First time poster but long time reader. I wanted to thank the guys here that ceaslessly answer questions from newbies like myself. I looked at a bunch of tvs in the 42-46 inch range and finally settled on the 42313 Mitsu, I know it's an 'entry' level tv, but it's a really nice entry level to me!
I wanted to help anyone that is thinking through the same process.
My situation, about 8ft from the tv in the living room of my apartment. it's a big room, but there's a fireplace as well as a flow-thru to the dining room and kitchen so while i could have fit something as large as a 51", i didn't want to dominate all the shared space with a tv that large. My other preference was that I wanted a tabletop model. I *have* room for a separate AV rack, but i did not *want* a separate AV rack.
This actually made for a short list of televisions, I quickly decided that an RPTV was the best value. While I've always had tube televisions, my parents own a 36XBR from the first generation, as well as a 1st gen 32" WEGA, I have a 20" flat-tube tv now and I'm typing this through a 24" Sony CRT, so I am comfortable with tubes. But the maturity of CRT RPTVs and the great dollar value made me look at those. I like the viewing angle of the DLPs model, but the technology was too new for me. I figure buy my tv now and upgrade in 3-4 years. I'll end up spending the same amount of money or less, and i'll get to enjoy this one.
TVs that I considered and some quick personal notes on them--these are *my* opinions, please do not consider them the final word. do what I did, take opinions from this board, to help you look for certain things. if i found something extra sharp or blurry, check if *you* can see the same thing, if not maybe that tv is for you.
Toshiba 42H83--was on sale at best buy this week, made even better with 10% off so price is a plus, also only 19" deep. minus for me, it is a full size. PQ was very inconsistent, but in general it was a little too soft for me, borderline blurry.
Toshiba 46H83-bright screen, only 21" deep, PQ was noticeably & consistently better then the 42" one. price is good at MSRP of $1499 + the occasional 10% at many dealers. To my eyes i thought the PQ was similiar to the Hitachi but i couldn't do back to back comparisons so take that for what is worth. a minus is the weight, 20% more screen then the 42" but it weighs 175lbs vs 110.
Hitachi 46F500-I liked this one a lot, some co-workers have had theirs (maybe last gen?) for over a year and very happy with it. In the end, if i could've found a good deal on this i would've gone for this model or the 46W500 (with DVD) which was $100 more.
Mitsubishi 42313 & 42413- i looked at both of these, to be honest i could not tell a difference except for the obvious external casing. Looking at the Mitsu documentation (as well as this board) there seems to be conflicting information about the difference between the 42313 and 42413 but bottom line for me, I could not appreciate the differences. This tv was consistently good every time I looked at tvs. It was the first tv i considered, and in the end the last. It's also a bonus that at ~100 lbs this TV is manageble for 2 normal people to move around, notice i said normal people and not 2 movers
It did not hurt that i got a great deal on the tv (see below). It gets delivered on tuesday. I just need to decide on a stand, and a new dvd player and ....
thanks again for all the help, i'll continue to read this board. I hope this post can help some people.
Minh
PS
For those looking at a Mitsubishi, if you're considering one that is sold by Sears, here's some info that can save you money. I cannot take credit for this, as it is similiar to the Hitachi deal at Sears from december. Sears currently has a $200 rebate on all mitsubishi tvs that they sell thru 2/28/04. I was able to pricematch my 42313 with BestBuy (10% off sale) and take advantage of the $200 rebate. I negotiated the 10% off with no mention of the rebate, it was not much negotiation as i simply brought in the BestBuy flyer and showed it to them. Luckily BestBuy had the exact Mitsubishi listed in the flyer so 10% right there. At the conclusion of my purchase the $200 rebate printed out at the register, my sales guy was not aware of it (but i was!) I'll let you do the math, but it was a better deal then i could get anywhere else. And with the 0% financing for 1 year, waiting for the rebate is not a problem!
Since the rebate is good until 2/28, you still have time to get a similiar deal. The sales people are treating the rebate as a bonus and it's not being factored into pricematch. The hardest part is getting them to accept an 'advertised' price. Mitsubishi does not allow price advertising below retail (so it seems), so you have to negotiate if you don't have a printed ad like i did.
