Toshiba 50HM66, 56HM66 Discussion - Page 33

I've owned mine (56HM66) since the Black Friday sale last year after Thanksgiving ($1199 I think I purchased it for?). Every day since then it's been turned on around 5-6pm, and stays on until 12-1am.

So far, so good. No issues to report and the original bulb is still going strong (in fact, I still have it on low power mode and calibrate every few months... still no need for high power yet for the original lamp.)

I'm on 10 months and haven't replaced yet.

Somebody saw you coming. That lamp is under $200 on ebay and only a little higher from Toshiba. User replaceable.

BTW, my 56HM66 is now 14 months old. My wife is bedridden, so it has probably averaged 16 hours a day since April. Still on first lamp.

That makes me feel so much better. I can always count on someone to be one step ahead of Toshiba in the "worthless" category.

Sorry you had a bad experience. I hope it makes you feel better when you insult others who report different experiences. I can tell you that it makes the thread a MUCH better place to hang out.

it doesn't make me feel better, i was talking about you. Thanks for pointing out how much I have been taken advantage of. But whatever you do, don't take any responsibility for yopur own actions.

It all started with a worthless TV purchase a year ago. One that will slowly bleed me to infinitum, lest i figure out a way to buy another. Noone will buy this one

masterp2, you need to back off. Everyone does not and has not had the issues you have. maybe you are the worthless one who watches too much tv and thats why the bulb is going on you so much. Do yourself a favor and turn off the tv once and a while and get a life.

Jim, don't waste your time on him. Click on his name next to his post and there is a link on the right to "Add masterp2 to Your Ignore List."

That was my mistake. I made the poor assumption that I could watch TV after my purchase.

I apologize for being offensive, it wasn't my intention to vent frustration on good people. Maybe someone will benefit by not making the mistakes I have made. After all Toshiba has put me through, to have the lamp explode because I use it, put me over the top. Then to learn that it is going to be a regular occurance, people should just be made aware...these TV's are going to siphon you for as long as you own it. I guess by now there are many who are just afraid to turn it on. 2000 hours between repairs, in my view, is a consumer tragedy. It comes to you from a company that lied, saying 8000 hrs. Unfortunately for me, it was not the first lie from Toshiba.

I see where at least one aftermarket company has begun making these bulbs with the high demand for them.

Within a year or 2, the bulb will cost more than the TV is worth.

But the picture is awesome, assuming you are not waiting for a bulb assembly in the mail. Hey, I'm just happy not to be on Toshibas unofficial, post production beta tester list any more. I lost 40 hours troubleshooting cablecard issues for them... UNDER WARRANTY. There is a lemon law for cars, but not TV's. I don't know what I was thinking. I feel completely used and abused, to the point of needing to tell people not to let them do this to you.

Well, I have had my TV for over a year, and I have absolutely no complaints, except as I noted earlier, that I cannot watch it often because my son ties it up playing his Wii. Light bulbs dont last forever dude, maybe you should have bought an extended warranty on a major purchase like this one. That is peace of mind, that way those of us who love our tv's dont have to listen to you rant about your misfortunes. I can understand you explaining your situation, but your like the energizer bunny, going on and on and on and on.
Once is enough, now please, go away.

Thank you all who been posting helpful tips. I just purchased the 50hmx96 and I love it!
I just used the Spyder TV to adjust my setting and here are the results:
The Spyder DVD was played on Toshiba HD DVD player-output 720P

Bulb is set on Low, everything set to off (DNR, Noise, etc.)
Brightnes: 51
Contrast: 98
Color: 57 (the result was too rich for me so I'm currently using the setting @ 45)
Tint: +12
Temp: Warm
Sharpness: 50

Contrast at 98? Is it me or doesn't that seem very high? Of course everyone's settings may differ per the individual watching that particular tv, but 98? Mine is at 50.

heres a question for everyone out there
I recently hooked up a tivo hd to my 56hm66 and every once in a while when i fast forward and press play, i lose sound. i then have to rewind and go back and forth and then i hear a light crackle and the sound is back...anybody know whats up with that? any ideas

Doubtful it's your TV. Probably the TIVO. Could just be software. Who's your provider? What SW version? Does it happen consistently? With all channels?

My 50HM66 is still going strong!

Today my 56hm66 seems like it blew the bulb, but it did not pop like everyone says they do. Its just trying to turn on then saying "lamp not working." I pulled the lamp and looked at it seems fine no burns or anything. fans all seem to work. Could there be another issue? I dont want to spend $200 on a lamp when that is not the problem. BTW if this is a repost then please point me in the right direction please.

