2004-05 Mitsubishi DLP'S! - Page 2

I heard that the 52525 was expected to hit PC Richards wharehouse today...........and the msrp is around $4k and the 52725 is expected on Aug 10th, and several hundred more....

My local Mitsu dealer is getting a 52525 in tomorrow & I'll be going to check it out.

I've been pouring over the forum for the last 2 weeks trying to decide...LCD or DLP RPT...my head hurts! It's finally time to go out and make a decision.

I'm definitely glad that Samsung isn't the only (DLP) player on the block now though.

Which dealer is that?

wondering how much difference there is between the Medallion and Diamond? I really don't need the PVR since I have DirecTV and plan on getting the HD TiVo.

If the picture is the same.... I'll go with the Medallion...

I think all three would have the same picture since they all share the same engine... only differences between them are the anti-glare screens they come with and, like you mentioned, the PVR in the Diamond and the programming Guide in the medallion.

Anderson's in Redwood City. I'm going down after work, 'round 7pm. You should come up! I could use someone like you to offer some tutelage.

I would like to but I can't make it tomorrow evening.

Be sure to ask them how they have the TV connected. When I went there to see the Loewe they had it connected to a loop with either composite or S-Video. They also had a component connection for a DVD player so we used that.

That was about two months ago and they said they didn't carry a DVI/HDMI enabled DVD player. You may want to take a couple of DVDs along.

Have a good time.

Please don't force them to sell you the demo.

No worries. I'm not usually that impulsive.

Besides, I've always been a staunch Toshiba buyer and I 'd really like to be able to have a good comparison between their new DLP's, this Mitsu & an HLP Sammy.

Are you going to try to see both the HLPxx63 and the HLPxx77 models?

Well, I struck out at Harvey Electronics in NYC. They do not even have it in their computer. If anyone hears of the Mits 525 being carried in the NYC or LI area, please post!

Are the panny DLP's w/ HD 2+ out yet??

toshiba, samsung, panasonic, & mitsubishi?!? This is very interesting....

New Panny's not out yet. Mits is only one that I heard was imminent- like within days, almost available.

Just the 63's. I don't think I can wait long enough to see the 77's. I really want a new tv in July. Which also means I might not be able to wait to see the Toshiba's either. We'll see...

Just came back from the largest Mitsubishi TV dealer in the area, they told me they would have a 525 series in 2 weeks, the 725 series in 4 weeks, I am interested in the 62" 725 and he gave me a price of $4399 he said the MSRP is $5600. He also carries the Samsung dlp line and said the build quality and PQ of the Samsung was know match for the Mits. Guess I will have to wait and see. I have a Samsung HLP6163 on order just in case.

Joe V.

Well, I just came back from 90 minutes at the largest Mitsubishi dealer in the country (Paul's TV in La Habra, CA - "I AM the king!"). And, since I spent the entire time watching the 525 and comparing, here is my report:


First of all some information - the 52525 is (obviously) available now. I don't think I can list the Paul's price here...but, lets say it is right around the $4k point we've been discussing. The 62" will be out next week.

This is the FIRST AVAILABLE HD2+ DLP set. It uses the HD2+ chip, a 7 segment wheel, and a "proprietary" Mitsubishi light engine.

Now for some viewing facts...
I was able to watch SD through an S-Video feed, a 480p progressive feed from a progressive DVD player through component, and a HDTV 1080i feed through component (scaled to 720p by the TV).

I compared all three feeds and PQ to the 55813 Diamond Series CRT RPTV and to the PD-5030 plasma TV. Side-by-side-by-side, sitting 8-10' away.

Initial impressions of the HD2+:
This is what you've all been waiting for. Heck, it's what I've been waiting for!! But, I can sum it up quickly: LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS NOW!

The HD2+ is great looking, but it is no miracle chip. The contrast superiority is noticeable - it has that patented DLP 3-d feeling of depth to the picture (well, at least with HDTV). It IS a bit brighter and sharper than the Sammy HLN with HD2 (and, obviously, much sharper than the HD3 HLP's), but not a LOT more. But, improved contrast, black level, shadow detail are only slightly improved. Just, don't go in expecting the 2nd coming, or you will wonder what all the hype has been about. It looks better...just not amazingly so.

It IS much sharper and better looking, with deeper blacks, than the plasma. MUCH more. I think the picture clearly tops LCD/Plasma (there was a Panny LCD behind me to glance at).

I noticed no rainbows...and I waggled and shook the hell out of my head.

AND, the dithering is MUCH more improved over the HLP's, and especially the HLN's. Some dithering still remains during fast movement (saw it during some soccer footage), but this is the area of most improvement (other than blacks/contrast).

Screen door? Not in HDTV...but, lesser inputs had noticeable pixelation...let's get to that...

The PQ for SD:
The 55813 wins this category hands down. I know all 3 TV's have the "AVMP" Mitsubishi engine to help with SD transfer, but only the CRT RPTV looked halfway decent. There was SO much pixelization on the SD pic for the 52525, that I flat out said, "I don't think I can watch regular TV on this set."

The PQ on DVD:
This is where I'm most interested, since I watch about 65% DVD on my set. I played PotC, Open Range, and RotK, checking multiple scenes for color, greys, blacks, CR, brightness, etc.

