Official Toshiba 65HM167 and 57HM167 Owner's thread - Page 3

decided to play with it a little more, maybe it's not so bad after all,

got it at 1280x768, not bad, ran a game, grandprix 4, at 1024x768 and it was pretty solid.

wish my normal programs, like browser and pokerstars, looked better, it's just fuzzy, but i retract my it sucks rating to it's decent for PC

Good deal. It's a very different experience than the normal '3 feet from a 19" monitor' setup- that's part of what I'm finding so intriguing about it. I've got a wireless keyboard with a built-in trackball/mouse going- I like sitting on the couch 12' away and making this thing go.

As noted, the Internet video part of the experience is what's got me most interested right now. I streamed in a bunch of DIVX videos last night and I'm amazed at the quality of some of them.

Anyway, glad you're having some fun with it CW.

- Voy

I am this close to buying the 57hm167, are the people who bought this or the 65 inch happy with their purchase?

Any and all replies welcome as the decision nears....18 mths. free financing ends June 2nd.

Thanks

I'm very happy with my 57HM167. Amazed at the HD picture. Don't see rainbows, but with sitting 7.5 feet away I notice the SSE at times, which I see on other rear projections as well.

I am still 'amazed' at the picture on this 65" TV on some channels... garbage in= good picture out, High quality in= stunning picture out...

1 persons humble opinion...

1750, don't even worry about it you're gonna love it. Best deal in HDTV!!

I was going to get the WD-65831 but that has SSE as well, so I might keep my 65hm167.

They are great looking TVs when they are working. Just remember, if you hae a LAMP issue do NOT call Toshiba. Tak it back directly tothe store... Trust me...

I have owned my 57" for about a month now and absolutely love it. The SD picture looks really good and HD is awesome. Couldn't find a stand I liked so I built my own

Cobra, GREAT JOB on the stand! Appears to be very solid and well thought out.

We appear to have similar setups...57HM167, 8300 HD DVR, Pioneer receiver (mine is TSX-1014, it's a few years old with no HDMI out, I'm currently using component to the TV, but will soon receive my $12 HDMI cable from monoprice.com, and will run the HDMI from the HD DVR directly to the TV, and will optical out the audio to the receiver...will there be a conflict in the audio?).

I also built a cabinet specifically for the TV, but haven't taken pictures yet. Seeing your sweet setup will get me off my butt. Nice job!

I just bought the Toshiba 65HM167, but it hasn't been delivered yet. I called Toshiba to get a
ballpark idea on lamp life, they have no idea what to tell me. I have 30 days to decide to by a 3 or 5 year extended warranty. Knowing how many hours the lamp will last has a direct bearing on whether or not to buy the extended warranty. My Benq PB6100 projector is estimated to be between 2000 and 3000 hours, not great if you're going to watch TV for 12 or more hours per day. The picture on the 65HM167 looked great in the store, I'm excited to have it here and start enjoying it. I was hoping for a variable audio output jack so I could use the TV's remote control with auxiliary audio equipment. Too bad, I'll have to come up with another scheme. Anyway, getting back to lamp life. If anyone has any input on this, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

The following is from the xxHM195 owner's manual, and reads the same with my 62HM196 manual ...


I'm guessing that estimated "average useful service life for the lamp" has not change - you can check it once you get your Owner's Manual (around page 103).

FYI: Received my FREE replacement Toshiba 62HM196 (RIP 56HM195) last Nov. 9, 2006 and as of May 22, 2007, my original Video Calibrated (w/DVE & verified w/HD DVD DVE) 62HM196 Lamp has over 1,275 hours to date. Still going strong - far superior to the faulty Lamp designed that Toshiba was using in their 56HM195 - that one blew-up @ 570 hours.

Phil

Sorry to hear about your lamp problem with the 56HM195. I love mine. I have a 56HM195 that has the same lamp with 21 months of service running at high for at least 6 hours a day.


BTW - I have looked at evrything including LCDs and for the money perfromance you have a hard time beating a Toshiba, I am getting the 65HM167.