They won't all "go pop" when they [lamps] die. I'm sure it's your lamp. There's no filament to inspect, etc on these lamps. In other words, often there is no apparent visible evidence of anything actually being broken upon visual inspection.

Coming up on one year with my 50HM66. Also coming up on 5,000 hours and almost 1,000 cycles. If it blows, I'll happily buy another bulb and replace it myself (that is if I can't haggle with Toshiba to cover it, worth a shot). It's been flickering when I turn it on lately, so maybe it'll go before the 1 year mark...I'm still very happy with this unit

Cool, Thank you very much, this is a great help.

anyone here using a tivo series 3 with their tv?

i got my 56hm66 @ BB 6/16/07 for a grand on a open box discount and the lamp just popped yesterday (pretty loud.) happy new years right? anyway i just bought a new one on ebay for about $220 including shipping (has not arrived yet obviously) but i jus noticed it doesnt say anything on the ebay page about the toshiba 180 day warranty that seems pretty standard on new lamps, it does say it is brand new factory sealed and all that. should i be worried about it not being warranty'd for 6 months? anyone know?

Well I have now had my TV for just over 1 year. I have 1247 hours on the lamp with an on/off count of 393 hours.

I have been using the Low Bright setting (for preference more than to save my bulb) and have left the Quick Restart feature turned on.

So far the brightness of the set is still fantastic (whites look white, colors are still as vibrant as I remember). That's not to say that there hasn't been some dimming but the brightness is still very acceptable and in no way dim.

I just thought I'd provide an update. I would imagine that most people are no longer looking to buy this particular set but thus far, I have absolutely no complaints. It is still nicer than some current sets I see out there.

My grand parents also purchased the same set around 6 months ago and have been very satisfied with it and have had no problems either.

CRAP. After 18 months of ownership I have noticed the "shadow" from the top center going down towards the right side about 2 inches (triangle!). I guess I call Toshiba per http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpasse...m66_56hm66.asp

Before this this TV has been great. Love it. Even if this wasn't being fixed by Toshiba (being it is outside the warranty) I did by an Extended warranty from TexasTapeWorks.

My parents had the same issue (collapsing light tunnel). It was a quick easy fix. Just a light engine swap. They probably could have replaced only the light tunnel, but a new LE was the policy.

My Toshiba 50HM66 television is 20 months old. It is out of warranty. About 3 months ago, I had the problem with a blue haze at the top of the screen, which turned out to be the light engine issue Toshiba has had with this model. The light engine was replaced by a service center free of charge. A few weeks later, the screen went blank and I still had audio, the LED sequence indicated bad bulb, Toshiba technical support agreed. I replaced the bulb, still no picture. I took the TV to the service center (recommended by Toshiba)- serv. center says the ballast is bad and they will order one and repair. They waited 3 weeks for the ballast and said it is back ordered. I called Toshiba, they put their "expedite team" on it for at least two weeks- still no ballast. Finally, I gave up on both Toshiba and service center and found the ballast part #75002433 online. I took it to the service center.

NOW........service center says, looks like the ballast is not replaceable in this model, it is the power supply to the ballast, and it is part of the light engine- which they just replaced.- he blames Toshiba's diagrams for the error. Can someone please with knowledge of how the power supply/ballast/light engine in this model works let me know what is going on here? Is my service center wrong in their diagnosis?
Thank You in advance

I have been without this TV for over a month! I am so frustrated with Toshiba and my service center- I estimate this TV has maybe 1000 hours of use on it- so far not impressed!
I live in a fairly large metro area and this is supposed to be a great service center

If you bought TV with a major credit card "gold" card or similar, they generally add 1 year to the manufacturer's warranty...so maybe you are still covered...

Ever since i bought the tv, i have noticed some sort of precipitation (SP) right in the center of the television, you can really see it when it's a very bright picture. Mostly it looks like someone went behind the tv inside, and sprayed the screen with water, has anyone ever has this problem, or some sort of fix for it? I believe it's still in warranty.

How long have you had the TV?

The question begs another question, is it unusually humid in your house?

Just recently picked up one of these (56HM16) at a Sam's Club for $799.81, I haven't even set it up yet. I'm told it's the same as the 56HM66, only bundled with the matching stand.

Didn't think I could go wrong for the money, but I'm hoping I don't regret selling my trusty, old Toshiba 55" CRT 4:3 projection set.

A lot of great info here. Glad I found this site.

Thanks,
Mike

Trust me, you made a wise choice. No problems here