Toshiba 42HL196

[drevil918]

Seriously considering picking this set up... [EDIT] the other set I was considering, the Samsung LN-S4095D. Does anyone have much experience with the Toshiba's, and if so, do you guys know if it would be worth it to shell out the extra moolah for the Samsung?

Thanks

[mudgey]

I bought one of these a few days ago, so far I am only using cheap component cable which came with the set, but I still think it is a wonderful set. If hdmi does as much for it as people say it will be awesome. It has many features and a good manual. I am still playing with it and waiting for the hdmi cable to come, but did not see a better lcd out there at anywhere near this price.
Bob

[nnarum23]

This set doesn't accept 1080p input does it? Or is there a firmwear upgrade to accept 1080p input if it doesn't? Seriously I'm thinking of this one with the bestbuy sale after thanksgiving.

[nnarum23]

Anyone?

[enmoco]

[QUOTE=nnarum23]This set doesn't accept 1080p input does it? Or is there a firmwear upgrade to accept 1080p input if it doesn't? Seriously I'm thinking of this one with the bestbuy sale after thanksgiving.[/QUOTE]No and no.

[rick45]

[QUOTE=nnarum23]This set doesn't accept 1080p input does it? Or is there a firmwear upgrade to accept 1080p input if it doesn't? Seriously I'm thinking of this one with the bestbuy sale after thanksgiving.[/QUOTE]

I bought a 42HL196 last week from BB and the picture does look great (source directTV sat box output 1080i... I thought i was buying a set that would enable me to connect a blue ray or game console that output 1080P because the set is advertised as a 1080P device.... your question about 1080P input made me pic up the manual and look it up.... NO 1080P INPUT... 1080i yes, 720P yes...but no 1080P! How can they advertise this set as a 1080P tv????????? Feeling very stupid.

[enmoco]

[QUOTE=rick45]I bought a 42HL196 last week from BB and the picture does look great (source directTV sat box output 1080i... I thought i was buying a set that would enable me to connect a blue ray or game console that output 1080P because the set is advertised as a 1080P device.... your question about 1080P input made me pic up the manual and look it up.... NO 1080P INPUT... 1080i yes, 720P yes...but no 1080P! [SIZE=2][SIZE=3]How can they advertise this set as a 1080P tv?????????[/SIZE][/SIZE] Feeling very stupid.[/QUOTE]How can they advertise it as 1080p? Because it is. The native resolution of the display is 1080p.If it wasn't,they couldn't.

[rick45]

[QUOTE=nnarum23]This set doesn't accept 1080p input does it? Or is there a firmwear upgrade to accept 1080p input if it doesn't? Seriously I'm thinking of this one with the bestbuy sale after thanksgiving.[/QUOTE]

went to BB and spoke to a tech....no 1080P in returned the set i just bought and exchanged for samsung lns4095Dx which does have a 1080P input....need this for playstation 3 1080P input

[jeroldd]

actually, the RESOLUTION of the toshiba hl196 is 1080--not i or p, just 1080( or 1920-1080 to be completely accurate). the INPUT the set ACCEPTS can CORRECTLY be described as "i" or "p". To call the TOSHIBA HL196 A 1080 "P" set IS misleading, especially when it does NOT accept a 1080 "P" input! I totally agree with enmoco, we need to call these shady manufacturers on it when they hype their products in a misleading, if not right out deceptive, manner! I don't think you should feel stupid, you should feel CONNED, just like I would have been if i didn't read these threads. jeroldd p.s. if i have got it wrong concerning this issue, please enlighten me--i'm a total neophyte when it comes to this stuff, but with the collective knowledge in these threads i'm learning quickly--thanx!

[Gouie]

Honestly, would it have been that difficult to add a 1080P input? I would think the hard part is over in that the display is capable.

[enmoco]

:) uh.........I don't think you understood my post,but,that's ok,I'm misunderstood a lot here lately...... :)

[JimmyDaves]

When you say this set doesn't accept a 1080P input, wouldn't that be the HDMI input? Or is the resolution not a full 1080P, so I'm confused about whether or not this is truly a 1080P set. Wouldn't the 1080P inputs be the HDMI inputs?

I was going to check out this set on AVS to see what other owners thought of it because ******* is having a great deal on this TV right now.

[Avail]

I pulled the trigger on the 42HL196 last night, purchased from BB in Canada.

I have not had opportunity to perform a very critical analysis, but so far here are my impressions:

Setup: very easy. Getting the set into my car was the hardest part of the setup process :). Having the option to bypass the TVGuide setup would have been nice. The OSD is reasonably easy to follow and I was able to make some quick tweaks to the picture until I was pretty happy with what I saw.

PQ: SD programming looks extremely nice on this set. The varying zoom options work well, and the scaler does an excellent job presenting SD programming. I would say SD looks better on this set than it did on the old 27" panny TAU CRT it is replacing.

HD programming: My initial impression was that the HD was "ok", after setting up the set for my wife to watch I had to step out, so I only had 30 odd seconds to observe a news broadcast in HD. I wasn't really blown away. When I returned I watched some more channels, and quickly noticed an enormous variance between the quality of channels. By a WIDE margin, HDNet had the best picture quality. Watching shows on HDNet is a pleasure, even if the content itself stinks (although seeing HD movie trailers is a blast).

Overall: I am very happy with my purchase. This TV doesn't need to have 1080p input for my purposes (I myself agree with the viewpoint that all things being equal, 1080i/p are indistinguishable for most material to most people) and the excellent SD viewing makes this a perfect choice for anyone looking for an everyday TV set.

I will try and take some pictures tonight of my setup (which is humble, being a living room) and I am going to try out the PC Input to see how well the TV handles that.