BIG SCREEN. Good resolution of DVDs with the internal line doubler. Active user community on www.digitaltheater.com, lots of advice is available about tweaking picture quality.

The weaknesses are common to all 16:9 Big RPTVs: 1) convergence is sensitive issue, requiring careful calibration; 2) viewing 4:3 shows is wierd because you have to either put up with grey bars or crop top/bottom; 3) switching is a bit slow, and you have to cycle through 5 video modes rather than directly accessing your mode

The Toshiba TW65H80 is deservedly a legendary unit.

On these big RPTVs you really appreciate the difference between a great anamorphic, high quality transfer DVD compared to a run-of-the-mill DVD. But the Toshiba is capable of pulling out all the quality that a DVD can offer...the limiting factor is NOT the Toshiba, but with the source! I don't yet have HDTV, but man, we NEED more good HDTV programming and anamorphic DVDs now that we can really appreciate the high quality image.

Operation of the Toshiba is pretty straightforward and I've really enjoyed the unit. Like many others who discuss this unit on the internet, I got mine for $3800-ish plus $250 shipping from OneCall.com back in August 1999. I have no regrets because i think that the image I see is as good as just about anything else in the new Toshiba line. I say this because if there is improved image quality, I don't have HDTV programming to exploit it. And I don't believe DVDs can look better than I see them.

TOSHIBA 65H80 65-Inch WideScreen-HD Ready Projection TV

The Flagship of Toshiba's HDTV Lineup! The All-New 65H80 HDTV Ready 65-inch Widescreen television is the ultimate way to spend the evening at the movies - right in your own living room! Imagine watching the big game on this incredible television. Now there's no reason to wait - bring High Definition Television home Today!

The Toshiba 65H80 includes all the Toshiba Standard TheaterWide® HD Projection Television Features Plus:

VIDEO

1600 Lines Horizontal Resolution
PowerFocusTM HD 6-Lens System
Multilinear Digital Touch Focus
All Toshiba TheaterWide® HD Televisions come equipped with the following standard features: VIDEO
16:9 Aspect Ratio
IDSCTM (Intelligent Digital Scan Conversion)
New Vector Progressive Scanning
New Advanced Video Noise Reduction
TheaterWider Mode
PowerFocusTM HD (Improved) CRTs
TheaterBrightTM HD Screen with SLD
Built-in High-Contrast TheaterShieldTM Plus
Red & Green Color Lens Filters
First Surface Mirror
Wide 160-Degree Horizontal Viewing Angle
3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter
Vertical Contour Correction
Advanced Velocity Scan Modulation
Dynamic Quadruple Focus
Fine White & Black Level Expander
Color Temperature Control (Warm/Medium/Cool)
Wide-Band Video Amplifier
Flesh Tone Correction & Color Detail Enhancer
AUDIO
MTS Stereo/SAP with dbxr
SRS Surround Sound
Dual-Cone Speaker System
Sub Bass System (SBS)
28 Watts Audio (Total)
CONVENIENCE
Newly Designed Back-lit A/V Universal Remote Control
MultiWindow Dual-Tuner Picture-In-Picture (PIP)
Favorite Channel
New Trilingual On-Screen Display
2 Rear A/V Inputs
2 Rear S-Video Inputs
Dual ColorStreamr HD Component Video Inputs
2 RF Inputs
Front Panel A/V Inputs
Front S-Video Inputs
Center Channel Audio Input
A/V Outputs
Variable Audio Outputs


Get it for only: $3899.95 **NEW**

The picture is as good as the source. DVDs put on a great
show on this set, as do live sports on satellite. The built in
line doubler is incredible in a set for this price range. Paid
about $4000 delivered from onecall.com. The guys at one
call are easy to work with and the prices are the best I've
seen!

If you want lights on in the room, you will get some reflections off the screen.

An outstanding value. If you have the room in your
house you will be happy.

Similar Products Used:

Hitachi Ultravision / Mitsubishi 65903 / Sharp Z-99

Amazing Picture, Progressive Inputs, Internal Line Doubler.

Lack of Toshiba Certified techs who know what they're doing.

