I have this problem on the HDMI input if I attempt to recenter the STB image on my Toshiba using the monitor setup feature on the STB setup menu. My STB is a Samsung T-160 and it is connected to my Tosh 34HF85 through the HDMI input. If I reboot my STB by cycling the power to the unit, the noise goes away. You may not have the ability to cycle the power with a cable box or doing so may not resolve the issue on a different device.

The Tosh HF85 sets seem to be very picky about how 1080i source material is received through the HDMI input. My Samsung 931 DVD player works fine with a DVI to HDMI cable, but my newer Oppo DVD player with a HDMI output is not compatible with the Toshiba 34HF85 set and exhibits the noise you are describing when I play DVD's and select 1080i resolution on the Oppo.

The guy who did the ISF calibration on my set suspected the problem was in how the Toshiba set decodes the copy-protection information though the HDMI input, but this is just speculation on his part. For now, I am ok so long as I play my DVD's on the Samsung 931 and don't attempt to recenter my STB in the setup menu. I worry that with future upgrades (new STB, new DVD player) this noise problem will again crop up through the HDMI input until Toshiba addresses this issue.

I hope all Toshiba owners who are experiencing this problem and the "white glow" issue on the component inputs on these HF85 series sets are reporting this information to Toshiba to exert some pressure on the company to investigate and resolve these issues.


I intend to exert the pressure on Sears. When I went to discuss returning it the other night, the salesman stated that they had been having a lot of problems with the 34HF85. So, if I add to the return, hopefully Sears will realize they have a crappy product on their hands.

I received my replacement 34hfx85 today. It had the same problems as the one I have, so I sent it back. Here is a recap of the problems:
1. White glow at top of screen when 1080i signal is sent to TV
2. Completely blue tinted when 1080i signal is sent from NBC HD station
3. Shadow lines or bars on screen when 1080i signal is sent from HDnet station
4. Vertical color stip down center of screen on children's cartoon channel no matter what signal is sent.

None of these problems occur on my Toshiba 42hf81 television when using the same cables and set top box. I have tried two different set top boxes and two different composite cables. Everything works on the 42 and all problems occur on 34.

I contacted Toshiba's (lack of) customer support phone line two days ago. The lady I talked with was extremely rude and pretty much hung up on me. I explained the problems I was having and asked if she had any reports of these problems. She said no... the TV is brand new and has no problems. She said she has heard of problems with composite cables, but not the tv.

I don't know what else to try. It seems like it has to be a design flaw in the television sets. I don't know what else to try. I think I'll just return the tv and figure out another brand to buy. The 34" Sony is too big for my entertainment center. I read reviews on the 32" Sony LCD and they don't sound very good. I suppose the 30" Sony is my only other option. Does anyone else have any ideas or recommendations?

Ben

I received my replacement 34hfx85 today. It had the same problems as the one I have, so I sent it back. Here is a recap of the problems:
1. White glow at top of screen when 1080i signal is sent to TV
2. Completely blue tinted when 1080i signal is sent from NBC HD station
3. Shadow lines or bars on screen when 1080i signal is sent from HDnet station
4. Vertical color stip down center of screen on children's cartoon channel no matter what signal is sent.

None of these problems occur on my Toshiba 42hf81 television when using the same cables and set top box. I have tried two different set top boxes and two different composite cables. Everything works on the 42 and all problems occur on 34.

I contacted Toshiba's (lack of) customer support phone line two days ago. The lady I talked with was extremely rude and pretty much hung up on me. I explained the problems I was having and asked if she had any reports of these problems. She said no... the TV is brand new and has no problems. She said she has heard of problems with composite cables, but not the tv.

I don't know what else to try. It seems like it has to be a design flaw in the television sets. I don't know what else to try. I think I'll just return the tv and figure out another brand to buy. The 34" Sony is too big for my entertainment center. I read reviews on the 32" Sony LCD and they don't sound very good. I suppose the 30" Sony is my only other option. Does anyone else have any ideas or recommendations?

Ben


Sounds like I am in the same situation. I'm bringing my 34HF85 back today and getting a Sony 30HS420.

I bought the Toshiba 26HF15 at CostCo a few months ago -- and ever since I've had it I've got no true black at top of screen. I've got a white band -- not really a band -- but almost like fading at top of TV. Anyone else had these problems? Should I return to CostCo?

-------

Now that I've read more closely, it seems some of you have seen this white band and others haven't. I may try to return and see if I can get one that doesn't have this problem.

Mine also had the white band...at times. Although, if I had never read about it here, it probably would never have bothered me. Either way, it was returned yesterday and I now have a Sony 30HS420.

Are the Toshiba's this unreliable? I mean i have a Samung 27" HDTV from 03' and it has a white band in the middle(during component use)..but i guess i got over it.

I'm looking now at the Toshiba 30HF85 because it's the only 30" CRT HDTV that would fit inside my ent. center.

Would you guys consider Toshiba less reliable then Samsung?

I would think for $800 the reliability issue would be very uncommon, but it seems many have problems with Toshiba's..and that is strange for the pricetag.

I'm fairly happy with my TV, except when using HDMI.

In 1080i mode (from my nvidia fx5200), there's a rolling flicker to the picture. Is there something I can do about this... or is it a service call?

EDIT:
It doesn't do it in 540p, if that's any help. I also don't have any blooming problems or convergence issues.

Mine also had the white band...at times. Although, if I had never read about it here, it probably would never have bothered me. Either way, it was returned yesterday and I now have a Sony 30HS420.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to return mine to CostCo this week. They don't have any more in stock. I'd buy the Sony 30HS420, but I can't fit it. Sony makes such sweet TVs, but they don't make a 27" WS.

I just ordered the Sceptre 27" LCD that CostCo online is selling. A few folks on AVS have said decent things about it. It's dirt cheap. I figure if it's junk, I'll return it.

I just noticed the white glow at the top of the screen the other day when I hooked up my xbox 360. I had never before run an HD signal so this was my first experience with this problem. A TV repair guy is being sent out from the store where I purchased the TV about 5 months ago. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to handle this aside from changing the source to 720P? Also is there anything else I should look for now that I have an HD signal going to the TV?


ETA: Changed the xbox 360 setting to 720P. This solved the problem, but I this still concerns me. If the repair guy says they need to send it in should I? Is there any reason to not and instead always set the input to 720. Also do you lose any visual quality by setting devices to something other than 1080i?

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to handle this aside from changing the source to 720P? Also is there anything else I should look for now that I have an HD signal going to the TV?


If you are using the HDMI input, I would check to make sure that you are not seeing the vertical banding problem that others are reporting on these sets. This problem manifests itself by a moving curtain of noise on the screen particularly evident in scenes with a gray or green background.

If the technician does not know exactly what is causing the problem, ask him to check with Toshiba to find out if they have issued a service bulletin or similar report detailing how to resolve the problem. If they have not and the tech cannot pinpoint the problem, you are probably wasting your time to have him take the set away for servicing. Others have reported doing this, only to have their set returned without resolving the issue.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out for you.

If the technician does not know exactly what is causing the problem, ask him to check with Toshiba to find out if they have issued a service bulletin or similar report detailing how to resolve the problem. If they have not and the tech cannot pinpoint the problem, you are probably wasting your time to have him take the set away for servicing. Others have reported doing this, only to have their set returned without resolving the issue.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out for you.

The TV is still under warranty, so won't the tech just send it back to Toshiba?

The TV is still under warranty, so won't the tech just send it back to Toshiba?

Perhaps. I have not had my Toshiba's serviced under warranty, but my experience with my Sony set a few years back was that the local authorized repair technician did the repair work on his bench and then returned the set to me (it was not sent to Sony).

It is my understanding that others who had their Toshiba sets serviced under warranty were getting this work done by a local authorized service representative either in their home or in a local repair shop. A few Toshiba HF85 owners have reported getting a new set in exchange for the defective set, but these same owners have also reported seeing the same problems crop up on the replacement set. It is for this reason that I suggested finding out if the technician knows how to fix the set and, if not, if they can determine if a service bulletin or report has been issued by the company detailing how to fix the problem. At least a dozen people on this forum have reported having this "white glow" issue. There have been suggestions also that the company is "working on the problem" by waltchan.

Again, good luck in resolving this and let us know how it goes.

Ok... here's my latest and probably last update on the issues I'm having with my 34hfx85. I contacted the local Toshiba authorized repair shop and explained all the issues I was having. He then contacted the Toshiba technical department, which is different than their customer support. The tech department works with the authorized repair shops. The white glow at the top of the screen is a known problem that they are working on. They are not aware of the problems with the blue tinting and shadow bars/lines on some 1080i signals. They are working with the Orion engineers to get the white glow fixed. It's possible that if they fix the white glow then the other problems might be fixed as well. I'm not willing to take that chance and will be returning the television. With this many problems, who knows how many other problems might occur in the future. I also asked the local tech about Orion televisions. He said they are know for making cheap, low quality televisions. If Orion is making Toshiba's televisions to Toshiba standards, then that is fine with me. However, it appears that is not the case.

Finally, I would like to comment again on the exceptional customer service I have received from Crutchfield. Their support is amazing. They sent me a replacement with only a few questions after I contacted them about the problems I was having. They are willing to at the very least exchange the television I have for something else. I'm pretty sure they will give me a full refund even though it has been two months since I originally purchased the television. Toshiba's customer support has been useless and downright rude at times. I doubt I will ever buy another Toshiba product again. I will certainly be shopping at Crutchfield in the future, though. Thanks to everyone here for all the help and suggestions! This forum and the people here are great!

Ben

I there, just to know if your television settings are base on cool, medium or warm (temperature)

tx a lot

I figured out the problem. I have a Toshiba 26HF85. It was weird, I just got HD hooked up yesterday and trying to watch HD Programming on NBC, I got a blue tint on the National programing, but the local HD programing was fine. What I found out is that NBC programming is 720p, not 1080i. So I changed the STB to 720p and the blue tint disappeared and was fine.

The only problem is that the Motorola set top box does not have the automatic setting. Will have to manually change the setting. Wish NBC would broadcast in 1080i.

I figured out the problem. I have a Toshiba 26HF85. It was weird, I just got HD hooked up yesterday and trying to watch HD Programming on NBC, I got a blue tint on the National programing, but the local HD programing was fine. What I found out is that NBC programming is 720p, not 1080i. So I changed the STB to 720p and the blue tint disappeared and was fine.

The only problem is that the Motorola set top box does not have the automatic setting. Will have to manually change the setting. Wish NBC would broadcast in 1080i.

Actually NBC is 1080i
nbc[dot]com/Footer/HDTV/

It could have to do with the horizontal line issue. I know for me the lines only show up when the source signal is 1080i.

G

mkreef - What is the build date on your 34HF85? It's great that you have a set that does not exhibit these problems -- good for you. Also, what model STB and DVD player do you have and do they have DVI or HDMI outputs?

May 2005.

STB: Motorola DCT6412
DVD: Sony DVP-NS70H

I started with the STB DVI->HDMI.
When I got the Sony, I switched the STB to component and used HDMI with the DVD player (1080i).

I didn't see any of these problems in either configuration.

The ISF tech tried it both ways and showed me that it was slightly better to have the DVD player component and the STB HDMI, so I left it in that configuration. Although the difference wasn't that great, as even he admitted.

The TV is now almost 2 months old. Still no problems (knock on wood). With the ISF calibration ($$$ ouch), I'm very happy with the PQ. SD is *much* improved. HD and DVD colors now look perfect.

Biggest problem with the set that could not be fixed by calibration was the underrated power supply resulting in changing picture size depending on brightness of image and lack of black detail in bright images.

TV repair man came today with a new component for the part of the TV that handles the HD signal (some type of converting I believe). He took a look inside the TV to see if the part he brought would match my model and he discovered that my TV is mad by Daewoo. Yes, Daewoo is what he saw. I was somewhat surprised, as I had no idea they outsouced to Daewoo as well. So he had to order a part to match the one inside. Hopefully in 5 to 10 days I should have the new part installed and the white glow will be fixed. He did mention setting the source to 720P was a workaround that would reselut in lower PQ.

On a side note, does anyone know if the adjustments made in the service menu are specific to the input you perform them on, or are the service menu changes, ie geometry, applied to every input?

TV repair man came today with a new component for the part of the TV that handles the HD signal (some type of converting I believe). He took a look inside the TV to see if the part he brought would match my model and he discovered that my TV is mad by Daewoo. Yes, Daewoo is what he saw. I was somewhat surprised, as I had no idea they outsouced to Daewoo as well. So he had to order a part to match the one inside. Hopefully in 5 to 10 days I should have the new part installed and the white glow will be fixed. He did mention setting the source to 720P was a workaround that would reselut in lower PQ.

On a side note, does anyone know if the adjustments made in the service menu are specific to the input you perform them on, or are the service menu changes, ie geometry, applied to every input?

rkellogg556 - What model Toshiba do you have? If the repair is successful and the "white glow" disappears, we would all appreciate knowing the specific name of the part or parts that were replaced. Thanks for posting this information.

I will be sure to get all that information when the service man returns. Model is 30HF85, and the only info on the sevice order is scan converter. Again I will get all that I can out of him when he returns. I am somewhat anxious to see if this acutally will fix the problem. I also notices a slight color bar running vertically on the left side of my TV near the edge. Kind of a bluish color, anyone else have this?

Maybe Orion outsourced to Daewoo! :)

Oh no.....Walt is back after his self imposed exile! And I see "Orion" has to be mentioned in every post.

Oh no.....Walt is back after his self imposed exile! And I see "Orion" has to be mentioned in every post.


It must have been a one week "self temp ban."

Orion is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) maker. They build and design products or components that are used in products sold under several brand names, including Toshiba.
walt, I thought of you the other day when I was at Walmart purchasing wholesale quantities of triple-ply extra large rolls of toilet paper. I saw all those stacks of Funai and Orion made cheap TVs etc and remembered your Black friday experiences.

I hope my candlelight vigil on your behalf has helped your quest--its good to see you get right back on that horse. Let's talk some TV baby.

So some of the 360 games (component connetion) were being cut off signifigantly on the sides and possibly the top a bit. I adjusted this in the service menu so now there is just about zero overscan. I watch cable TV and everything seemed fine. Then when I was tried my PS2 which runs through a different component input I noticed that there are black vertical bars on either side as well as the top. So my question is whether this underscan/overscan is due to which input I use, the machne or source, ie xbox vs ps2 or dependant on the games. Also what would be some possible solutions. Should I just split the difference between the inputs so that there is a little overscan for the 360 and a bit of black bars (underscan) on each side for the PS2, or can I somehow have individual setting for each input?

Thanks, I hope this was clear.

So some of the 360 games (component connetion) were being cut off signifigantly on the sides and possibly the top a bit. I adjusted this in the service menu so now there is just about zero overscan. I watch cable TV and everything seemed fine. Then when I was tried my PS2 which runs through a different component input I noticed that there are black vertical bars on either side as well as the top. So my question is whether this underscan/overscan is due to which input I use, the machne or source, ie xbox vs ps2 or dependant on the games. Also what would be some possible solutions. Should I just split the difference between the inputs so that there is a little overscan for the 360 and a bit of black bars (underscan) on each side for the PS2, or can I somehow have individual setting for each input?

Thanks, I hope this was clear.

rkwllogg556 - I think you will have to split the difference, as SM adjustments affect all inputs. This is what the calibrator ended up doing on my 34HF85 at any rate.

... as SM adjustments affect all inputs.
That's what I thought too, but I got a new STB yesterday (Motorola 3412) to replace my 6412 that was rebooting and locking up randomly. The comcast tech just unplugged the DVI -> HDMI cable and hooked the new box up with component cables.

The picture was horrible, it looked just like it did "out of the box". I wasn't home during the install, but the first thing my wife told me was the TV "needed another calibration" (she was unaware how the TV was connected).

I'm not sure if the problem is with the STB component output vs. HDMI, the TV's component vs. HDMI input, or that some of the SM changes were input specific.


Plugging the new 3412 with a straight HDMI cable into 34HF85 restored the PQ, but I'm now seeing some interference-like horizontal lines on all the HD channels randomly. I don't see any pattern to it, and if I pause the picture when the lines are present, they aren't visible. They also aren't visible on the HD DVR playback.

This is frustrating because everything was working perfectly until the 6412 STB started acting up. I haven't changed any of the 3412 settings, but I'm assuming it's something with the box or new HDMI cable.

This is frustrating because everything was working perfectly until the 6412 STB started acting up. I haven't changed any of the 3412 settings, but I'm assuming it's something with the box or new HDMI cable.

It is very frustrating. You are seeing the same noise that some of us have been experiencing on our 34HF85 sets. On my set, I see this banding noise only through the HDMI input. In an earlier post I stated that I was able to workaround this by switching DVD players from a Oppo (that exhibited the noise) to a Samsung HD931 (that did not). Not sure why one devlce works with the Toshiba and the other does not using the HDMI input, but that is the case. If I recall correctly, you have a Sony DVD player that is also fine through the HDMI input on this set.

My STB is a Samsung T-160. It does fine sending a pure signal to the Toshiba unless I attempt to go into the Samsung's setup screens and recenter the image on the monitor. After shifting the image, the noise you are experiencing through your 6412 STB appears on the screen on HD signals. The only way I could resolve this with my STB was to do a hard reset by depowering the STB and letting this device reboot. So long as I do not attempt to recenter the image on my monitor using the Samsung's monitor setup feature, I am fine.

