Which DLP? Samsung, Mits, Toshiba

I've read good things about the Samsung DLP 50" (HLN5065W). The 3rd generation 50" model (HLP5063W) is about $500 more. Is it worth the extra money?

Are there much better DLPs out now from other brands? I noticed Mits, Toshiba (52HM84) and Gateway makes them - Any good?

Any recommendations are very welcome.
Thanks!

I'd go with Samsung, they have the best DLP reputation on the market right now.
The Mitsubishi looks good, but that protective screen has glare problems.
Toshiba is new to the DLP market, so go with Samsung and you will not be disappointed.
I have the Samsung, the only issue I have is no mute close captioning. I like to turn the TV to mute when I am on the phone- but liek to know what is being said.
Rob

I wholeheartedly disagree, I would go with the Mitsubishi DLP in my opinion. This glare issue people keep bringing up is a moot point as the shield can come off so no biggie there.

Go to any Tweeters and look at the Samsung DLP and the Mitsu DLP side by side and you tell me what looks better.

Can I use Monster Cable cleaner to clean the screen on my Samsung Dlp? They say to just dust it but if i burn wood in my fireplace or people come over who smoke Im sure the smoke with affect it. Any suggestions?

Samsung HL-P6197W - $6,499 (retail price) - 61 inch picture - uses the xHD3 DLP engine with full 1080 x 1920 pixels supporting a native 1080p resolution. Will have a 3000:1 contrast ratio and will use a high speed 7-segment color wheel. Included is an integrated digital cable ready tuner and a CableCard slot for receiving and standard and high definition programming via cable TV or over the air.

Wont have to upgrade for years I imagine.

I bought the Mitsubishi after looking at it side by side with the Samsung. I have windows facing south and west which cause a huge glare problem. I solved it by installing room darkening shades. I use cable and OTA and all pictures are good. When I get buyer's remorse I go back to Tweeter to compare the Mitsubishi and Samsung pictures.

As to the DLP's, I keep coming back to the Toshiba 52HM84 over the Samsung. But then I saw a Phillips LCOS model about $1,000 LESS. The the JVC LCOS. Has anyone taken a look at these three models?

Today I took my wife to look at the 3 models that you spoke about. Samsung came in third, Mits looked nice but the screen discouraged me. I felt the JVC was not only the best, but I didn't see any problems with fast moving items. We are purchasing that model.

good luck with it

(I just dont understadn why people worry so much of shield, IT COMES OFF!)

I have seen them all!!!

Ranking (purely by PQ - not features)

Pansonic
Tosh
Samsung Kirk - not the HD3's
Mits

That's right - Mits is dead ass last.

sav426-
dcdickman-

Which Mitsubishi and Samsung Models were you comparing?

the 61" tantus and the wd-62525

The only negative with the Toshiba 2+ is the oversaturation of red. They couldn't adjust it out at two Best Buys I went to. The Toshiba was still the best of the DLPs.

But how about the JVC and Phillips LCOS?? Very sweet. Brands Mart has the Phillips at $2,100 50".

I had the same delima, I went for the hln5065 at sams club.The hln uses the hd2 chip which uses all 900k mirrors, the hd3 uses about half that and does moves them faster ie: two pixels for one mirror and morre prossesing ie:10 bit and 7 segment wheel.It`s all subjective , Now Keep the 900 k mirrors ,10 bit ,and 7 seg. wheel.and make the chip mirrors deflect another 2 degrees, youd have something, alis the capt Kirk. $1k more,but stand is included, note all these 2,2+,&3 all still have the rainbow effect ,I can live with it,the stunning picture outweighes any rainbow i see while glancing away,It`s what I see when my eyes are fixed on that beautiful DLP screen that counts.You cant go wrong with any of samsungs offerings,the price it what drove me.

I went to Best Buy yesterday to purchase a hard drive and happened to walk over to the flat screen area . . . I walked directly up on the Samsung 5065W DLP and was thrown back by it, my first concern was did it have a PC input and it did after spinning it around to take a look at the back. I started comparing it to the other TVs around it and could not beleive the clarity, brightnes and deep dark tone definition superiority to the others. I went over and looked at the LCD's as I originally wanted a flat screen but after looking at them all I found that you could see the pixles when up close on all of them but when I took a very close look at the Samsung it was amazing . . . it looked like a true picture, no visible pixles at 12" away from the screen. I looked at other DLP's by panasonic, LG, etc. but pixles were visible. Is this the best thing out there for the price $3199 at Best buy, I also found it online at digitalcraze.com for about $2500. I'm seriously thinking about buying this unit, I read above about the LCOS' do they have the same non-visible pixel feature that the Samsung DLP has?? Need some help here. Thanks, Gianni

I went with the Samsung about 10 months ago, not much else out there in DLP at that time. I have been very pleased with the performance, especially when viewing HD. Beware though, if you watch SD the DLP will bring out all the flaws in the 480i format. If you watch HD it will bring out all the reasons HD now exists.

Good luck and let us know as you search what DLP you decide on.

