HDTV Reviews

Just purchased the Toshiba 42H82 and couldn't be happier. The picture is great, but if you buy online be sure you're aware that only the newly released 2002 models will be capable of receiving the DVI upgrade as this will be the very best technology before long.

According to Toshiba's website, "DVI is an uncompressed (base band) digital video connection. It provides a secure digital interface for connecting a Digital Set-Top Box to an HD Compatible TV. It is not made to replace IEEE1394, which can still be used to connect the Digital Set-Top Box to a Digital Recording Device. 2002 H82 Wide Screen PTV models can be upgraded to an optional jack pack that includes a DVI input with HDCP for a true uncompressed digital video connection.

This is only to prepare for the future when all major network HDTV broadcasts will supposedly require the DIV connection so they can protect their copyrights easier.

All in all we're thrilled with the stunning picture and easy to use menus-a true deal at this price level.

I purchased this TV back in August after about a month of research. I am very careful when making large purchases so I like to read up quite a bit on the products available. After reading reviews from professionals and consumers I had decided on the Toshiba 41H81.I could not be happier with this set. When I first got the TV I was a little disappointed with the picture. I decided to let it go for a while and after the 100 hour recommended break in period the picture was a million times better. I also had to change the settings on the picture quite a bit. When you look at TV's in the store they will tend to change the settings of the higher priced TVs to the optimum settings so they can talk you into spending more. With some quick adjustments (I highly recommend buying the Avia guide to home theater. It is a must have for setting up your home theater and adjusting the picture on your TV) the picture on this TV was amazing. As for the features... I love watching TV in widescreen. I was initially worried that the picture would look distorted but after about a day you really don't notice it. Another thing I enjoy is that instead of picture in picture this TV has a feature where you can split the TV screen in half. I can watch and listen to the TV while my friends can play video games on the other half of the TV. I definitely like that feature. As for the sound, I can not really comment on that. I listen to everything through my surround speakers. I have the TV sound turned off. I have heard reports of a light "hissing" sound but the few times I turn up my TV's volume I do not hear it. All in all I could not be happier with this television. Like my title says, It is the best thing I own (sorry car).

After careful and I mean a year of careful web searches on info on large widescreen t.v's in crt, plasma and lcd we took the plunge and with our hard earned dollars purchased a 42H83 the latest model offered by toshiba. I believe we made the correct choice. Sure its not 6 inches deep like plasma but 18 inches is pretty slim. The picture quality after our adjustments is as good or better than plasma or lcd. Watching standard broadcasts takes getting used to on a widescreen but no big deal. We have it hooked up to a DTS 5.1 receiver and a progressive scan DVD and watching widescreen movies is awesome.

Good TV with excellent picture, hook up a progressive scan dvd player and it dosn't get any better. One thing to mention, this tv is advertised here and alot of other places as having a DVI input, IT DOES NOT. Hopefully this will change.

While this product is hailed for its glowing performance in clarity and picture (possessing 1280 horizontal scan lines) and Hitachi being a fine company - I think I should point out to those wary of statistical accuracy that it is listed here as having "DVI-HDCP input" but the downloadable owner manual listed directly below the aforementioned feature clearly shows the 43FWX20B model specifically as not being equipped with the "DVI-HDCP input."
As I have stated, the television is a statistical heavyweight in its class of rear-projection HDTVs but the DVI connection information is critical for those who are looking for that specific feature.

As a former salesman of big screens, this one is easily tied for my favorite with the Mitsubishi 46" HDTV widescreen. Mitsubishi has an edge on color and lighting, Hitatchi has the edge on clarity and overall realism due to the most lenses on the market.
First off, this TV is complex, yet simple. Plenty of features and inputs, but simple enough for anyone to use. The Magic focus is a great example. Hit one button and the TV automatically sets the convergence.
Next is the size. One needs to know the stand built for this TV sells seperatly...so that's one thing to consider before you buy. If you get the stand, you'll quickly notice how much easier it is moving a two piece system into your home instead of a solid one piece TV.
While small in comparision to a lot of HDTV's on the market, this TV still looks huge once you get it into your home. And with the quality of the picture, you'll be glad you didn't get a larger TV for the same price from some lower quality brand.
I'll admit, sound isn't the greatest. But if you're buying an HDTV, you should be investing in surround sound anyways.
Another huge feature this TV has that most brands don't is an auto refresh not found on earlier models and other brands. Basically, if you're watching something in 4:3 mode with bars on the side, the TV automatically refreshes the bars constantly so that they don't get burned into the screen. It's constant too so you don't even notice.
Overall, this is a great buy. Compare it to the Mitsubishi. Decide which is better for you. I can guarentee you won't be disappointed.

