Customer Reviews

Toshiba 52HM94 52-Inch DLP Integrated HDTV with Cable Card Slot

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I waited for some time before purchasing this TV and my only regret is that I did not buy it sooner. For starters, I ordered it on a Thursday and recieved it the following Tuesday. A full week before I expected it. The delivery company was top notch and not only carried the TV in but removed the trash as well. However none of that compared to three hours later when I finally connected the last wire and turned it on. Picture clarity was as good as any plasma or LCD I have seen. When watching DVD's it's like your looking through a window outside. As for video games the TV even includes a special game mode that increases the framerate for games that have alot going on at once. Cool. The only bummer was the integrated HDTV card. I spent the extra cash for it only to find out that Direct TV dosen't support it. So you may want to check with you HDTV provider before spending the extra money. I would recommend this TV to everyone.

I bought this through Amazon about a month ago. Shipping was very fast and as stated in another reveiw, the truckers brought the tv in, removed it from its packaging, and took the trash with them, it was great. Setup was easy. High definition is absolutely crystal clear, I've never seen a picture like this from a television before. Standard broadcast doesn't come close to the hi-def, but is above par with other tv's. I hooked this tv up with the toshiba sd-5970 dvd with HDMI and could not be more impressed with it. In closing, great tv, great price through amazon, and a great experience getting it.

***Update 2/21/06

Since I wrote my initial review, let's just say that I've had more than my share of problems with this TV. It all started when the local cable company tried to install their cable card into this TV. After many weeks of Adelphia saying it was the TV and Toshiba customer service saying it was the cable card, we finally figured out that there was a faulty computer system in my TV (the cable card slot, the picture viewer would not work). Luckily this all happened during the warrantee period because the part that ended up getting replaced was a $1400 part, plus installation. It took months for the new part to finally get sent and installed. Then, everything worked. For a few weeks. Then slowly but surely sometimes when trying to tune into an HD channel, I would lose signal from the cable card and this problem would cause the whole cable to go out. Everytime this happens, it takes a good ten to fifteen minutes to reset and get all of your channels back. But worse than that, the problem has gotten worse and worse and now can happen several times in the same day. This can be very frustrating when you're trying to watch something particular or you have guests over to watch a big game or something. I am waiting to hear back from Toshiba about this issue, but I only have a few days left of my warrantee. I have to hope that nothing else goes wrong. So far, they have been very slow but have taken care of all of my problems and have been nice about it.

To top all of the problems off, a few weeks ago the lamp blew out. Fortunately it, too, is covered under the warrantee. The lamp is "supposed" to last 3 years. It actually lasted about 9 months of very light viewing. This lamp is a $400 part. If you're adding, that's $1800 they've had to send me for free, not to mention a lot of time without a working and a lot of hassle. I'm trepidatious about my warrantee runnning out on me and these very expensive problems continuing.

All that being said, when the TV is in full working order, I still think it has one of the best pictures around for the price. Of course, it is not worth the aggravation with all of the problems that I've had, but perhaps it's just that I got a problem child from Toshiba. I would not have bought this television from Amazon.com or any other on-line retailer because of the shipping problems. I would probably have gone with a retailer that could offer the extended warrantee, especially if that covered the lamp. I just think that if you spend over $2000 on a television that you shouldn't have to sink any more money into it for at least a couple years.****

Original Review:

I bought this TV about two months ago. I did a lot of research (...) to narrow down the best quality-to-cost-efficiency ratio. While at the time this set was still a couple hundred more than I wanted to spend, I notified Amazon of some lower prices I'd found around the Internet and within hours they had matched it (they match the total price because many other sites charged higher shipping and, of course, sales tax, which Amazon does not). I decided to take the plunge, having had three Toshiba TVs in the past and never being disappointed (one of them was a 40" CRT HD-Ready projection that was impressive at the time). The amount of features on this unit were staggering; the most enticing for me were the HDMI connections, the Cable Card slot, and the latest, more sophisticated DLP engine. I also ordered the stand from Amazon (through Crutchfield -- had problems with them shipping the stand expeditiously. I ordered the stand a day after I ordered the TV and the TV arrived over a week earlier and came from further away).

I had some problems with the shipping company. They delayed my shipment several days after the TV arrived in my area to wait for the TV stand I ordered (they were delivering both items). When it finally showed up at my house, there was a huge hole in the side of the box and only one small delivery driver. The driver hauled the TV inside my house, had me inspect that the hole hadn't done any damage, and had me sign some paperwork -- then he was off on his merry way. These televisions are so big that there's quite a lot of box and packaging, which became a nightmare when I had to break it down and send it out on several day's recycling pick-ups the next few days because there was so much (the delivery company, Eagle Global, was supposed to unbox my new TV and haul away the trash, which would have been much easier). I consider myself lucky, though, that the TV works fine because one drawback of ordering from Amazon is that once you sign the paperwork they wash their hands of your purchase unless you've bought into their very expensive warrantee. I dreaded having to schedule service through Toshiba if something had gone awry.

But the unit was easy to set up, easy to install on the stand (a somewhat cheap and flimsy but nice-looking stand). I had it up and running in no time and didn't have much trouble comprehending the manual.

