Toshiba 50HM66, 56HM66 Discussion - Page 41

My understanding is that all old xbox cables will plug into the connector, so just look around for one of those. Or the HDMI switch.

My comment for the 1080i over component on BluRay applies to both hardware and software. They can flip the switch on discs at any time, but they may not bother as players themselves will not be able to output high res.

There are still players out there that will output component at 1080i. Panasonic BD65/85. Sony 370. Any other that was introduced before this year's CES will be OK. It is still legal to sell them until stock runs out. However, as we all agree, they cannot upconvert standard DVDs over component.

The Toshiba likely outputs a better upconversion from the player. Those players were introduced after HD-DVD bit the dust and use the same circuits. I still use an old HD-DVD player for upconversion of standard DVDs. Much better than other paths.

Was exited to find the Xbox box with a component cable in it! not...it was a basic RCA and Audio cable....

My Toshiba DVD player dates back older than the TV, to 2005, before I had any idea what HDMI was. Actually it was a free replacement - post class action lawsuit of some sort - for the Toshiba DVD I bought in 1999 for $300. I went deep into the DVD menu and found the spot to change the output from 480i to 480p. Picture is noticeably nicer! thanks for the tips!

Now the issue is, do I purchase a HDMI switch, or XBOX component cable, to enable a 2005 DVD player to upconvert the signal to 720p, rather than a 2006 TV? will an upconverted DVD 480p to 720p really make a noticeable difference?

Dude. Read and re-read EXACTLY what I first posted untill you understand. YOU ARE WATCHING 720p ALREADY!!! Nothing, and I mean NOTHING will make the picture better than what you see right now. Plain, simple english ANYONE can understand man.

Yes, I fully understand that the only picture this TV can display is 720p...so in this case, the TV will upconvert the 480p output from the DVD to 720p. But some people claim the upconverter in the DVD player is better than the upconverter in the TV. If, HYPOTHETICALLY, that is a true statement, then using the HDMI out from the DVD player will provide a better picture. So I guess to more clearly state my question...Is the upconvertor in the 2005 dvd player NOTICEABLY better than the upconvertor in this 2006 TV?

You are converting from 480P to 720P in either case. The question is whether the TV or DVD player provides the better up-conversion. Since this is a 2005 player and a 2006 TV, my guess is that it doesn't matter. The Toshiba upconversion in their second generation HD-DVD players was outstanding, but that came a couple of years later in 2007/8. I would expect that the TV and DVD player have EXACTLY the same upconversion circuitry and code.

You made the big change by going to 480P, you can live with component for now. But keep your eye out for an XBOX component cable because eventually you will want to go to BluRay.

Component and HDMI will have the SAME PQ. You will not, for the last time, get a picture any better than what you have now short of switching to blu-ray.

And to clarify, 2007/8 is when the LAST models of HD DVD were produced, the third and final generation.

Now, as a final 'suggestion' to the OP, this is what I do; I have the player output the highest it can that the TV will accept (1080i) and let the TV do the conversion back to 720p. Of course I have 3 disc players connected (HD DVD, BDP, DVD recorder) via an AVR (which I highly recommend if you have the means) but a HDMI switcher is quite effective as well.

Thanks for all the inputs...
to help me better understand, when I switch the DVD player output from 480i to 480p, this is not an upconversion, rather there is 480p "data" on the DVD. if it were to output 480i, the DVD player would be sending a reduced data set.

Yes and no. The only conversion happening in 480i to 480p is...none at all. 'i' stands for 'interlaced'; TV draws every other line first then the even to fill in the blanks & 'p' stands for 'progressive' meaning the picture is drawn all at once, both even and odd. So while there is indeed an increase or decrease of data being sent, it isn't any data that makes a very noticeable difference (at least to me). Remember, video, like audio, is subjective since each individual interprets each sense differently.

No desire to get into a pissing contest, Splicer, so I will drop out of this thread again. Only trying to be helpful. I think we were essentially saying the same thing here and agreeing that the 480p on the player was best.

However, if he is outputting it in 480p, it will be converted to 720p by the TV. Setting 1080i on the input for this channel would be ignored. The input is the max negotiated resolution and would be overridden by the lower resolution being output by the DVD player. Wouldn't hurt anything, and I did set my inputs to 1080i whenever I had a better source available.

You are correct about Feb 2008 being the end for HD-DVD. Not what I was trying to get across, but I didn't express myself clearly in that the Toshiba superior DVD upconversion didn't appear until the A2/A20 in early 2007. I still use my A20 for playing upconverted DVDs. Much better job than my Panasonic BluRay player.

