Toshiba 46H84 opinions? (or HDTV advice)
06-08-05, 10:45 PM
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Toshiba 46H84 opinions? (or HDTV advice)
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1076628744709
This Toshiba 46" rear-projection HDTV is on sale this week at Best Buy for only about $1K (that's $400 off!) and it includes a free Toshiba SD-5980 HDMI DVD player. I've been looking to get a decent inexpensive HDTV hopefully by the end of the year, although there's no rush. I'm basically a newbie when it comes to knowing what features are important in an HDTV, but I want it to be good for at least a few years. Here are the main things I'm planning to hook up to it:
-DVD and eventually HD-DVD/Blu-ray
-PS2, and eventually PS3 or other next-gen console
-over the air SD and HD programming, maybe eventually cable/satellite
Any comments on this TV or suggestions for a better one in the approximate price range or should I even just wait a little while for new models or price drops?
Also, I'm a little confused about 720p and 1080i. Does an individual TV only truly support one or the other and is it better to have native support for one over the other? I also read somewhere that 1080p sets will be coming out, but I don't know when and how expensive they'll be.
Any thoughts sure are appreciated.
This Toshiba 46" rear-projection HDTV is on sale this week at Best Buy for only about $1K (that's $400 off!) and it includes a free Toshiba SD-5980 HDMI DVD player. I've been looking to get a decent inexpensive HDTV hopefully by the end of the year, although there's no rush. I'm basically a newbie when it comes to knowing what features are important in an HDTV, but I want it to be good for at least a few years. Here are the main things I'm planning to hook up to it:
-DVD and eventually HD-DVD/Blu-ray
-PS2, and eventually PS3 or other next-gen console
-over the air SD and HD programming, maybe eventually cable/satellite
Any comments on this TV or suggestions for a better one in the approximate price range or should I even just wait a little while for new models or price drops?
Also, I'm a little confused about 720p and 1080i. Does an individual TV only truly support one or the other and is it better to have native support for one over the other? I also read somewhere that 1080p sets will be coming out, but I don't know when and how expensive they'll be.
Any thoughts sure are appreciated.
06-09-05, 10:31 AM
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Support = the TV can receive (input) the signal.
Native = the TV can OUTPUT the signal.
Don't get the two confused. An HD CRT will output 1080i. So sending it an INPUT that matches its OUTPUT is generally the best idea. Pretty much all OTA and satellite HD tuners (and HDMI-equipped DVD players) will give you the option of sending the TV either 720p or 1080i, so 1080i would probably work best. Esp since it looks like that one may not even support 720p, so you would have to feed it 1080i. But the specs at BB may be incomplete, so I can't really tell.
It used to be that all the Toshiba CRTs had 2 native outputs, 1080i and 540p. It looks like this one only has 1080i.
Native = the TV can OUTPUT the signal.
Don't get the two confused. An HD CRT will output 1080i. So sending it an INPUT that matches its OUTPUT is generally the best idea. Pretty much all OTA and satellite HD tuners (and HDMI-equipped DVD players) will give you the option of sending the TV either 720p or 1080i, so 1080i would probably work best. Esp since it looks like that one may not even support 720p, so you would have to feed it 1080i. But the specs at BB may be incomplete, so I can't really tell.
It used to be that all the Toshiba CRTs had 2 native outputs, 1080i and 540p. It looks like this one only has 1080i.
06-10-05, 12:52 PM
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check out this thread at AVS Forum, it's a loooooooooooong thread talking about all the H84 models:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=425650
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=425650
06-10-05, 01:01 PM
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i use the toshiba 42" one and have used it for about 5 years now.. it's not listed there any longer but i paied about 2k for it at the time.. it is still going strong and i have no complaints.
if i get another tv i would possibly go with flatscreen over the rear projection models... those rear projectors are mammoths and take up alot of room and are hard to move around.. i would possibly look into flatscreens before you buy just to cover all grounds.
if i get another tv i would possibly go with flatscreen over the rear projection models... those rear projectors are mammoths and take up alot of room and are hard to move around.. i would possibly look into flatscreens before you buy just to cover all grounds.
06-10-05, 01:24 PM
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... but keep in mind that you get better picture quality with the rear projection vs. flatscreen. You're definitely making a trade-off with pic quality when you go sleeker.
I have the Toshiba 46H84 and have few complaints. It's a great set and there's nothing else out there in that size/price range that I'd recommend higher. I'd 2nd the recommendation to read through that thread above, which will answer every question you have (and probably a few you don't.)
