sent the stupid thing back after a couple of months, Toshiba rep could not sort out the horizontal distortion, told me I'd have to accept it.. I told him I didn't.

Great rsolution, excellent color decoder, and great contrast. The combo of the 36x81 TV and the Toshiba 5109 DVD player is totally awesome.

Only a fair picture with VCRs

I just replaced my 5yr old CN35D90 Toshiba with the CN36x81 and what a major improvement on over the air signals and DVD picture. No scan lines, great color decoder and excellent contrast and blacks.
The only problem is that I tried a couple of VCRs and all my tapes and I get a slight wavy effect just above the middle of the screen that is more noticable during the end credits. The picture using a VCR is also a little washed out . The second VCR I tried is a brand new s-vhs player that improved the picture but it's still got a couple of wavy lines. I tried all the inputs. The wavy effect does not happen with DVDs or over the air signals(antenna).
Im still going to keep the TV and give it 4 stars(Im taking away a star for poor VCR performance). After all I bought this TV to get the best DVD picture and thats what I got.

PICTURE QUALITY!!

Awesome picture & great value.

I spent a long time deciding between the wega xbr and this tv.
I have had it since July, and I love it!

I was turned on by the Wega's flat screen (no glare), but the picture is simply better on the toshiba.

i'm pleased as punch with mine, and I think i got a great deal.

good luck to all!

Similar Products Used:

wega 36xbr250

Beautiful blues and greens.

Somewhat washed out whites.

The internal line doubler isn't perfect as the picture tends to be light and unfocused. But a little play with the controls brought out the beautiful blues that were missing from my 27" JVC. The DVDO cleaned everything up and even the VCR looks good. DirecTV and DVD are jaw-dropping good. Love this set with a caveat - requires a decent line doubler. (I understand Cyclone makes a good unit for around $100).

Similar Products Used:

DVDO iScan, Pioneer DVD

Great picture, reasonable price

Slow changing between inputs

As a follow-up to my previous review, I now have HDTV. Despite this model's lack of total HDTV compatibilty, I am very happy with the picture. The HDTV original programming is especially jaw-dropping, not just because of the clarity but the colors themselves are beyond what I expected. Vibrant is too tame a word. Movies on the other hand are adequate, better than NTSC certainly, but a disappointment. My Direct TV HDTV signal is only 70 so it is not ideal. The installer said that when HDTV gets more popular, Direct TV will increase the power of its signal.

Contrast, color, and component inputs.

Geometry, input selector.

I bought this beastie 3 months ago from a local retailer. They delivered it and set it up on the stand, so I didn't have to deal with lifting it (thank goodness). After letting it warm up and break in, I did the VE calibration on it and found the geometry to be REALLY off. I've considered sending it back for warranty repair it's so bad. The only thing stopping me is that I'm afraid to lift it and my car certainly does not have room to take it back. Lines along R+L edges of the screen are bowed outward, and the stock ticker on CNBC is bowed inward, instead of being straight. Apart from the geometry problem, the picture looks great. Contrast and color are excellent, with blacks being black, and whites being much brighter than I've seen before - all right next to each other.

The input selector is another beef, taking several button presses to switch between different inputs. I would have preferred a scrolling menu to having to hit the input selector 4 times. Apart from that, I like the way it's set up.

Any input on what I can do to have my geometry problem resolved would be greatly appreciated - I'm guessing that a professional setup would not be able to fix it. Am I right?

Without the geometry problem, I'd give it 4.5 stars. As is, no more than 3.

Similar Products Used:

None purchased, also looked at WEGA XBR.

high resolution, excellent colors, fun PIP gizmos, line doubler, progressive scan capable inputs

where are the SVGA inputs?

This TV was offered as a replacement for a defective model (CN36H97). I was skeptical at first, but decided why not. Although it is almost exactly the same TV as my defective one, it did not show any signs of having the same problem (moire). Since my other TV was great except that problem, I got that back, and more. This television is great. You may expect so for $1600 or more, but I think the real issue people want to know is, is it better than the Wega? I'm not sure they should even be compared. The CN36X81 is not in the same class, its in the next one up, yet it costs the same. Without the line doubler and HDTV readiness (ability to take in signals at double the frequency, like your computer monitor)this tube would be on par with the Wega in its own right. The tube is nearly flat, and in the dark can you tell? But what makes this TV a class up are those special features. If you've not seen a line doubled image, you won't know what I'm talking about. The line doubler in this set is adequate and does fine for normal TV watching. But the really nice feature is that your not stuck with that line doubler. If you are picky, go buy a better one and pipe it into the compatible inputs. Nice DVD players are starting to generate their own line doubled signals as well, which are reported to be great. All of these things cannot be done on a Wega. You do not get a line doubler, you cannot hook one up, and you can't use progressive scan DVD players. On top of all of that it will display a 1080i signal of HDTV. I've read numerous arguments on the technology. 1080i is a scan rate, not a resolution rating. Yes this TV will show HDTV in all its high resolution glory, just not in the 16x9 shape, unless you letterbox it. Since HDTV is not here yet, I'm not worried about what shape it will come in. I wanted a direct view TV, as did my wife. They are brighter, more accurate, and look better as pieces of furniture (not necessarily my point). I will be suprised if the industry really decides HDTV will be broadcast as the widescreen only format, as millions of people will still hold on to their conventional sets (4:3) to defy industry wishes to buy new ones. If every jo blow with a converter is forced to watched squashed images on their normal sets there will be fire and brimstone.
If you want to spend this much on a TV, get this one, not the Wega. If you want an HDTV ready TV, get this one, its the cheapest going. If you want to spend $3000, get a widescreen variety. If you want a normal TV, spend $800 on a good Toshiba or nonWega Sony.

