Best value among hdtv crowd...
Written: Mar 28 '01
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Pros: great picture with good sources (dvd, satellite); HDTV compatible
Cons: shows how bad my regular cable tv feed is!
The Bottom Line: This is the TV to buy if you're not nerdy enough to spend $8,000-$12,000 for one of those small-car-sized monstrosities and just love movies in all their splendor.
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| mgoodwin99's Full Review: Toshiba TW40X81 40 in. TV |
After doing a lot of research into the best tv to buy for home theater and the (someday!) transition to the new HDTV standard, I came to the conclusion that there were 2 TVs that clearly stood out from the rest in terms of price vs. performance: the Sony 36xbr400 Wega and this one. Both of these consistently wowed the critics and, tellingly, were typically compared to much more pricey sets. Moreover, both these sets made numerous *best buy* lists of professional reviewers.
Because I live in an apartment, I pretty much ignored the Toshiba because projection TVs were *obviously* too big to fit into a small space. So despite the fact that the HDTV standard is 16:9 aspect ratio (i.e., tv shows will be rectangular--like in the movie theater) and DVDs look best in their native 16:9 ratio, I decided to buy the Sony after taking a look at the picture at a Sony demonstration store. However, when I went to buy it at another store, there was the Toshiba standing right next to it on the showroom floor. The Toshiba was actually much SMALLER than the 36" Sony and its table; the Sony weighs 240 lbs. and needs a big support to hold it. The other thing I noticed was the great picture.
So here's the bottom line. The Sony has a great picture with DVD, but has a tiny rectangular picture in the middle of the square tube (with thick black bars above and below)--which makes the actual viewable picture quite small. It's also a massive piece of machinery. The Toshiba has a fabulous picture (mine was professionally calibrated by an ISF-trained technician--recommended for any tv you buy--and I use a progressive scan dvd), is much more svelte and has a comparatively huge picture. The 40" diagnoal screen is plenty big enough in my 19'x18' room (I sit about 11' away). The small screen size relative to the other gigantic rear projectors actually contributes to the great picture because the CRTs are just loafing when projecting the picture; it's exponentially harder to project the same high-quality picture on an appreciably larger screen. The downsides? Any projection tv looks better in a room without direct sunlight, so if you like watching movies in a bright sun-light room then get a Sony. Also consider the matching flush-fitting stand a necessity since the tv is too short otherwise. Lastly, the svelte footprint also means there isn't enough width at the top to serve as a base for a center channel speaker.
I bought mine and have nothing but praise for it. It looks fabulous with anarmorphic DVDs and, with its superior native resolution, is already ready for HDTV when that becomes more ubiquitous. Professional reviewers (who see everything) have raved about (and personally bought) this tv as well. Comparatively speaking, the price is reasonable to boot. That spells w-i-n-n-e-r.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2400
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Epinions.com ID:
mgoodwin99
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Reviews written: 2
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