Xytraguptorh

I placed an order for a Toshiba 65h81 TV from onecall.com last week. Anyone reading this own one yet? I cannot wait to get it, but it'll probably be around 2 weeks before it arrives. I sold my 53" 4:3 Hitachi, so I'm stuck with watching DVDs in my bedroom on a 27" Panasonic in 2-channel stereo. It's fine, though, because when my 65" TV finally arrives it'll just look that much bigger after viewing the small tube TV for a couple of weeks.

I see post after post at hometheaterspot and hometheaterforum about people buying the 50H81 and most seem pretty happy with it, so I hope the 65 is just as trouble free. I went back and forth trying to decide whether to get the 57" or 65", but finally decided on the 65" because the picture height is the same as my 53" 4:3, so I won't be losing anything when watching it in 4:3...and DVDs will be much bigger. I'm only 8' from the screen and the new TV is the same depth (just over 24") as my old one. A 65" 4:3 TV would probably be too big from that distance, but I think the 16:9 set will be about right considering that it's not nearly as tall. Honestly, I've always thought that 2.35:1 DVDs just looked too small on my 53", so I think they'll be about perfect on the new 65H81. I'm guessing, but I'd say a 2.35:1 film would be about the same picture height as a 44"(?) TV...definitely not that big from 8' in my opinion. I think at least half of DVDs are 2.35:1 so that was an important consideration.

Any thoughts?

Lazlo Hollyfeld

I had decided on a 65H81 until I heard the 65HX81 will be out late Sept./early Oct. It supposedly has better lenses, CRTs, lenticular, and audio. I read those other forums also, and very few people have received their 65". Please let us know your impressions of this set.

Xytraguptorh

I just got the tracking number from onecall and found out that it should arrive on Monday. I'll be sure to post my impressions soon after I get it. I can't wait!

I was thinking about the 65HX81 too, but I was under the impression that it's only available at select B&M retailers. There is a local A/V store near me that does carry Toshiba Cinema Series TVs, but they charge outrageous prices. They still have a 56H80 and it's priced at $3,695! Will places like Best Buy be carrying the Cinema Series? I've only seen those at independent dealers.

Lazlo Hollyfeld

Continental Trade has the 50HX81 on their site for $2224, but not the 65 yet. Looking at Yahoo shopping, Hampton Image and Shop Sunshine both have the 65HX81 (even though it's not out yet).

If I can ask, did onecall do any better than the $3150 on their website? Continental Trade has the H81 for $2795 with free shipping, which would make a big difference. Of course, their reputation isn't as solid as oncall's.

I think an internet sale is the way to go, as the B&Ms just want so much more.

Xytraguptorh

No, I paid the price listed on their website. But I still think that's a pretty big savings over most B&M stores, at least compared to the ones in my area. I just went with onecall kind of for the peace of mind, since I was a little nervous about ordering something that expensive online. I realize the warranty is still valid wherever you buy the TV from, though.

I remember just a couple of years ago when the 65" Toshiba cost over $5,000, so it seems like the prices on just about all of the internet stores are pretty good.

Lazlo Hollyfeld

So, did it arrive? When you can pull yourself away from the set, I have a few questions:

1) How far from the set is your seating?

2) How does cable or satellite look on a set this large?

3) How do the stretch modes look with 4:3 material?

I know these topics have been covered in depth with the 50H81 in particular, but I am anxious to hear about the "big one." Good Guys had a 50HX81 on display, but the colors were WAY off, with a red "smear" in the upper left corner. I'm dying to see what this thing looks like properly set up.

Xytraguptorh

First off, sorry it took so long for me to reply to this. I received the TV last Friday, but I've been working so much that I haven't really had time to tweak it much until the last couple of days. The TV looks enormous in my living room, much bigger than I expected. I originally made some comments about wanting to sit 8' from the screen. This is a major mistake. When I first moved the TV in I placed it where my last (smaller) 4:3 RPTV used to sit. I was slightly less than 8' from the screen. From this close, DVDs looked decent, but satellite TV (I don't currently have cable) looked just awful. Yesterday, I totally rearranged my living room and I'm now MUCH happier with the TV. I've arranged it so that I can sit on different pieces of furniture to view from various distances depending on what I'm watching. For DVDs I think that 10-11' is ideal. The picture from that distance is simply gorgeous. Much better than anything I've ever seen. I'm using a progressive scan DVD player (JVC XV-721BK), but from what I've read it's not really a requirement. I switched the player to interlaced and the differences are there, but they are pretty subtle. I do prefer the slightly "smoother" look of progressive scan, but if you're holding off on buying one I wouldn't get in a huge hurry about it. THe best thing about this particular PS player is that it makes watching non-anamorphic DVDs much more convenient by automatically formatting them to fill the screen correctly. This feature works on *most* non-anamorphic DVDs, but not all. I'd say about 80% or so. A couple of titles that I've found that the player does not recognize are Titanic and The Doors (the original one-disc release). With discs like those, you need to set the player to 4:3 letterbox and use THEATERWIDE 2 to view the movie correctly. As far as picture quality, it seems about the same to me whether the player automatically scales the movie or not. Overall, non-anamorphic DVDs look very good, although the difference is definitely noticeable. I now much prefer anamorphic discs, although I would still buy non-anamorphic if I like the movie. I think the biggest lesson I've learned is to not sit too close to the screen. Even after moving futher back I still have that big screen impact, plus the picture quality is just stunning.

As for satellite TV I prefer to sit about 12-14' from the screen. From this distance, the picture is actually very good. I actually prefer the THEATERWIDE 1 setting for watching TV rather than NORMAL mode which puts gray bars on the side of the screen. The stretch mode is not very noticeable and I think you get used to it after a while. It appears that it slightly crops the top and bottom of the picture (even though the owner's manual states otherwise) and leaves the center undistorted. The edges are stretched, but it isn't bothersome to me. Of course, you can always use NORMAL mode if it bothers you. I'm pretty happy with it overall, though. For movies on TV that are letterboxed, THEATERWIDE 2 is the mode to use which correctly formats them to fill your screen. HBO has been showing Band of Brothers in widescreen and Dolby Digital and it's a very DVD-like experience. Picture quality varies according to the channel. Movie channels on Dish usually look pretty good, with networks somewhat lacking. Picture flaws are definitely exaggerated, but simply sitting further back from the screen makes a HUGE difference, possibly more than any specific tweak you could do to improve picture quality with satellite or cable. From the appropriate distance, the viewing experience is comparable to what I see on my 27" Panasonic TV in my bedroom. So far I've just calibrated it with Video Essentials. I don't own Avia yet, but plan to get it eventually if it's supposed to be better.

As far as problems, a couple times the CRTs have apparently "arced". There is a popping noise followed by the picture going out for a second. It comes back on and appears normal in about 2 seconds. I've been told this is somewhat normal on a new RPTV, but who knows. It hasn't done it in a while, only about 3 times so far, so hopefully it's something that just goes away on its own. All in all, I'm happy with the TV especially after rearranging my room so that I sit a realistic distance from the TV. Viewing DVDs is even more stunning than I expected.

Lazlo Hollyfeld

Thanks very much for the report. I'm making the plunge next month and can't wait