Official Toshiba 65HM167 and 57HM167 Owner's thread

I bought one not too long ago but returned (65hm167) (Does former owner count?). I was blown away by it at first. It was huge at 10 feet, nice upgrade from 55inches. And the great slim cabinet of this model actually was a hair smaller in all directions compared to my dumbo eared 55inch Sony.

Sadly though, seconds after turning it on I noticed a black marks near the center of the screen, so I knew I'd have to exchange it.

I first tested trailers and games off my PS3 in 1080p. The "Bee Movie" Trailer 2 looked nice, had regular video and cgi scenes, bright bumble bee costume with great yellow and deep black stripes, then they kill the lights on the set so the scene nearly goes all black and looked good on this tv. Though, some SSE really popped out in the first shot with some prop giant flowers, the rest of it I hardly noticed.

I tested Gran Turismo HD. Never noticed SSE there. The opening 1080p trailer looked amazing. With a lot of telephoto shots of cars they were so big it almost seemed like they were going to come out of the tv. And in game the response time seemed to be great.

I watched Blu-ray Night at the Museum and overall it was darn good looking, don't recall SSE ever jumping out at me. Nor did I see much rainbow even though I see it often. You kind of just need to accept the tv and forget about the flaws and suddenly they can mostly go away.

Overall I was pleased with the set, but I was really concerned I saw rainbows and when I did notice SSE it was really really strong, more than I'm use to. And either it was all the reading on the forums and allergies I couldn't tell if that was causing eye strain or the tv. I chickened out when I was able to get the Sony 60A2020 for $2250, costing me $350 more over the Toshiba.

When I got the 60inch Sony the picture was good, no rainbows of course, and SSE was there but not enough to annoy even when I looked for it, but man did I ever miss the 5 inches from the Toshiba. The newer sony, while greater picture and deeper blacks compared to my older 55inch Sony, though, the 60ich size hardly felt bigger for the cost of the upgrade. And I haven't had as many wow or 3D moments the Toshiba had.

I begain researching the Toshiba more again and ended up where I could get it from again but for $200 less than before and I figured it would be so cheap I could live with rainbows and a bit of SSE until newer better stuff comes along and I won't take as much of a loss as the Sony's price. I went out with all the paperwork and checked a store again to take on more look at it.

I was so sure I'd switch back but when I saw it in the store the SSE seemed way worse than I remember, even my dad saw it, and not just bright whites, but mid range solid colors and deep blues. I didn't know what to think, maybe the settings in store and lighting made it seem worse, but it was going to be too big of a risk to get it a second time and return the Sony if I regret it. Some people say they got SSE to acceptable levels with adjustments.

Also, to those thinking about it and worried about SSE effect, still give it a chance if you can get it locally with a return period. It's so hard not to be critical on a new purchase and you want to look for these flaws everytime you watch. But I think over time you'd notice it less and less as with my experience on my Sony 55inch LCD RP. It has strong SSE around the center, I had it for 2 years and for the life of me I can't recall the last time I saw SSE, could have been over a year. But after looking at screens for SSE and seeing my old tv once more at my Dads I was seeing SSE again on it because I could not help but look for it like on the recent new tvs.

So I guess it can be all in your mind. Maybe I can go get hypnotized to not see SSE and rainbows and forget it exists

I picked up my 65hm167 on 5/4/07.

I also noticed a lot of SSE when i first got this set, but now the only time I notice it is when there's an all white background (which doesnt' really matter to me because its just flat white, so its not like I'm missing anything since this usually only happens on commercials or splash screens like before movies on Showtime HD ).

I'm not sure if the reduction is due the tweaking of the settings I did (with Avia disc) or just getting used to it...but its probably some combination of both. In any case - I don't notice it, even if I look for it (unless its a very, very light color or on white as noted above)

I'm loving my TV, especially HD content! One of my favorite things is how the bezel/cabinet are almost non-existent - when you look at the TV all you notice is the screen/picture.

I'm still unsure if I'm going to get an ISF calibration (combination of no $$ right now and not a lot of calibrators in my area) - but for now I'm amazed at the picture quality, very 3D with HD content (and even with my SD DVD player).

I'm at work now, but when I get home I'll post my settings.

