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Great deal for HDTV right now
Pros
Excellent picture quality, picture mode switching, easy to use
Cons
Huge, needs lots of room to view
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
In the 3-4k price range this is tough to beat, if I had 6-7k I'd get the Pioneer Elite.
It's shown here as 7000? Every place I've seen, this TV is priced at 3700-3999, much lower than its competition (Sony XBR 65, Mitsubishi Diamond 65, Pioneer Elite 61). I did a side by side comparison of these TV's and at first glance it's almost impossible to tell the difference. However, the Pioneer Elite had more depth and clarity than the other three. If I had an extra 3k, maybe, because the Pioneer Elite is very expensive, around 6-7k. For the truly obsessive, I'd get the Pioneer.
Comparison:
For me, it came down to the other choices, the Sony or the Mitsu. Both excellent pictures with great features. Sony excels at non-HD and digital cable signals since it has a great line-doubler that actually almost quadruples the resolution. Great job Sony. The Mitsu looked a little more crisp and detailed than the Toshiba, but there are some red push problems that are know to affect Mitsus. Although there are remedies for that, I've decided not to bother with the hassle. With the Sony at around 5k+ and the Mitsu around 4400, I opted for the Toshiba at 3700.
Picture Quality:
With my hookup of a Sony 550D DVD player, B&W 602's with CC6 center, surrounds, Sony ES 333 Amp, Canton Subwoofer, Monster Cable Z series speaker and component video output, and Sony AT55 satellite receiver, I can't believe the picture on DVD's. No scan lines, color is amazingly good even out of the box. I used the Avia test CD to calibrate the usual sharpness, contrast, brightness, tint, color, the picture was even better. Originally I had the DVD connected with S-Video cables, but after to switching to component video out, it was a huge difference. I cannot stress this enough, spend the money to get good component video cables, it will be worth it. The best test of this picture in my collection of DVD's is Toy Story 2, just view it on this TV and you'll see why.
Cable TV is decent, but could be better. I still see little out of focus areas and "artifacts" which are like extra unnecessary ghost images here and there. It's to be expected when you are expanding a small cable channel to the huge 65 inch proportions.
HD Signal is excellent, but I've only seen the signal on this TV in stores since I don't have an HD satellite (yet). I'll report back when I get that.
The viewing angle is wide, I have a chair about 8 feet away to the right and it looks great. However, the best angle of course is directly in front about 12-15 feet away. I've had more than 12 people viewing this TV at all angles, no one complained they couldn't see it fine.
Sound:
As with previous posts, the sounds is just okay, I normally don't have the TV sound on, since my sound system handles that. Most people will have a surround system hooked up, so the sound is a minor point.
Features:
The picture modes are flexible, with Full, Theater-Wide and Normal. Normal is the usual 4:3 for standard TV, but I watch my digital cable in Theater-wide mode, because although it stretches the image a little, it's not "weird" or unnatural and doesn't leave the two side gray bars that Normal mode does. Full mode "zooms" in a little and fills the entire screen, but I usually do not use that mode.
There is one slightly annoying thing about the picture modes. The Theater Wide has 3 separate "sub-modes" 1) stretch everything a little to make it 16:9, 2) Don't stretch at all but cut off edges a little if necessary 3) zoom in a bit more to fill as much screen as possible. I normally view DVD's in either 1 or 2, depending on the movie's original aspect ratio. If it's close to 1.77/1.85 then I view it in 1 (since it fills the screen anyway). If it's "thinner", such as 1.35-1.65, then I might use mode 2 since it fills the screen more, while losing little on the edged. However, when in mode 2, menu choices of the DVD are off the screen, and on-screen displays from the DVD are also off the screen making it hard to tell what's going on. I can live with this since I don't use mode 2 that often.
I do like the back panel and the video connections on the front panel. The remote lights up and is fairly easy to use. My dad couldn't figure it out, but he's technologically deprived anyway. It's also a great universal remote, allowing me to program my Sony DVD and Amp into it controlling the system with one remote. Very nice. It really is a very easy to use TV, took me 15 minutes to hook everything up correctly and have it up and running.
Another great feature is the set of wheels that are built in to the bottom. Lets you roll it around easily to get to the back. Getting it into your room is another story, it's huge and weighs about 400 pounds. Took 4 guys to move it. The Mitsubishi 65" separates into two pieces so it's easy to transport.
