Toshiba 42H81 Rear Projection

Toshiba 42H81 Rear Projection 

DESCRIPTION

The 42H81 includes all the Toshiba Standard TheaterWide® HD Projection Television Features Plus: VIDEO: HDTV Compatible New IDSC-Pro (Intelligent Digital Scan Conversion) (540p/1080i) Advanced Digital Video Noise Reduction New High Contrast PowerFocus™ HC Lens System PowerFocus™ HD CRTs New TouchFocus™ Auto Digital Convergence Built-in High Contrast TheaterShield™ New Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) New Dynamic Contrast New Cinema Mode (3/2 Pull Down) AUDIO: SRS® 3D Sound Sub Bass System (SBS)

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 35  
[Nov 26, 2002]
Mark
AudioPhile

Strength:

Great picture. Easy to adjust settings. Sounds good. Only 18 inches deep. Warranty is good. Unit looks nice. Easy to use remote. Remote lights up.y

Weakness:

Sits a little low, but not bad. If that's the only problem, buy it! I had no problem with my center channel speaker sitting on top, some thought it was too narrow. It is an Infinity Entra Series.¿

This is a great 16 x 9 HiDef ready TV! I use mine strictly for DVDs, but cable looks ok too. Very good choice for small to medium rooms. Best picture on the showroom floor! (Better than Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung). I had a 47" Panasonic, but returned for my money back when I saw this. The Toshiba 42" was $100 more than the Panasonic 47", but worth it! Auto convergence / focus works fast and well. Steady audio level line out to receiver. Plenty of inputs. Great value. Excellent first 16x9!!!;

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic 47" 16x9n

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 27, 2002]
gillliam
Casual Listener

Strength:

Good picture quality, Cheap price

Weakness:

Cheap for a reason, Bad ciruitry/on-off issues.

Like everyone else when I saw this tv for the price and picture quality, I fell in love. I originally wanted to buy a 36" Vega and bought this instead. Big mistake! After a month it started turning off and on again. Called Toshiba and they were no help at all, called the place I bought it and they said they could only take it back if I had the original box(Who can keep a box that big in their house?). Service techs say that the problem is hard to fix because it is so infrequent and hard to pinpoint. How I wish I had bought the Wega or the 48" JVC.

Similar Products Used:

Zenith 27"

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 23, 2002]
margomaps
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Nice picture Attractive piece Light Affordable Lots of inputs Simple setup (and use Avia!)

Weakness:

No 720p Very bright images = visible scan linesQuestionable cabinet quality Possible 540p upconvert artifacts No 1-800 Toshiba support?

Couldn't pass up the $1,600 / 18 months no-interest deal at Best Buy. Viewing distance is only ~ 10 feet in my basement theater, so this 42" Toshiba is a good fit. I'm pleased with the ease of setup, quality of picture, light weight of the unit, and the way it looks (as furniture). I tuned the picture with the Avia DVD, and it definitely improved. However, when the picture from any source is too bright, the horizontal scan lines become quite apparent, and the picture then looks very grainy. This is a minor problem however, since most scenes aren't bright enough to bring out this flaw. The various stretch modes are a welcome feature, but with the exception of the 4:3 and full (16:9) modes, they all have problems. Parts of the screen which should be visible tend to be slightly out of view near the edges. Try viewing CNN or ESPN with the preferred 4:3 mode (Theater Wide 1). The scrolling news/sports ticker at the bottom of the screen is slightly clipped off. Digital Cable looks good, not great. I believe the up-convert to 540p produces some artifacts. DVD with my new Toshiba progressive-scan player (outputs 540p) looks very good. XBox and Gamecube games in HD look very nice too. I have not viewed HD television broadcasts yet. Convergence setup is easy, but unfortunately convergence gets *slightly* out of whack very easily. If I want it perfect, I have to adjust it daily. But so far it stays within 90-95% of perfect for extended periods. The rear input panel is very flimsy. When I plug into one of the ColorStream component inputs, especially, the entire panel flexes inward and it feels like it will eventually break. That panel should not flex. Finally, I wish this set had 720p. It's a good standard. I know it would be an added cost, but I'd be willing to pay more. Some videogames are in 720p, and I believe ABC has been broadcasting in 720p instead of 1080i. Realize I'm being very picky about any complaints I have. I really enjoy the set, and it's an excellent value.

Similar Products Used:

None; 10-year old 27" Samsung

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 01, 2002]
Dennis Wasnich
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great picture (I had to go way higher in price and to plasma to beat the picture quality), many line-level input options gives you connection versatility

Weakness:

nothing significant, but it would have been nice to save more than one preferred setting

Great picture when the source is good (DVDs through progressive scan are incredible). Sound is adequate for TV watching, but not for HT. "Off-air" reception is nothing remarkable. Only one preferred setting allowed--the "factory" modes are pretty poor. I feel like I'm mentioning only the "down" side of this otherwise great RPT, but glowing praise doesn't help the prospective buyer. I really haven't had any problems with the unit, and the picture is great for HT at a great street price, so I'd buy it again (and that's better than a recommendation for you to buy it).

