Customer Reviews

Toshiba 52HM95 52-Inch Widescreen Integrated HD DLP Projection TV

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I've had my 52 inch DLP Toshiba (52HM95) for 4 months, almost to the day. The lamp bulb blew last evening. When I did the math, that means I got about 500 hours of use for a lamp Toshiba's documentation boasts would last between 6000-8000 hours. Toshiba recognizes, because of countless complaints (check out their site if you don't believe me), that there may be a problem. They are replacing the lamps for several models. Luckily, because lamp bulbs are dying so quickly, many people still are able to get them replaced under the one year warranty. Now Toshiba has extended the waranty to 2 years because of the many complaints. By the way, bulbs can cost up to $350!!

So, although the TV is awesome, if you are wanting to buy this TV, or other similar rear projection TVs, it may be wise to wait until this issue is resolved. I will have to go without the use of mine until the lamp is shipped, they say 3-5 days. On a particular forum, many complain of a much longer wait. I did a lot of research on this TV before I bought it. I'm surprised I didn't find the complaints until now.

I did a lot of research before settling for this set. I spend almost 2.5 months looking for a HDTV. I had a projector TV, that was dying, so I decided to get something better. The features that sold me on this set is the DLP. Ok so plasma looks great. But you will have a dead TV in 5-7yrs. Even though they are people arguing that number to be a lot higher, the plasma will just keep getting dimmer and dimmer.

This TV is great. I have had mine for over 3 months now and I am still in love with it. It has a lot more features that I get to use.

Bad things: There were 2 issues on this TV, that I was aware before buying it. One was the spot light and the other was the noise.

a. Spot light. Because of the way the lamp(s) are setup there is this glare that is ON all of the time. It is more noticeable at night time or when you have a dark room. Turn the TV off and you will notice it. When the TV is on, there is no problem at all. I have read that there is no problem on burning anything on the screen. It is not bright or anything, but once you noticed, you will noticed it all of the time. Most people wont notice it, but it is definetely there. It is very fainted and small (about 6" inches diameter in the center of the screen)

b. Fan Noise. Yes, the fan keeps running even when the TV is off. If you set the quick switch on, it will take about 5 minutes or so in which the fans are engaged. After that, the main fan goes silent. But there is still a fan running on it. If you get close to the set, you can actually hear it. It does not bother me at all, since the features on it overshadow these 2 minor things. The fan noise is not noticeable, unless you put your ear right next to the tv set.

The design is great, and you need to order the table from toshiba, so that it compliments the TV. One thing to be aware. You should try to purchase the TV stand online and do not pay more than $200.00. The TV stand is made out of styrofoam. Yes, I know I was expecting wood, but NOPE. It is styrofoam, with a little bit of wood and some glass. THAT's IT...! It is really, really CHEAP. but it looks great with the TV and give a good stability to the TV.

The TV guide program is really bad design. There is 1/3 of the screen dedicated to ads. Moving around that menu is very difficult and cumbersome.

The HDTV is just great. I did not even need an external antenna to receive some of the free HDTV broadcast. I will agree with some other users, that once you see what HDTV looks like, it is very hard to see regular programming...

The memory card reader does produce some grainy looking pictures. Even thought I am using a 7.2 megapixel camera to take the snapshots.

The TV is very thin, and light. It occupies very little space and looks really great with any setting. The picture is very bright and clear.

Darkness: This is where this TV really outshines the competition. The black in this TV is REALLY BLACK and not gray like the sony's. It is really hard to compare the dark colors at the stores, because they do set the units to their brightess settings and then there is so much artificial lights in the store. But trust me, this TV is great for movie viewing in a dark room. You wont miss any details on the dark scenes.

I spent many hours researching online & looking in the stores. This picture to me was the best bang for the buck. Less than $1900 shipped to my door, I found the stand online for under $200 & it really does add to the appearance of the setup. I am blown away by sporting events on HD.

The HDMI input for my Toshiba dvd player is sweet. The picture is stunning. My neighbor has Plasma at more than twice the costs & now he wants mine. The split screen is a nice feature if you have children.

I have read about many problems with the cablecard but my experience has been the problems lie with the cable companies themselves, Comcast has told me they are having compatibility issues. The memory card reader is another nice feature although I dont know whether it is the card/camera I am using or the TV that makes the pictures look a little grainy.

