Mitsubishi WD XX725 owners thread - Page 3

WOW, nice pics SCPANEL. tv looks great, and blends well with your other gear.

I have had the 52725 on order for about 2 months through Mitsubucks (mitsubishi spiff program). My house is wired to every room with Cat5. I am trying to set everything up (network) before I get my TV. Has anybody tried this yet. If so, any problems or tricks with firewire? FYI, just got the Toshiba DLP on my floor, doesn't compare!!! Detail and contrast is much better on the Mitsu.

- Any body know the ETA of the 52725 in the New Orleans area?

Thanks Kevin Barduca (A-1)

The only problem you have with hooking up the antenna straight to the TV is you will have to switch inputs to watch local HD. If you hook it up to the HD tivo box you will be able to access the HD channels with the built in guide (no switching inputs).

Thanks Kevin Barduca (A-1)

True, but I thought he wanted to watch some HD while he waits for his HD Tivo box. Didn't think it would work via his current cable box as described.

DC

I decided to take the HDTV plunge....

Bought and hooked up a new HD TIVO HR10-250....

Bought and installed over the air antenna...

Now I am WAITING for my WD-62725 and I am in MIAMI, FLORIDA!!!!!
I cannot wait another minute for this TV to arrive! I am already pulling my hair out! It also seems that the TVs generally arrive on the west coast first and then slowly trickle across the US.

Even though I have done it for years and years, watching football all weekend in SD was painful!

SOMEBODY tell me how much longer I have to wait for my TV?!?!!?

My 725 arrived yesterday just in time for the Cowboy game.....I plugged in a cheap OTA antenna that was collecting dust in a box yesterday and up popped the Cowboys/Browns game in INCREDIBLE HD. It was better than I was expecting and I had gotten used to the crappy feeds in the stores.

The one problem I'm having is audio switching like scapnel (sp?) had. Digital audio is fine, but when I switch to anything analog, my Yamaha receiver won't switch from the digital to the analog input like it should. You can manually switch from TV/CBL digital to TV/CBL analog and then the sound will come in. It's just annoying.

Beyond that, the TV in awesome. The glare screen ain't perfect but it helps and we don't have the option of removing the screen with a 1 year old running around the house.

I took a bunch of great screen pics but alas, my computer at home is on the fritz.

Will the XX725's be sold in Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, and Tweeter? Or are they going to be restricted to certain dealers? Pricing on the 525's has dropped almost $500 at retail locally and I have to assume that part of the drop is the fact that the 725's are now out, and also that there's a ton of newer DLPs, LCDs, and D-ILAs either just out or coming out and Mits is thinking SELL-SELL-SELL because the more positive exposure you have the more buzz you'll have.

Mike

Best Buys says they will this unit first week of October

My connections are right. I'm doing what you're doing, using the remote to change it. It's just frustrating, as it requires multiple remotes in my lap almost at all times.

I am quite interested in purchasing a Mits DLP display. Can someone please save me some time by reading through all the related threads, exactly what is the difference between the 525 and 725 series. Thanks.

exactly what is the difference between the 525 and 725 series.

An anti-glare screen & about 200 bucks.

So basically, there's no difference at all?

Very little. Some say the new screen is better than the very shiny glare screen on the 525. Cosmetic difference with black fabric over the speakers rather than the silver plastic on the 525. Don't know if the former feature of the on-screen TV Guide will be available via firmware upgrade as is rumored to be the case for the 825s.

DC

Is the shiny glare screen on the 525 removable?

It's easy to remove and the User's manual has instructions.

The screen on the 725 may be better than the 525 but it's too reflective for me. The store I saw it in had it in front of their glass doors. I could read license plates in the parking lot.

I've never had the chance to see what the Mitsubishi DLP's look like without having to look through reflections of the room around me.

In what respect are the 725 screens better than the 525s?

The removable protective screen is supposed to reduce reflections and glare. Other than that I don't think there is any difference.

So the mitsu dlp's are like the other mitsu sets in that they separate the ntsc from the atsc channels as separate "devices" in the menu, so you can't browse through both at the same time, right?

NO....both NTSC and ATSC can be viewed within the same device ANT1 or ANT2....ATSC shows up as sub channels and is renamed automtically. You can choose to prefer digital or analog.

As you may have seen from past posts I have been researching and just received a 52725. First I want to thank so many of you on these Mits forums and well as some Sammy forums. I have been debating which way to go for as long as I knew about the choices. I felt so informed as I made my final decision to go with the 725.

Now that I have it, I will probably turn to sharing info and seeking input on things that may arise from time to time.

Please let me fire off some questions and whoever might know can respond.

1) What is the AVIA disk for color alignment? Where do you get? How important do you think it is to setting the TV properly.

2) By reading this site, I saw someone had an issue having one of the memory cards see .mp3 files. They said the received firmware for something else and problem went away. My set not reading .mp3 files. Called Mits and was told that was not a known issue so no need to send firmware. The guy did say he would have someone call me back. Any other ideas, suggestions or comfirmations of this issue.

