[salrmrcrey]

My local GG now have the XX825 series DLP's in stock. Haven't seen it on the floor yet, due to the smaller store, but from what i've heard, it's worth every penny. BUT, is it worth the price difference of around $1,400 or so for the better screen, finish, and the PVR ?


I've been heading towards the XX725, but I am not sure now.

Feedback please !!!

 

[ttownsend]

Quote:

Originally posted by salrmrcrey My local GG now have the XX825 series DLP's in stock. Haven't seen it on the floor yet, due to the smaller store, but from what i've heard, it's worth every penny. BUT, is it worth the price difference of around $1,400 or so for the better screen, finish, and the PVR ? I've been heading towards the XX725, but I am not sure now. Feedback please !!!

Wow! I may be wrong on this, but it seems this is the closest thing to a "sighting" that we've had yet for the 825. (Perhaps I've missed other postings, but this is the first I've seen.) You're asking the $10 Million dollar question ... "Is the 825 worth the extra money?" I'm not sure that until someone actually gets to see one will we begin to know for sure. I have one on order, but my local Tweeter isn't expecting them in until the first week of November. The 825 screen is supposed to allow about 2% more light through. Doesn't seem like a lot but perhaps we'll be surprized.


I'm curious, you mentioned that you've heard "it's worth every penny". What exactly have you heard?


- Tom

 

[salrmrcrey]

I heard that from the salespeople of course!


I don't know if you could call it a 'sighting' since they did not have it on the floor. They were in stock though, and said 3 were actually delivered in the past 3 days. My regular salespeople were not there that day, so I will find out more when I go back and talk to them about the set. hopefully, they will decide to put one on display after all.

 

[Benji]

It would be cheaper and make a whole lot more sense to downgrade to the 725 or 525, and buy a DIRECTV HDTivo which is considerably cheaper than the price difference between the 725 and 825. You can only record from OTA on the 825 and do not have anything near the features of the Tivo.

 

[IronHorse]

I'd agree that a $1400 DVR is a bit much and in my case, Comcast will rent me a DVR-capable STB for a lot less. My local Mitsubishi Diamond dealer (a custom installer) showed me the spec sheets a few weeks ago, and aside from the DVR, I'm pretty sure there are no other technical differences between the 725 and 825. The HDD is 125 gig if I recall, and heck, that's only worth $100 if that much, but the hardware that allows you to record is worth something... but not $1300.


Mike

 

[SaltiDawg]

Quote:

Originally posted by Benji ... You can only record from OTA on the 825 ...

This is not what the preliminary spec sheet for the 825 Series says.

 

[ttownsend]

Quote:

Originally posted by IronHorse I'd agree that a $1400 DVR is a bit much and in my case, Comcast will rent me a DVR-capable STB for a lot less. My local Mitsubishi Diamond dealer (a custom installer) showed me the spec sheets a few weeks ago, and aside from the DVR, I'm pretty sure there are no other technical differences between the 725 and 825. The HDD is 125 gig if I recall, and heck, that's only worth $100 if that much, but the hardware that allows you to record is worth something... but not $1300. Mike

AFAIK, the only things that make the 825 different from the 725 are:


1. PVR (obviously)

2. Higher-end Anti-Glare Screen (High Transmissivity)

3. Black gloss finish

4. TV-Guide Interactive (to be added later via firmware.)


I'm paying about $1200 more for the 825 (I originally had the 725 on order.) For one thing, I'm placing a greater importance than most would on the black gloss finish offered by the 825 because it will match my speaker system and component rack perfectly. It will also look better with my existing furniture than the 725 would. Also, by using both a cable card and a STB, I should be able to use the 825's internal PVR to record on one digital channel while watching another, which I couldn't currently do using the single-tuner DVR offered by Comcast. So for me, the $$$ are worth it, although I realize that I'm most-likely in a minority. I'm guessing that most people will not consider these 4 extra "features" worth the extra bucks. I have to admit, the money I'd save on the 725 would surely buy me another nice toy!


- Tom

 

[zoro]

I can understand Tom, I hate all these big silver boxes around!!

 

[ttownsend]

Maybe it's already been mentioned here, but I just went to the Mits site and it appears it's been redesigned. From the looks of it, they're still a bit vague on what exactly the 825 will have on it. They must have done this very recently (like today).