I bought the Samsung TXM2796HF about 4 months ago and recently I am getting a loud humming sound from the speakers. The humming sound is very annoying. The picture quality is good but the sound is terrible.

I am a broadcast engineer for a FOX affiliate in Georgia, so I have seen quite a few monitors in my day. This set, is not for the large room,..but for quality of picture in normal broadcast, and definitely for High-Definition, it has few peers for quality. Also, I have one in our lobby, as a show piece, with our affiliates sound and picture, 24 hours a day, seven days a week since January 13, 2002, without so much as a hiccup, and zero upkeep. I have broadcast monitors in master control, that I wish were that good. (I also bought another one for my home in May 2003.) Its that good.

I've had this set for a few months now and honestly have no complaints. I'm an avid gamer who owns a Gamecube, a PS2, and an X-Box. And while the PS2 looks decent on the set,its the Gamecube and most definately the X-Box that makes this set shine. At this time far too few Tv stations broadcast in HD, so its external devices like DVD Players and videogame consoles that validate an HDTV purchase for most people. At this set delivers it has 3 AV inputs, 1 S-Video input, and 2 Component inputs. Its really those last 2 that matter as their necessary for a high definition display. The picture quality is excellent, as far as people complining about the contrast or color thats what the custom settings are for obviously. Also the image tilting that others complain about is due to the earths magnetic field and can be rectified through use of the "tilt" option found at the bottom of the picture menu under "p-Function".
Im not a videophile Im just a gamer who knows what looks good. And for this price you cannot go wrong.

Good picture, sound, ez setup.
Why I gave only 4 stars
1. It takes some seconds to switch the channels
2. Remote not easy to operate
3. The front speaker part is not sturdy.
4. Not picking up all the channels which my regular TV used to pick.
Over all nice deal. I got it from Circuit city for $449
Hey who can complain when you get a "HDTV" for under 500 bucks.

Didn't buy this as a main TV, so only needed basic hook-ups. Very pleased with what I got for the money, like the design and "wheelable" weight, and very happy how well it works with rabbit ears.

Once you go HDTV you can never go back. It's true. And this HDTV is an excellent start into the world of high-end video. You could consider this the poor-man's HDTV.

Why buy this TV? Well for the price, you can't beat it-a typical 27-inch flatscreen by Sony or Panasonic will cost you ... What do I get for that extra [money]? A world of difference. Quality that is simply mesmerizing.

The major benefit of going this route is progressive scan mode for game consoles (Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube); DVD players; and HD cable. You get only one HD input, but that's easily solved by getting the JVC component switcher..., which gives you the option of inputing 3 progressive enabled components into the HD input on the TV. And you also get a VGA input (same as on a computer monitor)-so yes, you can run your Sega Dreamcast or other VGA enabled components into this.

All I can say is that I am very happy with this purchase. An excellent upgrade for a decent cost (once you factor in cable upgrades, extended warranty, and the switch box). Plus it doesn't have the bulk of those large projection-based HDTVs (only weighs 100 lbs.)

At first I thought the RCA D52W20 was an excellent purchase, but over the next few days of ownership I started to notice the many, many flaws that ultimately led to my returning this product after 20 days and buying a Samsung instead.

In order of importance, the significant problems with this set are:

1) The screen edge regions did not produce a sharp image.
2) The convergence needed to be adjusted twice daily as there was a marked drift on both the blue and red projectors.
3) There is only 1 (center) manual convergence point. Similar sets from Sony, Toshiba, etc give you 9 points to adjust.
4) Ghost streaks appeared to the right of bright objects in high contrast situations.

This being said, the RCA generally produced a "good" picture, and who really watches the edge of the screen anyway, right? ;-)

Bottom line - this set is available at a discount price, but it also delivers discount quality.

