Toshiba 50H82 50-Inch 16:9 HDTV-Ready Projection TV
My first rear projection tv, and I am loving it!
I have held off buying a RPTV for several years because I was never happy with the picture quality.  I also knew 5 years ago that my next set would be a 16:9 aspect ratio.<br />I looked at half a dozen sets -Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and Toshiba.  After searching the web for reviews and going on my past history as an electronics dealer, I chose the Toshiba.  Except for a few minor annoyances, I am happy with my decision.<br />First, the set is a nice overall size.  The width and height are not a lot more than a 35&quot; tv on a stand, especially in light of the greatly increased picture size.  The depth is actually slightly less than my Mitsubishi 35&quot; direct view set, so I gained a slight bit of space in my living room.<br />As for inputs, I have more than I need right now.  I use the component input for my dvd player, S-video for my laptop when needed, coax for my cable, and one of the composite inputs for my son's Gamecube.  <br />Picture quality on digital cable channels varies with the program quality, but is generally decent.  Any picture quality problems are magnified compared to a smaller direct view set, and watching pan and scan movies on broadcast channels is almost painful - grain, grain, grain.  Just be prepared for this if you do not have high def signals in your area.<br />Dvd signals fed through component input are really where this set shines.  Watch Training Day or Monster's, Inc. and you will be floored by the combination of this set and a well-mastered dvd.  My living room is approx. 14 feet long so my prime viewing area is just at 10 feet from the set.  This should be considered the minimum distance to enjoyably watch this set.  Any closer and you will find yourself leaning away from the set to keep from being overwhelmed.  (Maybe this was just me as I have been sitting 10 feet from a 35&quot; set for 7 years.)<br />One thing that I invested in - and am thankful for - was a setup dvd (I bought the Sound &amp; Vision HomeTheater Tune-up because the store only had it, but I am going to invest in the Avia disk as well).  Using this dvd and the THX set up screens on one of my other dvds, I found that the picture is off center by about 4-5 inches.  I am going to call Toshiba to fix this, but it does not really detract from watching a movie.  <br />Using one of these disk to set up an RPTV is a must, however.  After running through the setup, I compared the changes to the standard movie settings and was shocked at the positive difference in my setup.  Do yourself a favor and get some type of setup dvd.<br />A nice feature is the ability to set picture settings for each input, so that when you switch to that input, the settings change automatically to the ones you saved for that input.  Very useful if you are switching between sources of varying quality.<br />The sound of the set is pretty good, but I rarely use the built in speakers, so I have not given them a really good workout.  The spatial imaging seems very good for internal speakers, so if you do not have a DD 5.1 audio system, you still should be able to enjoy decent sound from the set.<br />A set like the Toshiba 50H82 has made me understand the true importance of dvd mastering quality, too.  On my 35&quot; set, a non-anamorphic, indifferently mastered dvd still looks pretty decent.  Going to 50&quot; really makes a good quality disk stand out.  You will find yourself searching out your anamorphic New Line or Superbit dvds to enjoy them all over again.  On a good disk, this set has close to film quality picture.<br />If you watch mostly broadcast television on an antenna or cable, this set may not be for you.  If you get a good quality digital signal, or better yet, HDTV, you should be very satisfied with the Toshiba 50H82.  And if you watch mostly dvds like I do, you will spend more time than you would like in front of this great addition to a home theater.