mech Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 Hey everyone, Been reading up on the threads on this board while looking for a new 86cm widescreen HD tv. I think I've decided on the Toshiba 36SW9UA - it is cheaper than the Panasonic and the Sony, and does all the HD resolutions (almost got the pana, but it doesn't do 720p at all, or 1080i at 60hz). Harvey Norman is selling the 36SW9UA for $4000 RRP, does anyone know what sort of price I should be able to haggle it down to if I shop around? Was thinking something like $3400 - is that reasonable/too much to expect to pay? Also, has anyone got said TV? Got worried for a sec when people were saying Palsonic was the same quality and that the PQ was far worse than Sony and Pana, but was quite happy to hear it was just a mix up between the superceded and current models I'd love to hear people's feedback on whether they think it's much chop. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers.
ijd Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 I'd love to hear people's feedback on whether they think it's much chop. I think that the resolution and PQ are superb, but ... the 76cm version (32sw9ua) seemed to have a slight green tinge on the two sets I have seen (one at Encel connected via s-video; the other at HN connected via YUV). This might therefore apply to all 76cm sets. the 86cm (36sw9ua) colour balance seemed to me to be a bit 'muddy' (but not 'green') on the only one I have seen (connected via YUV at Encel). If these slight flaws can be adjusted through calibration (using DVE or a THX DVD and the Service Menu), then I would rate the sw9ua well above the Sony KVHR and Pana 200a for PQ. 2i cents, Ian
betty boop Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 Got worried for a sec when people were saying Palsonic was the same quality and that the PQ was far worse than Sony and Pana, but was quite happy to hear it was just a mix up between the superceded and current models I'd love to hear people's feedback on whether they think it's much chop. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well thats exactly my sentiments on this TV, and no I am not getting confused wit hsuperceded or current models. I spent a lot of time comparing this TV with both the equivalent pana and sony and ended up buying neither of them. I was dishearted with the picture quality of the toshiba - dissapointed because I really originally thought it was a pretty special TV and have always had a high opinion of Tosh products. Didn't buy the pana or sony due to their bulk and the limitations of the panasonic. I ended up buying a plasma instead and very happy with my purchase and have never looked back. Do your own testing and make a decision for your self and buy the TV that suits you best - thats probably the best advice I could give.
mello yello Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 I'd love to hear people's feedback on whether they think it's much chop. I think that the resolution and PQ are superb, but ... the 76cm version (32sw9ua) seemed to have a slight green tinge on the two sets I have seen (one at Encel connected via s-video; the other at HN connected via YUV). This might therefore apply to all 76cm sets. the 86cm (36sw9ua) colour balance seemed to me to be a bit 'muddy' (but not 'green') on the only one I have seen (connected via YUV at Encel). If these slight flaws can be adjusted through calibration (using DVE or a THX DVD and the Service Menu), then I would rate the sw9ua well above the Sony KVHR and Pana 200a for PQ. 2i cents, Ian <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ive got the 32sw9ua and i havent seen any colour problems with it at all. It does have a tint setting accessible via the main menu which may have been a factor in the one you saw (kids in the shop maybe)but you did say it was in two separate teles in separate stores (same kids??? ) who knows all i know is mine is the 76cm model and does not have any colour problems at all that are inherent in the tele...... what i mean is GIGO (garbage in garbage out) on some analouge signals faces appear red (mostly on WIN) and just as i think there is something wrong with the tele ill flick to Austar via Svideo and crisp pictures again (well as good as Austar will allow). DVD via component has great resolution and colours, and im still talking about low resolution source on a HD tele. Bottom line with this tele i think is if you feed it a good signal it rocks.