My worry with these workarounds is that as soon as you change devices, say to upgrade to a new STB, you may find you have no way to cure these problems. I hope we HF85 set owners can resolve this noise issue and the "white glow" issue during the warranty period. I am convinced that both of these issues are problems with the HF85 sets, not the other devices. My basis for saying this is that I can hook up all of these devices to my Toshiba 30HF83 and there are no problems with white glow or banding noise at any resolution through any of the inputs on this other Toshiba set.

Sorry to hear you are experiencing this problem now. Best of luck in finding a satisfactory resolution.

Can someone please explain what exactly this "flickering" problem looks like? I've heard it mentioned several times, but no one really says what it is. Does the picture change contrast from dark to light? Is it a "tearing" of the picture during fast motion, (like improperly flagged fields on some DVDs), or a white flash? I haven't noticed any problems viewing DVDs through my HDMI connection, but I would like to know what to keep an eye out for. Thanks.

Can someone please explain what exactly this "flickering" problem looks like? I've heard it mentioned several times, but no one really says what it is. Does the picture change contrast from dark to light? Is it a "tearing" of the picture during fast motion, (like improperly flagged fields on some DVDs), or a white flash? I haven't noticed any problems viewing DVDs through my HDMI connection, but I would like to know what to keep an eye out for. Thanks.


These were pictures I tried to take without the use of the flash. They are not the best in the world, but the problem can be seen if you look close enough.


http://members.cox.net/gdille/images/DSC00990.JPG

http://members.cox.net/gdille/images/DSC00991.JPG

http://members.cox.net/gdille/images/DSC00992.JPG

http://members.cox.net/gdille/images/DSC00993.JPG

http://members.cox.net/gdille/images/DSC00994.JPG

http://members.cox.net/gdille/images/DSC00995.JPG

http://members.cox.net/gdille/images/DSC00996.JPG




The pictures do not readily show it, but the problem is actually more pronounced in the dark areas. If you lighten the picture up, you may get more detail.

... the noise you are experiencing through your 6412 STB appears on the screen on HD signals.
Just to be clear, I did *not* have this problem with my 6412 STB (not sure if it was a Phase III model. It only had DVI output and I used that with a DVI to HDMI converter into the TV.

I'm only seeing this problem for the first time with the new Motorola 3412 STB with a native HDMI output (so I switched cables).

Does your 6412 have the DVI out or HDMI out? I'm almost wondering if it's worth trying a different 6412 to see if the problem goes away. Nothing changed with the TV or cable feed obviously. Something very minor must have changed with the STB signal that causes this on the HF85s.


My worry with these workarounds is that as soon as you change devices, say to upgrade to a new STB, you may find you have no way to cure these problems.

Agreed.


I hope we HF85 set owners can resolve this noise issue and the "white glow" issue during the warranty period. I am convinced that both of these issues are problems with the HF85 sets, not the other devices. My basis for saying this is that I can hook up all of these devices to my Toshiba 30HF83 and there are no problems with white glow or banding noise at any resolution through any of the inputs on this other Toshiba set.

Thankfully I've yet to see the "white glow" issue. Another concern is getting it fixed and/or a new HF85 and requiring another ISF calibration!

Does your 6412 have the DVI out or HDMI out? I'm almost wondering if it's worth trying a different 6412 to see if the problem goes away. Nothing changed with the TV or cable feed obviously. Something very minor must have changed with the STB signal that causes this on the HF85s.

Thankfully I've yet to see the "white glow" issue. Another concern is getting it fixed and/or a new HF85 and requiring another ISF calibration!

I misunderstood you about the STB change. I do not have a cable STB device, only satellite feeds into the Tosh's here. Apologies if I led you to think I have a 6412. I have only tried DVI to HDMI hookups on the Toshiba 34HF85 through a Gefen DVI swtcher. I have not tried feeding an HDMI signal to the HDMI input on this set. I have one device (a HD Tivo) that outputs an HDMI signal, but it is hooked up to my other set and I have not experimented by using it on the 34HF85.

My own theory on this noise you are seeing is that it has something to do with the way the HF85 sets are decoding the HDCP copy protection through the HDMI input. My basis for this theory is that one of my DVD players is HDCP compliant and it plays fine on the 34HF85. My other DVD player is not HDCP compliant and when I hook it up to the set through the HDMI input I see this same noise you are seeing when outputting at 1080i. Just a theory, though, that and $1.75 will get you a small cup of the brew of the day at Starbucks.

Glad you are not experiencing the white glow. I only see that through the component inputs and only if a 1080i signal is sent to the set. 720p plays just fine on my set.

I think that if these issues are being caused by a bad board or electrical circuit, chances are good that the repair will not affect your calibration. Before sending mine away for servicing, I intend to go into the service menu and write down the post-calibration settings so that I have a reference point should changes be made by the service techs. I recall one forum member did post the default service menu settings on his set on this forum a while back providing the factory defaults.

Again, good luck in getting things squared away on your set.

Glad you are not experiencing the white glow. I only see that through the component inputs and only if a 1080i signal is sent to the set. 720p plays just fine on my set.
I changed my 3412 STB from 1080i and 720p and it eliminated all banding. I've been watching a bunch of HD channels tonight and all traces of banding are gone. (I flipped back to 1080i and verified it was still there on all HD channels).

It's interesting that both the white glow and banding problems occur when the HF85 is fed a 1080i signal through both HDMI and component and forcing the set to convert from 720p to 1080i fixes both problems.

I just noticed that I have the white glow from 720P as well. I can swear that not only has 720P input began to show it a bit, but when I switch back to 1080i it seems to have been worse than it was a week ago. Now the 720P white glow takes up about the same portion of the top of the screen as the 1080i use to and the 1080i white glow appears to now be about the top 20 percent of the screen. Has anyone else noticed if it gets worse over time?

I was wondering how good is the Toshiba TheaterWide 26"? This is about the right size TV I need. It also fall into the right price range for me. I keep hearing that Toshiba's CRT HDTV are poor quality.

I too have a 34HF85 and have the white glow with component @1080i, but also kind of a color shift/surge thing. 720p is fine. With DVi->HDMI I get the flickering but no glow. again 720p is ok. This only seems to happen with my expressvu stb. My Sony DVD player upconverting to 1080i doesnt do it.

I have had the service man in . He changed some vertical sync settings using some directions from Toshiba. It didnt fix the problem. He then swapped out the board that has all the inputs on it. It didnt work either. He said he would have to call Toshiba.

That was about a week ago and I called him today. He said Toshiba is working on a fix, but doesnt have one at the moment. He will keep me informed.

/sigh

I too have a 34HF85 and have the white glow with component @1080i, but also kind of a color shift/surge thing. 720p is fine. With DVi->HDMI I get the flickering but no glow. again 720p is ok. This only seems to happen with my expressvu stb. My Sony DVD player upconverting to 1080i doesnt do it.

I have had the service man in . He changed some vertical sync settings using some directions from Toshiba. It didnt fix the problem. He then swapped out the board that has all the inputs on it. It didnt work either. He said he would have to call Toshiba.

That was about a week ago and I called him today. He said Toshiba is working on a fix, but doesnt have one at the moment. He will keep me informed.

/sigh

Thanks, SmokeyRay. If you don't mind doing so, keep us fellow Tosh owners informed of anything you may learn regarding this fix if you hear that Toshiba finds one.

Thanks for the advice! Per your recommendation I just changed the setting on my Motorola (Comcast) STB from 1080i to 720p and the horizontal "shadows" that appeared in widescreen during NFL, NBA, programming with a lot of movement, etc. disappeared. I had already exchanged the set once (had to drag the 160 pound behemoth back to Best Buy) and was preparing myself to return the replacement when I read this post and made the suggested adjustments. I will sleep well tonight!

One question - am I giving up anything in terms of PQ by dropping to 720p? I know the 34HF85 is capable of upsignaling to 1080i but am not sure exactly what this means.

I thought all of these crt sets upconverted 720p to 1080i anyway. You may loose some PQ if the scaler on your box is worse then the television. I have my Comcast SA box set to 1080i.

Yes, none of these CRT tvs can produce a true 720p image, they all upconvert to 1080i. So for me, I see no drop in PQ when my stb is set on 720p. Others disagree with me on this but I prove to myself that I am right by leaving a 720p station on (like ABC MNFootball) and switching from 720p to 1080i on my stb remote and there is NO SIGNAL CHANGE. AND, when you change to another station that's 1080i again, it doesn't change. So that means it's at 1080i. No matter, again, I see no drop in PQ.

Yes, none of these CRT tvs can produce a true 720p image, they all upconvert to 1080i. So for me, I see no drop in PQ when my stb is set on 720p. Others disagree with me on this but I prove to myself that I am right by leaving a 720p station on (like ABC MNFootball) and switching from 720p to 1080i on my stb remote and there is NO SIGNAL CHANGE. AND, when you change to another station that's 1080i again, it doesn't change. So that means it's at 1080i. No matter, again, I see no drop in PQ.



Interesting. In my experience, switching from 720p to 1080i on my stb box, makes a noticable difference in the level of detail. It seems to be most noticable in 2 situations. One is far away shots during sports and the other is skin detail on close up shots.

I remember reading somewhere that the human eye (s) prefers a brighter image in general. And since i passes its info as odd scan lines first and then VERY quickly the even ones that the overall image appears brighter and less saturated (thick) as opposed to p. (progressive scan; all lines of resolution being sent at the same time. I am no expert, but I do notice that when the TV is on p the image does seem darker; saturated. I simply crank up the brightness & contrast as little bit more and the picture looks as if I have 1080i on. Plus, on sports events, spatial & quick movement is less pixelated and smeary on 720p because of the one whole pass. AND last and certainly not least, on these $^%&*# Toshibas, there is no glow with 1080i turned off. It does piss me off that I spent $1200 on a TV that has a major flaw but I need to simply go Zen and accept it for now. PS - saw Kong last night; amazing.

I have the 34hf85 which I just exchanged for a replacement 34hf85. I was getting discoloration in the left bottom corner of the screen. The new one also gets the discoloration. Prior to the first Toshiba I had a 31inch Mitsubishi that also got the discoloration. Funny thing is that this appeared in the same location on all 3 TV's. I moved the Mitsubishi (6weeks ago) when I got the first Toshiba and have not seen the problem on the Mitsubishi. I read up and learned about magnets and how they can cause this problem. There are no magnets anywhere near the Toshiba. I have been racking my brain to figure out what may cause this problem. Something must be causing an electrical Disturbance. Any suggestions?

The symptoms you are experiencing traditionally have to do with magnetic interference, which I think you might have near your TV. If you've got any speakers or subwoofers near it, move them away, as they might not be shielded and could be causing the problem. If there is a big tangle of power cords behind the TV you should straighten in out and move the power-strip away from the TV. If the TV is against the wall, you should take a look at what is on the other side, or perhaps see if there is any way to know if there is a power line in the wall that could be making a disturbance. If it is magnetic disturbance, the defects might not go away immediately, and you might have to have a technician come and degauss it.

If none of that seems to be the problem, you might want to make sure you have a good surge suppressor, and also make sure the TV isn't sitting right on top of a heating duct or something. Other than that, I would say it's a manufacturing problem. (not written by me)

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I grabbed one from Amazon since it fits the ent ctr perfectly and was WELL within budget. At this price it was worth the gamble even after reading about the problems some users experience. I figured it was like my Dell 24" LCD - those who were unhappy were the loudest and those who were happy were busy using it rather than posting complaints ;)
So anyway, I added the Comcast HD service the day before it arrived just to be ready. When it arrived (on a pallet no less) the grunts helped de-palletize it and lifted it into my living room for me. A couple cables later I was watching my kids favorite DVD - Nemo - to see how it faired. Perfect with the DVD, so next was broadcast TV. Not bad at all. Next was HD and it's incredible. I only have my mothers Sony LCD with HD as a comparison and it seems much richer to me. I have none of the reported problems and have my fingers crossed that this continues. I've probably just jinxed myself, but such is life :)
I did go with the HDMI connection. Not sure if this is better than the options, but I think it's the newest type so it seemed to me that it should be better than the older connection types.
Anyway, just wanted people to know that for me the $749 was well spent. If i have any issues later I'll post an update.
Cheers!

I changed my 3412 STB from 1080i and 720p and it eliminated all banding. I've been watching a bunch of HD channels tonight and all traces of banding are gone. (I flipped back to 1080i and verified it was still there on all HD channels).

It's interesting that both the white glow and banding problems occur when the HF85 is fed a 1080i signal through both HDMI and component and forcing the set to convert from 720p to 1080i fixes both problems.

Hey guys. I wanted to say that I am experiencing this same issue with the Toshiba upconverting DVD player we just got. I hooked it up with HDMI and sure enough, there is a horrible banding/horizontal shadow issue (I couldnt even think of how to describe it until I saw this thread). When telling the DVD player to output 720p or 480p, the PQ is fine, if not stunning. This is upsetting, but..oh well.

Edit: Forgot to mention that this issue is non-existant when viewing 1080i through component on our digital cable box.

Hi, this is my first post in here, it *might not be in the right thread since it's not a HDTV, it's still a tosh 26AF45C.

So allright, here's my question:

I'm trying to disable the Velocity scan modulation on this set, it seems that unlike the HDTV version, the option is not in the conventional menu. I've accessed the service mode, but unless it's listed as an esoteric combination of letters that have no kind of ressemblancce with VSM or SVM, I just can't find it.

Could it be a hardware trick with this one? googling left and right I've read of sets that have you disconnecting something inside...

?

My parents just got a Toshiba 34HF85, and they are using an antenna, with a cable-type screw on, center pin type connection that inputs the antenna into the TV. They called me to say that their UHF channels are not coming in. Should they keep the setting on antenna, or should they have it on some different setting and run the channel scan again? I seem to remember that when my power went out, sometimes my DVD/VCR reverted to "antenna" setting and it almost seems that when that happened, I couldn't get anything higher than 13? I'm relatively remote/menu savvy, so hopefully it's something I can help them with. If someone could tell me the steps on this menu they should do to get the UHF channels to work, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Hello, i currently own a 34hf85 and have experienced most of the problems you seem to have. My question is to you guys, what would be better a 34hf85 ISF calibrated or a sony kv-34hs420n calibrated with Avia? My tv has a 90 day return policy and i can get the sony for about 200.00 more.

Hello, i currently own a 34hf85 and have experienced most of the problems you seem to have. My question is to you guys, what would be better a 34hf85 ISF calibrated or a sony kv-34hs420n calibrated with Avia? My tv has a 90 day return policy and i can get the sony for about 200.00 more.

Easily the Sony.

Easily the Sony.


I concur. Definitely go with the Sony over the Toshiba. Take that from somebody that's been down that road.

My parents just got a Toshiba 34HF85, and they are using an antenna, with a cable-type screw on, center pin type connection that inputs the antenna into the TV. They called me to say that their UHF channels are not coming in. Should they keep the setting on antenna, or should they have it on some different setting and run the channel scan again? I seem to remember that when my power went out, sometimes my DVD/VCR reverted to "antenna" setting and it almost seems that when that happened, I couldn't get anything higher than 13? I'm relatively remote/menu savvy, so hopefully it's something I can help them with. If someone could tell me the steps on this menu they should do to get the UHF channels to work, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.


Have them go to menu screen and find the channel area and set the tv to antenna and do a channel scan. There is in a CATV mode and will show UHF channels but the numbers are different. They is a 51 channel difference. Hope that helps.

(Hello, i currently own a 34hf85 and have experienced most of the problems you seem to have. My question is to you guys, what would be better a 34hf85 ISF calibrated or a sony kv-34hs420n calibrated with Avia? My tv has a 90 day return policy and i can get the sony for about 200.00 more.)

fburch had his Toshiba ISF calibrated. Perhaps he can express his opinion on that one! :)

fburch had his Toshiba ISF calibrated. Perhaps he can express his opinion on that one! :)

At this writing, I think you would be better off with the Sony. The reason has less to do with picture quality than practical realities.

Some owners of the HF85 series Toshiba sets (myself included) are experiencing anomolies with these sets that Toshiba does not seem to know how to fix. These include a white glow in the upper portion of the screen when the set receives 1080i HD signal through the component (Colorstream) inputs and vertical banding problems when the set receives 1080i signals through the HDMI input. It is troubling that this set has been in production for nearly a year now and Toshiba continues to say they are working on the problem with no resolution in sight.

While I do not own a Sony HD set, I have owned a Trinitron 27" set in the past. I did have issues with this Sony set during the warranty period, but Sony took care of the problem promptly and provided excellent customer service. Toshiba has not exhibited the capacity to service these HF85 sets in a similar way.

If you are unlucky enough to have a Toshiba set with problems such as those described above, I think you will be frustrated in your attempts to get these problems resolved and it is not worth paying $800+ only to be vexed with problems that the company is incapable of fixing during the warranty period.

If you keep the Toshiba, an ISF calibration if properly done will greatly improve the picture quality. I cannot say whether this improvement would be equivalent to an Aria of DVE home calibration job on a Sony since I have not made this direct comparison. Much depends on the out-of-the-box condition of the specific sets being evaluated.

But, I would steer clear of the Toshiba until the company reports that they know the root causes of the problems plaguing these sets and set owners begin reporting on this forum and elsewhere that Toshiba has satisfactorily addressed these problems.

