Price Paid:  $1799.00 from www.speedandsound.co

Summary:
This is by far the best Television under $3000 once properly calibrated for all the modes this TV far exceeds the expectations I had.

Strengths:
HDTV ready, luminated remote, 2 hdtv inputs, 16x9 widescreen, mode memory.

Weaknesses:
Once placed on the floor its a little low in height, other than that it’s an incredible buy.

Similar Products Used:
Sony kv32xbr250(bedroom), Mitsubishi wt42311

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from best buy

Summary:
I have gone through two TVs now this Toshiba, and a similar Mitsubishi. I kept bringing these TV's home and they just looked bad. I then bought a 43" UWX series Hitachi TV for only $200.00 more. The Hitachi is fantastic with the features it has. 256 pt. convergence and it upconverts everything to 540p. the people at circuit city were very helpful so i reccomend going there and getting hitachi

Strengths:
it was cheaper than other models

Weaknesses:
the guns were not very bright, and performed poorly on NTSC feeds

Similar Products Used:
mitsubishi

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from CALIFORNIA AUDIO-VIDEO

Summary:
AFTER NEARLY 16 MONTHS OF USE, I'M QUITE HAPPY WITH WHAT MY
TOSHIBA DOES WITH DVD'S, ESPECIALLY WHEN WATCHING A PROGRESSIVE SCAN OUTPUT. AM STILL WAITING TO SEE WHICH HDTV
TUNER WILL MATCH UP BEST WITH THIS MODEL AND AM STILL WATCHING OVER-THE-AIR BROADCASTS OFF ATT BROADBAND CABLE,
WHICH IS OK FOR THE TIME BEING. WILL ALSO EVENTUALLY CALL IN
ISF TECHNICIAN TO DO AN INTERNAL READJUSTMENT OF THE CRT LENSES AND ADJUST GREY SCALE FOR OPTIMAL VIEWING ON ALL SOURCES, INCLUDING HDTV BOX. AM CURRENTLY USING BOTH THE SONY DV-9000ES AND PIONEER ELITE DV-38A PROGRESSIVE SCAN DVD
PLAYERS TO WATCH MOVIES, CONCERTS AND AVAILABLE CURRENT & CLASSIC TELEVISION SHOWS ON DVD, SUCH AS STAR TREK, MONTY PYTHON, SOPRANOS SEASON 1, STARGATE SG1-1 AND SEX IN THE CITY SEASONS 1 & 2. OVERALL, I'M QUITE HAPPY WITH THE RELIABILITY AND PICTURE QUALITY OF THIS SET, WITH ONLY A FEW
MINOR QUIBBLES ABOUT THE REMOTE AND NO DIRECT ACCESS TO VIDEO SOURCES.

Strengths:
COLOR RENDITION,OVERALL RESOLUTION WITH PROGRESSIVE SCAN DVD
PLAYER

Weaknesses:
NO DIRECT VIDEO SELECTION WITH REMOTE--GLOBULAR SELECTION INSTEAD

Similar Products Used:
FIRST HDTV-READY MODEL OWNED,ALSO HAVE A SONY KV-36XBR-250 DIRECT VIEW SCREEN

Price Paid:  $2200.00 from Home Video Library

Summary:
I could only recommend this set under the following conditions: You pay $1800 or less for it (they are now in stores selling for that much), you only plan to watch DVD's or HDTV on it, and you are of above average intellegence and technically savy. I have a 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound system that rules, but this is not a requirement because the speaker system on the tw40x81 is quite impressive (it even has a built in subwoffer).

My video system consists of the following: Toshiba TW40x81 HDTV; Toshiba DST 3000 HDTV receiver; Toshiba progressive scan SD6200 DVD player.

Furthermore, my set is properly calibrated and focused. I know this because I had a service tech calibrate and focus it, and the picture looks absolutely stunning on both the component 1 and component 2 inputs when running DVD's or HDTV.

Unfortunatly, this is the TV I am forced to use for watching regular satalite TV (I switched from cable to satelite hoping that would improve the picture). My expectations were high since I purchased the Toshiba DST 3000 HDTV receiver which converts all sources, even non-HDTV sources, to 1080i. However, the picture from non-HDTV satelite was pethetic to say the least. The problem is, it's blurry beyond belief. Everyone who sees it, my friends, even my mother, agrees (and she's no videophile). The blurriness is so bad that it is even less enjoyable to watch than when I had cable, and cable looked gross.

Also, if you want HDTV, you better be rich. In addition to spending $500 for an HDTV receiver (yes, the prices have come down), you will spend $140 on a special satelite dish. But the cost that really hurts is the $60 a month for satelite TV. Why $60? Because there is only one (that's right, one) HDTV channel that Direct TV offers. That is HBO channel number 509, and it is only offered in HBO packages which cost at least $50 per month. Then there is tax, local channels, additional satelite receivers that DTV attaches additional charges to. For me, those additional charges brings the bill to $60 per month.

Furthermore, not all HDTV broadcasting from channel 509 is good quality. For example, my jaw hit the floor when watching Gladitor on HDTV. The picture on HDTV looked even better than Gladiator on DVD (I own the DVD). I was very happy with this. But only about 1/3 of the broadcasting off channel 509 yeilds such visually stunning results. They show older movies, as well as documenteries, etc. that don't look much better than regular satelite TV. $60 per month is alot of money to pay for only one channel that shows quality movies only one-third of the time.

By the way, I use Monster3 Component Video Cables that cost me $90 in order to connect my DST 3000 box to the TW40x81. However, for my own curriously I also tested this connection using S-video cables, just to see the results. Obviously, the S-video connection looked like crap too.

If I had to do it over, I would go with a progressive scan direct view TV. Much less hassle, and they work well with non-DVD or non-HDTV sources. You can find these for about $1,700. Then, buy a satelite reciever that converts to 480p, and I would keep my progressive scan DVD player.

Feel free to ask if questions.

Doug

Strengths:
DVD's look great
HDTV looks great (VIA TOSHIBA DST 3000 HDTV RECEIVER)

Weaknesses:
CABLE LOOKS HORRIBLE
SATALITE NON HDTV SOURCES LOOK HORRIBLE(VIA TOSHIBA DST 3000 HDTV RECEIVER)
CHANNEL CHANGING IS SLOW
REMOTE IS SET UP STUPIDLY
COLOR, CONTRAST, ETC HAVE TO CONSTANTLY BE ADJUSTED WHEN SWITCHING BETWEEN INPUT SOURCES (DVD, SATELITE, VCR, ETC)
THE TW40X81 AND THE TOSHIBA DST 3000 HDTV RECIEVER ARE THE MOST UNUSER-FRIENLY DEVISES I HAVE EVER USED. AND I AM TECHNICALLY SAVY.
GETTING A PERFECT PICTURE ON A PROJECTION TV IS A HELLACIOUS PROCESS.

Similar Products Used:
SHOPPED AROUND AND COMPARED TO NUMERIOUS DIRECT VIEW AND PROJECTIONS TV'S

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
I was amazed when compared to other products such as Mitsubishi 16x9s. This definately has higher resolutions. I have a progressive scan DVD player which definately improves the picture quality.

Unfortunately I have to sell it because I am moving. If you are interested, check out the "Home Theater" classifieds on this site, I have it listed there for $1700.

Strengths:
Picure quality, high resolution, aspect ratio

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Various Sony Trinitrons