You just got an orientation to Toshiba's level of user support. Pretty bad when they can't even tell you info that is in the owner's manual!

This forum has better information than you'll get from the manufacturer.

An extended warranty that covers the lamp is a good investment in any of these type sets. Replacement parts are expensive if paid for out of your own pocket.

One thing to consider before you purchase an extended warranty is how long you intend on keeping the set.

I tend to get the urge to upgrade my A/V equipment long before it stops working. If you get protection for the expected time of ownership, that is probably the best option. You might even get lucky if the set dies during the latter part of the warranty, and parts are no longer available. Warranty could fund you a new set!

Thanks hondo164, you must have the re-designed Lamp!

My 56HM195 died during a FirmWare update.

My 56HM195 (MFG. Date SEPT. 2005) was on the Product Resource: Information for Owners of 2005 DLP Televisions list that extended the Lamp Warranty an additional year, and that replacement Lamp was going strong until I performed the FirmWare update.

So, the original Lamp lasted 570 hours from Feb. 1, 2006 to April 21, 2006, a little over 2-1/2 months. I had no down-time since I had an eBay backup Lamp!

I received Toshiba re-designed Replacement Lamp on April 26, 2006, and it was still going strong until my 56HM195 died. (Toshiba told me that they were re-designing the Lamps w/Texas Instruments assistance. TI = DLP chip manufacture)

I think both HDTVs (xxHM195/196) PQ is super vs. price, and I must Thank Toshiba for the taking care of my RIP 56HM195 by replacing it with the 62HM196 & TV Stand, all for FREE!!!

Phil

I purchased mine in September 2005 and idf not mistaken I think it was built then. IT appeared to be one that was destined for Canada. I received the notification from Crutchfield regarding the extention of the lamp warentay but never checked.

Also what firm ware update???? I never did a firmware update, maybe that id why it has lasted so long???

Also how did it die????
wayne

You can buy extended warranties from other offerors as late as 9 months after purchase. See this thread or search the forum for other threads on extended warranties. Consumer Reports, which doesn't generally recommend extended warranties, does recommend them for rear projection televisions.

A dumb question, but I would like to hook up my laptop with a vga to the tv, just to watch some internet videos, and I'm not sure what vga cable to buy. I'm looking at monoprice.com, and I'm don't know if I should get the vga or svga, and do I need male to male or male to female. What kind of vga port does the tv take? I don't have the tv yet. I think my laptop is a female port and will take a male connector. Thanks.

I forget what the FW version # is now, (provided via SD Memory Card) but the update was to address the TV Guide issue I was having.

So, I put in the SD Memory Card, ... it started automatically, updating the Firmware based on the text on my 56HM195 screen. After it was done, it rebooted a few times, ... then nothing. I don't remember the LED pattern but the blue & yellow LEF was flashing some pattern.

So I unplugged the power cord for a while, then re-plugged the power cord and the only screen I got was black w/'Now Booting' in the left corner. Now this I do remember, ... the blue LED was solid and a yellow LEDs flashed 3 times then paused 1/2 sec, flashed 3 times, paused 1/2 sec, etc. ... repeatedly. The remote or TV buttons didn't work, so I could do nothing. I let it sit for 15 minutes like this and then tried holding down the power button on the TV to reset it. It powered off and then back on with a plain black screen and the same pattern for the LEDs. It then cycled its power on its own twice more after about 20 seconds each time. After that, all I got was white snow over Channel 2 w/sound, the same pattern on the front LEDs, and no response from the remote or buttons on the TV. I repeated the same process a couple times (unplugging and resetting the TV) and got the same result.

So, my 56HM195 was RIP and Toshiba didn't have the part to repair it so they replaced it with the 62HM196 & TV Stand! Took 57 days** total (including 30-days @ the local Service Center) but I'm very satisfied with their recommended solution.

**After 7 days without HDTV, I talked my wife into (think creative justification) updating our 7-year old 20" Panasonic CRT TV in our Master Bedroom and bought the 37" LCD Westinghouse HDTV w/QAM tuner! I used that until my 62HM196 arrived and now it's in our Master Bedroom!

