Since I found several threads on the issues and that the 83 and 84 series are pretty much the same (except hmdi and the new user menu) I though it would be best if we combined them to get all of our issues discussed here.. Mods if this is not appropiate feel free to trash it!

I'll start - I am assuming I need to adjust contrast, brightness and the like for each input correct? What about convergence.. since the 84's have the 56 pt from the user menu does that effect all inputs across the board? I have yet to venture into the service mode - which I will soon - but for now I just want to get the brightness / contrast / color correct - Here is what I do - change to movie mode and then adjust from there then save. Right now my brightness is 42 and contrast is 39 - how does that compare with others?

thanks

jim

The 56pt. convergence effects all inputs, however, if you want your TV to save your adjustments to the "Touch Focus" button, I believe you still need to do it through the service menu. Another advantage of the the 56pt-er through the service menu is that you get a fullscreen grid as opposed to a series of "+"s, and therefore, can get a more accurate convergence.

My contrast is 50 and my brightness is around 42 - set using the "Pluge w/ Gray Scale" and "Reverse Greyramp" tests on DVE.

Jim, congrats on starting the new thread. Your #'s are almost dead on with my 46H83. Do you have a cali disc? If so which one did you use . Enjoy the set and this will be a great place to converse about them.

Jim - my settings are about the same - contrast 37 brightness 42 - though I have to admit for SD I set it up beginning with the standard mode, not movie - and turned the sharpness down to 17.

I found that turning off svm on sd (by starting in movie) then reducing sharpness made the picture too soft. On digital channels like HBO I like the settings starting on Movie a bit better though. But frankly more of my TV viewing is NOT on HBO - movies I watch DVD over composite.

What are you other settings for broadcast? Sharpness? Tint? Color? Temp?

I just got DVE in the mail today - so I'll do my composite input tonight or tomorrow, but will probably try and just continue eyeballing broadcast.

I have not yet gotten HD yet as our cable company only offers 5 channels - though I will be getting it before the Olympics start.

Here's a question: when you guys watch movies on 480p, do you upconvert to 540 or 1080? I can't really tell a difference.......

I want a new DVD as well now and am considering a 318 - but am having a hard time deciding......

Brad

Pittdog - I used the original Video Essentials and Sound and Vision HT Tune up - I have ordered a copy of DVE.

gofast - I cant really tell a difference in 540p v 1080i for dvds - speaking of dvd's - what strech mode should dvds be watched in? If I set the player to 16:9 tv and the tv to natural - it comes out 4:3 - I have to set the tv to full in order to get the correct aspect ratio - is that right? Are dvds different?

I ventured into the service menu last night - didnt really touch anything - but I probably will over the weekend.. I did find this http://www.imagesoftcorp.com/X81Designer.zip - its a spreadsheet with service menu values - I may go through mine today and compare it - and may even start my own that we can all add to.

jim

Originally posted by jim tressler
gofast - I cant really tell a difference in 540p v 1080i for dvds - speaking of dvd's - what strech mode should dvds be watched in? If I set the player to 16:9 tv and the tv to natural - it comes out 4:3 - I have to set the tv to full in order to get the correct aspect ratio - is that right? Are dvds different?


You are correct - you need to be in full mode if you are feeding a dvd to the tv and your dvd is set to a 16:9 television. I get a little whacked out by this stuff too, but that's what I'm doing - DVD set to 16:9 and progressive, then the TV set to full. I have yet to try 4:3 stuff from the DVD though.

Apparently if you put it on "normal" it looks at the signal the way it is encoded on the disc, rather than taking the uncompressed image and putting it on correctly - or something like that. I read a post mentioning that. I can tell you this, which is weird - we rented Spy Kids 2 for my kids over the weekend and I went to put it on - I put it in "normal" to see if it was letterboxed or not and it looked like it wasn't, which struck me as strange, but every now and then Blockbuster does buy the Pan and Scan versions of movies, and I don't know why.

At any rate, I assumed it was 4:3 and let them watch it in Theater Mode 1 to stretch it. Then on a whim I switched to full, thinking it would distort it the was Full distorts all 4:3, and was surprised to see that it was 16:9 after all and worked great.

I'm still a beginner with the whole widescreen thing though, so I rely on this place as much as everyone else :-)

There are just too many combinations of settings between the dvd and tv to keep it all straight sometimes, and be sure you are setting everything where it should be set....but I'm getting it down as time goes on.

Brad

Glad to see that we finnaly have our own thread. Quick questions, and keep in mind I dont have the H84 tv yet. I plan on hooking up my new dvd player w/proggesive on it. If I keep the tv at 540p I am using the DVD scaler correct?? I plan to do it this way, because my dvd player has the 12 bit-108 mhz DAC coverter, supposdly its better than the average 10bit-54mhz. So if I keep the tv at 540p there shouldnt be any scaling right?? Also like many of you, I will set my dvd to say I have 16:9 tv, so should I leave my connection on full. It just sound like using full, takes up the whole tv, which is somthing I dont want. For example, lets say I am watching saving private ryan, its 1:85, so even on a widescreen tv, I should get some black lines. But it sounds like if i set my tv to full, it will strecth the picture, and get rid of black lines, am i correct in assuming this??

faheem - on all the stuff that I have thrown at it wheather its 1.85 or 2.35:1 in full mode still has black bars - that leads me to belive that full is how you should watch dvd's

jim

thanks, yea i guess only dvd with "enhanced for 16:9" will be the only one with no bars. I appreciate the quick response. Been hearing from lots of dealers that the 65H84 should be out within days. Time to see if Sears and ABT will match online prices

gofast, Are you meaning component instead of composite. If you really are hooked up with composite(yellow single video cable) you need to switch to component(red, green and blue video cable). If your current dvd player doesn't have these then you should at least be using S-video . I don't think that a composite connection even passes 480 lines . And i'm running progressive on and TV set at 540p. I tried all combinations of prog. on and off , 540p and 1080i switching and it came out the best. I used patterns which are on VE and DVE (the resolution patterns and the ones with fine lines in patterns and boxes).You can see differences on the finely detailed patterns such as more or less flickering and noise etc. with each change of the dvd or your sets modes.

Originally posted by faheem5
So if I keep the tv at 540p there shouldnt be any scaling right??

The 480p coming from your DVD player would still need to be upconverted to 540p by the TV. The only way to avoid having the TV upconvert is to get a DVD player capable of outputting a 1080i signal (unless 540p-capable DVD players exist outside of my knowledge).

For example, lets say I am watching saving private ryan, its 1:85, so even on a widescreen tv, I should get some black lines. But it sounds like if i set my tv to full, it will strecth the picture, and get rid of black lines, am i correct in assuming this??[/B]

Pretty much as Jim said, only 1.78:1 and 1.33:1 ratio movies/shows will completely eliminate black bars when in "Full" mode.


The 65H84 is already on sale here.

Would someone please post the approximate height and width (in inches) of the viewable area of the 57H84.
Thanks!

Originally posted by pittdog1
I don't think that a composite connection even passes 480 lines.

Composite and S-Video top out at 480i. You need component, DVI, or HDMI to get anything above that.

Originally posted by soulflare
Composite and S-Video top out at 480i. You need component, DVI, or HDMI to get anything above that.

Please excuse my ignorance, but does that mean a progressive scan DVD player with component outs passes a 480p signal or a 540p?

Originally posted by Eben
Would someone please post the approximate height and width (in inches) of the viewable area of the 57H84. Thanks!

That information isn't published by Toshiba, but based on a few measurements of my 46H84 and a little math I'd guesstimate about 49.5" x 28.0" (which would give you about 56.87" diagonally).

Originally posted by soulflare
That information isn't published by Toshiba, but based on a few measurements of my 46H84 and a little math I'd guesstimate about 49.5" x 28.0" (which would give you about 56.87" diagonally).

Thanks!

Originally posted by Eben
Please excuse my ignorance, but does that mean a progressive scan DVD player with component outs passes a 480p signal or a 540p?

No apologies necessary. A regular progressive scan DVD player would send out a 480p signal over component.

Originally posted by soulflare
No apologies necessary. A regular progressive scan DVD player would send out a 480p signal over component.

So that means that such a signal would be "upconverted" by the Toshiba to 540p or 1080i? Is there a general consensus preferring one to the other, or is it in the eye of the beholder?

Yes, and yes on the eye of the beholder bit IMO.

I went ahead and bought the 46H84 today. The white line is just as visible as it was on my 42H83, maybe even more so, and is also about an inch or so right of center. Would the fix be the same as it was on the 46H83? Hopefully it won't be too much of a hassle to have fixed. Other than that I am very pleased with it but there is no excuse that the white line still has not been fixed. The picture seems to be a bit brighter than it was on 42H83 as well. I have not noticed any brushed aluminum lines or jail bars either. Other than the white line everything seems good.

sorry to hear the tv has this problem still, was wondering if you can take a picture of this white line you are noticing. If you could that be great, I would assume it had to be real up close, but just want to see how it looks in person.

Originally posted by david118383
I went ahead and bought the 46H84 today. The white line is just as visible as it was on my 42H83, maybe even more so, and is also about an inch or so right of center.

Be sure to check your television's overscan. The white line on my 46H84 also seemed off-center to the right at first, but an overscan pattern showed me that the image was off-center to the right as well. The fix should be identical to that of the 83 series, but I don't believe that's been confirmed by anyone yet.

I just emailed toshiba with the issue - lets see how they respond.

jim

I cannot believe that Toshiba Has not addressed the problem in the 84 series sets. UNBELIEVABLE! It's a shame really because these sets have a great picture at any price and especially for the price we can get them for.
I've stated numerous times that i've never seen it on my set and me and my wife and daughter have looked for it on numerous occasions. But i know
it obviously exists. Toshiba can't expect us to believe that they are not aware of it.
Jim, i hope you get a good response from them and keep everybody posted on the response they send you.
Faheem, from what i understand, it's going to be next to impossible to get a picture of the line due to the fact that it doesn't show itself very often, it's usually very faint, doesn't occur for more than a fraction of a second, and with the lag time on most digital cameras between pushing the button and actually taking the picture it would be gone by then.I've even heard of people trying to press pause on their DVD players where the line appears but it goes away when they press pause because the camera or scene has to be panning across(moving right to left or vice versa) to see the white line. Good luck to everybody and their Toshies and great thread!

Originally posted by pittdog1
I cannot believe that Toshiba Has not addressed the problem in the 84 series sets. UNBELIEVABLE!

Especially when they could have completely eliminated the problem for less than $1 per unit on the production line (that's including labor, although they could probably automate that). I guess some beancounter within Toshiba decided it would be cheaper to disassemble, repair, and then reassemble 2-4% of the sets under warranty then to simply fix the problem when it was easiest to do so.

Of course, what they've failed to consider is that anyone who asks about Toshiba online at any half-decent AV site is going to hear about this problem, and as a result, may go with another brand instead.

hey.. question- I am in the process of building a stand - it will be about 8-10" in height - I plan on putting my onkyo 600 down there - any one know what the minimum clearence I would need - the unit is 6.5" tall - so there would be about 2-3" clear on the top with a small fan.. that should be enough shoudnt it?

thanks
jim

It really is unexusable that the white line has not been fixed, but I still would not let it keep me from buying the 46H84 because it can be easily fixed with a service call. I think I am pretty happy with mine. I did the 56 pt. convergence and used the THX optimizer on Monsters Inc. to get my settings right. I will probably get DVE eventually, but I don't see how it would make much difference. I ran the perfect circle test on the THX Optimizer and everything seemed to be centered perfectly. The rectangle outside the circle was perfectly straight and there was about a half inch of black space outside the rectangle all the way around the TV. Does that mean that my geometry and overscan are alright?

Originally posted by pittdog1
gofast, Are you meaning component instead of composite.

Yes - of course I did - I do that all the time. I only use component, but hope to go to dvi/hdmi as soon as I get a new DVD.

Brad

It really is unexusable that the white line has not been fixed, but I still would not let it keep me from buying the 46H84 because it can be easily fixed with a service call.

