2010 Mitsubishi 3D DLP Owners Thread (638 series) - Page 3

If you can, pick up a calibration DVD or you can download HD 709 here - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948496 After you calibrate your set using something like that then "tweak" the settings while watching a high quality movie in HD along with the lighting you watch your HDTV (lights on/off - daylight, night, etc.). But I would recommend that the Picture Mode be set to "Natural" - unless you have your set in a bright room. That's because it will give you more of a dynamic range and less chance of over saturation or blow-out of luminance.

i tried the natural and its just too dim...i could see it i was in a basement or in a room with no windows(like a theater room) but tweaking it from there is pointless for me(regular living area with sunroom on one side and kitchen window on other)...im definitely trying to be careful of blowout of luminance..thats why i want to get brightness down as much as possible. had the contrast down more but couldnt makeout faces in dark scenes. so settled on 85.

i tweaked from settings that were professionally calibrated for 738 60inch..my goal was just trying to get as close to 6500k as possible with out being in torch mode..just by going by eye

There's not a lot of color/tint controls on these models to dial everything in for an ideal calibration/setup. If you use a PC as your main content delivery source you can pickup on calibration where the HDTV itself is short. But that will only work for video that you output from your PC of course. For these lower end sets that's the best setup - to use a HTPC as the primary video source and let the PC do all the upscaling, color correction, and aspect ratio adjustments.

I ordered the 65C10 form Dell during the special they had this Monday. I was on the fence between getting the 73" 838 or waiting until 2011 or 2012 when Mitsubishi will start using a full frame 1920x1080 DLP chip - then full HD 3D will be possible on DLP sets. But for the price and considering I output all my video through my HTPC, this set should do - for now. And since the price was so little, I'm not locked into owning the set for 7-10yrs like those that spend $2-3K on a HDTV. There will be more reasons to upgrade in the near future (2-4 years) since 3D is just starting out and there will be affordable 70" LCD/Plasma sets within the next 1-2yrs. But I still think DLP rear projections are a better experience. Sure the LCD/Plasma sets look nice and are razor sharp (most of the good ones are). But because of their current size it'snot an immersive experience. And a good 65" LCD/Plasma will cost you $2-5.5K with both LCD and Plasmas having their own negatives (Plasma it's glare and LCD it's contrast/black crush). Hard to spend that kind of cash given you still have flaws and live with it for the next 7-10 years.

So now i understand what the pc thing is all about...but... i LOVE blu-ray and I already have a lcd and a plasma..cant afford the led yet...at least not in the size i want...and so i did some research and i believed enough in the Mitsu DLP (even the entry level TV) that i could calibrate enough to 6500 to my liking(doesn't have to be dead on) to have a gorgeous HD picture. I have to say I already think the picture is far nicer than my sammy plasma that i bought last year.

My 60" 638 was delivered yesterday. It is AWESOME!! The only thing I changed was bump the brilliant factory setting down to natural. All else is good as is. DirecTV HD looks splendid, and BluRays are enthralling!! Sound out of the speakers is more than adequate for me (note: I'm completely deaf in my left ear; right ear still works fine.)

also my 60" 638 was delivered yesterday and so far i love it,3d is something special to watch.im using a ps3 and i have call of duty black ops,gt5,but the best ps3 game in 3d is wipeout hd 3d wow it looks amazing.i watch my hd channels on brilliant factory setting but man i made a mistake i hooked it up Component Cables and my wife was quick to tell me the picture was not good at all so i hooked it up hdmi cable and wow there was a big difference.know i need to find 3d movies local that are not 40 dollars.

I got the 60638 60" on last friday, any tips on video noise setting or color temp.? Also what HDMI cable are you using? How many do I need? Thanks I like the t.v. so far, but my satellite provider has not upgraded my reciever for HD yet and the PS3 we bought is for christmas, so I have yet to see what this t.v. can do. But at the regular 480i signal were getting is still pretty good, but a bit grainny of course, mind you were coming from an old 27" CRT that we had for over 10 years,lol.

i made that post before i turned it on this morning and now i got have to say it does not look good at all hooked up to my cable box.i guess last night it looked better because it was very dark in the house,man i love 3d but the hd channels have to not look grainny and they do bad on this tv.im going to return it as im not giving up great hd tv for 3d.sportscenter looks so bad i dont know what to say.

