July 2002 Reviewed by Doug Blackburn	Toshiba 36HF71 36" High-Definition Television

Description Model: Toshiba 36HF71 Price: $2099 USD Dimensions: 29.75"H x 38.25"W x 24.25"D Weight: 214 pounds Warranty: 1 year parts and labor, 2 years on tubes (in-home service for the first year) Features HDTV compatible IDSC II (Intelligent Digital Scan Conversion -- 480p/1080i) 16:9 mode (1080i vertical compression) Invar shadow mask 3D Y/C digital comb filter (4MB, 10 bit) with vertical contour correction Advanced Velocity Scan Modulation

Features (cont'd) Dynamic Quadruple Focus Wide-band video amplifier Cinema Mode (3:2 pull down) Three color-temperature settings DNR (dynamic noise reduction) on/off Backlit A/V universal remote control DoubleWindow dual-tuner picture-in-picture (PIP) ColorStream® HD component-video inputs (Y, Pr, Pb) (2) One-button sleep timer Speed Surf Two-level mute Front-panel lockout Double-baffle cabinet design SRS® 3D sound 20W audio system

The Toshiba 36HF71, at a $2099 list price, represents an attainable step up to HDTV for many people. With digital cable, digital satellite, and increasing numbers of local broadcast channels getting onto the high-definition (HD) bandwagon, there is more reason than ever to consider an HDTV monitor. Current HD program offerings include the HBO and Showtime HD channels, which run feature films as well as some of their own shows like Band of Brothers.

Description

HDTVs with a 4:3 aspect ratio will give you conventional TV that fills the entire screen. When you view widescreen DVDs or widescreen HDTV, the 4:3 HDTV’s vertical-compression mode (automatic in some sets, manual in others) squeezes the vertical lines closer together so all of them are used to reproduce the widescreen image with no loss of resolution.

In the case of the Toshiba 36HF71, this capability effectively turns the 4:3 set into a 16:9 set, which has the same image (both quality and size) as the more-expensive 34" 16:9 version of the same chassis.

The 36HF71 has a fairly standard complement of inputs and outputs. The front panel has stereo audio plus composite and S-video camcorder connections. The rear panel has two component inputs, two conventional input sets with composite and S-video, plus audio and video outputs. The profile of the cabinet makes the tube seem very large -- and it feels large if you try to carry this 220-pound TV.

There were a couple of positives about the Toshiba’s controls: Color, hue, brightness, contrast, and sharpness adjustments have bar graphs and numbers. It is really important to have numbers so settings can be easily repeated. Bar graphs alone are a pain. The menus are easy to access and use from Toshiba’s remote and from almost any contemporary programmable remote.

However, the 36HF71’s controls and features led to some disappointments. Video settings are not saved for each input. That means your settings for cable or satellite TV are retained when you change to DVD. But if you readjust for DVD, when you switch back to cable or satellite, you will have the DVD settings active. It takes at least two button presses to select a video input. It’s more intuitive and simpler to have six buttons on the remote: one dedicated to each video input. This makes programming other remote controls more consistent and predictable. There is no control over scan velocity modulation, used to artificially enhance edges between light and dark or different-colored items. Some sets, certain Sony models for example, do offer comprehensive SVM control, including "off," which is usually the best mode of all.

The on-board sound system in the 36HF71 is pretty bad. I thought there would be times when I would use the internal speakers for casual viewing of programming with on-board TV sound, but the sound system was not nearly as capable as those heard in some other 36" HD sets. I found the dual-tuner PIP implementation in the 36HF71 to be somewhat frustrating to use. The controls aren’t intuitive enough that you can just fall into using the PIP features without a period of self-training. Furthermore, you don’t get a full-screen image with an inset PIP image; you get two small images side by side on the screen. You can adjust the relative sizes somewhat, but you cannot get the effect you may be used to from earlier PIP implementations where you can move the small inset image to any corner of the full-sized image.

The remote control provided is backlit and programmable. However, programming is limited to VCR and cable-converter-box codes from a limited stored list. You cannot teach this remote commands from products not included in the list of codes. There is no provision for controlling DVD players, surround processors, or receivers from the 36HF71’s remote.

There were serious operational problems with all three sets I received. The first set was unwatchable due to the central 70% of the screen being very dark. The second two sets had problems with moiré patterns on the left 25% and right 25% of the tube due to what Toshiba surmised to be some type of shadow mask problem that is uncorrectable. You can read more about the ordeal with those three Toshiba sets in my May 2002 Video Noise column.

What could have been

The central portion of the Toshiba 36HF71’s screen produced images that were clean, crisp, and very detailed compared to "normal" NTSC images. Progressive-scan DVD was reproduced with a finesse that is addictive. Colors were rich and right. Greens were not overdone and reds reached the difficult cherry and candy-apple-red palette that some sets can’t quite match. Blues were very nicely rendered in much the same spirit as the greens: very natural with no undue emphasis even in scenes that are "all blue," as in some animation sequences in Titan A.E. I have seen other HD displays and DVD players overplay the blue scenes that take place in the Dredge spacecraft to the point where those scenes are distracting.

Jurassic Park III reveals properly saturated blues and greens, producing wonderful sea, sky, and vegetation images. The 36HF71 pushes red a bit, making things like the orange-red on the parasail in the opening scene just a bit too saturated to the point of losing some detail. Most of the time the slight red emphasis is not noticeable.

Because HD sets have internal line doublers to fill in the screen with scan lines so the images look more seamless than conventional TV, defects in the programming you receive will be magnified. Excellent-quality conventional broadcast channels received by an antenna can look stunning. The large 4:3 images are quite impressive. Cable TV systems often suffer from noise and artifacts in the images. The line doubler and the large screen size magnify these problems. Therefore, cable images can look somewhat low in resolution and sometimes blurry and grainy depending on the signal you are receiving.

