A regular guy's first look at Mitsubishi's 75" LaserVue in action

[SpenceJT]

On Saturday September 11th, I took a 1.5 hour drive down to Primetime Audio/Video of Rockford Ill, in order to obtain a first-hand view of Mitsubishi's 75" LaserVue television.

I would very much like to share the video, and photos, however I am hindered by the five post restriction which disallows me from posting links.

 

[jostenmeat]

Post your jibberish here to get post count up:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49318

 

[GlocksRock]

Yes, please post your thoughts, I'm very interested in these laservue tv's.

 

[SpenceJT]

ah - thanks for that tip!

Now then, where was I...

Here is what I had intended to originally post. I am planning to make my purchase in late October, or early November!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Saturday September 11th, I took a 1.5 hour drive down to Primetime Audio/Video of Rockford Ill, in order to obtain a first-hand view of Mitsubishi's 75" LaserVue television. I had to see the L75-A91 LaserVue with my own eyes, and brought along my trusty camcorder. This is the resultant video footage; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbYAX7qRpmQ

Same video - music and captions substituted for chatter. Again playable in resolutions of up to and including 1080p depending upon connection speed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EdcmO63snA

Note - aside from titles and transitional inserts, this video has not been edited or altered in any way. The lighting of the room was dimmer than what appears in the video, I suspect that my camcorder (Sony HDR-CX12) automatically compensated for the lower light of the environment. This has resulted in the television's brightness being altered and colors are somewhat washed out. It actually looks better than portrayed in my video! Also I purposely shot video from an extreme angle to illustrate the viewing angle of this set. Again it is far better in person than as portrayed in the video.

The 75" display runs on just over 120 watts! That's right, slightly more power than the average hallway light fixture in your home! The brightness is fantastic, the detail amazing and the color... the COLOR is STUNNING!

75 inches - only 15 inches deep - no color wheel - no light bulb!!!

Retail is $5999. Average sale price I have been seeing is $5499, however I have seen more and more resellers posting it on sale for at or around $5,000 (as low as $4,300 if you believe if you believe in the rumored 30% discount coupon at some poorly rated reseller).

...and "no" I do not work for Mitsubishi or any reseller for that matter (although I wish I did, if only for the discount)!

Regards,
Spence

Added the few photos that I had taken with the 5mp camera on my Droid - excuse the blur, not the best camera for taking good looking photos.

 

[GranteedEV]

I think my mom would love one of these in the family room... she does a lot of her TV watching across in the kitchen on the 60 incher.

 

[jostenmeat]

I think my mom would love one of these in the family room... she does a lot of her TV watching across in the kitchen on the 60 incher.

[strike]Plasma for the best performance offaxis, by far*. Remember, after just a year, the TV will be noticeably dimmer with a RPTV. Everyone I personally know with a RPTV has never changed the bulb, even though they knew they were eventually supposed to before purchase. DLP RPTVs are notorious for having HORRIBLE vertically offaxis viewing. People are usually standing in the kitchen. Check out Panasonic 65" S2 or older S1, or whatever is current.[/strike]

EDIT: sorry every time I read Mits I think DLP. I wonder how good the offaxis is with this tech.

Apologies.

 

[SpenceJT]

sorry every time I read Mits I think DLP. I wonder how good the offaxis is with this tech.

You really need to go see one in person!

Did you see the video clip/s?

I purposely shot from off axis for the first clip, and then toward the middle stand up and walk over to the side for a more extreme angle on it.

It really does look better than what I could capture. I am no "videophile", but I do consider myself an enthusiast. I was highly impressed!

 

[bandphan]

Ill shoot some off axis ESPN tomorrow and I promise you that plasma still blows it out of the water. and ill use a crappy blackberry to do it. And with the bay window's blinds open

 

[SpenceJT]

Ill shoot some off axis ESPN tomorrow and I promise you that plasma still blows it out of the water. and ill use a crappy blackberry to do it. And with the bay window's blinds open

I really don't see what that will prove. I mean unless you are also willing to seek out the LaserVue and take photos from the same angle, with the same camera, under the same lighting conditions for the sake of fair comparison, your photos mean nothing. If however, you are able to produce photos of both sets, for a fair comparison, I urge you to do so as I would love to them.

