Tosh 65H80 or Pioneer SD-582HD5 (1 Viewer)

[Chris Sigua]

I'm looking at either one of these sets. Out the door, the difference between the two is ~$260 with Pioneer being the more expensive. I've read that the Pioneer is probably better out of the box than the Tosh but it doesn't take much to get them to about the same level of picture quality. Also, I guess the Tosh is probably more tweakable than the Pioneer, is that right? Any opinions on which one? Thanks.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings
Let me say that the line doubler in this Pioneer unit is pretty bad. It may not make a difference on DVD's via a progressive scan unit, but it falls down hard on other analog sources.
The Toshiba unit has a much better line doubler.
If we can set aside the linedoubler ... the Pioneer comes OOTB somewhat better tweaked than the Toshiba. The Pioneer menu is much more flexible than the current Toshiba is for tweaking purposes.
The Toshiba will exceed the Pioneer when both units are fully tweaked. The linedoubler being the kicker. Awful ... and makes things near unacceptable to my eye if you know what to look for.
Regards
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Michael @ The Laser Video Experience

 

[Chris White]

If you want a Pioneer that compares favorably with the Toshiba, you should be looking at the Elites. Also, don't forget that the Toshiba is 65" and the Pioneer is 58". That's a big difference.
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[Gregg Loewen]

FWIW, you can buy a new 65H80 at costco.com for 2499 plus delivery charges. AWESOME PRICING!!
Gregg
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[george kaplan]

I can only speak for the pioneer which I have, but I love this set. I had it isf'd and it has an rp91 hooked up to it and it is absolutely gorgeous. Would the Toshiba look better? I don't know, but if so, then you can't really go wrong here.
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13-time NBA world champion Lakers: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001

 

[Chris Sigua]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm gonna go with the Tosh.
I was leaning toward the Tosh but yesterday, I went to the local Costco and they had the Pioneer there for $2999 (I was like No way!) which had me thinking about it. So the Tosh from Costco.com out the door ($2499+tax+shipping) brings it to ~$3K. But since the Pioneer was here locally, total price is $2999 + tax + delivery (I'm guessing $30-50), so the difference of ~$260-280. Guess I should just use that extra money for the progressive scan DVD player huh

 

[MarcS]

A post on this forum said that the new Pioneer SD line will have the Elite doubler--don't know about price though...
And, don't know when they'll be released--so if the money is burning a hole in your pocket, I guess you'll be going with the Tosh...

 

[Chris Sigua]

Hi Marc
It isn't so much as burning a hole in my pocket as looking at my current set. It's 45" RCA made in 1983 with a vertical deflection problem (takes ~10 min to stabalize but still scrolls every 5 min) as well as a very very bad convergence problem. You can see the blue colors individually on the right bottom.

It's been like this for about 6 months, so I think it's time to get a new one.