The HF85 is my first HDTV, I bought it before there were any reviews about it, If I had read the reviews before buying, I would not have purchased it. After having this set for a few months now, I've figured out that the picture is best displayed in 480p format with the set supposedly upconverting to 1080i. 720p and 1080i gives me a dark and blurey image. I have my Dish 921 HD receiver set to 480p and the HD channels look fantastic. There is a little picture noise in dark settings and sometimes black looks too black, but other than that I've had casual viewers say they've never seen HD so real on this set compared to DLPs and LCDs they were used to. HDMI and Component work equally well for me. I may just have an ISF Calibration done to take out imperfections in the picture quality because I'm going to be stuck with this set for awhile.. so might as well make the best of it. Hopefully Toshiba has some more information on what went wrong with this set in the future, because I would like to see 720p and 1080i resolutions work correctly, but 480p looks great for now.

My wife wants to keep the the Toshiba because of aesthetics. It looks very modern and for a CRT set it doesn’t look bulky at all. If i return it i'm also getting another stand seeing it weighs almost 200lbs. Also i want a nice pretty stand to offset the uglyness of the kv-34hs420n.

My wife wants to keep the the Toshiba because of aesthetics. It looks very modern and for a CRT set it doesn’t look bulky at all. If i return it i'm also getting another stand seeing it weighs almost 200lbs. Also i want a nice pretty stand to offset the uglyness of the kv-34hs420n.

I like the look of the Toshiba also and have kept mine in large part because it is the only 34" CRT set I could find that fit in my home entertainment unit. The Sony was just too large. I have found workarounds for the 1080i problems cited in my prior post, but I do not believe consumers should be forced to find workarounds for features that are supposed to work right out of the box. The fact that Toshiba cannot fix these problems is reason enough for me to recommend that folks shopping for a new set steer clear of the HF85 series sets until Toshiba gets its act together.

I just got the Toshiba 26" Widescreen 26HF85C yesterday. My picture looks fine, I'm just wondering if there is a way to change the grey verticle bars that appear on the left and right of the picture when viewing regular cable chanels etc, to make them black. Thanks!

As far as I know there is no way to change the bars to black. This is because the grey bars carry actual information as opposed to black bars which do not & will cause eventual burn in.

Does anyone know what the native resolution and scan rate of the 34HFX85 or equivalents are. Toshiba Customer Support has no idea and suggested I look on the Internet! Youd think that the people who are responsible for supporting the product would have a clue. I bought this to use in my living room and part of a small media center. When I started looking through the manual there are warnings everywhere not to hook this up to a PC! When I talke to Customer Support I got the same thing --- I asked them how they could be HDMI compliant and not allow a HDMI connection from a PC. They didn;t have an answer for that one sooo I am trying to setup Powerstrip to output the right setup via DVI and use a DVI to HDMI cable to connect up. This should be a lot easier than it is!

Does anyone know what the native resolution and scan rate of the 34HFX85 or equivalents are. I am trying to setup Powerstrip to output the right setup via DVI and use a DVI to HDMI cable to connect up. This should be a lot easier than it is!

I don't know what the native resolution is on this set, it may be 540p. I have a HTPC hooked to my 34HF85, but am using the ATI dongle that connects to the DVI output on the PC graphics card and converts the signal to a component output that feeds into the set. I can tell you that the set readily accepts 480p, 720p, and 1080i signals from my PC through the ATI dongle. The ATI dongle also has a 540p setting, but ATI advises against using this setting and I have never experimented with it.

The best timing for the 1080i signal on my set is 1776x1000 at 30 Hz and the best timing for 720p is 1152x652 at 60 Hz, but don't quote me on the 720p timing (not at my set presently). Overscan occurs in both of these timings, but overall these timings work pretty well for me. I don't ever use the 480p timing, but back when I was experimenting with it, I think 848x480p at 60 Hz was what worked on the 34HF85 (again don't quote me on this one).

Because of the white glow problem I have described in prior posts, I rarely use the 1080i timing and rely almost exclusively on the 720p timing which yields very acceptable results. Windows icons and text, even after increasing the font size, were much less readable using the 1080i timing and there is a subtle jittering evident in the 1080i timing that I do not experience with the 720p timing.

You may want to visit the HTPC portion of this forum to really delve more deeply into this subject.

Good luck.

Hi gang, its nice to see that this post is still alive and walter free for a couple of pages. lol.
Since I have had my 34hf85 for about 5 months now, I thought I would post how happy I am with this set now. I used to have a problem with the really dark black levels, but it seems to have lightened up quite a bit in the last couple of months. It also seems to me that all my channels are looking much better than when I 1st bought it. I have a Xbox 360 plugged into this and it looks amazing. I have it set at 1080i and do not see the white glow while playing games or watching dvd's. My stb is a Scientific Atlantic 8300 HD-DVR and I still have it set at 720p because there is some glow when it is at 1080i. I can not see the difference either way, so no big deal there. To me this set just rocks. But I have to admit I did not think this way a few months ago.
I have just recently helped 2 of my friends set up their new DLP units and they have Xbox 360's and SC8300 stb also(they really liked my setup) . All I can say is that I am really glad I did not buy rear projection dlp or lcd. I dont think I can ever get used to the limited viewing angles. The picture on my Toshiba is so superior to these units and at less than half the price they paid, it just makes me feel warm all over. Give this set a few months and go look at a few of your friends HD setups and you might feel as good as I do. Just remember that the whole HD landscape is changeing rapidly everyday and this is a cheap way to watch HD until you or I can afford a future generation HD set.

The HF85 is my first HDTV, I bought it before there were any reviews about it, If I had read the reviews before buying, I would not have purchased it. After having this set for a few months now, I've figured out that the picture is best displayed in 480p format with the set supposedly upconverting to 1080i. 720p and 1080i gives me a dark and blurey image. I have my Dish 921 HD receiver set to 480p and the HD channels look fantastic. There is a little picture noise in dark settings and sometimes black looks too black, but other than that I've had casual viewers say they've never seen HD so real on this set compared to DLPs and LCDs they were used to. HDMI and Component work equally well for me. I may just have an ISF Calibration done to take out imperfections in the picture quality because I'm going to be stuck with this set for awhile.. so might as well make the best of it. Hopefully Toshiba has some more information on what went wrong with this set in the future, because I would like to see 720p and 1080i resolutions work correctly, but 480p looks great for now.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I noticed on my friend's SDTV that the xbox 360 image looks cleaner compared to when I run the xbox on my HF85 at 1080i. Specifically when I open the guide during the game, the Y and X buttons in the bottome left corner are hard to read. It looks as though the black that makes up the letters is being drowned out by the yellow around the Y and the blue drowns out the X. Comparitively on his TV the X and Y buttons on the guide are clear and sharp.

Would having someone calibrate this clean up the image or are the Toshiba TVs poorly made?

I'd be curious to see what an ISF calibration does for this set, but I'm not sure if it's worth the $250.. like I said I see a fantastic picture on HD channels with my receiver set to 480p.. and the set is starting to look slighty better now that it's burning in. For some reason the HF85 doesnt display 720p and 1080i signals correctly, but with a 480p input and the upconversion to 1080i in the TV, picture is beautiful with factory picture settings set to 'movie'. I'd still chose this set over an lcd or dlp.

Do you guys notice how grany this tv seems to be? with 480i and 480p sources. Can some of you post images of the set in 480i, 480p, and HD please.

Well its been over a month since I had a serivce man come out to fix the white glow issue. He ordered a PCB Scaler part # AE006393, which supposedly should fix the problem. Unfortunately Toshiba's customer service is **** and the repair man has still not received the part. Anyone know about this part or have any idea whether this will solve the white glow issue? I will keep you all posted if any thing new occurs with the repair. Hopefully this will solve the white glow issue.

Well its been over a month since I had a serivce man come out to fix the white glow issue. He ordered a PCB Scaler part # AE006393, which supposedly should fix the problem. Unfortunately Toshiba's customer service is **** and the repair man has still not received the part. Anyone know about this part or have any idea whether this will solve the white glow issue? I will keep you all posted if any thing new occurs with the repair. Hopefully this will solve the white glow issue.

Thanks for keeping us posted on this. I have a distant recollection of an AVS Forum member saying they had the white glow problem on a Tosh 26HF85 or 26HF15 and having the set serviced to replace the scaler and this did not resolve the problem. I believe that this post occurred a few months back in this thread or another dealing with Toshiba sets. I hope that my recall is faulty on this point and that by replacing this part the white glow issue is resolved on your set.

Good luck and thanks, in advance, for letting us know how it comes out.

Hi, another question.

I am using my Toshiba 26" Widescreen (26HF85C) with a Toshiba Upconverting HD DVD Player (SD4980) using the HDMI input. When I set the DVD player to upconvert to 720p or 1080i, the image gets stretched and unproportional on the TV. I can't change the pic size on the TV anymore either, I can only change it when it is set to 480p.

Is there any way to get it to display without stretching the image out of proportion in 720p or 1080i modes?

Thanks

I'm curious, has there been any effort to get some type of mass email or petition to Toshiba regarding this problem. I realize that posts on this forum may be misleading because generally only dissatisfied customers or those with defective TVs will post here, but these TVs seem to be prone to problems.

I'm curious, has there been any effort to get some type of mass email or petition to Toshiba regarding this problem. I realize that posts on this forum may be misleading because generally only dissatisfied customers or those with defective TVs will post here, but these TVs seem to be prone to problems.

Most people wont even notice the issues this set has, it's us HT people that know what to look for that speak up. My tv looks fine to everyone but me, i have to point out the problems because they think im crazy.

Most people wont even notice the issues this set has, it's us HT people that know what to look for that speak up. My tv looks fine to everyone but me, i have to point out the problems because they think im crazy.

Same here.

Not me, that is one angry white glow on the top of my TV when in 1080i mode on the HD stations! IMHO, that is a defect, plain & simple, but you work around it :)

Not me, that is one angry white glow on the top of my TV when in 1080i mode on the HD stations! IMHO, that is a defect, plain & simple, but you work around it :)

I agree with you, lennsx. You can't miss it on my set during a dark scene and it became much more evident after I had the set ISF calibrated. I speculate that Toshiba tried to hide the glow problem with the factory settings at the expense of accurate gray scale and color settings. Folks saying they hardly notice the white glow are probably also experiencing crushed blacks and red push characteristic of these factory settings. That said, if they are happy, that's all that counts.

Re rkellogg556's post, I'd be happy to sign a petition, but doubt it would do any good. I fear that Toshiba's strategy is to try to placate customers by saying "they are working on a solution" for this problem until the warranty period expires on these sets. I hope I am wrong.

I I fear that Toshiba's strategy is to try to placate customers by saying "they are working on a solution" for this problem until the warranty period expires on these sets. I hope I am wrong.

I am thinking the same thing.

I fear that Toshiba's strategy is to try to placate customers by saying "they are working on a solution" for this problem until the warranty period expires on these sets. I hope I am wrong.

I think you guys have to give them a chance. Orion began building the 26hf84 and 30hf84 in June of '04 and a lot of the sets made during the summer had bad geometry with a vertical bend in the middle of the screen. My 30hf84 was made in August of '04 and is one of the good ones. A lot of people screamed bloody murder with those sets and Toshiba could not figure out what was going on. Eventually they came up with a fix that consisted of replacing a couple of resistors or diodes. There is a long thread about it on the forum.

I would think that if you have an open service call and retain documented evidence that they are aware of the glow problem, they would have to repair it no matter when they come up with a fix.

By the way, my 30HF84 is over a year old now and I swear the pq looks better than when I first got it.

I think you guys have to give them a chance. Orion began building the 26hf84 and 30hf84 in June of '04 and a lot of the sets made during the summer had bad geometry with a vertical bend in the middle of the screen. My 30hf84 was made in August of '04 and is one of the good ones. A lot of people screamed bloody murder with those sets and Toshiba could not figure out what was going on. Eventually they came up with a fix that consisted of replacing a couple of resistors or diodes. There is a long thread about it on the forum.

I would think that if you have an open service call and retain documented evidence that they are aware of the glow problem, they would have to repair it no matter when they come up with a fix.

By the way, my 30HF84 is over a year old now and I swear the pq looks better than when I first got it.

Good history lesson, Nonnie and good advice on being patient and arranging for an "open service call". As I stated previously, I'd be happy for my fears to be proven baseless by demonstrable actions on Toshiba's part showing they are correcting this problem with the HF85 sets or official word from the company to buyers of these sets who report these problems during the warranty period that the company will fix the problem when a solution is found, even if this occurs after the warranty period expires.

What is involved in arranging for an "open service call"? Since Toshiba customer service representatives are not being particularly helpful, I assume you do this by getting a Toshiba approved technician to inspect the set and document the problem, requesting that the techinican document the fact that the company does not know how to fix the problem work but is "working on a solution", and asking for a copy of the paperwork that documents that these actions and the company contacts that were made within the warranty period.

Is that what you had in mind?

I'm just curious, but if the TVs are not made by Toshiba, do they normally require a much longer time to fix and come up with a solution? I mean, like, Toshiba has no idea how the TVs were made inside. Not even the parts. Is it possible that Toshiba don't know how to fix the problems at all? I have a good feeling that Toshiba is probably ignoring the owners right now and would rather release the new 26HF66 and 30HF66 instead as quick as they can.

What is involved in arranging for an "open service call"? Since Toshiba customer service representatives are not being particularly helpful, I assume you do this by getting a Toshiba approved technician to inspect the set and document the problem, requesting that the techinican document the fact that the company does not know how to fix the problem work but is "working on a solution", and asking for a copy of the paperwork that documents that these actions and the company contacts that were made within the warranty period.

Is that what you had in mind?

That is what I did. My set has one minor problem, the horizontal jerk/jitter in 1080i mode. The picture will momentarily jerk horizontally about 5 or 6 times while it is warming up over a period of an hour or so. From what I understand, this also appeared in the hf83's as well as the hf84's. (Have you ever noticed it on your 30HF83? ) There is a survey thread here on the issue. I documented the call with Toshiba then had a Toshiba authorized tech inspect the set. He verified it was a known problem and they did not have a fix. This is very minor compared to the glow problem; I doubt if I will pursue getting it repaired, but at least I have it on record.

The 30HF83 was made by Toshiba and the 30HF84 by Orion, yet both sets had this horizontal jerk issue. It seems Orion used some of the same parts from the 30HF83 then switched suppliers with the HF85 series.

That is what I did. My set has one minor problem, the horizontal jerk/jitter in 1080i mode. The picture will momentarily jerk horizontally about 5 or 6 times while it is warming up over a period of an hour or so. From what I understand, this also appeared in the hf83's as well as the hf84's. (Have you ever noticed it on your 30HF83? ) There is a survey thread here on the issue. I documented the call with Toshiba then had a Toshiba authorized tech inspect the set. He verified it was a known problem and they did not have a fix. This is very minor compared to the glow problem; I doubt if I will pursue getting it repaired, but at least I have it on record.

The 30HF83 was made by Toshiba and the 30HF84 by Orion, yet both sets had this horizontal jerk issue. It seems Orion used some of the same parts from the 30HF83 then switched suppliers with the HF85 series.

I have seen this occur on my 30HF83, but it happens so infrequently and usually within the first few minutes of operation that it has not bothered me. I have not noticed the problem occurring more frequently in the more than two years I have owned the set. The 30HF83 is a much better set than the 34HF85 from the standpoint of both picture and build quality in my opinion. I wish every Toshiba set owner could be as pleased as I have been with my 30HF83.

I hope that I can one day get a fix for why 480p input has so much better picture quality than 1080i and 720p on my 34hf85.. until then I guess im not seeing true HD..

Hi All,

Looking for some help. My 34 is hooked up to Motorola 6412 via DVI - HDMI cable. This morning the TV turns on and the picture comes up only for a view seconds and then goes blank. Unplugged the 6412 for 5 minutes and plugged it back in same thing. Checked the connection and they are fine. Before this I always had a problem when I first turn the TV on where the picture would not sync up and I have to turn the TV and then back its is fine. I always thought it was a hand shake thing. I tried a few of things mentioned in this thread but no luck

Any thoughts on the blanking screen...

Thanks,
Keith

I finally returned the unit on Friday for a Sony kd-34xs955 and let me tell you the difference in huge. The white glow on the top part of screen while viewing 1080i is gone. This set is allot less grainy than the 34hf85, even the SD signal looks good, way better than before. Video games look sharper and cleaner and i no longer have the scanline problem i had before. This tv would be perfect if it weren't for its size and weight, but you cant have it all.

ahhhh....if Sony made a 34" widescreen that would fit in my wall unit.........

ahhhh....if Sony made a 34" widescreen that would fit in my wall unit.........

We can dream, can't we. :(

720p and 1080i gives me a dark and blurey image.

I noticed this last night when first using HD resolutions from my new upconverting player (Toshiba SD-6980) on my 30HFX85 via HDMI.

I'm not sure why, but when receiving HD (720p or 1080i) it seems the set uses a fundamentally different set of parameters to interpret the image. I had to move brightness up from my normal 24 to about 33 to get the correct black levels, and sharpness up to about 35 (from my normal 16!) to bring back the detail, otherwise it did look quite blurry. If I switched the player to 480p I had to move the settings back, otherwise blacks were washed out and the image was noisy due to high brightness & sharpening.

I checked with the Avia sharpness test pattern, and using a setting of 35 with an HD signal didn't introduce distortion for me, it just brought back the detail of the picture. :confused: Oh well, it seemed to work!

Anyway, with those two adjustments the upconverted signals looked great.

PS- I leave SVM off in all cases.

I am using my Toshiba 26" Widescreen (26HF85C) with a Toshiba Upconverting HD DVD Player (SD4980) using the HDMI input. When I set the DVD player to upconvert to 720p or 1080i, the image gets stretched and unproportional on the TV. I can't change the pic size on the TV anymore either, I can only change it when it is set to 480p.

