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Review 2 of 2
Price Paid:
$1600.00
from Sears Summary:
I spent a good deal of time researching the smaller wide-screen HDTV's, as they were about the maximum size for my little home theatre room. This Toshiba stood out for a couple of reasons. One, of course, was the price. The other main thing was the picture quality, and then the overall characteristics, i.e. number of inputs, types of inputs, etc. I have to say, this is an impressive unit. It must be the new version of the 42H81, because it has a few new features that it didn't, and it's all worked well. I like the built-in stand...it looks good, doesn't add a huge amount of weight, and saves $100+ on buying a seperate stand. DVD's, both from a progressive scan and standard DVD player, look amazing. The picture is bright corner to corner thanks to horizontal and vertical scanning. Even with no video input, there is minimal noticeable eliptical brightness in the center of the screen. My first one arrived with a tiny pixel tear near one of the corners, and Sears immediately ordered a new one, no questions asked. I wouldn't normally recommend Sears as the place to buy electronics, but in some cases their open return/exchange policy is a great bonus. I'm guessing the minor defect was either a small factory glitch or shipping-induced damaged. Either way, the new one is perfect so far as I've noticed. The new cable noise reduction feature makes both analog and digital cable look very good. There are a couple of weak channels, but that's not the TV's fault. Strengths:
Ambient Light Sensor seems to work like a charm. Auto-convergence has done the job just fine for me, so I haven't even messed with the manual convergence. Ample inputs of various types. Dual tuner split screen makes watching two football games on Sunday fun. 9-screen favorite channel picture in picture lets you surf without changing channels...just see what's on, then hit the corresponding number key, and voila, there you are. Last channel AND input recall button...lets you switch not only channels but video sources with one touch of a button. I love this feature, as I sometimes go from Tivo to cable and back repeatedly. Weaknesses:
The major weakness I've found, and maybe it's just bad luck, is the sound system. LOTS of hiss, even at relatively low volumes. However, I normally just turn the tv speakers off altogether and use my Onkyo receiver to output sound to the rest of my home theatre. The actual screen is a little low to the ground. I basically have to be reclining to get centered (not that i'm complaining about having to recline). Very narrow top makes a balancing act with my rather large Klipsh center speaker. Similar Products Used:
First RPTV...and loving it.
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