2011 Mitsubishi DLP WD-73640 official thread - Page 48

Personally I would buy it again without any work around. I did pay $650 however. At $999 I would still think its a solid value despite some drawbacks.

I would definitely buy it again, but I also paid only $650.00 for it as well. There was a time before I saw it on sale at that low price, where I would have paid as much $1200.00 for it over a year ago, but like most consumer electronics, prices just keep falling!

If I were you, if you are able to, you may want to try and see this TV firsthand, to see if the TV has the defect bug that some people have. If it has it, you can decide for yourself whether or not you can live with it. I say this in the hopes of not starting any arguing, but there are some people who claim to have a defect free TV. Myself included.

I'm not going to argue with Yad about whether or not HIS TV has the bug, but he's being extremely disingenuous when he says "... the bug that SOME people have".

I believe Yad is the only person left here who still claims to not have the bug... Several people HAD claimed (vehemently at that) not to see it, but once they checked specific scenes, and posted pics, the bug was there... just an FYI.

The real question isn't whether or not the sets have the bug -- they do, just ask Mits --- but how much the bug BOTHERS you. That's really the only thing that's up for debate. You can view the example pics in the other thread to get an idea of what it is. There are many pics in the first page, instead of long, drawn out debates to wade thru.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1397654

That said, the 3D Checkerboard mode is a decent work-around that gets rid of the bug... so the problem has been lessened to a degree.

Only if I were absolutely certain the PQ was just as good or better than what I had experienced on my 2009 Mits DLP, using my demanding definition of good which is:

(and only looking at the issues introduced by the workaround)

thhowl's Definition of a Good Mits DLP Picture:

(in order of importance, highest first)

1. Sufficient 1-to-1 reproduction of the source image
2. Sufficient per-pixel sharpness/clarity,
3. Sufficient contrast/brightness/pop,


All of which are compromised severely by the defect.

Some of which are compromised mildly-to-greatly on the larger 92". (gtgray's report, he's free to correct me)

All of which PQ qualities are achieved 90% on my smaller 73". With the exception being that with workaround, I think I notice pixel structure more than I did on my 65" from comparable -because proportional- distance, but am not sure, having no good TV without 3D Checkerboard ON to compare it to.

However, there remain serious non-PQ problems with the workaround:

1. Dead Component port,
2. Dead OTA coax port (3D Checkerboard mode is not available with either of these)
3. Clunky channel switching when using an STB that outputs various formats (as I like it to)
4. Something else I'm sure I'm forgetting - oh the fear of burning the TV up or something. We have no feeling for whether the TV was designed to run long hours in 3D Mode - we know humans cannot without headaches, nausea, etc.

But, yes, had I had such an clear report from someone, like this one,
and such high hopes now that Mitsubishi will fix my 73"'s issues, if not also the ones of the larger 92",
yes, I would be able to buy it again - nay, jump on it again.

I don't understand this statement's logic. Is it's purpose to continue to incite debate on the very topic the questioner was chiding us for arguing about? Or is purpose only to have the last word while claiming to not wanting to argue?

If it's purpose is to inform, being that I have always agreed with the merits of debating this issue soundly, please let me correct you: the issue does exist in all 2011 DLPs, and some are now wondering if it may not also be in the LaserVue line. I know this from a lot of reading here of the reports, and finding reports with photographic evidence carry more weight than reports without any photographic evidence, and using a statistical process control approach to quality control and defect rates. One Deming taught the Japanese, and Mitsubishi is using to make these sets.

Oh, I hadn't seen that you replied to this already.

Timmons - are you sure it's the same TV that is being discussed in this thread? The bargain sites show the "Mitsubishi C Series 73-inch WD-73C11 1080p 3D DLP Home Cinema TV" is on sale for that price, just wanted to make sure we weren't commenting on the wrong set in your case.

Apparently the 73C11 is the same as the WD-73640.

I too have heard that and believe other's reports are likely right.

Also, even without those reports:

- given the raw basic imaging engine is for sure the same, (as shared with the $5K 92" too), and
- given what few advanced features the 73640 has (compared to the 740/840), and
- given what few of those few I actually leave on/use,

I would have bought a 73C11 sight unseen, if for the same price as I paid for my 73640. (which I also bought sight unseen, given solely what I knew of my 2009 set)

Timmons, making myself pretend as if your inquiry were coming from a Mitsubishi plant trying to feel out the market, I have reworded my reply regarding the workaround, to be as complete a message as I would deliver to Mitsubishi. This, I feel, is a more complete assessment of the situation for the entire product line, for Mitsubishi and owners, and prospective buyers.

What about the white dots issue that are also being reported on Mits DLP's? I'm hearing differing things that those are only on the older model dlp chip and not on newer ones?

I've only seen posts of this occuring on older models, the latest being 2007 models, I believe. Folks with the 2008 models can chime in.

The story is, that Texas Instruments (the inventor and supplier of the DMD chip) had a bad run of them and it was just in the older sets. Of course the problem only came to light a few years ago, so later models may yet be affected, though I doubt this year's models are.

Even if some have made their way into newer sets, the good news is that Mitsubishi seems to be taking care of the problem with out of warranty repairs for some. I have heard of people sharing the cost or even fixing the TV themselves, but this post is encouraging.