Is there any way to get it to display without stretching the image out of proportion in 720p or 1080i modes?

Thanks
djchrono,

Have you verified the setup of the DVD player? From what I understand the screen dimensions/aspect are part of the HD signal (which is why you can't change the picture size in those modes?, someone jump in if I'm off here), so it sounds like the player may be set incorrectly. There should be some option in the player's setup menus to specify that you have a 16:9 display.

I have a Toshiba SD-6980 player and upconverted resolutions on HDMI work fine as far as aspect ratio goes.

Just my $.02 anyway. :)

hm thanks for the reply, I'll go home tonight and check the settings on the DVD player. There's gotta be something, because I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to look the way it is :p

I noticed this last night when first using HD resolutions from my new upconverting player (Toshiba SD-6980) on my 30HFX85 via HDMI.

I'm not sure why, but when receiving HD (720p or 1080i) it seems the set uses a fundamentally different set of parameters to interpret the image. I had to move brightness up from my normal 24 to about 33 to get the correct black levels, and sharpness up to about 35 (from my normal 16!) to bring back the detail, otherwise it did look quite blurry.

I'll try those adjustments and see if I get in improvement in true HD resolution.

hm thanks for the reply, I'll go home tonight and check the settings on the DVD player. There's gotta be something, because I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to look the way it is :p

You were right, the setting in the DVD player wasn't set on widescreen displays. I did set it originally, but the power got disconnected, and it reset itself :p

It looks really great in 720p. When I set to 1080i I occassionally get these shadowy streaks across the image. I didn't read this whole thread so Im not sure if that's a common issue or not.

So finally the TV serviceman called me regarding the repair for my 30HF85. He came out around December 4th to check out my TV and said that the white glow problem may be fixed by a new scan converter or something like that. Anyway, nearly six weeks later Toshiba finally got back to him and told him that the scan converter part that he had ordered or requested from them would not be authorized to install or something to that extent. I am not totally sure what he meant, but it sounded like basically they did not give him the ok to install the part under warranty. However the thing that really pisses me off is that they told him to tell me to change the source to 720P to solve the problem. I laughed and told him that this is ridiculous. They told him the way to solve the problem is to send a 720P signal to a 1080i native television? Talk about absurd. He totally agreed and thinks that this is bullsh*t. I told him that would not solve the problem because 720P signals are showing the white glow as well. So now I am stuck with a broken TV that has no known fix. Thank you Toshiba!

It looks really great in 720p. When I set to 1080i I occassionally get these shadowy streaks across the image. I didn't read this whole thread so Im not sure if that's a common issue or not.

Yeah, I've read about that issue in this thread and some others. It seems relatively common and I've got it too on my set. Most of the time it's fine, and I haven't been able to isolate what's causing it. At first I thought it was during all scenes with a lot of light/dark movement. When it happens, it does seem to be during lots of movement, but it doesn't affect all high-movement scenes, only particular ones. However, when I find a scene that causes it, I can reproduce it consistently.

My set doesn't seem to have the "white glow" issue when receiving 1080i via component. Unfortunately I can see the difference between component and HDMI (HDMI looks noticably cleaner, and the black crush is less severe). So, it looks like I may leave my player set to 720p. Bit of a shame, as I'd like to minimize the number of conversions/resizes going on, but 720p coming in thorough HDMI still looks darn good.

Kinda sucks that receiving a true 1080i signal is so problematic for many of these Toshibas. :(

I've just ordered the 30HF85 service manual from that seller on eBay. If I get brave (or crazy) I might eventually go to greater lengths to try to solve it. For now HDMI 720p is fine (viewing distance is ~12 feet for my setup). The fact that the geometry and convergence are good, and I can get the colors dead on (not to mention the fact that the damn thing weighs 110lbs!) put enough in it's favor that I'm willing to keep it and be happy, rather than try to swap it and risk getting a tube (of any brand) with more severe problems in other areas.

I have the shadow-streak problem as well on all inputs (comp, HDMI, cable etc...). It is hard to pinpoint what exactly sets it off, but it is repeatable when you find a scene that makes it happen. Other than this issue, I am extremely happy with the set. If anyone can find a fix for this, please share it with us as this seems to be quite common.

I made some brightness/sharpness adjustments on my 34HF85 for 720p and 1080i signals, I managed to bring out the detail and brighten it up a bit, but the picture is still not as clear as 480p and when switching to 720p or 1080i the picture is not exactly center and reds/greens bleed. It seems this set is capable of receiving HD signals but doesn't display them correctly. For now I'm still viewing everything in 480p with the upconversion in the TV at 1080i, that seems to be the cleanest picture I can get.

Does anyone have an HF85 that works properly and does not exhibit the glow/weird colors over component at 1080I? What kind of settop box are youi using?
The problems seem to occur most often with cable stb. Is it also pretty common with ota hd receivers ?(like the Sylvania srz3000 or the Accurian hts-600)

So finally the TV serviceman called me regarding the repair for my 30HF85. He came out around December 4th to check out my TV and said that the white glow problem may be fixed by a new scan converter or something like that. Anyway, nearly six weeks later Toshiba finally got back to him and told him that the scan converter part that he had ordered or requested from them would not be authorized to install or something to that extent. I am not totally sure what he meant, but it sounded like basically they did not give him the ok to install the part under warranty. However the thing that really pisses me off is that they told him to tell me to change the source to 720P to solve the problem. I laughed and told him that this is ridiculous. They told him the way to solve the problem is to send a 720P signal to a 1080i native television? Talk about absurd. He totally agreed and thinks that this is bullsh*t. I told him that would not solve the problem because 720P signals are showing the white glow as well. So now I am stuck with a broken TV that has no known fix. Thank you Toshiba!

rkellogg556 - Thanks for the update and sorry to have my fears about Toshiba customer service (or lack thereof) confirmed. It appears Toshiba may be getting their workaround advice from reading the posts about their sets on this and other HDTV forums. If so, shame on you Toshiba. You should be repairing these problems and making these sets perform as described in the Toshiba sales brochures and your website descriptions. It is truly ridiculous that the company is apparently unwilling to fix these sets so that they will handle a 1080i signal properly.

Yeah, they just called a left a message today. They said they would look into the problem but did not state exactly what they meant. I am assuming that they are referring to the fact that the repairman who was helping me, called Toshiba out on their BS "change the incoming signal to 720P" solution. Sometime this week I am going to make a serious run at getting a new set. I think I will tell them that it is flat our rediculous that I paid this much for a television that does not even work properly. I would actually love it if they would just refund me for the set so I could buy a Sony. BTW, has anyone looked into any other 30 inch sets aside from the Sony. From what I undertand Sony's is my best option for a replacement IF I get a refund.

Would an ISF calibration make an improvement on 720p and 1080i resolution being as I'm going to be stuck with the 34HF85 for awhile..

Here's a similar example you may want to check out. The buyer bought a 30HF84, but Toshiba gave him all the run-around-excuses and did not want to replace his set:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=444020&highlight=30hf84

As far as replacement, I highly highly doubt Toshiba will replace your TV or give you a refund. Good luck and let us know how it go.

Good post, Waltchan. But, there's a difference here. In the 30HF84 thread linked to your post, Toshiba exchanged sets for consumers when the defect was verified by the technician. They did not make it easy, but Toshiba did act to replace the sets that were verified by their service reps to be defective.

rkellogg556 has an issue that his service tech acknowledges is an issue and is telling Toshiba the set is defective and Toshiba is refusing to do anything about it. This appears to be a new low for Toshiba and one that is dismaying to those of us that own their products. You may be right in speculating that the reason they are turning an insensitive ear to their loyal customers is because they are overwhelmed with defective products they have foisted on the marketplace. That is, as you know, no excuse for not honoring the warranty.

Their behavior with regard to resolving these 1080i signal problems on the HF85 series sets has every appearance of a company that does not want to be in business for more than a few more years.

Would an ISF calibration make an improvement on 720p and 1080i resolution being as I'm going to be stuck with the 34HF85 for awhile..

ISF calibration markedly improved PQ on my 34HF85 at both resolutions. But, as I have posted previously, the "white glow" on 1080i through the component inputs became more evident following ISF calibration.

Would an ISF calibration make an improvement on 720p and 1080i resolution being as I'm going to be stuck with the 34HF85 for awhile..
I was thrilled with my 34HF85 after a ISF calibration (fed 1080i). When I was forced to swap out a bad STB, I immediately started getting the banding problem, which forced me to change to 720p.

I've yet to experience the white glow (thankfully), and the geometry is near perfect.

Even though I hated having to spend 1/3rd of the cost of the TV to get it calibrated, it was worth every penny (although only because this was the only 34" set that fit in my cabinent).

Sounds good, I've been talking to a few dealers to see about getting it done, just trying to make my decision on it for sure and spend the money.

So the ISF calibration is definitely worth the money. fburch knows I've been trying for months to get his man Chad B down to Fla; it's been tough! So for all of us, what is it about the PQ AFTER the cali that makes it so worth it? For me to spend that kinda coin, I want more detail, less crushed blacks (there's too much contrast in the image right now) and less video noise when watching my DVDs. So, pray tell...... ;)

Take a look at post #58 in the following link.

http://highdefforum.com/showthread.php?p=108934#post108934 .

This guy at highdefforum may have found another workaround to the 34hf85 problems with cable stb's. (particularly Comcast and Adelphia)

Got a 26HF85 for my office, since it's size was what I wanted. I am using this
unit as a video production monitor for HD and being able to see 16:9. First thing
I noticed was the messed up geometry in 4:3 mode. the top of the picture turns
inward on both sides. I tried using the tilt function to fix it, but still there. Next up
are the issues I am having with theinputs. S-Video is DIRTY. even with no source
playing, you can see the static and noise on the screen. I was playing some video last night I shot, and the blue sky is horrendous with noise (this video was shot with
a 2/3" chip broadcast camera). Composite inputs display a rainbow down the left hand side of the screen. Component looks ok from what i could tell. I had planned on getting an HD box from insight, but am planning on sending this tv back after talking to
tech support when I get home. I wish I would have read this thread before buying a
toshiba. Coincidentally, I had been looking for one of these locally, and the salesman
at HHGregg told me they had been recalled. He offered the Toshiba MW26G71 as a replacement, but it didn't have enough inputs.

I really wanted the Sony 30", but it is too big and will require a new stand. How
are the Samsung Slimfits? I wish I hadn't missed the Panasoinc cT26WX15 when it
was on sale at CC. Damn.

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to say that I got myself a Toshiba 34HF85C last month and I'm really happy with the product. The PQ is, to my taste, very nice.

I first heard of geometry problems AFTER buying the TV, on this very msg board. I was pissed at first because I noticed a downward bow at the bottom (lower letterbox horizontal line) of the set. I then went to ALL the electronics stores (Future Shop, Best Buy, etc.) to check the other sets out. My conclusion : ALL CRT HDTV do that!! The cheaper the worse.

So, for the price/quality, I must say that I didn't find any TV better than the 34HF85C.

The Sony had a little bit less geometry problems, but it's too expensive in Canada (34HF85C = 950$ to 1150$ ; Cheapest Sony = 1850$ to 2000$).

But there's something puzzling me : I seem to have better PQ with Component cables than with HDMI cables! Is there a reason why that is? Is it because the HDMI cable that I bought was cheap?

Thanx

I did the same thing today, went and looked at allthe tubes at multiple stores. came to the same conclusion, there were geometry problems in all of them. That combo
TV is really attractive. I had one and returned it, not enough inputs. Oh, can someone tell me how to get into the service menu of the 28hf85 please... thanks.

But there's something puzzling me : I seem to have better PQ with Component cables than with HDMI cables! Is there a reason why that is? Is it because the HDMI cable that I bought was cheap?

Thanx


Same here, the PQ is slighty better on component compared to the cheap DVI/HDMI cable I'm using. So it may or may not be the cable..

thanks. got it. I went through and made the adjustments, but how do I know they
are stored? Is there a procedure for saving them? I will say this looks a lot better!!!

Wow, finally spoke with a supervisor at Toshiba and I may have finally resolved my white glow problem. They noted that I have been dealing with this for two months now and agree that at this point it would probably be easiest to replace the TV or give me refund. I think the fact that the serviceman called them out on the fact that they don't have a repair for this problem and that I have called them at least 7 times helped me out. SO, could you all please offer me some input as to what TV I should buy if I can get a replacement. I think I would like to stick with a CRT, preferablly in a similiar price range. Currently the Sony CRTs look appealing, anyone have any input as to what specific model to look for (ie wega KV030HS420) ?

Thanks for the help in advance.

I don't usually post on this forum but I was hoping someone could help me and guide me in the right direction. I have a Toshiba 26hf84a that I have had for just over a year and there has been something about it that everytime I watch it that gets me so annoyed. I Have read posts about toshiba's tv having a white glow on the top and that is my problem. I have had a HD box for the tv for less then a year and ever since Ive had it ive been getting the problem. I always thought maybe it was the box because I only had the glow when I was watching shows through the component. I didnt notice the glow when I had my xbox hooked up to the component either. The glow is most noticeable in a purple tint after tuning to a show in 1080i and then putting the box on standby causing the tv to display a black picture with the glow on the top. I attached a picture of this. Its only recently that when I got my xbox 360 the glow has also been appearing because I had it set to 1080i. I also noticed a lack of quality in dark parts of games cauing me to always up the brightness of either the game or the tv. Please help me, Thank you.

Wow, finally spoke with a supervisor at Toshiba and I may have finally resolved my white glow problem. They noted that I have been dealing with this for two months now and agree that at this point it would probably be easiest to replace the TV or give me refund. I think the fact that the serviceman called them out on the fact that they don't have a repair for this problem and that I have called them at least 7 times helped me out. SO, could you all please offer me some input as to what TV I should buy if I can get a replacement. I think I would like to stick with a CRT, preferablly in a similiar price range. Currently the Sony CRTs look appealing, anyone have any input as to what specific model to look for (ie wega KV030HS420) ?

Thanks for the help in advance.

rkellogg556 - I think Walt Chan has given you good advice on the Sony model in his post. I would love to know the name of the supervisor you spoke to at Toshiba who you are working with to resolve this issue and congratulations in getting through to them. Contact information would be helpful also (i.e. phone number, extension). PM me if you are uncomfortable posting this information on the forum. Thanks very much.

rkellogg556 - I think Walt Chan has given you good advice on the Sony model in his post. I would love to know the name of the supervisor you spoke to at Toshiba who you are working with to resolve this issue and congratulations in getting through to them. Contact information would be helpful also (i.e. phone number, extension). PM me if you are uncomfortable posting this information on the forum. Thanks very much.

I will be sure to keep you posted with information regarding how to contact the rep I spoke with. He would not give me a direct number to reach him, not sure why but I can give you his name when I get back to later. I still have a few more hoops to jump through before I think they will take action. In any case I will be sure to help you the best I can.

A friend wants to sell me his 34HF81 (Toshiba widescreen CRT) which he bought in 2003, I'm pondering buying the 34HF85 which is new and apparently built by Orion and not Toshiba. Not sure if the HF85 has any more features than the 81 in terms of HDMI outlets etc....
Does anyone out there know which is better?

Thanks!

A friend wants to sell me his 34HF81 (Toshiba widescreen CRT) which he bought in 2003, I'm pondering buying the 34HF85 which is new and apparently built by Orion and not Toshiba. Not sure if the HF85 has any more features than the 81 in terms of HDMI outlets etc....
Does anyone out there know which is better?

Thanks!
I take it you are a big U2 fan. Did you ever see that Red Rocks concert shot in Denver Colorado?

I just purchased a 26HF85 despite reading this forum. The Toshiba is the only CRT set that will fit into our built-in and I've had pretty good results with Toshiba products in the past.

Although the set has performed up to my expectations overall, I am seeing a bright reddish-violet glow in the upper left-hand corner of the set when playing DVDs through the component (Colorstream 1) input.

It is most apparent against static blue backgrounds (like the FBI warning), but it is also very obvious against the flat backgrounds of anime movies. Now that I'm sensitized to it, I'm also seeing a slight bluish-white discoloration against dark green backgrounds (like foliage).

Any suggestions beyond dump the set? I really like the set overall and have no issues when viewing the upconverted cable signal. Would an ISF calibration solve this problem, and if so, how do I get one done and for how much?

Thanks

fburch, did the ISF calibration take away the video noise (movement) on your DVDs? I really do want to calibrate my set, but $300 is a lot of $$$.....

Any suggestions beyond dump the set? I really like the set overall and have no issues when viewing the upconverted cable signal. Would an ISF calibration solve this problem, and if so, how do I get one done and for how much?

Thanks

Dump the set. Sorry, it had to be said... I wound up dumping my 26HF85 after ripping out hair (almost literally) trying to get it to display a nice picture. Here are the problems you have, or will encounter:

- Component input tends to create a glow at 1080i, less of one at 720p, and less of one at 480p/i. Turn the brightness up enough, and you will notice it. There is just something really funky/cheapy about the tube's drivers/etc that create odd glows and the like you experience.

- Black levels that are horrid, and a black level expander you can't turn off... on a display that doesn't even need it.

- This set cannot be properly ISF calibrated, period. Toshiba has 'acknowledged' an issue where certain settings in the service mode never stick. It drove my local ISF guys up the wall trying to figure out what was going on, and work around the various problems the XXHF85s have with regard to service mode and calibration. Toshiba also stated they have no idea how or when it will get fixed, if ever.

