Toshiba 56H80 56-Inch HDTV-Ready Projection TV
Toshiba 56H80
The Toshiba 56H80 is a widescreen projection TV that is &quot;HDTV-compatible&quot;: it claims 1600 lines of resolution, and can display native 1080i.<br />Positives: the image sharpness is exceptional. The built-in scan converter substantially improves the look of DVDs and broadcast TV by line doubling, dot doubling, and video noise reduction.  This TV has lots of inputs, including 2 colorstream component video (senses either interlaced or progressive scan DVD players), 2 S-VHS inputs, and 2 composite video. This unit has two-tuners for side-by-side pictures, and a surfing mode that displays an array of still images grabbed from multiple channels.  Standard 4:3 TV images are shown on the wide screen in several formats, such as full height with grey sidebars, or full width with cropping of the top and bottom, or full height and width by distorting the image.<br />Negatives: channel switching is slow.  The universal remote is powerful but somewhat awkward (for instance, there are buttons to switch from VCR to cable to DVD, but these only change the infra-red command codes; it is also necessary to press the input-select button to cycle through the 6 input connectors.) The built-in stereo audio is ok, not great.  No support for 5.1 audio formats such as DTS or DD.<br />Note: projection TVs break and repairs can be problematic.  My former Sony 46&quot; developed a bad image after 5 years, and the Sony Factory Service Center eventually determined that the needed replacement parts were discontinued and no longer available.  (Hello, landfill!)  My new Toshiba 56H80 broke after 1 week, and the Toshiba-authorized warranty repair folks (1-year in-home service) came and took away the chassis, but three months later they still haven't been able to obtain the needed replacement parts from Toshiba.