Toshiba 50H81 Rear Projection

Toshiba 50H81 Rear Projection 

DESCRIPTION

Movie lovers, your television has arrived! Toshiba's new 50-inch TheaterWide HDTV-ready Projection TV delivers a powerful widescreen (16:9) picture that looks just like the local cineplex. And, Toshiba's renowned engineering expertise guarantees vivid, true-to-life video and audio. The 50H81 is perfect for letterboxed DVDs, VHS tapes, and satellite broadcasts, eliminating the black bars that appear on the top and bottom of the screen. And, the widescreen knockout is ready for the future of Digital TV with its ColorStream Pro and DTV interface terminals.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 23  
[Dec 24, 2002]
Tony
Casual Listener

Strength:

Picture quality. Split screen.

I have not had any major problems with this TV. About the only thing that annoys me is that i frequently have to reconverge the color setup. The first DVD i ever saw on this tv was SHREK and it the picture quality blew me away! I just hooked up a PS2 to it and that also looks great.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Oct 27, 2002]
Roger Peters
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture and price.

Weakness:

Remote,Flat out sucks.

I looked long and hard, read every review I could find. Since I have owned a Toshiba TV for 15 years and have been very happy it was easy to pick this set. After a couple of service calls to get the color adjusted everything has been great. The picture is fantasitic, the sound is average. We still do not have digital cable in our area but the picture is great and with DVD it will blow you away.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 22, 2002]
mschem
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture, awsome picture. Price, great price. No problems at all.

Weakness:

Remote sucks. Glare on screen sometimes. To glossy.

For the Money, this is an awsome TV. Widescreen all the way. From just watching normal satalite with an S-Video cable and X-box to dvd with direct component vid and progressive scan. My god. Gladiator is so sharp, the dirt flying around during the battle is crisp the picture is always bright, the colours are great. There are no lines, squares or anything, simply amazing. When looking for a bigscreen TV, take Toy story with you on DVD. That will make up yur mind for you. Look for the lines running vertically along the screen, go up close can't see any, and the price is awsome? Must be this TV. The only better picture is a Sony Vega XBR, same price, smaller tv, much smaller. Plasma? Are you f'n crazy. You can have 5 of these Toshiba's for one plasma. And the plasma picture is not that awsome. Technology changes so fast, you pay more than 2000 US for a tv, its selling for half that in a year. So look for the best VALUE! S-Vid Inputs Component Inputs (must have for DVD, PS2 XBOX) Widscreen for sure! HDTV Proscan Compatable for DVD

Similar Products Used:

Most big screens I see are either poor picture quality, or very expensive.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Oct 12, 2002]
ftft1
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great picture quality. Quality DVDs appear almost film-like.

Weakness:

The on-off/shorting issues are just too much to handle. Take a look at the other reviews. Do you really want to spend this much $ for something that isn't going to work reliably? Some people have had this problem work itself out. I think you might be out of danger after a month or so, but I didn't make it that far in two tries, so I'm giving up.

I have the 50H82, this years version of the 50H81. I do not suggest buying this tv. I've experienced the same on/off issues as the other reviewers and it has fried two sets. The first I got from a high end specialty store and it lasted for less than 2 days. The second I got from BB and it lasted nearly 3 weeks. It seems as if these tvs are having serious issues. The picture is stellar when this set is working. I don't think you will see a great picture improvement until you spend significantly more money. However, there are others in this price range that have a quality picture and I'm going to go get one of those. The quality of the picture, when working, is better than nearly anything else in the price range, except possibly Mitsubishi. I'm sick of these internal shorting issues and I'm going to go try the Mitsubishi. I thought I got a good deal, but now I have a 200lb. paperweight.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 42H80, Mitsubishi WS-A55

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jul 23, 2002]
Derick
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture, price, can handle a large center channel speaker,great stretch modes and its a Toshiba..... I hope, time will tell

Weakness:

locked 540P I'm not sure if this is a + or a -

I have owned the 50H81 for six months and would highly recommend it to anyone considering a rear projection unit...I've only had the set turn itself off while watching once and that was the first week I had it...the picture is probably the best in this price range..the Sony's are coming down in price but I still feel this is a better set. The only issue I've had with the set is that Toshiba's up conversion to 540p produced a worse picture when feed a 480p signal from a Panasonic progressive scan player than when I feed it a 480i signal...it seems that the DVD player does the up conversion and then the set does it again causing the picture to get worse through a double conversion...being not able to disable the 540p on the set I decided to return the DVD player and purchase a regular 480i model for half the money I think that the set is producing as good a signal from a 480i signal as I would get from a Progressive player anyway If my understanding of this is not correct could someone let me know how to improve the picture with a progressive player derick@nf.sympatico.ca It has not gotten a fair rating so I give it 5 all the way

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 13, 2002]
Jim Cunningham
Casual Listener

Strength:

Good picture. Very shallow cabinet.