Satellite TV is a compressed digital video format. Doubling the scan lines accentuates the compression artifacts, making objects look less sharp than you would like. You may see a halo of noisy pixels around text, for example. I was somewhat disappointed in the image quality of analog cable and satellite. But looking at other HD sets, whether direct-view or RPTV, reveals the same problem on all of them: The less-than-perfect sources have their problems revealed very clearly by this new generation of HDTVs.

It was a pleasure watching widescreen DVDs on the 36HF71. Color and detail were excellent, and I was drawn into the movie far more than with conventional sets. Images were essentially seamless with no venetian-blind effect. The 36HF71 is much more revealing of differences in DVD players than conventional TVs. New owners may find themselves wishing for a better DVD player, especially one with progressive scan.

HBO and Showtime HDTV image quality was very good, a huge improvement over the "standard" versions of those networks. Title text was the first clue you were viewing HD -- wicked-good sharpness and clarity. Even very fine detail holds up in text. Everything with fine texture to it grabs your attention like never before -- you see far more texture than low-resolution NTSC can deliver. HD Showtime and HD HBO become addictive -- you find yourself watching movies you’ve seen already, just to see them in HD. You find yourself reevaluating your feelings about characters based on how they now look because you can see every detail in their faces. HD image quality was better, sad to say, than the best widescreen DVDs, even when played on a DVD player with the Faroudja/Sage DCDi chip.

Comparing

Compared to the somewhat-more-expensive $2495 Sony KV-36XBR450, another 36" HDTV, the Toshiba 36HF71 is down in high-frequency performance. The XBR excels at high frequencies and produces images with noticeably better detail and texture. The leather ape suits in the Planet of the Apes (2001) are noticeably more detailed on the XBR. The XBR also renders textures of rock, skin, hair, and vegetation with more detail. In fact, surfaces of every type are reproduced with more detail on the XBR. From chrome to brick to water to wood, the XBR gave everything a realistic surface while the Toshiba masked the detail slightly.

Dinosaur skin texture and coloring in Jurassic Park III are stunning on the XBR, but merely impressive on the Toshiba. The texture and detail in Shrek seemed unbeatable when viewed on the Toshiba, but the XBR reveals even more, producing remarkable images with amazing detail. The Sony’s red phosphor is just slightly more orange/brown than the Toshiba’s. This gives the Toshiba a small advantage in reproduction of cherry and candy-apple reds, but few would probably notice or be concerned about the small difference.

When viewing excellent-quality NTSC signals, the Sony is even better than the Toshiba, perhaps because of Sony’s claim that not only do they double the vertical resolution, they also double the horizontal resolution. Letterman’s Late Show and Leno’s Tonight Show were darn impressive when received by antenna, but distinctly low-resolution when received by analog cable. The Sony makes less-than-ideal video signals like analog cable or standard-definition satellite channels look even worse than the Toshiba because all the compression or noise defects are magnified four times instead of just two.

Why not RPTV?

You could purchase an HDTV-capable RPTV for $2000, but there will be a big difference in what you end up with. HDTV-capable RPTVs in that price range are bottom-of-the-line models with bottom-of-the-line performance and features. And there's a substantial difference in image quality between $2000 RPTVs and $2000 direct-view sets (or $4000 RPTVs, for that matter).

It is undeniable that the $2000 RPTV will have a larger screen than a $2000 direct-view set, but that size comes at the cost of clarity and brightness. The direct-view image, while smaller, is still fairly big and vastly more watchable. In addition, the 36HF71 will provide a brighter picture and that brightness is more uniform from corner to corner. You can use it in rooms with ambient lighting without fear of burning the Disney logo into the lower right corner of the screen -- a genuine concern with RPTVs, especially lower-priced RPTVs.

The 36HF71's full-sized CRT should last a decade or more with average use, whereas the three small CRTs in a $2000 RPTV have to run near their limits and will get noticeably dimmer over time. And then, when you increase the contrast control to compensate for that dimming, you simply accelerate the process. Ultimately, at the $2000 price point, a direct-view set probably makes the most sense for most people.

Wrapping up

A Toshiba 36HF71, in proper working order, will produce excellent images, though it lacks the resolution capabilities of the pricier Sony KV-36XBR450. Because I experienced problems with three 36HF71s in a row, potential purchasers should be diligent about checking for problems before or soon after delivery. Don’t allow your set to be put on its side or inverted during shipping or delivery; it must remain vertical to protect the tube. Be aware that there can be defects in the tube that you may not detect with average image content -- detecting them will take a conscious effort with appropriate test discs or movies with appropriate content like stars on a black background, thin vertical lines, and other fine detail. The shadow-mask problem on two of the sets I received is not something that would develop over time. It will be there from day one if it exists.

The user controls on the 36HF71 are better than average in use and functionality, but some adjustments are absent and the set will not remember settings from input to input. The backlit remote is easy to use, but has limited capability to control other components. The number and type of inputs and outputs should suit most buyers for now, but they may be outgrown fairly quickly. There is no digital video interface -- not an immediate concern. It is probably too early to wait for the next model that has a digital video interface since the standard might change in the early years, hobbling the earliest DVI-equipped sets anyway.

The 36HF71 could be an excellent entrée to HDTV and/or progressive-scan DVD for someone who wants good performance in a direct-view monitor without having to spend much over $2000, but be very wary about picture-tube problems the day the set comes out of the box.

Manufacturer contact information:

Toshiba America Consumer Products, Inc.
82 Totowa Road
Wayne, NJ 07470
Phone: (973) 628-8000

E-mail: Customer_Support@tacp.com
Website: www.toshiba.com 

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