 

[ttownsend]

Ok ... I guess I'm losing my mind. I just tried going to the "new" Mits site again, and now it's back to displaying the original pages. I know it's the same link because it was saved in my browser's "favorites". I'm guessing that maybe it wasn't supposed to be up yet and someone accidentally put it on line for a brief period of time and I just happened to try accessing it at that particular moment. Hmmmmm.

 

[salrmrcrey]

well I went back to GG and finally met with my 'trusted' salespersons that were not there the first time. The XX825 is not available as I was told earlier! Bastards........

The set is back ordered until approximately Nov 10.

I guess the manager on duty was just full of bull.


Tom-

you brought up some great reasons to consider waiting and buying the XX825 over the XX725. Now I really need to think what I want to get.

 

[ttownsend]

Quote:

Originally posted by salrmrcrey well I went back to GG and finally met with my 'trusted' salespersons that were not there the first time. The XX825 is not available as I was told earlier! Bastards........ The set is back ordered until approximately Nov 10. I guess the manager on duty was just full of bull. Tom- you brought up some great reasons to consider waiting and buying the XX825 over the XX725. Now I really need to think what I want to get.

November 10th, huh? Bummer! I think I'll take a trip down to my local Tweeter this weekend and find out what their computer is currently telling them about my Nov. 5th arrival. I still have yet to actually see a 725, so I"m hoping by now they've replaced their 525 display with a 725 display.

 

[salrmrcrey]

Good luck and tell us what you find. I've seen many XX725's in each GG store i've been in and they have them in stock ready for you to drive away with if you have the room!


Cheers,

 

[IronHorse]

Tom...


To each his own, if this is what floats yer'boat then go for it. But my Mits guy didn't indicate that there are three (3) different screen designs for a typical 52" Mits product. There's the 525 screen... very glossy, and the Diamond screen, which supposedly stops 70% of the glare. You're right on the all-black finish... it is far more attractive than silver or silver/black. My preference for housing finish would be matte black like the JVC D-ILA. The TV-Guide feature was supposed to be in the 725 as well, but technical problems supposedly prevented it. That was supposed to be the reason for the higher price; better screen, and the TV Guide. Now it's just the better screen and yeah... the black speaker cloth. Woo-Hah.


Quote:

Originally posted by ttownsend AFAIK, the only things that make the 825 different from the 725 are: 1. PVR (obviously) 2. Higher-end Anti-Glare Screen (High Transmissivity) 3. Black gloss finish 4. TV-Guide Interactive (to be added later via firmware.) - Tom

I'm still targeting the 725 as my economic choice !


Mike

(Go Yankees!!!!)

 

[DCinDC]

Quote:

Originally posted by ttownsend Ok ... I guess I'm losing my mind. I just tried going to the "new" Mits site again, and now it's back to displaying the original pages. I know it's the same link because it was saved in my browser's "favorites". I'm guessing that maybe it wasn't supposed to be up yet and someone accidentally put it on line for a brief period of time and I just happened to try accessing it at that particular moment. Hmmmmm.

I see the NEW Mits site now when I visit. Might try to clear your cache or click the reload button.


Anyone else notice that the 825 lists the same "Channel View" as the 525 now and not the Gemstar On-Screen TV Guide? I know the rumor is that it will be included later, but it's not on the list now and Mits could feasibly decline to upgrade later. That would make the only differences between the 725 and 825 PVR (that could be limited to using Channel View), 2% more light through the anti-glare screen (I'd be interested in seeing two light sources with a 2% difference in brightness to see if I can even see the difference), and the cool shiny black cabinet (I'm not being sarcastic here, I really like the cabinet but I don't think I like it $1k+).


DC

 

[ttownsend]

Quote:

Originally posted by IronHorse ... But my Mits guy didn't indicate that there are three (3) different screen designs for a typical 52" Mits product. There's the 525 screen... very glossy, and the Diamond screen, which supposedly stops 70% of the glare. ... Mike (Go Yankees!!!!)

I'm not sure if the screen on the 825 has any additional anti-glare capability over the one on the 725, however, the 825 version is supposed to be a "High Transmissivity" version, which allows about 2% more light through than the one on the 725. I had my local Tweeter confirm that with their Mits rep. Now, as I've said before, it remains to be seen whether or not that 2% is going to make much of a difference to the average viewer.


