Toshiba TLP-ET1 ??

kingtj

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Hi,

Can get this for less than £400.
Has anybody got one of these ?
Are they any good ?

Thanks
 
I haven't any experience of it but for 400 notes I can well believe you'll get it home and feel pleased that you've picked up a bargain...PJ
 
I am asking exactly the same question as kingtj.

Several online websites (check pricerunner.co.uk and ebuyer.co.uk) are now only asking £370-£380 inc VAT and delivery. This is clearly silly money for a 16:9 native 854 x 480 PJ.

I would hazard a guess that Toshiba are just on the point of replacing this model, but still want to answer the question Is it a good buy at £380 ?

Having spent the last 24 hours reading up I thought it was worth summarising what I have found:

Good points for the ET1 .....

  • More than £180 cheaper than all other 16:9 native PJs – i.e. the Epson EMP TW10H

  • Fairly well reviewed at projector central.com, and these people bought for around £750+ only a few months ago

  • Some fairly good print reviews - check out homecinemachoice.com. Only criticisms are really in comparison to models which were and still are selling for £800+

  • It has a quality Faroujda DCDi De-Interlacer - this means it will work quite well with interlaced sources - e.g. Sky and Freeview

  • It has a standard SCART input - makes for easy and cheap(er) cables to link with your XBOX, Playstation, DVD players etc.

  • It actually looks quite nice - good for obtaining planning permission from your partner

  • It is really quiet -28 dB (claimed) – top draw in the <£800 class


And the bad points

  • Cost of lamps – this is bad – can’t find them for much under £200. Does not compare well with the Epson TW10H (about £150) or top end <£1000 like the Hitachi PJ-100TX (only £135). £200 is just about acceptable if your lamp makes 2000 hours but not so fine if it goes on day 92 of its 90 day warranty! And you can find horror stories of 3 lamps in 12 months – but if you search hard enough this is the case for almost all PJs. If you do buy the Tosh then make sure you thoroughly test the front edge of your lamp’s bathtub curve by using the PJ lots in the first few months

  • No zoom - Well actually a fixed x1.25 zoom plus what Tosh call a “digital zoom” – which actually shrinks the picture back to x1.0. Using this feature would be madness – as it throws away resolution (it turns off normally active pixels at the edges of the panels) and stretches the picture into the pixels that are left. This is just bonkers. However you can work around this, provided that you can put the projector exactly where you want it – but see below.

  • Very short throw lens – i.e. pre fixed zoom. This is good for small rooms, but is limiting if like me you have a fairly big lounge in which to fit a PJ. Given the limited brightness (700 ANSI claimed), resolution – the screen size sweet spot is about 70-80” diagonal (16:9).

  • Digital Keystone correction almost inevitably ‘stuffs’ the image with such a short throw fixed lens. For me ceiling mounting would in theory be better in my room but is not really an option as even the 15 degrees of digital Keystone would not be enough to get the picture in the right place. Hence I would end up with the PJ on a coffee table about a metre in front of me. Not really ideal (or do others disagree ?)


So to summarise ….

Should you buy ? Think it through.

How long would you have to wait to afford another WVGA PJ ? – probably quite a long time as even though prices are dropping all the time, £380 is too low for the suppliers to go – so expect low end LCD’s to stay about £650 - £750 discounted retail price. But, in 12 months time you could knock me over with a feather if you can’t get 720p native with DVI / HDMI for that sort of money. Don’t say I didn’t warn you !

So you want it now – well do understand the compromises (see above) before you jump. The good points are really quite good. For me the noise level will be important. DLP’s will always struggle, especially as they do need 4x colour wheels to get rid of the rainbows. Screen door is really not an issue for the screen size / viewing distance I am aiming at – although I accept I will not be getting true home cinema.

Don’t worry too much about the lamps, but perhaps you should consider buying a spare complete PJ (after all they are only £370 once you have paid for delivery on #1). And I would be surprised if you couldn’t sell it (with an unused lamp) on ebay in 6 months time for around £300 (provided lamp #1 is still going strong).

And me – well I am off to order one (or two) !
 
I'm, wondering the same, I dont have a very big room and no projector experience. Ultimately I'd like the panasonic AE700 , so I have HD option later on, but then again HD isnt going to be available for a year or so, by then the panasonic will no doubt be £400 cheaper, so nothing really lost.