Overall:
This is a great TV, and I really cannot see the difference between it and the other competitors, except for the Pioneer Elite. You can get a great deal on these and don't even have to pay for it until Jan 2002, 0% down, 0% financing. Of course you have to come up with the full amount by then!
Comparison:
For me, it came down to the other choices, the Sony or the Mitsu. Both excellent pictures with great features. Sony excels at non-HD and digital cable signals since it has a great line-doubler that actually almost quadruples the resolution. Great job Sony. The Mitsu looked a little more crisp and detailed than the Toshiba, but there are some red push problems that are know to affect Mitsus. Although there are remedies for that, I've decided not to bother with the hassle. With the Sony at around 5k+ and the Mitsu around 4400, I opted for the Toshiba at 3700.
Picture Quality:
With my hookup of a Sony 550D DVD player, B&W 602's with CC6 center, surrounds, Sony ES 333 Amp, Canton Subwoofer, Monster Cable Z series speaker and component video output, and Sony AT55 satellite receiver, I can't believe the picture on DVD's. No scan lines, color is amazingly good even out of the box. I used the Avia test CD to calibrate the usual sharpness, contrast, brightness, tint, color, the picture was even better. Originally I had the DVD connected with S-Video cables, but after to switching to component video out, it was a huge difference. I cannot stress this enough, spend the money to get good component video cables, it will be worth it. The best test of this picture in my collection of DVD's is Toy Story 2, just view it on this TV and you'll see why.
Cable TV is decent, but could be better. I still see little out of focus areas and "artifacts" which are like extra unnecessary ghost images here and there. It's to be expected when you are expanding a small cable channel to the huge 65 inch proportions.
HD Signal is excellent, but I've only seen the signal on this TV in stores since I don't have an HD satellite (yet). I'll report back when I get that.
The viewing angle is wide, I have a chair about 8 feet away to the right and it looks great. However, the best angle of course is directly in front about 12-15 feet away. I've had more than 12 people viewing this TV at all angles, no one complained they couldn't see it fine.
Sound:
As with previous posts, the sounds is just okay, I normally don't have the TV sound on, since my sound system handles that. Most people will have a surround system hooked up, so the sound is a minor point.
Features:
The picture modes are flexible, with Full, Theater-Wide and Normal. Normal is the usual 4:3 for standard TV, but I watch my digital cable in Theater-wide mode, because although it stretches the image a little, it's not "weird" or unnatural and doesn't leave the two side gray bars that Normal mode does. Full mode "zooms" in a little and fills the entire screen, but I usually do not use that mode.
There is one slightly annoying thing about the picture modes. The Theater Wide has 3 separate "sub-modes" 1) stretch everything a little to make it 16:9, 2) Don't stretch at all but cut off edges a little if necessary 3) zoom in a bit more to fill as much screen as possible. I normally view DVD's in either 1 or 2, depending on the movie's original aspect ratio. If it's close to 1.77/1.85 then I view it in 1 (since it fills the screen anyway). If it's "thinner", such as 1.35-1.65, then I might use mode 2 since it fills the screen more, while losing little on the edged. However, when in mode 2, menu choices of the DVD are off the screen, and on-screen displays from the DVD are also off the screen making it hard to tell what's going on. I can live with this since I don't use mode 2 that often.
I do like the back panel and the video connections on the front panel. The remote lights up and is fairly easy to use. My dad couldn't figure it out, but he's technologically deprived anyway. It's also a great universal remote, allowing me to program my Sony DVD and Amp into it controlling the system with one remote. Very nice. It really is a very easy to use TV, took me 15 minutes to hook everything up correctly and have it up and running.
Another great feature is the set of wheels that are built in to the bottom. Lets you roll it around easily to get to the back. Getting it into your room is another story, it's huge and weighs about 400 pounds. Took 4 guys to move it. The Mitsubishi 65" separates into two pieces so it's easy to transport.
Overall:
This is a great TV, and I really cannot see the difference between it and the other competitors, except for the Pioneer Elite. You can get a great deal on these and don't even have to pay for it until Jan 2002, 0% down, 0% financing. Of course you have to come up with the full amount by then!
