Sony kv36hs500 or Toshiba 36hf72 (1 Viewer)

[Todd smith]

Need opinions on these 2 sets. They both are on sale this week at Best Buy in Colorado. Please dont tell me to go for the xbr because it is not an option. Thanks for your opinions. They both are at similar price points so I am simply looking for the better set between the two.

 

[Allan]

I recently bought the Sony 32HV600 (a step up from the HS500). At first, the cable tv was pretty bad. The best way to describe it would be to say that it was "pixellated" -- the picture was very digital looking with little squares throughout. I was pretty disappointed since my old tv never had such a problem. Anyway, I played with the TV settings (not the service menu) and got the tv looking great. Then, I calibrated with Avia and now it looks fantastic. Everyone that sees it cannot believe how good it looks (with ordinary cable that is). DVD picture (obviously) is wonderful and getting HD in a week (so cannot comment on that yet).

Lastly, I only paid $1240 for the TV (not including tax) from J&R. They will charge for delivery though if you cannot pick it up.

Allan

 

[John-Miles]

Get the Toshiba, it has a better picture on all sources, but it is most noticable better on the crappy sources like cable.

the only downside i know of regarding the toshiba is the lack of DVI (im not sure if this was fixed withthe 72 model) and the poor geometry allot of people seem to ahve, but this is easily fixable,and i would image your odds are just as good with the sony of having this problem, so dont sweat that.

get the toshiba, you will love it.

 

[TimHON]

I am curious. I have the Toshiba and don't notice any obvious geometry problems. What is the easiest way to tell if something is wrong. Should I be able to notice it on a regular picture or do I need to look at test patterns? How is something like this fixed?

 

[David Lorenzo]

I would get the Toshiba even over a Sony XBR.

 

[John-Miles]

I noticed my problems on video games and test patterns, like i said some tv's are worse than others, and maybe its cause i own one, that i notice the posts about them, but a number of people ahve ahd problems witht he geometry. like i said though its a very easy fix in the service menu, if you have a little time and patience. its a matter of adjusting one parameter, then another to get the right look, most of the geometry settings interact with eachother so it needs to be done that way, you cant simply change one thing to get the correct result.

 

[jeff lam]

I would argue with John's comment about the Toshiba being better on all sources. Both will be excellent but I believe the sony has a much better service menu if you are a tweaker like many of us here.

 

[John Kirkpatric]

TimHon:
If you do not notice any geometry problems, DO NOT go any further...I have the 36HFX72 and thought it was fine until I loaded up an AVIA disk. Now I have a service man coming next week to replace the tube. In my case, the "black bars" were arched to a point that could not be corrected. John-Miles sent me some info to help but I never got it to where I liked it. Again, if you do not see any geometry problems, don't look for them!

 

[John-Miles]

Sorry to hear that John, let us know how it works out.

 

[TimHON]

John k.- did you not notice the geometry problems when viewing the television? Why after using the Avia disc did things change so much? Was it simply because you were aware of the problems and then had to have them corrected or did it cause you notice flaws in the picture. I am the type that if I know they are there it will really bug me so maybe your advice to leave well enough alone is a good idea.

 

[John Kirkpatric]

TimHON:
At first, I noticed that the "black bars" in 16x9 mode had an arch and I figured that it was just a compromise of the flat screen technology. Slowly I started to notice that the arching was not symmetric. The top bar peaked near the left side and the bottom bar peaked more towards the center. I was ok with it for a while but it started to bother me more. A friend brought over the AVIA disk and once you start seeing all the grids, circles, etc., it really enhances some of the geometry issues (most of which probably can't be detected while watching the TV). I did some tweaking in the service mode but couldnt correct the pincushion. I also had a small blue "burst" along the bottom right corner of the screen (convergence?). Thus the call for service and the new tube. My only advice would be to check the picture quality in 16:9 mode before you buy it. I've noticed that a lot of the dealers demo the flat screens in 4:3 mode so it doesn't expose some of the potential problems viewed in 16:9. Believe it or not, I'm actually happy with the TV!