I bought the RCA D52W15, which is essentially the D52W20 without the screen shield. The price, quality of picture and overall style were the selling points for me. Normally I would buy a Sony or other Japanese brand well known for quality, but this set just looked better than any others I had seen. The cabinet styling has a very slim look. Many sets looked big and blocky from the front as well as the backs being made with particle-board where the RCA is build like the DPL receivers using light but sturdy looking plastic. I noticed also that every set with a screen shield (just about all) was reflecting the lights of the showroom where the RCA has the mat finish (D52W15 only) and barely reflected any room lighting giving a better picture without distraction. I don't have kids or pets living in the house so I'm not worried about the screen being damaged. I am very happy so far with the performance and look in my home. As of this writing I have had it a little over a month. I bought a service contract, With a large purchase like this and being an RCA, I don't want to take chances. I have experimented with the settings and have gotten satisfaction in viewing even poor quality video. I notice even on the same stations some shows look stunning while others look poor and out of focus, so it's not the TV. I am sure the more expensive HDTV sets have more features for setting the picture parameters, but I find this set has enough to get great viewing. I find the "Cinerama" screen format is best for most 3:4 ratio broadcasts where you want the whole screen filled with least distortion on the edges. I find when watching widescreen DVDs, to eliminate black bars still seen because of being filmed in a non standard aspect ratio, I use the "16:9 up/down" mode and center the picture and loose very little picture while filling my whole screen. I hate seeing black or grey bars. I have set the contrast down to about 35%, it will save on CRT phosphor wear and then juggling color and black levels it looks better to me than the factory settings that tend to be over saturated in most cases. The audio is good, but It doesn't matter, being I am hooked up to a good A/V receiver with surround sound. Even commercials sound and look good.

I just had my TV arrive last week. So far I couldn't be happier. The picture is ok in regular mode and the HDTV picture is outstanding. The look of the TV is very sleak and modern. It has some cool features like PIP and push button recording to your VCR (I have tivo so I wouldn't use that feature). All in all I'm very happy with the TV. Also, I paid just $1050 for it on sale at Circuit City. I think it was mismarked. Can't beat that deal! I just hope it proves to be reliable in the long term.

At first I thought the RCA D52W20 was an excellent purchase, but over the next few days of ownership I started to notice the many, many flaws that ultimately led to my returning this product after 20 days and buying a Samsung instead.

In order of importance, the significant problems with this set are:

1) The screen edge regions did not produce a sharp image.
2) The convergence needed to be adjusted twice daily as there was a marked drift on both the blue and red projectors.
3) There is only 1 (center) manual convergence point. Similar sets from Sony, Toshiba, etc give you 9 points to adjust.
4) Ghost streaks appeared to the right of bright objects in high contrast situations.

This being said, the RCA generally produced a "good" picture, and who really watches the edge of the screen anyway, right? ;-)

Bottom line - this set is available at a discount price, but it also delivers discount quality.

I bought the RCA D52W15, which is essentially the D52W20 without the screen shield. The price, quality of picture and overall style were the selling points for me. Normally I would buy a Sony or other Japanese brand well known for quality, but this set just looked better than any others I had seen. The cabinet styling has a very slim look. Many sets looked big and blocky from the front as well as the backs being made with particle-board where the RCA is build like the DPL receivers using light but sturdy looking plastic. I noticed also that every set with a screen shield (just about all) was reflecting the lights of the showroom where the RCA has the mat finish (D52W15 only) and barely reflected any room lighting giving a better picture without distraction. I don't have kids or pets living in the house so I'm not worried about the screen being damaged. I am very happy so far with the performance and look in my home. As of this writing I have had it a little over a month. I bought a service contract, With a large purchase like this and being an RCA, I don't want to take chances. I have experimented with the settings and have gotten satisfaction in viewing even poor quality video. I notice even on the same stations some shows look stunning while others look poor and out of focus, so it's not the TV. I am sure the more expensive HDTV sets have more features for setting the picture parameters, but I find this set has enough to get great viewing. I find the "Cinerama" screen format is best for most 3:4 ratio broadcasts where you want the whole screen filled with least distortion on the edges. I find when watching widescreen DVDs, to eliminate black bars still seen because of being filmed in a non standard aspect ratio, I use the "16:9 up/down" mode and center the picture and loose very little picture while filling my whole screen. I hate seeing black or grey bars. I have set the contrast down to about 35%, it will save on CRT phosphor wear and then juggling color and black levels it looks better to me than the factory settings that tend to be over saturated in most cases. The audio is good, but It doesn't matter, being I am hooked up to a good A/V receiver with surround sound. Even commercials sound and look good.

I just had my TV arrive last week. So far I couldn't be happier. The picture is ok in regular mode and the HDTV picture is outstanding. The look of the TV is very sleak and modern. It has some cool features like PIP and push button recording to your VCR (I have tivo so I wouldn't use that feature). All in all I'm very happy with the TV. Also, I paid just $1050 for it on sale at Circuit City. I think it was mismarked. Can't beat that deal! I just hope it proves to be reliable in the long term.