Similar Products Used:

first RPT, but audtioned all others in the stores.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 17, 2002]
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture quality is excellent, low weight - easy to move. Setup menus are clear and easy to follow.

Weakness:

Not really a weakness - but you need a separate rack for audio gear, ie dvd, satellite box etc.

The Toshiba 42H81 has probably the best projection tv picture I have seen. The size is excellent for smaller rooms. I was all set to buy a Sony Wega 36 XBR, then looked at the Toshiba HDTV - and bought it instead for less money.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 4x3 tv's

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 11, 2002]
Eric
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture, price, size, audio, inputs, and overall value.

Weakness:

Cable reception, too narrow to rest ctr channel spkr on.

Extremely happy with this TV. Have upgraded to a JVC progressive scan DVD player and couldn't be happier w/the duo. Cable reception goes from very good to very bad - may have to move up to digital cable. Mostly use with DVDs and LDs. It was between this model and the 55" Mitsubishi. Picture comparison was close - Toshiba a little brighter, Mitsu a little more natural. But with nearly a $500 difference in price plus w/the Mitsu you need the $150-$200 stand, it was a no-brainer. On delivery it also made more sense, as the Mitsu would not have made it into the basement and family room. Convergence control works well even though I had never done it before.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 23, 2002]
BobLundy
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Crystal clear in any mode. DVDs are absolutely flawless and the only weaknesses in broadcast/cable are inherant in the signal itself! Easy to use all of its features and the auto-convergence feature is miraculous.

Weakness:

None.

The best leisure-time purchase I've ever made. Everyone who comes over, including those WEGA people, say they wish they'd bought this TV. A very minor point (just because noone ever mentions it) for those who are debating whether or not to buy a rear projection unit...they don't attract any dust! The screen protector NEVER has to be cleaned...unless you have kids, but that's another problem altogether. As with some other reviewers, only this set and the 43 inch Hitachi were even in the running. I chose this because it was less expensive (I got it for about $500. less than anyone was willing to part with the Hitachi for, and I did not need the $200. stand that the Hitach requires either.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 24, 2002]
bigdrunk92037
Casual Listener

Strength:

Excellent picture (For all DVD''s and just a few cable channels) Decent sound Backlit remote - easy to use Compact - the most shallow TV in the depth department. Looks cool. Price - A lot of TV for 1800. Very lightweight

Weakness:

analog cable reception. It is as bad as everyone says. You should really reconsider this purchase if your cable reception sucks

I went from a cheap 27" 13 year old TV from Costco to this. Until a couple months ago I knew nothing about tvs. I read reviews on projection tvs from anywhere possible. Every site seemed to really like the 42h81. For me, size was the biggest issue. I ideally wanted a 36" HD ready tube, but they were either too deep, or too expensive. That brought the smaller projection tv''s to my attention. I narrowed my choices down to the Hitachi and the Toshiba. I believed the pictures to be on par with one another. What swayed me towards the Toshiba was 1)price (easily $200 less, nobody wanted to deal much on the price) and 2) I did not have to spend another $200 on a matching stand or entertainment center. The Hitachi would have ended up costing me about $400 more in the long run. I did however come really close to taking the set back. The reception is very poor for many cable tv channels. 25% of everyone complains of this on this review site. DVD''s look excellent. I bought the TV and the DVD player at the same time. I had never even watched a movie on DVD before. It blew me away. Watching Schreck on my Toshiba 3750 player was like watching through a window. The audio is also pretty good. The remote menus are also pretty intuitive. I am very happy with the purchase. Only 4 stars because of the cable TV reception.

Similar Products Used:

None

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 06, 2002]
Andy
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Excellent picture from all sources. Nice set of options to adjust to any room’s light. Decent size and weight for a 42" TV.

Weakness:

The top of the TV should be larger to hold a center channel.

Great TV right out of the box. Played with a few setting to get the picture perfect for the room but that''s it. I have it hooked up to dish network via S-Video and the picture is pretty good. But DVD and X-Box through component video are unbelievable. For the price you can''t beat this TV. It''s more than I could have asked for in this price range. If you want HD ready with great quality and features this is the TV to buy.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 20, 2002]
BK
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture; ease of use; great price.

Weakness:

Sits a bit low; could have a little sturdier fabric around the base/speakers.

After a month+ of this TV, I cannot get the smile off of my face when I watch it. Just an incredible picture, and this is analog, not digital. I don''t even have digital cable (yet). I can''t imagine what HDTV programs would look like. DVDs are amazing. This set is phenomenol. I researched for months, and kept coming back to the 42H81 and am glad I did. The perfect size for my 20x15 family room also; anything more would have been too much.

Similar Products Used:

None, first RPTV.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 35  

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