2003 Toshiba (1 Viewer)

[BarryNS]

Hmmm...51HX83 when it comes out in a few months, or 50HDX82 "now"....

 

[JimC_A]

I'd wait...

 

[BarryNS]

It will be interesting to see what the new 51HX83 has to offer over the 50HDX82 and for what street price differential (especially since I'm sure the "leftover" HDX82's will be dropping a bit when the new models begin to arrive). The HDX82 seems to have everything I want (other than the upconversion on 480p content).

 

[JamieS]

Any updates on Release dates yet. My local shop told me that they actually expect the 46 innch out in late June early July. I am moving into a new house middle of June and have my name on the list for one of the first ones to come in. I don't know though if I want basically NO TV in my HT room until September if it takes that long. Is it really going to be worth the wait and how long will the wait be?

 

[JohnnyG]

In Canada at least, the 51H83 and 65H83 are shipping! 51 and 57HX83 are indicated for late June/early July and the 65HX83 for late July/early August.

The 46" models are absent from this latest availability report for some reason.

Incidentally, I'm trying to confirm this now, but it looks like there have been price drops on most models already!

 

[Phil Levy]

Johnny, do you know anything about the release date/price of the LCOS set in Canada?

Thanks

 

[Francois L]

What about 720p signals? Are they converted to 1080i?

 

[Rick Faldo]

Spoke to a rep at Toshiba Canada today who informed me the new models should be available in July. She said there will be no HDX models, only HX's. The LCOS would likely be available in Canada this fall....nothing more precise unfortunately.
Rick

 

[JohnnyG]

Confirmation this morning on the LCoS sets...the 57HL83 and 65HLX93 will be available in October. Suggested selling prices are $8499 and $8999 respectively. (only $500 more for a set that's quite a bit bigger and includes a digital tuner and Firewire?!)

Cinema Series Pro models with integrated ATSC tuner and Firewire I/O are also coming North and will be available in September.

Francois - yes, a 720p input would be converted to 1080i for display.

 

[Phil Levy]

I assume those are CAD prices, that's much cheaper than last year's LCOS set if I'm not mistaken (57" started retail at $8999.99 USD?). Hmm... VERY tempting

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

Wow, there's a reported $2000 US difference between the 57" and 65" LCOS sets here in the US.

 

[JohnnyG]

It could be a type-o (not mine though).

 

[KennyF]

Is the LCOS really worth twice the price of the Cinema Series?

 

[RobertSing]

Does somebody have a answer to the question about 720? I was told by Toshiba tech support today that the 51H83 would do 720 ... is this rare? I thought most sets would convert it to 1080.

Thanks.

P.S. Any idea when Best Buy will have the 51H83? I noticed they took the 50H82 off their web site and they didn't have any 50s on the floor on Tuesday.

 

[Adrian D]

Robert,
The BB that I went didn't have them in the store yet, but I was able to buy one on a Friday (51H83), and it was delivered from their warehouse on a Wednesday.
I'm just not knowledgeable enough to answer your question about 720.

 

[Rick Faldo]

"Confirmation this morning on the LCoS sets...the 57HL83 and 65HLX93 will be available in October. Suggested selling prices are $8499 and $8999 respectively. (only $500 more for a set that's quite a bit bigger and includes a digital tuner and Firewire?!)

Cinema Series Pro models with integrated ATSC tuner and Firewire I/O are also coming North and will be available in September"

John G:

Are the prices you quoted for the LCOS set US or CND?

What is an ATSC tuner and will it take the place of a digital cable box here in Canada, we have Shaw Cable.

What is the advantage of Firewire I/O on a television?

Lastly, why the heck isn't any of this information available on Toshiba's website, US or Canadian?
Thanks
Rick

 

[JohnnyG]

I'm a Canadian dealer, so yes, those prices are in Canadian dollars.

ATSC is the digital television broadcast standard, so this tuner would be for picking up digital over-the-air broadcasts. Technically, this tuner will decode digital cable-TV signals, but only those that are not encrypted. Since they all are, there really isn't any value there.

Firewire is a high-speed network interface. With it, you can transfer digital video into and out of the TV. For example, you could hook up a D-VHS deck and record over-the-air programming from the built-in ATSC tuner.

Info on the 51H83 is now on Toshiba Canada's web site, but that's about it. There aren't even any hi-res photos yet on the private Toshiba dealer web site. Don't know why. Revamping the site, perhaps.

Incidentally, I've been de-listed as a Cinema Series dealer since I can't meet the requirement of having 3 different models on permanent display. My store is pretty darn small and there's just no way I can accomodate this. As such, I won't be able to answer any Cinema Series questions or make any comments regarding picture quality between Cinema Series and TheaterWide models.

 

[RobertSing]

Saw a 51H83 in Best Buy ... pretty sharp. One question - it doesn't look like it will do 480 any more. There was a command to switch from 540p to 1080i - I thought those two were essentially the same thing. Why would someone want to switch between those two?

Is not having 480 a big deal? They were showing Ep. 1 in the store and it didn't look near as sharp as the HD loop. DVDs only do 480, right?

 

[Jason GT]

John, thank you for your look into the business side of things.

regarding the ATSC tuner: does this mean that there is no reason to wait for this feature? When would an integrated HD tuner become useful? (I'm guessing for OTA signals only... am I right?)

BTW. you no longer stock cinema series, but was there a substantial difference in older models (yes I'm too lazy to look)?

Thanks.

 

[Rick Faldo]

What is the difference between the new 57HX83 and 57HX93?
According to my sources here, the price difference is about $1,400 Cdn. That is quite a difference, curious to know what the extra money is for.
Weird there is not any info on these new models even though they are supposed to be available very soon. Guess they want to clear out last years stuff first???
Thanks,
Rick