I picked up my TW65H80 for about $4,300. Anyone who has seen this TV knows that there was no better deal around March of 1999. I hear other are getting it even cheaper now. Out of the box and after adjustment it looks great. Line Doubled TVs had been out for about a year at this point and I just knew I would be dissapointed if I didn't fork out the extra $1000 to get one. To my suprise this TV reviewed great: TW65G80 in Home Theater Mag got like a 99 Overall which I've never seen for a TV. The H model simply adds progressive inputs. I don't use the built in speakers so I can't review those, but visually the TV is excellent, and I actually appreciate the different birghtness output on the Color Stream Input, because I watch a lot of Fox and it's a bit dark, so I can adjust my DVDs perfectly then watch TV with slightly pumped up birghtness. I would still recommend this product to anyone, who wants one of the best RPTVs at one of the best prices.

Similar Products Used:

Mits,Pioneer.

They have it stickered at $3198 and the 61HX80 (4:3) TV is $1998. But they were willing to drop the price of the 65H80 to $2650 including delivery.

Picture: Beautiful before calibration - awesome after calibration, Progessive inputs,

Input selection - you must go through all the inputs to get back to the beginning, no direct access (no big deal)

I was able to get this set when the new models where coming through the door. I recommend that stategy to everyone when purchasing anything. When I unboxed this set I had to wonder what I was thinking about to have ordered a 65 inch TV. The picture size was overwhelming for about a week. Then I settled in and now I can't imagine looking at a smaller set. My viewing distance is 11 feet which really brings home the theater experience.

The consumer 9-point convergence produced a great picture until I went into Service Mode and did the (what is it 64-point) convergence. After that, the only word for the picture is awesome.

I recently purchased a Panasonic RP56 progressive scan DVD player which took the set up another notch. Bam! This set is out of this world.

I use Rotel components and speakers by Vandersteen; C1's for front and rear, VCC for center and a 2W subwoofer. All all comes together to deliver a true home theater experience.

Great color & clarity, nice remote, great menu selection

Input switching

The best I could find, compared many tvs & always came back to Toshiba. Mits was 2nd. Toshiba just had better clarity & color. Worth every cent. Dvds come to life, & even when using it with a dish, picture is near perfect. Input selection took some time to get down, as I see others have complained about. I simply hit the number I want to select quickly,,example input button then 1 for tv.

Similar Products Used:

hitach

Super sharp picture, vivid colors, intuitive operation, good sound, colorstream HD progressive inputs gives earth shattering clarity!!!

a slightly reflective screen (no biggie!)

I've been using this TV now for about 10 months and have loved every single minute. Owning this has been the ultimate pleasure and I truly do not regret spending the $3800 I paid at that time in Dec 2000 (you can get it quite a bit cheaper now...imagine that :-)

My other equipment is:

Toshiba SD9200 - A true gem of a DVD player
B&W 604S2, CC6, ASW1000 and DS6 speakers
DENON AVR4800THX reciever

I am using a Monster Z300V video reference component cable to connect the Colorstream HD Progressive connection between the SD9200 and the 65H80.

The picture is almost like a window into reality! Combine this with a great unit like the AVR4800 and B&W speakers to match and you have A/V heaven :-)

My cable feed is fairly clear and the 4:3 -> 16:9 resizing/chopping off does not bother me, I've become used to it!

I am very excitedly waiting for HDTV..I quite frequently see the "Simulcast in HDTV" message on some of the programs now so we're getting there :) I'm just waiting for the issues on the copyright/encryption fiasco to be sorted out and a standard finalized and also the price of the tuner to drop just a little bit more :))

One word of caution: The unit is very very heavy (413 lbs.), be prepared to deal with a very challenging task if you're going to get this baby into your house yourself...I would strongly recommend professionals if you have no experience in this area.

I whole heartedly recommend this unit. It is a beauty and its a bit less than the Mitsu, Pioneer and Sony units.

Similar Products Used:

Seen Mits, Pioneer, Sony

AWESOME

NONE

I have now owned this for 3 months. The picture on Anamorphic DVD is TOTALLY AWESOME. I just hooked the Toshiba
SD 6200 Progressive Scan DVD player to it a week ago. I could not believe the visible difference that it made. One heck of a combination. This is the new 65H80.

Similar Products Used:

Various rear projection televisions from Phillips, RCA.

Viewing Wide Screen DVDs (especially anamorphic transfers)

Some 4x3 television shows

The TW65H80 is an incredible value. I have had mine for about 7 months now, and I was upset at first when Toshbia announced the new line of 65" High-def ready sets. After comparing mine to the newer ones though, I believe I got a real steal. This set can be had for right around 4000 delivered and is worth every penny. The internal line doubler even does a fine job on normal cable television. Great for football too. I am awaiting my 5109 progressive DVD player to see just how good DVDs can look on the set. I highly recommend this television.

Similar Products Used:

None