Incredible Picture

Ease of Use - Picture modes
Availability

It took 3 months from the day I ordered this TV (I paid $1,895 for it)until I had it in my living room. It was definetly worth the wait. I bought it with the 5109 DVD player and run Monster Video 3 cables from the progressive scan outputs. I've now watched 25 DVDs and the picture quality is great.
It does takes some work to get it set up right. I had to adjust the convergence in the 64 point service mode and with the help of several people, I made numerous adjustments to color, contrast, etc. in the designer mode so that I don't have to change the user modes adjustments every time I switch between cable and DVDs. They are very different.
Speaking of cable, my local Time-Warner is acceptable on most channels and looks good on the TV, but a few stations(WB's broadcasts of NY Mets games especially) look terrible. A bad source makes a very bad line doubled image.
But DVDs do look great. Much better than even on the 27" Sony triniton I replaced. No scan lines and virtually no movement artifacts. Colors jump out at you and the picture quality is better than that in a movie house where the film has been shown (and degraded) several times. There are no local ISF dealers/techs in my area but I understand that they can really improve the picture further.
The other minor problems that I have noticed are as follows: 4:3 DVDs are distorted from the progressive scan inputs because there is no overscan. I get around this by using an S-video connection from the DVD player for this type of movie (few DVDs are produced this way). There is light hallo viewable on a fully black screen (such as VE pluge test. It is mildly destracting but is really only visible when the entire screen is black.
For its price, this is a great set and I am really glad I bought it. Two great reviews of it are available. The SGHT March/April 2000 issue has a thourogh review by Thomas J. Norton and Stacey Spears revies it online at
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_1/toshiba-tw40x81-dtv-3-2000.html
the Sectrets to Home Theater Web Site.

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Mits, Sony

QUALITY SET,CAN SET THE CONVERGENCE IN MINUTES,FACTORY PRESETS ARE ALL MAXIMUM SETTINGS, BUT EASY TO ADJUST, REMOTE IS TOP NOTCH, BUILT IN LINE DOUBLER WORKS WELL
PICTURE RIVALS MY RUNCO FOR 10% OF THE $$$..FOOTPRINT IS SMALL ENOUGH FOR CUSTOM INSTALLATIONS, 2 PEOPLE CAN MOVE IT EASILY

NO WHEELS, OPTIONAL STAND VERY EXPENSIVE($300).
INPUT SELECTION IS UNI-DIRECTIONAL

PICTURE QUALITY IS GREAT ON HDTV(AS IT SHOULD BE FOR THE $$)
BUT THE REAL BEAUTY OF THIS SET IS HOW IT HANDLES DVD,SATELLITE, AND OFF AIR SIGNAL...
I BOUGHT THE MITSUBISHI 46 AND THIS TOSHIBA FOR SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON///THE MITSUBISHI WAS PUT TO SHAME IN 2 WAYS.
THE LINE DOUBLER/SCALER IS RIGHT UP THERE WITH PIONEER'S
THE SET LACKS MITSUBISHI'S "OVERBLUE" EFFECT CAUSED BY DESIGN (THEY USE A LARGER BLUE CRT TO MAKE IT LOOK BETTER
ON STORE DISPLAY , WHICH NO AMOUNT OF ADJUSTMENT CAN COMPENSATE FOR)..

Small size, good for an apartment, incredible DVD picture

makes my cable service look like crap (cable's fault), takes a long time to shift between input modes on remote (video-colorstream-Antenna 1, etc.), there's a reset button on remote that defaults to factory picture settings - very annoying if you set up the TV using Avia and then your friend hits reset...ouch

Bought this TV after reading over the reviews here. This is my first hi-end TV purchase and I'm very impressed. The colorstream input is fantastic for my DVD (JVC XK701-BK) and the picture is amazing.

The size is great for an apartment as the TV is not that deep (Only about 20 inches allowing for cable connections at the back). The shallow top would present problems for resting a center speaker, but I'm using the TV speakers as the center channel. Haven't tried raising the TV up a few inches as some have described here, seems fine to me.

Low point is that the picture quality is so good, my cable service looks very fuzzy. Have to call my cable compnay and have that fixed.

Overall a great TV. Got it at Uncle's Stereo in NYC for $2299 plus tax delivered for free. Told I was the last one to be able to get this model until mid-January, they were selling out before they even got to the store...

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None

40" Widescreen, HDTV Ready, 2 sets of Component Inputs, Compact Size

Hard to place a medium to large size center on top. Could be a few inches taller.

