Toshiba
Sony
Hitachi
Panasonic


Am looking to purchase a RPTV, between 42" and 50". Not bothered about onboard sound, since I have separates.

Tosh's seem to get good reviews, but is the Progressive Scan on the Hitachi worth having?

I would watch DVDs, digital TV (Sky Digital) and analogue TV of course.

Please post if you own any of these models. Many thanks!

your choice has got to be between the tosh or the panny. I have the panny TX42PT10. I like everything about it. I was gonna get the tosh as it did have a slightly better picture but the panny had a far superior build quality. I also just felt happier going for the panny.

[Kevo]

Tosh for the pic quality and 'cinematic' feel with it's superb non-reflective matt finish screen.

Make sure it has 100Hz processing too.

Dont Listen to the Toshiba Fan Club
Sony 44" Wins by Knockout, the Tosh Picture is too soft, and just take a VHS video into any store and ask the assistant to play your Video,

You wont be parting with your wonga in a hurry, then put the same video in the Sony, and I guarantee the Tosh will be history.

[martian1]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion although all wrong! Go for the Hitachi, and yes the progressive scan feature makes a big differance. Hardly any nasty scan lines on R1 DVD.

[Kevo]

OK, let's vote on it...

Tosh for me.

[Kevo]

Oh, and if you're gong to a shop for a demo, you're better off with a DVD than a video. Even then it won't show the true quality as they are rarely set up correctly.

No point taking a DVD in for a Demo, DVD looks great on everything,
VHS exposes the Limitations of every TV set, and The DRC on the Sony is a revelation,

Martian1 says we have all got it wrong, Hitatchi,s are better pictures than the Tosh,s but Sony costs £600 more read this months What tv mag.

that will tell you the sony is the daddy.

[Nic Rhodes]

Avoid the LCD RPTVs, they just don't cut it in the picture quality stakes. No matter what 'fudges' are done in the electronics. Look for CRTs.

Sorry Sony. Always the bridesmaid never the....

Progressive scan is only useful if done well, the Hitachi whilst not bad isn't quite like a Sil504 on a projector. Get the basics done well and get the thing properly set up, and ISF by Gordon if poss.

I am afraid my vote goes to Tosh as well. I like their new machine loads...

[Kevo]

The pic quality on the Tosh is anything but 'soft'.

Watched Flash Gordon & Ben Hur DVDs the other day and still my Tosh surprises me with it's outstanding pic 4 months after purchase!

[bh]

Toshiba without doubt.

BH

[Kevo]

Just waiting for Delta to cast his vote and a resounding victory Tosh methinks.

RP tvs have to be tosh or panny. I like panny myself.

[delta]

Originally posted by Kevo
Just waiting for Delta to cast his vote and a resounding victory Tosh methinks.

You have it! The Tosh picture is pin-sharp and the best by far, especially with component input, something only Toshiba offers, giving a total of four av inputs. The matt screen makes it the best RPtv for viewing in any light condition. I have said many times, if you don't believe me, then you are welcome to come see for yourself!

Glad the Tosh fan club is out in force, Lets hire a coach, and take you all to the opticians.

get you all some contact lenses then, get the coach to detour to the Local sony center.
and prepare to be amazed, the free adds will be full of second hand Toshiba,s

To be fair, a DVD on the tosh Looks pretty good, a Vhs tape Looks appalling and that is a fact.


and just to add, I had demo of the 32" sony DX100` today, and must say that is a stunner, too small for me, but any-one after a 32" model. that takes some beating

[Kevo]

Originally posted by Party Animal
To be fair, a DVD on the tosh Looks pretty good, a Vhs tape Looks appalling and that is a fact.

VHS looks appalling on all TVs !

Must admit S-VHS looks quite stunning on my Tosh.

Originally posted by Kevo

VHS looks appalling on all TVs !

Must admit S-VHS looks quite stunning on my Tosh.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VHS looks poor on all TVs

I have a Panasonic hs900 SVHS video and when I ill advised one of my best friends to buy the 40" Tosh RP about a year ago, I took my video and hooked it up, cos he was so dissapointed with it.

it was much better than bog standard VHS, but hardly stunning, I then hooked my digital camcorder upto it, better still, but still nowhere near what i would call stunning.

in short he sent it back and swapped it for a new model, and it was exactly the same, soft picture. p*ss poor Vhs playback.

I would not of touched a rear projection set of any make 3 months ago,
but after about 6 demo,s of the Sony I could be buying very soon, unless my wife gives in, and lets me buy a 42" panasonic plasma.

Delta and Kevo I am pleased your happy with your Tosh,s. but seriously have either of you had an eye check recently

[Kevo]

Party Animal

I have been through 4 x SVHS VCRs since 1993.

The best for pic quality I ever had was the first one I bought, Pan FS88.

I have also had the Pan HS1000, also good but nowhere near as good as the above.

My third purchase was the Pan HS900 (the one you have) and I must say this has the worst SVHS pic I have ever seen, really fuzzy and not much better than VHS. It broke down on me after a year and I don't miss it AT ALL. I was VERY dissapointed in it to say the least.

I've now given up on Pan SVHS VCRs and now have a JVC HS8850. Excellent pic, better than the HS1000 but not quite as good as the FS88.

With the FS88 connected to my Tosh I swear you could not tell that it was a tape, the picture was that GOOD.

As regards my eyes, well everyone who I have demoed the Tosh too have all commented on how clear the picture is. Maybe thay all need their eyes testing too.

[johndon]

Tosh all the way for me to. I bought a 40WH08B 15 months ago and, after a little changing of the settings, am still amazed by the picture quality particularly with DVD - Shrek, for example, looks absolutely stunning.

