Great News! My 1990 Pioneer Elite PRO-75 45" CRT Rear Projection Monitor died a few days ago,
What might seem like a sad event is actually quite nice for a number of reasons. In 2005 when I purchased my HP MD5880 true 1080p DLP RPM (58") I gave my (then) 15 year old Pioneer Elite to my son. He was happy to get it and it was still working (although a little dimmer and non-HD). The other day the power supply finally gave up the ghost and my son is putting it to rest. It certainly doesn't owe either of us a thing because it lasted a long, long time and provided countless hours of great entertainment - a large portion of that state-of-the-art viewing in the last decade of the 20th century.
So what's so great about this? It gives me the opportunity to once again play the "Home Theater Rationalization Game!" It goes something like this:
As it so happens, the conditions were more than right. The HP serves as my "regular" TV in my HT for non-movie events when I'm not using my JVC 1080p FP. That's for most shows and most video gaming. I wanted something big (but not something as large, naturally, as my 110" projection screen). Something in the 58-65" range seems just right. Plasma and LCD are out of the running in this size range because the prices are still way up there and "big box" space is not a problem because it's located behind the drop down projection screen and I have over two feet of depth to work with. I've always loved DLP in this size range and I realize that as of the new model year Mitsubishi is the only game in town (Samsung just dropped out as JVC, SONY and HP had done earlier.)
A little research uncovered something remarkable. Mitsubishi has just unveiled their "837 Diamondvision" series of DLP monitors in various sizes (65", 73" and even 82") You won't find plasmas and LCDs for comparable pricing in those sizes. Not even close. The "837" is almost the best that Mitsubishi has to offer. Their premium LaserVue line is the top but the prices are still up there (~$7000 for a 65" set.) Maybe next time. On the other hand the "837" line has been called the "DLP last stand" for traditional bulb sets. The LaserVue sets use a laser light source, or "no bulb" at a great premium at this time. And the 837 series has the latest TI DLP technology including the "Dark Chip," 6 color processing, 12 bit color ("deep color") 120Hz (a direct multiplier of 24Hz for smooth 1080p/24 viewing) and host of other features that allow for a lot of custom tweaking (ala ISF, etc.) It even claims to be "3D ready" although that remains to be seen since a standard is not yet in place.) In any event this is just a bunch of "Yada-yada-yada" until you hear the bottom line. I had decided that the 65" version of this model line (the Mitsubishi WD-65837) was a perfect fit - literally. It takes up exactly the same space as my HP 58" unit, thanks to an extremely thin bezel and smart placement of internal speakers (unused by me) under, instead of on the side of the screen. In other words - all picture, no wasted space. With the optional Mitsubishi stand it has exactly the same geometry of my HP monitor and stand combination. Slide one out and the other one in. And what was the cost for this unit? At PC Richard & Sons (a NY/NJ area chain): $1769. Yes, you read that right - a state of the art 65" DLP set for under $1800! Without a doubt, DLP is today's CRT in terms of the best bang for the buck as others clamor for higher priced big flat screen glamor - driving down the price of big box units.
It gets better. PC Richard & Sons offers a five year warranty for $399 that includes as many bulbs as you require over that time period. I know that this is valid because my friend owns a now-discontinued JVC LCOS RPM and just had his bulb replaced at the two year mark by PC Richard. Since a bulb assembly costs ~$200 this warranty pays for itself. Inside, out of the box delivery and turn on service is a reasonable $50. And the set is being delivered tomorrow (one day after I purchased it.) They even recommended that I purchase the very sturdy Mitsubishi stand online since they don't carry it and thought it was better than the generic stands that they carry. I'm a big believer in using the stand designed for such a big set and it came to $399 delivered from One Call in Washington State.
I'm constantly amazed at how quickly the technology progresses as prices drop. And once again I feed my HT addiction.
It never ends.
(Note: Besides sharing this little story with you, I'm going to use it as the basis of an article or Wiki Review once the unit is delivered, installed and put through its paces. I just wanted to let you know in case you happen to be thinking about a new BIG screen monitor and weren't aware of this new line of DLPs - the last in a dying breed - which makes it perfect for some tremendous bargains. I still love DLP and am not affected by rainbows, etc. in the least.)
