[Kevo]

I’m considering buying a display model of the Tosh 40WH08B RP TV for £1418 and an extra £279 for stand and further 2 year warranty as an option.

The sales assistant says that it has only been on display for about 3 weeks.
The picture looks fine. I have tried a few of my own DVDs out on it and there doesn’t seem to be any on-screen nasties like pink lines or image burns, even though it looks likes it’s using a composite SCART and is probably not set up to it’s optimum.

Will moving the set cause any problems to the bulbs, especially as they have been turned on for such a long period of time.
Somebody said to me that this could damage them.

My other option is £1500 for a new boxed set which I am tempted with, even if it is £82 extra.

Also, is it safe to place a centre speaker (avg size and magnetically shielded) on top of the TV as the shell doesn’t look as strong or have enough flat surface as a glass CRT TV.

Any advice to help with my decision is appreciated and is there anything else I should consider with the display model.

Many Thanks

Hi,

Personally, I wouldn't buy it. The price you are getting isn't a whole lot cheaper than buying one boxed from the factory, especially as this line is now discontinued and you are likely to see some bargains emerging. They say it's only been on display 3 weeks....can u prove that? If it's been burning away at 100% contrast/brightness for some of that..it may be enough to affect it.

I am no CRT engineer, so I have no idea if moving the box after it has been on could potentially damage the bulbs.....I think not.

So, some may disagree, but when you're paying this much money, you need some peace of mind...anything like this is bound to affect that.

Check out a few websites and the the home cinema mags for ads, you may see some bargains around that will suit you. I bought a 40WH08B a year ago for £1650 with a free 5yr warranty. stand and set of surround speakers.... (HiSpek) I think one year on, with a discontinued line...I'd be pushing to pay a whole lot less than that !

Cheers
Daz

[mseabroo]

Wow £279 for the stand alone,
I'm certain that I've seen these advertised at no more than £119.

You may well be able to find a new/boxed40WH08B with the stand and extra goodies for little or no more money at the moment.

[Kevo]

Daz

Thanks for the advice.

I've looked at Hi-Spek and like you said they are doing it with 5 year warranty, stand & speakers, now for £1549.
As long as they do 0% finance over a year then I am tempted

Did you get it on 0% finance?

Have you had any problems with them or your TV?

Also, do Hi-Spek do grey imports?

.................................................. .....

mseabroo

The £279 is the cost of an extra 2 years warranty. She said they would throw the stand in if I took this out.
To be honest I'm not that concerned about the stand as I think it adds a lot of height to the TV and it may put it out of the 'sweet spot' range.

But the rival retailer (Courts), where I can get it boxed new (TV only) at a 'price match' of £1500.

Now here's the good bit...

There blurb says the usual crap...."We won't be beat on price..blah blah blah, we will match any price in the High Street AND knock 10% off"

Yeah right !

They are willing to price match it to £1500 (their ticket price is £1650) but NOT reduce it by 10% as Power House, where I went to first, only have display models left and none in 'storage'.

Now there's a surprise.

Funny, when I worked in stock control, display items where always counted as stock items and 'in stock' !

Time to contact Hi-Spek I think !

Kevo,

I have had no problems with Hi-Spek, in fact I would recommend them since their customer support is very good.

As for the TV...well it has tested me and Hi-Spek !! In fact, I don't have it anymore, after much messing about I got through 4 sets and still had a problem. Toshiba offered me a refund and I took it.

I think I may just have been extraordinarily unlucky and saw most of the "major" problems that these sets can have. There are many people here who will sing their praises and rightly so. For me, I could not live with the problems that I was presented with. I had a couple of sets with convergence problems, a 3rd with red staining on the r.h.s of the screen that to a degree is "normal" and a 4th with vertical banding on the left hand side of the screen.

The red staining varies from set to set...and it can normally be controlled with some service menu bits that engineers can set. The 4th set I had exhibited virtually none of this problem....it did however have these vertical banding issues....which again I am told by Toshiba are normal...but I didn't spot them on the other 3 sets. I decided not to argue any further and took the money :0)

Shame really. If you get a good one then you'll be thrilled with it since I could really see the potential of the set...but it was overshadowed by the faults I had.

I have no big TV at the moment...I'm not really sure what to buy.. I'm even considering a projector...perhaps they are less hassle=bound after they have been installed ?:0)

I'm also checking out the Panasonic 42PT RPTV and the Sony 44PS2

Good luck :0)

Daz

[raigraphixs]

Hi,

I have the tosh 40who8b, i have mailed this forum about it a few weeks ago, do a search for it, as i am at work now and better get on the web!!, if no luck i find it later. Excellent set, newer films are brillant, miss congienalty (cant spell it), is crystal clean towards the final third (pagnet show, indoors), shrek, , cats and dogs, etc.

I have a old dvd player, a tosh 2109, but it is very good, but want to update it with one with component outputs soon. Anyone recommend one;

Tosh 210EB? (good reviews) , or Pioneer 737 (i think), etc. How good is the Tosh 900E (£900) compared to £180 Tosh 210EB in terms of picture quality?.

