Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)We've had this TV for about two weeks now, and so far it's been great. Coming from a 42-inch Toshiba 720p flat-panel LCD TV, we wanted to get something considerably larger and similar sized LCDs or plasmas were simply more than we wanted to pay. Overall, we've been extremely happy with it, but there are definitely a few minor issues and gripes, and one major issue.
Picture Quality:
As far as picture quality goes compared to our old TV, I would say that for 1080p content and gaming (on both PS3 and Xbox 360...haven't tried our Wii yet), this Mitsubishi is better than our LCD was. However, for 1080i content(Comcast HD cable), I feel that our old TV looked better. I think this is in the settings though. I calibrated both TVs using the Digital Video Essentials Blu-Ray...I simply think that I need to go back and try calibrating the cable input again (I'm hoping it's not an issue of the TV processing a 1080i signal poorly). A nice feature of this TV is that each input can have multiple, custom calibrations. One thing to keep in mind though is that you can set multiple, custom settings, but there is only one advanced calibration setting per input...of course most TVs don't even have advanced calibration (without going into professional service menus), so that's not really that big of a deal to me. Our Toshiba had multiple, preset settings with one custom per input, but not advanced settings. HD Cable aside, blu-ray movies and gaming does look amazing though... also, I haven't noticed any instances of ghosting or motion-blur so far. I do think you would have take the time to calibrate the picture, or at the very least change it from the default setting (Brilliant). Both the "Brilliant" and "Bright" presets are simply way too bright to give an accurate color representation...the "Natural" preset is pretty good though. Also, strangely enough, while I feel like this TV's picture quality for 1080i HD cable isn't as good as our old TV (yet), I think it does a better job with SD cable than our old TV did.
Sound Quality:
To be honest, I cannot tell you if the sound is good. On the day that we got it, I tried it to make sure the speakers worked...and then I immediately turned them off after. I have the TV hooked up to a home theater system.
Internet Apps:
I have the TV connected via Ethernet cable. I browsed through the internet apps and it seems to be a pretty cool feature with a lot of apps (a lot more than I was expecting), although its a feature that I probably won't need or use. The only internet app that I would regularly is Netflix, which this TV does not have. For those looking for on-demand movies, Vudu seems like it may be a good alternative to cable...the prices per movie are about the same as on-demand movies through cable (on Comcast anyway) and they may have some movies that on-demand cable does not. That being said though, I think in a market with Netflix streaming and Redbox, I feel that it is a little expensive per movie.
Remote:
The remote seems to have a nice layout, weight, and balance to it, but I honestly haven't used it much. I'm using a Logitech Harmony remote with the TV... which is also one of the big issues with the TV, which I'll address further below.
3D Picture:
Unfortunately, Mitsubishi's promotion where they were giving away free 3D glasses ended about a week before we bought this TV...so for now, I have no way of testing 3D content on this TV, as I am certainly not ready to shell out for the current price of $130-150 per pair of 3D glasses right now. When (if) I get the 3D glasses, I'll update this review with my impressions of it.
Size:
The screen size is obviously pretty big, especially if you are coming from an LCD or a plasma, as the chances are this is bigger than what you have now. By this category, I thought it would be worth mentioning more about the dimensions and weight of the TV. If you're OK putting this on a TV stand, then the dimensions really aren't that big of a deal. The base of the TV isn't as wide as the screen itself, so we actually are using the same stand we had for our 42-inch TV. There's a slight extension of about 2.5 inches on either side, but it's really not that bad. The TV has some depth to it, but it's nothing like the projection TVs of old... it fits nicely on our TV stand for our 42-inch, and is completely stable. Also, the TV is deceptively light. At only 62 pounds, it's actually lighter than many of the similar-sized LCDs and plasmas on the market.
Minor Issues: So far, I've noticed a few minor issues, and one major issue (which is not actually a Mitsubishi issue, and I was able to resolve). The first minor issue is the picture quality on HD cable as I stated earlier under the "Picture Quality" section. This one isn't a big deal yet, as I don't know for sure if it's simply that I calibrated it incorrectly, or if the TV truly does do a poor job with a 1080i signal. Once I have time to calibrate it again, I'll update this review. The second minor issue, is that every so often on the HDMI 1 input, which is my cable box, when the content switches from HD to SD, the screen turns blue, as if I was switching between different inputs altogether. This isn't really that much of an issue...just more of an annoyance as it looks unpolished.
Issues for Logitech Harmony Remote Users: The final two issues both deal with people who use or are planning on using a Logitech Harmony remote with the TV (actually, it probably applies to people who use other universal remotes as well). The first is pretty minor issue. Because this is a DLP, when initially turning it on, there is a slight amount of warm-up time for the bulb. When the TV initially turns on, it stays on a blue screen (where it is unresponsive to remote input) for a few moments before showing the feed for the input it was last on. If you use a universal remote that automatically switches inputs to the activity, then you may have an issue here. For example, on my Harmony One, when I choose "Watch TV", it turns the TV on and sets the input to HDMI 1. When I choose "Watch a Movie", it turns the TV on and sets the input to HDMI 2. The problem is that if the TV was last set to, say, HDMI 1, and I am choosing "Watch a Movie"... the TV turns on, goes to the blue screen, the PS3 turns on, and the TV stays on the blue screen because its still set to HDMI 1. The command to set the TV to HDMI 2 goes out, while the TV is on the initial boot up blue screen and does not register. This can be fixed for Harmony users, as they can set a time delay for outgoing IR commands. For users of other universal remotes with macros though, this may be an unavoidable issue.
Now, for the major issue for Logitech Harmony Users (and universal remote users with macros). At the current time of writing, the TV is in the Harmony database...but the IR commands for HDMI 2 and HDMI 3 are not correct. Additionally, on the Mitsubishi remote, there isn't a direct button to switch to HDMI 2 or HDMI 3, so you can't simply put the Harmony (or other universal remote) in learning mode and learn the IR command. You need to first put the Mitsubishi remote in "Direct Functions Mode" (I'm going to refer to it as DFM after this) and then teach the Harmony or other remote the IR commands.
To put the Mitsubishi remote in DFM, you need to first press and hold the power button until it flashes red twice. Then you need to press 0,0,0,9,0 on the Mitsubishi remote. This puts the remote in DFM. Then you need to put your Harmony or universal remote in learning mode. Remember to name the new commands with something easy to remember (I named mine HDMI2-IR and HDMI3-IR). The button on the Mitsubishi remote that sends the IR command for HDMI 2 is the "Fast Forward" button. The button for HDMI 3 is the "Play" button. After you teach your Harmony the IR commands for HDMI 2 and HDMI 3, then you need to put your Mitsubishi remote back in the regular mode. To do this, hold the power button until it flashes red twice again, then press 0,0,9,3,5. After all of that, you need to go into the Harmony software and custom set the functions to correspond with the newly learned IR commands.
Concluding thoughts:
Sorry for the lengthy review... I simply know how important research can be on a big ticket item such as this. Overall, even with the minor issues (and the resolved major one), this TV is an excellent purchase. It provides great picture quality at an enormous size, without compromising price. Unless you are dead set on wall-mounting your TV, I think this is by far the best TV in this price range. It has a great amount of features such as advanced picture settings, 3D capability, and internet applications...I think it would be very difficult to find a better TV for the price.
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