Mitsubishi Marvels By Scott Wilkinson June 10, 2009 — Things were jumping in Mitsubishi's room at the CEA Line Shows today. First up was the resurrection of LaserVue, a DLP rear-projection TV illuminated with red, green, and blue lasers instead of conventional lamps or even LEDs.

After suspending production due to a manufacturing glitch, the LaserVue is back in full production and shipping to dealers, though it remains in short supply. Only one size is currently available—65 inches—and the price tag is a whopping $7000, but the company is confident that it can sell this unique TV. A side-by-side demo next to a Panasonic TH-65PZ850 plasma revealed that the LaserVue draws a third to a sixth as much power, and the color was quite different than the plasma's, though both were in their "torch" modes, so I could make no valid comparison of their picture quality.

Also on hand were several new lamp-based RPTVs, including a behemoth 82-incher. Available in Mitsubishi's Medallion and Diamond lines ($4200 and $5000, respectively), this monster offers better-than-average off-axis performance and a complete set of calibration controls in the user menu. And like all Mitsubishi RPTVs, this one is 3D-ready with the use of alternating-shutter glasses, though the demo still gave me a slight headache.

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