I was contemplating whether I was going to return my set but I probably will keep it. I don't see the SSE too much anymore which was my only problem. I plan to get a front projector one day so I didn't want to drop a boat load of money on a rptv. This set will satisfy my for awhile.

Help me! I'm trying to determine how well the 57HM167 displays SD. Any of you owners want to chime in?

Thanks!

I got my 57HM167 on Saturday and was using it on the floor temporarily till the stand I ordered came and the PQ was very good, did notice SSE but I was pretty close to the set. Have now set it up on its stand received on Monday. PQ from HD sources from my Xbox 360 is noticeably better when seated and SSE seems to be reduced (maybe better positioning on the stand or getting used to it). I have ordered DVE from Amazon which should be here by Friday to further tweak the picture but so far it has been the best TV I have had.

Tested some HD DVD movies, Corpse Bride, Batman Begins and Happy Feet and its outstanding. Gears also looked great. Have my Panasonic DVD recorder hooked up via HDMI and its passing through the SD signal from a Directv box and it is pretty noisy at that size. However I only tested one channel so it may be better on others.

I havent noticed any problems with the screen, looks fine with no marks. Extremely happy with this TV and looking forward to movies like The Matrix and 300

On my 57HM167, SD looks excellent on some stations, okay on others, and poor on some. The poor SD is source-related and isn't the fault of the 57HM167. You won't notice this poor source-related SD as much on a smaller TV unless you get up close.

OK, stupid question here. What do SSE and RBE stand for. I know what Screen Door Effect is, but not these others.

I am seriously considering this TV. I had a 56MX195 that I gave to my dad since I decided a month after getting it I wanted a plasma in the living room. Otherwise it was a great TV and he loves it to this day. But I am looking to upgrade my basement 57" CRT HD RPTV to something bigger.

I have considered the big Samsung and the 70" Sony, but the Sony's price is just too much compared to some of these others. And now that Toshiba finally put 1080p HDMI ports on it I can consider it.

Silk screen effect
rainbow effect


Cant tell you much more since I have not been plagued by them (luckily)

GREAT TV at any price, but exceptional at the pricing it can be had for.

SSE stands for Silk Screen Effect, a kind of gritty sparkle texture to the screen, noticeable on bright whites and vivid patches of color. Sometimes with a still image, or when your eyes follow something across the screen and the texture pops out as it doesn't move with the image, almost like looking through a dirty window. With HD have such texture and detail it's hard to notice, but if say you watch a cartoon with solid areas of color and fuzzy SD tv, it can be worse. Practically all micro display rear projections have it, some worse than others. And unless it's real bad, most time you won't notice it unless you look for it on purpose. I hear the reason these tvs havd such a things is that it has something to do with how the screens are made to have brighter image and better viewing angles. With calibration it's said that helps reduce the SSE, from various settings like brightness and such.

RBE stands for Rainbows. From what I read online, 90% of people do NOT see them. And if you do see them a lot, there's much less chance of it going away over time. I see them, and I can watching a movie and only notice on a occasion and not bug me. But in dark scenes with high contrast, moving my eyes around the screen causes rainbow, or fast moving objects in darkness. Worst was like the Playstation 3. At night the main menu changes color to black, to match the time of day, this leaves pure black with white type and icons, so it's almost all the time I see rainbows in that as I move my eyes to look and read things. Knowing most normal viewing of games and movies don't have that situation I usually was not bugged. But even if you can live with it, it is known to cause eye strain. I'd probably have the Toshiba right now if it wasn't for being scared away by SSE.

I agree with everyone else's sentiments - it looks bad, OK or good depending on the channel.

I was worried about this when i was looking for TVs - but came to the realization that just about any 1080p display i purchased wasn't going to do a great job with SD. (if you're that worried go ED instead of HD or 720p instead of 1080p or go smaller like <50") Also i used to watch a fair amount of SD content - but to be honest I haven't watched much SD since i got the TV (other than NBA playoffs on TNT). I just DVR a lot of HD content from the local channels and SHO/Starz HD and watch that...and once I get an HD package (still deciding on keeping cable or getting dish/directTV) I probably won't watch much SD anymore...

My DVD player looks much better than i thought it was going to - and so good that I'm not going to get an upconverting DVD player (until i get an HD DVD/BR player that will presumably also upconvert SD DVDs). It looks WAY better than SD TV and almost HD quality (can see 3-D effect of HD).