Even my wife who knows nothing about this sort of thing has commented on the picture quality.

Have had a 43 Hitachi for around 4 months now and can say the picture quality is excellent, the progressive scan is fantastic for sports viewing. Got the set after demos on Tosh and Sony sets and reading various test reports that gave the Hitachi a best buy rating. Also got it for it for £1600 at unbeatable. The inbuilt digital/DTS is an added bonus if you dont have a decent seperate amp. All in all I am very pleased with the Hitachi but I suppose it comes down to personal choice and value for money. If you can demo a Hitachi before you decide try to.

If you do buy one be aware it comes with an offer of a 5 year tubes guarantee for £75 in the box.

I looked at the SONY, TOSH and PANA recently before deciding on the PANA.

Reasons:

1. I am boycotting SONY at present due to their lousy customer service and backup. Take a look at the FQ75 threads. Don't get me wrong - I was always a big Sony fan, and the Sony rear-pro was my first choice. But this, coupled with the increased cost ruled it out.

2. At the time I was looking, Tosh were getting a real slating on here for customer service as well. Build quality was (and still is in my opinion) an issue.

3. The Pana build quality was superior, and the picture quaility was superb in my opinion. OK the Tosh has a non-reflective matt screen, which is nice. However, in practice, I find the Pana screen to be reflective when switched off, but very much reduced when in operation. The set does have some kind of special anti-reflective coating according to the manual, but no more information than that.

So it was the Pana for me in the end, and I'm extremely happy with it.

Cheers

Laurel

PS. The Pana has two RGB Capable SCARTS. Which for me is a plus.

OK, Party Animal looks like you need some help here!

I have the Sony 44 and must agree that DRC makes the picture way better than the Tosh.

Originally posted by Doug
OK, Party Animal looks like you need some help here!

I have the Sony 44 and must agree that DRC makes the picture way better than the Tosh.
__________________________________________________ __

At Last some-one with good eyesight (and taste).

I have demoed the Sony, Tosh and Panny and Hitachi in all sorts of lighting conditions with;

DVD
On digital
Sky Digital
Analouge TV

I also tried different sets of the same model, (as we all know they vary), and yes i set them up properly with my avia disc. And in my opinion irrelevant of price, build quality,and other extras like DD, i think the best set for JUST picture quality is the Toshiba.

And yes i have perfect vision.

IMHO i would ignore all of us and go a properly test all the sets like i did. Dont rush and insist that the sets are properly setup, take along a setup disc, look at all the sets with different sources, and in different lighting but pay more attention to sources you use more often.

E.g " Vhs looks better on the Sony than the Tosh" i not being funny but if you are spending best part of £2000 on a TV you need to buy a dvd player and some dvds? And also the bloke said he doesnt watch Vhs so?

Bottom line you are the one that pays the money so you have to decide which one you like the most.

[Tomas L]

I saw both the 44" and 51" Sony PS2 (and many others) before I bought my rptv. I was quite dissapointed with the PQ; much softer than Panasonic and Toshiba. Not even DVD picture looked sharp. The colours looked artificial compared to a Thomson 44".

Panasonic is way better. Even Samsung's new 47" looked better and it's much cheaper than Sony's 44" model. Sony's DRC didn't make much difference either.

Toshiba build quality, although good enough, might not be as good as Panasonic or Sony. But the parts that really matter are first class; lenses, (Corning/US Precision Lens Inc.) 7" tubes and a better screen then any other rptv today. PQ is what really matters, right? And it's not all bad to have a wooden chassie, it's quite easy to repair.

The new Toshiba models must be one of the easiest rptv to tweak, everything can be done from the front; electronic and optical focus adjustment, disable SVM etc. It's actually fun to read reports from Thomson owners using mirrors and video cameras when adjusting focus.

Party Animal: Perhaps there is a reason why Toshiba has a large "fan club"?

Have I mentioned that it was a Toshiba 50WH18B that I bought...?

http://www.home-entertainment.co.uk/...ad.asp?ID=1686


read and weep Tosh men

then buy the Latest What video & TV

http://www.whatvideotv.com/testbench/index.html

you can not go by what the magazines say. I would not touch another sony with a barge pole. They have given me nothing but grief for the last 6 months. 3 sets ive had all with faults. give me panny or tosh any day. (panny prefered)

[delta]

Party Animal, sounds like sour grapes to me, so when are you coming over?

I really admire your misguided Loyalties to a sinking ship.
but The Tosh is old technology now.

What I,d like to know is How the hell kevo manages to get thru 4 SVHS vcrs in 9 years
obviously watching a lot of grainy pictures on his Tosh.
I hope none of you Toshiba owners takes to heart my comments, but I, like you am entitled to my opinions, and The Sony is a better all round product.

Just to throw a spanner into the works,

any-one know how I can persuade my missus that we really need a Plasma

I fully appreciate your opinon and i think that you have chosen the best TV for you! Its your money, and you like it!

However i thinks ts laughable that you use a magaine as proof, I and many other people will tell you, that on the whole most mags are a waste of time, maybe HiFi Choice is an expcetion, but the two you mention dont really have the best reputations.

Just as an example, What-Hifi reviewed the same sub, but the updated model had a grill and feet, the only difference. However
according to What-HiFi the newer model;

"Better more musical than the Q200E - one of the best small subs around"


I am not trying to be antagonistic, its just that if you prefer you're TV then great, you paid the money for it. But i think its a bit rich when you start trying to tell the vast majority that we are wrong, and that some magazine is proof.