Customer Reviews

Mitsubishi WD-82837 82-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm an early adopter, so pretty much as soon as I saw this monster at the new price point (Mits' first 82" rear projection debuted at $21,000!!!) I knew I was going to have it. I'm about two weeks into ownership, upgraded to BluRay at the same time, and couldn't be happier.

I've read some reviews that complain about the "new improved" control protocol, and it is different from older models, but is still very instinctive and easy to figure out. Now that I have, it IS an improvement.

The mystery to me is how Mitsubishi can maintain such magnificent detail and color intensity on such a massive picture. I upgraded from an early model JVC 61" 720-line, and the picture is not only much richer and more detailed, it's nearly twice as large!

Love it, love it, love it! And by the way, Blu Ray ROCKS and this 82" is the perfect TV to show it off. We "debuted" with "Master and Commander" and even my non-tech-geek wife was blown away!

Update: I'll leave the rating as-is because the TV is everything the reviews says, but the add-on is, Mitsubishi's customer service (using the term loosely) totally sucks. Nothing was wrong with the function of the TV, except that there was transfer of adhesive material from the clear polyvinyl chloride protective tape used for packaging to the surface of the viewing screen which non-abrasive soap and warm water wouldn't remove, plus as I removed the tape it took some of the black paint off the metal frame around the viewing screen.

Getting this evaluated/reviewed and the repair authorized and completed (still not done at three weeks and counting after the one week it was supposed to take) was an absolute nightmare.

Hint to Mits: The early adopters like me who pay the first-on-my-block prices for your latest gizmos are pretty much used to having things our way. Even with our support your products can fail, but without our support it's impossible for your products to succeed. Treat us like crap and you don't get a second chance. The amount of crap I've had to go through for a minor problem that was 100% the result of how you packaged the TV when you shipped it to me is unforgivable, and the attitude of the "regional manager" who basically told me I was SOL on the paint the tape tore off the frame shouldn't be in a customer contact position.

It's huge.

I had purchased a 56" Panny plasma last year. It has an awesome picture and is a fabulous TV. However, with the sound system I have going down there (classic KEF Reference all the way around plus the legendary Alon isobaric sub, driven by the top Marantz HDMI receiver) I found the picture from the plasma was still a little SMALL for the sound!

This I hadn't anticipated.

56" was the hugest screen I'd ever bought. Well, I blew the plasma out the door when the new Mitsu rear-projection DLP units with 3-D came out, and I'm glad I did.

It was between this and a projector. My brother built a front projector system in his basement, and honestly it's disappointing. You have to have the room totally dark, and even then the picture isn't very bright.

This DLP set, by contrast, is far brighter, and you can watch it during the day or with the lights on. It is HUGE, which really complements the sound system. It's really not right to have top-shelf sound without a theater-worthy screen, and 56" is just on the small end of that, unless your room is tiny.

Once I had the color balance tweaked to the calibration disc's satisfaction, I had great things going on. The Panny had great color out of the box, but the factory settings on the Mitsu DLP units are mushy and a bit off. So if you do buy this set, by all means make sure you do a full calibration with a good calibration dvd/blu-ray disc. The before/after difference is quite striking even if you're not a real "video geek." The discs themselves are amazingly cheap, and if you're spending this much on a TV there's really no excuse not to set it up right. I believe many negative reviewers simply weren't able to get the calibration done so their nice new screen looks right.

Blu-Ray presentation of color-intensive films like 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' are spectacular on this set. Fast-moving sports like Hockey and baseball render lightning-fast, unlike the ever-popular LCD screens that show a black streak on the ice instead of a puck. And of course, you get the most inches per dollar of any HDTV technology out there.

My sister has an older DLP Sony Grand WEGA set, and when the bulb finally popped on that thing, they had to pop for almost $300 to replace it, and then it was a huge rigamarole to get it replaced.

The bulb on this TV is around a hundred twenty bucks which is a steal for this kind of high-output light source. And it is 100% user replaceable. That is what sold me on this TV. Because at that low price for a bulb, I can keep a spare on hand at all times and if the thing blows I can quickly get it up and running again.

I can't stress enough how important this feature is for anyone looking at rear-projection DLP. Your bulb is going to blow. It's a wear item, like brakes on your car. Designing the system so that the user can replace the bulb is so smart, Mitsu should get a medal. Designing the bulb so that it can be sold for around a hundred bucks: awesome.

How does the picture compare with the Panasonic plasma? The plasma is better. Blacks: blacker. Whites: whiter. Action: faster. Viewing angles: WAY wider. But the plasma just ain't big enough for my application, and a plasma the size of this gigantic DLP will cost you your firstborn child. The brightness and video quality penalty is the trade-off for the eye-popping size of this screen. It was totally worth it for me, and the experience with the bigger screen really blows away the higher plasma quality for me.