There have been grumblings of Lamp issues with this TV but way too soon for me to comment on that { had mine for 2 months}. I find the lower setting on the brightness of the lamp looks almost as good as the higher setting esp. at night. The lower setting should add another 2000 hours to the life of the lamp. Even if the lamp does go the cost { $350 } is much cheaper than maintainence on a Plasma or LCD.

You cannot go wrong with the TV. I highly recommend.

My wife and I went to several brick and mortar stores and compared sets. This set, for the money , easily had the best HDTV and brightest picture.

A cable box and dvd player are hooked up to it.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00078GLJY/qid=1127756368/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9161834-6997466?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846

(FYI, For the money. this is the best dvd player. Please be sure to specify the HDMI cable if you plan to use this DVD player with this HDTV set. Cable specifity may only be applicable if you order this dvd player direct from Oppo. Very easy to hookup.)

The cable guy hooked the cable box. WARNING - Once you start watching HDTV , you may find yourself dis-inclined to watch TV in other modes - especially in standard mode.

For more technical users, the Comcast Motorola HDTV cable box allows the user to output TV format he/she prefers. To view the cablebox user settings, turn the cable off (with the TV on) and press "Menu". From there you select the output format. The cablebox box can be set to upconvert the 480i format to 480p and helps increase the picture quality on the Toshiba HDTV. I prefer the 720p output format over the 1080i in the HDTV setting - although they are very close to each other to the naked eye. To me, the 720p is a smoother picture.

Cons :

Currently ,Comcast only really offers a handful of HDTV stations maybe about 20 altogether. Hopefully, that will increase in the future.

This model does not have PIP although you may display side by side (with different sources). There is no zoom, but there is a freeze button.

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.

After purchasing this television in late 2005, we've had to replace the lamp (bulb) three times! The second lamp (bulb) we purchased in December 2007 lasted for less than 90 days after it was installed! At $250 - $300 a each, this is adding a lot to the cost of ownership. March 6, 2008, when I went to the Toshiba website I found Toshiba added a two year extended warranty to the lamp; however, when I called Toshiba customer service I was told that the exteneded warranty was only for the ORIGINAL lamp. Since I am on my THIRD lamp it doesn't apply to me. Please don't take my word for it, read other reviews from Toshiba DLP owners who are having the same or similar problems BEFORE you buy! Buyer beware.

We purchased this television in January 2006 and the lamp went out within the first 3 months. Now the $2000 set, at 2 1/2 years old, has a problem with the light engine and color wheel. I have no picture sometimes with off an on screen with distorted colors and a loud grinding noise from the set. I am told it will cost around $700 to fix. I did not expect television like this to only last a couple of years. When I contacted Toshiba their customer service basically says too bad for consumers with the bad luck of purchasing their poor quality, unreliable product. I do not plan to give Toshiba another dime. I understand there may be a class action for some models on the lamp issue.

2 years old, and still going strong! No issues at all. Fantastic picture, and with the integrated stand, really looks nice. It had the nicest picture of all the DLP sets in the store when I bought it.

We bought this TV in June 2006. It was the display model at Sears. After finally getting the remote and manual (always a problem when buying a demo) we were in business.

First we had Dish Network, and a fantastic picture! (Install guy was a bit jealous.) About a year ago we went to cable (Broadstripe - Michigan) and continue to get a great picture.

We have had NO bulb issues, amazing seeing how it was a demo. (Having said that, I just bet that bulb is going to blow now!)

Sound is excellent. Picture is to die for.

Maybe we just got lucky with our model. I mean sure, we'll have to replace the bulb sometime, but it beats replacing the whole tv, e.g., like when the plasma tv wears out.

I'd buy one again, and recommend it to a friend.

I ordered the 52HM95 in 2005 and at first, I thought it was the best. The picture on it was the best I have seen. However, in the first year, the lamp burned out, fortunately, it was still under warranty and was replaced without cost to us. The remote has a distinct hum to in whenever it is lit(whenever a button is pushed). We recently noticed discolorization on the left hand of the screen, which looks distinctly like a magnet is too close to the screen. Since It is a freestanding television with no magnets or speakers anywhere near it, I can only assume it is due to the internal speakers of the television. Toshiba will do nothing about it since it is out of warranty. I would warn anyone to stay away from Toshiba televisions and look elsewhere.