Excellent Picture. Excellent Sound. Great array of inputs. VGA is missing however. Excellent Value. Great looking. Upgradeability.

Cannot save picture settings for each individual input source.

I bought this set about 3 weeks ago. I had been seriously considering the Sony KV36XBR250 but after doing some research and direct comparisons of the two sets I decided that the Toshiba was a much better value. Plus, in my opinion, it offered a better picture than the Sony with all inputs. Plus it is HDTV ready. It will do 480p and 1080i natively, however 1080i will not be displayed in full resolution. Even so, the picture should still kick *** with 1080i.

I'm not sure about the anamorphic squeeze. I have heard that you could enable this feature via the Service Mode menu but it could be simply conjecture. I went into the Menu the other day but didn't know what to do. There are a lot of settings that can be adjusted but given the fact that I'm not a technician I didn't want to risk messing something up. I'm not an expert on this but, given the Toshiba's much greater resolution when compared to the Sony, it doesn't seem that the anamorphic squeeze should be much of an issue.

I did not experience any of the out of the box problems that have been mentioned in previous posts.

I plan to have the set ISF calibrated. I have heard that, given the Toshiba's excellent color accuracy, a calibration should provide very positive results.

I would encourage anyone looking for a 36" direct view to add this set to their list of candidates.

Similar Products Used:

RCA MM36100.

Picture!!! HDTV compatible, Picture, Features, Picture,
Value!!! 480P / 1080i, Color Stream (when used with a Toshiba DVD), good sound, PICTURE.

No SVGA, can't change a wide screen DVD to a full 4:3
(their 63" can do this).

The day I went to my local Audio / Video Pro store to purchase a Sony 36XBR250 I noticed the Loewe. Well, I was ready to make the jump in price from $1,700 to $4,500 just
to get rid of the scan lines. I was sold.

However, I took a few days to ensure I was doing the right thing. Then I found a Hitachi and Loewe displayed next to each other (at another local A/V store). The Hitachi had LESS artifacting than the Loewe, brighter colors (That's an
Asian Vs. European thing. Europeans tend to like softer and more true flesh tone colors), and a $2,000 price delta
(Hitachi was about $2,500). Again, I was sold, but this time on the Hatachi.

I went back to my original A/V store to find out if they carried the Hitachi. [I've been researching/kicking tires
and talking (tying up his time) with one sales person for ssome time. He has always bee helpful and patient, so I owed him a shot at the sale]

They had just received a Toshiba CN36X81. WOW, BETTER picture yet!!! Less artifacting than both Loewe and Hitachi.

You correct, I purchased the Toshiba CN36X81 2.5 weeks ago.
We are very happy with it. No out of box issues. We have cable (going to HD Sat this spring). Even with cable, some
channels have some degree of 3D effect and VERY clear/sharp picture.


I've also purchased the Toshiba DVD 9100 (top of line).
Pricey, but very good pic with this TV.


DO NOT leave the Toshiba out of your decision process!!!

Oh yea, all this and one of the best prices!

Similar Products Used:

Loewe Art, Sony 36XBR250, Hitachi 36" (top of line digital TV)

PICTURE AND INPUTS MOVIES ON SAT AND DVD ARE THE BEST IVE SEEN

BAD SOURCE LOOKS WORSE SOME SAT CHANNELS LOOK BAD

HAD THE SET 3 WEEKS NOW. AT FIRST I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED WHEN I GOT IT ALL HOOKED UP AND FLIPPED THROUGH THE SATTILITE CHANNELS. I FOUND MOST NEWS AND TALK SHOWS SEEMED WASHED OUT. SOME POORER QUALITY MOVIES HAD A LOT OF ARTIFACTS. AFTER SPENDING $1575.00 (GOOD PRICE) THIS BOTHERED ME ALOT. THEN I STARTED ADJUSTING THE CONTRAST BRIGHTNESS, COLOR TEMP ETC AND HAVE NOW FOUND THOSE POOR QUALITY CHANNELS EXCEPTABLE AND THE GOOD ONES ARE BETTER YET. WHY THE DEFAULT CONTRAST IS SO HIGH BEATS ME. SO FAR I LOVE THE SET

Excellent picture and sound. Almost totally black and flat screen. Many inputs. Future upgradeability to HDTV. Low price.

Extremely heavy. Uncertain about whether or not it will handle 720p HDTV broadcast.

I bought this set after a lot of research and price shopping. For the price I paid, you really can't find a better quality TV with these features.
Unfortunately, there is only one retailer (Belmont TV) in the DC area who stocks the Toshiba Cinema series and they seem to feel the need to price-gouge their customers. I decided to look a little harder and found it in the Baltimore metro area at Bryn Mawr Stereo (they're owned by Tweeter). Their current price is $1599.97(!) and they are quickly running out of stock. Still, I didn't feel like making the drive up there just yet so I called Belmont TV back to see if they would match the price. A very rude sales manager bad-mouthed Bryn Mawr, stating that for the price I'd only get customer returns, refurbs, and store display models. In addition, he actually came UP on the price I was quoted just hours earlier by one of his own employees. Needless to say, I'll never bother to call them again - for anything.
I quickly called Bryn Mawr Stereo back, and to my pleasant surprise I was even able to have it shipped to me for $29.97(!) AND, because they don't have a store in DC, I avoided paying sales tax!
Yes, the TV arrived brand new, in an unopened box, with the full factory warranty. I just love my TV. Every time a visitor remarks about how wonderful the set is, I can't resist telling them the same story.