gbb Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 Hi people. Bulk of the 86cm Sony is also an issue for me but I've been told that the Sony is as, if not better, than a Plasma, & I'm interested to hear views on Sony v Tosh with pq re hd. Interested to hear how you go, mech. h
ijd Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 Ive got the 32sw9ua and i havent seen any colour problems with it at all. Hi Mello Yello, Thanks for your feedback on on the 32sw. I was going to ask you about it a day or so ago, but thought you had the 36sw. For Mech's benefit, I should stress that the 'green' tinge I saw was hardly noticeable when comparing with other sets. It would never be noticeable at home by yourself (or by me!) without a basis for comparison - and may be something as simple as some residual tint in the glass. IMO, the Toshiba has the best PQ of all CRTs - but I would not spend nearly double the $$ on it over the Pana 76cm 200a ($3.5k v. $2k). Cheers, Ian
mello yello Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 ijd youre welcome, id be happy to answer any question i know the answer to lol mech hope this helps your hunt dee jays have a 20% off their teles till 24 oct i heard but they dont stock toshiba however you may be able to use that as a bargaining chip with their main competitor myer/megamart who do stock both 32sw9ua and 36sw9ua im not sure what they retail the 36sw but their ticket price on the 32sw was $3299 (still 200 less than anywhere else) and i managed to haggle that down to $2650 if you can get 20%off the 36sw youre laughing because i think its got heaps of "chop" ps forget hardly normal they tried to tell me 2650 was less than their cost price of the 32sw8ua (hardly truthful) good luck in your hunt
mello yello Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 while im on the subject of Megamart id like to give some credit where i believe credit is due. the guys at Megamart Alexandria where i bought mine from not only offered me a great deal without pushy service (Raymond) but when i had a minor problem with the set, without question offered me a replacement delivered (Ben electrical manager) as well as knowlegable service from Thoma when i went back to get the s25 box. ive heard and read a couple of negative experiences with different stores from a couple of different people so id like to give these guys their due raps for a job well done especially in the after sales.
mctoolhead Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 I saw the Toshiba 86cm at Harvey Norman Maribyrnong about 2 weeks ago for $3300. Looked like a "special" as the price tag was different (ie "louder") than all the other floor stock.
mech Posted October 5, 2004 Author Posted October 5, 2004 $3300? Damn, that's good! Just should reiterate - after the 86cm, not the 76cm. Willing to pay the extra dosh for the real estate. Sounds like I will go the Toshiba. Going to go in one afternoon in a couple of weeks to Harvey Norman and Megamart and have a look at what they've got on display and see if I can haggle them down. Will let you know how I go
Pig Posted October 12, 2004 Posted October 12, 2004 Well i got the 9UA Tosh for $2700 from Myer Adelaide with a SD STB. Harv Norm do the 8UA for $2499 but they wont sell the 9UA when I asked. Not sure why, maybe over stocked on the 8UA or something. Personally I wouldnt buy from HN anyway. Pig
Markus1503559604 Posted October 13, 2004 Posted October 13, 2004 ...the guys at Megamart Alexandria where i bought mine from not only offered me a great deal without pushy service (Raymond) but when i had a minor problem with the set, without question offered me a replacement delivered "Ditto", I also found Raymond's service and pricing excellent. Markus
DRB1503559766 Posted October 13, 2004 Posted October 13, 2004 Well i got the 9UA Tosh for $2700 from Myer Adelaide with a SD STB. Harv Norm do the 8UA for $2499 but they wont sell the 9UA when I asked. Not sure why, maybe over stocked on the 8UA or something. Personally I wouldnt buy from HN anyway.Pig <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Mr Pig Was there much haggling to get this 32*9A down to 2700? I went to Myer today and they have a 10% off redemption in Myer vouchers deal making the tube 3 grand but no set top box. I tried to find best price but I wasn't getting served by someone in the department...a poor excuse of a droid from the whitegoods section. I was in a hurry and more interested in the measurements for my cabinet! Probably will be back to buy and would love to get the price you paid. Can you tell me which STB you got? Dave
