Stay away from Mitsubishi DLP's

[BlueAngelDad]

i have the 65" and i am totally pissed. 2 months after the warranty expired the freakin bulb blows, i was like wtf?

let me say this, do you have any idea how many 25" zenith console tv's are still working? they are at least what, 25 year old tv's? and i had to replace the bulb on this tv 14 months later? at $250 a bulb? all i can say is i will no longer be purchasing any of their products.

every so often i keep getting the amber light signal, and a message on screen that something is blocking the intake vent. i have never been so pissed in my life, when i first bought this tv i raved about it. the picture quality was awesome. my friends and family were impressed. but no more Mitsubishi for me.
one of my coworkers asked for advice, i told him mitsubishi dlp was the way to go, he bought a 50" dlp. guess what? not even ayear after he had his he had to replace his bulb. but it was under warranty so he got new bulb replacement for free. this kind of coincedence with their bulbs is a little upsetting to say the least.
i really find it hard to believe that i have to pay $250 a year to watch tv( replacing freakin bulbs) when there are litterally thousands of people with their trusty 25" console tv's still working after 25 years or more......

so no thank you mitsubishi, anyone reading this and contemplating getting one of their tv's, better rethink their decision,

feel free to contact me

[buckshot]

wow, thats really lame. my samsung just went out after 3 years of solid use. and its $150 for a new bulb/housing. but to anyone else looking at DLPs i love them, the led engine ones look really shiny and nice.

[slaizer2000]

thats why i went with samsungs led dlp's. Bulbs are very fragile and can blow at any given time. With the LED DLP there is no bulb to replace. Although the TV has had some issues covered under warranty it does solve the problem of not having to spend money on replacement bulbs

[BlueAngelDad]

well,
i am definetly gonna do some serious research before i make another purchase

but anyone reading this post consider this, they are seriously overcharging bigtime for a freakin bulb replacement in a small plastic housing, $250 ?

i will look at LCD's next time, goodbye to you mitsubishi s.o.b.

[supersix4]

they were a thing of the past .... plasma + lcd = now

[MuG]

DLP is the way to go.... the only thing that goes out on them is the bulb, and its cheap. Picture is beautiful. I dislike ths thread

[quest88]

Originally Posted by supersix4

they were a thing of the past .... plasma + lcd = now

+ Freaking 1

[shooter3295]

Changing the bulb is only a ten minute job,.....it comes out in a cartridge under a panel in the back,.....the problem with the early Mitsu's was not the bulb,...it was the cartridge the bulb was mounted in. The vent holes were too small,...and they got clogged with dirt and dust,...thus overheating the bulb.

I keep a spare bulb,...bought from an aftermarket supplier,.... like DLPLamps.com. It cost $115.00. When I talked to Mitsu after the first bulb blew,....they sent an "updated cartridge",...with larger vent holes,.....= more air flow,...no more overheat. The "bulb" guys usually send a pair of gloves with the new bulb,....they are just like Halogen headlights,.....finger oil = premature failure.

I've owned Mitsubishi's since they first came out with "Big Screens",....and haven't found a better TV yet. I gave my last SD RP to a friend,....and it's still going strong.

You'll never get an LCD with a picture like a DLP.

BTW,......LCD's have bulbs too. And like ALL bulbs,....a steady burn is better than numerous on/off cycles. When I turn mine on for the first time during the day,....it is on until I turn it off to go to bed at night.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by supersix4

they were a thing of the past .... plasma + lcd = now

yeah except one small problem: to get 1080p you need to sit <8 feet away

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by BlueAngelDad

i will look at LCD's next time

That's a shame, I'd recommend Samsung, Pioneer or Panasonic plasma's.

As it goes, bulb replacement is pretty normal on DLP's and most minor research would have informed you of this. 14 months is pretty short, but not unheard of. I would not presume it to be simply due to the fact it's a Mitsubishi.

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

That's a shame, I'd recommend Samsung, Pioneer or Panasonic plasma's.

As it goes, bulb replacement is pretty normal on DLP's and most minor research would have informed you of this. 14 months is pretty short, but not unheard of. I would not presume it to be simply due to the fact it's a Mitsubishi.

I came close to getting a Mitsubishi when I changed over to a Sony 70" RPTV - based on a lot of reviews which mentioned the short bulb life on Mitsubishi units. The picture was terrific (better black levels than the Sony, I thought) but the bulbs are more expensive, and have about a third the life span.

I got my Sony in 2003, and have only replaced one bulb so far.

[coachD]

As you can see by my signature block, I have a 57 in Mitsubishi HDTV (DLP). Got it the week after Thanksgivings in 2006 (Circuit City, w/free shipping). Have not had a single problem with it. We recently extended our warranty just in case. Considering the huge size of the screen, the initial low cost, and the fact that back in 2006 it was already 1080P capable with 24 Frames per second feature, it was hard to pass this up. As big as it is, it only weights 86 lbs. I just finished watching Serenity on it and I still marvel at the clear bright display. No buyer's remorse at all after 25 months!

[4Dblu]

Originally Posted by BlueAngelDad

well,
i am definetly gonna do some serious research before i make another purchase

but anyone reading this post consider this, they are seriously overcharging bigtime for a freakin bulb replacement in a small plastic housing, $250 ?

i will look at LCD's next time, goodbye to you mitsubishi s.o.b.

its not just a bulb it a XENON HID!!!! a very reduced size of whats in cars... my car has xenons and the price for one is $250. i love my RPTV's and trade them for anything...