Right now I have DirecTV (blame my girlfriend for that one), and it is a financial investment to get HD service through them (plus you can't use the Cable Card). The contract is almost up, so Adelphia seems like the best way to go there. I did go out and by a Terk HD antenna for my local stations and the picture is amazing (though the rabbit ears over my sleek TV are unseemly). The current DirecTV digital programming looks very poor on this TV. It seems to me that this TV is begging for an HD source. In fact, at first I was very disappointed in the picture even on DVDs played on my progressive scan Panasonic DVD-S47. I didn't see any of the rainbow effect that they warn about, but artifacts are all over the place - especially distracting in dark or busy action sequences. This problem accounts for my subtracting one star from the review -- but from what I have read and understand, a new DVD player with progressive scan upconversion should not only make the picture close to true HD-quality, but also should make those artifacts disappear. If that's the case, then I have nothing but praise for this TV. It's slim, it's light, it's got a beautiful screen, a ton of features (ready for the technology of the next few years at least), and Toshiba has once again proven to be the best bang for my buck.

The is the first review I've ever written about anything I've ever purchased. I thought maybe some people would like to know what to expect when they are ready to invest thousands into entertainment. I based my decision on many factors, and one important one was customer reviews. This set couldn't be much better for what I paid. I think now that it's a matter of setting up other components and inputs for this set to really shine. If the Toshiba SD-5970 DVD player I'm getting today clears up the little glitches in DVD play that I think it will, I wouldn't hesitate giving this television a well thought out 5 stars.

Addendum 7/12/05 -- I purchased a Toshiba upconversion DVD player (everything about the player, other than the HDMI picture and sound, are horrid and designed by chimps somewhere), and the difference in the picture is very noticeable. The ghosting that had bothered me so much on DVDs is now virtually gone and the HDMI connection creates a sharp, crisp picture (although no aspect ratio control whatsoever). An easy upgrade to 5 stars, especially at the price I paid for it and $100 Amazon gift card I received. Getting HD cable this week because this TV is an absolute joy to watch.

I waited a long time for Toshiba to produce this high quality TV,and they did not leave anything out in this product"Kudos to them".The picture and sound is stunning and I'am receiving it through a 38 year old antenna install in the attic.Intergrated HDTV is the amazement of the future.I held off the purchase from Amazon in fear of shipping a sensitive product without damage.Let me tell you Amazon has not only the best price but the most professonial movers I ever deal with "Kudos to them".So dont wait let Amazon perform for you.

I have owned this television for over a year and have been nothing but happy with it. I subscribe to an HD package with my satelite provider and use a dvd player linked with an HDMI cable -- the picture on both dvds and my HD programing is great. I have had numerous friends come over and be amazed that a projection television can produce such a great picture. The memory card slot on the telivison can be quite useful at times, too. The television has a picture viewer and an MP3 player so I can load up some MP3s onto a memory card real quick (I use memory stick but the television accepts many different memory cards) take them to my television and listen to them with all of the song information displayed on television screen.

I did have one small problem a few months after I purchased the television. The audio would come on but no picture. I called technical support and they were very quick to determine that my bulb had gone, so they immediately sent me another one. However after I got off the phone with them I put the old bulb back in and it worked again. Have never had a problem with it since.

I also had issues with the screen. There was a thumb print on the inside of the screen and a new screen had to be put in. That was the easy part. After months of the TV not working and 5 service calls, Toshiba finally replaced my TV. The newer one has blown bulbs twice in 10 months and has been in for service once. Toshiba's customer service is really bad. They have a "we got your money now your screwed" attitude. Google this model and you will find multiple sites with very upset people. I know some have been lucky, but don't take the chance.

Toshiba doesn't know what customer service is , I bought a new 52hmx95 over a month ago and it took much yelling to get a lamp replace bulb . I installed it and the tv still doesn't work..Called Toshiba and got the same old run around .. Bad tv , bad company ..

This is a follow up to my review of 7/05. I stated in my review that I had some issues with the verticle bars and loss of video at various times since I purchased my set in 5/05. I have been contacted by TOSHIBA recently, and a "file" has been created for my complaints. I have no idea if anything else will be done to settle my claim for a new replacement or not. I gave them details of my problems and asked them to let me know their decision. I will insist on the identical model, as I love the hd performance and I am willing to give them another chance to make it right by me. As of today, two weeks after their phone interview, I have not gotten any response on my claim. I would still reccomend this television almost without hesitation (pendind a fix by TOSHIBA). For the money, the digital picture is very good to outstanding and the hd performance will knock your socks off!!!!.............still waiting............

Amazon uses the company which is very irresponsible in shipping the TV. The package box for the one I got was crashed and Amozon refused to replace it. When I have the problem with this new TV Amazon kick the ball to the manufacture. The manufacture sent me to local service people. Local service charges several hundred $ for in house inspection.

Inspect screen Before signing and accepting delivery of any Toshiba DLP, be sure to check the screen to make sure that the coating on the inside of the screen is uniform. On mine, there was a circle about 10" in diameter that you can see in certain lighting and even when the TV is off! It will appear lighter than the surrounding areas at times and can be annoying. I called Toshiba and had a service man come out and even though he acknowledged that this is common, Toshiba will not replace the screen. I would have given them a negative 10 if it were possible just because of their attitude. So, look at the screen VERY carefully before accepting or purchasing. If you see this problem, refuse to accept it. Or else just buy a Samsung or Mitsubishi DLP to avoid the problem I have.
carefully before accepting delivery