Pig Posted October 13, 2004 Posted October 13, 2004 Dave, I originally did some ringing around and first found the 9UA at truscotts for $2700 with a STB. The guy there was pretty quick to say that price and throw in a stb before i even mentioned stb. So I reckon if you haggle them you might get better maybe. I rang Myer and the guy said he would get back to me and when he did he said he'd do it for $2700 but not a dollar less since he is only doing it for turn over. Not sure if there was more in it but i thought with fly buys etc and all that...its a good deal! Do what I did, tell them you got a deal from truscott for $2700 and see what they say or go to Truscott and haggle them. They threw in the NORDMENDI STB. It does the job till I get a HD box. Has 2x scarts, 1x svideo and your standard rca video/audio lead. And only coax audio out. Check out the Toshiba website for specs on the tv and reviews. The unit is 75cm in width and 54cm in depth. 54kg's too!! Good luck Pig
DRB1503559766 Posted October 13, 2004 Posted October 13, 2004 Thanks Pig, We don't have Truscott's around here. I may have to go to Sydney to find a price match close to that. Thanks for the info! Dave
mech Posted October 20, 2004 Author Posted October 20, 2004 Well, I got the 86cm 36sw9ua for $3300 from MegaMart. Bloody huge, but I managed to modify my existing cabinet and fit it in there - saved myself a few hundred. Very nice picture, though a few niggles. S-Video input looks AWFUL compared to component, does anyone else have that problem? Tried it through multiple inputs but they all look bad. I fiddled with the noise reduction and stuff, and got it halfway decent, but it's still quite blurry. There's also quite a bit of chromatic abberation, and some ghosting from bright sources when they move, but I haven't actually changed many of the settings yet, so I'm hopeful I can fix that. apart from that, it's amazing. Like light and day compared to my old 80cm 4:3 TV. Watched a bit of Star Wars last night through component input and it looked stunning. Hope Foxtel Digital upgrades to component sometime in the future. No STB because of Foxtel. Also, Megamart had a special deal on with 6 months free foxtel if you bought a TV over $2000, but I don't think I'm eligible because I'm not a new customer. worst part is I got Foxtel Digital so it'd be ready for this TV. Sigh. Will call and enquire anyway.
mech Posted October 20, 2004 Author Posted October 20, 2004 Oh yeah, and the best Harvey Norman would do was $3380 for a demo model off the floor, and $3450 for a new model. Weak. Found it very hard to find the Toshiba elsewhere. Almost considered the Sony, but the best I could get it at was around $3800-4000, which was just too much extra for very little benefit.
DRB1503559766 Posted October 20, 2004 Posted October 20, 2004 Oh yeah, and the best Harvey Norman would do was $3380 for a demo model off the floor, and $3450 for a new model. Weak. Found it very hard to find the Toshiba elsewhere. Almost considered the Sony, but the best I could get it at was around $3800-4000, which was just too much extra for very little benefit. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Mech, I've just set up my 32SW9UA and I'm exhausted. The S-video out of fox digital was a shocker....B&W with the odd colour thrown in....very weird. I think the scart adapter is used was a bit dodgy. One of the pins sank into the jack so it may have been the cause of the poor picture. The composite was so much better! After setting up TEAC DV-B420 and plugging in the Toshiba DVD/VCR combo I'm reasonalby satisfied. I'm going to probably post the full ordeal later. Enjoy the box! Dave
mech Posted October 20, 2004 Author Posted October 20, 2004 The S-video out of fox digital was a shocker....B&W with the odd colour thrown in....very weird. I had that too! Very bizarre. After bagging out the S-Video (checking the Foxtel and my DVD player), I had a look at the S-Video out of my computer to the TV and it looked fantastic, so I am totally confused. Watched a few DVDs tonight and they looked awesome. Can't wait to see 720p/1080i
mickbick Posted April 7, 2005 Posted April 7, 2005 Can I dredge up an old thread as I'm about to buy the 86cm Tosh (36SW9UA), but I want to ask mech and ijd to explain, 1, chromatic aberration, and how to fix, and 2, DVE and how to reach the service menu for any necessary fine tuning. Thanks in advance, mickbick mech: "There's also quite a bit of chromatic abberation, and some ghosting from bright sources when they move, but I haven't actually changed many of the settings yet, so I'm hopeful I can fix that." ijd: "If these slight flaws can be adjusted through calibration (using DVE or a THX DVD and the Service Menu), then I would rate the sw9ua well above the Sony KVHR and Pana 200a for PQ."
Recommended Posts