Mitsubishi's 65-inch LaserVue priced at CEDIA: $6,999

Mitsubishi has been trickling out details for its mysterious LaserVue HDTV for months now, but at long last, we finally know the most pertinent piece. Reportedly, the 65-inch set -- which was seen lookin' mighty fine on the CEDIA floor, by the way -- will retail for $6,999 when it ships to Select Diamond retailers at the end of this month. The forthcoming 73-inch version doesn't have a price / release date just yet, but given the way we've found things out about its smaller sibling, we can't say we're shocked in the least.

[MMisterio @ Sep 6th 2008 6:47PM]

I wouldn't pay that much for a Mitsubishi car much less a TV made by them.

[BBrase @ Sep 6th 2008 7:07PM]

....says man with Vizio.

[Foogooo @ Sep 7th 2008 2:07AM]

Mitsubishi tv's are actually really good. My parents had one for for about ten years without a problem, back in the '90's. I wouldn't buy their cars but I will be buying one of those tv's.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Sep 7th 2008 4:25AM]

When it came to CRT's (back in the day), Mitsubishi's Diamondtron was almost as technologically advanced as Sony's Trinitron. If you had a Diamondtron tube in your monitor, you surely had made a decent choice.

[Batman @ Sep 6th 2008 6:48PM]

What is this LaserVue they speak of? New laser technology?

Take this *pew* *pew* !

[CJ @ Sep 6th 2008 7:08PM]

Nooooo Batman, it's not 'pew pew' it's BANG BANG BANG!

[kyle allen @ Sep 6th 2008 8:09PM]

your bolth waaaaaayyy off, its zap zap

[The Dude @ Sep 6th 2008 8:56PM]

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/213/pewpewku2.jpg

[vileta2 @ Sep 6th 2008 7:12PM]

Yes you are.
Definitely charging a lot, too.

[Joe H @ Sep 6th 2008 7:09PM]

Since this uses lasers, are there no bulbs to replace like regular rear projection TVs? That's a pretty big improvement in and of itself.

[boe @ Sep 6th 2008 7:43PM]

If it is made by Mits, it doesn't matter if the lasers last for ever - they are probably using the same defective power supplies and daughterboards that cause their TVs to stop functioning a few years after you get them. You can solder new capacitors on yourself or pay someone $500 to do it for you. The sad thing is even though Mits new about the issues for the past 6 years, they refused to just recall them or send you replacement daughterboards. I guess they really don't like repeat customers.

[CraigJ @ Sep 6th 2008 7:38PM]

LED DLP has had that for a while.

[Joe H @ Sep 6th 2008 7:54PM]

Aah okay. I haven't been keeping up very much with rear projection since I got my LCD two years ago. I just know my parents got an LCoS rear projection TV that goes through bulbs like crazy.

[Joe H @ Sep 6th 2008 7:56PM]

As for the Mitsubishi quality, again not something I know much about personally, I just know my parents had a rear projection probably 15 years ago from them and that thing was a tank both in size and built quality. It lasted almost 10 years with no issues.

Its a shame they seem to be selling crap lately then.

[CraigJ @ Sep 6th 2008 8:06PM]

My current 60" Mitsu is 12 years old, and just as bright and sharp as it was when I got it in 1996.

[Ran @ Sep 6th 2008 7:34PM]

Prob'ly uses them new-fangled laser bulbs.

[Vivek @ Sep 7th 2008 1:13PM]

Does that mean that my Sony 52" XSeries Bravia is worthless? I Think that we'll have to wait and see.

[Apple Rep. @ Sep 6th 2008 7:27PM]

i officially hate slow news days :(

[ethana2 @ Sep 6th 2008 11:57PM]

If you change your name though, some of us may think about it.

[Apple Rep. @ Sep 7th 2008 2:19AM]

lmfao
I think strikers dad never loved him as a child :)
Or maybe he can't get a girlfriend, probably both, how are the men treating you? ;^)

[CraigJ @ Sep 6th 2008 7:39PM]

I've been waiting for these so I can see them in person. I'm going to wait until the 65" version is under $5000 though.

[Nathan @ Sep 6th 2008 7:42PM]

Haha. A rear projection set with a different light source is sill a rear projection set. Uneven geometry, awful viewing angles, silk screen effect, etc. You could buy 3 67" Samsung LED DLP sets for that price. They'll sell none of these.

