Customer Reviews

Toshiba 42DPC85 42-Inch ED Plasma TV

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My husband was very pleased with this purchase back in January '06. Like the other posts you get a good product for the money but after several months you start see green spots in the picture. We thought nothing of it and assumed that it was normal for plasma screens since this was our first purchase of one. Well it got worse and on Sept. 30th, there was "pop" sound and the screen went completely black. There is still sound but no picture at all. After about 2 weeks of talking with Toshiba's customer service and a local repair representative we were told that this had been a problem with several of this model. The part(a power supply kit)needed for repair was on backorder with no idea when it would be available. I've stayed on this and was recently told that a rush would be put on the order and that we would hear something very soon. This is just horrible if this was a problem with so many models that Toshiba did not issue a recall. We've told them that if the part is not in and our unit is not repaired with the next couple of weeks that we simply want a new one. But Toshiba also wanted to know if we purchased an additional warranty from the store at the time of purchase and asked that we fax our receipt in to customer service for verification dispite the unit being registered after purchase. We have other Toshiba products and have enjoyed some of them for over 5 years but this one is not worth the money when the customer service is terrible. Like a previous reviewer noted, the customer service is really hit or miss. Oh, not to mention that some Toshiba authorized repair locations will also tell you that they do not service the plasma units. My husband is not happy at all to say the least and we have expressed our disappoint(s) to Toshiba as well. So if you plan to purchase this unit, please be aware that you have about 9 months or so of moderate to good viewing before the screen goes out and that it will be weeks before Toshiba will get it repaired so purchase an extended warranty on the front end.

We have had this T.V for a year and a half. Of course the warranty is only a year. We are seeing green red and white spots over every picture. When you are watching something with dark scenes especially, it looks like a white haze is over the picture. It is there constantly. For a split second when a program comes back on it is clear, and you can see how great the picture would look ( HD ), and then the haze appears. I am VERY disappointed for the price we paid for it that this is happening. I will never again buy a Toshiba television.

Bought this TV back in February '06 and was happy with the choice. You can certainly tell the difference between HD and ED if the TV's are sitting next to each other in the showroom, but when the EDTV is sitting by itself in your living room the picture looks great (especially with a true HD signal). Looks pretty good with just a regular cable signal as well. Plenty of connections and features for the price. Unfortunately after about 6 months I started to notice green dots in the dark areas of the picture. At first this would only occur when the TV was on for an hour or more. After a few weeks the problem got worse and started happening all the time. Called Toshiba and they put me in contact with a local service company which came and picked up the TV to repair under warranty. The service company said they had seen this problem before with Toshiba's and it would be easy to fix; "should take about a week". Well, its now been three weeks and I still don't have my TV. Turns out the service company can't fix it and has recommended to Toshiba that they replace my TV. They think it may be the plasma screen itself. Toshiba has not yet determined what they will do, but have informed me that even if they decide to replace it, it will be 7 to 14 more days before I would get a replacement. I hope this isn't a common problem with Toshiba's and am worried that even a new one will develop the same problem AFTER the warranty has expired. Toshiba support is hit or miss. I've talked to three or four differnt people over the past week. Some have been extremely helpful, and some have been downright rude. Don't think I will ever purchase a Toshiba product again after this experience.

When I first went out to purchase a new TV, the Toshiba and the Panasonic plasma TVs caught my eye. However the Toshiba uses a Panasonic glass and I found the exterior chassis a better a design. Furthermore, since I mostly watch SD channels and DVDs, an EDTV would be perfect for me. Thus I decided to buy this TV. The picture quality was excellent, the sound was great, and this TV had enough connectors. Everything seemed great when I bought it in April 2006. Then around September or October, green pixels started showing up in the upper left hand corner. This happened now and then, but recently it has started to happen everytime and the pixels are now spreading everywhere. They also range from green, red, blue pixels and it seems to happen more frequently when there's a contrast between the background and the foreground (like a white image on a black background). Note: This issue occurs when I watch TV, DVDs, Tapes, etc...it's not just a signal issue and it's not a dirty power issue either. I am going to call Toshiba today to see what I can do. From the sounds of it, it looks like everyone is having this issue. Hopefully I can get a replacement.

Very disappointing, as the TV is an excellent TV....until this issue shows up.

2006/12/22 UPDATE: So the service centre tried cleaning and replacing certain cables in the back of the TV and they even took the TV into the shop to replace cables on the front side where the screen is. They still couldn't fix the problem. They are now ordering some parts in, and it will be January before they will get the parts.

2007/01/19 UPDATE: So they installed the new parts and for the first hour, the problem was gone, but after an hour, the pixels all came back and again, they are all over the screen. I called the service centre again, and they are ordering more parts, but I think I'm going to contact Toshiba's head office. This is ridiculous.

First off this is a really decent entry level plasma TV. Loads of inputs and a decent image from 10ft away. The internal speakers are nice as well.

That being said, like the other poster my unit was great until around 6 months. I just noticed green dots randomly being displayed on the upper 1/4 of the TV. I'm contacting Toshiba directly and hopefully this will be taken care of under warranty.

12/5/06 **Toshiba is replacing my unit with a 42HP66** In the meantime my current set is barely limping along with a full screen of green dots.

I bought this Plasma on 11-09-05 and it is now 11-19-06 .... has a one year factory warranty! So when i call tomorrow plan on being SOL!!! Was watching it and then nothing but sound ...picture is black and have noticed some small disorted spots lately but thought it was just directv picture...but guess not....Do not buy if going to not last longer than year !!!! Seeing the other post this ooks to be not good news....any idea how much that power supply part is going to cost??? Thanks for help!!!

WOW! I can't believe my eyes, reading the other reviews. I could have written my review word for word. We purchased this Plasma back in Feb 06 as well. TV went black although sound was still present. We've been dealing with Toshiba and their local repair shop since 10/7/06. As of today they've informed us that we'd be receiving a replacement TV which is the Toshiba 42HP66. However, it will be 10-15 day before we receive that.

I highly recommend an extended warranty at time of purchase, like another consumer mentioned.

We purchased the Toshiba 42HP66 9-3-2006 and did not have any problems until the screen suddenly went black on 6-12-2009. I have read the other posts on this model and based on what I am reading it appears this TV is not worth repairing based on the cost (I have no extended warranty). I have been told by some TV sales Personnel and have also read that it is not cost effective to purchase the extended warranty on TV's. I think I need to rethink this advice. I am very disappointed with Toshiba and will not purchase another product from this company.

I bought a toshiba when I moved into my apartment almost 4 yrs ago. last weekend the screen went black but I still had sound. had a repair guy in to tell me the y-board is broken and it will cost almost $900 to fix. While we wait to buy another TV this weekend we've been using my wife's 12 yr old sony TV that works fine. stay away from the Toshiba

A friend of mine had the TV for a little over a year when the screen went blank. He read all the reviews and decided it wasn't worth repairing and gave it to me. I had it serviced to see if it wasn't too expensive of a repair- found out theres no such thing as a cheap fix when it comes to plasmas. The Y board was toast and $790.00 later its fixed and looks decent for a 480p TV. Crossing my fingers that it doesn't blow up in another year. Regardless of what happens, after reading many reviews and feedback regarding Toshibas customer service I will never purchase another TV from the company.