Mitsubishi announces prices for its laser-based HDTV

Back in Spring, John Sciacca discussed Mitsubishi's new LaserVue HDTVs. Mitsubishi officially showed off its new screens a few months ago, but while it was happy to show off the TV's technical attributes, it was reticent to offer any specific pricing information. Finally, at CEDIA 2008, Mitsubishi has finally revealed the number to match the funky screen.

In case you've forgotten, the LaserVue is a laser-based HDTV. Instead of using LCDs or plasma, it uses an array of red, green, and blue lasers to project its image onto the screen. According to Mitsubishi, it delivers a color gamut over 200% NTSC standard, and consumes less than 200 watts (significantly less than LCD and plasma screens). The company even claims that it can run indefinitely, without the light source "burning out" or otherwise dimming (a problem faced by all LCD and plasma screens and projectors). Impressive claims, but I'll have to see some test results myself before I can believe it.

The 65" Mitsubishi LaserVue will retail for $6,999, putting it on equal ground with most 60-inch-or-larger flat panels, and significantly cheaper than upcoming high-end models like the $10,000 65" Pioneer Kuro. If Mitsubishi's claims about color hold up, we could be looking at a real contender in the big-screen market. The 65" LaserVie starts shipping at the end of September to Mitsubishi's Select Diamond retailers, and will see a wider release around the end of October. Mitsubishi has plans for a 73" LaserVue, but it hasn't announced pricing or a release date yet.

Comments

[Erik]

Great Infos thanks, the price from about 7.000 Dollar is ok for this new technology.

[Allen]

That's offensive Mitsubishi! I feel offended at that 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 the perception of more expensive technology against other premium TV's, I think they will be sadly mistaken.

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. So, there are many ways to market a plasma or LCD against this.

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

[Keith]

Allen,

What you forget is the cost of things like development, licensing and manufacturing start-up. Parts are usually only a small part of the final cost of a device. Only when a significant quantity is sold, can these prices start to fall.

[BearofNH]

Allen,

I too am disappointed at the high price, but Mitsubishi can set the price wherever they want.

Smart competitors will no doubt notice the low component price and realize they can make a ton of money undercutting Mitsubishi.

So maybe the thing to do is buy one of those cheap DLPs with bulbs, figuring the laservision price will drop in two years or less.

[Me]

It`s the nature of business to milk every dollar possible. Don`t worry they won`t sell many at this price with consumer spending being bare bones and a lot of competition out there. They should have flooded the market before OLED becomes mass produced.

[EllisGL]

Why not come out with a smaller version?
I'd be happy with a 32"...Hell even a 27"

[Jdoe]

I see a lot of idiots paying too much for the ipods these days, I think Mitsubishi is being very reasonable with their price at least when you compare with the pioneers. Especially a technology like lasers is way too science fiction, I hope the colors hold up to the expectations.

[kuei]

I think this is a great price for a tv that blows away a plasma. Anyone recall what a 42" plasma was when they first came out? If I remember correctly, for the first couple of years they were about $15,000. Plasmas were twice the price and available at only 2/3 the size of lasers.
I was expecting the Laser Tv's to be much higher for the first production run.
It's a great time to buy stock in laser engine manufacturers, too. Qpc Lasers(qpci) and Arasor (asryf) are sitting in the penny stock territory after finishing up with all their prototype and r+d costs. Now it's time for them to bloom and reap the rewards of finally getting product to market.

[Leif]

I pissed, I've been waiting for this TV that was supposed to cost half of the LCD and Plasma or less and they're announcing marketing at this cost. I put off buying a Sony KDL-XBR4 for years now, being baited by Laservue and for all this, get a price tag that's more than double. Screw all these manufacturers.

[Leif]

I pissed, I've been waiting for this TV that was supposed to cost half of the LCD and Plasma or less and they're announcing marketing at this cost. I put off buying a Sony KDL-XBR4 for years now, being baited by Laservue and for all this, get a price tag that's more than double. Screw all these manufacturers.

[Steve]

OMG, it is so thin, has the thinnest border, and has better color, lighter, and will be cheaper in the future. Shit, what is wrong with this new technology? :P I'll buy 10 of them in a year. lol

[Steve]

Actually, I read it, and it is like a DLP, and has a cabinet depth of 10". Shame. I pass.