Consumer Reports practically rates this model as a lemon, and for good reason. :(

Did you throw it out? You could have got $150 for it by putting it up on eBay.

A friend who really only has one HD device has taken it. He is using it as a pacifier for Cable/Sat HD content until he can afford a nicer set on his own.


Did you even alert the ISF calibrator that this TV was made by Orion? It could have save him some time. He probably read the Toshiba schematic manual instead of the Orion schematic manual, so that's why he was confused. Toshiba has a hard time solving the problems because they don't know the technical specs of the TV (not familiar how the TV was made).

We both worked from the same service manual, which was for the 26HF85 specifically. The problem wasn't the calibration itself, but rather that when you leave the service menu, there is a known bug in the firmware (Toshiba confirmed it over the phone) where certain settings which include the blue drive/gain controls are ignored by the TV and some weird default is used instead. So we were seeing these huge blue channel spikes on the grey ramps when exiting service mode and switching the color temp to where it should be (the one we were trying to calibrate, since the three temp settings are all controlled with seperate drive/bias settings). Toshiba also told us that they had no clue when they would fix this bug, if ever. We didn't even attempt to finish the calibration after we found out that there was no way we could even get the grey ramp right.

Quite simply, when Orion took over, the build quality has sucked. The fact that their entire CRT 85 line sits at, or just above the bottom of the Consumer Reports rankings tends to reflect this. I am not joking, in their respective categories, the only models to score WORSE than the HF85 and the HFX85 line was the Magnavox 27MT5405 (27"), and the Phillips 30PW9100D...

Maybe Toshiba/Orion will get it right with the HF86 line, they might not...

fburch, did the ISF calibration take away the video noise (movement) on your DVDs? I really do want to calibrate my set, but $300 is a lot of $$$.....

I don't notice any noise or movement playing DVD's through the HDMI input using a Samsung 831 DVD player, but I did notice this noise when I connected an Oppo DVD player using this same input. I did not experiment with the Oppo and opted instead to connect it to my other HDTV set. If I still had the Oppo hooked up to my 34HF85, I would experiment with the 480p and 720p setting on the Oppo to see if the noise went away.

I also have a Sony SACD/DVD player connected through the Colorstream inputs and I do not detect any noise or movement when I play DVD's using that device on the 34HF85.

Since I was not seeing this noise on my set after swapping DVD players, ISF calibration has had no effect, but did result in an overall improvement in PQ largely by reducing contrast levels and toning down the inherent red and blue push that is characteristic of these sets when they leave the factory.

Is your Sony DVD player running progressive scan with the TV at 540p? That's what I have using my PS2 (progressive scan mode ON) and I get some noise (literally movement in the background areas). I'll dik around with it and see if it helps!

Is your Sony DVD player running progressive scan with the TV at 540p? That's what I have using my PS2 (progressive scan mode ON) and I get some noise (literally movement in the background areas). I'll dik around with it and see if it helps!

Sony DVD player works the same with progressive scan ON or OFF (no noise). My 34HF85 is set to 1080i in the setup menu and swithing it to 540p using the DVD player does not seem to have any effect. Good luck in resolving your noise issue.

I wish I would have read these posts before I bought the TV, I Have the white glow problem along the top. Has there been any fix?

If I take it back to Sears, I have to pay a 15% restocking fee.

Quite simply, when Orion took over, the build quality has sucked. The fact that their entire CRT 85 line sits at, or just above the bottom of the Consumer Reports rankings tends to reflect this. I am not joking, in their respective categories, the only models to score WORSE than the HF85 and the HFX85 line was the Magnavox 27MT5405 (27"), and the Phillips 30PW9100D...


Yeah, did you see the side bar where it said "Until recently, Toshiba was in the same league as Sony, but the sets we tested in 2005 scored much lower". Damningly accurate comment.

Steve.

A friend wants to sell me his 34HF81 (Toshiba widescreen CRT) which he bought in 2003, I'm pondering buying the 34HF85 which is new and apparently built by Orionand not Toshiba. Not sure if the HF85 has any more features than the 81 in terms of HDMI outlets etc....
Does anyone out there know which is better?

Thanks!


Gotta be another Walt alt.

The guy told me at Sears that if there is something wrong with it, they will replace it. If I don't want it then it's a 15% restocking fee.

I am not sure what I am going to do yet. It's the only 30" HDTV/monitor that fits in my entertainment center.

I don't notice the white glow all the time. During the superbowl (GO STEELERS) ther wasn't a white glow. I think if it's a full widescreen picture then it isn't there.

Does the white glow problem get worse?

Walter... nothing's impossible.

From Sears:
http://www.sears.com/sr/misc/sears/custserv/custserv_return_cancel.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@2003319811.11392 49218@@@@&BV_EngineID=cchgaddgmfdidmecegecegjdghldgfi.0&vertical=SEARS&vertical=SEARS&ihtoken=1

Sears Policies

Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back
Our goal is that you are completely satisfied with your purchase. If for any reason you are not satisfied, simply return your purchase in its original packaging, with your receipt within 90 days of your purchase, 30 days for Home Electronics and Mattresses for a refund or exchange. If you are not satisfied with your purchase after these time periods, please let us know. Your satisfaction is important to Sears.
A 15% restocking fee applies on select Home Appliance, Home Electronics, Home Improvement, Household Goods, Lawn & Garden, and Automotive products not returned in the original box, unused, and containing all original product packaging and accessories.
Special orders cancelled after 24 hours of purchase are subject to a 15% order cancellation fee

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/consumeractionline/2005/10/sears_sets_15_p.html

http://www.besttechie.net/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t5496.html

I'm just curious, but if the TVs are not made by Toshiba, do they normally require a much longer time to fix and come up with a solution? I mean, like, Toshiba has no idea how the TVs were made inside. Not even the parts. Is it possible that Toshiba don't know how to fix the problems at all? I have a good feeling that Toshiba is probably ignoring the owners right now and would rather release the new 26HF66 and 30HF66 instead as quick as they can.
Huh? Based on what? Feelings?

Huh? Based on what? Feelings?

"The Force is strong with this one..."

Yeah so if I return it I am out at least $120.00. Which is why I want to know if the Toshiba White Echo problem will get worse or not. I can live with how it is now, it's annoying but it would be more annoying to get a TV that won't fit in my entertainment center (where my receiver, ps2, HD boxes, dvd, vcr are at).

Yeah so if I return it I am out at least $120.00. Which is why I want to know if the Toshiba White Echo problem will get worse or not. I can live with how it is now, it's annoying but it would be more annoying to get a TV that won't fit in my entertainment center (where my receiver, ps2, HD boxes, dvd, vcr are at).

It depends... if you are hooked up through HDMI you will never see it, it only manifests itself through component video, but it gets pretty darn visible on 1080i material 30+ days after purchase and install.

Yeah, I guess so. Sears has just made the return policy less liberal than before. As far as I know, Best Buy does not charge a 15% restocking fee on TVs.

^^ Sorry Walt/cireaasirefan/letterstoher/whatever the hell else you call yourself. That's not true.

You DO know about Best Buy, VERY intimately. How can any of us forget?


You ranted on this forum for two months after YOU cracked the case on YOUR Toshiba player! You blamed Best Buy, Sony, Denon, Toshiba, and everyone else under the sun for YOUR stupidity!

I guess we need another recap:

1.) Walt finally fulfills his great dream and finally buys a Toshiba HDTV. The board gets spammed with near orgasmic glee, as to do several other forums on the Internet.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=589707

Everything's beautiful and everyone lives happily ever after, right?

Wrong!



2.) All is suddenly not well in Walt's world. The cracked case makes it's first appearance, and ultimate admission, albeit indirectly.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=595279

^^ You'll see where cireaasirefan/Walt Chan admits to what he's done.



The end result of the above: Best Buy smear campaign:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=597254

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=615018

There was a post in here that, of course, was deleted, but we all directly quoted and shot down anyways, where Walt tried to repeat his material from the first thread to blame Best Buy for HIM cracking the case on HIS TV.

That's why you were so upset! You screwed yourself and you knew it! You knew they wouldn't take it back!

You still talk crap about Best Buy to this day here and on several other forums because of YOUR mistake.

So stop playing these coy games. Tell us all about Best Buy. Go ahead. Give it to us again. :rolleyes:

I read an earlier post that someone said an HDMI cable seemed to make things worse. However maybe I will try that route.

I see some 6' HDMI cables for about $20 on Amazon. Will I be okay going with one of these instead of one of the $100 cables?

I didn't know Sears would ever change their return policy. Looks like I will never buy any electronic goods at Sears.

It's a measure that they've instituted due to the number of returns from people opening up their sets and cracking the cases. :rolleyes:

It's not just Sears... many places are getting wise and changing return policies. Even Wal-Mart is 'flagging' individuals with numerous returns.

It's a measure that they've instituted due to the number of returns from people opening up their sets and cracking the cases. :rolleyes:

It's not just Sears... many places are getting wise and changing return policies. Even Wal-Mart is 'flagging' individuals with numerous returns.

Exactly. They don't let people take advantage of them anymore. They HAVE to.

The only company that I know that's left that literally begs to be taken advantage of by dishonest and/or stupid people is Coscto. To say that their returns and exchange policies are "generous" would be the understatement of a lifetime.

I emailed Toshiba and they suggested having someone look at it. I don't have very high hopes of having someone fix this after reading these posts. Has anyone ever got it fixed?

How bad will it get? I am going to try a HDMI but someone said if I ever go back to Colostream the problem will be worse.

it gets bad. It IS bad. Besides, I am saving the one HDMI input for the new PS3 that has Blu-Ray (hi-def) disc capability. Hear that it's the only way to view/use it for HDMI is the standard for copyright protection.

it gets bad. It IS bad. Besides, I am saving the one HDMI input for the new PS3 that has Blu-Ray (hi-def) disc capability. Hear that it's the only way to view/use it for HDMI is the standard for copyright protection.

But you still got the set? Do you use one of the HDMI for your HD watching and don't notice the white glow? Did anyone come look at it?

If you go back through this thread (click on my links) you can read my issues and they are basically the same as the other owners. I tried to use the HDMI input for my cable box and there was insane white glow movement/strips of washed out color banding all across the screen so I now run both my PS2 & cable box thru the 2 component inputs. I do have the glow issue with 1080i BUT I simply shut that off and keep the signal at 720p. I know that there are others who disagree with me on this, but to my eye (and I am a graphic designer/painter I.E. visually acute, ha) I see no difference in Picture Quality between the two. The TV unpconverts all signals to 1080i anyway. None of these TVs (as far as I know!) can natively show us a 720p signal, it upconverts to 1080i. In others words, other than the crushed blacks/too much contrast (which I hear that an ISF professional calibration will clean up rather nicely) I am going to commit blashpemy and state that I love the TV. Spread it.

I do have the glow issue with 1080i BUT I simply shut that off and keep the signal at 720p.

Where do you shut this off at, on your cable box or is there something on the TV that you do? Do you get the gray bars on the side of the screen in 720p?

It's a button on your cable remote. On mine, it's small & on the lower right side and if I remember it's simply a "#' icon. This will punch up on the screen a display window; follow the prompts to where you can shut off/on the various resolutions. Turn off 1080i and leave all the others ON and viola! No more angry white glow.

It's a button on your cable remote. On mine, it's small & on the lower right side and if I remember it's simply a "#' icon. This will punch up on the screen a display window; follow the prompts to where you can shut off/on the various resolutions. Turn off 1080i and leave all the others ON and viola! No more angry white glow.

Okay I found it, it seem to have helped. You mentioned your PS2. I am getting a component cable for my PS2, do you have the white glow problem with that?

Oh, and how long have you had your set?

Man, I wish I would have seen this forum 2 weeks earlier. I would have returned my POS Toshiba. 1080i causes the infamous white glow. Setting my Xbox 360 to 720p does fix it, however the quality of this set is still pretty week. Anyway, I have quite a bit of overscan with setting the Xbox 360 to 720p and having my set at 1080i. Is it okay for me to go into the service menu and fix this? I know that I have to write down all the settings so I don't screw it up and only futz with the ones related to changing the size.

Any suggestions? Also, any information about fixes coming out for this thing?

I have Monster brand mid-quality component cables running from my newer, PROGRESSIVE SCAN Playstation 2 to the TV with my TV set at 540p, NOT 1080i. I mean, that is the whole point of the PS2 having progressive scan. (And for the record, when I manually switch from 540p to 1080i and back on the TV, I see no difference even though everyone yammers about how much better progressive is than interlaced. Oh, well.) Keep the color & sharpness levels kinda low, because that introduces noise and blooming. GOD OF WAR for the PS2 is in widescreen & is progressive capable and let me tell you baby, it looks sweeter than J-Lo's A$$ dipped in sugar. I like my TV. Had it for about a year now from Sears.

I have Monster brand mid-quality component cables running from my newer, PROGRESSIVE SCAN Playstation 2 to the TV with my TV set at 540p, NOT 1080i. I mean, that is the whole point of the PS2 having progressive scan. (And for the record, when I manually switch from 540p to 1080i and back on the TV, I see no difference even though everyone yammers about how much better progressive is than interlaced. Oh, well.) Keep the color & sharpness levels kinda low, because that introduces noise and blooming. GOD OF WAR for the PS2 is in widescreen & is progressive capable and let me tell you baby, it looks sweeter than J-Lo's A$$ dipped in sugar. I like my TV. Had it for about a year now from Sears.
I love the J-Lo line. I switched my cable box (Scientific Atlanta 8300HD) to 780p and I don't see the white line. I am waiting for my Ps2 cable to come. I am also going to try a HDMI cable since I have two HD boxes and I want to free up a component port for my PS2.
My other main concern is I read that people say the normal channels look much better on the Sony HDTV monitor than the Toshiba. Right now, non high dev channels don't look that great. They looked better on my older regular Toshiba TV. Can anyone speak to this?
At least I don't see the gray bars. I put my cable box on 780p and set the output as Pass-Through.

Thank you, I'll be here all week. (Drum tap). I agree that the standard definition cable channels bite; I personally never truly fiddled extensively with them to achieve maximum pictureage. (word?) My cable box/remote has features to enhance/clean-up these channels but I see no discernable difference in PQ. My theory is that these high-end TVs are so advanced that they make standard analog signals look worse.

I have a few buddies that have other HD sets (not a Toshiba) and one of them was given some help through this board on how to tweak their set to make non HD Channels look good. They go into the set's service menu's.

Has anyone done this for the Toshiba's and give advice for what to set to make non HD Channels look better?

What model is it?

26HF85

:-(

What model is it?

Say, if I set my Xbox 360 to 720p and have my Tosh 26HF85 set to 1080i the glow goes away, but now I have an overscan problem. I just ordered a service manual for this set. Is it a simple fix? Just reducing width I imagine?

.


:confused:

I am still new to all of this, but can you tell me what is an overscan problem?

I think it's basically that the info/image on the screen is not properly centered. This is especially bad for video games for essential info could be cut off.

It's not that the image is not properly centered. It's that the image size is blown up too much so some or all of the edges is cut off from view and lost. All TVs have some overscan built in and that's normal, but too much causes problems.

Videogames aren't actually especially prone to overscan. The reason is that all videogames from all systems don't use as much of the screen as DVDs/regular cable TV do. To check this, simply resize the image on a TV (if you know how via the Service Menu) so there is NO overscan. Then check DVDs/TVs/videogames. The videogame systems such as gamecube only render at 600x450 or something like that. There are small black borders around all games and all its output. Usually you don't see it because it will be cut off as overscan. But that helps prevent overscan from harming your ability to play any game.

I have a Toshiba 34hfx85. I have had it for about 2 weeks. I am happy with the set overall, but have a few issues. I hope someone can help.

1. The bottom of the picture has a bit of an arc to it. For example, on a 2.35 movie, the letterbox is about 3/8 of an inch thicker in the middle than it is at either edge. Somewhat frustrating

2. When I set my XBox 360 on 1080i, the image is very dark, the color is waaaaay off, and there are flickering lines on various areas of the screen. The 360 works fine when I set it on 720p, but that's not the point, the TV is supposed to accept a 1080i input, and it doesn't work properly.

3. Overscan!! The overscan problem isn't so bad on DVD's or on Satellite, but when I turn my 360 on, the sides of the games are cut off by about an inch. I've tried adjusting the screen size in the service menu, but when I do that, the images at the very edge of the screen become somewhat distorted.

Crutchfield has told me that they will send me a new set if I'd like to return this one, but I wanted to get some input from some people here. Thanks in advance!!

> The bottom of the picture has a bit of an arc to it. For example, on a 2.35 movie, the letterbox is about 3/8 of an inch thicker in the middle than it is at either edge. Somewhat frustrating

Try playing around with the Service Menu some more, but the SM can't fix everything. The Toshibas should have very good geometry when they are set up correctly. But because Toshiba has bad quality control these days, sets with terrible geometry are commonplace. Some kinds of geometry problems can only be fixed by opening up your TV so in those situations, if the problem is unacceptable, the only solutions seem to be to return the set or maybe hire someone to fix it.

Have you tried changing the EW PARA or V LIN settings in the service menu? Those might help a little, but probably not.

> Overscan!! The overscan problem isn't so bad on DVD's or on Satellite, but when I turn my 360 on, the sides of the games are cut off by about an inch. I've tried adjusting the screen size in the service menu, but when I do that, the images at the very edge of the screen become somewhat distorted.