So you know where I'm at with this TV. If you are looking for the home theater experience, I recommend you stop looking at flatscreens and projectors. You've found the right TV type and the right brand. Mitsu stuck with rear projection DLP and refined it while so many others were switching over to all flatscreen, all the time. Those of us non-millionaires for whom there's no substitute for screen real estate are very happy they did.

Go to your local Mitsubishi DLP dealer and see these big things in action. Choose the model that fits you best, and start shopping that model. $3100 for this TV is a gettable deal, and you may be able to get it for that just by offering that price to your local Mitsu guy. You'll pay for delivery, but the charge will be similar to what you pay the Amazon affiliates who sell this TV--and you'll have a local warranty, which is very desirable on something of this magnitude.

If your personal economy allows you to spend three thousand bucks on a tv, I would definitely put this one on your list of tvs to shop.

You won't be sorry.

I've had the WD-82837 for over a month and the picture is very good. It displays dark scenes with great clarity. Blue ray discs will blow you away. The best TV I have ever seen. The sound is good enough for most viewing but you should have a sound system to really enjoy movies and many of the programs offered on TV. Can't beat the price for a large screen. We sit about 13' from the screen and could sit a little closer. I found the height you set the TV is critical. The picture degrades if your eye level is not near the vertical center of the screen. The horizontal viewing is reasonable, so viewing off center is good. The adjusting of the standard features, contrast, color, sharpness etc. went well but the two advanced screens ADV1 and ADV2 are a complete mystery to me. I would realy like to get some info on this. Like many features that are there to "help" you, Net Command is a pain. My cable box has one HDMI output and one component output. Often when I switch from using my receiver (which uses the HDMI connection) to getting the signal directly from my cable box (which uses the component) the 1080 feed from the cable box is changed to standard 4X3. The only way I can account for this is Net Commands "help". Over all I think it is the best bang for the buck and would recommend this as a great buy.

After owning a Sony SXRD 60" rear-projection TV for the past four years, we could never go smaller. After months of researching large LCDs and plasma TVs, I realized I would never match the size of our old TV at a price I could stomach. That is of course unless I went back to rear-projection. It is a shame that Sony and Samsung have stopped making these TVs, but at least Mitsubishi remains. I started thinking the 73 would be plenty big enough but after doing the math, our viewing distance of about 11 feet is best suited for the 82. I'm so glad I upped for the bigger TV. Viewing *anything* is an event now.

So how is the picture? I'm no professional and I'm not qualified to give a detailed rundown of the picture quality. I can't say its the best I've seen, but it is definitely the best I've seen at this size. I bought "The Dark Knight" on Blu-ray for demos and it blows everyone away. Like I said, it is an event.

People have moaned about the confusing remote though I don't think it is bad at all. After a few minutes, I found it easy to get things done.

As for the sound, I can't comment. I hooked it up to my home theater audio system and trust me, with a picture this big, you'll need an equally big sound.

GOT IT CHRISTMAS EVE Shipper was very fast and helpful, packing looked good, he suggested waiting till it warmed up, Temp was about 30f so I waited till NX DAY MERRY CHRISTMAS DOA!! Just like the previous review Flashing Red Light!!!! Called CS which only took 25 min to relay that a supervisor would get back to me in 24 hrs which is at this point is very comforting.Looking at an 82" BLACK SCREEN !!Unforunatly this is my second bad experience with a DLP. About 6 yrs earlier I purchased a OPTOMA RD65 which was DOA as well but had a really awesome picture and was the biggest available. After the first DOA was replaced with a HDCP refurb that was great till NOW!! If this situation requires a Tech, that will then also require parts, this then would not be a new TV and will not be a resoultion !! I do not want a repaired TV, I paid for a brand new TV that should WORK when delivered. I Will update as this Horrorshow unfolds so far it is not the MERRY HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE I EXPECTED!!
Update 12/29 still no TV or any real solution
I now realize that I did not buy this unit from Amazon but from some place called Electronics Expo which has now become a HUDGE mistake when asked about replacement credit or exchange this is what I got ???

Please be advised, requests for non-returnable or exchangeable items cannot be approved. This includes:



-TV's larger than 20 inches ??? "20 inch rule ??"

-Front Projectors

-Computers, laptops, netbooks and hard disk drives

-Video game consoles and hardware

-Audio/Video Stands/Furniture (Unopened or assembled)

-Digital Satellite Systems and equipment

-Any product with a service activation feature (XM & Sirius Satellite Radio Receivers, DirecTv, Tivo, Wireless Phones)

-Filled out extended warranties

-Items having their UPC Labels or Bar Codes cut or removed

-Cut-to-length audio or video cables

-Physical damaged items after being signed for in good condition

-Items that have been installed, physically altered, or where wires have been cut

Which is just about everything they sell had this again been STATED UP FRONT I would NEVER Have purchased anything there !! I have been going back and forth with Amazon on this issue. Also with Visa with a dispute form on the way I would not recomend BUYING ANYTHING FROM ELECTRONICS EXPO and I have the same reguards for lack of responce from Amazon as well !