Phil

I've been posting the JVC61FN97 thread a lot but after going back to BB today, I played around with the 65HM167 (was in torch mode before ) and seemed to get a pretty decent picture that I think I can live with........For some reason, the 65" of screen kept pulling me back from the 61" Sammy/JVC ..even though the differemce is only 4".

Can someone please comment on gaming performance with 360/PS3?

Thanks
Frag
PS: If someone knows a low low price for the 65HM167 (online is okay too), please PM me.

I was in BB again today, just after it got dark. There was some scene from Planet Earth on (I think), and man did the 65hm167 catch my eye again. It was some field of a flooded grass, so half bright green grass flooded with water with grass under it and sky reflecting with animals drinking.

For some reason it just looked real, like I was looking through the tv, almost like you could jump in, it was just so vivid. I ran to the new Mitsu 65733 and it didn't have that same effect.

I'm going to see if I can find the same shot on my Blu-ray version to test to see if I get a similar look from my Sony 60A2020

Hi All..

Have not posted in a long while, but I just bought a 57hm167 a few weeks ago for a great deal and but did not have an opportunity to get it installed in my entertainment niche until last night (waiting for construction to finish).

When I brought it home originally, I HAD to try it out - who doesn't want to dive right into a new toy as soon as possible. I hooked up my freebee Toshiba upscaling DVD player via HDMI and the picture was fantastic!! My wife (who was concerned about the picture quality due to the poor setup in the store) was as appreciative of the picture as I - well almost.

Now fast forward to last night... I hook up the TV to my D* HD DVR via component and the picture is horrible... it looks to me like it is not displaying any greens. Yellows are overly bright and green (such as grass) looks very muted - almost brown. I hook up my DVD player via HDMI because I figured it was the cable / input / DVR but the picture does not improve.

Any ideas what might have happened or could be wrong? I have not set up using DVE yet, but I was playing around with the settings and nothing worked. In fact changing the color or tint made no change at all.

Any thoughts would be helpful and appreciated...
Take Care!

Has any xxHM167 owner actually tried connecting a 1080p/24 source to their TV via HDMI? I know that Toshiba doesn't claim support for this format.

If the connections are solid, sounds like something may have jarred loose. If you bought it locally, exchange it while you can; otherwise, call for service. Adjusting the color and tint should have made a noticeable change. I looked at my 57HM167's settings and couldn't see anything that would cause the effect you are seeing.

I am strongly considering the 65HM167. My current set is a 50" Toshiba that has been running hours and hours every day for the past 10 years with no problems whatsoever! I would like to "reward" Toshiba for this excellence by purchasing my next set from them.

Nonetheless, as I make the SD to HD transition. One of the *many* things that I need to add now is a stand. I hate the idea of spending an extra $300 on furniture when it could be going to a new DVD player or XBox 360 but I can't get around it.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for a stand for this TV? The cheaper the better. Unfortunately, I can't use a plain old coffee table as I need to store components as well...

Thanks,
D

I purchased a 50" stand from Nebraska Furniture Mart for 150. It's a glass one with chrome legs. The tv will hang off about 1" on both sides, but it should be more than enough to hold it up stable. Other than that, everything else I saw was around 300.

Can anyone give me a follow up to this question?

Try Ikea, if you have one nearby. Take the 65HM167's measurements with you.

Thinking about going with the Toshiba 57HM167 was looking at the Samsung HL-T5076S but have heard about Bowing issues due to the thinner case. Any issues a prospective buyer needs to know about with the Toshiba 57HM167? Have an Xbox 360 and will be going VGA any specs on the max resolution that the VGA input can handle? Thought I heard it could not handle 1080 hope this is not the case. Lastly how does it compare to the Samsung in picture quality, blacks, etc.. Thanks for any info...

The Toshiba has a 15-pin female port. You will want a male-male 15-pin cable. Either VGA or SVGA. SVGA is shielded better and generally has ferrite beads to help eliminate interference, and is especially better for long runs.