Mitsubishi Purchase Advice (1 Viewer)

[Puneet Cham]

Hi,

I've been browsing this great forum for some time so I can soak up as much information as possible before making the RPTV plunge. After some thought, I've decided on a 2002 Mitsubishi, but cannot figure out the difference between each series. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I"m looking to get either a 65" or maybe 73".

I talked to this guy from the "Great Indoors" and he said that basically the only difference between the 2002 diamond series and the 2002 platinum plus series is the high gloss cabinet. So basically I would be paying a $1,000 extra for looks.

Can anyone confirm this???

Also, he said that he would NOT go with a Mitsu with an integrated HD tuner because you would be locked in to it. He mentioned that a change in HDTV standards was on the horizon (he compared it to going from Dolby pro-logic to Dolby digital or something like that) and that by buying an integrated tuner I could only go to Mitsubishi for an upgrade rather than shopping around. He recommended the Gold Plus series.

I dunno. The more I read the more confused I get. Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

Puneet

 

[Kelley_B]

Personally after having a 2002 Mits 46", I don't think I would buy another Mits HDTV. My in-laws just got a 51" Sony HDTV and out of the box it looks better then my Avia callibrated Mits, atleast in my opinion.

 

[BruceSpielbauer]

I cannot confirm or refute what your friend said about the differences, Diamond vs. Platinum Plus. I can tell you that usually the Diamond line (in previous years) had e better cabinet, had the anti-reflective or anti-glare screen, had a bit better speakers, and that it also had NetCommand. I have not checked the new year's models close enough to see if this has changed. You can easily check, as all of the specs are at Mit's' web site.

If you have the set professionally ISF calibrated, most will tell you that either set will end up with the same identical picture quality -- as good as they can get. So, the additional cost will usually pay for other stuff. The anti-glare screen certainly AFFECTS the visual image, though. Some love it, some hate it, some remove the screen completely.

>>> Also, he said that he would NOT go with a Mitsu with an integrated HD tuner because you would be locked in to it. He mentioned that a change in HDTV standards was on the horizon (he compared it to going from Dolby pro-logic to Dolby digital or something like that) and that by buying an integrated tuner I could only go to Mitsubishi for an upgrade rather than shopping around. He recommended the Gold Plus series.

 

[Jim FC]

First of all, your salesman has not informed you correctly. The Diamond series TVs do have a different cabinet than the Platinum Plus, but that's not the only difference. Diamond series TVs also included Mitsu's best lens system for better focus, their Quad-Field focus CRTs for greater detail, an anti-glare screen protector, and gold-plated connectors. The Diamond series has a noticeably better picture than the Platinum Plus, particularly at the edges and corners of the screen.

Second, there is NO "new" HDTV format coming. Everyone is so used to format wars that nobody seems to believe that there is no format war for HDTV - it is a standard set by the US government. Now, if you buy a TV with an integrated tuner and then go with satellite HDTV, you will be bypassing the internal decoder (just as you bypass the internal tuner in any TV when on satellite), but the government has said that by 2004 ALL digital TVs must have one of these tuners built-in. That's not the sort of thing that would be mandated if there wasa possible format change on the horizon. If I were you, I'd give this issue zero worry, it's a bunch of hot air.

Finally, everyone's entitled to their opinion, and what one person likes in a TV image isn't necessarily what another person will like. Kelley likes Sony better and that's cool. For me, though, I think that Mitsus blow Sonys out the door as far as picture quality goes. Mitsu also doesn't use any silly auto-convergence deal like Sony does. I don't like the auto convergence because there is no manual override if the auto thing gets out of whack. Of course, there are service menus you can get into to do a manual convergence, but Mitsu puts it right in the regular menu for ya.

As a postscript, if you are looking at TVs and want the best there is, take a look at the Pioneer Elites. They don't make a 73" like MItsu does, but they do have a 64". The 2002 model, the 720, is on its way out so you can get a pretty good deal on them if you can find them, probably right in the ballpark for the Diamond series Mits. A year-old Pioneer is still more advanced than any current model, and hands-down they are the best-looking RPTV right out of the box.

 

[Puneet Cham]

Thanks for the info!