What might seem like a sad event is actually quite nice for a number of reasons. In 2005 when I purchased my HP MD5880 true 1080p DLP RPM (58") I gave my (then) 15 year old Pioneer Elite to my son. He was happy to get it and it was still working (although a little dimmer and non-HD). The other day the power supply finally gave up the ghost and my son is putting it to rest. It certainly doesn't owe either of us a thing because it lasted a long, long time and provided countless hours of great entertainment - a large portion of that state-of-the-art viewing in the last decade of the 20th century.
So what's so great about this? It gives me the opportunity to once again play the "Home Theater Rationalization Game!" It goes something like this:
- My son's family could use an HD TV for the family room
- My HP MD5880 would be a perfect hand-me-down
- I could replace it with a new set if the conditions were right.
As it so happens, the conditions were more than right. The HP serves as my "regular" TV in my HT for non-movie events when I'm not using my JVC 1080p FP. That's for most shows and most video gaming. I wanted something big (but not something as large, naturally, as my 110" projection screen). Something in the 58-65" range seems just right. Plasma and LCD are out of the running in this size range because the prices are still way up there and "big box" space is not a problem because it's located behind the drop down projection screen and I have over two feet of depth to work with. I've always loved DLP in this size range and I realize that as of the new model year Mitsubishi is the only game in town (Samsung just dropped out as JVC, SONY and HP had done earlier.)
A little research uncovered something remarkable. Mitsubishi has just unveiled their "837 Diamondvision" series of DLP monitors in various sizes (65", 73" and even 82") You won't find plasmas and LCDs for comparable pricing in those sizes. Not even close. The "837" is almost the best that Mitsubishi has to offer. Their premium LaserVue line is the top but the prices are still up there (~$7000 for a 65" set.) Maybe next time. On the other hand the "837" line has been called the "DLP last stand" for traditional bulb sets. The LaserVue sets use a laser light source, or "no bulb" at a great premium at this time. And the 837 series has the latest TI DLP technology including the "Dark Chip," 6 color processing, 12 bit color ("deep color") 120Hz (a direct multiplier of 24Hz for smooth 1080p/24 viewing) and host of other features that allow for a lot of custom tweaking (ala ISF, etc.) It even claims to be "3D ready" although that remains to be seen since a standard is not yet in place.) In any event this is just a bunch of "Yada-yada-yada" until you hear the bottom line. I had decided that the 65" version of this model line (the Mitsubishi WD-65837) was a perfect fit - literally. It takes up exactly the same space as my HP 58" unit, thanks to an extremely thin bezel and smart placement of internal speakers (unused by me) under, instead of on the side of the screen. In other words - all picture, no wasted space. With the optional Mitsubishi stand it has exactly the same geometry of my HP monitor and stand combination. Slide one out and the other one in. And what was the cost for this unit? At PC Richard & Sons (a NY/NJ area chain): $1769. Yes, you read that right - a state of the art 65" DLP set for under $1800! Without a doubt, DLP is today's CRT in terms of the best bang for the buck as others clamor for higher priced big flat screen glamor - driving down the price of big box units.
It gets better. PC Richard & Sons offers a five year warranty for $399 that includes as many bulbs as you require over that time period. I know that this is valid because my friend owns a now-discontinued JVC LCOS RPM and just had his bulb replaced at the two year mark by PC Richard. Since a bulb assembly costs ~$200 this warranty pays for itself. Inside, out of the box delivery and turn on service is a reasonable $50. And the set is being delivered tomorrow (one day after I purchased it.) They even recommended that I purchase the very sturdy Mitsubishi stand online since they don't carry it and thought it was better than the generic stands that they carry. I'm a big believer in using the stand designed for such a big set and it came to $399 delivered from One Call in Washington State.
I'm constantly amazed at how quickly the technology progresses as prices drop. And once again I feed my HT addiction.
It never ends.
(Note: Besides sharing this little story with you, I'm going to use it as the basis of an article or Wiki Review once the unit is delivered, installed and put through its paces. I just wanted to let you know in case you happen to be thinking about a new BIG screen monitor and weren't aware of this new line of DLPs - the last in a dying breed - which makes it perfect for some tremendous bargains. I still love DLP and am not affected by rainbows, etc. in the least.)
Edited by RAF - 7/20/2009 at 04:39 pm GMT