I am interested to see if my receiver will make SD and my DVD player look any better since it will take 480i->480p (onkyo 605, still waiting for it to ship from manf)

My best advice - don't buy an HD tv based on how good SD looks, buy it for how good HD looks and suffer through the SD content for a year or two until there's enough HD that you don't have to watch SD anymore...

My Toshiba A1 upconverts much better than my previous Denon 2910. It is impressive what it could do with SD DVD's. My Sony BR does a very nice job as well, but not as good as the A1.

I have been looking for a replacement to my 2002 Mitsu 55 RPTV that has convergence chip issues. I repaired it once, but 3 months later it occurred again. After web shopping ALL NIGHT last night, I found this set on sale at a local chain (name withheld until delivery, don't wanna jinx myself). Due to an error on their website, I purchased one for $1069.99 instead of the $2069.99 price that was supposed to be on it. Needless to say the GM of the electronics section was NOT pleased but honored the price anyways. Feeling the slightest bit guilty, I purchased many other items from the store that I would normally buy online.

Speaking to the salesman, 3 other folks in the SLC, UT area got the same deal as well prior to them finding the misprint. Sad to say it has indeed been corrected on the website.

Anyway I am looking forward to the delivery this afternoon and will report in on my findings.


edited spelling and price.

As Promised, here are my settings -

Component 1 (DVD) - calibrated with Avia
Constrast - 83
Brightness - 28
Color - 50
Tint - (-30)
Sharpness - 30
Dynamic Contrast - off
Static Gamma - +2
Color - Warm
Lamp - low
Noise reduction - all off

HDMI 1 (Cable) - started with DVD settings and adjusted a little, but not much
Contrast - 83
Brightness - 35
Color - 50
Tint - (-30)
Sharpness - 30
Dynamic Contrast - off
Static Gamma - +2
Color - Warm
Lamp - low
Noise Reduction - all off

I haven't set my ANT (need to get an OTA antenna first) or my xbox (my GFs bro has my DVD kit, but i'm guessing it'll be close to my other settings).

I also hook my laptop up to HDMI 2 occasionally - but haven't done any calibration there either, I just have it on the "pre-set" standard setting.

Interested to see other owners settings to compare/tweak...

The is already a fairly long thread on these new Toshiba models. We really didn't need another one - See: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=810704

Mrphilby --- Thanks for your settings!

I do think we need this thread. This thread is for owners and not cluttered with all of the crap that was posted before the tvs ever came to market.

That is more of an anticipation thread - while this is an owners thread.

If you consider the Sony SXRD XXA2000 and XXA2020 to be the same TV (which most people do, including sony who has said the guts are the same) than those models have at least 3 threads...

"When are the 2007 SXRD's coming out?" - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=808504

"official owners thread for 2007 XXA2020" - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=812631

"official owners thread for 2006 XXA2000" - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=701578

There's probably other smaller threads on these models too...

If the mods don't agree with me - feel free to merge this thread with the existing "anticiaption" thread Ron linked to...

Here are my settings after calibrating via Component from my Xbox 360 set at 1080i, I followed the tutorial on this site http://www.avical.com/articles/avica...tutorial.html:

Contrast - 70 (the test pattern didnt change too much when adjusting this so experiment)
Brightness - 55
Colour - 37
Tint - -30
Sharpness - 35
Colour temp Medium (looked the most realistic using the DVE test)
Low bulb
DNR off

Havent played with Dynamic Contrast or Static Gamma yet.

In the manual it says it might not be compatible with all computers. How can I tell if my computer will be compatible or what do I need to make it compatible besides the right connection to the back? I haven't gotten the t.v. yet and I'm not sure if I wanna try my computer on it since I've never messed with something like that. If its not a big risk to my t.v. then I'll try it as soon as I get it but if theres a certain way to make it work please let me know how its done. Oh and I also was wondering, why does everyone set the t.v. to low lamp? since you get a 1 year warranty for free why not make it look as good as possible until that warranty is over?

I am connecting my laptop via one of the 3 HDMI ports - so I'm not gonna be a lot of help regarding the VGA port. I do know that the VGA only supports 768, and you'd have to have a video card with the proper out connection and some software to play around with the refresh rate (maybe). For my MacBook i just purchased a DVI -> HDMI cable and plugged it right in, recognized it and allowed me to set if I wanted my displays mirrored or "connected" and also what resolution I wanted to send to the TV.

