I've narrowed it down- Mits 46809 vs. Tosh 50h81.... (1 Viewer)

[BenR]

Can anyone give me further info on these two sets?
I am looking at units between 43"-50" due to a smaller room size. I will be watching mostly Directv and HD OTA, but will have cable till nonHD locals are on satallite.
I have seen the new Mits on the showroom floor here in Va Beach and it looked pretty good, but there's no way to tell how much twealing has been done. The cable feed looked fairly 'blah' but the HD feed was great.I know about Mits red push and tweakability issues.
The new Toshiba 50H81 I haven't yet seen in person, although I've seen the thread over on HT Spot with pictures and I saw Mark Nelson's statement on HTF that the Toshiba model is possibly a bar raising specimen.
I have been looking at HD RPTV for a few months and have weeded out the Panasonic and Hitachi sets for picture quality reasons and the Pioneer for monetary ones.
I am interested in your past experiences with the two companies, reliability issues and just plain old gut feelings on the two TVs.
Any and all input is appreciated and thanks for such a great forum.
Ben
------------------

 

[Marc Alexander]

I believe the new Toshibas have some service menus locked out just like the Mitsubishis, so tweakability may be equal. I don't know about Toshiba red-push, most all sets ship with red-push (20-25% for Mitsubishi, 10-15% for Pioneer).

 

[BenR]

I realize that all sets are factory adjusted to look good in the abnormal retail selling floor environment and that this is not the picture that most critical eyes would want at home.
My main thoughts are- does Toshiba offer a better way of remedying the situation and if so, is it possible on all inputs- as opposed to the red push attenuator espoused on the Mits forums that only works on the component input.
While I wish I could say that I will only be viewing material through that input, the simple truth is that there are things on DTV and cable that I enjoy, and while I realize that the picture may not be perfect,we can live with it.
I am also intersted in different opinions of the promptness of the two brands in addressing service issues and the like.
Again, any input, whether with these two sets, the brands themselves or other anecdotal type stuff will be appreciated.
Looking to purchase after the Toshiba finally arrives in my area to be audtioned.
Thanks in advance for your assistance,guys.
Ben
------------------