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42" 720P DLP PROJECTIVE TV
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Technical Details
- 720p 42-inch DLP television with built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners and CableCARD port; measures 39.25 x 28.3 x 12.6 inches (WxHxD)- TALEN 5 engine with PixelPure 14-Bit video processing; Faroudja DCDi eliminates jagged artifacts
- 3D Y/C comb filter for razor sharp image; Cinema Mode 3:2 pulldown detection and reversal
- Connections: composite (1 in), S-Video (1 in), component (2 in), HDMI (2 in), RF (1 in), PC VGA (1 in)
- Two stereo speakers, 10 watts apiece (20 watts total); SRS WOW virtual surround sound
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By A. T. Williams
I bought our TV mid 2007 and was initially pleased with the apparent value. The picture quality was great, though the speakers were underpowered when watching digital television signals. Analog channels had acceptable volume.
My frustration began in late 2009. The TV began making a buzzing or grinding sound intermitently; some days were worse than others. Shortly thereafter, the picture went out and the TV was inoperable. Several online reviews described the same noise and diagnosed it as the light engine, not the bulb, color wheel, or fan. Light engines were available online for approximately $400, but I was neither confident in the diagnosis nor the installation.
I called a repair man to confirm the problem before proceeding. He determined that the color wheel was no longer properly aligned, which was the likely source of the noise. He was surprised that the color wheel caused the picture to go bad, and discovered that the bulb was burnt out.
On most DLP sets, the total cost of these 2 repairs would be approximately $350. Unfortunately, Toshiba is one of the few DLP manufacturers that does not sell individual parts like the color wheel, choosing instead to sell the light engine assembly. Non-OEM parts were available online as mentioned earlier, but this was only one of the 2 problems. To replace the bulb and light engine, I was looking at $600 which can buy a completely new TV.
Online reviews accurately described the symptoms and problem, and estimated the cost of repair well. However, had I pursued the repair myself I would have missed the 2nd unrelated problem caused by the burnt out bulb. In this case, calling a qualified repair technician paid off.
Toshiba's decision to sell spare parts at the modular level makes the most likely repairs major investments. According to the repair man, Toshiba is the exception and not the rule for DLP TV's. Since I had paid the repair man for the visit, I interviewed him about him long-term TV reliability. He had a couple of interesting points:
1) DLP TV's are on the lower end of repair costs (excluding Toshiba due to their modular assembly). LCD's and plasma's are also modular and are expensive to repair.
2) He warned of the lowest tier of TV's due to the frequency of the parent company filing bankrupcy. He suggested that you stick to Philips, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, etc.
By J. Yatsko
I've had this television since 2007. I bought mine at Sears. When I bought my first TV at Sears, it lasted for 6 days before it wouldn't turn on anymore. I took it back and they gave me a new one. I also opted for an extended 3 warranty at that time since I already had trouble with the TV.
Almost 2 years go by and I am totally happy with the TV. Picture is awesome, internal speakers are decent.
At the beginning of 2009 the fan started to make loud noises. A tech came out and diagnosed the fan as bad. While waiting for a replacement fan to show up, the bulb got too hot and blew up. The fan and bulb were replaced.
About a month after the bulb and fan were replaced, there was no picture again. They sent me a new bulb, thinking that was the problem. But the TV still had no picture. A technician came out and diagnosed the whole light engine as bad. They took the light engine to be repaired since there weren't parts for this TV anymore. A couple of weeks after that, they called me and told me that they couldn't fix the light engine and would be giving me a replacement TV. I replaced this unit with a Panasonic.
All-in-all... If I did it over again, I would not buy this television and I would have spent a little more on something with a proven track record.
By D. Johnson (Central Kansas)
I love the TV itself, it is excellent in all aspects. As other reviewers have stated though, the bulb has only lasted up to one year and they are expensive. The first one was almost $400 installed. There will not be a second one which is available for $250. The TV is just under 2 yrs old. We thought this TV would be a less expensive second unit when we bought it at the same time as our LCD flat screen. This Toshiba has now cost a lot more.
By Jeremie Wells (Illinois)
I have had this TV for a year now and it has a great picture and sound. This, however, does not make up for the the fact that Toshiba will not honor their warranty. My HDMI input went out at 9 months and the part is no longer available. Toshiba informed me that I had 3 options. 1) Leave the TV the way it is. 2) Buy my own part and fix it ( the part is still out there, but since it is not available at a Toshiba authorized company, they will not pay for it. 3) they will give me $500 for it. This is the second product that Toshiba has tried to screw me on.
By T. Smith (NY, NY)
I wish I knew before I bought this TV for my dad. I think I paid $799 for it just 15 months ago and the lamp has to be replaced. Until this point I was happy with Toshiba products(I have a 42" LCD and two HD-DVD players) but now...How can you justify a TV that costs $1000 retail having to have a $200 part every year? Of course the warranty expired 3 months ago. An extended warranty may have covered the new bulb but you have to make sure, for $50 bucks or so the 2 year warranty would cover 2 bulbs at this rate and save about $400.
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