Toshiba xxAF41/xxAF61/xxAFX61 (1 Viewer)

[PascalC]

I'm very interested by Toshiba (32AF41/32AFX61)
Somebody has one of them!
Comments

 

[Greg Harvey]

Hello, I purchased a 36AFX61 just last Friday and its looks amazing out of the box. I have yet to see DVD on it but the DTV letterboxed Unbreakable is a great workout for changes of light and such. I have yet to recognize any bowing when viewing 16:9 material, but I have yet to see any 16:9 DVD as stated earlier. There is no apparant red push and the sound is spectacular. You have gotta go Cinema Series just for the remote, way better than the lower model one. Getting into service mode is easy, just press mute on the remote, release and press mute on the remote again, but this time hold it and press meun ON THE TV. An S should appear and the you just press enter and you're there. I am not sure what the meanings of most of the settings are so I didn't fool around too much (By mistake I may have changed the HIT, I forgot what it was originally after I changed it a bit and may not have gone back to its original place). Hope this helps...

 

[ThomasL]

Greg, when you say there was no red push, were you able to see that using Avia or VE or was it simply from looking at source material? I'd be most interested in results from an Avia calibration (i.e. red push percentage, grayscale tint, geometry problems, etc.)
cheers,
--tom

 

[Greg Harvey]

No dice on using Avia to test the red push. I have seen red push in action however on some RPTVs so I know in general what to look for. A good test I found for displaying the red push of the tv is to watch Cast away and see Tom Hanks' transition from being pale white to sunburnt. IMHO, there is absolutely no red push to speak of. Realize however, I am only an amateur at this stuff and I am going to try and pick up a copy of Avia or Video Essentials sometime. In the meantime I am very much enjoying my set, but I wish there was more to tinker with!! No one off hand would be able to recommend an ISF tech serving the Niagara region.

 

[PascalC]

Hi Greg
thanks for your comments
I have to chooce between The Sony 32FS13 and the Toshiba 32AF41 or the 32AFX61...

 

[Greg Harvey]

Both sets seem to be very good choices. I personally opted for the Toshibas because of their price difference to features ratio. I also liked the speakers on the side and only the KV36FS27 was offering that for Sony, however it was too rich for my blood (500 dollars Canadian difference between it and the Toshiba Cinema Series 36"). I wouldn't recommend the 32AF41 because it has a much crappier remote and no PIP. Basically, if you really want the 16:9 compression go Sony. If you want to save a buck get a Toshiba Cinema Series. For a good bit of info on the new toshiba line go to http://www.toshiba.ca/ceg/html/televisionn.html and view the comparison table. Also to see the 32AF41 and 32AFX61 specifically go to Link Removed and check out Direct view tv >25" for a detailed picture. Good luck...
[Edited last by Greg Harvey on August 13, 2001 at 08:46 PM]

 

[ThomasL]

Greg, I highly recommend Avia to calibrate the settings for dvd viewing (and in general). While it can be both a blessing and a curse (it'll tell you where your set's deficencies lie ), in general, Avia (and also VE I would suspect) give a decent objective way to calibrate the settings on a tv. In fact, if the store would let me, I'd like to hook up a dvd player and run through the Avia patterns on the next set I'm going to purchase. I am buoyed by your news that the 36AFX61 doesn't appear to suffer from any bad red push. I have a 27A40 and it has a very balanced color decoder but the newer 20AF41 I purchased has about 15 percent red push when calibrated for 0 percent blue saturation. I was afraid that the new AF line of sets would be similar.
cheers,
--tom

 

[Greg Harvey]

Thomas or anyone else, What would you recommend I set the 36AFX61 at for now before I get my Avia or Video Essentials. I have set it at the basic rptv standards for early viewing (contrast:30-35, bright:45-50, Colour:~50, Tint:~0, Sharpness:15-20). I am not sure if these standards still hold true for a direct-view set.

 

[ThomasL]

Greg, having never calibrated any of the latest xxAF series, it's really hard to say. My old rule used to just be to put everything right in the middle but since I've calibrated about 4 tvs with Avia, I've learned that settings vary widely. For example, on my 27A40, I have contrast set to ~53 percent but on my 20AF41 I have it set to ~23 percent. I would say sharpness around 10 percent is probably good but the others are very hard to say. Going with the middle of the dial (contrast perhaps lower depending on how white white looks - also set color temperature to warm since the odds are that is closest to 6500K) is probably ok until you get a chance to calibrate it with Avia. One of the other things that I think many people are interested in on these new flat tubes from Toshiba is if they hold black level well. The A series sets don't.
cheers,
--tom

 

[Greg Lovern]

if you really want the 16:9 compression go Sony

Doesn't the Toshiba 36AFX61 have a 16:9 compression mode? Do you actually have to do the old squeeze trick with it?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[Jeremiah]

I was also looking to get a 36AFX61 but are they only available in Canada? That is the only websites I have seen them on. Thanks.