Yet another Edit for information re Toshiba 37" lcdtv at Sears $799.99.

[dud]

I too got the email and went down to Sears to check out the set. The unit looks nice and it has a good picture (even with only a composite input). The killer for me is no tuner and the fact that I was told that they could not get me one until 7 February. I was told the longer you wait (until the sale ends on February 3rd) the longer it will take to get you one.

 

[Bekker]

For those interested in a quick review of the TV, here are my impressions. I am quite disappointed in the TV so far. I saw the display maodel and thought it looked pretty good but it was right beside a Sony and a Panasonic, and maybe a Samsung. I immediately noticed that the blacks on the other setrs were much better, but other than that, the pics were similar. Got it home and connected to cable and am not a happy camper in several respects. First, the colors are just not as vibrant as I expected. In fact, they are rather dull. I am also disappointed in the contrast ratio. Black levels are less than one would expect from a set that was supposedly $1500 at one time. In addition, unless I have missed a setting somewhere, the TV does not indicate what the input is, (720, 480, etc) and I frankly am not sure if the material I am viewing is even in HD, although it is supposed to be. Unless I can improve the pic considerably the set is definitely going back.

In making my comparisons I may have been biased due to seeing another TV with a far superior picture. Believe it or not, it was a new Viore DLP 50" projection set sold at Wal-Mart for around $988, including he stand. My daughter bought one a few days ago and does not have HDTV (only regular cable). When I first saw the pic she got I was really impressed with the great vibrance, clarity, pure blacks and all the rest from non-HD sources. This evening I used an OTA antenna to see what the HD looked like and it was almosr breathtaking in comparison. I could not believe a Viore DLP could possibly be that good. It has sure made me rethink things as my first choice was plasma followed by LCD. If you should happen to be in a Wal_Mart with one on display be sure bto check it out before buying the Toshiba. In fact, IMHO, even the 37" Emerson was more vibrant and had better blacks than the Toshiba.

Of course, my wife disagrees.

 

[agent2099]

It should be fairly easy to tell if the material you were watching was SD or HD.


Perhaps I can help you out:

What program were you watching?
What channel was it on?
What is your TV connected to?

 

[Bekker]

Originally posted by: agent2099
It should be fairly easy to tell if the material you were watching was SD or HD.


Perhaps I can help you out:

What program were you watching?
What channel was it on?
What is your TV connected to?

I have been around the dial checking many and I know some are HDTV as they are in the HDTV package. Right npw I am watching Battleround the Srt of War on dISC HD which is channel 621 on my cable, but I haven't the slightest wheter it is 720p or 1080i and while it looks a bit better than non-HD stations, it is nothing to write hone about. I am using S-Vudeo as a connection so maybe it could be improved by some other if u have a recommendation.

I do not want to cause anyone to think the pic is not good, it is just not breathtaking, which the earlier mentioned Viore DLP projection was. I was fortunate in seeing the differences there because in the OTA broadcast the station I was wATCHING WAS BROADCASTING IN 480i on one station and 720p on the adjacent station. When I switched between the 2 everyone at the then party was wowed by the vast difference. I am not seeing such a huge difference on this set between non hd and hd. But I have to admit that the current show I am viewing has a very good display.

Thanks

 

[agent2099]

Originally posted by: Bekker

Originally posted by: agent2099
It should be fairly easy to tell if the material you were watching was SD or HD.


Perhaps I can help you out:

What program were you watching?
What channel was it on?
What is your TV connected to?

I have been around the dial checking many and I know some are HDTV as they are in the HDTV package. Right npw I am watching Battleround the Srt of War on dISC HD which is channel 621 on my cable, but I haven't the slightest wheter it is 720p or 1080i and while it looks a bit better than non-HD stations, it is nothing to write hone about. I am using S-Vudeo as a connection so maybe it could be improved by some other if u have a recommendation.

There's your problem, it is impossible to get an HD signal from an S-Video cable. No matter what the source, even if it's 1080p, it will end up being 480i (SD) by the time it goes through that S-Video cable.

You must hook it up with either Component or HDMI.

 

[Bekker]

Thanks

I will definitely try that tomorrow and post the results!

 

[GTFan]

LOL, posting a deal for an HDTV and then hooking it up with S-Vid is priceless. On a forum where you'd think folks would know better. No slam at you OP, just funny.

And electronics makers wonder why regular peeps are so confused about HD. I bet there's TONS of HD sets out there hooked up to cable/sat boxes with composite or RF.

 

[imported_Shivetya]

seems that this is new sale price for many 720p 37" LCDs as CompUSA has one up for this price too

 

[Bekker]

Originally posted by: GTFan
LOL, posting a deal for an HDTV and then hooking it up with S-Vid is priceless. On a forum where you'd think folks would know better. No slam at you OP, just funny.

