What Brand "HDTV" do you recommend?

[bklass]

I have just gottten permission from my wife to at least investigate a new larger HDTV for our family room.  I have 64" in width available where I'm going to put it.  Based on this info I figure a 65" wide screen will be about right.  Right now I'm leaning towards the Mitsubishi Platinum series WS65511.  Does anyone have any suggestions, warnings, comments, tips or whatever before I make my final decision!

Are you Mitsubishi owners happy with your sets?  Do any of you wish you had bought something else or even a different model within the MITS line?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Barry Klass

[Pat]

I have a Mits 65" and am quite happy with it.  Not sure where "Platinum" fits into the line up, but I would recommend the "lowest" model, as my 2-year old set is.  Its my impression that the higher models offer little of value over the base.

Regarding horizontal space available, don't forget room for speakers to the side, and somewhat away from any walls.  (I'm guessing that NO model of any brand has adequate speakers, and that you'll need a complete separate audio setup (5.1 or better) for maximum satisfaction.)

Also, regarding a purchase, Sears sells the Mits and can get the 65", even though they don't display it, last I knew.  Since they often have "sales" that involve a percentage off for using the Sears chage card, and other gimmicks, their prices are often the lowest.

[bklass]

Thanks Pat:
I have room for the speakers in another area off to the sides.  I'll be running this TV through a Pioneer VSX-D906S receiver (the same one I'm running my current Hitachi 43UWX10B through right now).

[Steve Mann]

I have yet to see a better picture than what I get on my calibrated Mits 65" Diamond series (65908). It's been over a year since I purchased it and I have yet to have any second thoughts. I love it.

[bklass]

Thanks Steve:
I talked to a TV repair guy from Sears once who told me the Mitsubishi's were the best when it came to Hi-Def signals but they were only average when the signals were not in Hi-def.  He recommended Hitachi overall!
Barry

[akitakoi]

After a lot of research I went with a Toshiba 57HDX82, excellent HD and great stretch modes for standard stuff.
Go look and judge for yourself, make sure that when you take delivery of it, that it's "brand new", in an undamaged box.
I picked my second one up, (long story) less risk of movers bouncing it around the back of the truck for all day.

Good luck!

[Matt Heebner]

I have to agree with the Mits suggestions. They have IMHO the best HD picture out there. Standard signals look okay, but you will always have that with any HDTV....you know what they say...garbage in, garbage out. I've had mine for two years now, and it's picture still stuns me.

I too would suggest buying the Platinum model (I think thats the lowest line), and get a calibration done after the TV has had a time to "break in". I had a calibration done with mine a year ago, and it improved PQ beyond that of even the best RPTV's like that of the Pioneer Elite (the standard by which all others are measured).

Also Mits have awesome build quality, and some great features like Netcommand, and firewire ports. I don't think you can go wrong with it. But judge with your own eyes. Just make sure that you compare using standard and HD material, not just one or the other.


Matt

[drgingras]

For a few days, I had my Mits and a new Toshiba HDX side-by-side  in our home theater. Even being 4 years older, the Mits did a slightly better job with DVD and was just as good on HD. However, the Toshiba was much better at handling the SD satellite and analog locals. The Toshiba had to go back (ended up going with plasma due to space restrictions). I miss it whenever I am forced to watch Faux analog.
If your household viewing leans more toward cable or satellite, I'd also recommend auditioning the Toshiba HDX series if you can. Like the Mits Diamonds, not the easiest to find as only select dealers handle these. No internet sales on either without risking loss of manufacturer's warrantee.

Dave

[gparris]

Originally posted by bklass
I have just gottten permission from my wife to at least investigate a new larger HDTV for our family room.  I have 64" in width available where I'm going to put it.  Based on this info I figure a 65" wide screen will be about right.  Right now I'm leaning towards the Mitsubishi Platinum series WS65511.  Does anyone have any suggestions, warnings, comments, tips or whatever before I make my final decision!

Are you Mitsubishi owners happy with your sets?  Do any of you wish you had bought something else or even a different model within the MITS line?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Bar
ry Klass

Thanks for asking-I AM getting a Mits WS-65511 Saturday from American and I was going to get a Hitachi but the feedback I got from other folks I know as well as some consumer reporting feedback, I declined on it. So I bought the Mits WS65511 because I had another Mits for 3 years and am selling it to go from 4:3  to 16:9.
Most importantly, what the others are forgetting to mention, is the Mits 65511's  Firewire/5C connections that allow some future-proofing and upgrading to the newer products coming out in the  market this year requiring these type of connections!  Do not buy their cheapest model of Mits- just the 65511 as it is the least expensive WITH the Firewire. If any questions, email me.

[Pat]

The Mistubishi's, as delivered, do not do as well as possible on standard broadcasts.  But after "service mode" adjustments, mine surpasses my expectations for all signals.  I routinely watch SD football, for example, and ER-style (Nova come to mine also) "psuedo-widescreen" shows in an expanded mode and its very enjoyable.

[bklass]

Thanks everyone!
Looks like I'm going with the MITS WS-65511 unless someone at the stores blows me away with a great price on something else.:wave:

Barry Klass

[gparris]

I got my Mitsubishi WS-65511 delivered yesterday and so far it is fantastic. Suggestion:watch different inputs for awhile with various settings until you find ones that suit you and then the set remembers the settings, per input as you set them. As for DIRECTV and TWC HDTV, it  did a super job of 1080i on both.  Remember that if broadcasters do upconverts, the wide screen may be boxed in a bit, like with TWC's HD locals, but this is no problem if you switch your input to an S-Video input. As for inputs, this set has many of them on the back of it, including 3 Firewire and a highly-rated DTV integrated tuner for over-the-air broadcasts!
It arrived without the protective shield installed- you have to install it  yourself - I am currently leaving mine off to see if it looks better, and it does-there certainly is  no glare.
Just remember that with 2.35:1  movies, the black bars still appear if using the 1080i or 480p (DVD) settings/inputs and you only can use the "standard" widescreen settings for them. In my opinion, the bars are so small and you can "grey" them to reduce burn-in, if any, so that the true movie the way it was intended, comes to view. If this bothers you and you don't want to use progressive-scan, use the S-Video interlaced picture output for these type of movies and use the expand or zoom feature that can be used with other 480i sources. I personally prefer Kenwood's Faroudja progressive DVD processor with it's HD-like imaging, so the slim bars on a 65" set like this one, are fine with me.
I still would recommend this set to anyone!