[JTM @ Sep 6th 2008 9:02PM]

Agreed. RP is poop

[Markarian @ Sep 7th 2008 4:24AM]

I agree, seeing DLP RPs for sale make me irritated. I wish Texas Instruments would just stop and put those horrible spinning mirrors into nano projectors where they belong.

The only RP that has ever been worth buying is CRT. Long live Barco.

Oh, and Plasma FTW.

[MastrCake @ Sep 6th 2008 7:55PM]

Wow, I am actually a bit suprised! They were saying that it would be priced "competitively" with similar sized flat-panel TVs. But it is actually $1500 MORE than a 60 inch KURO plasma.

Now I know that this has 5 inches on the KURO, but $1500 is not competitive. But still, I will give them credit, because this is brand new technology.

Here's to hoping that it goes down in price by this time next year.

[gamedude420 @ Sep 6th 2008 9:50PM]

the 65 inch kuro is going to be $10k so the laservue is much cheaper, and the 73 inch will be around 8k or less

[loosely_coupled @ Sep 7th 2008 1:40AM]

Yea, I thought the promise of Laser TVs besides the contrast and color range was that they were *supposed* to be cheaper to manufacture than LCoS/DLP/etc

[Ran @ Sep 6th 2008 7:56PM]

Samsung 67A750 LED/DLP. Probably 80-90% as good. Under $2K.

[CraigJ @ Sep 6th 2008 8:09PM]

The interesting thing about this set is the color gamut, which no other tv can reproduce. The Samsung is my current favorite, but I've been waiting for the LaserVue to see how good it is before I buy the Samsung...

[jdog @ Sep 6th 2008 8:48PM]

gonna need to bump up the AC in the house....seeing how it's running on "sophisticated heat beams"...

[Some Kid @ Sep 6th 2008 8:58PM]

if it doesnt have a fancy abreviation- it aint for me
and how do you use lasers to light a tv anyways?
is there a ton of lasers underneath the screen or is there one big one that gets broken down and spread out?

[Striker @ Sep 6th 2008 9:51PM]

Seven G's? Well there go my plans...

[PWNage Overdriver @ Sep 7th 2008 4:27PM]

Well -- at least you'll always have that sketchy mustache and the '88 Camaro, bro.

Word to the wise though; kids today have been warned off of the old "help me find my lost puppy" routine.

[Mr. Fingers @ Sep 6th 2008 10:29PM]

I had an appointment at Mitsubishi HQ in Cypress, CA. They have this HDTV in their
side lobby in the front of the building hooked up to a blue ray player running their
commercials in 1080p.

I'll let you all know right now this is the greatest TV anywhere on the planet.
Better than any LCD or plasma or DLP made right now.

Absolutely stunning picture quality and the colors are amazing.
Deep blacks, unreal picture almost 3D like.
Off angle view is as good or better than plasma.
Pretty thin, you could hang it on the wall but it would look kind of goofy.

When this shows up at retailers in a couple of weeks go look at
it. After a minute I wanted to cry and go home and throw my
Panasonic TH-50PZ800U in the trash. It's that good.

The only thing stopping me from buying it is the $7000 price tag.
If they get around 3K then I'm in.

[Sharone @ Sep 6th 2008 11:26PM]

I don't want 65 inch or larger TVs.

Mitsubishi, please make this thing in 50" and 42" flavors, too. And price them reasonably.

[arkweld @ Sep 7th 2008 12:24AM]

Too late Mitsu, too late.

Unless they apply this projection method to front projection they are just dropping money into a hole. Rear projection is dead. LCD and plasma have caught up and passed front projection displays for video quality but don't have the design flaws that RPTVs do like the bulky depth, the fan noise or the visual hot spot.

[CraigJ @ Sep 7th 2008 2:02AM]

I disagree.

You _can_ mount a flat panel on the wall, but most people don't. Anything under 10" thick is thinner than the cabinet that holds the DVD player, etc. so paying for anything thinner is a waste of money in my situation.