I have the Toshiba 46H84 and have few complaints. It's a great set and there's nothing else out there in that size/price range that I'd recommend higher. I'd 2nd the recommendation to read through that thread above, which will answer every question you have (and probably a few you don't.)
06-10-05, 01:47 PM
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i seen those flatpanels on mtv cribs every celeb has one and the picture looked pretty good to me.
i am not a picture nazi though.. watching regular cable tv stretched to fit my widescreen doesn't bother me in the least.. a decent picture is all i ask.
the rear projector is fine if you have space and if you don't move cables around alot... when i get a new dvd player or something it is literal hell trying to connect cables.. i have a very small room so it takes up most of the space however.
i am not a picture nazi though.. watching regular cable tv stretched to fit my widescreen doesn't bother me in the least.. a decent picture is all i ask.
the rear projector is fine if you have space and if you don't move cables around alot... when i get a new dvd player or something it is literal hell trying to connect cables.. i have a very small room so it takes up most of the space however.
06-11-05, 12:16 AM
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Thanks, guys. I'll be sure to check out that AVS thread soon.
Just thought of a couple more questions: If I want to plug in 2 or more HDMI devices, like DVD player and HD tuner, is there any way to do it other than buying an expensive ($200+) switcher? Also, when watching 4:3 content, do the gray bars get annoying during dark scenes?
Just thought of a couple more questions: If I want to plug in 2 or more HDMI devices, like DVD player and HD tuner, is there any way to do it other than buying an expensive ($200+) switcher? Also, when watching 4:3 content, do the gray bars get annoying during dark scenes?
06-11-05, 12:35 AM
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why would anyone watch it with bars... yeah it is extremely annoying with the grey bars... but i'm sure you would want to stretch it to fit the whole screen.. i have never used the bars once i stretch everything... while not perfect image it is still better than bars.. not any complaints here... basketball games especially look amazing stretched doesn't matter i'm not sure if they broadcast those in hdtv or what but basketball games look stunning on my set.
i'm not sure if ever even used my hdtv heh... i use a progressive scan dvd player and it looks stunning and i use my xbox with progressive support but i doubt anything really took advantage of my tv's capabilities.
but yeah i don't see why you would want to watch it with bars.. believe me it's abominable with grey bars.. black bars is tolerable but the grey is untolerable.
i'm not sure if ever even used my hdtv heh... i use a progressive scan dvd player and it looks stunning and i use my xbox with progressive support but i doubt anything really took advantage of my tv's capabilities.
but yeah i don't see why you would want to watch it with bars.. believe me it's abominable with grey bars.. black bars is tolerable but the grey is untolerable.
06-11-05, 08:20 PM
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I'm running out of time if I want to order this, but really the only thing holding me back now is the burn-in issues with CRT TV's. I'll be watching 4:3 content including video games and I don't want to have to be paranoid about burn-in all the time. I could just spend more money (argh) on an LCD or DLP TV since they don't have burn-in problems, but I've heard the picture quality isn't as good as CRTs in some ways. I'm just not sure what to do. Any more comments?
06-11-05, 10:18 PM
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I could comment on Lucy's last statement, but I think my sig does that well enough.
The only problem with digital vs CRT is that CRT has better blacks. That's it. Not that I'm trying to dissuade you from that Tosh, that's probably a great deal. But that's the only issue where CRT is clearly always better.
The burn-in is something YOU control. If you MUST watch lots of news channels or shopping channels, I think CRT RPTV is a bad idea. Otherwise, just turn down the contrast to where it should be and don't leave anything on pause and you should be just fine.
The only problem with digital vs CRT is that CRT has better blacks. That's it. Not that I'm trying to dissuade you from that Tosh, that's probably a great deal. But that's the only issue where CRT is clearly always better.
The burn-in is something YOU control. If you MUST watch lots of news channels or shopping channels, I think CRT RPTV is a bad idea. Otherwise, just turn down the contrast to where it should be and don't leave anything on pause and you should be just fine.
06-13-05, 07:00 PM
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I was close to buying this set myself. I did a search over the internet on this model. For the most part all I found was complaints. Mostly about the white line at the bottom of the sceen that tends to appear after around 4 months of use. The horrible customer service Toshiba has, and the runaround BestBuy was giving to fix the problem. Apparently Toshiba is aware of the issue with these models and has yet to fix it. This set was in my price range at the size and picture quality that I wanted, but after all the bad ratings I had to let it go.
PS. This set gets great reviews for the first few monthes. Any good reviews I read were from people who had just hooked it up, or who had only had it afew weeks.
PS. This set gets great reviews for the first few monthes. Any good reviews I read were from people who had just hooked it up, or who had only had it afew weeks.