David118383 you said you can call this problem in and Toshbia will come out and fix it for free. If so can you tell us who you talked to or what the process was. I dont have my H84 yet, but if i am one of the unfortunate who can see it, then I would love if i can call it in.

You can find the service bulletin for the white line fix over at the Spot. I would just print it out and take it to your service center.

well i went to www.hometheaterspot.com and no luck. I dont know if their server is down or wat. Have you been to that site recently. It is 1110 AM central time. I will try again later, but do you have a direct link to this bulletin.

HTS has been down since last night for me... I've PM'ed you the link.

Should I set my color temperature to warm or medium? What is a good ballpark figure for setting the sharpness?

I like medium for color temp - as far as sharpness I have mine set to 0 for dvd's and 20 for tv

jim

Well.. Toshiba was no help - here was their response.. I guess I will call to see what the tech has to say - I guess the real answer is we need confirmation on the 84 circuit boards.
============================

Dear Sir/Madam,
Thanks for writing!
I apologize for the inconvenience. I recommend having an authorized service center take a look at your unit. Please visit the link below to locate the center nearest you.
http://www.tacp.com/service/servcntr.nsf/$$Search?OpenForm
Please write back if I can assist you further.
Rick
Toshiba Customer Service

--Original Message--
From: Jim Tressler
Date: 7/24/2004 8:52:18 AM
To: Customer_Support@tacp.com
Subject: new 46h84 with white line issue

Hello,

I have recently purchased a 46h84 Rear Projection television and it has the Center Drive Line problem as specified in Technical Bulletin # PJTV200405
REF: WU060404 Date: 06/04/04 - How do I go about getting this brand new model fixed?
Thank you for your time
Jim Tressler

Well.. the CDL is starting to drive me crazy - if I look for it I can see it all time during motion scenes - its not there during still shots or anything else - there also apprears to be two lines about 1 inch apart and about 1/2 inch in length - I am calling the service center tomorrow if they cant fix it, I think this unit is going back - problem is I dont know what other sets to look at.. man this sucks becasue the picture quality is fricken awesome!!! (except for the cdl of course!!)

jim

faheem,

The Toshiba service bulletin for the white line issue is available on www.hometheaterspot.com in the paid members areas only. An annual membership there is a very reasonable $25 fee, quite well worth it.

Tim

I've been looking at DLP's and I have a unique problem in that I want a good viewing angle and I want at least 46" but not more than 50", because it won't fit in my armoire, otherwise. The Toshiba 51H84 sounds like a great deal in that I get a better viewing angle than a DLP and it costs less than half. My question is, what is HD2 on a CRT compared to HD2 on a DLP? In other words, do I get similar picture quality on the 51H84 over a similar DLP? In fact, I'd think it's BETTER because you don't have the wierd stuff up close on a CRT.

The only bummer is the weight, but, I think I might be able to live with it.

Also, what is the Contrast Ratio on this? Much thanks!!

Ez, the HD2 CRTs on Toshiba rear-projection CRT televisions and the HD2+ chips on Toshiba and other brand DLP sets may be similarly-named, but are vastly different technologies. An HD2+ equipped Toshiba DLP set, such as the 52HM84, should blow a 51H84 out of the water when it comes to PQ (unless the HM84 is defective or horribly calibrated).

I talked with toshiba tech support directly - and they could not give me an answer as to weather the 84 series fix was the same as the 83 series fix for the cdl - I also had the local repair shop call and speak to one on their engineers- same thing - so best buy is bringing me a new one today - if it has the cdl - it goes back and I will get the hitachi 51f510 instead. I will let you all know

jim

I was thinking of going with the new Toshiba 57hx94, but the white line issue was one of the reasons I ruled it out.

They really do need to address the issue.

This really does stink. I also had my sights set on the 57HX94. Why did Toshiba ignore this problem?!?! Ughh!!

bear in mind - not every unit has it - or not everyone will see it - but once you see it - you will see it everywhere!!!!! What really sucks is the pq is outstanding (inho of course)!!

jim

I have bought the 46H84 last week and am very happy with the standard cable picture quality and I do not see the white line....or maybe I did , I had to look really hard to see if anything and in fact I wonder if I have just been imaging that there should be a white line in the middle or something...

My concern was that even if it wasn't there I'd still see it :D

I feel good about my decision to go with the Hitachi though. If you get the HX94 and you don't have any issues then you've got a great set.

well.. the new 46h84 had the white line as well.. so its going back and I just bought the hitachi 51f510 - going to miss the toshiba - but the white line was killing me. I will have the 46h84 for another 10 days so I plan on doing a side by side comparison.

jim

Originally posted by jim tressler
well.. the new 46h84 had the white line as well.. so its going back and I just bought the hitachi 51f510 - going to miss the toshiba - but the white line was killing me. I will have the 46h84 for another 10 days so I plan on doing a side by side comparison.

jim


I saw people saying returning the TV etc, how exactly do you do that? you called the delivery guy to send it back or you just take the 150 lb TV to the store yourself...?

with best buy they will come and get it if the delivered it in the first place

I have had my 46H84 for a week now. I have to say that I have not seen any line issues. I'm going to stop looking. You guys are making me paranoid.

I do have a question about standard 4:3 though. I was expecting that the bars on the sides would be black like the bars at the top and bottom of a widescreen movie. Not white like this. I am not into the stretched picture to fill in the screen thing. I have read about burnin issues. I ran through the Video Essentials adjustments and have the levels set correctly. I was wondering how well the tubes will stand up to 4:3 viewing. Are white bars better than black bars for the tv?

I know over time I will have more widescreen viewing. Tomorrow I will be getting cable and my HD box. So I am moving forward toward more widescreen viewing. I'm just afraid that I will have some intensity issues in the white areas on down the road. Thoughts??

mikeski

3 questions:

1. Does the tv accept 720p signals ???

2. Whats the difference between the 51H84 and the 51HX84 ???

3. Whats the difference between the 51HX84 and the 51HX83 ???

Thanks !!!

1. Yes it accepts 720p signals - it converts them to 1080i
2. Not too much - different cabinites - guts are the same
3. the hx83 series used the pegasus crts which were supposedly better

Originally posted by jim tressler
2. Not too much - different cabinites - guts are the same

Not quite. The HX84s come with a "Super Wide Band Video Amplifier" and controllable Velocity Scan Modulation, not to mention an upgraded remote. It's not a huge difference, but then again, Toshiba's only asking for an extra $100 for the Cinema series models.

I stand corrected :)

So why does the HX84 dont use the pegasus 4 CRT anymore ??? It should be an improvement don't you think ??? I'm very confused....

The white line has been addressed by a technical bulletin, first in Canada and now in the US.

That TB only references models 46H83, 51H83, 57H83, 65H83, 46HX83, 51HX83, 57HX83, 65HX83, 51H93, 57H93, 65H93, 51HX93, 57HX93, and 65HX93. No --H--4 models. Any word on whether it applies to the newer models (or whether a different TB has been issued for them)?

no word yet - they should work - but toshiba will not confirm that it does

Originally posted by greeno
The white line has been addressed by a technical bulletin, first in Canada and now in the US.

Thank god you posted that link!! Because for whatever reason my technican from HHGregg could not find any white line issue and claims to have contacted Toshiba...:rolleyes: Wish I would have checked here first on this model cause now it is a PITA to get it fixed.

Originally posted by Eben
Any word on whether it applies to the newer models?

I don't know yet, but I e-mailed Toshiba Canada earlier today (because their 1-800 number was "busy" :rolleyes: ) to begin the process of getting my TV (a 46H84) repaired. I'll keep you guys posted as to how that goes.

I think I've decided to purchase the 51H84c but first I have a couple of questions. First, you guys talk like it accepts a 720p signal but I see no mention of that on any sites. So, if it does, what does it convert it too?
Secondly, I just have a regualr dvd player? Is it worth it to upgrade to a progressive one on this TV? If so, please recommend one, but I'm not willing to spend a whole bunch cause the TV is killing my budget. Also, I have seen no real mention of what an Xbox is like on this. Give me the facts gents!!!
Thanks

How do you access service menu? I have a 57H83 and I did the mute and menu keys combinationa and doesn't seem to work. Any ideas?

Toshibas convert 720p to 1080i and do it quite well. Watched MNF last night 720p ABC and couldn't tell the diference between it and the 1080i feeds on the other channels.

Varok, it will work. Make sure that the remote sensor next to the power button is seeing your signal when doing the mute sequence. There is two known ways of getting in the menu, mine works both ways , some sets only do it one way or the other. Press mute on remote 2X then 1 more and hold that third mute down.While holding the mute button down on the third press hit the menu button on the set then release both buttons at the same time. An S should appear on the screen. Then press menu again and then the #7 key and that should bring up the convergence grid.
The only difference in doing it the other way is pressing mute 3X then holding the 4th push in instead of the third one. My set gets there either way. Just make sure your not blocking the Remote signal with your hand or any thing else. And as i'm sure you've all ready read here, BE CAREFUL in service mode. It's really not difficult to do the service convergence at all but if you think you screwed any thing up by accident just turn the set off with the power button on the set and you should be O.K.

Thanks for the tip! I can access it now. I have my tv for 6 months and I havn't done the 56 point service menu convergence so any tips on doing it would be appreciated. Thanks again!

Originally posted by varok
Thanks for the tip! I can access it now. I have my tv for 6 months and I havn't done the 56 point service menu convergence so any tips on doing it would be appreciated. Thanks again!

I'm in the exact same boat with a 57H83. I've only done the 9 pt probably 5 times since I got it. (late Feb.)

Does the 56pt that much more accurate? Noticeable difference?

Did I read that you can save the 56pt convergence to your touch focus button? Meaning you wouldn't have to do it again?

You mentioned we could screw it up? What exactly should I look to avoid?

THanks for the help

By screwing it up i mean not doing exactly as the instructions say. If you were to accidentally hit the wrong button, or think you did it right but a bunch of sub-menus come up or anything else other than the convergence grid. That's when it is important to power off the set instead of trying to figure out how to get out of where you accidentally got. The 56 pt. convergence is way more accurate than the 9 pt. With the 9 pt. you only have 9 little crosses at different points on the screen. There is know way of knowing what the rest of your convergence grid looks like. On the 56 pt service menu convergence there is a full grid across the screen. There is only 56 pts. at which it can be moved but you can see where it's not quite right everywhere on the grid . The 56 pts. is always enough to get every spot just right. Also the touch focus button pushed as the last step before hitting the power button to bring your set back to normal does learn your service menu convergence. It retains about 90% the first time and after 3 or 4 more times it's pretty much got it.
As far as how much difference it makes, Watch a credit roll at the end of a DVD. Pause it and see how much "bleeding" around the white letters you have. Then check it at the same spot on that DVD after the convergence.
Then remember that this amount of color bleeding(don't know what else to call it) was happening on all material whether you noticed it or not.
One more thing to add, the convergence grid is quite bright so if your convergence looks to be off quite a bit, i would maybe do it in stages starting in the center and working out from there. Maybe 20 mins. or so at a time . Calibrating your brt. and contr. has no outcome on how brt. the grid is. So in summary, yes it is worth it IMO, it's not that hard to do and just bail out with the power button on the set if something doesn't look right. Good luck.

Wow, great reply. Thanks!


I'll give it a shot this weekend.

Good Luck and enjoy your set. If you were lucky enough to get one without the white line issue then you guys got one helluva set, just as i did!

amen brother - if you have no white line its one hell of a set!! after setting up the hitachi 51f510 and 46h84 next to each other - i think they are damn near identical - the downside to the hitachi is the brightness is not consistent all over - not too bad - and the sd looks like crap - but I think the 46 - 51 difference is in play there.

overall at this point I think the hitachi is the winner because of the white line issue with the tosh.

jim

Originally posted by pittdog1
Toshibas convert 720p to 1080i and do it quite well. Watched MNF last night 720p ABC and couldn't tell the diference between it and the 1080i feeds on the other channels.

So If my tv is set at 1280x720p, I should get the same IQ when playing dvd's on 1776x1000i, correct?