And electronics makers wonder why regular peeps are so confused about HD. I bet there's TONS of HD sets out there hooked up to cable/sat boxes with composite or RF.

I admit that would not be wise, but I am unsure what it is hooked up with because my son-in-law did it and the lazy arse is still in bed. Supposedly he knows his stuff so maybe he has it attached correctly. I do know this. My wife is now watching Price is Right, which is one I thought was in HD, and the picture SUCKS. Don't be too hard on me. I am a 63 year old old fart.:frown:

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: Bekker

Originally posted by: GTFan
LOL, posting a deal for an HDTV and then hooking it up with S-Vid is priceless. On a forum where you'd think folks would know better. No slam at you OP, just funny.

And electronics makers wonder why regular peeps are so confused about HD. I bet there's TONS of HD sets out there hooked up to cable/sat boxes with composite or RF.

I admit that would not be wise, but I am unsure what it is hooked up with because my son-in-law did it and the lazy arse is still in bed. Supposedly he knows his stuff so maybe he has it attached correctly. I do know this. My wife is now watching Price is Right, which is one I thought was in HD, and the picture SUCKS. Don't be too hard on me. I am a 63 year old old fart.:frown:

I can't speak for whether the Price is Right in particular is in HD, but the best channels that I've found for you to test whether or not your HD is properly configured are the Discovery HD and PBS HD. Many of the non-primetime shows on your NBC/CBS/ABC channels are still broadcast in SD, sadly.

Also, look in the menu to make sure that no "Stretch" options are selected. If they're not, and the picture is still widescreen, then you are watching HD.

For your sake, I hope you're not actually watching HD, yet, because I hope you get to notice the big difference that I have.

CK

 

[agent2099]

Originally posted by: Shivetya
seems that this is new sale price for many 720p 37" LCDs as CompUSA has one up for this price too

The brands that compusa has at this price are 3rd tier.

 

[Bekker]

I admit that would not be wise, but I am unsure what it is hooked up with because my son-in-law did it and the lazy arse is still in bed. Supposedly he knows his stuff so maybe he has it attached correctly. I do know this. My wife is now watching Price is Right, which is one I thought was in HD, and the picture SUCKS. Don't be too hard on me. I am a 63 year old old fart.:frown:

[/quote]

I can't speak for whether the Price is Right in particular is in HD, but the best channels that I've found for you to test whether or not your HD is properly configured are the Discovery HD and PBS HD. Many of the non-primetime shows on your NBC/CBS/ABC channels are still broadcast in SD, sadly.

Also, look in the menu to make sure that no "Stretch" options are selected. If they're not, and the picture is still widescreen, then you are watching HD.

For your sake, I hope you're not actually watching HD, yet, because I hope you get to notice the big difference that I have.

CK[/quote]


I am still working with the connections and settings and the pic quality has improved dramatically. Unfortunately I had to do a sex change and read the manual (how embarrassing) and ran across someting interesting. It had been connected with composite cables (I do not have HDMI cable that I know of, but I did not open the box the TV came in), as well as S-Video and standard video cables. According to the manual, the component and standard cannot be connected at the same time as the S-video or the picture will be unacceptable. I am watching a few known HD channels and the pic quality, black levels, etc have all improved drastically. My opinion has changed drastically. IMHO, it is now a very, very good buy for $799. I still prefer the DLP Viore due to its brilliant vivid pic, but it is $200 more.

I laso need to be sure my cable box is correctly set and am working on that now. If you know what the best settings are I would appreciate it if you posted it. My choices range from 1080i wide, prrserve 4:3 pic-480p
1080i preserve 4:3 480i
1080i wide stretch 4:3 pic
1080i preserve 4:3 pic

or

720p wide sidebar 4:3, or stretch 4:3, or preserve 4:3 -480P, or preserve 4:3 -480i

or

jjust 480p wide or standard or 480i standard.

I have selected 1080i wide preserve 4:3 pic-480p which is what I supposed was correct.

Thanks for the input.

 

[royaldank]

One question is which has a better scaler, the TV or the cable box? Leaving your box at 720p means the cable box will scale all feeds to 720p and then spit it out. If you have it set to 1080i, the box will scale 720p to 1080i and spit it out, then your TV will scale 1080i back to 720p to display. 1080i would just go through and your TV would scale it down to 720p.

In theory, less scaling done to the image, the better. However, since it only takes 30min - 1 hour to try out the various settings, you might want to do some real world eye tests to get what you think is the best. It's your eyes watching it.