3) Think I posted this already, but will post again since no response from last post on this. I have PC hooked up and the color on screen seems to missing a lot of the red. Other than that picture looks good. Using ATI RADEON 8500. Have DVI to VGA cable to the 725. Using VGA - VGA cable going to PC monitor and it is fine. So could it be the cable?

4) Please help me on how this firewire stuff is going to help me. I understand that devices (like DVDs, VCRs...) that have firware will be controlled through Mits on screen controls. I thought I was going to be able to send video over but I hooked my camcorder up to fireware and video did not out to TV except by using the old RCA input. Besides remote control any other good / planned uses for the firewire connections. Can I send stuff from computer to TV via firewire - what, how????

Well I watched it all day yesterday and no issues other than above and just learning what all the remote can and cannot do for me. As mentioned in previous post I did not see HD because no OTA antennae. I have one coming (and waiting on HD TIVO to come in). Heck this weekend you can bet I will find a way to make it HD. I am out of town so missing my new TV.

So I'll keep reading here for all the latest information.

First of all, what is your firmware version? Secondly, there are a few things you must note:

* memory cards as large as 128MB are supported as long as they are formatted as FAT with a block size of 1024 or 2048. You must format memory cards using the disk management in WinXP or using a digital camera to make sure that they are compatible with this format. There was a report that someone had used a 256 MB card with success as well, so it may very well work as long as the block size is correct.

* Your DV camcorder will be unable to display video over firewire because the firewire on this set requires an MPEG2 video stream. DV is a different video format and is not compatible. You will however be able to control your camcorder over firewire, but video must play usign S-Video or Composite. I have a DVCR that I have successfully used to record off-the-air high definition broadcasts using the firewire hookup. Depending on your software, your PC may also be used as a firewire source as long as you can put out an MPEG2 stream.

A little off topic, but since you mentioned it, I may as well ask. Is it possible to record from the TV to a computer via firewire?

Thanks UMD_Terp. Your reply is informative and detailed.

I can easily check the memory card specs you mentioned. That is probably the issue. The smart media I was using came right out of a .mp3 player that probably formated it for itself.

The firewire video makes sense now that you explain the mpeg 2 decoding. I will give the PC to 725 a try using the mpeg2 software.

Thanks again.

What firmware are these new 725's coming with? Go to the TV MENU and under SETUP, you should see the Netcommand software version... what is that reading on these sets?

With regard to the XX525 vs the XX725/XX825 Mitzis, the main dif between the 525 and the other two is the screen although there are other features (cosmetics & Technical). The 725/825 feature the same "low-glare" screen that they use on the CRT RPTs in the Diamond series. If you see the two side by side, there is a visual difference, but the low-glare screen still has some reflections and it cannot be compared to any of the typical Sammy, LG, or JVC screens which don't reflect anything. The company line is that it reduces glare by 70% over the glass-finish 525 screen, so take that for what it's worth. I honestly think that the Mitzi (outer) screen covers add something to the PQ but it's hard to describe. There's a little more depth, sharpness, or something.

Most dealers already know that the outer screen is consumer removeable and that there are instructions in the manual for doing this. According to a Bernies rep in our local store, Mitsubishi will be selling a "trim kit" that consists of a snap-in frame and it will cover the unsightly outer fastening edge of the main screen when you remove the glossy screen. He said the price of the kit will be $60 and it should be available in October.

In other threads here in AVS one poster has suggested a viable alternative would be to go to a frame shop and have them cut a exact-size replacement for the glossy screen using low-glare photographic lexan. This will probably cost less than $50, but the one "problem" would be that you might see some border stuff that you won't like. Solution... mask off the backside and spray a black krylon border to match the factory look. The only thing missing would be the Mitsubishi decal, and that might be available from a number of sources.

The Mitzi XXX25 DLPs are generally acknowledged to have a great picture, and connectivity is also excellent. About the only drawback is the glare, and it seems like it's resoveable. If Mitsubishi marketing reps read this thread, they should take note of the glare issue because it could be costing them sales. The screen on the 725/825 is a marked improvement and suggests that the screen in the 525 is detremental to sales and a mistake. What they should do is offer all 525 owners a replacement screen at no cost (call it a retrofit) or charge them $100.00 not $200.00. By selling a replacement screen and/or offering it on the 725 they are already admitting they made a mistake, so why not build some consumer equity by doing the right thing? Are you listening Mitsubishi? It's part of your Marketing 101 mantra... you have to spend money to make money.

Mike

I was under the impression that the 825 has a better anti-glare screen on it. 725 has a anti-glare Diamond shield and the 825 has a high transmissivity anti-glare Diamond shield.

Thanks Kevin Barduca (A-1)

FYI.....my 62-525 is able to read a 256MB SD card with .mp3 files.