The set I received had some problems. The user convergence of 9 point convergence, could not fix the edge convergence problems. The TV as it was originally received had screen tilt of about 3/4" to the right. The picture size was not adjusted to fit the screen (too big), and when picture was centered according to instruction manual, I noticed uneven presentation between left and right side of the screen.

I had service technican come out to fix the above noted problems. Technican found that he had to manually adjust the RGB guns as well as use the service screens(software adjustments were not enough), and even after gun was adjusted, the edge convergence was not very good. The 64 point convergence screen does not allow technican to adjust the bottom and the top row of cross-hairs(very strange). So, after all these adjustments, it looked better, but, still the convergence was not very good at the edges. When each gun displayed the grid separately, some of the gun could not be made to display straight lines on some of the lines, especially the bottom line.

I have other issues with this unit such as poor and insufficient manual, RF inputs that forgets channel memory when switching from cable to broadcast, and two RF input requirement of having same type of input (cannot have RF of cable, and regular broadcast), poor PIP adjustments/control etc.

But, basically, this unit is going back.

I recommend that you stay way from this unit. The factory settings were horribly out of spec. There must be QA problems at Panasonic. My experience with Panasonic has not been that great in recent years.

After several purchases of Panasonic, this will be my last.

When I bought this TV in fall '03 it was by far the best value for an HDTV. Value is very subjective. I moved up from a fairly low end 27" tube to this. Compared to that, the picture is great. Compared to plasmas and LCD (direct not projection), it is certainly flawed. From 10 feet away the difference is noticable but unimportant. The only time I am aware of picture flaws is during credits. For some people that might be important and if it is I suggest spending the big dollars for a plasma or direct view LCD (or wait).
For the rest of you, TV viewing habits are important. We do not watch TV (no cable, no antenna), just DVDs via a progressive scan player. 3 to 5 every week. If most of my viewing was regular (non-HD) TV, I don't think the widescreen would make sense (nor can I tell you anything about the built in tuner or PIP because we don't have a use for them).
I have yet to see another name brand HDTV of this size in the just under eleven hundred dollar range.
I'd recommend this set for those who plan to use it mainly for DVDs and/or get HD programming (cable/sat.) and are not videophiles. As an analogy, we moved from a used Ford Fiesta (or old 27") to this Honda Accord V6 but if you currently own a Corvette, you probably should look into a Ferrari. Makes sense?

I bought this TV three months ago and like everybody said before, TV has to be carefully adjust. This TV has a high contrast and default picture is too flashy, too much color but once ajusted, very very nice. Also, convergence is easy to setup with the nine points adjustment, but for best adjustment, better go into the service setup menu where you have a generated color bar where it is much more flexible to setup convergence instead of the nine points adjustment in the customer setup menu. Very happy with this TV and watching a DVD with it is simply unbelievable

I have owned this set since June 11, 2002. It first broke on January 4, 2003 and was not repaired until February 10. Samsung admitted they had 'parts availability problems.' Then, on July 6, 2003, it failed again and as of August 6, 2003, remains dark with again, 'parts availability problems.' Samsung can not promise me ANY date it will be working, can promise no date for delivery of parts and generally does not follow-up or return telephone calls. I have hired a lawyer since after $1800 - they have very poor customer and warranty service - spend the $200 and buy a Mitsubishi.

Let me point out first that I'm a former Sears employee who had to sell these things on a daily basis. And I say former so that no one thinks we're out for higher commission, because Samsung paid about the best.
The fact is, though they look great when working, these TV's just don't last. We actually had a Samsung rep/repairman tell us one time that they are notorious for blowing out almost exactly at the three year point.
Second, while the picture is bright and clear, Samsung uses no form of screen refresher. While this isn't a huge problem if you're watching widescreen DVD's or a high definition signal in 16:9 mode, prolonged viewing in 4:3 mode burns bars into the sides of the TV. Expecially since instead of black bars, Samsung uses gray bars.
In the end, you get what you pay for. There's a reason you pay more for TV's like Hitatchi, Sony, Mitsubishi, etc. If you must buy this TV though, do yourself a favor and get the extended warranty if it's offered. It will be worth whatever you spend on it.

THIS SAME SAMSUNG IS SOLD AT BEST BUY AND CIRCUT CITY FOR 300.00 LESS.