Don't expect perfect geometry on any flat-screen modern CRT, it's just not possible. If only the very edges go, that's fine. I say reduce the overscan to your liking, and just live with the edges, it's reasonable.

> When I set my XBox 360 on 1080i, the image is very dark, the color is waaaaay off, and there are flickering lines on various areas of the screen. The 360 works fine when I set it on 720p, but that's not the point, the TV is supposed to accept a 1080i input, and it doesn't work properly.

I'm not sure but I think this is possibly a known design flaw of the set itself, so if this is the reason for your return make sure you get a refund and NOT an exchange.

The XBox 360 is supposed to support 720p natively though, not 1080i I heard. So most of its games look and run best at 720p. If you select 1080i probably you are just upconverting, which you shouldn't be doing anyway. In other words selecting 720p with the XBox 360 won't hurt you even though you have a 1080i set.

The PS3 will be another story, that one supports 1080p natively. So you will indeed want to accept a 1080i input if you plan to get a PS3. I wonder if Toshiba will fix this design flaw with the 2006 models? Oh, but there isn't a 34" planned for 2006....

Greetings,

I have a Toshiba 34HF85C. I tried to search for conclusive information on my problem however I was not able to find any.

I have a jitter problem in 1080i resolution. The image jitters. I have had a Toshiba Tech come over to update the "Firmware" but this did not fix the problem.

Do you know of this problem? Is it common with HD-TV's in the CRT form? Can it be fixed?

Thank you for your time.

what exactly do you mean by jitter?

Greetings,

The Vertical Sync is off, the image jitters vertically in 1080I severly and in 720 it flashes, like an old computer monitor running at 60fps. The store I bought it from does not want to exchange or refund it. I have to wait for Toshiba to say something.

How do you have it connected to your Cable box? HDMI or component? My HDMI connection kinda did something similar to that.

Greetings,

My TV does it the same through HDMI and RGB connections. No matter how the image is up-converted, either through HDMI or RGB the effect is the same, also when I receive pure HD signal from my box the result is the same. My TV does not do this reguraly. Sometimes when I turn it on everything is ok, if I change imput or turn off the TV and then back on, that is when it start to do it. There is a 50/50 chance that if may or may not do it when I turn it on. Was your TV fixed ? If yes how ? If no what happend ?

Thank you.

Just purchased this TV and I am not happy with the overall HD quality--using Cablevision as the provider. Granted the standard cables provided are not the most effective--I am hearing mixed results in terms of whether or not go out and purchase some HDMI cables. When watching games in HD--the close up shots are pretty good--the wide shots of the full court or field tend to be not as clear and was wondering if the HDMI cables would clear that and tighten the pic. Should I switch the format to 720i as opposed to 1080? Any suggestions as to the type/brand of cables to get? Any suggestions?

The TV may need to "warm up" as a new car does. I noticed that after a week or so the PQ (Picture Quality) got better. Plus, you REALLY need to search this site and find the proper settings for the best picture (IE - contrast, brightness, sharpness, color temp, etc.). I'll try to write down my settings and post them tmrw. And to me, I see no difference in PQ between 1080i & 720p on this TV. Some others disagree, but since thise TV is known by all to have that angry white glow on HD channels when in 1080i, I leave mine on 720p. In a few weeks I'm getting mine ISF calibrated; if & when that happens I will submit a detailed account of how much better my PQ looks (I hope!). As stated before, I love this TV except for the light "noise" in the backgrounds on DVDs and the crushed blacks (no detail in black areas). I hear that my calibration will make this TV SING.

In my case the only 30HF85 I kept long enough to break in got slightly worse after 100 hours of use. The RGB color convergence started out okay, but ended up being marginally unacceptable. I ended up returning that unit for that reason plus others (broken screen pixel, also wacked out geometry where right half of screen is suddenly 15% fatter than left, like having 4:3 aspect ratio on the left half and 16:9 on the right half).

After break-in your set is just as likely to get worse as it is to get better, I think. Depends if you are lucky or not.

In my case the only 30HF85 I kept long enough to break in got slightly worse after 100 hours of use. The RGB color convergence started out okay, but ended up being marginally unacceptable. I ended up returning that unit for that reason plus others (broken screen pixel, also wacked out geometry where right half of screen is suddenly 15% fatter than left, like having 4:3 aspect ratio on the left half and 16:9 on the right half).

After break-in your set is just as likely to get worse as it is to get better, I think. Depends if you are lucky or not.

Total BS.

Convergence is "normally" not a "huge" problems with direct view CRT's.
CRT's do not have pixels
geometry issues plague ALL TV's

Is that you Walter?

Perhaps we need to remind you again:

Alan knows I am innocent. Please do not blame on me again. You are over 50 years old, and you know better.

"WE" need to remind? Are you a moderator now?

Alan and the other mods are very tolerant. Perhaps "we" can be classified as trolls. But at least we focus on YOU with justification based on past experience.

Come out from behind your mommy's apron. And don't throw "MY" age into this BS. I turn this around back at you that as a 22 year old, what do you know?

Play nice with informative and substantial advice and EVERYONE will stop harrassing YOU! :mad:

Perhaps we need to remind you again:


Who's "we"? waltchan, cireaasirefan, koratdenkiworld, letterstoher and U2Psycho?

I recent purchased the 30HF85C. My plan was to use it mostly for 1080i viewing via my 360. Apparently that was a mistake, I got the white glow so many people have noted, and had an overscan problem.

Ive managed to correct the overscan via the service menu, and have had to switch the 360 to 720p to get rid of the majority of white glow, however now I seem to be having some sort of color problem.

There seems to be colors bleeding off of objects in games... Like when blue text is displayed over yellow backround there seems to be a red shadow around the text. Also skin tones have a faint green color bleeding off their edges in various games. Is there some options to change to correct this?

At first I was giong to take this TV back, however I had thrown away the box so the store is only offering either a exchange, or storecredit towards another tv. I bought this one at 699.99 however at the same store there is a Sony KV-30HS420 widescreen for 999.99 and includes a stand. Not sure its worth the extra cash though...

IMHO, Sony makes THE superior CRT television. If $$$ is no concern, (I.E.- credit) I'd go for it.
If their XBR 34" fit in my entertainment center I would have bought it, hands down. Stay sassy.

I am assuming that this calibration costs something--I am just trying to find out if I need to spend more out of pocket money on this TV---I spoke with a service tech and they blamed the box for the non clear pic and also said that the intermittent static lines that I am exp might be reslved if I unplug the TV and let it correct itself--overall I am not too happy with the money spent on this TV--was hoping to be blown away with the HD sports channels and so far I am not

Ratman,

These days, CRTs do indeed have severe RGB color convergence problems due to poor quality control by most or all manufacterers. That may not have been the case in the past, but it is now. A CRT with badly-misaligned color convergence is ruined (until you fix it).

If you want to nitpick about terminology, then what I meant was that the holes in the shadow mask were malformed on my unit. One of the "green" holes was blocked out and so no light passed through (it was black), and a neighboring "blue" hole had something wrong with it that caused a high-intensity bluish-white light to pass through (instead of the correct level of blue).

Geometry issues plague all CRTs but from going through multiple 30HF85s, I noticed that the geometry issues on that particular set were far worse than on most others (not fixable in Service Menu).

artchur, if at this point in time you really don't want another TV, I would go into that store and demand your money back. What store is it? Any store HAS to accept a return of a TV whether it has the box or not, and NOT charge you any fees or require an exchange, IF the TV is defective. Which yours is. How do we know? Because ALL the Toshiba 30HF85 seem to have that problem. That is definitely a problem...it cannot in any way be called a "feature". If they do not believe you, stay in the store and make a fuss. Insist that you be allowed to demonstrate the 1080i white glow flaw to them in-store and that you will not leave until they agree to test it for you. At that point they will be too lazy to test it for you, and just give you your refund, I suspect. :)

If they still do not give you a refund you can threaten to file a claim with your credit card company or something (assuming you paid with credit card).

Of course, if you are willing to get a different set, which may be a good idea, you don't have to worry about all that and should probably stay on their good side if possible. :)

About that weird color "bleeding" problem, I think I know what you are talking about. I don't know the official term for it but I call it Y/C deconvergence. It's not actually color bleeding (which only occurs when you have the screen set far too bright). It is sort of like RGB color deconvergence, but not really, it's something else. It plagued several of the 30HF85's I returned as well. It's unacceptable and the TV warrants returning just for that reason alone, I believe.

Direct View CRT's are rarely plagued with convergence issues normally. It does happen... but it's not usually a primary issue.

And to nitpick... a warped shadow mask and blocked apertures is not a pixel issue.
So use proper terminology and you won't get called out.

Yeah, im just not sure what to do. My budget dosn't have room really for the 300$ jump to the sony set.... gah... It is only an extra 100 for the slimfit, which could be an option, however I hear that set has issues with a strange bump or something of that sort.

It sounds to me like you aren't really certain if there is a good HDTV set out there for you to buy at this point (now that you've found out the Toshiba is junky, like I did). A stand is NOT worth $300 if you are on a budget. I bought a stand for my now-gone Toshiba which fit it perfectly for $100 from HomeWorld Furniture. The $1000 for the 30HS420 plus a stand sounds like a bum deal to me. I would try to get your money back, and be prepared for several hours of arguing in the store if you have to. Hopefully you paid with credit card, that will give them extra fear of your money-regaining powers. :)

HELP!!
I just got a 34HF85. I live in the Caribbean so it was shipped to me by boat and I can't return it, although I would if I could.
I have Dish network, no HD. Got the set hooked up with comp. cable, s-video, cable direct, nothing seems to matter.
To say this display is awful would be an understatement. I have to run the sharpness down to almost 0 to get anything resembling a clean display. The picture looks like a computer generated image on a bad display card. Very fuzzy, very grainy, lots of shadows, ghosts, remnants, pixelation. It often looks like I'm viewing this picture through a sheet of gauze.
I have an older smaller Toshiba set that I can put in the same place and the picture is fine. Also the picture is fine with a DVD.
As I said I can't send this back, and getting a pro to come and look at it is not going to happen? (unless one of you guys is travelling to the Caribbean soon - lol)
Am I going to be able to solve this with calibration? WHere do I start?
Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

If you take a bit of time and scroll back through this forum, you'll get MANY potential solutions to your ailments! I know that's a bit of a pain to do, but I did the same recently & it was worth the effort. Good luck!

Question: I was thinking about getting an upconverting DVD player for this TV, but I noticed that in the TV's menu I can change/toggle my input resolution between 540p & 1080i for DVDs (and it DOES change it; screen goes black and it shifts from p/i). So my point is, why would I need an upconverting DVD player if this TV ALREADY can upconvert the DVD resolution to 1080i?

cruzan, from what you describe (I have some idea of what you are seeing, it is several bad effects not just one) I think you are screwed. You need to have someone come over and open up your TV and even then it can be fixed only if you are very lucky and they are very competent. Since you say you cannot return the TV I would say you are in big trouble. :(

Looks like toshiba decided to cut their losses. on engadget /2006/02/21/toshiba-killing-crts-and-analog-tuners/

cruzan, from what you describe (I have some idea of what you are seeing, it is several bad effects not just one) I think you are screwed. You need to have someone come over and open up your TV and even then it can be fixed only if you are very lucky and they are very competent. Since you say you cannot return the TV I would say you are in big trouble. :(
Since I've got no choice but to keep this set, I've got to try to fix it.

How do I get into service mode on this particular set?

Turn the volume on your TV down to zero. Hold down the Volume Down button on the TV set itself, while simultaneously holding down the "9" button on the remote control. After one second the Service Menu will pop up.

You can also access the Designer Menu by holding "6" instead of "9", but it is too dangerous to mess with that mode. I am pretty sure neither menu will help you in the slightest though, as I've recently had similar experiences with Toshiba 30HF85s.

I think you will experience more success (perhaps minor partial success) by fiddling with your cables, buying higher quality cables, or changing the inputs you use (I know you say they are all bad but I would bet a lot of money that some of them are still better than others).

Make sure to turn off Velocity Scan Modulation, too. It helps a lot. It's accessible in the regular user menu.

cruzan, if your DVDs play fine, then it's got to be the cable box/reception. IMHO, these HDTV's have crappy regular, analog signals. My TV does, too. This TV does have an analog "cleaner" mode in the regular-access menu as well, try that, too. Also, forgive my ignorance, but does the fact that you are all the way in the beautiful, sunny Caribbean have anything to do with a bad reception? ;)

I am thinking of upgrading my second tv location to HD. The cost of flat panel LCD tvs and size considerations make a tube set attractive. The Sony and Panasonic sets are too wide for my setup. The Toshiba would be (barely) acceptable.
In support of the tenor of this thread, I visited a small retailer who specializes in Toshiba. He will not sell the hf85. He claimed that he could not get it to focus. Perhaps there is just not enough of a market for tubes, but this guy seemd sincere. Does anyone know of a site that stocks the 84? My searches only seem to turn up the 85.
Thanks.

The only way to get an HF84 is used or remanufactured.

Question: I was thinking about getting an upconverting DVD player for this TV, but I noticed that in the TV's menu I can change/toggle my input resolution between 540p & 1080i for DVDs (and it DOES change it; screen goes black and it shifts from p/i). So my point is, why would I need an upconverting DVD player if this TV ALREADY can upconvert the DVD resolution to 1080i?

As I understand it, when the DVD player upconverts the signal it does so before the digital-to-analogue conversion is made to send the signal over the component cables to the display. In theory, doing the upconversion digitally should result in slightly higher quality than having the TV receive an analogue signal, convert it back to digital, scale up the resolution, and then do another conversion to analogue before it's finally displayed on the screen. The extra transition through analogue will necessarily incur a slight loss.

Of course, if you're using an HDMI connection, then it's digital all the way to the set (so you only have that last internal digital->analogue conversion for final display). In principle the only factor there would be whether there's any quality difference between the upconversion performed by the DVD player and that performed by the TV (i.e. differences in the algorithm or chip used to do it).

As a side note, I believe the 540p/1080i display setting on the TV only matters when the set is fed a 480p signal. It just internally upconverts anything else and shows it at 1080i. At least that's what I've found after a fair amount of experimentation.

Thank you for your very informative response! I did think that by buying an upconverting DVD player with an all-digital HDMI (to HDMI on my set) would produce a sharper picture than my now component-connected progressive PS2, but I'm reading that unless your TV is rather large the difference is slight. I'm going to roll the dice and instead of spending the $200 total for an upconverting DVD player & good HMDI cable I will instead spend the $200 on an ISF calibration (I love getting tax $$$ back)! I've heard nothing but gushing raves about the difference in PQ when done.

cruzan, if your DVDs play fine, then it's got to be the cable box/reception. IMHO, these HDTV's have crappy regular, analog signals. My TV does, too. This TV does have an analog "cleaner" mode in the regular-access menu as well, try that, too. Also, forgive my ignorance, but does the fact that you are all the way in the beautiful, sunny Caribbean have anything to do with a bad reception? ;)
Lennsx
My being in the Caribbean has nothing to do with crappy reception, I have Dish. It does however, have everything to do with my ability to send this set back. I had to ship it here from Florida.
I will take your advice and get some high quality cables, although I've got an s-video cable that makes the picture worse. More digital, pixilated.
What is the analog cleaner mode you spoke of?

(from the actual product description)
"• CableClear DNR+ that optimizes video connections by eliminating noise and automatically adjusting sharpness"
It works, but it's only a slight improvement with my own cable reception. It's accessible in your menu options!

Thank you for your very informative response! I did think that by buying an upconverting DVD player with an all-digital HDMI (to HDMI on my set) would produce a sharper picture than my now component-connected progressive PS2, but I'm reading that unless your TV is rather large the difference is slight. I'm going to roll the dice and instead of spending the $200 total for an upconverting DVD player & good HMDI cable I will instead spend the $200 on an ISF calibration (I love getting tax $$$ back)! I've heard nothing but gushing raves about the difference in PQ when done.

I don't see a huge difference in the picture detail between 480p over component and 720p or 1080i over HDMI, but it is there. The thing that did change a lot for me was the black crush. It is noticably less severe over HDMI (at least with my equipment setup).

Only problem is, I've found the HDMI light/dark horizontal banding occurs when feeding my set both 720p and 1080i. Sure, it's a lot less noticable at 720p (initially I didn't think it happened at all), but I still see it occasionally. :(

Please do post the results of the ISF calibration! I'm toying with the idea myself, and would love to hear how it goes.

Man, if there were ever an "ignorance is bliss" situation... I used to be able to watch any sort of display and be perfectly happy. Reading this forum and researching A/V technology has runined me! :p

You are too late. Crutchfield was the last authorized dealer to sell a new-in-box Toshiba 34HF84, and that was in July 2005. Sorry you missed it.

Hmm. Looks like there are still some earlier 30-inch factory refurbished models (30HF83, 30HF84, 30HFX84) available here:

http://refurbelectronics.com/30hidetvs.html

I've no idea about the service/reliability of the vendor though. And I guess they're smaller than what Dillon is looking for.

cruzan, something you mentioned in your first post I may have misread. Did you say that DVDs play just fine and look great on your Toshiba TV?

CableClear is useful and I always leave it on but it doesn't help much. It seems to reduce video noise slightly but that is not the main cause of problems in my opinion. Since it doesn't seem to cause any extra problems I do leave it on but it doesn't do much.

Okay, I have mentioned this a few times in other threads, but here's my official "Something is wrong with my TV" post. Starting about 8 months ago, periodic single jitters/flickers/whatever from any video source, in any resolution. I have video of it and all, down below.