Not sure I agree with your last statement though. Data is encoded on a DVD as a full 480p. You will see a difference between the two when dealing with motion artifacts, i.e. fast moving objects, with 480p giving a clearly better image.

BTW, my 56HM66 is currently sitting idle and looking for a new purpose. The receiver and speakers were integrated into the theater I was finally able to build when we moved into a new house. I also ran and still run an AVR and have an A-20 for HD-DVD, bluRay and even an old laserdisc hooked up. Some stuff on LD simply has never been available elsewhere, so I keep it going. I guess I came back here when I noticed that someone was keeping the old thread active. I was a pretty heavy contributor to this thread a few years ago, but I'm willing to leave it in your capable hands. Sorry for intruding.

Arf, ignore us bickering here. Stick with 480p and component for now, but think of a full HDMI solution in the future when you go BluRay.

I haven't meant to direct my replies to you but to arf1410. He was the one I was telling to get an AVR if possible. Please don't leave on my account. Opinions and different points of view are what makes the world go round man. Gonna go watch Top Gun on my a35 HD DVD.

bulb finally puked out on me on Sunday so ordered a new one thru lap tops for less for $99 and $15 for 2 day shipping. hopefully it isnt a piece of junk since it doesnt look like anyone else has gotten there bulbs from there. will update later how it goes and if it is a good place for replacements.

got the new bulb in with no problems. checked the stats to see how i did on teh original bulb from when i bout the tv in 2006:

power on time: 8467
lamp on time: 11052
on/off count: 1984

heres to hoping the replacement can last that long. does anyone know if there is a way to reset those numbers to keep up with the new bulb or is it kind of like an odometer for a car and cant be reset. thanks.

Can't reset.

My dad's lamp in his Toshiba 50HM66 exploded. I ordered a new one and while I am doing that, I would like to clean all the dust out of the tv.

How do you remove the screen and bezel to access the inside? Thanks for any help.

OK. The original lamp from Advanced Lamps still works . Very dim but works. This after about 4000+ hours. So since it was dim, and I had a replacement on hand, I installed the new Advanced Lamp, lamp just before Thanksgiving. 2 weeks ago, the new bulb (which had dimmed ALOT in the short time it was installed) would not ignite. The TV tried and tried but no go. Re-installed the original but now dim lamp, contacted AL and had a reply in the morning asking me to answer some questions like TV serial #, lamp serial # etc... to which I promptly replied with the answers. This is all 7 days before Superbowl Sunday. The price of the lamp now has gone up $50. I just want my replacement under the 6 month warranty.

At the same time I decided to try a different lamp from a different supplier and found a great price on another "compatable" lamp in housing. This lamp arrived in 2 days, + I bought an extended warranty ($20) and paid for 2 day shipping. I was NOT going to go without for the SB!

LaptopsforLess.com is where I got it from. Lamp arrived Friday and I installed Friday night. This lamp is brighter and designed more intelligently than both the other bulbs I have. The cooling is better and I do not get nearly the amount of light loss thru the back of the TV as with the other lamps. Just love it.

Anyway, seems like a better lamp and with all extras it cost me LESS than Advanced Lamps did. So I want to throw out here that I would (and did) buy from LTFL before AL at this time. And the SB never looked better!

lamp just went out on my 56hm66. had it for 4.5 years now. any recommendations on where to get a cheap reliable lamp

Take from a guy who has bought from different places. Laptops for Less (yes, that is correct) is the best in my opinion. I am VERY pleased with their lamp design, and functionality.

hmmm doesnt look like they have any instock

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I bought the $93 version and it is great. Still comes with a 6 month warranty too. Plus I bought the 1year extended warranty and it all was still less than the lamp they are out of.

But you can also go to Advanced Lamps. They stand behind their warranty though it will take awhile for you to get it (the replacement, not the oringinally purchased one) but they did stand behind it.

Beyond that check with Toshiba but that will be the most expensive route.

The wonderful thing about whatever lamp you get, the picture will look like it did the 1st day you had it. Like a new TV even. I love the hell outta my 56HM66, the colors are so bright & vivid, the picture so sharp and defined, I have ZERO interest in the plasma/LCD/3D sets offered today that seem to have a myriad of issues and the longevity isn't even close. But that's just my take on things.

Hey guys,

My parents have a 50HM66 which so far has not given them any trouble, however a month or so since their last lamp replacement they are having a very odd issue.

Posted are pictures of what I'm talking about, granted they're taken off my iPhone with one hand trying to block out the sun - but you'll be able to get the gist of it all.

