Tosh. 50H12 vs. 50H82 . . . . What the?? (1 Viewer)

Anybody know why the Toshiba 50H12 has a higher MSRP than the 50H82? It sure looks like the 82 has a lot more features than the 12. I've been thinking about getting one of these two models and this is pretty confusing to me.

James-

I just bought the 50H12 a couple months ago. As far as I could tell in my research, the two are the same, just one of those instances where they gave a different model number for a certain retailer or retailers. I could be wrong about that, but that was the consensus I found. Anyway, I can't imagine why there would be a price discrepancy between the two. I really have enjoyed mine so far. If I were you, I'd go for whichever one you can get a better deal on. In my case, I found both models available in town, both for about $1800, but the place with the 50H12 was throwing in a progressive scan DVD player, so that's the one I got. (The player, an Apex 2500, is terrible, though, even for free. It's collecting dust and I've gone back to my non-pro-scan Sony, which still looks better then the wretched Apex.) Hope this helps.

That's what I thought, that they were essentially the same model, but the 50H12 being the Sam's Club/Costco type model (since I have seen it on the Sam's website). How happy are you with this set? Any particular good/bad aspects of it? The only thing I'm particularly worried about is the problem with the red shading I've read about around here. (That and getting a set this big into the apartment complex where I'll be living )

I'm not an expert like many on these boards, but to my eyes the set looks great. I have noticed the red... I've only seen it on DVD's when there's a fade to black and I've got my lights off... it's just a faint glow on the sides of the screen. I heard it may have to do with the proximity of speakers or audio equipment to the set, but I have space issues that make my current set-up necessary. It's never been a distraction to me, it is either gone or invisible when there's any actual picture being displayed.

On the picture quality of the set, all I can say is that I really enjoy it, and it certainly has the clarity to bring out the difference between a good DVD transfer and a not-so-good one. (Watching SW:Ep I DVD, I thought to myself: "Oh! So that's what edge-enhancement looks like!") Anyway, it does a good job of creating a "film-like" look in my opinion... I'd never go back to a regular TV. It does a good job on satellite viewing, too. Regular cable is, well, regular cable.

I put a lot of stock in opinions I'd read of the Toshiba's stretch modes, since other people in the house don't watch as many DVD's as I do. There's a really good stretch mode that keeps the middle of the picture as-is, and incrementally increases the amount of stretch as you get closer to the sides of the screen... it's really not bad for most 4:3 shows.

I can't comment on HD sources, since I have none available. I got mine for DVD viewing, and for that, it's aces, IMHO.

All my observations should be taken with this in mind... I've not gotten an ISF calibration yet, (which I intend to), and actually I haven't even gotten around to tweaking it myself with Avia. All I've done so far in the way of set-up has been to use the THX Optimizer, and it already looks darn good to me. Can't wait to see how good it CAN look when I get off my can and get busy.