Mitsubishi WD-73737 73-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)When it comes to TVs in the living room, bigger is always better so, when time came to replace our 61" Samsung DLP I had no idea what my next TV was going to be, other than it was going to be bigger and that, of course, I was going to afford it. Mitsubishi's WD-73737 was the easy winner and this is why:
- SIZE - well, 73" is bigger than 61", right? As far as I know, there aren't too many LCD or plasma TVs this big, at least not anything that I can afford. Our living room is rather large - it's really most of our first floor (open style architecture) so it helps to have a big screen. Mitsubishi makes an 82" model but I had also to consider...
- PRICE - we have a clear winner here. When it comes to price/size ratio, DLP's are by far the least expensive option.
- ENERGY EFFICIENCY - according to my research, the WD-73737 burns about 265W when 'on' (this includes the 180W lamp). By comparison, a 70" LCD needs 540-630W to operate.
- 3D CAPABILITY - it's a potential plus. Mitsubishi does not guarantee that its TV will be compliant with whatever 3D standard is about to emerge but... it might.
Of course, not everything is perfect so, here are the potential 'minuses':
- LAMP - when it comes to 'cost of ownership', we must factor in the DLP's lamp. The Mitsubishi manual expects its lamp to last for about one year but our Samsung was still okay after 2 years with the original lamp so, we shall see. A replacement for this model, direct from Mitsubishi is $99 and I will get a free one under warranty if the original needs replacement before one year. Given the great energy savings when compared to an LCD TV, I am not too worried about having to replace the lamp from time to time.
- BULK - this set is over 90 lbs. heavy and over 12" at its thickest. Definitely, can't hang it on a wall. Therefore...
- STAND - you must have one. We are using the one that came with the old 61" and all is fine but if you don't have one it should set you back a few more hundred bucks.
- THE SCREEN - nothing wrong with it but, when compared with our old Samsung, this is just a little more reflective. It's not so to the point of being annoying at night if lights are on in the room but sometimes it is noticeable.
Since we already had a stand, didn't want to hang a 73" TV on the wall and the need to replace the lamp was compensated by its energy savings, we went for the WD-73737 without hesitation and we are happy we did.OUR SETUP
A TV this size would normally be used in a home theater setting and, it turns out, that's how we use it. We have a satellite TV box, a PS3, dedicated Blu-ray player a 7.1 surround receiver and a Harmony 900 remote. The TV comes with LOTS of inputs, including 3 HDMI but, in our case, the setup started with plugging the TV into the power outlet, connecting the HDMI cable into one of TV's HDMI ports and, since I had the Harmony 900 already configured to handle the TV, that was IT, we were watching TV within 5 minutes of it coming out of the box.
Later own, we did some fine tuning but, it turns out, very little had to be adjusted. We made sure that the frame rate was set to 120 fps and, for the rest, we took the recommended settings from the Tweak TV site and didn't have to change too much from what they recommended. We ended up with:
Picture Mode: Natural
Color Temperature: Low
Aspect Ratio: Standard
Contrast: 55
Brightness: 36
Color: 31
Tint: 31
Sharpness: 31
Deep Field Imager: Off
Super Resolution: Off
Sharp Edge: Off
Video Noise: Off
The end-result is as close to picture-prefect as they come.
I have nothing to say about the sound - it can simulate 'surround' with its own speakers - because we are not using it. Same when it comes to channel tuning or setting up 'activities'. These are fully handled by the satellite receiver and the Harmony remote but all the capabilities are there. Same when it comes to the remote which is quite small - a nice thing - but it may take some getting used to when it comes to the buttons size (small) and their layout.WARRANTY
On an object this size, this is an important concern so, here's what matters:
- The screen is only covered for 30 (THIRTY) days.
- The picture quality warranty states that Mitsubishi will fix it if you get less than 99.99% of the pixels right. In other words, you should have at least 9,999 out of 10,000 pixels right. On a 2-million pixel screen this means that if you have up to 199 bad pixels, Mitsubishi is not obligated to fix your TV.
- Everything else is covered for one year.
- The lamp will be replaced free of charge if it needs replacement within the first year.
- Service is provided 'in house' IF you are within the coverage of an authorized Mitsubishi center. If you're not, you will be responsible for taking your TV there so you better check you are inside a Mitsubishi service area.
__________________________________
[Note on warranty - Nov. 12, 2010]
I had to call Mitsubishi because the lamp had to be replaced. Within minutes, I was on the phone with a competent person who, after asking that I reset the TV and me confirming that the picture was still dim agreed to send me a replacement lamp under the warranty. I provided the TV's serial number and date of purchase, my address and my phone number. He promised that the replacement lamp will be shipped within 2-5 business days.
A few days later, the lamp arrived. I called Mitsubishi's warranty dept. about me returning the used lamp but they asked me not to bother. I trust and respect a company that trusts and respects its customers.
__________________________________MY RATING
This TV delivers exactly what I wanted and expected: a large, bright, crisp picture that, thanks to the 120 fps display has very little blur on fast moving objects. The drawbacks: need to replace the lamp, unorthodox layout on the remote, bulk are either counterbalanced by other features or did not matter much in my case. Not everyone could live with a TV that's not totally flat or that needs a stand but if the main concerns are picture quality, price, size and energy consumption, this TV is hard to beat.
I will grant the WD-73737 5 stars because I own it and I am very happy with it.

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With picture perfomance that outpaces todays smaller flat panels, Mitsubishi Home Theater TVs offer a larger than life, intensely vivid viewing experience. In screen sizes ranging from 60 inches to 82 inches, Mitsubishi Home Theater TVs define the large screeen entertainment category by offering incomparable value and stronger performance than smaller flat panel televisions!

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