I'm pretty excited about receiving my 51H84C next month, I tell you - waiting is the hardest part! It's my first HDTV purchase, replacing the 6 year old 32" Trinitron. I got a great deal on the set, you have to love the shops which retail match prices.

Many hours of research on this site among others steered me away from a GWIII purchase (although they do look sexy). I'd probably have ended up with a Hitachi S500 if they weren't over $1000 more, but I'm sure it's for the better as I hear the stretch modes on the Toshiba's are very nice.

September can't come soon enough :)

swat -the stretch modes are fantastic.. you will like them - just one word of advice - dont look for the white line :)

jim

Varok, there are only 2 settings for your Toshiba in the menu, 1080i or 540p. I watch HD material with my set in 1080i. I watch dvds at 540p. If you are talking about computer resolutions viewing dvds you're talking to the wrong guy , i'm completely illiterate when it comes to HTPC.

Hey Jim, thanks for replying back to us Toshiba guys and being honest about the quality of the 2 sets(white line not with standing). Hitachi makes a helluva set and it's not suprising that the "f" series looks the same as the Tosh as i am pretty sure they use the same guns. Hope the Hitachi works out great for you especially considering all you've gone through. Just a heads up on that set, you might have read that tigerriot returned his second f-series Hitachi with a color problem occuring in both sets. Someone else here at AVS also reported that at "the spot" some were reporting flicker. Hopefully those problems are way less common than the CDL issue on the Toshies but i just thought i'd give you a heads up just like on the Toshiba. Besides , I've been leaning away from recommending the Toshes
to people who want an opinion(even though i love mine and don't have any problems) because of that %$#@&* line and instead have been recommending the Hitachi or Pannies. Good luck with the set and keep us informed.

Yes, I'm talking bout computer resolutions but I'm almost certain that it will still convert to 1080i. Thanks.

I'd consider getting a Hitachi F510, but I still haven't seen any decent reviews to see how it stacks up against the S500. Plus I'm getting the 51H84 for about $500 CDN cheaper than the F510 - if there's a big gap between the two sets I'd like to know :) Have the stretch modes on the Hitachi's caught up to the Toshiba yet?

And all H83/84 owners - I hear that you can use the set as a center channel speaker, would this be equivalant to a mid-level HTIB sattelite?

Originally posted by Swat_R2
And all H83/84 owners - I hear that you can use the set as a center channel speaker, would this be equivalant to a mid-level HTIB sattelite?

I wouldn't recommend doing that even if it were possible.

I was just wondering if anyone knows the technical differences between the H81 series and the H84 series. The reason I ask is that I have a 50H81 right now that has been serviced quite a few times and I have a service plan from best buy on it and they are going to exchange it out for me. I will get store credit back and with the prices on these sets dropping, I will be able to get a 65" with the credit I have so I was thinking about the toshiba or the mitsubishi. I have been extremely happy with the picture quality on the toshiba and even besides the service issues I would still go with that based on picture quality. So my question is mainly whether the H84 has any improvements in picture quality? My mom bought an H83 last year and the only differences I noticed was that mine had much better contrast out of the box. It took quite a bit of tweaking in the service menu to get the tv looking right. any info would be appreciated.

Dangrzne25, I own a Tosh 46H83(pics in the gallery) there is no significant difference between the 83 and 84 series sets, just some added user menu items. And i beleive they have an HDMI input where the 83 series has DVI.
I'm not familiar with that model of Tosh (50H81). It shouldn't matter what the settings are like out of the box to you. Everyone here will recomend at least calibrating your set with a dvd such as Video Essentials, Digital Video Essentials , AVIA or at the very least, THX optimizer that's on movies that have it. These discs will help you get your settings right for contrast, brightness, color, tint and sharpness as close as you can get them without a proffesional calibration from a pro and way closer than you can eyeball them. Having your settings correct will greatly help reduce the risk of burn in , bring out more detail and more of a film like experience in the picture and extend the life of your set by years. Regardless of which set you choose turn the contrast and brightness down to around 50% on both settings asap then calibrate with one of the afforementioned discs as soon as you can. If you want more info on either of those sets do a search here or start a new thread comparing the 2. Hope this helped.

Big time newbie here who has enjoyed learning from these posts.

I just purchased a 46H84 and also purchased DISH Network. I'm trying to get everything configured correctly to get the best possible picture quality.

I've got the Dish 811 hooked up to my TV with a DVI - HDMI connection. I get a lot of what seem to be 'artifacts' (which I'm guessing is from the DISH). But also what I think is 'bleeding' around letters and other things.

I ran the 56pt. convergence, but am confused on what I should be looking for. I don't see any separate blue or red crosses. but it seems to me like their is a blue haze around all of the white crosses (i could be seeing things though). When I push up or down on the remote, it doesn't seem to get any better or worse.

I should also note that the RG6 runs from the dish to my basement closet and then back up to the living room (appx. 80 - 100ft). Should I have some sort of amplifier in there?

I know some of this is a little off track for the H83/H84 thread, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thx

dredam, Where are your contrast and brightness settings? Usually when you see Blue around white it's because these are set to high. They should be around 50% for both. What you are probably seeing is called blooming. It should go away unless you have a focus issue or something else but i doubt it. Then go back in to your convergence and line them up to be all white(no blue or red bleeding around them). If you search around here you'll find references to set-up discs. They are essential for CRT sets to get everything right.

thx pittdog. I will purchase a reference disc to get everything set correctly. I'll check my contrast and brightness when I get home from work. Regarding the convergence, do you just use the arrow keys on the remote to get them to line up all white?

I own the 46H83 which is a little different in the convergence mode. It only has a 9 pt. system. I have to access the service menu of my set to get 56 pts. Your owners manual should tell you how to move the different colors around. It would be hard to tell what was going on with all of that blooming going on. When you get your settings right it should be easy to tell what you are moving and where. And yes, i would assume the arrow buttons on the remote move your guns for convergence. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

dredam, i just reread your original post. You won't see separate crosses. You want to see solid White crosses with no bleeding of red or blue either vertically or horizontally. And make sure your set is warmed up for a little bit before doing it (25 or 30 mins).

Originally posted by pittdog1
[B Also the touch focus button pushed as the last step before hitting the power button to bring your set back to normal does learn your service menu convergence. It retains about 90% the first time and after 3 or 4 more times it's pretty much got it.
[/B]


Hi pittdog1.

as you said. i should hit "touch focus" after done 56 point convergence ??

i read the instruction of 56 point convergence said that just ignore the touch focus when it's asking for it after hitting 7 , so which one should i do??

thanks.

PIB

Hitting touch focus at the end of the convergence (after hitting 7 to save your convergence) does learn your convergence as i stated earlier. This was argued in another thread not to long ago(might be able to search for it still) and MichaelTLV or another ISF calibrator posted that it does indeed learn your saved convergence from the service menu. Plus i can verify that it does as it does so on my set. My set is the H83 and i would imagine that the H84 would be the same. All that being said, i still go into the service menu to do my converging jsut to make sure it's holding well. It took about 2 or 3 months for my set to start holding convergence really well, now when i go in to do it i'm just nitpicking with it because it's always fine now.

Well tomorrow I'm going ot purchase a 51H84c at futureshop. With a deal comes out too 2g's after tax. Haven't talked about warrenty yet, still on the fence about that. Should I do the warrenty? Anyone have any major problems beside the white line? Anything else I should know before I pull the trigger?
Thanks guys, you've been a huge help with what TV too choose.

My 51H84C is still 3 weeks away, but it seems more like 3 months :) Chad, check your PM.

Well I didn't go with it just yet, I have one quick question. I was offered 5 year warrenty for 350. Now this guy said the bulbs/projector guns alone are worth 1250 bucks? Any truth to that?
Thanks

The extended warrenty is just another form of insurance. A waste of money if you do not use it....but great to have if you do. For the small amount of extra payment required I would recomend the warrenty.....particularly on higher priced electronics.

The extended warranty is something that you'll want to get. I had to use it several times and now best buy is replacing my set with a brand new one after only 2 years. These weren't major problems but issues mainly with the convergence and focus of the set that could not be repaired. $350 for a 5 year warranty is cheaper than the $400 I paid 2 years ago for a 4 year. As far as the "bulbs/projector guns" being worth 1250, that is slightly incorrect. Usually the sales guys at these places mistake "guns" for the actual CRTs but yes these are typically the most expensive thing to replace on the TV.

I would go with the warranty.. I did and I'm so glad I did!

My toshiba died 7 days after the manufacturer's, and they can't fix it (they 've so far "patched" it) and I'm getting a new h84 next week...

Just be sure of one thing though... some extended will end when you get an new tv in exchange.... mine doesn't so the new set will be covered for the next 4 years



-----
Edited since I can't type :rolleyes:

Hey guys .... thanks for the info ... I'm going to go get one of those 'calibration' discs tonight. I saw one post about 'DVD Essentials'. Is that generally the best one to get or are there others that are better.

I did drop my contrast down a bunch, but I still see a good amount of blue around the white crosses (which still look a little hazy to me). Maybe one of these discs will help out a bit and then i can properly calibrate it.

Thanks, Don

deredman, I see you have an 84. the 83's had a problem with "extra" wide blue focus that would show up as a slight blue haze. I 've see it in person on my buddies set. blue is always slightly de-focused so that you can get enough light out of the tube, but the 83's just couldn't really get tightened up. The best you can do is get the convergence spot on to minimize it. I'll be that this is a carry over from the 83's.

Best,
jeff

greeno, I've had the 46H83 for over 8 months now and can assure you that i don't have any blue haze at all on my convergence grid. Maybe i'm lucky as i don't have the white line issue either. I'm not blind though(20/15)
as i do have a very slight jail bar issue. It is not distracting, nor does it show up very often, it's kind of the opposite of the way the CDL problem shows up, It happens only when there is little or no camera movement on a darker solid background. I only mention this to show that i do see picture flaws when they occur. Maybe i got a ringer? I know that alot of the Hitachis supposedly have a blue focus issue, but i have not remebered hearing of it on Toshibas in this forum before. Maybe Jim Tressler or soulflare or someone else with one of these sets can chime in on whether or not they see any Blue bleeding on convergence grid.

Costco has the 65H84 for $2,000. Looks like the best deal I've seen so far. They also will take it back anytime within three years if you don't like it, which pretty much supercedes the Toshiba warranty. Our TV will be built-in and around 16-18 feet from the sofas, so 65 seems like a good size. We plan on selling it with the house next year, so we're not going to buy anything much more expensive. Any comments regarding this proposed purchase?

Thanks,

Ted

If you have a Conns in your area, they have the 65HX83 for $1800. Many stores still have new-in-box units.

Yeah, I have blooming on the blue on my 46H84 - and it's slightly worse than it was on my 46H83. I've asked a few people online about the issue, along with the tech who fixed the CDL on my TV, and have been told that such blooming is normal. However, it still seems excessive to me. I'm hoping that the problem can be minimized by mechanically focusing the blue CRT.

I have a question about the 57H84 vs. the new 52HM84 DLP's. If this is an overly simple question, please bear with me.

I have a friend that can't quite afford the 52HM84 DLP and is thinking about getting a CRT-RPTV, the new Toshiba 57H84. Is the picture on the 57H84 comparable to the new DLPs and LCD Rear Projection systems (other than the obvious difference in screen size)?
Is the main difference the size and bulkiness?
Where do you put equipment on the 57H84, such as the cable box, DVD Player, VCR, etc.? Does this equipment go beside the unit on a stand or on top of the 57H84?

Any comments are appreciated. Thanks!

Alan

Any word on the integrated sets? I thought the 51HX94 was due in August but none of the local stores here in NJ/NYC even have it in there computer systems yet. Getting really bummed, as I was hoping to get a 57HX94 in time for the football system. I know, I know, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up considering the Tosh website says September for the 57HX94.

Well I finally purchased the TV and it arrives next saturady for me. Now I asked a personal friend that worked there about buying some sort of Calibration disc. He stats that the Magic focus button works so well that one is not even needed? Is he partly true at all or just totally off the mark?
Thanks

He is just totally off the mark.