...besides, I didn't start this thread to say that television A is better than television B. No sir, this thread's intent was to provide (to those who are interested) a view other than that of a professionally produced PR clip, or a video of some pitchman working a booth at a trade show.

If you want to start a plasma vs laser throw-down, please feel free to start your own thread.

Regards,
Spence

 

[GlocksRock]

I wish I could have watched that Michigan game on that TV, I loved it when Denard Robinson rushed for a 87 yard TD. GO BLUE!!! It's ok though, I made due on my 73" Mits DLP.

 

[GranteedEV]

EDIT: sorry every time I read Mits I think DLP. I wonder how good the offaxis is with this tech.

To be fair, the TV we got up there is one of those 2nd generation RP-LCDs from Sony (Grand WEGA III) and seems to be better choice than plasma... we've never had a problem with off-axis viewing. (part of it is that virtually everything possible is "on axis" because it's so wide and tall)

I'm a huge plasma fan and I've got one downstairs in the HT but there's a couple other factors that go into the everyday-watching of TVs like

-daylight viewing (even though I went to the service menu and calibrated it to perfection with perfect grayscale and THX shadow detail and brightness in pro viewing mode... it finds itself in "standard" viewing mode with max picture and brightness.) and

-screen glare (our family room TV currently faces right into a window facing eastward. A plasma... would not enjoy this. And my plasma actually has good glare reduction... but I still keep it tilted away from the windows.

-dynamic volume - as much as we love the 30db dynamic range when listening to orchestral symphonies and huge explosions on TVs, I think most people just prefer traditional compession of dynamic range... they like it loud, but without the potential of `louder`.


Again, off-axis has never been much a problem. The bulb did in fact get dimmer as the Wega aged, and about 4-5 years into its lifespan got very dim and soon after needed replacement. But that`s okay. Besides, this is a laser TV, not a Rear Projection anyways.

Now, at 6000 dollars, I don`t really even think my parents have any interest in a new TV for the family room when that 1080i 60" dated one works perfectly fine, but like I said, it seems the laservue may be a great TV for casual viewing daytime. for the home theater, direct projection all the way!!

BTW... The 120 fl spec on the mitsubishis scares the crap out of me... wouldn't that burn people's eyes?

 

[bandphan]

I really don't see what that will prove. I mean unless you are also willing to seek out the LaserVue and take photos from the same angle, with the same camera, under the same lighting conditions for the sake of fair comparison, your photos mean nothing. If however, you are able to produce photos of both sets, for a fair comparison, I urge you to do so as I would love to them.

...besides, I didn't start this thread to say that television A is better than television B. No sir, this thread's intent was to provide (to those who are interested) a view other than that of a professionally produced PR clip, or a video of some pitchman working a booth at a trade show.

If you want to start a plasma vs laser throw-down, please feel free to start your own thread.

Regards,
Spence

Wasnt starting a throw down sorry for the post, as was merely hoping to point out some of the misconceptions in regards to both technologies and thank you for posting your experiences, I genuinely do appreciate it.

 

[SpenceJT]

Wasnt starting a throw down sorry for the post, as was merely hoping to point out some of the misconceptions in regards to both technologies and thank you for posting your experiences, I genuinely do appreciate it.

Not a problem. I was kind of hoping you were a dealer and had access to both technologies, because I would really like to see the display next to something in the same size and price range for the purpose of comparison.

My wife made me agree to a ten year "no TV upgrade" period back when I purchased my current 65" CRT based RPTV (back then it was $5K "on sale" with no ATSC tuner or HDMI). I am hoping to make the best informed choice if I'm spending this kind of cash.