Similar Products Used:

Proscan 32"

Color, sharp picture, 2 HD component inputs

slight geometry problem

I received this set in exchange for a CN36H97 (moire problem) from Toshiba. Since I had read about the artifacts with the built in line doubler, I am using an external DVDO IScan line doubler. On satellite and dvd the picture is very good. It is difficult to compare how different the picture is compared with the internal doubler, but as far as I can tell it is brighter, color is better and no artifacts. The biggest difference in picture is with standard over the air broadcasts (no cable) It is the best NTSC picture I have ever seen. There are tons of inputs and by using the external doubler, I can now switch sources with the touch of a button through my receiver without having to change inputs on the TV (very nice!) I plan on getting the set calibrated someday, but for now I am very happy with the set. It should last a long time. I would recommend this set to anyone who is looking for a 36" direct view set and the HD ready is a bonus. One note: I understand that the moire pattern will appear on this set (like the CN36H97) if you do the anamorphic squeeze through the service menu. Personally, I think the squeeze is overrated and the picture is excellent without it.

Similar Products Used:

CN36H97

Color rendition, picture clarity/detail,and value

Still a trace of the "morray" problem

This set was issued to me by Toshiba as a replacement for a CN36H97 which was a replacment for a CN36G97 (both had great pictures but had morray lines so prevalent that they were barely watchable). I would like to respond to some of the other reviews of this product. Regarding the weight of this set, it is very heavy but how many people are going to be moving a 36inch TV that often to even make this an issue? Regarding its status as a true HD set, yes it has limitations as denoted by its HDTV ready status, but try and find another set on the market with this picture quality and features for well under $2000. With that said there still is a trace of the treaded morray problem found on recent FST tubes, but in my case it is not enough to complain about, and I wonder if I would even notice it if I had not been so acutely aware of this condition from my last 2 sets. All things considered this is a great set with a DSS or DVD source the picture can be outright stunning (I have yet to hook up an HD or progressive scan source to this set). I would highly recommend this set as its combination of picture quality and price point is unmatched in the 36-inch category.

Similar Products Used:

toshiba CN36G97, Toshiba CN36h97, Pioneer SD-P5193 projection.

Color

Everything else.

This TV is good for watching DVD's and broadcast quality TV. But even with the Toshiba SD-5109 progressive scan dvd player, the TV still shows a lot of aliasing. Picture geometry is bad enough to make you want a refund. In fact, this TV needed a major calibration right out of the box. I had two technicians look at this and they said it was normal. I know that it's differcult to get the convergence right on big tubes. And I would not have been bothered about geometry and convergence problems in the corners of the screen. But I decided to return this set because the screen had light red blotches over 60% of the screen. I went to the showrooms to see if it was just my set and it turned out to be typical for this set. It was annoying to watch auto racing with this $2000.00 set only to see the track, sky and even the cars change color as the camera panned to follow the action. Bye-bye CN36X81. Hello TN50X81. If you want to read my post about this RPTV, then go to that review section.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba TN50X81, TW40X81

great picture, great color,lots of inputs(2 component), line doubler, price

makes bad sources look really bad(crappy cable channels look bad)

I love this television! The picture looks absolutely amazing with component input from my pioneer dv414. Colors are deep and well saturated-toshiba makes a very nice color decoder. Checked it with my avia disc and it has very little red push. I'm going to have it isf calibrated to make it even better. Tons of inputs-almost as many as my reciever. More features than I have ever seen on a tv before. I was interested in the sony xbr250 because of the anamorphic squeeze but the picture on the toshiba is much better than the sony and I got it cheaper too. I got a great deal from local electronic/appliance store- got it for $2000 out the door with a 5 year warranty included(price on tv ended up being $1699) All in all I'm very happy with my purchase.

Similar Products Used:

went into store to purchase sony xbr250

Does anyone know how to perform the "anamorphic squeeze" from the service menu on this TV when viewing DVDs in enhanced 16:9 widescreen? When setting the DVD player (TOSH 6200) on progressive there is flicker evident when watching in 4:3 normal or letterbox, but the picture is practically flicker free in 16:9, albeit the screen in taller. I've read in previous reviews that you can perform a manual anamorphic compression from the service menu (as opposed to the auto-detect features of Sony and Pan) The progressive picture is so good on this set that it will be a shame to return it because of no anamorphic squeeze.

Line doubler(albeit not of high quality) HDTV ready

4:3 aspect ratio

I purchased this unit about 2 weeks ago from my local A/V superstore. I really love this set! With my progressive scan DVD player it is fantastic. I almost bought the Sony XBR250 but changed my mind when I saw the Toshiba. A friend of mine has the XBR250 so I am very famaliar with that set. The picture quality is really close between the sony and the toshiba, but I chose the toshiba due to it's HDTV ready option. My friend had reccomended that I try his Canare component video cables to see what kind of picture difference they would make on my set, well he let me borrow them and all I can say is WOW! I didn't think cables could make such a difference...Awesome picture! I didn't want to give them back to him. I ended up ordering them so I can have the best picture possible on my new toshiba. I got the cables from Custom Audio Video in texas. Their # is 830-625-6745 if anyone is interested. Anyway, I really love this TV!

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic superflat