I am currently on my 3rd call to Mitsubuishi who is trying to locate a REPAIR CENTER No replacement for a DOA new TV !
I Defiantly have the feeling I made an 82" MISTAKE If this how they treat an out of the box issue what happens "and you know it will" I need service in the future??
Would I even consider A MITSUBISHI or this type of purchase through Amazon again ?

NOT IN A MILLION YEARS !!!

UPDATE 2010
Mitsubuishi service tech showed up yesterday pushed a series of buttons the power light started blinking and he stated I know this problem removed back cover and discovered a piece of packing material jamed in the fan! Removed it and replaced it just to be on the safe side
in less then 15 min had the set running even helped me get it on the stand .
left the unit run for 24hrs just to be on the safe side
a couple of observations
1: The remote is crap
2: Combine that with the menu system and plan on spending some quality time trying figure out why they designed this system this way ?
3: The directions that come with the unit are on par with the remote .
4: Intial picture setting is blinding but has some good ajustments which is a big plus
5: As one other reviewer put it 82" ROCKS I had to scrape my kids jaw off the floor when he saw it ! Guess I will be canceling that visa claim !
I would now give it 3 stars.
Service tech 5 stars except when I mentioned calibration he could not leave fast enough, now I know why !

UPDATE 4/25/10 LIKED IT SO MUCH I PURCHASED ANOTHER
Well I have to change my review after 4 months of viewing this TV is really an outstanding value ! My father was came over recently to watch a PGA tourmanent he was so impressed I purchased him one as well. The second unit is a model 82737 the additional input and features on the 837 I did not think was really worth the extra expense.
I also purchased him the Techcraft Sorento 70" stand which I can not recommend enough!
It was a breeze to assemble and looks outstanding with the 82837 My only issue is I wish I had purchased it for myself it blows away the the cheaper unit that I obtained in hast due to the super fast delivery from Amazon ! I would give this combo FIVE STARS +

I had this delivered to my home in August after preparing the space in my family room. My major point of contention is acquiring a proper stand to hold and enable easy manipulation and connections of components (you will want to play with connections) which was not cheap. However that aside the television is great clear high definition up to 1080p resolution, plenty of connections, many adjustments that can be made that why you should have your stand on wheels. There was no manual except you go online and print it. Over all a great price for a big television but try to do 3D and you might need to get a loan. This is not for your average setup spend the money and do a home theater hire a professional and you will be glad it is money well spent. A great display. It also uses less energy than my 50" plasma and better than a projector because you can watch it for hours on end without a concern for bulb life and noise. You can find discounts online to make it worth your hard earned money. PLEASE NOTE I JUST ADDED THE 3D ADAPTER KIT TO THIS BEHEMOTH...GREAT 3D PICTURE WHAT WAS SURPRISING IS THE SOUND FROM THE TV SPEAKER (THIS IS THE 82837) WAS IMPRESSIVE FOR TV SPEAKERS. THE 3D PICTURE DID NEED SOME ADJUSTING TO GET ME A SHARPER HARDER PICTURE (MY PREFERENCE) HOWEVER IT IS AN EASY SOLUTION. THE PRICE IS GREAT EVEN ON THE NEW MODEL (WD-82838 AND YOU DON'T NEED AN EXTERNAL ADAPTER). THE PICTURE IS ALL THAT AND THEN SOME...JUST AS GREAT AS THE PANASONIC 3D 65" PLASMA WHICH I WANT IN MY MEDIA ROOM. PLEASE IF YOU HAVE THE ROOM BUY THIS BEHEMOTH!!!

The Mitsubishi WD-82837 is a very big TV with a great Picture. It worked right out of the box and is easy to set up . The speakers are good, but buy a surround sound system to improve the sound. All the input/outputs on this TV are on the back, it will be harder to add and remove game systems or other frequently change devices. This DLP TV has as good a picture as my LCD if you are unsure what to buy and are not hanging the TV on the wall DLP is the way to go.

