wilmeland

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $1100.00 from best buy

Summary:
Actually I think mine is a 2004 model 42HDX83, but same basic t.v. Nice picture,looks very good with high quality HD programming (of which there is surprisingly little - at least through brighthouse). Excellent results with progressive scan DVD. Good flexibility for adjusting aspect ratio (important with widescreen). I don't use the built in speakers much, but as those things go, sounds pretty good. Lots of video/audio inputs/outputs on the back (go to website for details). I'm currently using 2 progressive scan inputs (cable Box and DVD) and one coax ant. input for the built in analog tuners so I can use the PIP (also, the built in tuner looks much better than my PACE cable box for the lower - non digital channels). Anyway, TV performance is satisfying, but with exception of the HD Discovery programming & occasionally offerings on HD PBS,HBO and SHO, the rest of the HD channels are very hit and miss. often it will say 1080i or 720p, but it must be upconverted because the quality just isn't much better than the regular digital channels. Also, the formatting by the major networks here is garbage with uneven black bars on either side of the picture which can only be removed by enlarging picture, thus losing any of the sharpness you gained with the HD signal (Black bars viewed over time will burn it to your picture). I know this has turned to a review of the state of HD program offerings, but if you are buying this in part for HDTV, it's significant to consider the source material available. This may vary by region. I live in the Tampa Bay area and use Brighthouse for what that's worth. Anyway, I would buy this set again even if I didn't use it for the HDTV. Regular programming & DVDs look very good.

Strengths:
excellent picture brightness and quality (even off axis), widescreen picture adjustments,& input flexibility

Weaknesses:
one touch focus is inferrior to manual convergence focusing. Please don't rely on the one touch for best picture.

Similar Products Used:
none - first rear projection. Earlier products I looked at lacked the brightness and quality for off axis viewing.

Price Paid:  $1699.00 from Stereo Shop

Summary:
I bought the Toshiba 42HDX81 42 inch HDTV about 5 months ago. I get one HD channel with my cable. The HD picture is great! As are the other digital cable channels. In my area we have broadcast TV reception problems so the over air picture is compromised because of this. The picture looks esspecially bright and clear. Better than I would have expected from a projection TV. I don't use the internal audio speakers but have it connected to a home theater system. I really like all the different input connection options, such as, multiple component video, s-video, etc. I also really like the push button auto-convergence. Although I haven't needed to use it yet. The 42 inch projection screen size is perfect for my rather small living room. The pop-up menus are well organized and understandable. I have had no problems. Looking forward to the eventual availability of more HD channels in my area.

Strengths:
Excellent HD picture. Nice size. No quality problems.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Old RCA 27 inch TV

Price Paid:  $1659.00 from Consumer Direct Ware

Summary:
Bought my TV on 12/30/03. It worked flawlessly for 3 weeks, then began to fail. Instead of 'fade to black' we experienced 'fade to green'. Called Consumer Direct. To their credit, they replaced the set immediately. They also let me take advantage of a price reduction which had occured. I give them very high marks. Inspite of the problem I had, I really like this TV! The HDTV reception is incredible! I receive HDTV over cable and our system has 6 HDTV channels. Most free network shows are now available. The set retains it's convergence and has tremendous brightness. Standard cable looks excellent when using the coax input. DVD's are oustanding and I don't have a progrssive scan DVD player. I can't imagine it looking better. I expect my second set to be fine. The vendor explained mine was only the second tv they've had to take back

Strengths:
Lot's of inputs. Superior clarity and resolution. Excellent color and simple to setup.

Weaknesses:
Initial quality might be suspect.

Price Paid:  $1690.00 from Consumer Direct Ware

Summary:
Just bought this TV about 1.5 months ago. Started out just great, really looked nice. But just recently it broke. The red just disappeared. I don't know if it's the red CRT or the decoder but there is no red. This thing broke after just over one month of use. Now I have to jump through hoops to get this thing serviced. I'm very disappointed with Toshiba. I read many reviews before purchasing this TV. Most were pretty good in terms of performance. But I did hear of a few scary stories of the TV having trouble very early on. And these stories included poor support from Toshiba. Now I find myself in the middle of one of those stories. Bad choice.

Strengths:
Nice picture when it works.

Weaknesses:
Reliability problems. Poor customer support, seem to be unconcerned with customer satisfaction.