2012 Mitsubishi 3D DLP Owners Thread (C12/642/742/842 series) - Page 4

Hey guys, got a question about the 82842. I spoke with a sales rep at Paul's TV today and we discussed the 82842. I told him I was disappointed with the fact that they're not including the Clear Contrast Screen on this years Diamond series, unless it's a 92". He did say that the 82" is not technically a matte screen. He described it as "Diamond Cut Glass" with a matte finish. Maybe that's just Mits fancy way of calling it a matte display but Im hoping that its more like the clear contrast screen as opposed to the typical matte screen. Any thoughts?

UPDATE...
I went to Paul's TV and checked the showroom unit- same issue. 20 minutes ago finally had the two technicians come out from VideoTechnics, the SoCal company Mitsubishi has a contract with. Both technicians saw the issue as soon as I turned the set on and showed the PLUGE test pattern. They adjusted the set in service mode...no change. I played a letterbox BluRay movie & they saw the bleed immediately. They stated that this is a SERIOUS PROBLEM with the set and they expect Mitsubishi will get many complaints about this issue, which older models do not have. When I told them I've seen this now on 3 sets they said this is a MANUFACTURING DEFECT ISSUE. Their guesses- bad lens, bad mirror, maybe exaggerated by the new screen. They said they would call Mitsubishi field service but to expect that I will have to return the set for a refund. Arrrgh!

Hey JD,

Please follow my thread to see my experiences with this new model. I guess it's a matter of what you like to watch- we like BluRay movies in widecreen so this issue is pretty severe for us. On the other hand, I SOLD a 73842 for Paul's when I was in there! It was an older couple. I asked them what they watch, and they said they only watch sports and broadcast TV shows. I told them this set would be great for them. They bought the full package special with stand, etc. Since the salesreps knew I was in there to see if their 842 had the same problem (and it does), I could tell they were nervous as hell about what I would tell that couple! I tell ya, Paul's better treat me right after that...

My cousin bought a 73842 two weeks ago....no problems. Maybe this issue is manifested in a certain production run.

K7JQ ( and maybe Enthuzist too) could you please play a letterbox disk that has dark scenes with bright highlights to triplecheck? The effect is very obvious in the first five minutes of Inception, but the technicians saw the effect even before the movie started, on the menu screen which loops certain moments- whenever bright image nears or cuts across the black letterbox bar the bleed is intense. Dark room to check is best but the techs saw it even at 1:00pm in my living room. K7JQ- would it be possible to get the serial number from your cousin's unit? If we didn't watch so many widescreen Blu's I would just grit my teeth because the PQ is so good on full screen (until it's a night scene...).

Thanks to everyone for looking into this!

On my recently purchased 73740, I haven't noticed any light bleed into the letterbox bars...they're both black, even with intense light at the edges. My cousin is out of town...will check when he gets back.

Did you speak with John?

My sister recently bought a WD-82842 from Paul's at a great price (no one in the country could beat their price/package)

So here's the deal with the Clear Contrast screen:

When the 82840 came out with the Clear Contrast screen, Mitsubishi received numerous complaints about the screen being too reflective. Customers were used to the Matte finish on the their previous models/old sets. They received so many complaints on the 840 series, that for 2012's 82842 model, Mits only offers it in the matte screen. But what I heard from sales people, is it's a new hybrid semi-gloss screen, not CC nor Matte. I haven't found anything by Mitsubishi stating the new designed hybrid screen. I personally, would want the Clear Contrast screen no matter how reflective...

Since Mitsubishi already has produced CC screens for the 840 series, wish they would offered a choice to consumers.

Alright, so I'm trying to make a decision between two tv's and I need some help. I was at HHGregg today and they had one WD-82840 left and then they will be completely sold out of them in my area. I can get the 82840, a really nice stand, three year warranty, delivery and have them put the stand together, or I can get a WD-82842 from Paul's for the same price.

Heres my dilemma. If I go with the 82842 from Paul's, it's brand new and of course is also the newest technology. If I go with last years 82840, I get all the stuff thrown in extra, BUT (and this is a big but) The WD-82840 they have at HHGreg has been factory refurbished, but is technically new now, seeing as since it's been refurbished and sent back, no one has owned it. I'm not sure how reliable the 82840 is, but I keep going back and forth as to why buying refurbished could be either a good or bad idea. Also, have they made any actual picture quality upgrades other than rf 3D glasses to warrant the increase in price to the 842 series?

Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

Edit: Sorry. One last thing. There's an option three. I could just buy either last years or this years Laservue TV as well. I've never seen either the L75-A94 or L75-A96 in person and wasn't sure if the Laservue is worth the extra money based on a picture quality standpoint. The guy at Paul's said it wasn't worth it, but at the same time, they don't sell Laservue's anymore. When I called Walt's, the guy said it's a huge improvement in PQ. Would like to get someone's opinon on that too. Thanks!
Edited by JewDaddy - 9/14/12 at 9:33pm

Personally, I'm not a big fan of "factory refurbished". I was always under the impression that "refurbished" meant that it was a customer return due to a problem, sent back to the factory (if you can believe that) to be fixed, and sent back to the dealer for sale, branded as refurbished by law. This is in deference to "open box", which means a customer return, nothing wrong with it, and put back in stock for sale at a lower price than brand new. Doesn't mean that it won't work fine for the next ten years, but that's just my opinion. The only difference between the 840 and 842 is PC control-VNC, and Bluetooth RF 3D emitter. PQ and everything else is identical. From a reliable source, I was told that this year's 2012 DLP series actually has a lower dealer cost than the 2011 series. Any increase at retail price is extra profit, explained as "newer technology". I'd try to negotiate a better deal on the new 842...won't be as low as the refurbished unit (cost the dealer less) with its' extras, but can't hurt to ask. Good luck, and enjoy your purchase, whatever it turns out to be.

I agree with K7JQ - Go for a new 842. Its a significant investment - so why not buy the new and latest. I was in a similar boat with a 73'' - ended up buying 73742 and am pretty happy with my purchase.

JD,

After a long process of helping my sister, the WD-82842 was her choice. Even though some 840s are 'Factory Refurbished", all the traveling/transportation damage that seems to hit these 840 units appears to be the #1 cause. Speaking with retailers and hearing the damage stories, new is the best bet, because you just don't know the history behind the unit. While I was watching a 92840 at Fry's Electronics, one knucklehead sales guy said to me, "You know what the problem is with these big 82" & 92" Mitsubishi's?" I said no, he then pointed at the screens and said "Wavy Screens". I said to him, that's Shipping damage, then pointed out the cause of waves at few points on the screen and cabinet. I advise him to have them both returned to be repaired. Couple weeks later I was back at the same Fry's and saw the SAME damaged 92840, was on close-out (RED TAG).

With the PC and RF features and whatever else was "enhanced" with the new 842, I'd go that route.

For the LaserVue: I think Mitsubishi needs to re-evaluate the LaserVues feature set, technology enhancements, and screen size for their "Premium Priced Product"

Thanks everyone for your input, suggestions and help. After it was all said and done, I ended up going with the TV from HHGregg after all. Like everyone said, I too prefer new over refurbished or open box most of the time. In my situation, I think it was best to go this route. My main reason for even going with this tv was ultimately because I was getting the best bang for my buck and this is my transition tv until next year. I've resold many tv's on Craigslist and this will be a pretty easy sale due to the price I paid, I should get close to breaking even.

As far as the refurb goes, I had them take the tv out of the box and I brought my ps3 to test out a letterbox blu-ray and Uncharted 3 Picture looked outstanding, I know this was not a customer return because the way the plastic was on the screen and around the tv, it was definitely the first time it had been taken off. Now the actual floor model they had, was plagued with issues. Mainly, the letterbox bars were not even close to being straight. They were perfectly straight on the refurb. They did a great job working with me and gave me plenty of time to test the tv before I finalized the deal.

Funny thing, one of the sales associates yesterday warned me not to buy it, mainly because he doesn't think the picture quality comes close to plasma or led. He's right to a certain extent but, with DLP technology, alot of it has to do with the source. When I went back to the store to test it out with my PS3, I brought in The Dark Knight and Uncharted 3. His jaw literally dropped when he saw The Dark Knight on blu ray. The one they have in the store looks like it has a cable feed going to it, and to be honest, I don't even think its HD. He apologized for everything bad he said about the DLP after seeing a blu-ray on it. So after verifying that I couldn't see any problems and it truly hasn't been used since being refurbished, I feel very comfortable with my purchase, especially with the great price they gave me, not to mention the three year warranty. Thanks again guys.

Btw, will my Samsung 3D glasses work with these from last year?