This is my first review on Amazon, although I have been referring to them for years. After going through the pains of purchasing, then returning this television, this is my act of altruism towards you, my anonymous friend. Does it really deserve only one star? No, that was just to get your attention. So then... this TV did have a few pros:
1. Clean design, especially the front.
2. It makes a cool "Mario Brothers" sound effect when you turn it off or on.
3. When a progressive-scan DVD player is hooked up to it with component cables, the picture is dyn-o-mite.
4. That's about it.
Now for the cons:
1. You may have seen references to the 'purple line' on the screen... it is true, especially when viewing movies in a darkened room. You can't ignore it... it's about 3-4 wide, it migrates, sometimes there are even two of them. Reason enough to return it right there.
2. 4:3 viewing mode. A lot of options to choose from, and they all suck.
3. X-Box compatability. I'm not a very technically-savvy guy, but I can hook things up... I never was able to get a satisfactory image, even with the X-Box High-Definition pack.
I nearly ruptured myself getting this thing back to Circuit City, where I exchanged it for the infinitely superior Sony 30" FD Trinitron® WEGA® HDTV Monitor (Brand/Model: SON KV30HS420). To paraphrase Ferris Bueller, it's so choice, I highly recommended it. And it was exactly the same price! Now, I implore you - go forth armed with this knowledge and the world will be your oyster.
Your fellow consumer,
Kenneth Talmadge Stacks

I'm not sure if anyone responded to Martin Crull's comments about this set having a blurry picture from a progressive scan DVD player. He wrote he hoped he wasn't doing anything wrong. Well it seems he was. He wrote that he used composite video cables. Wrong. Use good quality COMPONENT video cables from the component (or progressive) DVD output to the TV's component input. Make sure the DVD player is set to progressive output, AND for a 16x9 set. With a few picture setting tweaks, you should have an exceptional picture.

I would be extremely careful buying a large screen TV from Amazon.com. They have a no return policy on TV's larger than 27" that I was not made aware of upon purchase of the product. I received the television and realized after I had signed for delivery that there was some cosmetic damage to the TV's cabinet. I contacted Amazon.com the next day (which you can not do by phone; only e-mail) and was then alerted to this policy. They refused to provide me with a replacement TV.

The customer service was less than impressive and I would recommend buying this product from Circuit City or some other company that will guarantee the product and provide reasonable customer service. If you insist on purchasing from Amazon.com, I recommend you inspect the set thoroughly before signing for delivery. This is important b/c it is your only chance to refuse the product and Amazon.com will not make you aware of this.

All that said, it is a great HDTV monitor for the price point. It is a good anchor to a starter home theater setup. It displays progressive scan and HDTV signals very well. One thing to consider is that the set does not allow you to scale the aspect ratio for any of the HDTV inputs as many Sony sets do. This means that a full screen DVD will be stretched by the TV.

I would recommend this set for anyone looking to enter the world of HDTV at the sub $1000 price point. However, I would strongly urge you to consider buying from a electronics only dealer such as Best Buy, Circuit City, or Tweeter as Amazon.com can not match their level of customer service in this arena.

I purchased this product from Costco. It was borken the third days. I called two of their service centers to look at it. Both recommend me to exchange for a new one. Since I have to pay the delivery (Costco doesn't delivery big item TV), I called Toshiba customer support and try to get the refund for the delivery. They just refused and their attitude was very bad. Since I got a defective product up front and I just want to exchange for the same product, it is fair to ask for refund for the delivery. Toshiba support doesn't want to even accommendate this. It is very bad customer relationship management and their attitude is just arrogant. I won't recommend this product based on my experience with both the product and its services.

They may mention 16:9, but it's actually a 4:3 set that can play 16:9 on it. Heck my 32 inch tube can do that. I can't stand when they put deceptive information on product descriptions.

We had reservations about the purchase of so complicated a product by E-mail. On arrival our fears seemed justified, the picture was rotated about 15 deg. Several calls were required to Toshiba before a local service center could be found that would perform warranty work on a set not purchased at their facility. One agreed but said they couldn't come for three weeks!? Finally, we located one that came in two days. The serviceman aligned everything; color, symmetry, focus, etc. It made a tremendous difference in the picture. Actually, we were fortunate that the set required adjustment. This procedure should be part of the delivery of every television set!! Sound is good for built-in speakers but no match for the clean, transparent sound of a good quality component system. (Bose for example.) Reliability remains to be seen, but initial picture quality is so good, (at least the equal of anything, regardless of brand, we have seen at shops and friends,) that the several anxious days we spent wondering if we had made an expensive mistake, now seems worth it!