I wanted to help anyone that is thinking through the same process.
My situation, about 8ft from the tv in the living room of my apartment. it's a big room, but there's a fireplace as well as a flow-thru to the dining room and kitchen so while i could have fit something as large as a 51", i didn't want to dominate all the shared space with a tv that large. My other preference was that I wanted a tabletop model. I *have* room for a separate AV rack, but i did not *want* a separate AV rack.
This actually made for a short list of televisions, I quickly decided that an RPTV was the best value. While I've always had tube televisions, my parents own a 36XBR from the first generation, as well as a 1st gen 32" WEGA, I have a 20" flat-tube tv now and I'm typing this through a 24" Sony CRT, so I am comfortable with tubes. But the maturity of CRT RPTVs and the great dollar value made me look at those. I like the viewing angle of the DLPs model, but the technology was too new for me. I figure buy my tv now and upgrade in 3-4 years. I'll end up spending the same amount of money or less, and i'll get to enjoy this one.
TVs that I considered and some quick personal notes on them--these are *my* opinions, please do not consider them the final word. do what I did, take opinions from this board, to help you look for certain things. if i found something extra sharp or blurry, check if *you* can see the same thing, if not maybe that tv is for you.
Toshiba 42H83--was on sale at best buy this week, made even better with 10% off so price is a plus, also only 19" deep. minus for me, it is a full size. PQ was very inconsistent, but in general it was a little too soft for me, borderline blurry.
Toshiba 46H83-bright screen, only 21" deep, PQ was noticeably & consistently better then the 42" one. price is good at MSRP of $1499 + the occasional 10% at many dealers. To my eyes i thought the PQ was similiar to the Hitachi but i couldn't do back to back comparisons so take that for what is worth. a minus is the weight, 20% more screen then the 42" but it weighs 175lbs vs 110.
Hitachi 46F500-I liked this one a lot, some co-workers have had theirs (maybe last gen?) for over a year and very happy with it. In the end, if i could've found a good deal on this i would've gone for this model or the 46W500 (with DVD) which was $100 more.
Mitsubishi 42313 & 42413- i looked at both of these, to be honest i could not tell a difference except for the obvious external casing. Looking at the Mitsu documentation (as well as this board) there seems to be conflicting information about the difference between the 42313 and 42413 but bottom line for me, I could not appreciate the differences. This tv was consistently good every time I looked at tvs. It was the first tv i considered, and in the end the last. It's also a bonus that at ~100 lbs this TV is manageble for 2 normal people to move around, notice i said normal people and not 2 movers
It did not hurt that i got a great deal on the tv (see below). It gets delivered on tuesday. I just need to decide on a stand, and a new dvd player and ....
thanks again for all the help, i'll continue to read this board. I hope this post can help some people.
Minh
PS
For those looking at a Mitsubishi, if you're considering one that is sold by Sears, here's some info that can save you money. I cannot take credit for this, as it is similiar to the Hitachi deal at Sears from december. Sears currently has a $200 rebate on all mitsubishi tvs that they sell thru 2/28/04. I was able to pricematch my 42313 with BestBuy (10% off sale) and take advantage of the $200 rebate. I negotiated the 10% off with no mention of the rebate, it was not much negotiation as i simply brought in the BestBuy flyer and showed it to them. Luckily BestBuy had the exact Mitsubishi listed in the flyer so 10% right there. At the conclusion of my purchase the $200 rebate printed out at the register, my sales guy was not aware of it (but i was!) I'll let you do the math, but it was a better deal then i could get anywhere else. And with the 0% financing for 1 year, waiting for the rebate is not a problem!
Since the rebate is good until 2/28, you still have time to get a similiar deal. The sales people are treating the rebate as a bonus and it's not being factored into pricematch. The hardest part is getting them to accept an 'advertised' price. Mitsubishi does not allow price advertising below retail (so it seems), so you have to negotiate if you don't have a printed ad like i did.