Take some time reading posts about new tv setup/calibration on this and other forums. This topic has been discussed in great depth from many angles. I'd also suggest taking a look at www.hometheaterspot.com which has a wealth of information available to it's members.

Good hunting,

Tim

Chad, he is totally off the mark. First of all, the touch focus is only for convergence and isn't even close to as accurate as doing a manual convergence. The set-up discs of which there are many and will all do a good job, will get your set dialed in for all adjustments such as , brt,cont, shrp,color, and tint. Touch focus is not going to do a thing for these other adjustments. A set-up disc is a mandatory piece of equipment on CRT RPTV's ISF calibration not withstanding. Your set will undoubtedly look 100% better after a disc calibration than out of the box and doing nothing more than a touch focus. This is not an IMO, this is a fact! Good luck and enjoy your set! The other great thing about buying that set is all the help you can get with it right here on this thread. It's almost like having your own help desk for your set. I've used it that way many times .

Well, I see your guys point now. I plan on buying the DVE dvd this week, just that AVia is so expensive!!!!
Thanks guys

I've been having a problem with my 51H83's horizontal positioning. It seems that everything is not centered. My picture is about 1/2" off to the right. This is only really noticeable when watching 4:3 TV images, or when an XBox or PS2 is hooked up. I'm guessing that there is a setting in the service menu that I could adjust. Has anyone else experienced this?

Originally posted by D_Rock
I've been having a problem with my 51H83's horizontal positioning. It seems that everything is not centered. My picture is about 1/2" off to the right. This is only really noticeable when watching 4:3 TV images, or when an XBox or PS2 is hooked up. I'm guessing that there is a setting in the service menu that I could adjust. Has anyone else experienced this?

I didn't have a problem like that, but I had about 5% overscan. There are settings in the service menu for this, but I'd recommend using one of the 2 calibration discs to generate a pattern so that you can set overscan AND position.

You can find detailed service menu instructions on this site:

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/brandspecific/toshiba/servicemenu/servicemenu.html

brad

Hi,

I just bought the 46h84 and so far I am loving the picture on the TV. The only concern I have with the TV so far is that there is a lot of glare on the screen. I was wondering if there was a glare shield or any other method of cutting the glare down on this TV. Thanks!

Jeremy

Well I have been missing in action for a while. I orginally went into to buy the 65H84, but was told it was on backorder. So I started looking around, and finally convinced my self that the Mitsubishi 73 inch with 9" CRT is the tv for me. I had to put in a special order, and pay full MSRP price. This is after I was told the price will be adjusted once we get it in, and you have a 2 year no payment/no intrest. After the tv was in stock, the price was barely negotiated, as the tv could be had much less on the internet (which I didnt wnat to do) So I canceled my order, and have come back to the Toshiba. For some reason, its still on backorder for another 7 days. I am now trying to decide between this 65 inch and the Hitachi 65F710 (more expensvie since it has tuner built in) I noticed when I orginally saw the Toshiba, that blue haze or glow around peoples head. I thought it was bad convergence, hit magic touch, and still there. (didnt have time for manual convergence) So I will check out the new Hitachi if I can, and compare that to Sony (dotn know why, but I gota know now before its too late) I can still get a killer deal on the Toshiba, whcih is why I keep coming back to it, but I need a good picture as well. I have read several threads comparing Hitachi/Sony and boy its pretty much split donw the middle.

A newbie question -

About to config my 57h83 with the AVIA disc. I'd like to ask the group for any tips or hints - or 'gotchas' to avoid - before I begin.

The picture looks fine, I've had the set a year, no white lines or other problems. Occassional 'jail bars', but not really an issue for me.

Recently saw HDTV on a plasma, made me sit up and take notice.

That's why I have the AVIA disc now.

TIA - Gene

Well I just put my order in for the 65H84, and it will be here on wenesday. Ill post my first impression, and a few days after I have done AVIA/convergencey, how it looks. Its sad, now i have to read throuhg this whole topic, and write down all the tweaks, and service code people have found.

Have had the 65H84 for the past six weeks and am very satisfied with its performance. No sure why some people spend several thousand dollars for a television just to get it home and take it apart for tweaking. In my opinion it is more of a mind-set than reality or just still the "little curious boy" syndrome. Having owned projection television sets since their inception......the first was a Panasonic 46 incher in the early eighties.....have never had a poor quality picture that was caused by the set .

JacJames, Most people here do not take their sets apart to tweak. This is really only nescasary if one needs to do an optics cleaning (should be done every year or two) or to fix focus issues. Tweaking with a set-up disc on the other hand is NOT a mind set but rather a nescesity. If you are using ANY of the factory preset viewing modes on your set, you are greatly reducing the life of your set. This is not a myth. If you have been used to watching your set this way then it will take a little while to adjust to watching it after a dvd calibration. But, once you adjust to seeing it the way it is supposed to look you will see detail and depth like you have never sen before. Watch it this way for a couple of weeks and then switch back to one of the preset modes and you'll see what all the tweaking is done for.CRT's constantly loose brightness over time, properly adjusted this time is extended greatly. With out of the box settings it is reduced greatly. FACT! You are not setting it up to sacrifice picture quality for longetivity, but rather for meeting standards to which your set is supposed to be displaying. The longetivity issue is just a bonus.

Well I've been trying to adjust the TV now and I've come across a few problems. First, I have no idea how to do a manual convergence. Secondly, when I poped in my DVE disc, it showed that my TV was at %5 overscan and mentioned that I could change it to be %2 or even closer. How do I do this?
Thanks

Chad, 5% is completely acceptible. Manual convergence is not very hard to do. When you bring it up on your set you'll either see white crosses or a full grid across the screen. Make sure your set is warmed up(on for about 30 minutes or so) and then make sure all the crosses or grid lines are solid white with no blue or red bleeding around them. When all your CRT's are lined up they should be solid white or at least as close as you can get them. Start in the middle and work your way out. It can be a little hard to see the blue or red bleeding around if your convergence is pretty close. You may have to move a little closer to your screen to see it. I like to do my convergence from about 6' away from the screen. Hope this helps. If you still don't get it or need more help PM me or ask again here.

Does anyone know how to remove the glare screen from th 65hx83? Thanks!!

ji9988, Go to keohi.com or do a search for "restack" here on this forum. Also you could try to PM MichaelTLV or JohnnyG as they are ISF'ers and probably have tips on how to do it. Hope this helps and hope i didn't throw the above names around to loosely. You 2 seem to be the guys with the most technical know how on Toshibas.

Chad/convergence -

About 6 posts prior to yours, gofast has posted a link to the KEOHI site, which has useful info on convergence setting.

Good luck, took today off from work to have house/tv to myself as taking my first crack at it now, then moving on to AVIA.

So I finished my first crack at calibrating with Avia, and the minute I start to make changes, my viewing mode switches to PREFERENCES, even though I began in MOVIE in order to lessen SVM.

How do I calibrate MOVIE, SPORT, STANDARD? Do I simply carry over the new settings from PREFERENCE mode?

Also, as I'm using my DVD player, and thus calibrating through it's input into the TV, (input #4), what happens when I switch back to cable, (input #0)?

Gene

I want to thank everyone for all the great posts. The one thing I did not see was advice on using the "split cabinet".
So here you go.
Out of the box before the move, the monitor looked great. Ofcource things where off (like geometry and convergence) but not bad. I had to move it to my room (The Lions Den) in the basement. My stairway has a 180 degree turn which is one reason I bought the Toshiba. I split the cabinet and moved it down without a problem (sweat and tears aside). I put it back together and it looked the same as takeing it out of the box! So I dove into the service menu to see what kind of damage I could do. But with the printouts from this post all I did was make it look better.

Congrats on the new set. This forum is a God send for sure!

Anyone that has the 46h84 with matching stand, can you post the dimentions of the compartment in the stand. How many components can be stored in it?

Anyone know if you can block out certain video inputs on the tv, I hate the big list of inputs and cosidering I am only using 2 of them, it would be nice to block the unused inputs, I know sony does this, and I belive panasonic as well. Didnt see nothing in the manual, on video block, which blocks out all the inputs.

I have a favor to ask of the H84 owners. I just finished adjusting my overscan, so i changed the HPOS, VPOS etc... settings. Only problem I accidentaly changed some other values by mistakes, some which I cant remember. I was wondering if anyone can jot down the orginal/defualt setting for the rest of the service menu options. I realize HPOS, VPOS those would be different, but the rest like RCUT, BCUT, if somone would be nice enough to take down the info, so i can go down the list, and change them back to default. I was stupid and couldnt figure what key was to change values, and i was makign chagnes on setting, which i cant even remember. If all fails, my only other options would be to go the store i bought at it (50 min drive) and take down the info from there, praying no one messed with the numbers there.

Also would the default setting be the same for 51-57-65 inches. I have the 65H84, but most people own the 57, so wanted to know if the default setting should be same. THANK YOU if someone can help me out, with my stupid mistake.

faheem5 :

I just got my 65h84 (no tweeks) I am recording the default codes and will post them when I can. what value are you looking for? so far I have over 70 default values.

Let me know......and I will post when I can

Hello everyone! I have some questions that I hope are easy to answer. I am considering buying the Toshiba 65H84.

1. Should I wait and buy the 65HX84?
2. What are the differences between the 65H84 and the 65HX84?
3. When will the HX84 series be available?
4. Toshiba's web site has no information on the new HX84 series. Where can I obtain more information about the HX84 series and if it is worth getting over the H84.

Thanks,
ChadZilla

Originally posted by etcarroll
So I finished my first crack at calibrating with Avia, and the minute I start to make changes, my viewing mode switches to PREFERENCES, even though I began in MOVIE in order to lessen SVM.

How do I calibrate MOVIE, SPORT, STANDARD? Do I simply carry over the new settings from PREFERENCE mode?

Also, as I'm using my DVD player, and thus calibrating through it's input into the TV, (input #4), what happens when I switch back to cable, (input #0)?

Gene

Movie, Sport, and Standard are 'presets' and can't be changed - that's why as soon as you change a setting, it switches to Preference. Make sure you scroll down and save your settings before you switch inputs so they'll stick. You're doing right by starting in Movie to disable SVM.

Settings are saved separately for each input, so no worries there. To calibrate my cable input, I start with the settings I used for the DVD input and tweak by eye from there.

faheem5,

The settings in service mode vary from set to set, as they do receive a preliminary, very basic calibration at the factory. There are no default values.

This is critical - the first thing to do the first time you enter service mode is to write down every value for every setting . Yeah, it's time-consuming, but you'll only have to do it once and it can prevent catastrophe down the road. I remember a post from Mr. Bob long ago (and I can't remember if it was even Toshiba or Mits, maybe 2001 sets) that changing one service mode setting a few clicks blew out your s-video input permanently.

Thank you Kevin for the warning. Thank fully the company I bought it from will switch out the tv for me, as its ahving geometry/convergency problems. So I will get a fresh start. All I did was copy of my height/width/center settings. So in the new set, that is all I am adjusting and leaving everything else alone. And the good thing, is the first time I set my overscan (3.5-4 all around) the gemotry was all out of whack, so they send a tech out to do it. Expect he was running late and only did the vertical lines, not the horizontal. I will call again in a week after my tv is switched out, and this time I will demand who ever, to do both vertical/horizontal.

PS: THANK YOU --- BadOmens for offering to copy the settings, it is good to have for your own record, and stupid people like me. I appreciate you offering, and I hope I dont need them again.