DLP Rocks!!!!!

the 61" tantus and the wd-62525
The reason I asked was, when I went to Tweeter they had the new Mitsubishi 62625 which looked great. However, Tweeter doesn't seem to have the Samsung that uses the HD 2+ chip (HLP-5085, "Captain Kirk"). That is probably the reason the Mitsubishi looked so much better than the Samsung. (HD2+ vs HD3 or 2 chip). If you put the HLP-5085 and the Mitsu next to each other they would both look pretty similar. Both are great. I personally like the built in stand in the Samsung. But if you hate the stand the Mitsu is definitely a great choice.

OK. now you're scaring me with the beware statement below . . . just how bad is regular TV on the Samsung DLP, with the reception you would get on cablevision that is not HD?

Beware though, if you watch SD the DLP will bring out all the flaws in the 480i format. If you watch HD it will bring out all the reasons HD now exists.

DLP Rocks!!!!!

Sorry, didn't mean to sound so scary. When you take a 60 year old technolgy signal, 480i, and blow it up say twice as big as it was meant to be seen it looks a little fuzzy. This is true with any big screen.

A lot depends on your signal quality as well. I have DirecTV and I'm told they compress the crap out of all their signals so this isn't helping. It also depends on what they get from the broadcasters. Some of my SD channels look pretty good, some not so good.

I believe DLP is the way to go. Look at all the other companies that are coming out with DLP sets two years after Samsung. If they thought for 1 second DLP wasn't the way too go they wouldn't have spent big bucks developing a completely new line of TV's; just my 2 cents.

I too am trying to decide between 2 sets. The Samsung 5685 vs. The Mitsu 62525. Both about the same price when you include the stand for the mitsu. Both are 2+ generation sets. What I like about the Samsung: Great picture, Great design, matte finish. What I don't like about the Samsung: Very wide due to the useless side speakers. Very tall. 58 1/4". Might be a bit tall for my cabinet.

About the Mitsu - 62" nice vs. 56" from Samsung. Nice HD picture too but something about it doesn't seem as dramatic as the Samsung? Can this be?

I'm trying to like the Mitsu more because of the 62" size and the fact that it measures 1" shorter than the Samsung which might fit my cabinet better. Also, the mitsu put the speakers on the bottom.

Please, I need some advice. I know they are both great sets. The guy at Magnolia video said he would buy the Samsung. He just thought it had a better overall picture. He also said that this is Samsung's 4th generation set. This is Mitsu's 1st (he said they originally came out with a DLP set a while back, but pulled it from the market).

I know that many poeple make comments about this dlp and the other one , but go to a store that have all the dlp's(P.C.Richards) and thrust your eyes,spend a little time watching all of them and you will realize that some information may cloud your decision, I personally
studied all the threads from different sites, a lot of different opinions but I bought the one that pleased my eyes , it was the Toshiba 52hm84, doesnt have all the "special features of the Other guys" but is less expensive too. I got a good deal , if you look around they will match the price. They drop 700.00 buck from the original price..........
So my advice, read but don't set your mind yet , go to the store and make the thousand's dollar decision there, not sitting in front of the computer.......Look, Decide,Pay(tears will come out) and enjoy..... :D

That should be the way to do it. However, after hearing about how some stores, such as Best Buy, alter the picture of certain TVs in order to move whichever models they want out, a little background research from other consumers is a big help and sometimes the only way to get some honest opinions.

If they let you play around with the settings you can set them more or less the same on different tv and then $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.You become a couple thousands dollars poorer, but with a big smile in your face and a big TV in your home. :D :D :D :D But it's true, the first time I went to the store they had the contrast to 100% in all of them, And I lower them down to 50% to compare. Information is key to know what your buying , deciding between the last two is the hard part.

What is samsung kirk? which DLP chip?
Thanks

The problem with going to the stores and decide which TV to get is that not all stores have them and they usually have the set ups messed up. So you almost have to rely on consistent comments from experienced people and study the technical specs.

The Kirk has the HD2+.

What are the Mits WD 62725 cabinet dimensions, particularly width?

i looked at all the sets hh gregg has the mitts the jvc and the toshiba all in a row and after many trips to the store and back to this site i had to go with the toshiba 52hm84..why you might ask bcuz..they all looked great in hi def .but the toshiba had the best pitcher in sd..i`v had it home for 3 weeks now and love it sd or hd it looks great!!!!.. at 10 feet back..dishnetwork.

Does it display "gray" sidebars when watching old B&W movies in SD?

I just got the mits WD-62825. I have direc tv Hi def is awsome. dvd with component is relly good. sd is not that good. I have a rca dtc210 receiver is the samsung st-360 any better for sd.

The RCA HD50LPW162 or 61" series? Interested in comments... good and bad.

I've had the Toshiba 52hm84 and also the Hitachi 50VS810 (LCD) returned both for various reasons.

I purchased the RCA 61" DLP about a year ago for around 5K including the stand and 5 year extended warranty. Picture quality is stunning. At the time the only model to compare it to was the Sammy, and the RCA was clearly superior in all aspects including price.