 

[LukeMan]

I work at Sears (Receiving), and was pretty late to get on this deal (didn't work over the weekend). Our registers still ring the tv up at $799.99, but it is out of stock, and is not orderable since the warehouse is out as well. You can, however, ask for a RainCheck at that price, so when Sears does have them available again (and they should be) then you can buy it at the $800 price rather than the $1400-$1500 price. Just let the sales associate know that you want a raincheck for the 37" toshiba, stock #71486 (department 57).

As for returns, you only receive a restocking fee if the tv is out of box and there is nothing wrong with it (you returning it because you just don't want it). If you didn't open the box, or the tv does not work properly then you will not receive a restocking fee. Also electronics can only be returned within 30-days.

The tv should carry a 1-yr warranty on it, so if anything goes wrong with it just bring it into Sears for Service, and it should take about 1-2 weeks to be fixed (if you have the tv serviced at your house instead of bringing it into Sears, then you will pay something like $100 just for the tech to pay a visit, unless you bought an extra protection agreement from Sears for like $300-$500).

I'm personally going to be checking if the tv is orderable every day just so I can get it right away. A Toshiba 37" LCD at $800 is just unheard of.

 

[GTFan]

Bekker, are you sure the cable box doesn't have a passthrough (or native) option so the TV will do the scaling? You'll probably get the best picture that way. If the box has HDMI, get a cheap cable from monoprice.com and use it for the best pic.

 

[Bekker]

Originally posted by: LukeMan
I work at Sears (Receiving), and was pretty late to get on this deal (didn't work over the weekend). Our registers still ring the tv up at $799.99, but it is out of stock, and is not orderable since the warehouse is out as well. You can, however, ask for a RainCheck at that price, so when Sears does have them available again (and they should be) then you can buy it at the $800 price rather than the $1400-$1500 price. Just let the sales associate know that you want a raincheck for the 37" toshiba, stock #71486 (department 57).

As for returns, you only receive a restocking fee if the tv is out of box and there is nothing wrong with it (you returning it because you just don't want it). If you didn't open the box, or the tv does not work properly then you will not receive a restocking fee. Also electronics can only be returned within 30-days.

The tv should carry a 1-yr warranty on it, so if anything goes wrong with it just bring it into Sears for Service, and it should take about 1-2 weeks to be fixed (if you have the tv serviced at your house instead of bringing it into Sears, then you will pay something like $100 just for the tech to pay a visit, unless you bought an extra protection agreement from Sears for like $300-$500).

I'm personally going to be checking if the tv is orderable every day just so I can get it right away. A Toshiba 37" LCD at $800 is just unheard of.

After experimenting with all sorts of settings and cables I have the set so that it is beautiful. I cannot believe the price/quality ratio and the set looks very nice, as though it is was expensive.

Since BB told me they would pricematch if they had it in stock, I suggest that you try that and, depending on the manager, it might work. I now feel this is by far the best priced set available given its qulaity and would suggest that anyone on the fence buy and try it if it can be returned within the 30 days.

Now I have a question re the warranty on this set. I assumed it would be like most and not in home service, but the manual clearly says it is a 1 year in home parts and service. Can you tell me for sure it is not?

Also, there is one area of concern. I have not found anything stating what is considered a faulty set with respect to bad pixels. In fact, at one point the manual states that they are normal and not considered defects. Is thisd true?

 

[Bekker]

Originally posted by: GTFan
Bekker, are you sure the cable box doesn't have a passthrough (or native) option so the TV will do the scaling? You'll probably get the best picture that way. If the box has HDMI, get a cheap cable from monoprice.com and use it for the best pic.

Not that I have found among the menu options, but I now have it set for 720P etc and it is getting a great pic.

Do you think the HDMI would enhance the picture significantly over component cables?

thanks for the advice

 

[GTFan]

Most folks would say that HDMI is slightly better, but component is not bad for HD. Have you tried googling for the manual for your box?

 

[Bekker]

Originally posted by: GTFan
Most folks would say that HDMI is slightly better, but component is not bad for HD. Have you tried googling for the manual for your box?

Cannot see how HDMI could be that much better and have not tried Googling. Might later but am now more interested in getting my other home theater components together.

 

[cheap]

If your cable box has HDMI output then there's no reason to hook it up through component. HDMI is pure digital audio and video signal in one wire. The purest form of feed you can get. While if you use component, then digital signal from your cable box gets converted to analog, then once in your tv analog signal gets converted back to digital. So all this conversion plus the analog cables themselves can introduce noice and artifacts, and picture will not be as accurate as the original feed, unless of course you blow $100 on super duper monster component cables with tripple shielding from space aliens technology. Digital signal doesn't have this problem. It's either 1 (high voltage) or 0 (no voltage) on a wire, while analog signal uses everything in between. So HDMI or DVI will give you best quality. Go to monoprice.com and get yourself hdmi cable for like $10, or search for couple of deals for these cables that were posted in the last week or so.

