'm sure I will have a bunch of questions regarding how to set the 942 and my 62725 to play nice with each other.

Installation update: (will try to stay w/in thread topic - others on AVS talk about Dishnetwork's service and receivers)
1) For a brand new unit it is one of the most bug free I've ever gotten. Hope it stays that way. Picture quality looks great on the Mits and i can now record HD!
2) Like others have reported here w/ other STBs, the HDMI interface lacks a vibrant picture. It just looks washed out compared to component. Ended up using component inputs.
3) Couldn't figure out how to get the HDMI digital sound to pass through the Mits to my amp. When I told the Mits which input to use, it told me that input was already in use by the Mits' monitor out. That's true since that is where my Cable/OTA audio is sent to get to the amp. Since I didn't like the picture quality of the HDMI input, I just gave up.
4) NetCommand works just fine as it did w/ my old sat STB.
5) Wife loves the idea that she does not have to switch inputs to watch OTA DH. Not that this was something hard to do, but I think she was intimidated by the Mits and was afraid she would end us someplace lost among all those features.
6) Now I have to figure out how to get test patters through the Sat STB so I can adjust the Mits' video settings

For those of you using the HDMI input, you should definitely use different contrast brightness and color settings than the other inputs. I've found that all of these settings are completely different from any of the component hookups or the internal tuner picture settings. I've calibrated both the HDMI and component hookups using DVE and my DVD player, and the settings for both are totally different.

I don't have an HDMI DVD player to get the DVE stuff into the Mits, but I did play around w/ different settings. I just couldn't find any that looked as good as the component input.

here is my post on the settings I used over HDMI...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5549408#post5549408

I think if the picture looks washed out, the brightness may be too high for the black level the STB is putting out... with the DVD player, I can adjust the black setup to get it looking right...

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
For those of you using the HDMI input, you should definitely use different contrast brightness and color settings than the other inputs. I've found that all of these settings are completely different from any of the component hookups or the internal tuner picture settings. I've calibrated both the HDMI and component hookups using DVE and my DVD player, and the settings for both are totally different.

I am glad I am not the only one who thinks the HDMI input is washed out (my only DVI/HDMI source is my Dish 811 receiver - could this be a Dish problem - not the Mit's fault?)...

I need to be home on a tuesday AM sometime to see if I can calibrate the color correctly with the HD Net test patterns (are they even doing this anymore?)...

But hey, with a 942 I could RECORD the test patterns. Drool.

Originally posted by UMD_Terp
here is my post on the settings I used over HDMI...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5549408#post5549408

I think if the picture looks washed out, the brightness may be too high for the black level the STB is putting out... with the DVD player, I can adjust the black setup to get it looking right...

I don't think I saw this post before. Thanks, UMD_Terp, for the linky.

I will try these tonight and see how it looks compared to component.

Hey looky here...it is my 600th post! Yaaay...the crowd goes wild!

Sorry - it is Friday, and I am wishing it was later in the day :D

I love this forum.

EDIT: WTH? I was at 599 before this post and now 601?? Strange.

Originally posted by spiff72
I don't think I saw this post before. Thanks, UMD_Terp, for the linky.

I will try these tonight and see how it looks compared to component.

I just posted those for another poster who was having trouble getting his 59avi DVD player to look right... I think they should be ok settings to get a baseline...

Setting a 942 with a Mits input settings with Avia or DVE does not apply as it is 1080i/720p vs 480i, different output voltages, etc.

Our experience shows to use DirectTV's hd.net test pattern as well as start with the DVD settings and add 10 points to the sharpness and contrast.

I just ordered a 62725 and I'm getting it on Monday. Paid $3249 at Good Guys, good deal? This requred a lot of negotiation, it was not their list price ($3999).

This will be my first HDTV. Anything I should do ahead of Monday in preparation?

What do I need to do to calibrate the TV? Is this something I can do or do I need to get someone to come do it?

Can you recommend any good indoor HD antennas?

Can you recommend any good non-Mitsubishi stands? I bought the Mitsubishi stand, but I think the TV looks rather boxy on the matching Mitsubishi stand. Looks as if it's not even a wide-screen. I've seen photos here of the 62725 on non-Mitsubishi stands and I think the TV looks much better. It looks wider when the sit is sitting on a stand that doesn' t match it perfectly. Or is this my imagination?

Input appreciated!

FYI - My first choice was a Toshiba 62HMX94, which I could have gotten even cheaper. But that TV is hell to use with a computer so I opted for the Mistubishi, which was my second choice, but still a great set.

Good enough price. Others may say cheaper but at the end of the day, you got a good deal.

I am still QUITE confused as to what settings my TV should use and what configuration my cable box and TV’s should be set at.

I have Adelphia (soon to be Comcast) who use an SA 8200 DVR digital converter with formats of 480i/p/wide I /wide p 720p and 1080i. They come as fixed, pass through, upconvert1 and upconvert2.

