Toshiba 56h80 or 65h80 (1 Viewer)

[BrianRS]

56h80 is $2626 including shipping from onecall.
65h80 is $2925 including shipping from costco.
I think the 65" might be a better deal but I'm only about 8-9 feet away from the screen and originaly had a budget of about $2000 before I started researching (of course that increases every day with the more I learn).

 

[chris larralde]

I got a 56H80 and now I'm kind of wishing that I got the 65H80. Not that the 56 is bad -- it's just that I could have probably gone bigger with my viewing distance (11 feet). I've never heard anyone say their set was too big
regards,
chris

 

[Craig Robertson]

the 65H80 is now $2798 shipped from costco.com. the great thing about that is you can return anything ordered online to a local store. they will literally take almost anything back for any reason.
here's the link:http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?t...=10011031&log=

 

[Chris Sigua]

Another thing to add to the Costco price is sales tax. If they do business in your state, they will add sales tax.
Here is what they have under their Cutomer Service:
Sales Tax
Sales tax will be charged on all orders sent into any state where Costco has a legal presence. Appropriate sales tax will be displayed on the check out section of the site.

 

[Jeff D.]

At 8-9 feet, the 65 would be too big. I sit 9-10 feet from my 56H80. Any closer and line structure becomes apparent.
____
Jeff
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"You're a walking stick! It's funny! Now GO!"

 

[Gary_E]

I bought a 40H80 in Feb. for a small room in my house. As I watch the price on the 65H80 fall I'm very tempted to get one to replace my 55" SONY 4:3 in my living room. If the number gets closer to two grand I just might bite. By the way, the ISF tech who calibrated my set suggested I take a closer look at the 56H80 since both it and the 65H80 use 7" CRTs. His premise is the 56H80 would provide a better image. He prefers the configuration of the 40H80 over them all.
-Gary

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

While bigger is always better when it comes to RPTVs you also have to keep in mind that due to the 7" guns the 56" will more probably look better than the 65". Still you get used to a tv size sooner than you might think so by all means try to find one 65" around (even from another brand) and watch it from your viewing distance to get an idea. Besides, a 2.35 movie is not that big in 55" so thats another good reason to go for the 65". I haven't seen one Tosh that big but I have seen the 55" mits and I don't think that the 65" would be that big for 9' viewing. Is that 9' from the screen or from the wall? Also, I know that this are different technologies but I am watching my FPTV from 11' with an 8' wide image and I have no problems with scan lines or pixels.
En

 

[Scott Merryfield]

At 8-9 feet, the 65 would be too big. I sit 9-10 feet from my 56H80. Any closer and line structure becomes apparent.

I agree with Jeff. When we originally bought our 56H80, we sat 7 feet from the set, and I began suffering from eye strain. We rearranged our family room, so now we sit about 12 feet from the set. At this distance, the 65H80 would be okay. I think at 8 feet from the 65-inch set you would feel the same affects we felt at 7 feet from the 56-inch set.
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 10

 

[Brett G]

At 8-9 feet, the 65 would be too big. I sit 9-10 feet from my 56H80. Any closer and line structure becomes apparent.

Well I'll pitch in and disagree. I sit nine feet from my 65H80 and I LOVE it. You really start to feel immersed in the movie. I notice no line structure, and couldn't even at about six feet (although I would not recommend viewing from this distance).
My advice? Go to a showroom and view a 65" widescreen (any brand - you're not looking for quality here). Sit there for a while at your viewing distance and see if you feel strained at all. Believe me, I have heard many more people complain about their sets being too small, than about it being too big. I say start off big and only go smaller if you are sure. Besides, look at how much more you get for your money with a 65H80!
-Brett
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My DVD's

 

[Timmy]

At 8-9 feet, the 65 would be too big. I sit 9-10 feet from my 56H80. Any closer and line structure becomes apparent.

I agree, not only the structure but the picture on non-hd network shows are too grainy sitting any closer than 11 ft to my Toshiba 56" widescreen.
With progressive DVD and HDTV; sitting close yields a great picture. If this purchase is for DVD/HDTV viewing only, then I wouldn't worry about sitting too close. But IMO analog TV, digital cable, and dish TV will look blurry/grainy sitting closer.

 

[Brett G]

But IMO analog TV, digital cable, and dish TV will look blurry/grainy sitting closer.

I will agree with this. What I was talking about above referred mainly to DVD/HDTV, both of which look amazing at that range. But yes, dip down in the resolution chain to analog TV/satellite TV and it's not the same.
Keep in mind though, that these are not limitations of the set. Nine feet from a 65" set is plenty of distance. Any line structure you see will be from the source, not the TV. As far as eye strain, obviously that will vary by individual, but I've had no problems sitting nine feet from my 65H80.
The question to ask yourself is, are you willing to sacrifice analog TV picture quality (which is not very good to begin with) in order to have a bigger DVD/HDTV picture. I answered a definite yes to this question and have NEVER regretted it (and to be honest, the picture is not that bad from DirecTV). If you are not willing to make that sacrifice, then go with a smaller set. But until you see the immersion a 65" set is capable of, you can't truly make an educated decision.
-Brett
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My DVD's

 

[MickeS]

One more thing... when we are talking about viewing distances, are we talking about the same thing? What I mean is distance from eye to screen, not from couch to screen or wall to screen or anything else. Is that what everyone else means too? Otherwise someone's 11 feet might be another person's 8 feet...
/Mike

 

[Craig Robertson]

viewing distance = eye to screen.

 

[Jeff D.]

Another good point has been brought up. Any artifacts or other anomalies in the image will be more apparent the closer you sit.
Take any reference quality DVD and look at it with your face right at the screen. Even the reference stuff looks like crap this close. The further away you get, the more such artifacts dissolve.
DVD is definitely no problem, but analog sources such as cable or satellite definitely require a healthy viewing distance.
____
Jeff
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"They're coming to get you Barbara..."