I agree with you though, it's not clear-cut that the 825 is really worth the extra $$$$. That's why I said in a previous post that I know I'm clearly in the minority on this one.


- Tom

 

[ttownsend]

Quote:

Originally posted by DCinDC I see the NEW Mits site now when I visit. Might try to clear your cache or click the reload button. Anyone else notice that the 825 lists the same "Channel View" as the 525 now and not the Gemstar On-Screen TV Guide? I know the rumor is that it will be included later, but it's not on the list now and Mits could feasibly decline to upgrade later. That would make the only differences between the 725 and 825 PVR (that could be limited to using Channel View), 2% more light through the anti-glare screen (I'd be interested in seeing two light sources with a 2% difference in brightness to see if I can even see the difference), and the cool shiny black cabinet (I'm not being sarcastic here, I really like the cabinet but I don't think I like it $1k+). DC

Well, I may not be making the wisest decision by spending the extra $$$ on the 825, but at least I now know I'm not losing my mind. Actually, I too am now able to get back into the new site. I don't think it was a cache issue, I thought of that last night and tried flushing it, but still was directed back to the "old" site. However, this morning, I'm once again being directed to the new site.


Yes, I've noticed the absence of the TV Guide mentioned on the feature specs. However, have you noticed that when you click on the various "feature" links, you're given a very generic overview of the technology, and not necessarily that feature as it relates to the particular model? For example, click on the PVR link and you get this ...

Quote:

This is internal digital Personal Video Recorder that normally uses a hard disc drive for recording and an electronic program guide for scheduling. Most PVRs have the ability to watch and record that allows the viewer to pause live TV, skip back in this live program recording or skip forward to catch up to current portion of the broadcast.

Now, I may be off-base here, but this appears to be a generic definition of what PVR's are, rather than a description of the PVR in the 825. It simply doesn't make sense that they would include terminolgy like "... normally uses a hard disc drive" rather than being more specific like " ... uses a built-in 125Gb Hard Drive", if in fact that's what the 825 does." It almost appears to me like the Web Designer or Marketing folks threw in much of the content on these new pages as 'placeholders' until the final content is ready. If that's the case, then we still can't be sure what the 825 will have and not have.


I think it's time for me to take another trip down to Tweeter. I'll see if they'll once again call their Mits rep and have him confirm the feature set on the 825.


- Tom

 

[DCinDC]

Quote:

Originally posted by ttownsend It almost appears to me like the Web Designer or Marketing folks threw in much of the content on these new pages as 'placeholders' until the final content is ready. If that's the case, then we still can't be sure what the 825 will have and not have. I think it's time for me to take another trip down to Tweeter. I'll see if they'll once again call their Mits rep and have him confirm the feature set on the 825. - Tom

My impression is that they're making it vague so we can't hold them to specifications that may be changing. The details were out before in the preliminary specifications sheet that was posted elsewhere (I think in the 825 Watch thread). You are right that it seems strange.


As for spending the money, I think it's how much you'll like it so how it looks is a reasonable thing to consider. I'm leaning towards the 725 even though I really like the look of the 825 and would like a PVR (but agree with the other person who noted that an external box would be cheaper). My secret hope here is that because Mits seems to be backing off the features for the 825 that the price difference won't be so steep. That might tempt me into the 825.


Let us know if you hear anything new!


Thanks,

DC

 

[ttownsend]

Quote:

Originally posted by DCinDC My impression is that they're making it vague so we can't hold them to specifications that may be changing.

That crossed my mind too!

Quote:

My secret hope here is that because Mits seems to be backing off the features for the 825 that the price difference won't be so steep. That might tempt me into the 825.

Oh ... how much we seem to be thinking alike! I have no problem with telling my good friends at Tweeter that without the TV-Guide (if that's actually the case), the set is worth only a fraction of what it otherwise would have been .... let's say, $1000.00 off. (Do ya think that will work? )

Quote:

Let us know if you hear anything new!

Sure will!


- Tom

 

[drjko]

My local GG store has these units arriving around Oct.27 with an MSRP of $5999. Anybody here been told something different?