Before you return a perfectly good TV - what kind of TV/Cable service do you have? Are the HD settings properly configured ?

charter service hd box,what do you mean Are the HD settings properly configured,in my hd box?i want to keep it bad but if the channels look like this my wife will kill me!

Yes, i am asking if you HD Box is properly setup. Without knowing your specific model, its hard to give instructions, but in general, most boxes have some setup options, specifically what output to have (native resolution, upscaling).

Also, what channels look bad; are the 720P HD channels, or the 1080i channels? People here will happily help, you should give us some details to work with.

it only does 1080i,also maybe im sitting to close im between 6 and 8 feet?

6ft is a bit close for these sets, at least for cable TV. 8-10 feet should be okay though. The Plush1080p processor up converts any non 1080p signal to 1080p and the video processor on these sets isn't as good as the one one the 738/838, which have the 5G version. It's probably a combination of the video processor and crappy picture quality from certain cable TV channels that is causing the problems you're seeing.

If the picture quality looks great with Blu-ray content then it's not your HDTV that's the weak link. Alternatives are to use a HTPC as the source for all your content or a external video processor that does better upscaling/clean-up of bad TV channels. Sadly, either of those solutions adds to the total cost of the HDTV.

Anyone that can't feed the C10/638 series of HDTVs a 1080p signal for all of their cable TV and Movies should seriously consider getting the 738/838 series since they do a much better job at video scaling for non-1080p content.

Lucid69,when you say it upscales to 1080p are you saying it will do that from my hd cable box because the tv says it is doing 1080i not 1080p?

Correct, if it's not a 1080p signal then it goes through the Plush1080 video processor and made 1080p. If you feed the set a 1080p signal it doesn't need to be converted to 1080p. Typically the more you process something the worse it will look. Of course, a high quality video processor or PC software can do wonders for lower resolution content. But they can't make them look like blu-ray. After all the content itself is flawed since it's not high resolution and at the same bandwidth as a blu-ray movie.

Try comparing the picture quality watching something like David Letterman or Leno (NBC Night News is another good one). Those shows are usually output at 1080p and have good picture quality. I find most "sports" shows re-compress an already compressed video clip of games so they look terrible, more so on bigger screens. I saw the same problem on LCD/Plasma sets at the store but since the sets were smaller it didn't look as bad.

For me - I use over the air HDTV, internet TV, and blu-ray movies as my sources which all go through my HTPC. I just don't see value in having 100's of channels I'll never watch and paying 70-100 a month for them. When in reality I usually only watch 4-5 TV shows which are broadcasted for free. But if I did need more programming I would just add Netflix and Hulu Plus which would give me more content for a lot less than a cable TV provider can/does.

so how do i get the Plush1080 video processor to work with my hd cable box?i see nothing on the menu to upscale to 1080p.

The Plush1080p video processor converts all signals that are not 1080p to 1080p automatically. That's why if you can't feed these lower end models (C10/638) a 1080p signal for all sources you'll most likely see a hit in video quality for those non-1080p sources. It's also why you should turn off as many of the other features on this set so the video doesn't get processed as much.

I noticed that you are using the "brilliant" setting. Try using the "natural" setting. Sure that's not as "bright" but that setting could be making more flaws visible and/or effecting the picture quality. All of the people that calibrate these sets use the "natural" setting and reserve the brilliant mode for when there's a ton of light (daytime viewing). I'd suggest disabling as many features and using the natural settings, calibrate the HDTV using a Blu-ray calibration disc, and then re-watch the channels that are of concern. Then tweak the adjustments to your liking and see what kind of hit it has on the picture quality.

So I have the 60638 model, I checked and dont see any location in settings for to switch to HD. Aren't these t.v.'s just plug and play for HD as long as your signals are HD right? When you said switch to HD, where do you go to apply? Thanks. What does the calibration disk do that our own eyes can't?

Best Bang for the buck 60638 60" !! Media Bridge good cables for HDMI? The reviews on amazon seem good, will like your thoughts?

I wish I had known about a lot of this sooner than buying my Mitsuibshi lol. Also the fact that I paid a lot more for mine by not waiting. Oh well, lesson learned. I am going to go an attempt to adjust the picture a bit with some recommended settings I saw on here. I am also happy to now know what video noise is for.

I had to reply back about what my problem with was with the PC. It would seem there is a humming coming from the electrical box while the htpc and TV are on at the same time...so, the dimming I was seeing was more than likely the PC periodically taking more power. Ouch, that is terrible for electronics. Undervoltage is almost as bad a voltage spikes. *sigh* I just ordered 2 new Belkin surge protectors. Hopefully the one I was using just can't supply enough power, though I am sure I will be trying to find another outlet for the PC.

