Summary:
Great unit Better picture quality than the sonys and hitachis that I looked at. Only the Elite Pioneers were equal to it in performance but much higher in price. Could not be happier with it. Paired it with a Toshiba DVD 5109 and a Pioneer Elite tx26 and WOW what a blow you out of your socks system!
Got mine in December. Only problem was a slight convergence
irregularity which the defective part was replaced promptly
All who have seen this unit comment on how it does not looke like a rear projection unit. I cannot see any scan lines at all even at close distances

Strengths:
Excellent picture,sharpness

Weaknesses:
Some distortion in expand modes

Summary:
The Mitsubishi reviewed by Rob, model 65905, is not a 4:3, it is the new 16:9 format. It is absolutely breathtaking when playing a DVD. It will be another month before the converter and dish are available for TV viewing.

By the way, I bought it from Rob's employer at another location.

Summary:
Since there are no reviews posted on this particualar TV yet, let me be the first here. First let me explain my background on the matter. I work for a retail chain store on the West coast. Let's just say that they are a good ol' bunch of guys. Retail price on this TV is $5499.99 I believe. This is one instance where an employee discount really pays off. My price was signifigantly less. So the choice to buy this set was more price than any other factor.

For the mortal man though...what do you buy for your six large? The Mits has received some subtle improvements over last years model. The best improvement is the new HD connection interface. It has a RGB+HV connection with a DB25 communications port, just like last year. However, it uses RCA type connections instead of the previous BNC type connections. Furthermore...you can switch whether to use the RGB connection or turn it into a standard component video connection. This allows the use of other brands of DTV tuners(For those who own last years model, Mitsubishi is making available a converter for about $3-400).

The next improvement, and perhaps some might think is more valuable, is the ability to take a progressive scanned component video signal. This of course would be used for one the new progressive scan DVD players(Which are worth every penny, if you have a TV capable of using them). This defeats a standard DVD player's conversion to interlaced then the TV converting it back to either of its line doubled images.

That brings up the line doubler. Laster years models had the company's proprietary Digtal Pixel Multiplier which converted any 480 line analog signal 960 lines interlaced. the DPM2 for this years model gives you the 960 mode plus a 480 line progressive scan signal. Many feel that progressive scanned images are smoother than interlaced. I tend to agree.

OK, OK, so how does it look? Well, compared to the 65" Toshiba, I'd say that the light output isn't quite as much, but the image is a bit sharper with more accurate colors (once calibrated of course). The 56" Panasonic, albiet, smaller...has a much sharper image with even better color reproduction. Plus the Panasonic can display a 720 line progressive HD signal. I didn't have too much time to compare to the Proscan, but I wasn't really impressed for an $8000 set.

In all honesty...if it was even money for me, I probably would have bought a Pioneer Elite 65" set. But alas, my company doesn't carry that line.

So what's the skinny on the set? OK. Even after calibration, it seems a bit red biased, but not too noticable. I really like the fact that the screen protector is not attached when the TV ships, so you have the option of installing it yourself. Nice to know if there is a glare issue where you plan to place the set. The most ridiculous thing though, is what you see when watching standard 4X3 material. You may either watch it expanded to fill the screen, zoomed in (while cutting off the top and bottom), or in correct proportion. But what's this? The TV puts grey bars on the sides to prevent burn in. A nice idea, but oh is it ever distracting! There will still be a slight line burned in where the borders are. And it seems that the rest of the industry is doing this on their widescreen sets as well.

Nonetheless. It's still a fantastic set. A piano-like cabinet is nice to look at even when the set's not on. At nearly five feet across, it's a lot of TV. For $500 less than the Toshiba. And thousands less than Pioneer's offering. Perhaps a step up to Mitsubishi's 73" model with it's 9" CRTs would net you better HD resolution than the 65" gets you. But...that's nine grand you've gotta part with to have that. So, I'd say that it's a great TV for the money. If I had a real job (you know those ones where you get weekends off, and maybe have a cubicle), I could justify the $5500 for this set.

Strengths:
HD ready, Progressive DVD input, Beautiful cabinet finish, Dual mode line doubler

Weaknesses:
4X3 mode, not as sharp as HD could be

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba TW65X81, Panasonic PT56WXF95, Proscan PS61000