Thanks

No matter what I try, I can't get rid of a persistant green "push" (for want of a better term) that casts everything I watch as if it were on tungsten film under flourescent lights. When I watch a DVD from an HDMI source (dunno about other source) the screen appears to have a green burn-in appearance in dark or black areas, such as when scenes fade to black during transistions.

I can't get the set to show true blacks and I can't seem to get the brightness and contrast correct to show a balanced picture.

I have upgraded to v 4.05 and had Sound Advice's tech out here TWICE (supposedly an ISF certified tech) and other than changing some green values at the advanced menus, there didn't appear to be much more he could do.

Any advice? I have had the TV for about 2 months and complained from the first week.

TIA
Michael

Originally posted by ParrotSquawk
No matter what I try, I can't get rid of a persistant green "push" (for want of a better term) that casts everything I watch as if it were on tungsten film under flourescent lights. When I watch a DVD from an HDMI source (dunno about other source) the screen appears to have a green burn-in appearance in dark or black areas, such as when scenes fade to black during transistions.

I can't get the set to show true blacks and I can't seem to get the brightness and contrast correct to show a balanced picture.

I have upgraded to v 4.05 and had Sound Advice's tech out here TWICE (supposedly an ISF certified tech) and other than changing some green values at the advanced menus, there didn't appear to be much more he could do.

Any advice? I have had the TV for about 2 months and complained from the first week.

TIA
Michael

which DVD player?

Toshiba DVD player....

but it happens on the cable source as well.


Michael

Originally posted by ParrotSquawk
Toshiba DVD player....

but it happens on the cable source as well.


Michael

PLease list all of your video settings including perfectcolor settings for the inputs you are seeing green push on. Be sure you have Auto turned OFF for perfectcolor...

It doesn't matter if they are all at 63 or 0, the green cast is STILL there.
If I have only red and or magenta I still see it.

I would like to convey my recent experience with the ISF calibration that was just performed on my 52575. Thanks to a lot of you fellow posters, I have learned a lot and am only sharing this experience since we are all trying to get the most out of these sets.
Let me begin by stating I am a newbie enthusiast and not a technical person or an engineer type that a lot of you seem to be. I am over my head in a lot of the discussions that go on in this forum. Nonetheless, we share the same drive to maximize our viewing pleasure. I’m not sure if I can post the site and person who did it. If I can, let me know or PM me. This site itself provides a lot of info regarding calibration and what a certified ISF calibrator can do.
I chose Bob(fictitious) because he travels country wide and can easily claim to calibrating the most tv’s of just about anyone (+1500) I figured if I could book him when he was in the area, so be it. I can attest in a 3 day span from a scheduling email, he was calibrating 7 clients (and driving around a lot to get to us)
Bob showed up with his luggage containing his 50k of equipment and went right to work. He provides some previsit directives to maximize his time there. I basically placed black trash bags over the windows to block out all light. He hooked up his laptop which is connected to a color analyzer and put in the DVE disc in the DVD. He went to a particular test pattern in DVE . He then taped the color analyzer to the middle of the screen and between the three he went into the service menu and balanced all the colors that effect grayscale using the calibration software mentioned on the keohi site. Of course the colors were all out of whack. He spent close to 40 minutes just tweaking these colors and ultimately bringing all three ( RBG) into balance. He finished by using the DVE to set contrast, brightness and other parameters. He did this in all three temperature settings. He then repeated the process for the DVD input. These settings varied slightly from the DTV settings.
The results when all done were GREAT! I knew the picture was good before, but can’t believe how much better it is now. He provides a pre and post calibration report which shows the difference. I could provide a copy of that report if you PM me. My overall opinion of the process is that the discs provide the opportunity to tweak the set, but without the right equipment used, calibration software, knowledge of service menu techniques and process skill there is no way I could have gotten the same results
He also calibrated the set in 1080i as opposed to the 720p I was using stating that the native signal of cable is 1080i and the set can process this signal easier than asking it to convert it to 720p .He rationalized that this adds strain to the set. He knows better than me.
For what I paid for the set, this service was well worth it.It isn’t necessarily cheap, but when both my wife and daughter both comment on how much better the set looks, I feel it well worth it. I truly do.

Originally posted by snackman
He also calibrated the set in 1080i as opposed to the 720p I was using stating that the native signal of cable is 1080i and the set can process this signal easier than asking it to convert it to 720p .He rationalized that this adds strain to the set. He knows better than me.

I'm glad this worked out well for you and would be interested to see your settings posted to compare them to the others around here. However, the above statement doesn't make any sense to me. First of all, your set converts everything to 720P no matter what. So, you can't change your set to 1080i to make it work less hard with a 1080i source. By the above reasoning, using a 1080i source to calibrate your set is actually making it work harder because it has to convert to 720P. If, on the other hand, he said something like he was using a 1080i source to calibrate because you were using a 1080i source (which I doubt is uniformly true), then I could at least understand the logic. Frankly, it makes me wonder what he's talking about.

