Video Asylum

Posted by bondmanp (A) on February 04, 2003 at 07:39:08

In Reply to: Sony 46" Hi-Scan KP46WT500 vs. Toshiba 50H82 posted by dogswood on January 30, 2003 at 07:54:39:

I have owned a RPTV from Toshiba for almost nine years. A year ago, the convergence board died. I had it repaired for $600 and it has been perfect since. The repair tech who did the work could not believe what good shape the TV was in, both physically and picture-wise, considering its age. He remarked that I might get another 7 or 8 years out of it. It's all about lowering the contrast and brightness to sane levels, IMO.

So, I am a Toshiba fan. While CR might have rated Hitachi #1 in relability, I used to work at a retailer, and Hitachi was dropped, largely because of all the problems we had with their RPTVs, so YMMV.

I'm not a huge fan of Sony picture quality on their RPTVs. Also, keep in mind that a 50" screen is significantly larger than a 46" screen (measure the square-inch difference), and bigger is better for screen size if you're looking for a theater-like experience.