I have had this thing for a couple of days now and I have to say that it is one hell of a TV. I have wanted a widescren TV for some time and was always tempted by this model's predecessor (TW40H80) but the though of spending all of that money on a Non-HDTV ready TV always kept me a bay. Then Toshiba releases this new and improved model and I finally gave in.

It wasn’t easy getting a hold of one of these either. Everybody either hadn’t gotten them in yet or had sold out in preorders. I actually went through 3 different orders (Onecall, Consumer-direct, and a local place) before I managed to get one from Uncles Stereo in NYC. I spoke to Mike there, who seems to be the man to talk to when it comes to big screens. He was pretty upfront with me and his price was good. I know uncles has gotten some bad reviews form people who thought they were rude but what do you expect from a bunch of guys in the middle of Manhattan, I am use to it.

Anyway, the TV itself is incredible. It is amazing how far rear projections have come. The picture is clear and bright and has a decent viewing angle. And you have not watched a DVD until you have seen it on a widescreen TV. I suppose it can be argued that a large 4:3 tv (like a 56” or something) has the same size picture when playing a movie in letterbox but, still, it just does not seem the same. Also, the TV comes with a load of different display setting for watching different size movies (ie. Pan and scan, letterbox, anamorphic). I was especially happy to see that they put an option in to watch an anamorphic movie being transmiitted thru a NTSC signal (ie. Cable broadcasts). Another neat feature is the Picture-Out-Picture which splits the screen in half to display two same-size windows when you want to surf the channels (as opposed to PIP).

As far as size, it is ideal if you have a relatively small room. It is only 18 inches deep and weighs 170 lbs, not bad for something like this. Putting a good size center on top is somewhat of a balancing act since you only have about 5 inches to work with. The biggest problem is that it is somewhat short (it comes with its own console). I went to Home Depot and picked up some 2x4’s, decorative wood, deck screws, and a can of flat black spay paint for about 25 bucks and made a nice riser for it. It actually looks really good and the extra 6” made all of the difference. Toshiba sells its own riser for it but I am sure they want an arm and a leg for it.

Right now The TW40X81 is probably the cheapest TV in its class (guess that’s why they are so hard to get a hold of). In a year or so I will probably pick up a HDTV decoder. When progressive scan DVD’s get cheap, I will have to get one of those to. Heh, this TV’s ability to run those two goodies makes its price almost bearable.

16:9 display ratio/Picture/Screen settings/Overall quality/compact footprint

SLOOOWWW Tuner/No room on top for a center channel/Must really buy or construct a stand to position set to resonable viewing height/possible long wait for product

I paid $2500 tax included, and got the set with the matching stand off the showroom floor. The larger 46 inch Mitsubishi was in the similar price range, but the picture quality wasn't even in the same ball park as the Toshiba. The Pioneer offered slightly better performance, but only with a much larger set that cost about $1000 to $1500 more. I wanted a 16:9 display and this was BY FAR, the best quality at the best price.
The 40 inch size turned out to be perfect for my apartment. The set takes up a relatively small footprint. I was disaapointed at the lack of space on the set's top for a center channel. I ended up drilling a bracket in the walls and building a small shelf above the TV for my fairly large Paradigm CC-350 center channel. I'm glad I was offered a deal on the matching stand. The set now stands at the perfect height, and blends in perfectly with the stand - which by the way is only large enough to hold a VCR or other similar sized component. The TV by itself really needs to sit at least another 7 inchers higher, which would require the purchase of the stand or the construction a similar stand.
The picture on DVD is incredible. I'm using Monster Cable Component Video out from my Onkyo DVD by the way. Standard cable leaves much to be desired, as with any rear projection set. But after I switched to digital cable everything is great! VCR picture is OK. It really depends on the source, but with a good source this TV screams!!!! No complaints here. You can tweak the color pretty well. The set even has an 3 way adjustable tube temperature.
The sound is fairly good. At times the bass compresses and causes the grills to buzz. But for most people, and most viewing, the built in speakers are OK. Not the best in the world, but OK. Besides, with a TV like this won' you be using Dolby Digital or at least Pro logic through some high quality speakers anyway?!?!?
Build quality seems to be fine. I wish the set was in black though instead of grey. I have no problems with the way it looks but my sister thinks its ugly.
Those of you worrying about the 16:9 display - don't. I always use theater wide mode - even on cable. You only notice the distortion every great now and then - and after a while regular 4:3 screens look funny! But if you desire, the TV has a 4:3 display that will use grey bars at the side for regular sources. Thumbs up on the grey bars that save wear and tear on the tubes!
I have had no problems whatsoever with this set. What a great deal! Good luck ever finding a new 16:9 set that will even touch this one for the money. Believe me I tried. If you want anymore be prepared to dish out at least $4000.
Oh...and the thing that really sucks about this set is the SLOW tuner. I swear I could almost get up and grab a sandwich by the time the tuner locks into a channel. This is very annoying to someone who loves flipping fast through the channels. And with over 400 of them, I have a lot of down time.
But the remote is fine. Noi problems there either. All remotes suck in some form or another, so don't expect perfection. But most, if not all the functions, are controlable.
The reason i bought the showroom floor model is because I kept hearing from others about the long wait for these sets. I didn't want to wait a month or two, and this was the only set they had. So if you don't mind the wait - go for it.