Similar Products Used:

Tosh CN36H97

makes a good paperweight or anchor

picture quality, geometry, no aspect ratio control, not a true HiDef product.

Don't buy it. If you've got one, trade it.

This set sucks at both analog and digital, making it PERFECTLY USELESS. Analog is upconverted to 480p, causing brights to wash out, extremely poor shadow detail, and flesh tones to look pasty. And this is on satellite, cable, and DVD as well (though to a lesser extent). The picture is simply not nearly as sharp and detailed as it should be.

Digital resolution is reduced on a 16x9 letterbox by 30%, which is PERFECTLY UNACCEPTABLE. 1080i becomes 880i on widescreen programming, but the set's poor focus would probably not resolve even 880i. Without Tosh's external decoder, digital images look distorted: thinner than normal.

This is a cheaply-built product, hence its relatively reasonable price. Toshiba should be ashamed. I tried for hours each day to dial in this set via the service menu and the VE disc to no avail.

Get the Wega: PHENOMENOL SET!! Better yet, wait for the XBR400s to arrive.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Wega 32XBR250

HDTV-ready, no scan line, DVD via compoent inputs is breath taking. Cable looks bettter, not worst like the Sony XBR400.

not true flat screen like Sony VVEGA, geometry, out of convergence, slightly red tint on the lower
right hand side of the screen right out of the box. But all these can be fixed in the service mode, a phone call to a toshiba authorized service center.

Yes, this TV does need a full calibration right out of the box. But once its calibrated, and all the geometry settings which can be fixed using the service mode. Convergence and color purity can also be fixed, but you will have to open up the back, and a quick call to your local Toshiba authorized service center can fix that for you. Dont let anyone tell you that you cant change the convergence on a tube TV, I am not sure about other tube TVs, but this one you can definitely adjust it and make it perfect.
I am a very critical viewer, I watch 50% cable and 50% DVD. This set makes my cable viewing much
more enjoyable, it does not make the cable analog picture fuzzier like other people have complained about the new sony XBR400. I am sure the Sony is just as good or maybe better, but the 32" XBR400 is about 250$ more than my cn36x81, and you get a smaller picture, and the 36" XBR400 is around 2200$, this set is a no brainer.

Similar Products Used:

many other non hdtv-ready tubes and rptv.

HDTV-ready, line doubler, two color stream pro inputs

Geometry, slow tuner switching

When selecting a TV I had a few requirements, it had to be less than 38 inches wide and a 36 inch diagonal direct-view TV. I looked at the sony wega but was limitted to only the 36FSxx model. I couldn't consider the XBR400 because the speakers are located on the sides so the width was greater than 38 inches. When I compared the CN36X81 next to the sony 36FS16 there was no comparison, the Toshiba blew it away.

I studied this web site and read all the pros and cons so when I purchased the set there would be no surprises. When I powered on the set I did notice the geometry off (L+R sides bowed outward and the bottom corners bowed upwards). I had purchased the service manual so I was ready to attack the problem. One thing I did notice is that ALL the sets are set to a factory default which would explain why the color and geometry can vary from set to set. I was able to improve the geometry but it is not perfect. I didn't want to open the TV and try any adjustments so I will leave that to the service specialist (if I ever decide to have it done).

The color was also off. I notice a pink when it should have been black. I followed the procedure in the service manual and was able to obtain the black level (reduced the RCUT and BCUT value). The white was off slightly which required a few clicks of GDRV and BDRV. I am now happy with the picture quality of this set. The geometry is not perfect yet but I can live with it.

As far as the slow channel changing, I work around that problem by using the PIP to scan then swap the image (I can live with that work-around).

I also saw a slight moire but only on curtain channels but it is caused by the signal I get from cable. I see the same problem on my mitsubishi TV. The same signal through the VCR and the TV on channel 3 the problem goes away. Sound like a cable impedance problem to me.

For me the set is a keeper...