Advantages:
DVI input
Integrated HD tuner (big plus for OTA)
Ethernet Card (primitive web browsing capabilties)

I won a Phillips 42" Plasma...and things went haywire from there....I was told I could take the TV or a credit towards whatever I wanted. I have a 32"XBRWEGA and wasn't really looking to do anything, but one trip to Tweeters, Circuit City, WeeBee and BestBuy...and it was all over...all the sudden 42 wasn't enough.

We got a chance twice, to look at the Mits vs. the Sam5085. We somehow decided with 2 boys and sports diehards, that the DLP was effective for PS2, a wireless PC hookup and sports. The first time we saw the Mits next to the older SAM they were comparable, but we thought the Mits had a better overall picture. Once we saw the newere generation Sam, again, side by side...it was hands down SAM5085. We've had the TV for 3 weeks, and love it. I'm still looking for advice in OTA's and DVDO's and want to get this running to perfection, but this board has been awesome for learning as much as you can.

<<I just got the mits WD-62825>>

I'm considering this model because I'm a time shifter and I don't want to take a chance on the Hughes HD TIVO box.

How do you like the built-in PVR feature of the 62825?

TIA.

Just so you know the philips lcos is being pulled not a good idea to buy it.

I just returned a Mits DLP 62525 due to (1) fan noise. Fan never turns off, even when TV is turned off, making it not energy star compliant also. Called Mits and" YES" fan is "always on". (2) anti-glare screen on/off TV is not helpful in the amount of glare produced from this TV, and (3) Contrast must be set to maximum for best overall picture. Other 62525 owners may have different opinions, which is fine, but these are mine. The ultimate judge is the "viewer".

I have been looking at all these different manufactures. Whats interesting is the location of the speakers limiting the screen size. Samsungs new model hlp5674 has a 56" diagonal in a 49 7/8 width space. Something to check when you are thinking of RPTV

Why does the 525 mits keep the fan on? the 825 has a DVR, so I figured that was why. Is it for the cable card? I have heard that these get very hot.

Followup on my post of 11-16-2004. Having returned the Mits 62525 I purchased the Sony 60XS955 LCD. Difference between the two TV's is nite and day. Sony has no fan noise, glare from screen is virtually non existent and PQ, in my opinion is better. Also, there are way more PQ adjustments on the Sony vs the Mits. Sony also has cable card slot yet fan does not run when TV is off thus TV is energy star compliant which over the many years we keep a TV will put money in your pocket. I have used the media card feature on the Sony to view photos taken from my computer and they were also of high PQ. Sound quality is way better on Sony especially with the addition of a built-in sub-woofer and, of course, you have the Sony styling. Lastly, the Sony was less expensive than the Mits and in my opinion a better buy.

We just received our new Mitsubishi yesterday with a very expensive surround sound system...actually the sound system cost more than the TV.....Last night my hubby and I could not watch it because of the glare (I know the shield can be removed) but the fan hum really bothered us and the glare was giving me a headache..We originally wanted the Pioneer Elite Plasma but because hubby watches the stockmarket ticker tape we thought it would not be a good idea. We are going to return the Mitsubishi and may still consider the Pioneer....this process is taking far too much time and effort...we had a 36 inch Mitsubishi tube TV before so we are not used to projection and we want really sharp pictures :O)//any suggestions at this point would be very much appreciated ...thanks :) :)

As a casual observer, I also think that the rca scenium series have a much better picture than the mits or the samsung. I also thought the jvc d-ila had a good picture. Problem is that none of the local stores have a set displaying the local ota channels, just keep playing a hd loop feed. Hard to make a judgement based on that.

The reason I asked was, when I went to Tweeter they had the new Mitsubishi 62625 which looked great. However, Tweeter doesn't seem to have the Samsung that uses the HD 2+ chip (HLP-5085, "Captain Kirk"). That is probably the reason the Mitsubishi looked so much better than the Samsung. (HD2+ vs HD3 or 2 chip). If you put the HLP-5085 and the Mitsu next to each other they would both look pretty similar. Both are great. I personally like the built in stand in the Samsung. But if you hate the stand the Mitsu is definitely a great choice.
I'm looking for my first HDTV now. I've pretty much decided DLP from what I read about long term reliability, and have narrowed my choices down to the Mits 52725 or the Sam 5085. I'm liking the Mits based on side by side at he stores, including how the SD looked on them, and I couldn't detect the fan issues that I've heard about with the 525 series. I'm torn on buying from an online source, or from the store for about $350 more. Any inputs?

Well, although I'm not buying the same brand TV, I had the same question of either buying it online or locally. Take a look at this thread and just to tell you, I've decided to buy it locally.

http://www.highdefforum.com/showthread.php?t=2661

I have had my mits 62825 for 2 weeks and could not be more happy with it. I did my homework for about a year and i am glad i went with the mits. I narrowed it down between the mits and the samsung. When comparing these two tvs side by side it is really no contest. Then you factor in the built in hd tuner and hard drive and you cant go wrong. This tv BLOWS away any other in its class.