The colors are very nice, though (as I said) I am not blown away. The depth of the CR and blacks are noticeable. Being a person who prefers a more "filmlike" look, I still prefer the 55813, but it lacks the depth of the HD2+. Video games probably look AWESOME on the HD2+.

Here's the big problem, and it is likely a Mitsubishi thing, not HD2+: LOTS of pixelization. The 55813 picture is sharp AND smooth. The plasma screen is smooth, but lacks the sharpness, depth, or strong blacks of either of the other TV's. The 52525 is sharp and deep, but VERY rough. I tried turning progressive scan off, but it made little difference. Lots of artifacts clearly visible and disappointing. I would suggest someone view a 720p digital feed through the HDMI port and report back. I'd be anxious to see what that looks like. I suspect, it will look MUCH better. But, bottom line, until I see what it looks like, I will not buy this TV. Someone could even take a look at a 1080i component feed from a DVD player. It's possible that downconverting would look better. But, I think I am confident in saying that upconverting to 720p looks crappy. Again, for DVD viewing (until I see a pure 720p feed on the HDMI input), I would pick the 55813.


HDTV:
VERY nice. This is where the TV shines. This is where you really see the depth and sharpness. Excellent picture, and next to the plasma? It put the plasma to shame. So much more vivid, sharp, deep. It really does feel 3-D. The 55813 does quite well too...but, again, it is more "filmlike" - lacking that DLP depth/3-D quality.

So, there you have it. I'm sure we'll see many more reviews and opinions, but that's mine for now.

I, for one, have two things I now MUST view - the JVC DILA set, and I have to see a 720p digital feed into this set to see if DVD can look better.

A few notes:
The screen sucks. It catches everything - any light around is reflected. You'll want to remove the screen or get a better model with an anti-glare screen.

The rep said the Diamond 52825's will be in by the end of the month! Medallions coming at the same time.

Thanks for the review, great to finally here an actual sighting of one of these.


The 55813 uses AMVP which upconverts 480i to 480p. The DLP set uses AMVP2 which upconverts 480i to the native HD rate of the display (720p in this case). The 55813 also supports native 480p display. Therefore I am not surprised that the Diamond CRT outperforms the DLP in regards to SDTV and DVD. Mits CRTs simply can't be beat when it comes to DVD (until the 2005 sets where they throw away the 480p native support ).

It will be interesting to see how the Mits compares to the forthcoming Sammy, Panny, and Tosh DLPs.

The screen (see the bottom of my review) stinks. It's glossy and very reflective. Hopefully, the anti-glare is tons better.

The overall build is very sexy. Good looking set. And the bezel on the screen is not thin...it's about 1" wide. The screen is also removable, but if you remove it, there will be a "groove" visible on both sides of the set.

I did screw with the menu a LOT. Mitsu has the multi-color menu that you can use to play with 6 colors...and, of course, I monkeyed with the contrast, brightness, sharpness a lot. I didn't mention it, because I'm no ISF calibrationist, I was simply adjusting to what looked best to my eyes. Other viewers will differ.

Thanks for the info. It's encouraging to hear that some new dlps are finally arriving.

You mentioned that SD was quite bad on the mit dlp. Do you have any sense as to how it would have fared against either the Sammy HLN (w/the HD2) or HLP (w/the HD3)? I know it may be difficult to say, if you didn't do a direct comparison.

I'd say the HLP is better...but you'll see artifacts there as well. It's "softened" look can help SD.

I've never seen the HLN for SDTV.

Saw the 52525 at Andersons in Sunnyvale this PM.

THE show-stopper for me is the reflections... glare is horrible.

Pixelation is much more noticable than I ever recall on Sammy HLN or HLP and much worse than the Loewe on display (which is wayyy tooo $$$). Was watching HD discovery @ D*V and one other D*V channel. Signal is distributed throughout the store so possibly some degratation from that. Not sure what input being used.

I asked 2 sales types if any of the FireWire connections would output a signal to allow recording... neither knew, one was smart enough to say so, the other started BS'ing... I would like to know what is possible... any experts out there?

No other DLPs there.
No LCOS either.

What street is the Sunnyvale Anderson located on, I want to go and check it out?

QuentinH,

Awesome review!

I think you're the first to actually see the HD2+ chip in a store!

After your review, I'm leaning back toward the Samsung HLP series again.

My Sound Advice is due to have a Mits DLP (52525) next week as well. I'm going to have my Salesman set it up side by side with the HLP-5063W to do a comparison as well.

The artifacts and glare are pretty disappointing. I've noticed this a lot on Samsung's Plasmas. Hopefully they're due to Mits. first attempt at a DLP and not an inherent problem with the HD2+ chip.

See the set for yourself, don't let one review keep from having an open mind and making a hasty decision.

I personally think the artifacting is what you get when you have a native 720p (or 770p, or whatever) digital TV. Basically, if you're going thru a component input, with a 480p or 480i feed, you're going to get artifacting - I don't care if it's the HLP, HLN, or the Mits. None of them have scalers capable of upconverting well enough.

I REALLY want to see my Momitsu hooked up to one of these TV's, set to 720p output. But, I haven't found a store yet that has any of the top DVI DVD players hooked up to their DLP sets. I'd even settle for seeing the Sammy 931 hooked up!

Take your DVD player in and have them hook it up. Don't forget to bring your own DVI cable. Sometimes big Mitsubishi dealers (and others) are clueless about DVI or HDMI.