There is a black shadow along the far right side of the television at an angle from top to bottom. However, its just a SHADOW; the picture is there, as you can see, it's just very dark. We just open up the back to see if something fell in front of the lamp. We saw nothing, cleaned as thoroughly as we could, and put it back together. There was absolutely no change, though. My next guess is something has fallen in front of the screen itself, but that seems like something we wouldn't be able to fix ourselves.

Do you guy have any idea what's going on? And maybe a way to fix it so we don't have to buy a new tv?

That is a collapsing light tunnel. Toshiba will fix it for free assuming you have one of the affected serial numbers (odds are you do). Go to this link: http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpasse...m66_56hm66.asp

EDIT: They'll most likely replace your entire light engine, but all that is necessary is to replace the light tunnel. Please let us know in this thread how things ended up. Good luck!

I concur with the collapsing light tunnel diagnosis. Give Toshiba a call. Worst they can say is no.

Here is the link to see if your TV is in the effected serial number range:

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/t...6hm66_resource

If it is not, I highly recommend getting a replacement light engine here or get it repaired by them:

http://www.moduslinkptstvboards.com/75002047-P6055.aspx

I bought a LE from them for my 56HM66 and it is excellent. Let us know what happens either way please.

Love the quick reply guys thanks so much. Turns out, though, that my serial number didn't match up. Does this happen often - a collapsed light tunnel with a non-matching serial number?

I just called Toshiba and got no help at all, they just referred me to a local repair center who is closed at the moment.

Also, Splicer, the link you provided for the light engine says that they have 0 in stock. Any other recommendations? That would be a last ditch resort to buy one on our own; I'm hoping there is a way that we can have Toshiba replace it without a fee.

They won't if the serial number isn't in range. Believe me...I took it all the way to the top with mine and nada.

I highly advise having Modus do the repair. MUCH cheaper and it will be like a brand new set when you get it back and reinstalled. It is seriously only about a 20 minute job start to finish. Easy peezy. And it beats the hell out of buying a new TV too. As I said, well worth it in my opinion. Not much more than a new lamp costs.

Or you can look on eBay or the net but I like Modus as they warranty their work so peace of mind there for me.

He's telling you to participate in their "Repair & Return" program. I've never used it, but it sounds like a good deal.

I ended up get a new lamp from discount-merchant. I went with them because it stated that it was a lamp manufactured by toshiba which Im questioning because it looks nothing like my old lamp that came with my tv.

Anyway in the last couple weeks its been taking 3-5 and sometimes now even more times turning the tv on and off before the lamp finally fires.

I went the customer service at discount-merchant and they said its a probably a bad ballast which makes sense but i dont want to go buy that now too and have the same problem when I read people have had similar issues and found it too be a bad lamp. Plus it seems odd that this has only begun to happen after I put in the new lamp. I have till the end of August for the warranty on this lamp (90 days). They stated I can send it in and test it for but will charge me if they find its fine and just send me back the same lamp. Im just worried they will say its fine even it really isnt since it does fire eventually.

Just wish there was some way to get another lamp or someway to test it myself.

Any insight?

It's very likely Toshiba changed the lamp design in order to unify their lamps across multiple generations of their TV's.


That's typical of a failing ballast. "Messing" with the ballast by installing or re-seating a lamp can be just enough to tip it over the edge. Typically an older lamp makes more demands on the ballast output.



You can check the ballast. Look at the ballast. If there are any bulging capacitors, your ballast is probably failing. Test the output of your ballast. You'll need a voltage meter and the spec of your ballast (I don't know how many volts the ballast is supposed to output since I don't own this set, but someone should be able to answer that for you.)

Another sign of a failing ballast is flickering.

Sounds like a bad ballast to me. Of course, the lamp itself could be bad. I had a brand new lamp go bad (blow?) in 3 weeks after it was installed. Took about 3 months from start to finish to get it replaced, which they did do as they admitted it was indeed a bad lamp.

The TV will try about 8 times to light the lamp. This is normal IF the lamp doesn't light the first time. You really should download the service manual and follow the flow chart(s) to help better diagnose the issue.

Does the lamp you have , have the yellow 'made by Toshiba' sticker on it? If not then it is not a Toshiba lamp. I went to discount merchant site and am not sure which you bought. The $140 one is a Toshiba lamp (I THINK), the Y66. That lamp was a serious issue for Toshiba and it was redesigned to the Y67 which is the lamp you want.

this is the lamp i purchased

http://www.discount-merchant.com/Tos...-lamp-bulb.htm


I got just the bulb and used the old housing. I never saw a toshiba on the bulb but not sure if that means anything.


Also is the ballast easy to get at to look at or test?