Tosh 36zp38

[transwest]

Hi, I'm just about ready to update to a widescreen. I have been considering the big Tosh for a while (especially with the Audio choices), & had seen a few comments on this forum when it first came out.
My viewing is mainly TV,,, bit of Freeview,,, bit of DVD (Tosh 220E).
Has anybody got current comments now that it's been out for a while please, along with decent suppliers ? (JL also told me that they don't 'price match' !!)
I would also appreciate comments on similar sets.
thanks in advance
Transwest

[Fergal]

Originally Posted by transwest

Hi, I'm just about ready to update to a widescreen. I have been considering the big Tosh for a while (especially with the Audio choices), & had seen a few comments on this forum when it first came out.
My viewing is mainly TV,,, bit of Freeview,,, bit of DVD (Tosh 220E).
Has anybody got current comments now that it's been out for a while please, along with decent suppliers ? (JL also told me that they don't 'price match' !!)
I would also appreciate comments on similar sets.
thanks in advance
Transwest

Whoever you spoke to at JL is incorrect. JL do pricematch. I got my 36zp38 from JL in Bristol just over a week ago and they pricematched Sound & Vision in Bolton (www.soundandvisiononline.com) resulting in a £400 saving. Plus JL's 5 year warranty and delivery are also included.

I can't comment on similar sets but I think the Tosh is great. It looks great, sounds great and has a great picture (as long as you feed it a decent signal). There are a few niggles with it like the dirty screen effect and slight convergence problems at the screen edges, but these seem to be unavoidable on CRTs of this size. Overall, I reckon it's a bargain at just over a grand.

[transwest]

Fergal,
Thanks for the info mate.
It's pretty obvious that JL do pricematch, it must just be me !
Some time ago, a couple of people on here was on about a black line running down the screen (!!!) anything like this on yours ?
What causes the 'dirty screen effect',,, & how does it manifest its-self ? What is convergence ?
Which branch of JL did you deal with ? Do you know if I can order through any branch,,, or does it have to be my nearest ? (I'm in the deepest South West)
JL's delivery also came out well on Brassed Off Britain last night.
Sorry to put all this on you,,, but I've fancied this model eversince I saw the PictureFrame sets,,, & with the various Dolby bits !
Thanks again
Transwest

I ordered one of these sets from http://www.digitaldirectuk.com this week, so hopefully should receive in a few days.. I also read all the reviews and as with any TV there are good and bad points, but I really wanted that design of TV so took the plunge..

[Fergal]

I got mine from the Bristol JL. I also live in the south west, this is the only store they have in this part of the country. I ordered it over the phone on Saturday and it was delivered on Tuesday.

My set doesn't have a line running down the screen. I'm not sure what causes the dirty screen effect, a search of these forums might give you an answer, but it shows up when something bright is on screen like a beach scene or cloudy sky and the camera is panning. It looks like the screen is dirty when it isn't. Apparently the effect diminishes as the TV gets older. Either that or you just don't notice it any more.

Convergence errors look like coloured fringes to the side of high contrast areas, eg. white text on a black backround may have a slight red fringe to one side. This only happens at the extreme edges of the screen and seems to be common to most large screen CRTs I've looked at. You don't really notice it at normal viewing distances.

Remember if you do get one it's pretty heavy (70Kg + 30kg stand) so you may need help lifting it onto the stand. Also it shows up any flaws in a less than perfect signal, plus the default settings make the picture look terrible. Once it's set up properly though, the picture quality is excellent.

[transwest]

I've 99.999% made my mind up. Like Martin, I like the design, & have done since the previous model.
Does the set come with adequate instructions for setting up ? You mention that the default settings are c**p. I can see my transmitter from my window, but my new antenna & coax are in the attic,, though I do get a good signal (along with Freeview signals).
As I say, 95% of my viewing is normal TV so I think this model will be o.k for my purpose.
My problem now (just the one ??) is finding a way to get JL to deliver to the westernmost point in Cornwall !
thanks again
TranswesT

Here is the manual that I found on the Tosh site (Might give some help?)

http://tesc.toshiba.co.uk/Web/ModelL...C?OpenDocument

[Fergal]

I don't know what the manual says about setting the TV up as I haven't read it. I found the best picture to my eyes was using picture mode M which seems to be the one for custom settings. The other three modes are too contrasty for my taste. The first thing to do is reduce the contrast (default 100) to approx half that, this makes a drastic improvement to the picture straight out of the box. Then adjust the other settings to your own preference. It will probably take a few days of fiddling before you're happy with it.