(emphasis by me)
Mitsubishi really stepped up to the plate for him, and they did the same for me, albeit for a different issue. I had a light engine problem, and they replaced my TV a full year out of warranty. Like I said, other people have had other experiences, and this is just a few examples. You can check out that entire thread if you'd like.

You also have to realize that many people keep Sharpness at or near the factory setting of 31. (And indeed several people have posted professional calibrations with such settings.) By keeping sharpness near those levels, the defect is not visible. However, keeping sharpness at that level is reported to cause irritating halos, etc.

Speaking ONLY FOR MYSELF, when I turned down the sharpness level to "0", I can see the defect. However, when comparing the picture with "0" and "25" Sharpness levels, I did not see any change (positive or negative) in terms of halos. Consequently for myself, I have chosen to keep Sharpness "up" as opposed to using 3D Checkerboard. FWIW I have the 82740, not the 73640...but as far as I understand, the issues remain the same.....and yes, even if I believed that Mits never planned to do anything about this defect, I would still purchase the set again.

I paid $999 for mine back in September, have 1407 hours on the bulb, drive a 2007 Dodge Magnum SRT, house was built in 1964, married current wife in 1984 and have AT&T U-verse for service.

Are any of those things perfect? No, but I wouldn't trade any of them off for something else.

keep in mind, Texas Instruments probably supported the replacements of the bad DMD chipsets. So while Mits may seem like a white knight on that one, they probably got major financial help. If this was a Mitsusbish programming error that was burned into the microcode on a programmable logice gate array.. Mits might be hanging out there on their own. The fact that the probablem occurs with arguably 100 percent of their 2011 production means a nasty hit. You can bet the warranty reserves set aside did not anticipate this one.

Off topic, your post reminded me of an old SNL skit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2uUD...e_gdata_player

Lol Will Ferrel cracks me up.

Yes.

I was answering his question about the probability of the white dot issue happening in 2011 sets, and what to expect from Mits in that regard. Check out that other thread. There are repeated references to out of warranty repairs and TV replacements for various other issues. Mits seems to care about their reputation.

Only time will tell in regards to the sharpness/softness issue. Most other DLP problems caused people to come here to report/complain/seek advice. Many more just called Mits. They saw and reported the problems first and then looked for answers in the forums.

From what I've seen, there won't be the same volume of complaints about the sharpness issue. It appears most people had to be told they had the problem before they were even aware of it, and even though the forums get a lot of traffic, I'm not sure it will be enough to raise the issue to a level high enough to get Mitsubishi's full attention. Let's hope the reverse is true, and they get on top of this.

It seems Timmons has gone over to the dark side. He is now shopping a 55" passive Toshiba.

hah.. what can i say? The negative things about this thing turned me off. It is a great deal though at dell for a grand. I think the time to warm up as it turns on and channel surfing did it for me. That and the sharpness or the 3d workaround (which would screw up the 360/ps3 connection). That and I live in a small NY apartment so getting a TV that takes up my entire wall leaving me sitting 3 feet in front of it may not be the smartest thing in the world.

3 feet away! You should be shopping for a 32"

Last year's models (WD-xxx38) are still out there in the 60" and 65" sizes (I believe best buy is still selling them), so that might solve your size and sharpness concerns. The set has a quick start setting, but I never use it. Channel surfing delays are an HDTV thing, not so much a brand issue. The set has to find out which resolution (480i, 480P, 720P, 1080i, 1080P) the next channel is broadcasting.

Whatever you decide, good luck in your search.

How is he going to find all the defects unless he sits 3' away...

Defects? What defects?!?!

Can you post that in the DEFECT thread, please! LOL ;-)

I'm glad you guys have a sense of humor...

Smilies work wonders for taking the edge off, especially as sarcasm always seems to read "hateful" otherwise.

Today I bought a $10 indoor antenna just to play around with OTA. Wow, seeing 1080i unmolested by Cable/Sat compression is jaw dropping on my 73640. Only problem is NBC drops out from time to time and CBS is hard to get in at all. :/ Maybe an amped antenna will help. Maybe my next project is to integrate the antenna with XBMC...

I never received an answer from my tech support question at MITS...
Advanced settings for Normal, Bright, Vivid for use with checkerboard for the 'fix'.

I tried answering the automatically generated email, but that bounced in 0 seconds, according to MITS.

Anyone got an email address? other than: mevsaservice@mevsa.com

Thanks

Yeah, a better antenna should do the trick. There is a website to help choose one out there (antennaweb.org?)
What is XBMC?

Same thing happened to me. My mind was set on the 73740 for the past six months. Thhowl's input probably changed my mind all by itself. As I have said before, my daughter has a 60738 so I am able to view a Mits often. I ended up getting a 60" Plasma that I am very happy with. But in the future when I buy another TV, I will also look at Mits DLPs.

I don't have any email addy's for them... all my contact has been over the phone. I do hope you get an answer.

I'd be very interested in those settings as well. I like Natural in 3D Checkerboard mode, but its just a touch strong on the blue side, so being able to set it up in ADV and adjust that blue level would be nice. I'm avoiding doing any of that stuff in the service menu so I don't mess up my warranty, or give Mits any excuses, anyway.