A few post back someone asked if "xxxx joules is good" or not. Through reading for the last week or so I have learned quite a bit. Joule ratings are a joke. Look for clamping voltage (the most common decent being 330v) voltage pass through if its marked. Most surge suppressors are 400v. It was amazing trying to talk to a clerk at BB who said "you need this $129 monster surge protector." It had no electrical stats on the box, and they didn't know what the heck I was talking about. Down with overpriced/overhyped accessories! Long story short, 330v clamp, and higher amp protection is better. Oh, and as I have probably shortened the lifespan of my PC/TV/surround sound now due to most likely undervoltage your ABSOLUTE best bet for a home theater set up protection wise is a big ol UPS. Protects from surges and protects against undervoltage for when you/your utility company mess up. It would always be nice to give that hot bulb time to cool off with the fan on in the event of a power outage too.

These sets up-convert any non-1080p signal to 1080p. The video processors in the C10/638 sets are a lower quality so if you send those sets a non-1080p signal it will not look as good vs. the higher end sets or if the video was going through an external video processor (before the signal hits the HDTV). There's a reason these sets are cheaper than the 738/838 models, they use a lesser quality video processor chip. And as such, have lesser quality video when the source video isn't 1080p.

Calibration disks allow you adjust the various color/tint/hue/contrast/etc. settings so that your set displays the best possible picture. Then from there you can tweak things slight for how they look best to your own eyes. Not calibration your TV can result in over saturated colors, black crush, inaccurate colors, etc.. Most TVs out of the box aren't calibrated and as a result don't deliver the best picture quality. Some people pay several hundreds of dollars to have a professional calibrate their HDTVs for them. So even high end sets need calibration.

There is no "HD" setting on these sets. All video inputs to this HDTV are converted to 1080p using the lesser quality Push1080p video processor. That's where the problem is at - the video processor that these sets use. If you input 1080p video into this set it won't convert the signal to 1080p because it's already 1080p so it will not take a picture quality hit to do the conversion. The only way to have better video with non-1080p inputs to this HDTV is to use a PC for input or a external video processor. The other alternative is to buy the 738/838 model of the set since they use a better video processor (Push1080p 5G).

They look fine but you should be able to get a better price at monoprice. Just look for "high speed" or "Category 2" HDMI cables - they're one in the same.

I found the perfect settings for me finally. anyone is welcome to try them.

while the other settings looked good i really didnt like having to switch from the different modes for sports, and bluray, and tv. So I tried to get one mode just right to watch for everything..and also was Bright. I dont have a controlled lit room so i wanted the tv to be bright enough to handle daytime viewing.

and ive come up with this..


o Picture Mode : Bright
o Aspect Ratio/Format : Standard
* Picture Settings
o Contrast : 72
o Brightness : 46
o Color :38
o Tint : 9
o Sharpness : 0
o Color Temperature : high
o Video Noise : Off
o film mode : off

These work very well for bluray as well..

these are all with HDMI(high speed) cable hookup

I know 72 for contrast seems nuts but try watching a movie with a lot of snow in(like skiing)...or scene where the sun is shining on a persons white shirt..you cant make out any detail in white scenes..just looks like a white blotch. 72 contrast helps this alot.(on bright mode)

I am connecting my PC via HDMI but it keeps coming up as invalid format. Can somebody please help me to sort this out ? I have an ATI video card, if that helps.
Thanks in advance.

tried them still no good,i went from a 52 sharp lcd to this and as much as i love 3d i can not get the hd channels to look great, even the top of the heads of the people look cut off,thanks for everyones help but if i dont get that tv back in here tommorrow my wife is going to kill me.

Heads of people look cut off??? Sounds like you might have the cable box zoomed in or changing the aspect ratio which will make the picture quality look even worse.

that is what i though but this dang charter cable box has not settings at all.

definately sounds like its zoomed....give me your model number for your HD cable box. i will look online to see how to get into the setup menu

Check your manual for the HDTV - it does support various aspect ratios. It's probably using one of the various zoom/aspect ratio modes which is making your picture quality look like crap. I'm almost 100% sure that's the case since you should never see heads cut off in the default/normal aspect ratio of the content.

Bump, can somebody help me sort this issue out please. This is my main input source. Thanks.