Toshiba 50HM66, 56HM66 Discussion - Page 4

Well I saw this set in BB the other and I must say I'm impressed by the PQ specially the black level. I also observed the new Samsung 1080p set and I was not all that impressed by it, I must say it was very noisy even in the movie mode. On the toshiba I did not notice any noise, now I'm thinking of returning my 46HM94 back to costco. The black level on my hm94 is not all that great, so I'm hoping that the 66 series will actually have black level that is closer to black. Also could anyone post a few pics of this set in action with room lighting and complete darkness? Thanks!

I have my Panasonic S97 connected via hdmi and have had no problems. The only problem I have had with the cable card is if the electricity goes out (has happened twice now) I lose my digital channels. I have to remove the card and unplug the set for 5 minutes, put the card back in and I get them again. Otherwise, no issues. Note that this TV doesn't have a TVGOS, though.

Finally pulled the trigger and bought a 50HM66 from One Call (nice price) and cables from Monoprice. Everything should be here by the end of the week. I can't wait!!!
Thanks everyone for all your info.

Tom

Welcome to the club, Tom!! I love my 50HM66. To me, the picture is better than the Samsung 720p sets with both SD and HD signals. Plus, I just love the cabinet design! Goes nice with my Athena Technologies speakers. In fact, my center channel speaker resembles a much smaller scale version of the 50HM66.

Enjoy!

I am a new to the forum. been reading a lot on the 50hm66. It seems like pexley is very pleased so far. I am just waiting to see the difference from 50hmx96, otherwise about to pull the trigger like grogmeister. I will be ordering from onecall too . Felt very comfortable with them when I had questions and their prices have dropped on this model.

I bought a Toshiba 50HM66 from Best Buy 3 weeks ago. The first tv came to me defective. The picture was absolutely horrible. I think it was the lamp. They sent me a new tv within 2 days and after 2 weeks, the same thing has happened to the picture quality. I am returning this tv and getting a different brand. It seems the lamp problems that plagued previous Toshiba DLP models has not been fixed. Fortunately, this occurred within the 30 day return Best Buy policy. Otherwise I would have been stuck trying to get new lamps from Toshiba directly. All the cables were attached to the TV correctly, I have a Monster surge protector, etc. The problem is the TV itself. Needless to say, I am very disappointed.

I received my 50HM66 yesterday and so far so good. PQ is so so in SD analog, very good in SD digital, and excellent in HD and that is with no cable box. Am thinking about getting a cable card which will get rid of all the sub channels. I got my HDMI and Toslink cables today so I will hook them up to my DVD player and receiver when I get home. Thats all for now.

Tom

Congrats on your new HDTV. Please post your impressions on set up features and PQ.
Looks like everything worked out with onecall, how would you describe your experience with them, and the delivery service they use.( promptness , damage to unit etc). Thanks

Set up is working good. PQ is noted in above post. I have a new TV, DVD player and receiver so I still have alot of configuring to do (receiver is still not hooked up yet). As for onecall I would use them again. The sales reps were knowledgable and very helpful. I ordered the TV early evening on 6-12 and received it early afternoon on 6-14. Don't expect much from delivery, (Fed ex) they will deliver it curbside but that is it, so have some help. As for condition of TV, box was in very good condition and they used a shock watch tube which detects any bumping or jarring of TV. TV was in excellent condition (a little bit of dust which would be expected ). I would probable not get the ex warranty because I think there are are better warranties out there. I bought one and I will return it for the one at tapeworks. It is one year longer and it covers 2 bulbs vs 1 bulb through onecall and is the same price. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other ?

Tom

Hello all,

Just picked this unit up last night and it will be delivered on Monday. It is my 1st HDTV and I was wondering if anyone can recommend an antenna for it? I live in Windsor < 10 miles from Detroit.

Now then I like how the unit looked @ store and it was in between 2 HP pavillion DLPs both over 60". The 50hm66 looked tiny in comparison for a 50" set. Showing the same program the unit had better PQ imo. I can't find the ratings for contrast anywhere for this display and was wondering if anyone knew? The blacks on some sceens looked like ink it was so dark.

Sorry for all the questions but I have another 1/2 million

Thanks..

I just purchased the 50HM66 and have a few issues with it. The PQ on SD is terrible. The PQ on HD is incredible though.

I am using Adelphia cable with the HDTV DVR box. Maybe there is an issue with the SD signals or something.

I am using HDMI also. Are there any settings I should keep in mind.
This is my very first HDTV and I was sold on the picture when at the store.

Also what would the recommended viewing distance be and settings be?

