How good does the TOSH 65H80 really look? (1 Viewer)

[JerryHatchett]

After doing a lot of looking online, it appears that the 65H80 has quite a following. I'm considering one to replace a 7-year-old Sony KP-53XBR35 that's gone on the blink. I'll more than likely order one sight unseen since the only local dealer is a little bitty shop that unfortunately has prices that are incompatible with my budget.
I just got home from a trip to Circuit City, where the convergence on virtually every RP set in the house was characterized typically by white letters with big red and blue shadows. UGH. I did get my first look at a HD signal of any sort and was quite blown away by that. Other than that, I was terribly unimpressed by everything I saw.
For those who have some knowledge of what Sony XBR RPs of mid-90s vintage look like, how does the 65H80 compare in brightness and overall quality of picture.
Thanks much in advance for your time. Looks like a great forum here!
Jerry

 

[Dan Hine]

Hey Jerry! Welcome to the forum!
I have not had a lot of viewing time with the 65H80 so I can't go into too much detail myself. Though, as you said, there is quite a following so I'm sure someone will chime in with loads of info. But I can say that I've seen this set (or maybe the 56" set) at Best Buy. It actually looked quite good. Then I took a look behind the set and saw it was being fed only composite video. I could only imagine what a progressive scan DVD player or HDTV would look like on it. Color me impressed! I have been fully impressed with all of Toshiba's video equipment. From smaller sets to 4x4 video walls, all have looked stellar (in my eyes, atleast). I don't think you could go wrong with it. Other sets I have liked are the Sony 57XBR10 (though it has only 1 wideband component input) and of course, the Pioneer Elite line. I can't wait until I can afford such a beautiful set!
Dan Hine

 

[Ryan_D]

I just got my 65H80 today, and it looks much better than my old 60" Philips after some tweaking. If you have a Best Buy anywhere near you, go there and play with their 56H80. I spent 5-10 minutes with one in a store and got it looking pretty good.
From looking at other 16:9 tv's, I'd say you would have to go up to something like a Pioneer Elite to get a significantly better picture.

 

[JerryHatchett]

Thanks to Ryan and Dan for the speedy responses. They're appreciated. I'm near enough to Memphis that maybe it'd be worth driving up for a firsthand look-see at BestBuy. Anybody know what their policy is for price-matching at the brick-and-mortar stores vs. online prices?
Jerry

 

[David Massimiano]

Jerry,
I've had my 65H80 for over four months now and I can't imagine life without it. It's incredible. I checked all the reviews and drove all over the tri-state area before I made my decision, and I never regretted it. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

 

[Gregg Loewen]

The Tosh 65H80 is awesome!! Especially once professionally calibrated. Get one at Costco.com for $2499, IT IS A STILL AT THIS PRICE!!
Gregg
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[JerryHatchett]

Been on the phone this morning with a couple of brick-and-mortar BestBuy stores trying to find one in stock. I do most of my online big-ticket buying through OneCall.com having had great success with them. BUT, Costco.com has a bit better shipping rate than OneCall. Anybody have any experience ordering large items like this through Costco online? How long did it take to get it, etc.?
Thanks, Gregg.
Jerry
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[Jay Mitchosky]

The new Toshiba sets can look fantastic, but you must invest the time to calibrate them. First and foremost you need Avia or Video Essentials (as with an TV). But beyond that you really need to consider focus, geometry, and convergence adjustments. Going one step further is grayscale (the H series tends towards a green grayscale) and lens striping. Going to the extreme: HTLV maneuver. It seems that the HX series sets had this adjustment implemented to narror the grid lines, but not the H series. Jeff Kowerchuk adjusted his and says it made a world of difference. He's done all of the above tweaks on the 56H80 and his set looks great (with an amazing uniformity of grayscale side-to-side through lens striping - stays mostly within 200 degrees of 6500K, with the greatest error at 6090K at the bottom right corner). It also tracks grayscale very flat - I'm completely envious on both counts.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
"You're no mesiah. You're, you're a movie of the week. You're a ... t-shirt, at best."

 

[JerryHatchett]

Many thanks, Jay. I'll be honest and say that I've never done any calibration beyond the ultra-basic crosshair convergence that can be adjusted via the remote control.

With that said, however, I'm quite a geek and pick up tech stuff very quickly. Considering this information, where's the best place for me to go bone up on this type of detailed calibration?
Thanks...
Jerry
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[Michael TLV]

Greetings
The keohi.com/keohihdtv site is a great place to start. Tips central.
Regards
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Michael @ The Laser Video Experience

 

[JerryHatchett]

Thanks, Michael. Got a link to that site?
Jerry
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[Aaron Arzoumanian]

Jerry-
I ordered the 65H80 on June 22nd, they said it shipped on the 26th of June. I am still waiting for the TV to arrive. Costco site says 10-15 days delivery. I hope that mine will show up today or at least get a call from them.. fingers crossed
I'll try to keep everyone updated as to how long it takes and how they are delivery wise.
Now only if I knew someone in Tucson Arizona who does good ISP calibration. Anyone know of one????
Thanks,
Aaron
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[JerryHatchett]

Thanks, Aaron. Please do post your experience and your opinion when the set arrives. I'd love to hear it.
Jerry
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[Brett G]

Jerry,
First of all, here's that link:
http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/index.htm
Second, I just got my 65H80 about a month ago. While I had seen it in a few stores, none of them even were able to hook up a DVD player to it, so I basically bought it sight unseen. Since I was upgrading from a Toshiba 36" Cinema Series direct view, I may have different opinions, but I must say that I love it so far.
The key with Toshibas, as Jay mentioned above, is they look good out of the box, but will take some work to make them look great. Once calibrated, they can rival even a Pioneer Elite. The link above is the best place to start. You can also pursue it further at hometheaterspot.com. That place is not as cool as the HTF, but they have a Toshiba-specific forum that a lot of people read.
I will say that out of the box, there were a few minor problems (geometry was a bit off on the left side, convergence was slightly off - to be expected, and focus was a little off on the lower right side). None of these are major and they are easily fixed. In a couple months I plan on having mine ISF calibrated.
I don't think you can go wrong with the 65H80, as long as you're willing to do some tweaking. Just think of the satisfaction you'll get from doing it yourself.
-Brett
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My DVD's

 

[JerryHatchett]

Thanks much, Brett. Site bookmarked and will be studied.
Jerry
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