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Auditioned similar Mitsubishi and Pioneer products as well as some Sony 4:3 big screens

Screen Size, 16:9 is great!

The high cost and need of ISF Calibration

Excellent product. I was so excited to get this RPT and waited about 3 months before it came. It was backordered from a dot com for 3 months and finally broke down and bought it at Best Buy for about $400 dollars more but then signed up for their 3 year contract with MSN so I got it for the same price anyway. I really like the picture, especially after I turned the sharpness down to 0. This is an awesome set and I'm excited to see it when I get an hdtv tuner and have it ISF calibrated. Screen size is perfect for my small living room where I sit about 10 feet away from the screen.

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First RPT Widescreen

Great value. Cheapest HD ready monitor. Great DVD
display.

Slow tuner. Black levels wash out sometimes.
Out-of-box geometry, convergence and colour was poor.

First off, I thoroughly enjoy this TV. This is the
best value in it's price range for an HD capable TV.
That being said, I'm disappointed that I can either
rate this product a perfect five, or a much lower,
four. I think this product is fantastic. But, I don't
think it's perfect. That being said, I gave this TV a rating of four because there's no other way for me to say it's great, but not perfect. That's a compromise I'm not happy with.

Let's start with the gripes. I used to have a 27"
toshiba, of which I've since forgotten the model
number. It was from an entry level line, so I didn't
expect much. I noticed that the tuner was slow to lock
into a channel. Also, the color had a reddish tint in
everything that could not be eliminated by the user
controls. But the biggest failure was the rendition of
blacks. Black levels would vary from really black to
brightly washed out, depending on the level of light
in the rest of the picture. It was very distracting.
This is not from the picture source. I replaced it
with a Sony KV32S40 and watched DVDs where I noticed
this problem on the Toshiba and the problem never
appeared.

Well, these problems are also evident on the TW40X81,
and all Toshiba sets I imagine. The tuner is painfully
slow. There's way too much red in everything. Whites
look like dirty rust and the black level is suspect.

For those who have written to tell us to relax on the
tuner issue. Let me respond by saying it's quite sad
that Toshiba has decided to put, essentially, the same
tuner from a $500 TV into their elite TW series. Yeah,
I'm unapologetic that I like to channel surf and the
difference of a second, between channel changes, adds
up to a minute over 60 channels. If even the cheapest
TV companies can put a fast tuner into their TV's, why
can't Toshiba on their big ticket sets.

On the redness issue, I'm just too cheap to get the
set ISF calibrated. So I went to
www.keohi.com/keohihdtv and got all kinds of tips to
tweak the TV in service and designer mode. This stuff
is not for the faint of heart. But quite frankly, if
you record all the factory default settings (and there
are hundreds of them), you really can't screw up. Now
mind you, I didn't have the benefit of cool stuff like
colour anaylyzers, that an ISF techie would have. But
my eye is pretty good. And if my eyes can't tell the
difference, well then, what's the point? I dropped the
colour temperature and turned down the red gun. The
result was true colour renditioning with clean, clear
whites that looked white, not blue or red.

The convergence was pretty poor even after I let the
TV warm up. Convergence was especially bad in the
corners. Of course that's undestandable on a TV with a
small depth cabinet. The nine point user convergence
is a waste of time and will only distort your
geometry. The service convergence is the only way to
go. The out-of-the-box geometry was dismal. There
wasn't a straight line on the screen, horizontal or
vertical. I turned of the red and blue gun and
adjusted the green lines of the test pattern using a
ruler (since I didn't have the benefit of Toshiba
service gels over my screen). I didn't trust my eyes
on this one because the screen isn't completely flat.
It's concaved, especially on the horizontal axis, much
like the new theatre screens at Silvercities or
Closseums (I don't know which theatre chain has this
in the US). So horizontal lines at the bottom and top
will look curved if you're eyes' line-of-site is
perpendicular to the screen. Then I adjusted the red
and blue guns according to the green one. I did this
on all five picture modes, as they all have their own
convergence settings. The results were stellar. Mind
you, on a TV with such a shallow depth, convergence
will never be perfect in the corners. But mine came
pretty close. I also noted that although the
instruction manual says it takes 30 minutes for the
tubes to warm up and converge, it actually takes more
like two hours. If you don't believe me, set the
convergence (user or service) after having it on for
thirty minutes. Then check it again 90 minutes later.