I've read ok reviews of this projector saying it is pretty good value for a grand, not as good as EPSON TW10H, but a good introduction into Home projectors
 
Flankertwo, please let me know what you think if you do get one
 
It sounds amazingly good value. The "no zoom" comment would be a show stopper for me and may be the reason they are shifting them at such a bargain price, but if you can work round that I'd go for it... these were 750 notes less than 6 mths ago...PJ
 
Well I have jumped in. Order for ET1 placed today - although in the end just the one :rolleyes:

The prices seem to have edged up overnight towards the £380 mark. But a couple of vendors still doing for c. £370.

I expect to fit the screen and set-up over the Easter weekend. Will let you know (via new thread) what I think. Obviously it is my first PJ - but as a fully paid up video spod (and 16 years working in various tech bits of the BBC) I have a fairly good idea what to expect.
 
WELL DONE

Think i'm gonna go for it too, I've seen 'em for £365, it just digs a bit at me to get something that is going to blow up a massive image from less than TV resolution, I dont understand why the minimum pixel size isnt 720x576 on these low end units, maybe something to do with NTSC market being larger, anyway enjoy and do let me know although I may well have just said f*** it and got one by then!
 
I was initially going to buy one of these but put was put off by the restricted screen size(100 inch) and throw distance.

Bought the epson tw10h because of bulb cost, 3 year onsite warranty and reviews.
 
Yeah but with only that many pixels to play with you dont want to go to big anyway. how do you like the TW10H? I only have 2m from wall to put pj on coffee table, does anyone know if ET1 has shorter throw distance than TW10H
 
dunno, but from 2m you should get a decent size image, albeit it probably won't be in the 100 inch bracket... will outgun a large plasma though...PJ
 
Where on earth is it available for that price?!

I was thinking about getting one from Costco a few months ago - was about £550 I recall.

That's a CRACKING price though, perfect for anyone making a first step into the market.

The display in Costco looked spot on. Really clear, nice compact unit and a good price. But at less than £400 it's incredible.
 
www.morecomputers.co.uk have it for that price £371

I'm gonna demo one tomorrow at a hifi place, and if its good order one from the web (bit cheeky but i want to know what i'm buyin')
 
Just found this on dabs, albeit a bit more expensive, got so intrigued I forgot what I went there to look for in the first place!

Let us know how the trials go I'm very interested by this.
 
Saw one of these in Maplin Nottingham. They wanted 899GBP. Looks ok for £370 but problem with throw distance. Cant focus after 12.5 feet.
 
Cant find this one on the throw calculator projectorcentral.com as I would like to see what size picture etc I could get.

Can anyone point me in the right direction??

Cheers!
 
This is from the manual, i downloaded it, still thinking of getting one.
Projector distance / screen size

0.74m / 32" picture
1.00m / 40"
1.51m / 60"
2.03m / 80"
2.54m / 100"
3.04m / 120"

Hope this helps.

flankertwo, have you got your's yet ?

I'am very interested in getting one, butwas hoping somebody could tell me what pic quality is like. Am converting my loft at the moment, floor just about finished, then for the walls. seating will be about 10/11 feet from wall/screen.
Trying to find out what the biggest acceptable picture would be. So that screendoor won't be a problem. (hoping for atleast 80")
 
>flankertwo, have you got your's yet ?
Yes

Having spent the last 3 evenings rigging my concealed pull down screen I finally got my new ET1 up and running this evening.

So far I have only had a few hours of use out of it – but I am so, so happy with the pictures I really don’t know where to begin.

So far all of my testing has been done with digital satellite and Freeview content – all interlaced and all via the RGB SCART. I have just watched the second half of the England match, Jonathan Ross in Hollywood and the end of Die Hard. Pictures are really very good “out of the box”, but for my eyes still need a bit of colour tweaking to get the right colour tone for my eyes. But this is just being picky.

Basically the picture size and general picture quality is fantastic. Remember I am new to home projectors but the ET1 is at least as good as the Panasonic AE100 I nearly bought three years ago – for more than three times the price.

Screen door is really not an issue for my 72” diagonal screen – but then I am watching it more than 9 feet back. I also can live without the zoom, but then as noted in my original summary, I am happy to only sit it on coffee table between me and the screen.

Can I fault it? - Well it could be a bit brighter, but it really is fairly good, even with side lights on the room. Plus, even when running the lamp in standard mode (which is probably equivalent to the brightness of the Epson TW10H in its Theatre mode) the ET1 is really very quiet. My judgement is that the ET1 sounds quieter than most other cheap home theatre PJ’s. And, although I have never actually heard a Screenplay 4805 in my living room I would guess the ET1 in normal mode is much quieter than this highly rated PJ.