This TV is what I have been waiting for. The viewing angle is as good as plasma, the color gamut is unmatched by any current technology, and there are no bulbs to replace, and no moving parts, and from what I have read has none of the issues that you bring up about older RPTVs, though my mitsu RP is 12 years old and has none of the issues you bring up, other than being almost 3 ft deep and weighing about 300 lbs..

[Ronald @ Sep 7th 2008 9:32AM]

Not to worry about prize it will take about a year and then it will fall. There are costomers out there that will pay the prize after they have bought the prize well be adjusted for the masses.

[Dorville @ Sep 7th 2008 11:20AM]

Nah... at this price I can buy 3 AQUOS 42" LCD Tvs and make use multiple screens (crossfire)

[Dorville @ Sep 7th 2008 11:18AM]

Nah... at this price I can buy 3 Aquos 42" and use multiple screen in crossfire :)

[Crap @ Sep 7th 2008 12:47PM]

The price is RETAIL find it at Costco for 2,490 for Xmas

[Giroro @ Sep 8th 2008 1:03AM]

/painful eye cancer

[Allen @ Sep 8th 2008 10:35AM]

That's offensive Mitsubishi! I'm personally offended at that BS price.

It looks like they are not passing on the low manufacturing parts and costs and trying to push it as a premium product. That's disappointing. It has fewer parts and less expensive parts than today's DLP TVs and the shipping size and weight is lower. Premium TV buyers will know they are being asked to spend a lot of money on a mostly empty light-box.
If they expect it will compete with other premium TV's, I think they will be sadly mistaken.

Asian and general Urban markets want 'thin' panels. Room space is important. I think Mitsubishi is kidding themselves if they think that a 10" deep TV will have the same appeal. And, although the colors are more true to nature, they are not what people are used to and the TV picture will look odd and turn people off. The majority of consumers like lite-beer and tasteless food.

There are many ways to market a plasma or LCD against this like: "That's just a toy! It's an empty box... we have this and this and this technology... Sure they have a bazillion greens, so what if it doesn't look natural... our exclusive processing gives you..." and so on.

It is the TV I want. I'm offended at the pricing though. Hope they still have them for sale after a year when the market kicks some sense into Mitsubishi and they regain their sanity.

[Harrison @ Sep 9th 2008 3:12PM]

So much for F'in 50 inches for under a grand! HOW COME NO ONE SEEMS TO REMEMBER THIS! I've been waiting for TWO YEARS NOW, based on that price (or even a reasonable multiple of it). Guess what Mitsu, I've owned tons of your stuff and now I officially hate you, forever!

[Andrew @ Sep 9th 2008 9:37PM]

If I did the math right,you have 700% more pixels in the highest hd resolution than sd. So, pixel by pixel it is still cheaper to buy a huge sd tv at a garage sale for less than $200. And both TV's will use the same basic technology rear projection, Also, 10 inches is not very much space. like someone said earlier that is smaller than the stand you will be using and you would be siting at least 5 feet away from the tv, what is the 6 inches less distance of space from your eyes to the tv going to make.

[Allen @ Oct 4th 2008 8:42AM]

My instincts say that they will get crushed at this price point. Of course anyone would agree that on a stand, the depth is unnoticeable. But consumers do not make totally rational choices. I can make prediction about the marketability. People do want to put these on the wall and thin is bragging rights as well.

My claim is that if someone looks at a 3" thick or under (if there is such a thing) and this in a store, and the price is similar (two premium price sets), that the consumer will choose the thin plasma despite the better picture quality of the LaserVue. I like this TV -- it's what I want. What they have done disappoints me. I want them to succeed. Look, it's like this, it happens like this, a salesman and a customer talk. It all depends on commissions (if any) or what the store needs to sell and what their profit is and availability. There are dozens of ways to dis this TV and get the customer to walk out with a premium plasma or LCD instead. THAT is what the salesman must do when a customer comes in and if the LaserVue is not in stock. "I know it's new but frankly bub, you're buying an empty box -- pick up one corner.. see, it's a puppet show in a box... THIS plasma however, look, you're looking at the actual pixels! Why buy a projection TV?" I know I'm not doing a good imitation of a sales person :-) but, see what I mean?

[Allen @ Oct 3rd 2008 10:05PM]

Been a year of bad news. Screw Mitsubishi. They're a bunch of whale killers anyway.