[rdodolak]

Yep, that's just a fact of life with any RPTV. Bulbs can and do last for years however they are affected by a number of factors to include how much you watch TV, the number of power cycles on the bulb (turning TV on/off), whether the bulb is allowed to properly cool, etc.

When I purchased my RPTV I was aware that the bulb would have to be replace at some point (no guarentee on how long it would last) and accepted that as a risk. The bulb in my Sony is 2.5 years old and still works.

Originally Posted by BlueAngelDad

every so often i keep getting the amber light signal, and a message on screen that something is blocking the intake vent.

This very well could have been the downfall to the bulb falling. How many hours did you have on the bulb and does the TV have proper ventilation?

In any event I'd look into this issue and if the ventilation is fine I'd recommend getting the TV looked at to make sure it doesn't have other issues (such as the fans).

Did you buy an extended warrranty plan? Most plans come with at least one free bulb replacement.

EDIT: 99% of the time you'll end up buying a new bulb through the manufacturer for MSRP. I'd recommend shopping around for a replacement bulb.

A number of RPTV owners have recommended this site in the past.

http://www.rivervalleyelectronics.net/category_s/38.htm

[theokbadguy]

I purchased a 65" Mitsubishi DLP and absolutely LOVE IT! The picture is sick and its out performs my plasmas and LCDs by a mile (IMO). I heard about bulb problems before I bought it (even from the salesman), but given the fact theres virtually nothing else that can ever go wrong with them, Ill gladly pay the $100 for the replace,ent bulb when its needed. Just my 2 cents of course

[TVguy86]

My extended warranty covers the bulb replacement for 4 years. It also covers anything else that goes wrong with it for that matter.

Dlp is not a bad technology you just need to do research and understand what you are purchasing.

Ie blub will go out 250 dollars. That price covers my extended warranty. Ie extended warranty free in a sence.

Plus i purchased a 56 inch tv for the same price as another 1080p lcd and that was only 46 inches. Hmm win again.

Ohh but i forgot if its not flat is not cool????

[TVguy86]

And its not just mitsubishi Dlp that has bulbs.

Samsungs have bulbs. Even rear projection lcd tvs like sonys have bulbs.

Cant condemn a whole brand of tv because something that goes bad went bad.

Thats like saying i will never buy a honda because the alternator in my honda went bad after 2 years and it was supposed to last 4. Or i will never buy firestone tires because my 60000 mile tires only got 50000 miles on them.

There are soooooooo many other factors that effect bulb life. But im sure it was just the simple fact that your tv said mitsubishi that made the whole DLP technology crappy????

[obiwopkenobi62]

Originally Posted by theokbadguy

I purchased a 65" Mitsubishi DLP and absolutely LOVE IT! The picture is sick and its out performs my plasmas and LCDs by a mile (IMO). I heard about bulb problems before I bought it (even from the salesman), but given the fact theres virtually nothing else that can ever go wrong with them, Ill gladly pay the $100 for the replace,ent bulb when its needed. Just my 2 cents of course

I totally agree. I have the Mits 73" DLP and love it. My buddy has the same 73" as me except he has the one from 5 years ago when the cabinet was much bigger and guess what, no problems. He runs his for like 10-12 hours a day and no bulb problems after 5 years.
Now when I bought mine I had already checked around the web for replacement bulbs and found more than a few websites that have them reasonably priced. I alway tell people to do their research.

To the OP, Don't get me wrong, but if you didn't know the cost of a replacement bulb then you didn't do the research. A couple hundred bucks for a replacement bulb is actually reasonable compared to buying a whole new TV. As for the zenith TV's you speak of that lasted for years, that's a completely different type of television. Your talking about CRT's(Cathode Ray Tubes) that could go for like 20 years or more. Another thing is companies used to build quality products that would last a long time. Companies mentality changed unfortunately and now a lot of the time things are made to break, be thrown away and replaced. It's sad but true. That's not to say you can't get a quality product as long as you do the research. I have had electronics from Sony, Samsung, Hitachi etc. There were good and bad in all of them. I had a Sony Betmax that I bought in 1981 and it didn't crap out on me until 1993.
I don't think you can just say Mitsubishi TV's are crap because they are not. There could be many reasons why you had a problem with it. I feel your pain but don't just say Mitsubishi's are lousy because you can probably find someone out there for every brand of TV that's had a problem. Just my 2 cents

[Sheekdude]

I've had my LG DLP tv for 4 years (February will be 5 years) and i bought it as a display model... No bulb issues yet, and the picture is just as the first day when i got it.

I'll buy your Mitsu if you're willing to ship it, lmk.

[BlueAngelDad]

ok,
i totally understood about replacing the bulbs, but only after 14 months? look, i only watch tv on sundays, that is the part that i cant understand. my tv does not come on during the weekdays unlees i am off from work, then usually i am on my pc most times and i reserve sundays as my tv watching day. Yes, the picture this thing put outs is incredible, Discovery HD is by far the best channel, my brother said it looks like an aquarium.
but i am becoming more frustrated with this thing, i even removed the back of the set which worked at the tiime, but every once in a while it keeps giving me the tv gonna shut down message. so i shut it off and use a can of air and spray the back of the set, which works.
again, i am just getting frustrated with this thing

oh, and Theokbadguy, the replacement bulb is $250, not $100