As for the black level problem, it's not as bad as on
my old Toshiba. But it's there. If you don't believe
me, use the POP and change channels on the picture on
the right. You'll see the left picture change it's
brighness level. You'll see this problem on any dark
scene where there is a rapid change in brightness,
like a door opening suddenly. Now I've done some
reading on this. Apparently this can be the result of
a weak power supply, that can't draw enough power to
render changes in brightness, which is common on
cheaper sets. I really hope this is not the case here.
I'm hoping it's some bonehead proprietary enhancement
like 'flesh tone correction' (don't even get me
started on that). If this can be fixed in the service
settings, somone, please let me know.

I also turned the sharpness level to zero. High
sharpness only adds picture artifacts and ringing on
edges. To compensate, I turned of the scan velocity
modulation (this is another boneheaded enhencement
that seems to be on every television, but is utterly
useless). TV manufacturers should really make this a
user option. The result was a clean and sharp image
virtually free of artifacts. I'm quite impressed.

So after some calibration I got an almost perfect picture. This is especially amazing given the price point. The only lingering complaint I have is the black level problem. But it's not as bad as my cheaper Toshiba.

For those of you who have complained that the picture was intolerably soft and noisy except for DVDs. That's because, when watching cable, you're blowing up a pretty crappy, low res, and noisy source. You won't see this on a smaller TV that has only 480i lines. If you see tiles or pixelation off your satellite, you can be almost certain it's the digital satellite reception. The reason you don't get this with your DVD's is because it's a much cleaner source (but not perfect). Don't blame the set.

As for the centre channel. I solved it the same way I did for my Sony (which has a curvature on both dimensions of the surface). I put industrial strength velcro adhesives on each end of the speaker near the front and placed it on the TV. It works quite well. My speaker doesn't have to hang over the front, which I find unsightly. But it can hang over the back without fear of falling. By using velcro patches, I get the benefit of being able to remove my centre speaker when the need arises.

Film-like DVD presentation, progressive inputs

one of the cheapest builds i've ever seen; power supply died in 7 days - DSS/Cable signals look HORRID -

I have a very similar review to Steve's - bought this set from a Best Buy for a great price after waiting all year to find one. I had heard this thing wasn't calibrated well out of the box, but i wasnt expecting just how bad it was going to initially look, especially with DSS. The line doubler in this thing just tears DSS apart into a blocky mess. even after some AVIA calibrations, the focus could never get right, and the overall convergence and geometry shifted wildly. But still, after I popped in an anamoprhic DVD (not even progressive scan), it looked pretty great. Even with the focus slightly off and an image tilt I started noticing, the overall film-like quality of DVD's looked really really good on this set.

Although unfortunately, another problem became very noticeable in darker scenes : a banding effect with a vertical "smear" that ran down the screen in a fixed location. Hmmm...still, the projected image of anamorphic DVD's looked surprisingly film-like and seeing the image as big as it was on the 40" sceen was pleasing to the eye.

And that's about the only good thing I can say about it.

I would have been willing to shell out some $ for an ISF to get the focus/color/tilt/convergence to an acceptable level (which it was nowhere near), but I won't have that chance. In the middle of Sleepy Hollow last night (which was looking great despite some blurriness from the lack of focus), the TV flickered off, and it's power supply totally died. after a year of waiting to finally afford/find this TV, it peters out in seven days. There was no power surge, no overuse, but the TV just gave out. That's Toshiba reliability for you; the flimsy cabinet and build really WERE indicative of the quality of the insides of this set. Took it back for a refund.

DVD on component video is breathtaking

slow switching between inputs

This is a follow up to my previous review, below. I mentioned I was using S-video on my DVD player, and it was great. I couldn't picture component being any better.

I was wrong. I purchased a Toshiba SD-3205 DVD Changer with component out. I was blown away. Colors are much richer, and fine details really stand out. To me there was a HUGE difference. If you purchase this set, make sure you have plans to eventually get a DVD w/component... you won't regret it.

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Awesome picture....Does anybody know how the picture would look with digital cable as opporsed to analog cable? Time Warner Cable is hooking up an HDTV converter box which offers HD programming on some programs on Showtime and HBO, no other channels. However, the other movie channels as well as many others, not the local, are atleast digital. Anybody know about the cable reception in these cases?

Great TV for the price

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