In order of quality:

HDMI/DVI - Pure HD digital feed
Component - HD picture, expensive cables improve quality slightly over cheap ones
S-Video - 480 only, SD picture
Composite

 

[LukeMan]

Originally posted by: Bekker

Now I have a question re the warranty on this set. I assumed it would be like most and not in home service, but the manual clearly says it is a 1 year in home parts and service. Can you tell me for sure it is not?

Also, there is one area of concern. I have not found anything stating what is considered a faulty set with respect to bad pixels. In fact, at one point the manual states that they are normal and not considered defects. Is thisd true?

the warranty will cover the cost of repair, but you will have to pay for a tech to come out to your house ($100-$150). You can avoid that cost by either bringing the tv into your local Sears store for repair or buying an extended warranty that would cover the tech visit (MPA, Merchandise Protection Agreement - I think the 3yr is about $300 on this tv... kinda high on a $800 tv but I think that is calculated from the regular $1500 price). It's always possible to talk the salesperson/manager into a deduction on the tv price if you buy the PA (Protection Agreement) since the PA % is about the biggest thing salespeople/stores are scored on. The higher the PA% and Sales, the larger the Bonus the Manager gets. Also much of the salesperson's commission comes from the PA sales.

Dead pixels are pretty common on lcd monitors/tv's. The 19" Acer lcd monitior I use has 1 dead pixel. I don't ever notice it unless I'm looking for it. I did have a 15.4" lcd (outpost.com $70 hotdeal) that had like a dozen dead pixels, so I promptly shipped that back to Fry's for a refund.

P.S. I did get a Raincheck on the Toshiba 37", but I ended up buying a Returned 32" Protron lcd tv (has hdmi & 15-pin vga, but no dvi and no hdtv tuner) for $468 after tax. The new tv was on sale for $550 (regular price was $1000) and completely sold out like the Toshiba, not even orderable from the warehouse. Since I got a Used tv (returned tv's get checked out by our Preventative Maintenance Tech before being re-sold or serviced), it was another 10% off ($495), minus my associate discount, and plus tax. It's 1 of our cheaper quality brands (along w/ Sylvania), but for under $500 I couldn't pass it up. If someone in my local area (Iowa City or Quad Cities) wants it at the price I paid ($468ish), then I'll sell it as soon as I get the Toshiba =)

 

[Bekker]

Lukeman,

Thanks. But the warrantee on the Toshiba may be better than you are aware of. Quoting from their manual they say specifically

"TACP Authorized Service Station personnel will come to your home when warranty service is required. Depending on the type of repair required, the service will either be performed in your home or the LCD will be taken to a TACP (service center) for repair and returned to your home at no cost to you." page 43

Meanwhile, sounds like you got a good deal to tide you over till yours comes in.

 

[nicepun]

How does this compare to the Westinghouse LVM-37W3 37" LCD TV??

 

[Bekker]

I cannot answer that because I have not seen the Westie and my wife says my eyes sight must be bad because she thinks this set's picture is very vibrant and sharp, while I still have some doubts as to its vividness or contrast ratio. Have an eye dr appt tomorrow so may find I am blind as a bat. I have to admit I am still baised due to the brilliance of the DLP Viore I mentioned in an earlier post. Maybe LCD's just cannot deliver that level of brightness, contrast, and vivid colors of DLP sets.

Unfortunately there are very few online reviews of this set as opposed to many for the Westie, and from what I recall, most Westies have been good. I know that contrast ratios can be very misleading, but if I recall the contrast and brightness specs are better for the Westie (but it has been awhile since I last read them so check it out). Strangely enough, though, the reviews I have seen for the 40" Westinghouse have not been as good with complaints of patchy looking pics due to uneven backlighting, etc. Recently BB had the big Westy on sale (may have now) for a good price, which is what led me to read reviews for it.

 

[bujoojoo]

My experience with this 'deal':

Sunday:
Went to local Sears to purchase and got there 10 mins before the doors opened. I was absolutely the first person they waited on in electronics. After I told the clerk what I was there for, they fumbled around a while and told me that they sold the one (one!) tv they had in stock. WTF?!! Before they opened?

Got the clerk to call the other Sears in the area (4 stores) no one had any in stock. Asked for a rain check and was told by the 'manager' that they weren't issueing RCs for this item. I went home and ordered the tv off the website. Got the confirmation and everything looked good.

Tuesday:
Got an email from Sears stating that the tv was 'unavailable due to demand.' Again: WTF? But here is another tv you will like. Item number they sent me (05771256000) is not on the website and they don't even show that they sell that brand (Proton).

It seems like they knew that they didn't have enough of these in stock (no RC). Thanks Sears. Way to embrace that Kmart attitude...