I just recently bought a LG 7832 DVd player for my TV. I'm going through component with 1080i upconversion from the player. THe TV is also set to receive a 1080i signal. First question is, when something appears like a title then the screen goes black, I can still see the last image outline in like grey form or something. I noticed this on Any GIven Sunday and CSI tonight. My TV was calibrated with the DVE disc. Secondly, when I set the LG to output either 480p or 720p, the reds really begin to bleed, but when I switch back to 1080i, everything it cool. Another fact is I own a 51H84C.
THanks

I have the 51H83 and no matter what combination of mute/menu i hit, I cannot get into the service menu to do a 56 pt convergence. Any one have any clues that could help?

press mute 2 imes on remote and then a third time and hold it. Make sure your remote is being read by the IR sensor next to the power button on the set. Then press menu on the set and release mute on the remote and menu on the set at the same time. Press menu on the set again and then the #7 key on the remote. That should do it. Most people that can't get in to it are not hitting the IR sensor or it is blocked by there body hand, etc.
I assume you have the rest of the instructions. At the end when it says press touch focus you'll see a series of red, grren, and blue sweeping lines on your screen. This goes on for 10 to 20 seconds then a massage will come up on your screen saying CALIBRATION COMPLETE. Then just shut off your power on the set wait a second or 2 and turn it back on. The sweeping lines are your touch focus controls learning your saved convergence. Be careful and if you think you screwed anything up at anytime turn the set off with the button on the set.

thanks for the tip..I was hitting menu on the remote..i'll try it on the set and see if that works

ok that worked..now how do you control the convergance..what buttons do what

#3 changes the cursor color to correspond to the gun you are moving. #5 changes the cursor from blinking to not blinking. While it's blinking you can move it around the grid to where you want to make an adjustment. When it's not blinking you do your adjustments at that point. #2 #4 #6 #8 act as your direction you want to move those points on the grid. For example you see red is a little north of where it should be at a certain point on the grid.
Move the cursor while it is blinking to that point, hit #5 again to make it quit blinking, then move the line south to match up using the #8 key on the remote. One thing to keep in mind, the green gun should not be moved accept to change minor geometry errors. The red and blue guns should be lined up to match the green one. When you are done use the sequence i talked about earlier. Press #7 then it will tell you to press touch focus. Also, try not to spend more than 20 minutes or so at a time doing this 56 pt. convergence as the grid is quite bright. Could be a little bit of burn-in risk and your eyes will start making you see things with that high contrast grid after a while. Start in the middle and work your way out and make sure your set has been on for at least 20 mins or so.

Kevin -

Thanks for the feedback. Giving my eyes a week to get used to new settings, I think I'm beginning to notice the change, faces look more 'alive' than before, if that makes sense. Have to do convergence again as well, still see some red fringe around white checks of checkerboard pattern in lower right quadrant, and itty bitty green fringe around white checks in mid-right quadrant.

Of all the patterns, I find the checkerboard most helpful for my tired , old eyes to find problems.

You're doing all the right things - a well calibrated picture may look dark at first, but once your eyes adjust to it you'll see all the added detail you were missing.

As far as convergence goes, it will drift a bit the first month or so as the components settle in. pittdog gave some great instructions above for the 56 point convergence - it allows you to have much more control than the 9 point convergence in the user menu.

Well i got my tv switched out, and took an hour to get all my equipment hooked back up. I am extremly impressed by the picture, and know i know somthing was wrong with the old tv. I just saw parts of CSI and all of Without a Trace. Both shows i watched for the first time ever. THe picture of Without a Trace was excellent, I am a hard customer to please, and did notice artificts in the picture, but my God....I am so glad i got this tv. Now I did notice the geemotry was off, havent checked with AVIA how bad, will do that tomm, and fix my overscan. And after a few days, call the tech to look at and fix the gemotry. Thanks again everyone for trying to help me earlier, with the service codes. Now to figure out my cable box problem...of to hdtv hardware section.

I have the 46HX83 Model - can someone please tell me what is going on when I fire up a DVD thhe settings that I had under Preference, prior to starting a DVD, CHANGE, and NOT for the better. Example: I have Contrast in Preference set a 25 - with a DVD playing it goes to 100. When I go back to watching regular SD/HD TV - my Preference setting return to what I SET THEM AT! What it IS?

TKS Michael:confused:

It might be that you havent save them in the input. For example, your dvd might be in Componet 1 - You set your setting in prefercne but didnt go all the way down and hit save. So everytime you go back to componet 1, i am guessing its going back to the default.

TKS faheemS - that makes sense! I forgot that I have two component hook ups and mistakenly assumed that my settings on the one transferred to the other. I will have to now transfer the Preference setting I prefer to the DVD Component connection.

TKS :rolleyes:

a few notes in this thread were asking the difference between the H and HX series of sets. The HX series has better components, more elements in the color guns, etc. It's the higher grade version. The H series is generally widely available from lots of retailers, while the HX series seems to be much more limited to who sells it. I know when I got my 50HX82 set a couple years back only 1 dealer in the Detroit area carried them (ABC Warehouse). My set still looks fantastic in HD, and I've never seen a white line down the middle! It's been well over a year since I did my last tweak using DVE and Avia.

I also belive the HX has a built in tuner as well.

The built-in, integrated, HD tuner is available on the H93 / HX93 sets as well as the upcoming H94 / HX94 sets.

The 9x series designation indicates the presence of the built-in, integrated HD tuner.

Tim

Man I almost had a heart attack watching the bears game yesterday in HD. Around the 2nd quarter, I started to notice the white(grayish) line going horizontally acroos the center of the tv. At first it only appeared for a second or less. As time went on, I was seeing it more often. By the time the game ended it was permentaly on the screen. I thought it was FOX, i tried other HD channels, and still there. I was getting pissed, as I just switched the tv, and didnt want to go through it all over again (convergence/gemetry problems) Then I thought the horizonal graysih line was because the tv is just hot (been on for around 3 hours) turned it off, came back near 6 hours later, and still there. Thats it I nearly just give up on it. Then I rememberd, before the FOX game, I put the HD box from 1080i to 720p. I put it back to 1080i and bam the problem dissapreed, I waited an hour, and checked all differnt channels, and nothing. THANK GOD. So if somone ever notices the white(grayish) line going horizontal across the center of the tv, try changing your HD resolution.

ALso a question, I only have 2 things hooked up to the tv, is their a way to block out the rest of the inputs from the tv??? I know Sony and Panasonic offer this, just wondering if this tv does. Nothing about it in the manual, just a complete blcokout of every input.

faheem,

The only problem with setting the box to output 720p is that for 1080i the STB is downconverting any 1080i signal to 720p, then the TV to upconverts that 720p signal to 1080i, and you will be losing some display resolution in the process. May not be too noticable, but true nonetheless.

You want to set your STB to bypass the original signal resolution directly to the TV without performing any conversions. I use this setting on my Scientific Atlanta Explorer 3250HD STB which I use to tune digital cable and cable HDTV channels, and it works great. Then your TV will automatically upconvert any non-480p signal directly to 1080i, leaving 1080i untouched. 480p will continue to be handled by your TV according to the Theater Settings - Display Format setting of 540p/1080i.

Tim

I set my STB (SA4200HD) to always output 1080i. I let the box do the upconversion and the TV (57HX83) displays the 1080i picture with no changing necessary.

This avoids the irritating delay and wavy lines when the TV has to switch from 480i to 1080i as you change channels.

I've A/B'ed letting the box do the upconvert and the TV doing it, and to me anyway, the box seems to produce a very slightly better picture. Couple that with no delay/res. change when switching from HD -> SD channels and it's the perfect setting for me.

Well, I was so happy to see that Best Buy had the TV today that I made the purchase and scheduled a delivery for next Monday. Can't wait to get this Bad boy. I got the 46H84. It was 1,399 w/ 10% discount which brought it down to 1,329 + 8.05% Sales tax + 35 Delivery Total 1,474.

I hope I don't run into any issues with the Line that some people mention. Seems to be less existent on the H84 than H83 from what I've read? The Best Buy guy sure was trying really hard to push the service plan for I think 250 which was debatable but I decided against it. It would've included a free Calibration by a Tosh Tech and 4 year extended warranty. He said to Calibrate it would normally cost $80 for the service call and about 80 for an hr to calibrate. He also said it was recommended to get it calibrated once a year by the Manufacture or you might get some shadowing. Is this true and accurate information? Thanks for any info and its great to join HDTV world again soon.

I didnt even know the plan covered calibration, you might want to find out. The store I bought my 65H84 offered me 5 years of in-home service plus free cleaning of CRT, plus tech calls for 179. (ofcourse that price is heavily discounted, since I know the guy, but at that price I couldnt say no) But if they really cover calibration, find out.

Anyone know if you can block out inputs which you are not using on the tv???

Faheemm5, Why is this an issue(the input blocking)? I'ts not going to eliminate any steps to change inputs. Input button-press once. Select input # -press once. Done. It wouldn't matter if there was 500 different inputs. If you're only using (for example)#3 and #5 whocare about all the rest, still only takes 2 key pushes to change it. Just curious, that's all.

Pittdog1: I have 3 reasons, why I need this feature. Personally the tv I have had (14 years and still going strong, SVIDEO on it) JVC 27 inch, used to have TVIDEO, where I would press to change inputs. That is very old and hard habit to break, so that is why I only perfered to have 2 inputs listed, so I can press TVIDEO and switch between my DVD and HDTV.

Secondly my parents are somewhat old and slow, and even a simple process like pressing TVIDEO with a number after it, can be somewhat difficult, atleast confusing, trying to remember what button to hit, again with 2 choices not so bad.

Third, I dont like the big list when I hit TVIDEo and see the list, and know nothing is there, so why is it listed. Seems like a simple and easy feature to have, but cant have everything.

So any way to block out unused inputs, i am 99.9% sure this is not possible on the Toshiba, but just need someone out there to confirm it.

faheem,

It is not possible on the Toshiba.

Tim

I just got a Toshiba 57H93 and when I was trying to do a quick adjust using the THX setup on the T2 disk, I get a contrast setting at 42 but a brightness at 84. This seems way off from the settings I have red here. What is going on? Is there a major problem?

Thanks for any info

edward - the thx stuff is typically specific to the movie you are watching - but 84 seems kind of high for brightness

Hey Jim thanks for the reply, I agree that 84 seems way high. When I set the brightness and the the contrast to the levels that others are using it is way to dark. Now given most of the replies here are about setting on a 51" and I have a 57 so I know that my settings should be higher, but not that much. I will get a setup disk and see what I get. I will have a tech do a full calibration on the set in a month or so.

If it helps here are my settings, I have a 65H84.

DVD 46 - contrast
40 - brightness
30 - color
0 - tint
23 - sharpness

HDTV 46 - contrast
39 - brightness
30 - color
0 - tint
22 - sharpness

I have the tint, set at 0 because I have not messed around with AVIA yet. Its not to bad, but I will admit there is somewhat of a red push, which I am sure can be adjusted by the tint. Hope this helps, and again as others have said, this should be a starting guide to help you adjust your tv to your own environment.

Originally posted by faheem5

I have the tint, set at 0 because I have not messed around with AVIA yet. Its not to bad, but I will admit there is somewhat of a red push,

I'd be amazed if after you calibrate with Avia, your tint doesn't fall around -8 or so. I've yet to see a Toshiba RPTV set where a properly calibrated tint wasn't between -7 and -15 or so. Also, your color seems very low, but each set can be very different in terms of color. That being said, I'd expect your color setting to go up about 10 ticks or so after you get Avia.

I'm surprised your contrast is so low, you must have the set in a very dark room. Mine is at 55 for virtually every input.

Well I have the avia disc and tried adjusting other setting but tilt, still have to watch the video or read up on how to correctly adjust tint. Now when you say anywhere from -7 to -15 you mean on the green side. Because the way Toshiba menu is Green on left, 0 in the middle, and Red on right.

According to AVIA my brightness should be at 40-41, but I will mess with this and my orginal setting of 39 to see how much differnce I see.

I just finished adjusting my color and got a setting of 34 (without AVIA). I dont know how this compares with other people, but again I am sure after I adjust the tint it might go up around 40 as you suggested. I always thought the picture looked dull, since my color setting was so low, but turning it up to around 50 like in film, everything becomes over saturated.

Well my tv sits in a basement with 4 windows, which I have blinds on. But the tv sits accroos from the stairway coming down, in which all the light comes in from the living room (no door open stiarway) But I did notice when my setting is around 50 or 55 as your, the picture has more depth. Again I will mess around tonight with tint, then adjust color, then the contrast. Also I am worried if I keep my contrast at 55 as yours, isnt this considered "high" and taking life away from the CRT.