Any one use a dvd player with components on their rear projection set?


rai

[CarlB]

Don't buy the stand, you can have mine for nothing as I don't use it. I am in Huntingdon so if you're prepared to pick it up, it's yours...

[Kevo]

Originally posted by CarlB
Don't buy the stand, you can have mine for nothing as I don't use it. I am in Huntingdon so if you're prepared to pick it up, it's yours...

Carl

I'm afraid I live a bit too far to come and pick it up.

BTW, I take it the stand put's the viewing angle outside of the 'sweet spot', otherwise you would use it (?).
Yet I have read in some ads that the stand is required for the best viewing angle. They're probably just trying to sell the stand, but what is your opinion?

[CarlB]

I think the stand ruins the viewing angle, but perhaps I slouch too much on the sofa! For me, when I tried the stand, the brightness was severly down on the top half of the screen, as is often the case when you view RPTV off-axis.

Without the stand, my eye-level is bang in the middle of the screen. Perfect.

Perhaps as a test, you could measure how high the stand with raise the TV from the ground..and then simulate this environment by using stacks of telephone directories or anything else you have handy... then you'll know if it's worth it... ;0)

Daz

[stevegreen]

I bought a ex display 40PW03 from Currys at a daft price and the stand came free as they had no use for it.

After i had it calibrated it gives an excellent picture and i'm well over the moon with it!

As with one of the previous posters i still have the stand but dont use it as it would rise the tv too much.......

It is also available for free if collected!

[Kevo]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I'm torn between the Tosh 40WH08B and the Sony KP41DS1.

The idea of the built in digital tuner on the Sony appeals to me, yet the 100Hz processing on the Tosh is the main attraction there.

As regards pic, I have viewed them both and there's not much in it.

Oh..decisions decisions !

[Kevo]

Thought I'd let you all know.

I've gone for the Tosh (from Courts) and expecting it this Wed (28 Nov).

Picture quality, matt finish, 100Hz and 0% IFC swayed it.

Hope I've made the right decision.

[CarlB]

I had the Sony KP41DS1 and sent it back as there were real problems with the S-Video stage. With my Region 1 DVD palyer connected it looked as bad as composite, with terrible dot crawl and colour bleed. Sony eventually admitted there was a design fault and they were working on a solution, but I decided to exchange the set for the Tosh in case this fix never materialised.

I now use the component connection on the Tosh, and I have also had the set ISF calibrated to 6500K (out of the box the colour temp was 21000K, which the engineer said was the worst he'd ever seen).

I am delighted with the Tosh, the picture is great and I have no major complaints. I think you've made the right choice.

[Kevo]

Thanks CarlB

Did the engineer do the tweaks for you or did you do them yourself?
I'm a bit reluctant to mess around with the Service Menu.

I don't have component output on my DVD
Is it a major improvement over SCART RGB?

Am I OK in placing a shielded center speaker on top of the TV as the construction doesn't look as strong as a CRT TV?

Any other tips ?

Thanks.

[CarlB]

The calibration was carried out by an ISF-certfied engineer at Pounds Home Cinema. It cost extra but I like the results.

I have an M&K 750 speaker sat atop my TV and it is just fine. It's sturdy enough...

[Kevo]

Got me Tosh TV yesterday and....

I am very pleased with it. NO, I tell a lie....I am OVER THE MOON and in complete AWE of the pic quality.
It is superb. MUCH better than I thought. (I had my doubts, even after purchasing it)

Once I set up the RGB SCART and calibration it, the pic is stunning and MUCH better than the one I saw in the shop.

DVDs look absolutley STUNNING as does Digital TV.
Analog TV is OK and not as basd as I thought it would be.
Playstation games...excellent, as long as they are in 640 res. Older games in 312 look very blocky.

But S-VHS....

I played an S-VHS tape last night (Robbie Williams at Albert Hall, not for me, my partner...honest !) and even though I am well aware of SVHS quality I was a bit worried that the quality might suffer on such a large screen.
NO PROBLEMS...I swear I couldn't tell that it was video, it was PERFECT..looked just like broadcast.
Although I still use an early generation SVHS VCR from the early 90s, when they could resolve 400+ lines of res. Not too sure about the more recent models though.
I've had two models in recent years and have not been impressed with their pic quality.

Haven't tried VHS yet and not too bothered as I rarely use it these days.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I'm well made up.

[Radioactive__Man]

I don't have much time so apologies if this has been stated

don't buy a display model [potentially left on all day/week- burn in]
this model is being phased out
when you stick it on a stand, it is too high if you intend to watch while on your floor

cheers

[Kevo]

Maybe that display model isn't such a bad idea after all.
My new set lasted all of nine days before it developed a fault (blue tint on the whole screen).

Can adjusting the convergance too much cause this or any other problems?

They said the fault was due to (them) moving the set which jolted one of the guns.

Anyway they're loaning me the display model whilst mine is being repaired. Maybe i'll just keep it as i've a feeling the original set is just going to give me more problems in the future