Many are stymied by the fact that there have been no "Industry Reviews" (Sound & Vision, Home Theater Magazine etc.) of the new and improved model. The only thing I can find when I search on reviews are either a few scant reviews from those who have purchased the set, and a bunch of "cut & paste" "non-reviews" which are more or less print ads extolling the features and benefits, containing nothing of real "substance"

 

[bandphan]

Gary is a well respected in the display world

http://hdguru.com/mitsubishi-laservue-l65-a90-first-tech-review-hd-guru-exclusive/310/

 

[SpenceJT]

Gary is a well respected in the display world

http://hdguru.com/mitsubishi-laservue-l65-a90-first-tech-review-hd-guru-exclusive/310/

That is one of the many I have seen reviewing the L65-A80 65" LaserVue, however there have been no such reviews of the new and improved L75-A91 model. I have read that the 75" second generation had a complete re-design of the light-path, as well as a different method to reduce/eliminate the "laser speckle effect" (the first generation 65" had, for lack of a better word, a "vibrating screen", the new 75" has done away with this method for mitigation of laser speckle).

 

[bandphan]

That is one of the many I have seen reviewing the L65-A80 65" LaserVue, however there have been no such reviews of the new and improved L75-A91 model. I have read that the 75" second generation had a complete re-design of the light-path, as well as a different method to reduce/eliminate the "laser speckle effect" (the first generation 65" had, for lack of a better word, a "vibrating screen", the new 75" has done away with this method for mitigation of laser speckle).

If Gary was stoked before, Id imagine that with improved specs and bugs fixed, he would be happy.

 

[SpenceJT]

If Gary was stoked before, Id imagine that with improved specs and bugs fixed, he would be happy.

True - he appears to be a bigger techno-geek/fanboy than I am!

Back to my point of not seeing industry reviews (other than marketing fluff), here is a prime example of what I mean by fluff.

I repeatedly see these types of posts, and most appear to have come from the same source as though they have been cut and pasted. Nothing but marketing fluff, with no substantial measurements of contrast, color gamut, brightness or reviewer's impression of the set when compared to other similar sets.

 

[SpenceJT]

I am headed back down to Rockford in October to once again see the LaserVue demo. I will undoubtedly take along my camcorder for this second trip, and am planning to (out of personal curiosity) bring along my IR thermometer, to compare temperatures on the back of the LaserVue with that of LCD, Plasma, and DLP sets along with a VU meter to measure the level of any fan noise.

For those who have not yet seen the television in person, is there any particular camera angle or measurement that you would like me to obtain? Keep in mind that I am far from a professional, so I don't have any equipment that can obtain technical levels on color or brightness.

I am going to disable the auto-focus, and see if there is a way to bypass the auto-iris (for lack of a better term) on my camcorder, and attempt to obtain footage, more close to that of what I had actually seen.

I would be happy to bring along an extra demo Blu-ray title or two, should anyone have suggestions for any high quality demo worthy video. On my last visit, I brought along Avatar, and Baraka.

Open to suggestions, and have until the later half of October to prep for my next visit.

Regards,
Spence

 

[bandphan]

I am headed back down to Rockford in October to once again see the LaserVue demo. I will undoubtedly take along my camcorder for this second trip, and am planning to (out of personal curiosity) bring along my IR thermometer, to compare temperatures on the back of the LaserVue with that of LCD, Plasma, and DLP sets along with a VU meter to measure the level of any fan noise.

For those who have not yet seen the television in person, is there any particular camera angle or measurement that you would like me to obtain? Keep in mind that I am far from a professional, so I don't have any equipment that can obtain technical levels on color or brightness.

I am going to disable the auto-focus, and see if there is a way to bypass the auto-iris (for lack of a better term) on my camcorder, and attempt to obtain footage, more close to that of what I had actually seen.

I would be happy to bring along an extra demo Blu-ray title or two, should anyone have suggestions for any high quality demo worthy video. On my last visit, I brought along Avatar, and Baraka.

Open to suggestions, and have until the later half of October to prep for my next visit.

Regards,
Spence

you can buy a macron lens for your cam, if it is threaded and accepts lens. You can pick one up for about $35

 

[SpenceJT]

you can buy a macron lens for your cam, if it is threaded and accepts lens. You can pick one up for about $35

It is threaded as I have a filter and wide-angle attachment for it. I've never heard of a macro lens for use with a camcorder. I can try and take along my fixed lens point & shoot and a tripod along with me, if you are wanting to see some macro shots from a couple inches away. Not sure if they'll turn out, but I'm willing to see what I can do.

Spence