New to HDTV (1 Viewer)

[PatJ]

Hello all,

I'm pretty new to HT, and I've been keeping searching and reading up alot on HDTV's for the past few months, and I finally bit the bullet this weekend and bought a TV. I bought the Mitsubishi WS-65311.

How does everyone rate this TV? Am I going to be happy with this TV playing multi-player Xbox games? Should I hook up my DVD player through Component Video or S-video for the best picture, even though I don't have a Pro-Scan DVD player yet?

The TV gets delivered on Saturday. Do I need anything instantly? I realize I need to get Comcast Digital service, but I will probably start that the following weekend.

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[Tyler DJW]

Hi Pat, I'm pretty new to the world of HDTV as well, but not so new to Home Theater. I just got my Mits 48511 Friday and absolutely love it. I think you'll be very happy with the 65311.

One of the first things you'll want to do is turn down the contrast to below 50% on each input you're going to use. This is important in reducing the likelihood of burn-in and should increase the lifespan of your set. I would also highly recommend getting a copy of the AVIA (or Video Essentials) DVD to properly set up your TV with the user adjustments (color/tint/contrast... etc). It is expensive for a DVD (~$40) but well worth it for the cost of the TV. As a less expensive, alternative you could use the THX optimizer found on THX certified DVDs or pick up Sound & Visions Home Theater Tune-up disc (~$15) which are not nearly as comprehensive as AVIA, but a good starting point.

I would recommend hooking up your DVD player with the Component video as it will give you the best picture possible, and I also strongly recommend a progressive DVD player. I just switched from 480i on a 27" TV, to 480p on a 48" set and the difference is huge... I recommend doing what you can to get the most from it.

That should get you started. Just keep reading through the forums and asking more specific questions when they arise. There are a lot of thing that you can do to improve the image quality as you become more familiar with the set, or have more money to throw at it, but you should be happy with it right out of the box.

One last thing, I've gone through 4 or 5 of my XBOX games on it so far and they all look awesome, Ijust wish there was more 16:9 or HD support.

 

[AlbertL]

One minor quibble with the Mitsus and the X Box is that I think the 720p signal from the X Box's HD output will not work. You will need to play the X box on the Mitsu using the S-video or standard video connectors.

In other words, don't bother getting the HD/component video connectors for the X-Box.

I haven't actually tried this, but recall reading about it while researching my own Mitsu purchase.

Regards,

Albert

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

But don't some games come in 480p or 1080i also? For those, you'll still need component video.

Actually, I'm considering getting an X-box myself for occasional gaming on my Panny RPTV and wonder how much difference component vs s-video will make for 480i games. I'm all out of component inputs, so would need to pony up for a good switcher for that. But since I only want occasional gaming, I'm not sure it's worth the $$$.

Hmmm... One of the few games of interest to me actually supports 16x9 480p it seems, so I just might have to pay the piper since I suspect 480p will be better than 480i via s-video to my TV (w/ linedoubling and all :frowning.

_Man_

 

[AlbertL]

You're probably right! I erroneously thought the component cable wouldn't work at all but perhaps that is not the case.

The Mitsubishi Forum at HomeTheaterSpot.com seems to have some discussion that helps.

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsth...rue#Post373291

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

BTW, if you prefer 720p converted to 1080i, instead of 480p, from the select X-box games, you might consider getting an external scaler OR something like the Samsung SIR-T165, if you were also thinking of getting an OTA-only HD tuner.

_Man_

 

[Tyler DJW]

You will need to play the X box on the Mitsu using the S-video or standard video connectors.

In other words, don't bother getting the HD/component video connectors for the X-Box.

This should definately be clarified. Almost all games support at least 480p. It's dissapointing that Mits owners can't benefit from the 720p games (but the Samsung SIR-T165 is an excellent recommendation to get around it) and there is currently only one 1080i game available, with the new Matrix game apparently also being 1080i for a total of two (I'm not certain). Regardless, if you have an HDTV and XBOX, it would be a waste not to get the HD pack.

For a complete list xbox game features (5.1, 480p/720p/1080i support etc) there is a thread in the video games forum as well as the following link:

XBOX HD support

I think that's the right link... I can't check it right now for some reason.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Oops! My bad. I doublechecked the Samsung SIR-T165 and found out (from the ROAM Consulting review here http://www.projectorexpert.com/Pages/samsung2.html) that it can't accept 720p (or 1080i) either. It should be able to upconvert