Anyhow, as long as you're happy with the results!

Originally posted by TomTx
6) Now I have to figure out how to get test patters through the Sat STB so I can adjust the Mits' video settings [/B]

8 am, Eastern, every Tuesday, HDNet runs a 10-15minute series of patterns with instructions. PVR them on your new 942 and they should help.

Please note that there has been talk about flaws in the geometery of these tests, but I used them on my 52725 with Dish 811 (live, not PVR'd) for color/contrast/brightness and am quite happy with the results- HDMI finally looks as good as the component inputs.

I use the hd cable box and had it set at 720p. The cable box aloows you to change between 480i,480p,720p and 1080i.When he calibrated it he switched it to 1080i. He said the cable signal was a native 1080i and unless you have a native 720p, why ask the set to convert it. I see your point since the tv does have a native 720p, but being a neubie I went along with the explanation. I may email him and ask for clarification.

Sounds like your calibrator has done more RP CRTs than any DLP or other fixed pixel set. For what it's worth it does not matter that the signal was set to 1080i or 720p for the calibration. Mitsubishi RP CRTs actually used to have different servce menu settings for every scan rate. That is not the case with the DLP I believe. A native 720p signal into the set requires the least amount of processing as the set is in fact 720p native and will require no conversions whereas the 1080i signal will need to be rescaled.

What input was used for the calibration. The perfectcolor and brightness/contrast settings are potentially vastly different for the HDMI input as compared to component or the internal tuner. Or, did he only adjust the color gains in the service menu? Those settings are global as far as I know.

Originally posted by snackman
I use the hd cable box and had it set at 720p. The cable box aloows you to change between 480i,480p,720p and 1080i.When he calibrated it he switched it to 1080i. He said the cable signal was a native 1080i and unless you have a native 720p, why ask the set to convert it. I see your point since the tv does have a native 720p, but being a neubie I went along with the explanation. I may email him and ask for clarification.

This is a very interesting subject. I have my DishNet 811 set to output 1080i after trying 720p and getting "jaggies" type of artifacts. I then recently spotted this:

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/02/120227&tid=129&tid=196&tid=137

Which claims many 720p downconversions done in-set were not true downconversions but merely some of the 1080i lines- that is, not true 720p downsampled from 1080i- loss of potentially useful signal data.

It occured to me that the case may be reversed for me. The Mits does a better 1080i to 720p conversion than the Dish 811 set-top-box. The reason the Mits TV does a better 1080i downconversion than the Dish 811 Set-top-box was probably what is described there- and it would explain the jaggies if the conversion was just dropping every 2nd or 3rd line alternating (that is, resampling done by the down-coversion in the Mits left no "jaggies.").

My advice is to try 1080i and 720p output from the STB on various channels to find out which looks best overall.

I just wish the Dish HD recivers let us choose a 5th option to output in "native" rather than forcing all content into either 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i.... this way, when content is sent in 720p, it can be viewed natively. Unfortunatley the Dish system never tells what the content's native format is.

Originally posted by GizmoSprocket
My advice is to try 1080i and 720p output from the STB on various channels to find out which looks best overall.

This was my other point that it would be different by channel, but I forgot that the STB might be doing conversions to keep everything the same.

Your point about how the Mits converts to 720P is very interesting however. I'll have to look into that more. At the same time, let me say that I think the Mits upconversion from component inputs is excellent. I still have my DVD via component because it looks so good that it's very hard for me to justify buying a new DVD player to go HDMI.

That reminds me...which input was the ISF guy using for your STB? Maybe you said, but I forgot...

Gizmo,

I tested that theory out. The Mitsu DLP treats a 1080i signal as if it were 540p. It scales up each 1920x540 frame to 720p every 1/60th of a second.

I used a bitmap that I created in MSPaint. Open it up in MSPaint.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=5577926

It is basically an image with 1 pixel horizontal black lines on a white background.

I fed it into my TV via the component cables using a 1080i screen.

The result was that the image flashed black and white. It was displaying each individual 60Hz 540 pixel frame scaled up to 720p on its own. That is why it was flashing. The black lines were on even scanlines, and the white lines were on odd scanlines, or vice-versa. And they were being alternated.

Honestly, I think that this is the correct way of displaying 1080i video on a 720p display given how video is recorded with 1080i HD cameras. 1080i cameras sample a 540p field sequentially every 1/60th of a second. And this is how these 720p displays are displaying them. It gets rid of the issue of deinterlacing artifacts. It looks great on my TV with video.

This is a good read:
http://www.100fps.com/

Sure you can create pathological cases that screw it up like I did with the above bmp file, but that isn't real video.

So the TV is actually displaying all the information it is getting. It just isn't creating a 1080p frame to display first. It completely gets rid of deinterlacing artifacts, which is a good thing, IMO.