This is on a 3ish year old Toshiba 32hfx72. For the record, the rest of my setup:
- Panny RP-82 DVD
- DISH 500 PVR
- Panny XR55 Receiver

I use Toslink for all audio (aside from a 2-channel cord dangling for the wife's iPod), use component for the DVD and S-VHS for the DISH (as it has nothing better). No antenna for OTA work at all.

The DVD and DISH are on a UPS, and everything is on an APC voltage regulator. Sorry, no pureAV stuff. The wife lets me spend money on the A/V setup, but only things she can /see/. Power conditioners do not register, and that's a lot of jack.

But, the problem manifested itself before I had this configuration. I have tried unplugging a variety of things, switched stuff around and made the electrical system as solid as I can imagine (thought it might be from ground, as there were many ground faults when I started looking at everything).

I do not have another TV which is convenient, and certainly nothing with component, so can't really check the setup that way. :(


Every once in a while (period varies from every few minutes to every few hours) it does this (23 mb, so download it!):
http://shoobe01.homeunix.net/~shoobe01/movies/audiovideo/32hfx72.mov

Or, quicker, look at this frame by frame of only the bad flippy thing, starting at ending at stable screens for reference. Note that the picture is otherwise /perfect/. Couldn't be happier. Straight, square, perfect color, etc. So, disregard the color bars, grainyness, and apparent videohum; its all just recording artifacts.
http://shoobe01.homeunix.net/~shoobe01/movies/audiovideo/1.jpg
http://shoobe01.homeunix.net/~shoobe01/movies/audiovideo/2.jpg
http://shoobe01.homeunix.net/~shoobe01/movies/audiovideo/3.jpg
http://shoobe01.homeunix.net/~shoobe01/movies/audiovideo/4.jpg
http://shoobe01.homeunix.net/~shoobe01/movies/audiovideo/5.jpg
http://shoobe01.homeunix.net/~shoobe01/movies/audiovideo/6.jpg

Here's frame 3 of the above. Right in the middle of it:
http://shoobe01.homeunix.net/~shoobe01/movies/audiovideo/3.jpg

For anyone not looking at the giant video, its just a momentary flicker on the screen. Takes no really measurable time at full speed. Before the video, I didn't know it jumped up immediately, then settled back down more slowly. You really can't see that in real life.


Thanks for ANY help you can provide!

Are you referring to an HDMI DVD player in regards to less crushed blacks, or HDMI on cable box with HD channels? (Because I once tried to connect my cable box via HDMI and I experienced the same banding problem you write of. It was absolutely unacceptable.) My only gripe with this TV are those crushed blacks, PS - I will gladly give a full report post ISF cali when done! Most likely in a few weeks from now. Thanks again! :)

This is a problem with your TV. A significant amount of Toshiba owners have had this problem with their recent models. Some others have developed it after the TV was a certain age, as you did. Unfortunately your TV is no longer under warranty. I would call Toshiba customer support...they MAY actually be helpful in this case as I think to them this may be a known problem. You will probably have to pay to get your TV fixed, unfortunately. Fortunately, if it is the same problem others have reported, it is fixable without too much difficulty if you know how.

Porcupine2, assuming you are answering my question, thanks!

Any idea what Toshiba calls this flippy syndrome, so I can get in the right queue? What sort of thing might I expect from them? Like, a fix out of warranty or what?

Where might I find the home-fix to this issue? I have looked around a lot, and found all sorts of scary, crack-the-case solutions for various problems, but never this one (probably cause I don't know what everyone else calls it).

Thanks again. Good to know I am starting to get on the right track!

> Any idea what Toshiba calls this flippy syndrome, so I can get in the right queue? What sort of thing might I expect from them? Like, a fix out of warranty or what?

I'm not 100% sure what this phenomena is called (only that others here have described the same/similar thing) but I think if you say that your picture "desynchs intermittently" that might be it. If not, just say your picture randomly jumps up and goes wacko for a split second, intermittently.

If you are not lucky the Toshiba customer rep guy will be an idiot and unhelpful. If you are lucky, what you might hope to get from a good rep is that he will be able to explain to you what this problem is and the rough fix for it (because as I said, I think this is a known problem on the Toshibas, and since it is easily fixable if you know how, the customer service may actually admit to the problem and give you or the TV repair guy information on it. note: known problems that aren't easily fixable Toshiba pretends doesn't exist...they are dishonest).

I doubt Toshiba will give you a free fix. You will almost certainly have to pay a TV repairman to come over and look at the TV. However, if you are lucky, the Toshiba customer service might give you info on the problem that could aid the TV repairman in fixing it faster. That way maybe he could do it in your house. Otherwise he might take it to the shop and it might take him a while for him to figure out what is the cause.

> Where might I find the home-fix to this issue? I have looked around a lot, and found all sorts of scary, crack-the-case solutions for various problems, but never this one (probably cause I don't know what everyone else calls it).

Hrm. If this is the *exact* same problem other users reported then this can be home-fixed. Somewhere on this forum someone posted this same problem and the exact fix but I cannot remember where. It's either in this thread or another one (the Toshiba 30HF85 thread) which was recently deleted (VERY unfortunate for us all). It roughly just involved opening up the TV and straightening out the inside at the right parts, because it is cramped up in there and parts are close together and some touching parts apparently caused the problem. But I cannot remember exactly what/where this is. Also it's possible your problem has a different cause (even though the effect is the same) so I recommend against a home-fix on this.

But again, call Toshiba customer service first and see if you can steal some information from them first. Good luck.

Excellent! Thanks very much; I will call Tos and see who I can get ahold of. Hopefully they can at least give me the name of a reputable repair guy in the area. All the ones I know anymore are monstrously dishonest, incompetent or very, very retired.

I had run across some discussions of things like boards coming floppy and shorting against the chassis. Fixes involving insulation and lots of tape to prevent further wobbling, but these are guys who know how to crack the case w/o damage or death, and can spot the right kind of circuit from across the room. Indeed, not for me.

I took some pictures to compare the Toshiba HF85 to the Sony XS955. WOW does the super fine pitch tube make a difference.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y61/919/PDT.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y61/919/PDs.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y61/919/DashT.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y61/919/Dashs.jpg


After finally replacing my Toshiba I must say that I am extremely pleased with the Sony. I think next time I will come here to get some better advice than I did the first time through. BTW, these pictures still do not show just how much better the sony looks. Two of my friends both commented already on how much sharper it looks.

Are you referring to an HDMI DVD player in regards to less crushed blacks, or HDMI on cable box with HD channels? (Because I once tried to connect my cable box via HDMI and I experienced the same banding problem you write of. It was absolutely unacceptable.) My only gripe with this TV are those crushed blacks, PS - I will gladly give a full report post ISF cali when done! Most likely in a few weeks from now. Thanks again! :)
In my case I'm talking about a DVD player. I don't have a hi-def cable box (I'm not much into TV shows except for a few, and I usually wait to get those on DVD without the commercials. And I don't watch sports.) The banding is much less severe at 720p than 1080i in my case, but it can still be seen, especially in darker scenes.

I'm having a service tech come on Monday to check out the light/dark banding issue (as I bought the set on Jan 1st '06 it's still well within warranty). Hopefully something will come of it. I they can't or won't fix it, I may (depending on how I feel) make enough noise to get Toshiba to refund my money. Considering I'm using a Toshiba TV with a Toshiba DVD player, they don't have much room to blame it on some esoteric incompatibility and avoid responsibility. :D

It may be incompatible a little. Your Toshiba 30HFX85 TV was made by Orion and your Toshiba SD-6980 DVD player was made by Samsung. Two different manufacturers here. None are made by Toshiba.
Yes, I know about the manufacturing. I've slogged through this entire thread. I think you missed my point entirely.

It wouldn't matter if the DVD player was made by blind monks in Tibet and the TV by aliens from a planet in the Rigel system. If Toshiba is willing to sell these two products under their brand then they're taking responsibility. My point was that, from a customer support perspective, they can't claim it's not their problem to fix (like they might try to do if my player were a Sony, or Sharp, or something else), and that should help in my situation.

Kidding ?
Wally, somehow I don't believe you.

rkellog, that was a really cool post, I for one really appreciate pics like that. :) But it's not fair to compare a Toshiba vs a Sony XS because the cost is not comparable. The Toshiba vs Sony HS models would be a fairer comparison. Or Sony HS vs XS. The Toshiba vs the Sony XS is too much of a mismatch in both price and quality...

Side note: if that's the lower left corner of your XS like I think it is, that's excellent RGB convergence considering where it is. Did you calibrate your set in any way or was it like that out-of-box?

rkellog, that was a really cool post, I for one really appreciate pics like that. :) But it's not fair to compare a Toshiba vs a Sony XS because the cost is not comparable. The Toshiba vs Sony HS models would be a fairer comparison. Or Sony HS vs XS. The Toshiba vs the Sony XS is too much of a mismatch in both price and quality...

Side note: if that's the lower left corner of your XS like I think it is, that's excellent RGB convergence considering where it is. Did you calibrate your set in any way or was it like that out-of-box?

Yeah that is how the TV came out of the box. All I have done is some overscan correcting. The comparison is not really fair, but I had to show people how much of a difference there is between two tvs. I was always under the impression that there was not that much difference in the resolution but it was the brigthness color and other factors that made the difference in TVs. But clearly there is a large difference in how high def a tv is.

Yeah that is how the TV came out of the box. All I have done is some overscan correcting. The comparison is not really fair, but I had to show people how much of a difference there is between two tvs. I was always under the impression that there was not that much difference in the resolution but it was the brigthness color and other factors that made the difference in TVs. But clearly there is a large difference in how high def a tv is.

Thanks, rkelloogg556. So, how did things work out with Toshiba? Did they give you a refund for your old set? What steps did you take to get resolution with Toshiba? Thanks for sharing this info.

Friday, I had a guy out, who basically didn't believe me so wouldn't do anything to the TV, for any money. Nice. Not using them again.

Just had Overland TV out this afternoon and this guy was very helpful. Was able to replicate the symtoms with judicious whacking of the case, and took the video I made to heart. Led him to the v-synch chip, which he re-soldered, along with some other components. So far, that seems to have fixed it right up.

Of course, time will tell. If its good in a week, I'll start being really happy.


Interesting seeing inside the TV. Even for a several year old design, relatively few discrete components. Not even many boards, anymore. Came apart suprisingly easily. And, it has a subwoofer-tube along the extreme top rear corner. Why? Does anyone who owns a TV like this use the built-in speakers?

On my Toshiba 34HF85 I'm using my PS2 with progressive scan as my primary DVD/CD player and was thinking about replacing it with either a regular prog. scan DVD stand alone player or a prog. scan upconverter DVD player with HDMI. Question: is it worth the effort & money to do so? OR should I have an ISF calibration done as opposed to all of this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I was always under the impression that there was not that much difference in the resolution but it was the brigthness color and other factors that made the difference in TVs. But clearly there is a large difference in how high def a tv is.I always knew that there was a huge different between the Toshiba and the Sony XS. In my opinion the Sony HS is also significantly better than the Toshiba. However, in my opinion, the Toshiba is significantly better than all the rest, so the Toshibas are still good. However the Toshibas have terrible quality control these last 2 years so that's only if you get a perfect unit. Otherwise, a bad quality Toshiba (like 90% of them are I think) is worse than everything except the Philips probably...

I knew from the first moment I saw a Sony XS vs HS side-by-side in the store that there was a HUGE difference between the two. Screen dot pitch does matter.

Hope everything goes well and your TV continues to function, shoobe.

I personally think good TVs should not even have speakers. I never even run audio to my TV so it can't play sound even if it wanted to. But I have some friends who just use the built-in TV speakers, and others who do have a sound system but didn't put much care into it and still have some audio cables running to the TV which is often used by them.

I guess it makes some sense for even a $1000 TV to have crappy speakers, for people who don't want to even spend another $400 for decent stereo sound (maybe $200 stereo amp plus $100 speakers). Good sound is expensive, admittedly. I only have stereo sound myself (nearly $2000 though...high quality). Not enough money for a quality surround amp at this moment. :)

What annoys me is how all these TVs, especially the widescreen ones, have giant built-in side speakers. A lot of people won't ever use em (like me) and they waste so much space. Put them on the bottom and save space, they're crappy anyways!!! :mad:

Ok, I had a technician come out this morning.

I showed him the light/dark banding most visible using 1080i over the HDMI. He wanted to ensure it wasn't the player, and so brought another in from his truck. It was a Toshiba as well, but slightly earlier model. Sure enough, the banding was there with that player too.

So, then he calls in to Toshiba and/or back to his service center (I didn't follow exactly), and it turns out Toshiba has a service bulletin out on the issue (at least they're aware of it!). So, he says he needs to research that information and come back again. He mentioned that there is a setting in the service menu that needs adjustment, and that they have to try that before they can replace any hardware.

I wished I could've just let him know that I know all about how to access that menu, and then maybe he could've called to get the details on the adjustment to make and done it right then. However, I didn't want them to blame the issue on me (I've made minor adjustments to geometry, tint centering, contrast centering, and the R-Y gain via the service menu, but the banding was present before the changes).

Anyway, it looks like I'll need to try to find another day I can take off of work or go in late to accomodate them. They (Sharper Video) schedule their techs day-to-day based on the locations they need to visit. So you don't know what time they'll be out until the day of, when they call each place in the morning with the estimate of when they'll be there.

I'll post again as this progresses.

PS- I think I've got a fairly good tube as far as these Toshibas go. Convergence and geometry are pretty good. If I can just kill the HDMI banding issue then I'll be fine (that is, until I hear about lennsx's IFS calibration if it's all they're cracked up to be, then I might have the urge to do that as well.) ;)

Your light/dark banding issue is EXACTLY the same issue I have when using HDMI thru my STB (Set Top Box). It was the scariest thing since Cheney-(drum tap). Spurdy, I implore you to let us know what that service menu tweak is for when my ISF cali guy comes by. If I can kill a few birds (my apologies to PETA) with just one stone, then it's all good! And as promised, a full report on my ISF cali when done. (and perhaps fburch would like to give them a taste of his own ISF cali?) ;)

Spurdy, I implore you to let us know what that service menu tweak is for when my ISF cali guy comes by. If I can kill a few birds (my apologies to PETA) with just one stone, then it's all good!
Although I'm crossing my fingers that a service menu tweak is all that's needed, to tell the truth I don't have a lot of confidence that it'll be that easy. It felt more like a stock answer that the tech was giving, rather than that he knew specifically and certainly that there was such a fix. Still, if it works I'll be thrilled, and will most definitely report the service menu changes here.

I think I'm just trying to keep my own expectations low so that I'm not disappointed if it takes more than that.

Oh, I almost forgot the best thing I learned from the repair guy. Word of the day:

Twitch.

He described the issue I had as a "vertical twitch." I suspect, if it comes up again, that this will be a better way to communicate with the repair place than my usual, stuttering, vague answer.

I was watching an analog station the other night and it happened to me as well. My buddy was like, "WTF is up with THAT?" I agreed. My analog picture is horrible. Man, Toshiba (or Orion?) are a bunch of c*cksuckers. Tough to say, but I call it like I see it.

As much as I hate to jinx it by saying it worked. It still seems to have worked. Five+ hours of viewing since then and not a twitch to be seen.

I would have tossed this (despite the expense) if there were other problems, but this set is rock solid otherwise. Though the service guy hit some sort of gain control inside that messed up my black level. We eyeballed it back into place with the case off (and he wanted it WAY brighter than it should be), but I'm gonna have to run the avia setup again now...

(and perhaps fburch would like to give them a taste of his own ISF cali?) ;)

Nothing to add to what I said back on message #97 on this thread.

Well, I received the 34HF85 I ordered from Crutchfield. I knew they were getting in a new shipment and I figured that I would get a recent build and hopefully Orion would have addressed the outstanding issues. My build date is January '06 probably toward the end of the production run.

What a joke! I think I have every problem ever reported in this one set:


very poor horizontal geometry
numerous convergence errors (poor focus on right side of screen)
discoloration on three corners of the screen
"white glow" at top of screen with 1080I over component
horizontal bands of light and dark with 1080I over HDMI
strangest flesh tones I have ever seen


I can't believe they continue to produce defective sets regardless of the complaints and issues over the past year. Even more unfortunate is this junk has "Made in U.S.A." slapped on the box. (My 30HF84 looks spectacular compared to this trash)

Can't say enough good things about Crutchfield. The customer service rep apologized repeatedly and immediately offered me a full refund. Probably the best internet retailer to do business with. I decided to swap the HF85 for an LCD and that's the end of that.

But you currently own an Orion, right Wally? Pot calling the kettle black?

You should take responsibility for your actions for buying this POS TV. Why did you return the glorified Sony KD-34XBR960 and settle for the Toshiba 34HF85? We have already told you many many many times before not to go with a Toshiba again. You already knew before that you will be disappointed with it. Remember this concept: "You're buying Orion, you're buying pain."

But, anyway, thanks for sharing your story, though.
waltchan lecturing others on taking responsibility for actions? Philosopher, moral compass of the forum, technician, dance move inventor--how does he find the time to do it all?

Walt, speaking of TV purchases, have you bought and returned any TVs lately? Last I heard you were going to return your Sony LCD and buy another one, or buy the very last Toshiba made in Japan TV on earth. You aren't going to watch the Oscars on a 13" Sylvania are you? Or are you going to be at the Oscars, doing the red carpet treatment and hobknobbing with all the famous stars you know?