Model numbers and owners manual question: I just ordered a 65H84 from Costco. The model on the floor at Costco was tagged as a 65HF84; the (large) boxes nearby were labeled 65H84. A search for 65HF84 on Toshiba's website turns up no hits. Is the 65HF84 the 65H84? I know that some products such as HP printers have different model numbers when sold from Costco.

I pulled up the list of manuals on the Toshiba website, and the 65H84 is not listed. There is a manual for a 65NH84, which otherwise produces no hits on the Toshiba site, and there is a manual for the 47-51-57H84 sets. A quick look at these models indicates that the remote for the 47-51-57 is different from that shown in the 65NH84 manual; I did not see other differences in a quick look. Is the 65NH84 manual the 65H84 manual? If not, is the 65H84 manual available online?

I remember before ordering my 65H84, i couldnt find the manual online either. I guess toshiba just forgot about it, or who knows. If you noticed the box in the store, and it was labeled 65H84, then all is good. Just make sure that is the one that will get delivered to your house, or you pickup. You can ask one of the employees there why its labled 65HF84, see what they say. Good luck.

I ordered from Costco.com instead of buying at the store, since the store has no provisions for delivery, whereas the online purchase provides someone to haul it up a flight and a half of stairs into my family room, unpack it, and haul the packing material away. Not clear that this is worth $150 and a 3 week delay, but if it comes out of the box broken, the issue of who broke it when will be cleaner.

Originally posted by faheem5
Also I am worried if I keep my contrast at 55 as yours, isnt this considered "high" and taking life away from the CRT.

Absolutely not. 55 is well within the safe zone, considering it's only 5 ticks above what Toshiba defaults to in Movie mode.

As you saw, contrast of 55 produces a better picture. The whites are far too grey and dull with a contrast setting lower than 50 IMO.

I'm also assuming you have SVM off and all of the other "auto" settings off? I also assume that you've set the color temperature to "warm".

Also, keep in mind that your DVD input will obviously be set differently than your TV or HDTV inputs will be.

I have different settings on Video1, Component Ins 1 & 2, and DVI. All calibrated with Avia except the DVI which was calibrated with the D-VHS 1080i version of DVE.

Again I will mess around tonight with tint, then adjust color, then the contrast.

Actually you should calibrate in the following order:

Brightness (black level)
Contrast (white level)
Sharpness
Color
Tint

Then go back and fine tune, but if you adjust contrast after color, your color setting will no longer be valid for the new contrast setting.

Hmm the settings that everyone is getting is so far off from my set it makes me think there is a problem with this unit. I hate to return it cause it was the last one and I got a GREAT deal on it. It doesn't seem the tube are warn. The picture is bright and colors are vibrant. The settings have me concerned. Would a ISF calibration fix these? It just seems that when a dark scene is on the picture it is very dark and the light areas of the picture are fine. PLEASE ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Hey was just told that my greyscale tracking was off. What is it?

no help?

Greyscale is your color temperature (color of gray) from black to white. It should measure 6500K at all points. I would highly recommend an ISF calibration with any CRT set.

Crap! Best Buy just delivered my 48H84 today and it looked great... For about 10 minutes. Right after hooking up my XBOX and starting the matrix reloaded I was very happy as the opening scene started and everything looked awesome.. Then it happened .. One of the CRT's went bad or something really nasty. The colors got all flat and inaccurate. Also, when I change video inputs instead of being all black when their is no signal on that input it instead has wavy lines and is a little greenish. I tried autocoverge or touchfocus and that didn't help. I went and looked at the store set and its a very solid black on the inputs with no signal as it should be.

It also has a nasty green flash that you see when turning the tv off. This is my 2nd HDTV that I've had problems with. The good news is they delivered it so they are going to have to come get it on the 3rd floor apt. They are sending a tech out tues but I want a replacement if this one went south so quickly. Either way, I might try one replacement and see if it works. I had 480p , 720p, 1080p and Wide screen settings for my Xbox. It's almost as if it didn't like the Xbox and fried out.?? Either way, I'm not enjoying my purchase. :(

Well, this is my third toshiba coming friday, I started 4 years ago with the 40H80, then the 50H81, and just got the 65H84. Best Buy is delivering it this friday. Star Wars in just sitting in the box waiting to be tested out.

Couple of questions for you guys that have 65s
What size crts does this thing use?
Are there any set of standard calibration settings I should try that seem to work out good for a brand new set?

Wow why so many in such a little time? I know the 65 toshiba uses 7" guns

i bought the original one from best buy and it was an open item so I made sure to get the service plan, it was repaired 4 times, all for convergence errors, the unit would drift horrible after a 2 hour movie and the geometry was different everytime I turned on the tv. They could never fix it right so after 4 repairs it was replaced, then I got the 50" which had a problem with the geometry and convergence in the lower left corner, no matter how hard we tried (myself and the service guy) we could not get it dialed in right, but they said that was not a service issue so I tried to live with it but the longer I had the tv the worse it got so eventually after 4 service calls on that one they replaced it and now comes the new one. hopefully I don't have the same issues with this one.

The local TWC just came out with the 8300HD DVR with an HDMI output.

I hooked the HDMI port to my DVI input (with the proper cable) and could not get a picture on my 57H83. Any ideas why?

Also, when watching a SD program on ESPN HD, the tops and bottoms of the "HD" letters in the side bars are cut off. Is this an overscan issue? How can I correct it?

Well guys I posted that I got a bunk 46H84 unit and wasn't very happy. Well, Bestbuy drops a replacement unit off tomorrow to replace the bad one. I really want to just get a replacement but I didn't get a service plan and don't want to worry about this one taking a dump and causing a big headache. It seems that for the most part these a trouble free. I ordered a DV-Essentials and will tune it accordingly to help increase the life span. Do you think its worth getting a replacement or should I return this unit and hold out to see what comes down the pipe this year? Thanks for any advice.

most new 2004/2005 models are out.. hitachi, panasonic, sony, toshiba, mits, and samsung have all released their models.. you would be waiting another year for new crt models. If you dont have the white line - keep the toshiba!! As far as a service plan, its like gambling - you are placing your bets that the unit will break - if it doesnt you are out the $350 or so.. if it does you are in the money! - so you have to decide if its worth it to you.

jim

Hey Jimbo thanks for that info.. I was very happy when they showed up today with my Replacement 46H84 unit. I only had about 15minutes to try it out but my colors are vivid again and its looking good on my Component hookup on my Xbox and my DVD's look much better. I was told by the sales associate that I would need to buy the Extended warranty the day of the sale. But, My friend told me Best buy should still allow me to purchase the extended warranty within 30 days. I'm going to look into that.

I'm praying I don't have the white line but I'll have to wait until I have the time to mess around with the set. Either way, I'm back in HIGH DEF land for now... :D

aight guys....i had a tech come out and fix the gemotry on my tv, looks real good, atleast better than before. Infact, when watching dvds, the black bars on top and bottom were curving, and yesterday while watching the debate, the red bars they had on the side were curving, looks much better now. I also had the gentleman look at the color setting. I told him I see to much red on everthing, specailly peoples faces. He said just turn the color down to where I orginally had it around 33-35. I told him that compared to that number to around 45-50, the colors seem more vibrant, but ofcourse to much red. He said color setting that high is not normal, and leave it around 33. I am taking his advice, but wondering what other people have the color setting for DVD and HDTV. Want to know if I am atleast near anyone else. Or if their is a way to cut down the red push. Watching news the other day, a black man seemed to have red cheeks, which was just weird to watch, unless i ofcourse brought the setting down to 33.

I noticed Costco has the 46HM84 on their web site. It ships within 20 business days.

Faheem I am having the same problem. I noticed the red lines curving last night during the debate, and I have been noticing that everything is overly red. My current settings are:

contrast: 50
brightness: 41
color: 40
tint: R11
sharpness: 50
color temp: warm

Try setting your color temp at medium. Warm is to red. Most people that have these sets have them set to medium. Also make sure that "Flesh Tone is turned off. I've got the 46H83 , and it is very natural looking. By the way, my color setting is at 56. And tint is -6. My colors look great. It's the warm temp setting that is giving you guys to much red. Hope this helped. Try it out and let me know what you think.These settings should be pretty close for HIGHDEF's set being almost identical to my own. Don't know how close they will be on yours faheem5 being that you have a 65".

Originally posted by AlbanyHDTV
The local TWC just came out with the 8300HD DVR with an HDMI output.

I hooked the HDMI port to my DVI input (with the proper cable) and could not get a picture on my 57H83. Any ideas why?

Also, when watching a SD program on ESPN HD, the tops and bottoms of the "HD" letters in the side bars are cut off. Is this an overscan issue? How can I correct it? Any help?

Great info on this thread. Esp pittdog.. I'm happy to report that my set was looking very nice while messing around on My XBOX yesterday morning. The colors look 20X better then with the defective unit I got and I don't get a green flash anymore when turning the set on or off. I managed to get a scene on a games demo video that was all white and I didn't see any sort of line down the middle so i think I'm good their..

I should have my DVE disk in the mail today for tuning. I'll been adjusting some settings and am very stoked to finally have another working HDTV set.. Hope it stays this way. :D

Originally posted by AlbanyHDTV
Any help?


I just recently got the TW DVR box as well. Scientific Atlanta 8000HD. The DVI output on this box is not active yet. TW says it will be activated in the future via an over the cable software upgrade(they won't have to come to your house and do anything).

Thank you HIGHDEF.

The color temp on these sets seems to always look better on medium. When you get your DVE disc there is a pattern that contains Grey scale ramps. Blocks of black that fade to grey and on down to white. With that pattern on the screen , adjust your temp control from warm to cool to medium and see which looks most naturally grey. Low or Warm is supposed to be the closest setting on sets to 6500k or nuetral grey. But it just isn't the case with these sets. So, if you have it set to warm(low) it makes grey look kinda pink. That changes everything in the color settings to a little bit of a red hue. That's why the reds and flesh tones just look unnaturally red. The greyscale sets the tone for all the colors on the set.
Good luck and enjoy it. Hey, if you don't mind, PM me or post here with your settings after calibration just to see if these sets are all pretty close. Just a curiousity.:cool:

Do you guys think that it is worth having your set calibrated? That is something that I am really debating about my 46H84. I already did a 56 pt. convergence, corrected my geometry and overscan, and used DVE to get my settings right and the picture looks great. Much better than it did on my 42H83 and DVDs look as good as the HD does on the display model at Bestbuy. Would a calibration really make that much of a difference? I sure wish I could see a set that had been calibrated to know how much of a difference it would make.

I guess it depends on what you bought the set for. This was one of the best bang for the buck sets when i was looking for one in January and before. I bought it as a stop gap until the newer tech sets could catch up to CRT's and become close price wise. You've done pretty much the same things calibration wise that i've done on mine. I'm just as happy with my PQ as you seem to be. If i had it ISF'd, that would drive the cost of my set up quite a bit, thus defeating my reasoning for buying it. Howevr, if i were to have bought it as 4-8 year set, that would possibly change my mind. I'd say if you are very happy with the PQ on it then i would probably forego the ISF route. If for no other reason than cost of calibration to cost of this set. Just my thoughts and of course i could be totally off my rocker.

By the way, i saw your post about Yamaha speakers. I've got them (not the same ones you were asking about) in my system and am pretty happy with them. I've got them all the way around except for the sub. Click the "gallery" tab at the top of my post to see pics of my set-up and tell me what you think!

I am pretty certain I'm getting this set, either in the 57" or 65". I'll be watching from between 10-15', depending on the chair/couch. Do you all think the 65" is too big for this set?

Originally posted by pittdog1
Try setting your color temp at medium. Warm is to red. Most people that have these sets have them set to medium. Also make sure that "Flesh Tone is turned off. I've got the 46H83 , and it is very natural looking. By the way, my color setting is at 56. And tint is -6. My colors look great. It's the warm temp setting that is giving you guys to much red. Hope this helped. Try it out and let me know what you think.These settings should be pretty close for HIGHDEF's set being almost identical to my own. Don't know how close they will be on yours faheem5 being that you have a 65".

