Toshiba 50HM66 50 in. HDTV DLP TV
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Similar in Projection Televisions
- Digital TV Standard: HDTV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 14:9
- Weight: 85 lb.
- Projector Technology: DLP
- Built-in Tuner: ATSC NTSC
- Screen Size: 50 inch
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A wonderful Addition to any Home Theater
Pros
Decent quality sound, lightweight, reliable, excellent picture, can hook it up to just about anything!
Cons
Could use a clock, internal fans run continuously after shutting off, otherwise perfect.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The Toshiba 50HM66 is an easy to use and affordable television with excellent picture quality to suit just about any user for years to come.
Overview:
The Toshiba 50HM66 television is the first big screen television my family has ever owned and we were not disappointed. It is the most affordable big screen that I could find without the over-sized base unit, that would have taken up too much space for our needs.
One of the strong points of the set is its ability to connect with other auxiliary devices. The television has two HDMI inputs, two regular (A/V) video inputs, a cable card slot, two antenna UHF inputs, and two component video inputs (Toshiba calls them colorstream HD), along with an S-video input. It has stereo audio outputs and a combined stereo and video output.
Though the model that I purchased and am reviewing here does not include the following options I thought that it might interest you that some other Toshiba models additionally include; ethernet, computer (monitor style inputs) digital audio, and TV guide onscreen features. The 50HM66 is a DLP television with one color wheel so there is a possibility of certain viewers seeing a "big screen rainbow effect" an interesting phenomenon I read about on Google, however, I myself and the dozens of other people that have watched this television have never experienced anything like that.
At the store:
I initially set out to purchase a Sony Grand Wega television after hearing good things about it and reading articles on the internet. To be honest I had not even heard of Toshiba's big screens when I first set out to buy a new TV. I found a Sony television that seemed to match what I was looking for and began to ask the salesman about it when I saw the crisp picture of this television.
In my opinion, the Toshiba actually had a brighter, crisper, picture and the price was over $300 lower! I stepped about 7 feet back from both sets and after watching about 3 minutes of high definition (720p) programming broadcast on each one, I wrote out a check for the Toshiba.
Setting it up:
I returned home with the new television after a bouncy 30 minute drive in a small trailer. The fact that the television survived that bumpy ride without being knocked out of adjustment, is a testament to its durability. I was delighted to find that the television weighed only about 60 pounds, far less than the bulky 225 pound CRT that it was replacing.
After pulling it out of the box to the oohs and ahhs of everyone in the room , it only took about five minutes to plug in and get started. There is an easy to follow menu that allows for automatic channel searches on the two antenna inputs, this takes a while but hey, you only have to do it once. After the searching and scanning was complete I had instant access to over the air broadcasts and cable. Soon I also had a VCR, DVD player, surround system, Playstation 2, and computer hooked up to the set as well.
Functionality:
The menu is set up in a sort of tab system, using directional buttons on the glow-in-the-dark remote, you can scroll across the different menus relating to picture, audio, personal preferences, parental, and setup controls. There is an equalizer for the audio output and even an option to shut off the built in speakers. The sound quality is decent even at high volumes, I've never turned it more than halfway up and I can hear it at the other end of the house.
Picture quality can be adjusted to your liking using a wide range of features like dynamic contrast, color temperature, brightness, etc... Poor quality signals can be helped by using noise reduction and cable clear functions. The lamp can be set to high or low power to compensate for the surrounding rooms lighting conditions. Closed captioning adjustments and parental blocking controls are also easily accessible from the menu.
There is a home button on the remote which allows you to scroll through the last channels or inputs you watched, this means that you can go straight from a game to cable or a DVD player or anything else that is hooked up to your television. Pressing the input button on the remote also allows you to scroll through the seven different input options at the click of a button.
You can also freeze the picture, recall the last channel, or change the aspect ratio through four different settings so the whole screen is filled by the picture, even with non-widescreen media. Cable broadcasts look great despite the fact that we have our cable split to eight different sets including this one. High definition programs are vibrant and clear over the air and through HD DVD players on this set, even at only 720P (the maximum resolution vs 1080i that is not reproducible with this TV). Games are a little dark but the game mode improves that.
I have a 256 MB graphics card installed on my computer that I have connected to the TV via the S-Video input; the picture is a bit dark and fuzzy but it is certainly much better than when I had it hooked up to a 32 inch CRT. Games look great through this hook up but reading web sites and small print can be a challenge. As I mentioned earlier the Toshiba has two HDMI inputs and if I were to purchase a video card with an HDMI output and connect it, my understanding is that picture quality would be greatly improved.
Final thoughts:
I have had this television nearly two years now and have not had a single problem with it. The bulb was warranted for a year and can be costly to replace, so it should be a consideration with all rear-projection sets; mine has yet to wear out with daily use.
The universal remote has great range and can run a cable/satellite box, DVD player, and VCR. The picture is great especially when viewing HD programs, light to dark contrast is exceptional, colors are vibrant, the screen is bright and easy to see even in a sunny room (lamp on high setting), and glare off the screen is minimal. Even from only 8 feet back (10+ is recommended) the picture is crisp and clear with few blemishes.
I mentioned in the "cons" section that the internal fans run continuously, this is true even well after the set has been shut off, I find this a little strange and unnecessary but I suppose you could always unplug it. I also mention that there is no clock built into the television, I have grown accustomed to having a little clock pop up with the menu or channel information over the years so this just bugs me.