Yes, but it's a lot better. It's a well-proven technology that Orion has been making for many years: analog TVs. It has such a great picture.
As far as I know all CRTs are inherently analog. It's fundamental to how they operate.

Sure, there might be some that accept a digital input (HDMI, DVI-D, etc.), or perform digital processing internally before display (upconversion, etc.). But ultimately, in order to paint the pictures with a scanning electron beam in a CRT, the signal must be converted to analog.

Thus, the HF(X)8x lines are all analog TVs.

LCD, plasma, LCD projector, and DLP could be reasonably referred to as "digital TVs" as each individual pixel is discretely addressable and they utilize digital control circuitry, but it seems like a misnomer for anything that uses a CRT (rear projection CRT, direct view, etc.)

Clarification: I'm talking about "digital" vs. "analog" terminology with respect to the method of display a TV uses, not to types of input signals it can receive. I'm sure advertisers might talk about their "digital TVs" (incorrectly, IMHO) just because they might have digital tuners built in, or have an HDMI or DVI input. That's like calling a LCD TV "analog" just because it has a composite, S-Video, or component input, when the fundamental display technology is digital.

PS- I did appreciate your Orion phrase though, "You're buying Orion, you're buying pain" Whenever I read it, I hear it in this booming "iron-fisted evil overlord" voice. :p

PS- I did appreciate your Orion phrase though, "You're buying Orion, you're buying pain" Whenever I read it, I hear it in this booming "iron-fisted evil overlord" voice. :p


Huh, I hear that more in a very high pitched, whiny voice.

The service tech is coming out again today. I had to go to work, but my wife has Mondays off and can let him in, so I just set everything out for the technician.

In preparation I reset all service menu values back to the defaults they had before I made adjustments. Boy did I notice a difference for the worse! After having used the TV for a month after my amateur calibration efforts, the default settings looked simply awful. Makes me feel at least a little better knowing how much I was able to improve the picture with just Avia and the service menu.

When I get home today I'll take a peek in the service menu to see what the tech changed and report if it made any difference. I'm expecting that they'll be recommending swapping some hardware components, but if the service menu can fix it, that'd be awesome.

More to come this evening.

Yes I know, but from what I see here, a 20" flat-screen TV, let's say a Toshiba, appears to have a better picture than any of the Toshiba HF85/HFX85 HDTVs.

good speluation, got anything more, or do you just want the member to donate his TV to you?

or better yet maybe the admins should delete this thread? no why you are still hoping they will just close the entire CRT forum, then you will have been able to hide all your problems

why do you get involved in threads you are not going to be informative and helpful in? to cause problems thats why

if you do not agree with what the original poster has to say, then you want the thread deleted

or at least there is some fear that when you say something ignorant, that you will have to face up to it

You should take responsibility for your actions for buying this POS TV.


What does POS stand for waltchan? I'm not familiar with some of the sophisticated tech lingo that you use sometimes. I want to learn from you and soak up your vast knowledge about TVs like a sponge.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cireaasirefan
You should take responsibility for your actions for buying this POS TV.

maybe you should consider this yourself with your 20" VCR/DVD/TV combo

your made up LCDs and CRT HDTVs do not count

Even I have to agree that this time, waltchan was out-of-line in his response to Nonnie's extremely useful post. Hey, I myself went through 4 different 30HF85s and am still planning to try out just one 30HF66 when it comes out and give Toshiba one last chance. Some people are curious, willing to experiment, or are hopeful that they can get a unit that would actually pass a real quality control inspection. It's not like there is some other golden-boy miracle TV option out there (Sonys don't even come close) so no matter what, buying a CRT these days is going to be a lesson in pain for those with an eye for quality. It's basically pick-your-poison.

But in any case, I hope this latest flame-war ends here and goes no further. When these arguments go on too long the forum is ruined and threads get deleted. I ask everyone to let this matter rest, at least for the moment.

Well, I received the 34HF85 I ordered from Crutchfield. I knew they were getting in a new shipment and I figured that I would get a recent build and hopefully Orion would have addressed the outstanding issues. My build date is January '06 probably toward the end of the production run.

What a joke! I think I have every problem ever reported in this one set:


very poor horizontal geometry
numerous convergence errors (poor focus on right side of screen)
discoloration on three corners of the screen
"white glow" at top of screen with 1080I over component
horizontal bands of light and dark with 1080I over HDMI
strangest flesh tones I have ever seen


I can't believe they continue to produce defective sets regardless of the complaints and issues over the past year. Even more unfortunate is this junk has "Made in U.S.A." slapped on the box.Argh. There go some of my hopes for the 30HF66. If Toshiba continues on this way hopefully they will go out of business, that's all I can hope for. Everyone who gets a defective Toshiba, return it and make Toshiba pay for their poor business practices! I wonder if there is any way for us to find out the return rate on the Toshiba 2005 CRT HDTVs in particular? I bet it is horrible, if such information is actually made public.

Nonnie, can you do me a favor? Does the box itself list the build date of the TV? I was foolish and never bothered to check my TV boxes before if they had that info. It'd be useful to know when buying a set though, in case you know that certain batches are worse than others.

What the heck? Are you TRYING to get this thread deleted, kny3twalker? Please tell me your latest post was a mistake in some way....you quote MY message as if I am waltchan?

What the heck? Are you TRYING to get this thread deleted, kny3twalker? Please tell me your latest post was a mistake in some way....you quote MY message as if I am waltchan?

oh I thought thats the solution whenever conflicts arise now

You should take responsibility for your actions for buying this POS TV.


If POS stands for what I think it stands for, I am truly outraged and offended. We don't need references to bodily waste and foul language on this forum.

If POS stands for what I think it stands for, I am truly outraged and offended. We don't need references to bodily waste and foul language on this forum.

I would appreciate it if you, Walter Chan, would not post in here anymore if thats all you can add

I'm a perfectly happy owner of a 34HFX84, March 2005 build. One of the last.

I feel bad for the HF(X)85 owners and all the troubles they've gone through. At least you can -

Add cireaasirefan (Walter) to your Ignore List

Please let us know how it all turns out; I have the same banding issue with HDMI thru my STB as well. And I should be getting my ISF calibration done in 2 weeks from now. Will let you all know how it turns out! (And for the record, the one & only person so far who had his own 34HF85 ISF calibrated is VERY pleased with his TV now. I mean, yeah it does kind sukk to have to throw another $300 into this TV but since they are now going for about $700 or so it seems worth it. I paid $1300.00) :( Oh, and I don't whine about it. Or maybe I just did? :) :)

Does the box itself list the build date of the TV?

They cleverly omit that little tidbit from the outside of the box. Just the serial number.

... And for the record, the one & only person so far who had his own 34HF85 ISF calibrated is VERY pleased with his TV now.
Assuming you are talking about fburch, I also had my 34HF85 ISF calibrated. The tech was impressed with how much he was able to do with the set, he admitted afterwards he had low expectations!

After calibration, a change in STB resulted in the infamous 1080i banding, which has forced me to run it at 720p. Other than that, no other problems with the set, going on almost 6 months now. No white glow, awesome geometry for a CRT (which my ISF tech agreed with).

Paid $950 (Crutchfield) for the set last fall and $300 for the calibration.

Still wouldn't recommend this set to anyone unless they are constrained by cabinet dimensions and Toshiba is the only 34" that will fit (as was the case with me).

Please let us know how it all turns out; I have the same banding issue with HDMI thru my STB as well. And I should be getting my ISF calibration done in 2 weeks from now. Will let you all know how it turns out! (And for the record, the one & only person so far who had his own 34HF85 ISF calibrated is VERY pleased with his TV now. I mean, yeah it does kind sukk to have to throw another $300 into this TV but since they are now going for about $700 or so it seems worth it. I paid $1300.00) :( Oh, and I don't whine about it. Or maybe I just did? :) :)

Well, it sounds like whatever the tech did, it didn't fix it. :( My wife reported the results to me before I left work. When I got home I checked all the service menu settings, and they remained at the original defaults, so it looks like he undid whatever fix he tried before leaving. Oh well. My wife is familiar with what the banding looks like, and confirmed that he wasn't able to fix it while he was here. Apparently he tried to call Toshiba again (~10:30AM PST) and they didn't answer (!?!) So he's going back to do more communication with them later.

The upshot is, it looks like he'll have to be out again, possibly multiple times if they try hardware replacement.

I'm torn between A) making enough noise for long enough that they either really fix it or give me my money back, and B) just taking the sucker apart myself and satisfying my tinkerer nature doing my own focus and convergence adjustments with the magnet rings and yoke, HDMI be damned.

Regarding "A", I'm tempted by the rave reviews of the XBR960n with the super-fine pitch CRT. But it may take a while to wrestle my dough back from Toshiba, and word on the street is that the XBR960n is disappearing quickly. On the other hand, if some "B" route tinkering and/or an ISF calibration can really make the set shine, I might be happy with that. Especially if I can get component looking really good, then the HDMI stuff wouldn't bug me so much.

I'm more than willing to try my own purity/focus/convergence adjustments with the service manual and other online resources available. I'm not scared to be hands-on about technology in general, it's just the potential for thousands of volts of electrocution that makes me hesitate. :D

Does anyone have a 30HF85 that will work with 1080i consistantly over component video? I seem to have one of the few good 30HF85's and don't know if I should take the chance and give this one up in hopes of getting one that works with 1080i.

720p works great but not even close to the best I've seen, very little geometry problems, and none of the hot spots are issues on the one I have at this time. I know there are better options but I am limited to this set due to cabinet limitations and I can't handle the slow refresh rates of LCD (and yes I do own what I feel is the best LCD out there).

Thanks

I'm more than willing to try my own purity/focus/convergence adjustments with the service manual and other online resources available. I'm not scared to be hands-on about technology in general, it's just the potential for thousands of volts of electrocution that makes me hesitate. :D

I've had my 30HF84 apart a couple of times, once to reseat the A/V board (shorting against the chassis) and the other time I tweaked the Focus. A few months after I got the set, some convergence errors popped up and I was thinking of attempting a static and dynamic convergence adjustment. I brought an isolation transformer (to prevent frying myself) and downloaded some pretty good articles on DIY convergence adjustment. Never got around to it, and I don't think I'll attempt it. From what I have read, there is a good chance you will only make it worse. My set has actually improved with age, the convergence errors seem to have gotten smaller and are not affecting the clarity or pq.

So are you satisfied with the ISF cali, or very satisfied? For me, $300 would be a lot of money to spend for just a little difference, although fburch seems very satisfied & I do not doubt his opinion in the slightest. Just would be nice to have another opinion (not to mention that my friends & family think I'm clinically bonkers when I bring it up.) My only real beef with the PQ is crushed blacks (not enough detail) and if you also say that the ISF alleviated that, then great!

I've had my 30HF84 apart a couple of times, once to reseat the A/V board (shorting against the chassis) and the other time I tweaked the Focus. A few months after I got the set, some convergence errors popped up and I was thinking of attempting a static and dynamic convergence adjustment. I brought an isolation transformer (to prevent frying myself) and downloaded some pretty good articles on DIY convergence adjustment. Never got around to it, and I don't think I'll attempt it. From what I have read, there is a good chance you will only make it worse. My set has actually improved with age, the convergence errors seem to have gotten smaller and are not affecting the clarity or pq.
Yeah, from what I read in the service manual focus adjustment seems pretty straightforward. Tweaking the position of the yoke seems like the place where the greatest error could occur. The magnet rings can always be reset to their original positions. But the whole "rubber wedges" holding the yoke in place might be tough as far as putting it back in the original position after moving it.

Getting myself into a worse situation and not being able to correct it does make me think twice. Still, I'm a patient person and willing to do trial and error to learn what I need to if it means getting the tube working at its full potential. That and I'm a big geek who would find that kind of challenge fun.

perfectionist geek + highly configurable/adjustable tech-toy = trouble

(or just a lot of time spent tinkering and learning far more than is healthy about given tech-toy, and potentially exasperating the significant other) :p

I've had my 30HF84 apart a couple of times...
By the way, is there anything to be aware of when removing the case? I've looked at the exploded view diagrams in the service manual, but I was wondering if there were any "real world" gotchas to watch out for.

I'm mainly thinking about how the set would need to be oriented while removing the case. Do you have to lean it forward to get the case off (this could be tricky), or can it be slid directly backwards with the TV sitting on a flat surface after removing the screws?

On my 73 series the case handily came off with the unit upright. Convenient, as the tech was able to test it disassembled without manhandling a floppy, fragile, 300 pound* unit. I thought it was nice of them.

He did have me lean it forward a few inches to get the case back on, but I am not sure it actually helped.


(* well, it feels that heavy)

By the way, is there anything to be aware of when removing the case? I've looked at the exploded view diagrams in the service manual, but I was wondering if there were any "real world" gotchas to watch out for.

I'm mainly thinking about how the set would need to be oriented while removing the case. Do you have to lean it forward to get the case off (this could be tricky), or can it be slid directly backwards with the TV sitting on a flat surface after removing the screws?
Just don't crack the casing when you screw those things back on, like another notorious poster did and then returned the TV, claiming it was already cracked. Also, be careful from whom you are taking advise about opening your TV--see above. Some people just are not as good at screwing as others are.

Take from Wally... he knows about cracked cases.
When replacing the screws, do not over-tighten. Right? ;)

By the way, is there anything to be aware of when removing the case? I've looked at the exploded view diagrams in the service manual, but I was wondering if there were any "real world" gotchas to watch out for.


You do not need to tilt the set forward to remove the rear cover. It slides right off as the unit is free standing. Be sure you remove all the screws around the a/v, Component and HDMI inputs. If I remember correctly, there are small arrows embossed on the cover next to the screws that need to be removed. The entire a/v board attaches to the cover for support from behind. There are also six to eight larger screws around the perimeter of the cover and one toward the center.

Cool, thanks for all the advice. Now if I do end up deciding to keep it and venture into hardware calibration, I'll know how to do it.

Got a call this afternoon from the service center. Sounds like Toshiba gave them the same line , "Uh, we don't have a fix yet*. Use 720p or 480p."

* Translation: We've got our eye on the calendar, just waiting for that date about 12 months after the last HF(X)85 went out the door.

I've emailed Toshiba support and requested that they either actually find and execute a real fix, or allow me to return the set for full refund since their product does not perform as advertised. We'll see how they respond.

Swo are you satisfied with the ISF cali, or very satisfied? For me, $300 would be a lot of money to spend for just a little difference, although fburch seems very satisfied & I do not doubt his opinion in the slightest. Just would be nice to have another opinion (not to mention that my friends & family think I'm clinically bonkers when I bring it up.) My only real beef with the PQ is crushed blacks (not enough detail) and if you also say that the ISF alleviated that, then great!
$300 is a lot, especially considering this is such a low-end set (relatively speaking). My family also thinks I'm bonkers for paying this much to get a brand new TV "calibrated", something they have never heard of. My big concern was that the results would not be very noticeable, but this was not the case. Even my wife loved the result, but said she didn't want to know how much it cost (so I didn't tell her).

Put me in the "very satisfied" camp -- it was the difference between returning the set and keeping the set. As I alluded to, the 34HF85 was the only 34" CRT that would fit in my space, so I didn't have a lot of choices. If space was not an issue, I would probably have bought a super fine pitch Sony.

A couple caveats:

- I didn't attempt any adjustment on my own using Avia/DVE, etc. Perhaps the difference would not have been as great had I spent a lot of time learning and calibrating it myself, but I had already convinced myself that I needed to a proper ISF calibration to get the best picture out of this set.

- Black crush is still there, and only slightly improved. In fact, this was one aspect the ISF tech showed me could not be fully adjusted/compensated for due to power supply limitations.

Hi, I just bought the Toshiba 34HF85 HDTV at best buy $899. It was on clearance to make room for the new models.

The associate at BB raved about how great it was.

Did I make a mistake? (It's probly not to late to undo the deal and it has not been delivered yet.)

Someone pointed me to this thread, and needless to say I am concerned.

I guess my question is: should I "return it" to BB before delivery? I don't want to buy a barrel of trouble.

Maybe some of you more experienced guys can provide some insight. (And what might you recommend in it's place?)

Thanks for any input.

I think I already told you that the inside of my 30HF84 says Orion in multiple places, including the tube.

Why are you asking if you already know the answer?

But you currently own an Orion, right Wally? Pot calling the kettle black?

It's rank hypocrisy and a complete diesservice to the readership of this forum.

Actually, this is the new MSRP on the 34HF85. A Best Buy salesman raved about how great the 34HF85 is. This one I have never heard before. He fooled you to buying this because of the low cost. It's up to you if you want to try it or not, but I recommend you to cancel the order and look at the Sony instead.

Very sound advice cireaasirefan. Just the kind of insight that a first time poster needed. I bet that the set never gets delivered. I sure wish that folks such as that WaltChan guy, would pay attention to you, and drop their Toshiba infatuation, instead of dropping their tv sets. By the way, have you overlooked starting an official Orion thread?. It seems like you have got the other brands covered.

I'd like to do some overscan correction on my 34HFX84. I recently recorded the test patterns on HDNet and was surprised to see how much overscan my set had.

I'm able to get in the service menu fine but I'm looking for help on what four parameters control, horizontal and vertical position and size. Samsung calls these VPOS, HPOS, VAMP(litude), and HAMP. (or something like that.)

I have written down all SM settings so I am using caution. Geekgrl posted a zip file some time ago but that cannot be opened anymore.

This is for a real Toshiba set, not Orion. ;)

Much appreciated.