If you can get Freeview I would recommend using that in preference to a normal aerial input as the picture is usually better on the main channels, plus they're transmitted in widescreen. I've only had a widescreen set for 10 days and already I'm finding it annoying that only about half of the programmes are transmitted in widescreen!

[chris210972]

i had trouble getting the best pictures i could from my tv, it took ages and i was never satisfied with it.
then wow!!, i got it,
u need to choose picure mode 3 then set the contrast, colour and brightness to about 50.
slightly reduce the sharpness and tint to about -10.
use the natural setting, turn dnr and black stretch off.
these will be saved into your picture mode "m".
whenever u alter a setting on picture modes, 1, 2 & 3 it saves them as m.
try it, it worked for me, amazing pictures!
just remember to alter the setting using picture mode 3.

[transwest]

Thanks all,
I had always advised friends to turn off/down their 'colour', then get the best possible picture using Brightness/Contract, before turning the colour back up, to your desired point. The Tosh system dosn't sound a lot different, but I will print off your advice for when mine arrives !
I got another e.mail from JL saying that they don't do price match,, & told me that my nearest store is about 160 miles away.
I think that it would make sense for me to contact a store that has already done this for people on these pages, perhaps quoting the store to be 'matched' & maybe the name of the customer if someone would be kind enough to offer ??
My mind is made up (at long last) & the money is beginning to burn,,,, I just have to get the best deal that I can.
Thanks again to you all
TranswesT

[Fergal]

Obviously whoever sent you that email about the pricematching is mistaken. Just refer them to this document on the JL website: http://www.johnlewis.com/jl_assets/pdf/undersold.pdf

There are numerous people on this forum who have made use of this policy and JL is considered one of the better retailers because of this and their good reputation for customer service. I have mentioned previously in this thread that they pricematched Sound & Vision in Bolton (www.soundandvisiononline.com), but I'll say it again. The phone number of the Bristol JL is 0117 9591100, and I dealt with Geoff in the TV dept.

You may be out of luck though if you're outside their catchment area, you may have to resort to one of the online retailers. I can't vouch for these, not having dealt with them.

[walkeraj]

I bought this toshiba fron JL in Solihull about a month back and can say I am very very happy with it, you won't be dissapointed.

For those that have already bought it, did you get anything describing the guarantee besides 'includes 5 year gurantee' printed on the till receipt. I also bought mine over the phone, am I missing some documentation?

[transwest]

almost there,,,, I spoke to a guy at Bristol (Geoff wasn't at work - just when i needed him !!) The chap that I spoke to said he can't see a problem (!!) with the price match,, but added that there would be a delivery charge of £120 !!! Hardly worth saving money on the TV, if I have to give it to a courier ! SoundandVision do FREE delivery, so shouldn't the PriceMatch include 'like for like' ?
More work to do, but I'm more determined than ever now that I've made my mind up.
Thanks all
TranswesT

[bssbin01]

I orderd this set from soundandvision a week last saturday and it arrived on the friday with absolutly no problems at all.

Great set I can hardly fault it, i think i can see what people mean when they say dirty screen effect, but on mine its barely noticible and deffo nothing to worry about.

One thing i didnt like was that there is no S-Video connection on the back, only the front.

If you are botherd about only getting a one year guarantee, if you use a barclaycard they will give you an extra 2 years on top of it for free!

Hope this helps

[Fergal]

bssbin01:

There is an S-Video connection on the EXT3 SCART. You just need a SCART cable that's wired for S-Video or a DIN to SCART adaptor and then set an option in one of the menus.

transwest:

If the JL 5 year warranty is important to you it may be worth paying the delivery charge, as that would still work out cheaper than getting it from Sound & Vision with their 5 year warranty at £219. Or you could hire/borrow a van and have a day out to the big smoke