I have a Toshiba 42H81 rear projection HDTV. I bought it back in 2001 when the only kind of large HDTV you could buy was a rear projection CRT ![[Answers]](http://www.mikeyp.com/css/external.gif)
, and there were only two available that were smaller than 50 inches. The Toshiba was the best buy.
Rob, a co-worker of mine and fellow audiophile, and I were bantering about our 'old' Toshiba's earlier today at work. As fate would have it, I got home, turned on my 42H81 to watch the baseball game, and noticed that the blue convergence was completely out of whack. It has the horizontal pin cushion pattern that you see when the convergence is being reset. This makes the picture all but unwatchable. While a replacement convergence IC is probably the fix, Toshiba's are not what you'd call DIY-friendly systems.
This isn't the first problem I've had with this set.
After 6 months, I was watching a hockey game and noticed an annoying, thin white vertical patch along the left 3rd of the screen. Turns out this is a defect present in most all Toshiba's at the time, and there is no fix available. Luckily, it's only visible during bright white scenes, but it still sucks.
After 18 months, the set refused to turn on. Luckily, my MasterCard doubled Toshiba's 12 month warranty, and a repair guy replaced about $350 worth of fried electronics. I have no idea how much his labor would have cost.
On the plus side, there were lots of Toshiba enthusiasts, especially at The Home Theater Spot forums, who pointed out ways to get the best out of the set. And I must say, after removing the glare screen, disconnecting the SVM edge enhancement circuits, calibrating the convergence with a giant mylar convergence grid, and setting correct black levels with the Avia DVD , the set could look stunning.
For a while.
Until the convergence drifted. Or the "white line" appeared. Or the set spontaneously turned off. Or now, having the blue convergence go bad.