[Steve Sanders]

There isn't a Pioneer KURO out there that's $10K... fact check... the most expensive 60" Elite (not 65 - no such thing) is $6500... Right on their website... why has no one noticed this yet? Don't rag on Pioneer... my KURO is better than anything Mitsibishi will ever produce... even cars (before I get some smart ass comment, this last part was a joke, so save it)

[Jeff]

Considering the early reports of a "very" competitive price for Laservue, the price tag now is very disappointing. Is someone at Mitsubishi not aware of what the economy is doing? I could see maybe $4k to $4,500 for this set (My 52" Sharp Aquos was $4,100 and the pic's amazing). I had two, count 'em, two Mitsu LCD's that had to be returned because of a manufacturing defect. I'm not convinced they will sell many Laservue's at its price point. God knows what they'll ask for the 73" set, which I "had" planned on purchasing.

[Tom]

I had expected this to be competitive with their existing mitsubishi projection tv's (around $2500). I too had waited to buy this laservue tv but now I know I cannot afford it, so I'll go with the $2500 or less tv instead.

[Jim]

Guys,

Two points: Firstly, somebody said this should be cheaper than DLP because it has less parts. It IS a DLP, and it has MORE parts; the color wheel has been replaced with three very high-quality lasers and associated optics. The optical chain is also more compact and precise than the older, lamp-driven units.

Secondly, everyone is getting upset about the pricing. Doesn't anyone realize how high the list price of their existing technology DLPs is? The street price will be significantly lower than list, just like it is today. The new stuff won't be discounted nearly as much at first, but will quickly ramp down. Everybody in the electronics business prices like this.

In the end, these are going to be the best-performing rear-projection sets on the market, and they will probably end up only slightly more expensive than the corresponding existing tech.

[Jerry]

Mitsubishi errored on the dreaming side in setting expectations when they said that it will be priced to "liked product". I've owned a Mitsubishi VS-6051 (60") for 15 years and it's exceeded all expectations. I've planned for a year to purchase the 65" Laservue on the day after Thanksgiving, but now will be going with Sony LCD. Sorry Mitsubishi, but you're marketing folks mislead you.

[davidyair]

Hey folks,
I guess some people dont think it is a fair price, but I do. I think that Mitsubishi has done a great job in presenting this breakthrough technology to the world. The price will naturally come down over time because of competition. If you dont have enough money at this time, I would say dont buy one now. You can wait for it later. But for those who have the money and cant wait a few years, and want to try out this amazing technology, I say get it! I think it is the best development in the hdtv industry ever. You will see the laservue being the forerunner in the 3d entertainment industry too. Gamers take notice. I am offering some free info for you to enjoy and consider. You are welcome to look at before you decide.
http://laservue-hdtv.blogspot.com
Thanks.
Peace,
David

[Russ]

I went to our local retailer to view first-hand the amazing picture. Entering the room which had numerous TVs on display , I saw a truly fantastic picture that stood out from the rest. I asked the salesman, "so that's the new LaserVue?". He replied "no, the LaserVue is the one next to it." Found out I was looking at a SONY. The LaserVue picture was good, but nothing like the hype Mitsubishi is putting out. Definitely not worth $7K. Consider their Diamond Series DLP for much less.

[Penny Stocks]

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[Penny Stocks]

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[Dave Haynie]

This is about where new technologies get priced, like it or not. My 71" 5-color Samsung DLP was MSRPed not all that far away from this in 2006... on the street, it sold for about $4500. Today, you can get one in the same size range for about half of that.. not quite two years later.

There may not be much rush for this anyway... what are you going to play on it? Most 5 and 6 color DLPs do xvYCC just dandy.. though only some camcorders and PS3s generate anything with extended color, so far.

Thanks to that, chances are this will look, but better? While there were certainly a few duds when I did my research, the 5 and 6 color DLPs looked as good as the more expensive LCoS and Plasma sets... in fact, at the dawn of Blu-Ray, the limiting factor was all on source material... there was simply nothing around to suggest one display was better than another. I suspect that's going to be much the same with laser TV today... it'll look as good as your source material, but as long as that's being faithfully reproduced on cheaper TVs, you won't see the difference.

With that said, when you get to say "Laser TV", and I'm still saying "DLP", you win the geek race.