Refurbishment isn't always the same thing. When you have a factory refurbished product it should be indistinguishable from new. I have seen many returns go to refurbishment only because someone pulled out the manual or tore the shipping materials in some way. The issue with refurbished is mostly that you may not be able to purchase some of the less expensive extended warranty products out. For example the Square Trade Warranties at least the standard ones do not cover refurbs. I have bought refurbed DLPs in the past and had good luck with them. If the pricing is advantageous and you can get affordable extended warranty coverage they can represent real value. At resale nobody cares about whether it was a refurb, they will like the fact it has a long transferable warranty.

Very good points. There's no way I would have purchased this tv refurbished online, especially if I couldn't get a warranty. But being able to not only check the condition, but also test the picture, I feel much better about it. I pretty much stole this tv I got such a good deal.

I apologize for this next question ahead of time. I've scanned through the forum in regards to what are the best glasses to use with this tv, and it seems to really vary. Can someone give me a recommendation for comfortable glasses that won't break the bank but also perform well? Thanks!

Congrats on the purchase! Mitsubishi recommends the Xpand 3DG-X103. I use them on my new 73740, and am very pleased so far. They come with 3 batteries, and are not rechargeable. Just make sure you turn them off when not in use. The on/off button can be a little tricky if you're not careful, and make sure that the LED goes out and the screen is blurry when you look through them..

Thanks! Do the glasses work with the built in emitter? Also, is there a website that offers a good price on these because all I'm finding is $69.00.

Yes, they will work with the built-in IR emitter on your 840. Had you purchased the 842 (built-in RF Bluetooth emitter), they wouldn't work unless you plugged in an external IR emitter. I bought mine from Amazon at $58.71 (Pauls TV).

The X103 doesn't shut off automatically with no 3D signal present....you have to press the button to turn them off, otherwise you can run down the battery when not in use. I didn't know the X104 has that feature (or that it even existed). Thanks for the info....X104 will be my next (purchased) pair. BTW, Mits has a promotion for previous DLP owners (I had a 65732) that I got thru an email from them...one free pair of 3DG-X103 with 73", two free pairs with 82", and three free pairs with 92".

So I have had my 73742 for a week now. One thing I have noticed is when changing channels on my cablebox, the tv takes time to adjust. *7-8 secs), I think it only happens when the resolution changes 480p vs 1080i.

Is this lag common? Is there a way to avoid this lag?

Depending on the cable/satellite box, the time lag is VERY common. It takes the box time to recognize a new digital signal, and then process it for display. It's even longer when you go from a regular digital channel to a 3D channel, and reverse Sometimes when you press in the desired channel, and then press ENTER, the time it takes to change might be less. All my DirecTV receivers/DVR's have a time lag between channels..

I dont think there is a bif diff in the pq between the 840 cc and the 842 ms... The ms just has ALOT less glare. If a room has any windows and will be used during the day the 842 will be a better match for that room. The laservue was right beside the 842 in Pauls tv and had no better pq that the 843,deeper crushed looking colors where the only diff.Deff not worth the $,if you look at the sales numbers for the higher priced laser model vs all the rest,they are dismal. Its also thicker and alot more heavy to move.

Im trying to get the picture settings worked out for diff sources and times of day watching the tv. How do you set multi settings for diff times of day.I was hoping making changes in contrast color and brightness for the 3 diff modes, bright, natural and brilliant would stay the same for each setting,but when making changes to any of these,those settings,they change in all the other modes as well. My sammys had movie or night modes that had their own independent settings for contrast color and brightness and all others. The other modes,adj1 and adj2 dont let you make any changes? what are they even for?
I use diff settings for day,night and 3d viewing.IT would be nice to have preset settings for each of these types of viewing

1. Contrast, Brightness and Color Temp are memorized by standard picture mode (Brilliant, Bright, Natural) and by input these are not global.
2. Color, Tint, Sharpness, Video Noise Reduction are memorize by input but shared by all standard picture modes for that input.


This means that you can have HDMI 1 BRIGHT set to:
Brightness 42, Contrast 63, Color 31, Tint 24, Color Temp HIGH

And still have HDMI 1, NATURAL set to:
Brightness 31, Contrast 52, Color 21, Tint 24, Color Temp LOW

In short Color, Tint, Sharpness, and Video Noise Reduction are the same for all the picture modes for HDMI 1 but Contrast, Brightness and Color Temp are different for each picture mode for HDMI 1.

When you change inputs to HDMI 2, the TV starts off at the original default settings again but you can make changes that apply only to HDMI 2 and again per picture mode for the Contrast, Brightness and Color Temp.

