Taking the plunge - Buying the Toshiba 32HF72 today - any thoughts? (1 Viewer)

[Mitch_B]

Hello all,

I have researched, I have visited stores and viewed the tubes. The front runners in my size and price range ended up being the Toshiba 32HF72 and the SONY KV-32HS500. I can't go any bigger due to my entertainment center. I only watch DirecTV (with an elliptical dish) and DVD's.

I currently have the SONY KV-32FS13 which is okay. The horizontal bowing and funhouse effect are just driving me to distraction and I want HD. I am picking the Toshiba due to good reviews and better side by side performance. I do not believe I will lose any sleep over the DVI thing.

SO I ask... 1) Should I expect bowing and/or funhouse on the Toshiba? 2) Please feel free to post any opinions that you might have about this set (Toshiba 32HF72).

Thanks a lot!

 

[Tim.Tracy]

I've had the 36HFX72 for about three months now and my only complaint is the poor geometry. Being a 4:3 set, I don't notice any geometry problems watching full-screen shows, but any widescreen dvds, letterboxed commercials, etc will have a slight horizontal "pincusion". I've made adjustments in the service menu, but so far have not been able to completely eliminate that slight horizontal bowing. I've been told that its a fact of life for most flat-tube sets. I actually returned my first HFX72 after a week for the same problem. The new one I recieved in exchange had the same "issue" (on a lesser scale though). Other than that, the set's the best I've ever owned, and about $600 less than a comparable Sony.

 

[Adam Brandner]

Sorry if this is slightly off topic, but does that Toshiba have an auto 16:9 mode? I'm trying to decide between the Sony and Toshiba models listed above and I'd really like to have the "squeeze" feature handled automatically. Thanks.

 

[Frank Da Fin]

Adam,

The Sony's do the auto "squeeze" for 16:9 material. But I think you have to set it yourself on the Toshibas. It seems like I read somewhere that this was one of the benefits of the Toshiba (if you consider it a benefit), that you can turn on/turn off 16:9 compression if you want. Of course I could be wrong, it's happened before.

Frank

 

[Adam Brandner]

Thanks Frank. I'm under the impression that you can turn the Sony's auto-compression off by setting it to manual, but I'm not positive about that because the Wega currently in my house is just a 27" model that doesn't support auto anyway.

I'd much rather have a set that does the squeeze automatically, because I strive to keep my home theater setup as simple to operate as possible. One of my pet peeves is when people have incredible home theaters that only one person in the house knows how to use. This unfortunately means that I have sacrifice a little (right now I'm using S-video instead of component cable because my current receiver only supports S-video switching), but the benefit is that I don't have to keep explaining things like how to switch from cable to DVD and why you see the DVD's "picture" but are still hearing the cable's "sound." I'll just have to wait in this case until receivers with more than two component inputs become the norm.

Thanks for the response. I was afraid that was what I was going to hear, but it's good to know anyway. One less hard choice to make later.

 

[Frank Da Fin]

Adam....I know how you feel. I get the heebie jeebies everytime my wife picks up the remote.

I was reading on another forum how people were complaining how the 4:3 Sony's do an automatic squeeze when 16:9 material is brought in through the component inputs. Specifically, they were saying that when 4:3 material is broadcast on an HD channel, you get black bars on all four sides of the TV. And the only way to get rid of it was to switch to S-video input, in essence switching from 1080i to 480i. That lead me to believe that it automatically squeezes 16:9 material, and getting rid of it is not as simple as pushing a button.

But don't take my word for it. I suggest you do a search on the specific models of TVs you are interested in and see if auto squeeze is a problem on those.

Frank

 

[jeff lam]

The sony's auto squeeze feature is an awesome feature. All tube TV's will have geometry problems, especially flat ones. Most likely you will need to adjust it anyway. Well, I would suggest the sony over the toshiba due to the DVI, better sevice menu, and the autosqueeze most of all. These 3 features make the set well worth the extra cost. And if you go one up and get the 32HV600, that's even better. Well worth the extra cost to me.

BTW, the STB thing isn't just with sony sets, it's with all 4x3 sets. A 4x3 HD signal will be windowboxed with some HD receivers so get one that scales or has aspect control. Getting the toshiba over the sony won't remedy this because when you turn off the squeeze the aspect ratio is off and everything will look tall and thin.

 

[Mitch_B]

Well - I did take the plunge, but I did not buy the Toshiba I bought the brand spanking new SONY KV-32HS510 instead at Good Guys. It was $1299 but I got them to give it to me for $1199 due to the excellent deal given at goodguys.com which was $1170.

I am picking it up Friday - I can't wait to see it!!! Thanks for all of your opinions, etc!

Cheers!

 

[BrianDB]

Tim,

The Horizontal Bow is fixable albeit it must go into a shop. The geometry is covered under the warranty so you will not get charged for the work. I plan on sending my 36hf12 in when I go on vacation in July.