My advice to anyone who is not totally sure if front projection is for them – buy one of these quick - before they sell out - and you will not be disappointed. Maybe you will upgrade to 720p in a year or two, but in the mean time you will get fantastic value out of one of these.

I still have lots more testing to do, tomorrow it is progressive and interlaced DVD playback and 480p / 720p XBOX games. Oh and I better tidy up and do the washing up before my wife gets back !

I will post a longer review, with pictures later in the week (the weekend maybe?)
 
Just ordered one of these babies - £376.57 inc. delivery was just impossible to resist even though i have no money to my name. My crappy 28" tv was £330 a few years back! I can't wait to throw that sucker out the window! :clap:
 
j98 said:
Just ordered one of these babies - £376.57 inc. delivery was just impossible to resist even though i have no money to my name. My crappy 28" tv was £330 a few years back! I can't wait to throw that sucker out the window! :clap:

I may point my brother at this one. Could you give a bit more info..

1. Can it be ceiling mounted?

2. Confirm it hasn't got any form of zoom (I think I read on the dabs web site that it had lens & digital zoom?)

3. Where did you get it from for that price?

thanx...PJ :thumbsup:
 
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.asp?Name=toshiba+et1

I got it from there this morning but it seems the price has since gone up to £479.56 :confused: My price was confirmed literally 3 hours ago so that's weird.

Dabs still have it on offer this week for £400ish though.

Don't think it's ceiling mountable. The impression I get is that it's best suited for coffee table use. It only has digital zoom which apparently wastes resolution or something. Just found it in What Hi-Fi magazine and it only got 2 stars but that was at £800. I'm not expecting to be blown away but it's gotta be an improvement on a **** poor thomson 28 incher.

I should really wait til I can afford a "proper" projector but hey I'm impatient. It'll do the job for a year or two. Roll on Monday!
 
I have one of these!!! I bought mine from DABS.com. It came the next day! I think in total I paid 500 quid. It's my first projector and I could not be more delighted! If I want to watch a film I take it out of the cupboard, put it on my coffee table, plug it in and off we go! I use an old cine screen aprox 70" and the picture is great. Good colours strong blacks, for the price, you can't go wrong! It can be mounted from the ceiling if you want. The onscreen menu is clear and easy to use. It has a little remote that glows when you press it. Its build quality is good. It does the job, looks cool and does not cost the earth.
Thankyou
 
1. Can it be ceiling mounted?

Yes - the tilt and swivel base comes off and it has fairly standard-ish mounting holes. I guess it would work with a cheap universal ceiling mount off ebay. The setup screen also has electronic inversion.

2. Confirm it hasn't got any form of zoom (I think I read on the dabs web site that it had lens & digital zoom?)

Yep - definitely no lens zoom. Just the digital - which you don't want to use - unless you really have to. I have also discovered the keystone correction chucks away vertical resolution (typically 20-40 lines for a c. 10 degree offset). Still - the scaling is bloddy good with no nasty artefacts.

3. Where did you get it from for that price?

Mine came from cec.co.uk but they are now back at £486 inc VAT (I paid £370 inc.).

As I said last week, £370 was just too low for anyone to make money out of !
 
flankertwo said:
1. Can it be ceiling mounted?

Yes - the tilt and swivel base comes off and it has fairly standard-ish mounting holes. I guess it would work with a cheap universal ceiling mount off ebay. The setup screen also has electronic inversion.

2. Confirm it hasn't got any form of zoom (I think I read on the dabs web site that it had lens & digital zoom?)

Yep - definitely no lens zoom. Just the digital - which you don't want to use - unless you really have to. I have also discovered the keystone correction chucks away vertical resolution (typically 20-40 lines for a c. 10 degree offset). Still - the scaling is bloddy good with no nasty artefacts.

3. Where did you get it from for that price?

Mine came from cec.co.uk but they are now back at £486 inc VAT (I paid £370 inc.).

As I said last week, £370 was just too low for anyone to make money out of !

Thanks for the info, and well done on picking up such a bargain!

DABs looks to be a good bet if my brother wants to take the plunge. Only slight concern is that digital zoom but I think he could have some flexibility in positioning hence not need it...PJ
 

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