I have a large (15x23) home theater room that screamed for a large front projection or rear projection TV.
At the MSRP of 4,999, I thought that a front projection system might be a better buy. But then there were issues with the fan being in the way of a ceiling mount, the theater seats being in the way of a table mount and the rear windows and distance being an issue for a rear wall mount. So, I kept my eye on this baby, and when the price dropped on Christmas day to 3300, I made an offer and bought one for 3,093.95. I picked it up from the trucker on December 30th.
It is the best buy I ever made. This TV is big and beautiful. The blacks are great, in particular in comparison to the replaced 2005 era Sony SXRD XBR 60". I have not noticed any motion artifacts. Blu-Ray disks are very impressive. Football never looked so good in my home. Although the great picture detail shows that most of the announcers never looked so bad. I rate the sound as 3 stars only because I use my receiver hooked up to my def techs. I don' use the remote much either, since I had already given myself a Harmony 900 for Christmas - which I really like. I should say that the remote uses a different approach than most TV remotes - and is more similar to the Harmony than a traditional TV remote.
The TV is also 3D ready. I didn't factor 3D much into the purchase, but Mitsubishi announced at CES 2010 that they will have an adapter available in the spring for viewing 3D content from a future 3D blu-ray player. 3D may turn out to be a big bonus. I will update if I have any issues.

I own or have owned several DLPs. I have a 58" Panasonic Plasma, and several smaller LCDs. People don't seem to understand the size TV that is required to see a full 1080P from their viewing distance. I sit 14 feet away from the set. A 65" wasn't big enough, a 72" was not big enough. Heck the WD-82837 is not large enough. I really need a 100" set for my viewing distance. The big Mits is one heck of a bargain. It has great blacks, will calibrate to nearly reference levels. Do it yourself if you have the test gear or get an experience ISF certified calibrator to do it for you. I bought the Mits at my local Best Buy. There price was very good and I got a bazillion reward points.

The only other set available in this size is an 84" Panny Plasma. If you have to ask the price, forget about it.

I love this TV, but it has one tremendous weakness. You should understand what you are buying when you buy this set. You are buying a fantastic movie experience. If you have a bright sunny room and you are looking to watch a lot of weekend sports on sunny afternoons you will hate it. Well, maybe you won't hate it. But if you are demanding of accurate color, and high brightness levels at that same time out of a TV, then this set is challenged. It can make a fair amount of light, but it does so only in the "Brilliant", or "Bright" modes, which are fine for people who like the store "Torch" modes. Unfortunately these modes are far from accurate. You will need to use Advanced or Natural modes, the sets clips green, when configured in an accurate mode and you really crank the brightness.You can go accurate, or very bright, you can't have both.

This is a big set and it has the same lamp as the smaller Mits DLPs, obviously Mits had to cut a corner somewhere to sell a set this big for the price. To do both superbright, and still make highly accurate color, the set needed a higher wattage lamp. There are two lamp settings. One is Energy Star, the other is Bright. If you want to get the most out of the set, choose the Bright setting for the lamp. DLPs are economical on power consumption so you are not loosing much by setting the lamp to Bright. Don't be confused by the terminology, the lamp setting of Bright and the picture mode Bright are two different things. You can run the TV in Bright mode and the lamp mode in Bright, do that if you really need the set to put out a lot of light. The problem is that the Bright picture mode is way to blue, if you calibrate in Bright mode to make the color accurate you will end up decreasing the brightness. You can't really have both maximum brightness, and maximum accuracy.

This is not the easiest set to fully calibrate. If you want to get it very accurate on color and grayscle, and you will need to know what you are doing. For most folks that means and ISF certified tech, look on AVSForum, the best ones in the country travel. Although calibration is not a walk in the park, when it is calibrated, it looks fantastic. In theater type lighting, this set when calibrated will give you the shivers.


I have a dim living room, even with a bunch of windows. I don't watch much TV during the day. For me the weakness in terms of maximum brightness is not an issue. I bought this set for cinema. You really have to compare this TV with a front projector. Front projectors make much less light than this set does. It is a great Home Theater display and a mediocre display for sunny Sunday afternoon with all the blinds open. But if you want to see 1080P and your room does not allow you sit 8 feet away this set is the answer to a videophile's prayers.

Sure if I could have afforded the $29K for the 84" Panny Plasma, I would have gone that direction. My room makes a front projector impossible, and my budget means I could never afford the 84" Panny Plasma. This is the only game in town folks. It is a big TV, with a superb movie experience, and it can be bought for relative peanuts compared to the only other option, the Panny. I am very demanding on picture quality. This set can knock you out if it is set up right. I spent less than $3K on this set and I have a DVDO DUO Video Processor feeding it. I am using ChromaPure software and a Chroma 5 Colorimeter to calibrate it . The set, the Video Processor, and the Calibration equipment altogether was about 5 grand, there is just nothing like it for the money. My only regret about the TV is that it is too small! If Mits were to do do a 100 incher with a bigger lamp, I would be right there to lay my money down.

Mitsubishi has always excelled in the High quality monitor arena. Only real compettition I see is Samsung; but Samsung does not offer the larger screens. Viva Mitsubishi!!! Now if they would only find a way to manufacter these larger screen units in an L.E.D. format thus, eliminating the lamp, and color wheel. If ever perfected, Mitsubishi units in the 82-100 inch sizes could easily rival front projection market although they offer much biggeer video.