Thanks for the reply pittdog. I set the color temp to medium, and that seems to have cleared up the issue. I'm unsure as to whether the 57H84 has a flesh tone setting, as I am unable to find it in the standard menu. Would this be accessible only under the service menu? Also, do you have any advice about the red line curvature? It doesn't seem like my geometry is off, but I'd like to be able to know for certain. I am using DVE as a setup DVD.

I'm not sure about where or if there is a flesh tone control on the H84's or not. Somebody who has one will have to let you know. But if your reds look better now then it's probably a moot point. Have you done service menu 56pt. convergence yet? I know there is a 56 pt. one in the user menu but it is still crosses instead of a full grid. This will show you any distortions in your grid lines like what you and Faheem were seeing on the debates with the red lines. Have you put up the grid on your DVE disc to see if your geometry is off. If the lines do not appear wavy on the DVE pattern, then your geometry is fine and what you and Faheem saw could have been a result of something in the broadcast. Any other questions don't hesitate to PM me or post again here. Hope all this stuff helps!

I have a 65H84 Toshiba set and really really happy with it. No complaints whatsoever. PQ is excellent right out of the box, and watching DVD on it to me seems as though watching HD quality movie. It's that good! I haven't done any tweaking at all. The only thing I did was change the color, contrast all down to 50 and tint at 0. I don't have any calibration disk of any kind and plan on getting it.

The bad news is that I've lost the instruction/owner manual. Does anyone know I could get one downloaded from some website or could obtain one for a reasonable price somewhere? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
jbhungvt

Bought 57H84 yesterday to be delivered on Thursday.
Looks like retailers are making space for Christmas merchandise.
Got nice price (< 1500).
Also ordered Toshiba's combo DVD player SD-V592
online for just over 200. It has HDMI output.
Add to that a vanilla HTIB from Onkyo and I have my first home theater.
Let the microdisplay war settle for me to go more high tech.

The owners manual for the 65H84 is not available at the Toshiba website, but the manual for the 57H84 should work as well. You can download it at
http://tacpservice.toshiba.com/ConsumerProductSupport/Manuals/TV/2000tvct.htm

jbhungvt

What would you say is a good viewing distance for your set for:

HDTV

DVD

Digital Channels

Analog Channels

Thanks.

About my curved line issue, I had the tech come out and do the gemotry for me, and it helped quite a bit, he spend about 5 min, starighting much as he can, before he said this is enogh, and I showed him the next problem, the red push, I suggested to him that warm adds to much red even on things that are white, like clip with white walls, and so on. He said for starters good you are on medium, then I cranked the setting to around 45-50 as you guys have it, and everythign gets over saturated. Around 33-35 seems real good to me, not to much getting washed out and things looking sharp, and if i crank it to around 45 then faces become very unnatural and red. I checked with sunday football and today with MNF and CSI. Same thing so my settings are as follows:

Contrast: 48
Brightness: 39
Color: 33
Tint: 0
Sharpnes: 27
Temp: Medium

Gorak7,
I sit about 14ft away from the TV when I'm watching HDTV and DVD and Digital Channels. i don't have analog channels.

jbhungvt

Thanks, how would it look if you were closer? I'm thinking most times in the 10-11' range?

gorak7,

I think it'll still look good at 11ft from what I remember. I'll check again and post when I get some time. I'm on business travel now.

That would be great, thanks. I need to make the decision by Friday, and it is really just down to 57" or 65".

Thanks again.

Does anybody know about using the 46H84 With their PC hooked up to it? I'm curious because right now I'm doing the full-on HTPC with my Radeon 9800 Video card going to my HDTV. Just picked up a cheap keyboard/optical mouse combo from Compusa to surf with. I noticed others are hooking their sets up to their PC's but a piece of paper that came with mine says it this:
Note: This TV is not intended for connection to and should not be used with a PC.. ????

I got it working both on S-video and Component from my PC but I'm using s-video now because the text is clearer. It's still a little blurry on the text side at 1024*768 but I haven't tried many tweaks. It sure is fun with the stereo hooked up and the Broad-Band kickin. :D

I also lowered my contrast/brightness to about 50/50 to try and avoid screen burn. Anyone know how long a stangnant image (TOOL BAR on bottom of windows) would take to burn? I don't want to damage my unit. Thanks for any info/experiece.

Try posting this same info in the HTPC forum.

Originally posted by gorak7
That would be great, thanks. I need to make the decision by Friday, and it is really just down to 57" or 65".

Thanks again.

Gorak7,

10-11ft still look pretty good. I just got home today and measured it out 10 ft looks good, 11 ft looks good. I'm currently sitting 12ft away from the 65" TV. I told you 14ft before...well I lied. I measured again and it's 12ft. I think my wife moved the sofars on me.
Hope that helps.
I'd get the 65" TV if your room is proportion to the 65"

jbhungvt

That is what I wanted to hear! I'm getting the 65". Our room is long and narrow so it should work perfect. Thanks a lot!

Originally posted by gorak7
jbhungvt

That is what I wanted to hear! I'm getting the 65". Our room is long and narrow so it should work perfect. Thanks a lot!

Anything to help fellow AVS members. Enjoy and have fun

We have the Toshiba 65H84 and sit about 14 feet away. Only thing is that the brightness of the picture is such that you may have to re-light your viewing room. The set even when the brightness and contrast are adjusted still provides a very bright picture in a darkened room. Regardless you willl enjoy it.

We've got the 57H83 and the "best" picture IMO is obtained in a completely dark room. The screen or the screen protector is so reflective that it shows any sunlight that creeps in or any lamp that's turned on.

Speaking of the screen, how do people clean yours ??

"We have the Toshiba 65H84 and sit about 14 feet away. Only thing is that the brightness of the picture is such that you may have to re-light your viewing room. The set even when the brightness and contrast are adjusted still provides a very bright picture in a darkened room. Regardless you willl enjoy it."

an ideal-lume backlight will solve this problem in an instant.
http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/

What DVD players are most people using with their 84? And what settings are the best for DVD, 540p or 1081i? I've heard many recommend the Zenith 318, that it upconverts to 1081i really well. How is the 84 when it comes to upconverting? Is it better to get a good upconverting DVD player for this tv?

I've got a simple Toshiba SD-4900 using component cables and in progressive scan mode. I can't recall if the TV is set to up-convert it to 540p or 1080i though. I've switched it back and forth and couldn't tell a difference anyway.... The picture is incredible, nonetheless.

My 57H84 comes on Wednesday, and I also just purchased a H/K DVD22. Are most people using a non-upconverting DVD player and letting the TV do the work? I hope the TV does a good job of upconverting. What are people noticing is the best... 540p or 1081i for DVDs?

I've joined this club; my 57H84 will be delivered Oct. 24. Can't wait. Any tips/tricks I should know of?
TIA,
Eben

If you can't find'em in this thread, then post particular questions, we'd be glad to help!

I plan to connect 4 devices to my TV: DirecTV non-HD receiver (video 1), VCR (video 2), DVD (HD-1), and OTA HD receiver (HD-2). Am I right in thinking that when I first start watching the set, I should select each input, adjust the picture for each input, and save each adjustment for each input?

Also, I'm planning on getting an LG LST-4200a OTA HD receiver, which has DVI output but the 57H84 has HDMI. I'm using a DD surround sound receiver for audio; is it worth it to connect the DVI video (with an adapter) to the TV, or is component just as good?

Originally posted by Eben
I plan to connect 4 devices to my TV: DirecTV non-HD receiver (video 1), VCR (video 2), DVD (HD-1), and OTA HD receiver (HD-2). Am I right in thinking that when I first start watching the set, I should select each input, adjust the picture for each input, and save each adjustment for each input?


These hook-ups look fine for your 4 devices. Component video should be about the same as DVI or HDMI for your HD. The only way you'll know for sure is to try both out, but again, component should be fine. First thing i would do when you get your set is to turn all settings down to 50% and do this in movie mode in the user menu. People get excited when they get there sets and start watching right away with the glaringly bright factory settings. Not only is this hard on the set but also on your PQ. Then 3 months down the road they want to improve there picture quality a bit. They get a set-up disc and complain that the picture is to dark. Go figure. Start at 50% and after the set has been on a while(30 to 45 min's)do a manual convergence. This will need to be redone once or so a week until your set breaks in (the guns settle in place). Then , after 2 or 3 months ,you can just check it every now and then to do touch ups. The 50% mark is a good starting point for your settings and after calibration with a set-up disc you'll probably find your settings changing only 5-10% from where you had them at 50%. This is the best advice i can give you for a new set. If anyone else has any other suggestions i'm sure they will chime in. By the way, i've had my 46H83(pics in the gallery tab above) since january doing all the above mentioned things , and have had no problems with my set. Good luck.:D

Thanks, pittdog1.
I currently own a SD Toshiba rptv and its movie mode knocks everything to 50% and I think it's a fine picture. I used one of the calibration disks and the settings were very close to the factory movie mode. I don't want to hassle with finding and buying a DVI-HDMI converter, so unless I'm going to experience "dramatic" pq improvement, I'll stick with component.
BTW, I'm still a little confused about picture settings. Some stuff I read makes it sound as if I can save settings for each input (for example, I can have film mode turned on when I select DVD, but turned off for the other inputs). Does that make sense? Is it true?
Thanks again for your help.

Just bought the 46h84 for a grand. I have tried all the new dlp and lcd tv's and I just am not satisfied with the pq on these 4000 plus sets. I figure this should hold me off till the technolgy gets better.

I've now been the proud owner of a 57H84 for 2 days now and I love it! I haven't had much time to fool around, but I plan on doing AVIA today at some point. All I know is, I finally feel like I have a home theater. Got Comcast HD running already. I need to get a DVI to HDMI cable. But this TV is great, glad I went CRT for now! I did some minor tweaking with my HK DVD-22... what are the color settings for some people? Is 50 what most are keeping it at? Maybe AVIA will help me out though. I love how you can save all the inputs as well. The final test for me is to start up my PS2. Always wanted to play some games on the big screen!!!

I just got my 57H84 yesterday and am pleased as well. One question I have though, is there a way to set the default aspect to TheaterWide 1, 2, 3, or Full when watching 4:3 programming. I plan on watching it in Theater 1 most of the time and would like it to just stay there. I'm particularly concerned that the kids will just turn on the TV and watch with the black bars, and get burn in.

Also wondering why the bars are sometime black and sometimes gray, is there a way to control this?

Another question I had is that I have a cable TV line going directly into the TV and another coming through the Cox Communications Motorola cable box. The picture on the SD channels is significantly better on the cable coming straight out of the wall. Anyone know why or what I can change to better the picture through the box?

Thanks.

Bojingles, that was my rational exactly. I paid $1,371 for the 57", about a third the price of the 61" JVC D-ILA.

Crimedawg, I bought a DVI to HDMI cable (Monster), but the picture actually looked better via component, even on HD, so I'm taking the cable back.

Originally posted by CrimeDawg
Got Comcast HD running already. I need to get a DVI to HDMI cable. I've got TW HD using component cables. My set-top is the Scientific Atlanta 8000HD and with it's current software, the DVI doesn't even work. Does it work on yours ??

With that, most people can't notice a difference between DVI and component. IMO, save your money....

Originally posted by gorak7
Also wondering why the bars are sometime black and sometimes gray, is there a way to control this? In my short experience with my HD box, the "digital" channels have black sidebars and are placed their by the TV station. The non-digital (or HD) channels have gray sidebars, which are actually from the TV or the set-top box, not the TV station. I stretch *all* non-HD programming and don't notice any problems with things looking wrong on-screen.
Anyone know why or what I can change to better the picture through the box? What set-top box ??
...but the picture actually looked better via component, even on HD, so I'm taking the cable back. Wise move, especially considering that you paid for a "monster" cable.

Hall,

I have a Motorola Digital Video Recorder box obtained from Cox Communications for cable TV. Don't know the model number but I can check when I get home.