As you can tell I really had to think to find something wrong with this product and both "problems" may be inconsequential to other purchasers. I watch movies and cable programs on this set every single day and have nothing to complain about.The bottom line is...this television is a great deal for someone looking for a big TV that will deliver great picture performance, connectability, and reliability at a very reasonable price.
The Toshiba 50HM66 television is the first big screen television my family has ever owned and we were not disappointed. It is the most affordable big screen that I could find without the over-sized base unit, that would have taken up too much space for our needs.
One of the strong points of the set is its ability to connect with other auxiliary devices. The television has two HDMI inputs, two regular (A/V) video inputs, a cable card slot, two antenna UHF inputs, and two component video inputs (Toshiba calls them colorstream HD), along with an S-video input. It has stereo audio outputs and a combined stereo and video output.
Though the model that I purchased and am reviewing here does not include the following options I thought that it might interest you that some other Toshiba models additionally include; ethernet, computer (monitor style inputs) digital audio, and TV guide onscreen features. The 50HM66 is a DLP television with one color wheel so there is a possibility of certain viewers seeing a "big screen rainbow effect" an interesting phenomenon I read about on Google, however, I myself and the dozens of other people that have watched this television have never experienced anything like that.
At the store:
I initially set out to purchase a Sony Grand Wega television after hearing good things about it and reading articles on the internet. To be honest I had not even heard of Toshiba's big screens when I first set out to buy a new TV. I found a Sony television that seemed to match what I was looking for and began to ask the salesman about it when I saw the crisp picture of this television.
In my opinion, the Toshiba actually had a brighter, crisper, picture and the price was over $300 lower! I stepped about 7 feet back from both sets and after watching about 3 minutes of high definition (720p) programming broadcast on each one, I wrote out a check for the Toshiba.
Setting it up:
I returned home with the new television after a bouncy 30 minute drive in a small trailer. The fact that the television survived that bumpy ride without being knocked out of adjustment, is a testament to its durability. I was delighted to find that the television weighed only about 60 pounds, far less than the bulky 225 pound CRT that it was replacing.
After pulling it out of the box to the oohs and ahhs of everyone in the room , it only took about five minutes to plug in and get started. There is an easy to follow menu that allows for automatic channel searches on the two antenna inputs, this takes a while but hey, you only have to do it once. After the searching and scanning was complete I had instant access to over the air broadcasts and cable. Soon I also had a VCR, DVD player, surround system, Playstation 2, and computer hooked up to the set as well.
Functionality:
The menu is set up in a sort of tab system, using directional buttons on the glow-in-the-dark remote, you can scroll across the different menus relating to picture, audio, personal preferences, parental, and setup controls. There is an equalizer for the audio output and even an option to shut off the built in speakers. The sound quality is decent even at high volumes, I've never turned it more than halfway up and I can hear it at the other end of the house.
Picture quality can be adjusted to your liking using a wide range of features like dynamic contrast, color temperature, brightness, etc... Poor quality signals can be helped by using noise reduction and cable clear functions. The lamp can be set to high or low power to compensate for the surrounding rooms lighting conditions. Closed captioning adjustments and parental blocking controls are also easily accessible from the menu.
There is a home button on the remote which allows you to scroll through the last channels or inputs you watched, this means that you can go straight from a game to cable or a DVD player or anything else that is hooked up to your television. Pressing the input button on the remote also allows you to scroll through the seven different input options at the click of a button.
You can also freeze the picture, recall the last channel, or change the aspect ratio through four different settings so the whole screen is filled by the picture, even with non-widescreen media. Cable broadcasts look great despite the fact that we have our cable split to eight different sets including this one. High definition programs are vibrant and clear over the air and through HD DVD players on this set, even at only 720P (the maximum resolution vs 1080i that is not reproducible with this TV). Games are a little dark but the game mode improves that.
I have a 256 MB graphics card installed on my computer that I have connected to the TV via the S-Video input; the picture is a bit dark and fuzzy but it is certainly much better than when I had it hooked up to a 32 inch CRT. Games look great through this hook up but reading web sites and small print can be a challenge. As I mentioned earlier the Toshiba has two HDMI inputs and if I were to purchase a video card with an HDMI output and connect it, my understanding is that picture quality would be greatly improved.
Final thoughts:
I have had this television nearly two years now and have not had a single problem with it. The bulb was warranted for a year and can be costly to replace, so it should be a consideration with all rear-projection sets; mine has yet to wear out with daily use.
The universal remote has great range and can run a cable/satellite box, DVD player, and VCR. The picture is great especially when viewing HD programs, light to dark contrast is exceptional, colors are vibrant, the screen is bright and easy to see even in a sunny room (lamp on high setting), and glare off the screen is minimal. Even from only 8 feet back (10+ is recommended) the picture is crisp and clear with few blemishes.
I mentioned in the "cons" section that the internal fans run continuously, this is true even well after the set has been shut off, I find this a little strange and unnecessary but I suppose you could always unplug it. I also mention that there is no clock built into the television, I have grown accustomed to having a little clock pop up with the menu or channel information over the years so this just bugs me.
As you can tell I really had to think to find something wrong with this product and both "problems" may be inconsequential to other purchasers. I watch movies and cable programs on this set every single day and have nothing to complain about.The bottom line is...this television is a great deal for someone looking for a big TV that will deliver great picture performance, connectability, and reliability at a very reasonable price.