All of the settings in PerfectColor/PerfecTint are memorized by input but apply to all standard picture modes for that input.

The all of the settings in the Advanced modes are fully memorized by the individual Adanced mode and by that individual input. To adjust the Advance mode, select ADVANCE in the Picture Menu, press ENTER to highlight the Picture Mode name in the sub-menu and press ENTER again to activate the ADV 1 (press ENTER a second time to activate ADV 2). Once the mode is activated, the other settings IN THAT MENU are avaliable. Simply highlight the first setting you want to change ON THE ADVANCE MENU and press ENTER. That Advance menu will drop to a single line menu for the selected adjustment. To make changes to other settings, use the Arrow UP/DOWN keys (not the VIDEO key) to cycle through the other Advnace Mode adjustments (this is a short cut rather than going through the menu again for each setting). When done press EXIT to clear the screen. The VIDEO key will allow you to select the ADV 1 or 2 but not change the settings. The settings adjustment access is via the menu. It is intentionally hard because these are the menus professional calibratiors use for their work that they charge several hundred dollars for so it intentionally made hard to screw up in everyday use.

The Advance 1 and 2 are also memorized by input and not affected by PerfectColor/PerfecTint.

So the TV has 3 partially independent memories for each input (Brilliant, Bright, Natural) and two fully independent memories for each input (ADV 1 and ADV 2). That is 5 memories per input. The 842 series has 4 HDMI inputs, 1 Component input (or it can be a composite input but not both at the same time) and 1 Antenna input - that is at least 6 input times 5 memories for a total of 30 memories. I think there are enough. The only problem is when everything is sent in through the HDMI by an AV Receiver - then there are only 5 memories because there is only one input being used.

gep...nice post man...Im assuming you made one mistake in your first example,you have color listed as 31 and then 21 as a shared memory.... really thats my only gripe,I dont know why they would put color in a non shared tier. When Im switching between the 3 modes to see what looks best and try to dial them in,I always need to change ,contrast,brightness,color,all other setting can be the same...but by adding color to one it adds it to all others,so when you switch modes,you can never get a good clean fast look at what is better for that viewing situation..

I have no idea where to even begin with the advanced settings and color perfect. do you have any links or recommendations to the best way to set those? IF I could settle on what was best,I wouldnt be switching between the 3 modes so much...So far,color contrast and brightness are what I feel needs the most change to look right between watching blue ray movies in the evening and direct tv in the day with standard tv or sports

Yea the 21 was a typo.

I do not change Color very much as a matter of fact, to my eye the default is touch to much to begin with. By eyeing the different modes, i believe even though the numbers are the same, the real default between the different picture modes may be different. That is the point of the different modes, to behind the scenes the change the background defaults for a different look.

The PerfectColor is the intensity of the 3 primary and 3 secondary colors that mix to make up all of the rest. For instance if you feel most of the colors are correct but the red is a touch to high, you can dial it back in PerfectColor. Just be aware that this is colored light mixing and not color pigment mixing. Red and Yellow light makes for a slight yellow green, not orange as in pigment. Red and green make orange in light so of orange is too strong, dial back a little (very soft touch) on both the red and green.

PerfecTint is the slight tint of each of the these six colors - without training I would suggest you not adjust this.

In the Advance modes the first settings in the lists are just the same as those settings for the other modes and are adjusted the same way. When you get to Gamma, that is a little hard to understand as it adjusts how the TV may either boost certain brightnesses or dark area withing the picture. However in general there is a limited number of Gamma settings so you can eye ball that. Keep in mind that default is 2.2. Higher Gamma settings (higher numbers) will have darker black and darker shadow, in a bright environment this may loose detail in the shadows. Lower Gamma settings will make the darkest areas look brighter and more gray however this may show more detail in the dark shadows when viewed in a very bright environment. The rest of the settings in the Advanced menu should be reserved for trained professionals who also have the special test equipment to measure the effects of making changes. You should only make adjustements to the settings you understand, such as the first group which are the same as for the other modes. Mitsubishi did put a reset in the Advanced menu so you can always go back the defaults.

Although I haven't fooled around with Brilliant much, the differences between Bright and Natural are essentially gamma and gamut. Bright has a very shallow gamma curve (< 2.0) and a wider than standard color space. Natural has approxiamately a 2.2 gamma actually closer to 2.15 average and a standard 709 color space with a slightly undersaturated Blue.