57H81 ANOTHER WINNER FROM TOSHIBA
Written: Nov 04 '01 (Updated Dec 14 '01)
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Pros: Widescreen aspect ratio, picture preference memory for each input, outstanding picture quality.
Cons: At this price point there are really none to speak of
The Bottom Line: See Review
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| Placidman's Full Review: Toshiba 57H81 57 in. TV |
A couple of years ago I bought the Toshiba TW40X81 their then new 40 inch widescreen HDTV ready set, and I thought that I was in widescreen heaven. Well as technology would have it, I guess I was'nt ( although I still have my " little " 40 inch, it's been relegated to living room duty).
Toshiba's newest line of H and HX series TV's are something to behold, and about a month ago I bought the 57H81. The 57H81 is a 57 inch widescreen rear projection TV which is HDTV " ready " ( or Enhanced Definition depending on who you ask ). This set has no HDTV tuner/decoder built in so if you want high def programming you will have to purchase an outboard tuner or go with one of the satellite hookups. This set is loaded with great features:
New IDSC ( intelligent digital scan conversion ) - will upconvert incoming video signals to 540p or 1080i
New Cinema mode detection - 3/2 pulldown - will compensate for the difference in frame rates between between video and film
New Touch focus - Automatic digital convergence
New Ambient light sensor - will detect the presence of ambient light in the room and automatically adjust the sets contrast to compensate
Stable sound - This will detect the difference in volume between a TV program and the commercials ( commercials are always too loud ) or from channel to channel, and lower the louder volume ( cool! )
Sub Bass system - gives a bass boost to the TV's audio - is adjustable or can be turned off
SRS ( sound retrievel system ) 3D surround - a simulated surround sound effect - can be turned off
Split screen picture in picture - equally sized double window ( very nice )
Two colorstream wide band HD component video inputs - Will accept the decoded source for HDTV, and a progressive DVD signal
These are just a few of the biggies. After receiving the set I powered it up, and let it warm up for about an hour while I looked over the owners manual. I know there are alot of folks out there that don't believe in reading owners manuals but..READ!! The first thing I did was to lower the set's contrast because at the factory it's preset to maximum ( or flame mode ). Having the contrast set too high can prematurely wear out the CRT's ( cathode ray tubes) or picture tubes. The reason that this is done at the factory is that on a brightly lit sales floor, the higher contrast makes the set appear brighter.
The set has four different picture modes, SPORTS ( Factory preset ), STANDARD, MOVIE, PREFERENCE. The first three are factory presets, and will not change, however while the TV is set to any of these modes you can make changes to the picture settings ( contrast, brightness, sharpness, tint, color ), and those changes will be saved in the preference mode. One of the improvements they made with this series is that now this can be done for each video input on the set, and the changes will stay in memory for each one!! ( GREAT! ). The reason that this is valuable is because you will find that for watching difference sources you will want different picture settings ( ie: DVD viewing will require lower contrast, brightness, and sharpness settings then regular TV would ). This is a huge upgrade. The set has the ambient light sensor feature which automatically adjusts the set's contrast if there is ambient light in the room. This feature is best left off because once you have made your settings using Avia or VE you should have made them in the enviroment in which you normally watch the set. You don't want those to keep changing.
After the set warmed up I did the 9 point convergence on it to realign the CRT's. This can be done from the set's menu. The reason this is important is that if the three CRT's ( red, green, and blue ) are not aligned then they will not focus on their intended " spots ". This results in an out of focus picture. The CRT's can become misalinged by moving the TV, or with simple overtime drift ( doing the convergence is a simple procedure outlined in the owner's manual READ! ). Toshiba has made this procedure even simpler with their new " Touchfocus " feature. By simply pressing a button on the set's front panel it will realign the CRT's automatically. I would recommend doing both to get the best convergence possible ( outside of the 56 point service menu convergence - e mail me with questions about the service menu access ).
I adjusted the set's picture settings for my cable input, and the component HD input where my progressive scan DVD player is connected using the Avia guide to home theater DVD. This disc ( or Video Essentials ) is a must have for owners of HDTV rear projection set's. This disc has the proper video test patterns to allow you to properly set the TV's Contrast, black level ( brightness ), sharpness, and the color/tint.
Once I tweaked things a bit this set really showed me what a beautiful picture it's capable of. Rich saturated colors, deep blacks, and 1600 lines of 57 inch bliss. DVD looks absolutely stunning, and almost high def in some cases ( ALMOST ). Standard analog cable also looks very good, and at my seated position ( 10 feet ) the picture is smooth, and filmlike.
The set has five viewing modes STANDARD, THEATER WIDE 1, THEATER WIDE 2, THEATER WIDE 3, and FULL. Watching TV is best done using the Theater wide 1 mode, DVD ( anamorphic or non anamorphic ) should be watched in Full mode ( for anamorphic/enhanced for widescreen tv ) and Theater wide 2 modes ( non anamorphic ). Theater wide 1 will take a 4:3 image ( TV ), and stretch it to fill the entire screen area. If you prefer the set has a standard mode which will place gray bars on either side of the 4:3 image with no stretching done. This is my second widescreen set, and I can tell you that watching TV on it in widesceen mode ( theater wide 1 ) does not make the picture look distorted. After a while you won't notice the difference.
I found that the Stable sound feature works really well. For some reason channel 2 for me is louder than the other channels, and when flipping channels it was always a pain because we had to lower the volume when we stopped on channel 2..not any more the set compensates for this really well.
The set comes with wheels on the bottom which makes moving it around a lot easier. This is a simple upgrade that made my life a lot easier. The remote that comes with the set is standard Toshiba fare in that it is of the universal variety, and is back lit. It is easy to use, and the buttons are laid out well. The sound system that is built in to the 57H81 is fine for TV watching, and outputs 30 watts. The simulated surround works pretty and does create a feeling of surround envelopment.
There is an input on the set's back to allow the use of the TV's speakers as a center channel speaker in a surround sound setup. I would not recommend doing this especially in a digital surround type setup. Toshiba has changed the look of this new line from the Toshiba' of old, and I have to say I like it quite a bit.
A few years ago when I bought my TW40X81 the 56 inch model was priced at about $5,500. This sets msrp is $3,200. I got it for about $1,000 less than that. At that price we are getting a lot of TV. I really LIKE this set.
What I can tell you is that Toshiba has once again given us a great television, and for those of us out there who want to be entertained then start with this 57 inch marvel.....you wont be sorry. If you have any questions about this set or want a list of the tweaks I performed on it ( some via the service menu some not ) just drop me an e mail at placidman1802@netscape.net.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2200
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Epinions.com ID:
Placidman
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Member: Ralph Potts
Location: Middletown, NY
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
I am an Audiophile who loves to read and write about Home Audio/Video.
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