Regarding the Lamp - they have a lifespan, and putting the bulb on low help elongate that time. You'd have to have the TV on pretty much 24/7 to burn it out in the 1 year warranty period, so IMO it doesn't make sense to have the bulb on high for the 1 year, and then turn it to low after that year - because you won't be getting the longest possible life from the bulb. Plus I don't think the TV needs to be on the high setting - I have it on low with my static gamma +2 (which I think makes it somewhere in between low and high bulb setting) and it's plenty bright...

I tried your settings, MrPhilby, but it made the picture look too washed out for my tastes. I moved tint to 0 and gamma back to 0, then increased brightness and sharpness to 48 each, and the picture pops a bit more for me.. I'm sure once I do some calibration, I'll make additional changes.

I should add my ANT is straight from the cable, I'm getting the HD DVR from WOW tomorrow, so I may revisit your settings. Thanks for posting, it is very helpful to see what others are doing with their new toy.

this was the first time I'd ever used a calibration disc - so I'm going to have my friend over who I borrowed it from to see if he agrees with my settings (always helps to have a 2nd pair of eyes!).

I did forget to mention that my red and green are pretty much spot on with red having a 5-10% push and green <5% push (using the green/red filters that came with Avia). I was somewhat surprised as I'd heard a lot about Toshiba's having very high red push...don't know if my settings have much to do with that or not.

My cable is coming from an HD DVR also - so perhaps that makes a difference...

I agree that my display is somewhat washed out when compared to other TVs I've seen (IE neon green grass, electric blue water, etc) - however I think my settings look much more realistic...different strokes I guess.

I actually came across the +2 gamma rating during my calibration on accident. I was watching a DVD and it was somewhat dark so I pushed up my static gamma and forgot about it when I put in my calibration disc - so all my calibration was done with that setting. I wonder if anything would have been different at gamma of 0? Maybe if i get bored I'll recalibrate and see!

love the set! Is anyone else having a problem with the remote codes?I have a cablevision {ur2-cbl-cv04] universal remote. It will turn the tv on but will not control the volume.

I dont' have a universal remote - but I would presume it was "programmed" before this TV came/existed - so it might not know how to do certain things.

Oddly enough the Toshiba remote won't control my cable box, even though its a couple years old?? it does work with my DVD player tho.

If you want a universal remote that you can add devices to as they come out - look into a harmony (or check the remote forum for other ideas). You can hook it up to your PC to program it, and download new devices as Logitech adds them to the Harmony DB - hopefully so you don't run into the problem I suspect you're having.

I'm holding off until my receiver comes in to see if it's remote will control enough devices that I won't need to buy a harmony, although I've heard the ease of use and customization is well worth the money...

How are you doing this exactly? What kind of output does you laptop have/what converters/adapters are you using?

I thought you can't go analog VGA to HDMI?

I want to get the higher PC resolutions supported through HDMI, but not sure how to get from VGA to HDMI, I may pick up a new video card with DVI out, then just get a DVI to HDMI cable.

Very curious how you are doing it, thanks

My MacBook has a mini-DVI out - so I have the apple adapter from mini-DVI -> DVI - and then I purchased a DVI -> HDMI cable. Its video only, but I'll just send the audio directly my receiver.

re: remotes, I'm VERY happy with the Sony RM-VL600 considering it was under $30, it's a learning remote that learned all my others and you can program individual keys per 1 of 8 components that it controls, it has macros also, I wish the keys glowed in the dark, but don't get the $200+ remotes, this one does everything I need.

makes sense, thanks, anyone else have comment on the VGA to HDMI thing?

I have a Harmony remote that I programmed a couple of weeks ago. I think it used remote codes for last year's HM models as it showed only 2 HDMI's and no PC input. They were easy enough to add. I wouldn't call the Harmony setup "easy" (at least it wasn't for me with my system), but if you keep at it eventually things start to work. I've only set up the "macros" so far: "Watch a movie," "Watch Tivo, "Play music," etc. I haven't looked into a way of switching from one to another while the TV is on without it turning the TV off. It would be easy if the Toshiba had discrete on & off codes.