I have never had an HD TV and am hopefully getting one by summer's end. When I read SD is so so does this mean worse than if I was watching it on my current CRT 32" inch Sharp or compared to other HDTVs?

SD is so so in analog but inmo SD in digital is very watchable and yes your 32" TV will have better PQ than this TV or any other DLP TVs in analog SD

My father in law decided on this set with my input.

The picture quality in both analog and HD are very good.

However, when I went there, he had only somehow scanned and locked analog channels, they thought they were watching HD. Anyway, I did a rescan, showed them all the locals and how to access their HD options. All this using plane ol' rabbit ears. It somewhat makes me a bit miffed though.

My Mitsubishi Diamond WS-65813 got horrible digital signals with an indoor antenna no matter what I used. I had to get a roof antenna and since then no problems. He lives about 15 miles further away from the stations than I do and with plane rabbit ears he gets EXCELLENT HD signals on NBC, CBS and ABC. I was really quite surprised how good the quality was. Now he just needs to figure out how he is gonna do high definition DVRing.

I just noticed this is on sale at BB now. I am also a rewards customer so I could get 12% savings on top of that (about 203 bucks). Now if I can only convince the wife I am good to go! :-) This is tougher than anything else!

Go for it! Check out ******* before you buy. Its a good deal.

I wish I knew what ***** was... :-(

Sorry, Markman07 I think I did an oops. I had the name of a website but I think someone deleted it. Look for a pm

Greeting and salutations,

I purchased a Toshiba 50HM66 on 6/2/2006. I don't know if this is a bulb issue, but last night I had a dark blue bar start to show up at the top of my screen. Very thin on the upper left, progressing to about a 2" wide bar on the upper right (i.e. a long, thin triangle shape). I've searched high and low, but I don't see anyone else with this problem - is it a fluke or should I change brands while my 30-day return policy is in effect (@BestBuy)?

thx,
Chris Curran

Return it while you can. That shouldn't be there.

Can anyone tell me how to access the 50HM66 Service Menus to view how many hours are logged onto the lamp?

Thanks in advance.

we have one set up for display at the sears in Dayton, OH. In the Dayton Mall.

Someone previously asked if its better to watch analog SD with component cables, or HDMI. I would love an answer.

thank you.
John.

I purchased the 50hm66 yesterday. My first HD TV. Thanks to a lot of research and a lot of input from this thread I pulled the trigger on this model. I can pick it up Tuesday.

As we have the same model, I can promise that you will love it as much as we do.

I hope that you are using satellite for your programming along with ota.

Mike

I plan for starters to use Directv only by but fall or winter will hopefully purchase and set up an antenna to have access to at least 3 or 4 OTA channels. One step at a time but at least I took the biggest step! :-)

Hi Everyone!

I have taken the same plunge and purchased the 50HM66 at Colders (Great Deal w/great warranty). I am upgrading from a 36" Magnavox, plus this is my first HD (the wife finally gave in). So far I am very pleased with the PQ. However, I am wanting to set up my TV with the proper settings, does anyone have any tips? Also, I am using a Time Warner Cable HDTV Converter box, and a Samsung DVD/VCR...I was told to hook these up using the Colorstream inputs, or should I used HDMI?? The DVD/VCR has both, what should I do and what is the best way to do it? Sorry for all the questions but I am new to this.

Thanks,

Jeremy

Not an easy answer. You would think that it would be component since it's made for the analog outputs, however I saw a friend's Samsung using HDMI from a Scientific Atlanta cable box and the SD channels looked pretty decent. HDMI and component cables are basically used with a cable box or satellite receiver so you can receive HD or digital signals. You wouldn't need either to receive just analog signals. These can be received by simply connecting the cable to the RF input and with this TV's cable card slot you can get all digital and HD channels that way so component and HDMI would only be used with a DVD player. However, with no TV guide feature, you may want to use a cable box/satellite receiver. Now, if the question is asked because the individual does have a digital cable or satellite receiver, but watches a lot of SD content, then I'd probably say it's a personal preference issue and you'd have to view each one to decide what looks best to your eyes. However, I'd recommend HDMI since you'll probably want the HDMI for your digital signals. FYI, on my Pioneer TV, the component input bypasses the TV's internal NR circuitry, so I actually get a better SD picture using the S video input.

I would recommend HDMI unless you have any "handshake" issues then obviously go with the component. My settings are:

contrast: 50
brightness: 50
color: 39
tint: +11
sharpness: 20
temperature setting - warm
noise reduction off

Thanks, I appreciate it. An employee at Colders said I should use a signal spliiter with my DVD/VCR and DVR box if I want to record DVR to VCR, is this true? Does it make a difference with using a splitter?

does anyone know if the 56hm66 does this?