Weakness:

Worst case of glare I have ever seen. You can't turn on a lamp in your viewing room. Unlees, of course, you like to look at lamps.

I ordered a Toshiba big screen TV (50H81) over the internet. Arrived promptly in a big box. No problems. And it sets up easily. But, basically I don't like the set. There is so much glare, that is, reflections from the screen that you have to watch it in pitch dark room. I've written Toshiba twice for help. In effect, they told me to get lost, and if I monkey with the shinny protective plastic which overlies the linticular screen, I'll void the warranty. Anybody out there have any advice? At this point, I don't care about the warranty. I'm shut down in the daytime.

Similar Products Used:

Older Misubishi projection set. Had no glare problem.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
2
[May 25, 2002]
David P
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Incredible picture. Terrific sound. Very competitive price.

Weakness:

Automatic off problem (an occasional annoyance only). Sometimes glare from the screen depending on placement in house and amount of light coming into the room.

I bought this TV, after shopping around and checking out other sets in the same category. I heard about the intermittend off/on problem, but when I saw the set at the store, I felt it was head and shoulders better than anything else in the same price category, so I bought it. Sure enough, I had the 'turns itself off' problem. But it's very occasional, has only happened a handful of times, and I can't remember the last time it did so. I saw no reason to replace unit, and am not sorry I bought it. This TV is terrific. Not only is the picture like a cinema, the sound is terrific as well. I decided not to bother using a sound system, because the built in speakers and surround sound are outstanding in their own right. I strongly recommend the Toshiba 50H81.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 25, 2002]
FrankI
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Vibrant colors hold convergance well

Weakness:

none that I am aware of

I have had this TV since Sept 01. I am very happy with it''s performance and have not had any issues in regards to reliability. The picture looks vary good on DVD ( I use a Toshiba SD-6200). With satellite (DISH) it has an acceptable picture but I believe that is due to the incoming signal as the DVD really shows what this unit is capable of. The screen glare is a problem with windows around so I keep them closed in the day and at night, or course there is no issue. I would recommend that any one looking for an RPTV consider this set along with comparable Mitsubishi units. Originally the picture seemed a bit soft but after using it an entering the service mode to do a 56 pt convergance it has shaped up really and I am very happy. My system Monitor Toshiba 50H81 Pre-amp Yamaha RXV-795a Amp Carver AV-705x DVD Toshiba SD-6200 Fronts Energy exls-26 Center Energy AC300 Rears Energy RVSS Sub Energy Exl-S12

Similar Products Used:

Older Hitachi 35"

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 04, 2002]
Neil
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

AMAZING PICTURE QUALITY AND CLARITY, PRICE, sound quality, feautres and inputs.

Weakness:

No PIP with HDTV signals(not sure if any TV does this) could use a more univerisal remote, analog signals could be slightly better

Excellent TV would most certainly purchase this again and recommed it to anyone looking for a HIGH QUALITY HDTV thats 16x9. I''m completely surprises that this TV does not cost more. I recieved a $500 discount on it with the FutureShop Scan and Save promotion. so I paid $2700 canadian plus taxes(orgianl price was $4000 and it was marked down to $3200, then I saved another $500) If this TV was a $4000 TV it would still be worth it.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic 47" 16x9 HDTV Sony 43" 4x3 HDTV RCA 52" 4x3 non-HDTV

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 23, 2002]
Dave V
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Seems like an Ok TV so far. Good DVD picture with component video.

Weakness:

DO NOT BUY From Video Only. They are liars (at least in Beaverton OR) and you can not return your purchase except for an in store credit. White bars on left and right in "Normal Mode" - Not so good picture with Sat.

The TV seems to work ok. DVD''s look really good but Sat. (DISH) doesn''t look great. Are there any settings some of you have found that work/look good? Is there a circuit that can be disabled to enhance the picture? When in "normal mode" the left and right bars are a white or light grey color. Is there any way to make those black like the letterboxes on DVD movies? So far my TV hasn''t turned off by it''s self.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
Showing 1-10 of 23  

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