Originally posted by gorak7
One question I have though, is there a way to set the default aspect to TheaterWide 1, 2, 3, or Full when watching 4:3 programming. I plan on watching it in Theater 1 most of the time and would like it to just stay there. I'm particularly concerned that the kids will just turn on the TV and watch with the black bars, and get burn in.


Disclaimer: my set won't be delivered until Oct. 24, so my info comes from reading the owner's manual (from Toshiba.com) and posts from AVS.
There is an "Auto Aspect" feature that can be turned on and off (see p. 34 of OM). If turned off, my understanding is that the TV will remember the last SAVED settings for each input.
Good luck, and boy did you get a good price on your set (I paid $1,495 for mine, although I will get a $100 BB gift card for future purchases).

I need to play with the Auto Aspect a bit, but, there is a place to save the vast majority of the picture settings, contrast, sharpness, etc., but it doesn't let you save the picture aspect for some goofy reason.

Originally posted by gorak7
I need to play with the Auto Aspect a bit, but, there is a place to save the vast majority of the picture settings, contrast, sharpness, etc., but it doesn't let you save the picture aspect for some goofy reason.

Interesting.
Still, it would seem to me that if you turn Auto Aspect off, then the TV should stay at the last selected picture mode until changed. But then, again, I have no hands-on experience with this set (yet; come on Oct. 24!).

Eben,

That is what I would think as well, but it aint the case. One thing I did do though was to change the cable box to send the 4:3 signal as "streched". Then they always come through stretched. However, if you DON't want it streched, then you have to go through a somewhat complicated process in the cable box to get it undone. Not sure if I'll leave it that way or not.

Thanks for the advice on sticking with component instead of getting the DVI-HDMI cable. That'll save a few bucks. Finally played a little PS2 today. Has anyone else played PS2 on this set? The picture looks... I can't think of the right word... but almost a touch out of focus... not real crisp. What settings are people using? Do I perhaps want a different color temp for the PS2?

This set is just amazing. My jaw is just on the floor all the time. I've been waiting 3 years for a semblence of a home theater, now I got it. I just watched this show in Comast INHD, about the Serengetti. Unbelievable.

Has anyone had any luck hooking up a 8300HD DVR from TWC to the 57H83 (or any Toshiba) via a HDMI to DVI cable?

I can't seem to get the 57H83 to receive the signal via the HDMI output of the DVR. Works via component just fine.

I bought a low-cost component cable for my PS2 and tried it. I noticed NO difference or improvement. I'm blaming the cables at this point and haven't gotten around to buying a "real" set yet.

I've got a first-run PS2, and it only has composite cables. So I guess I shouldn't expect too much, except it seems less sharp that on my old 27". Then again, after watching things in HD, nothing looks the same. I thought maybe I saw the white-line issue during a Cingular commerical with an all-white screen. Anyone else? I would think having an August '04 build, there shouldn't be problems. It's not a big deal though.

You have to get a 2nd cable set. It will connect to the same oversized-USB-looking connection that the composites currently go in to.

My 57H84 is now about 2 week old.
Last couple of days noticed some gray moving shades in black.
Particularly night scenes show this more (Duh)

Do I need to do some convergence (auto/manual) ?

my 57H84 showed up today.

picture quality out of the box is amazing, I'm quite happy with it thus far.

however, I think it's got that problem I've seen described in here..

watching pearl harbor today, about 2-3 times i saw what looked like a
white sunspot/line in the center of the screen. Only visible there for
like a 1/8th of second.. but i saw it a few times.

i guess i'll be giving toshiba a call for the fix.

otherwise, i'm quite amazed.. i think I like it better than my LCD RPTV..

I thought they fixed that during the H83 production run.... In fact, I recall reading at this site that models built after some date (mine is), are fixed. It doesn't appear that mine has the problem (57H83) as I checked for it using the movie Ice Age.

I'm not sure what I would do.... Having a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) unit and hoping to get a good one would be a pain in the a**. Getting a runaround from Toshiba would also be a pain. I would NOT want that issue on my TV, it's how to resolve it is where I'm not sure about.

Finally ran AVIA last night. My numbers are a lot lower than OOTB (everything but tint was at 50 OOTB), and things looks great. Watching college football was a bit different... the players seemed to be glowing a bit. But that's SD for ya I guess. I was watching something on HBO last night in SD and it looked fine to me. But as I said, after watching some HD channels, nothing looks the same. Haven't had any problems yet. Watched Finding Nemo with my nieces on Friday night... looked awesome!

edamon - you sadly have what is called the "center drive line" problem that plagues some h83 and h84 series toshibas. There is a "fix" that will reduce it somewhat - but not get rid of it totally. I went through 2 46h84's before I gave up and went with a hitachi - once you see it, you will see it always. If you have it bad you will see it on a non motion white screen - otherwise a light / bright fast panning scene will make it stick out. good luck!

jim

Originally posted by edamon
my 57H84 showed up today.

picture quality out of the box is amazing, I'm quite happy with it thus far.

however, I think it's got that problem I've seen described in here..

watching pearl harbor today, about 2-3 times i saw what looked like a
white sunspot/line in the center of the screen. Only visible there for
like a 1/8th of second.. but i saw it a few times.

i guess i'll be giving toshiba a call for the fix.

otherwise, i'm quite amazed.. i think I like it better than my LCD RPTV..

Crimedawg,

What were your numbers, per Avia?

Originally posted by AlbanyHDTV
Has anyone had any luck hooking up a 8300HD DVR from TWC to the 57H83 (or any Toshiba) via a HDMI to DVI cable?

I can't seem to get the 57H83 to receive the signal via the HDMI output of the DVR. Works via component just fine.

Has anyone tried to use an HDMI device with the 57H83 with any success?? With no success??

Anyone have this happen with their TV? :D

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041019%2F1338354473.htm&sc=1110

hey toshiba owners-
first off, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but it seems like my best shot.
i own a 42H83, purchased in September of 2003. in september of this year, tropical storm gaston filled the first floor of my townhouse in richmond, va with 4" of water, and the toshiba died. however, repair folks i've talked to say that the lamps should be fine since no water got that high. and the screen is definitely good. so anyone need replacement parts? i've already replaced the tv, so now the old one is just a box of spare parts. let me know if anyone needs anything--i'm willing to sell at a more than reasonable price...

Originally posted by AlbanyHDTV
Has anyone tried to use an HDMI device with the 57H83 with any success?? With no success??

I'm pretty sure i responded to this before. But just in case, have you called TW to make sure the HDMI/DVI out is active on that box? Here in KC the DVR through TW cable is a Scientific Atlanta 8000HD and the DVI is not active on it yet. It will be later according to them here in KC.

Originally posted by pittdog1
I'm pretty sure i responded to this before. But just in case, have you called TW to make sure the HDMI/DVI out is active on that box? Here in KC the DVR through TW cable is a Scientific Atlanta 8000HD and the DVI is not active on it yet. It will be later according to them here in KC.

The local TWC (Albany, NY) has told me that they are not supporting the HDMI port, but it is active. Other Upstate NY TWC outlets have had users report it is working fine. (Rochester & Syracuse)

The TWC tech I spoke to said they know the 8300 has trouble "talking" through the HDMI port to some manufacturers, one of which is Toshiba.

The DVI port is not active on the 8000HD DVR here in Albany, either. That is why I turned it in for the 8300HD DVR. IMO, the 8300 produces a sharper HD image than the 8000, but that's another topic.

I just figured that somebody here on the H83/H84 thread has tried the HDMI with their set.

I'd check the threads here at this site regarding the 8300 and try and get confirmation that the DVI port really is working.

As for "talking" to your TV, apparently there's some stupid turn-on procedure required between set-tops with DVI and TVs with DVI. The manual for your TV explains it (I have the same TV). You have to turn on the box first and then the TV or is it the opposite (???).

Originally posted by jim tressler
edamon - you sadly have what is called the "center drive line" problem that plagues some h83 and h84 series toshibas. There is a "fix" that will reduce it somewhat - but not get rid of it totally. I went through 2 46h84's before I gave up and went with a hitachi - once you see it, you will see it always. If you have it bad you will see it on a non motion white screen - otherwise a light / bright fast panning scene will make it stick out. good luck!

jim

lovely. It's what I suspected when i saw it.

would you recommend toshiba doing the fix or just calling sears and
making them come deliver me a new one?

-d

edit:

I just did some testing - bunch of surf movies (about as bright and fast
panning as you'll find) and I've yet to reproduce what I saw in in the
movie "pearl harbor". I'm starting to think that the spot i saw was part
of that movie, lol. Hopefully it was.. and seems to be, as if anything
is was gonna reproduce it - it's these surf movies (billabong odyssey,
step into the liquid, etc).

This would be one of the negatives of the avsforum.. turns you into a
A/V hypocondriate..

Originally posted by edamon
I just did some testing - bunch of surf movies (about as bright and fast
panning as you'll find) and I've yet to reproduce what I saw in in the
movie "pearl harbor". I'm starting to think that the spot i saw was part
of that movie... I've got that movie and the 57H83.... What part of the movie are you talking about ?? Can you find it and list the "time" it happens ??

One easy way to check for the white line is to put in Avia or DVE and put up a 100 IRE white field. The line will stand right out if you have it.

I had the fix applied to my 57HX93, and the line is gone now. I haven't seen it once since the fix was applied a month ago. I strongly recommend getting it done.

Tim

I just got my 65H84 less than two weeks ago and I am very impressed with the picture quality. Much better picture than my old 50H81. I waited for a week before doing any calibration or tweaks and it still looked great out of the box. in the past couple days I have doing a full service mode convergence and geometry correction, electrostatic focus, disabled svm, and moved the protective screen to the back of the stack. The picture looks phenomenal even with my older sony dvd player.

BTW I have done some extensive searching on this thing and havent found the white line issue at all.

Originally posted by Dangrzne25
...and moved the protective screen to the back of the stack.

Would you explain what you mean by that?

Someone asked what I had as far as AVIA results. This is what I have the set at:

Contrast: 44
Brightness: 31
Color: 37
Tint: R5
Sharpness: 46

That's how they shook out. Baseball on HD looked pretty damn good at these settings. They were done in without any light coming into the room at all. I imagine the low brightness and lower contrast levels will help out the life of my TV. Anyone have similar AVIA/DVE numbers?

my 51h83 for anyone who cares

contrast 36
brightness 47
color 47
tint -5
sharpness 40

color temp warm
movie mode
1080i

There are 3 layers of the screen, the top layer is a protective plexiglass screen, then the lenticular screen, then a fresnel lens. You can take the plexiglass portion off and put it as the back layer that way you have no glare and in my opinion makes for a better picture. some people have had some success taking it off all together but I have not seen results without some sort of sag from the lenticular screen not being supported properly. I have tried that method and the current method I am talking about seems like a better alternative to me.

How do you do any of that? Take off the front part and put it where? Something tells me I'll screw this up if I try that, but I'd love to get rid of the glare.

Got my 57H84 delivered yesterday. Going through the basic picture settings, I searched for the menu to turn off Scan Velocity Modulation (SVM) as recommended earlier in this thread.
Couldn't find it.
Checked my owner's manual: No mention of SVM!
However, page 47 of the pdf OM online at toshiba.com discusses SVM.
But it doesn't exist on my TV!
Does anyone know whether that "feature" has been dropped from this Toshiba line?
What does SVM do?
I still have CableClear DNR and turned that off; is it possible that the two features were combined?
Has SVM been hidden in the service menus?
:confused:

Edit: The pdf I downloaded over a month ago is not exactly the same as the OM I received with my set. I just went to toshiba.com and the OM pdf now matches the one I received with my set. I guess Toshiba dropped the SVM feature for these models....

If your H84 is similar to the H83, if you select "Movie" for the "Preference", that disables SVM.

This page, http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/brandspecific/toshiba/generaltweaks/svm&theatermode_michaeltlv.html, calls it "Theatre" mode. Mine doesn't have such an option, though you do watch a "movie" in a "theatre"... :)