Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba 56H80 56-Inch HDTV-Ready Projection TV

The Toshiba 56H80 is a widescreen projection TV that is "HDTV-compatible": it claims 1600 lines of resolution, and can display native 1080i.

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.

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.

Note: projection TVs break and repairs can be problematic. My former Sony 46" 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.

I've owned the 56H80 for about 6 months. I am now addicted to wide screen :)

Pros: - SUPERB picture with DVD's and HDTV signals, absolutely stunning. - Lack of scan lines is wonderful - Good connection pack on the back - Easy User controls - Good multi control remote (controls DVD, stereo, VCR, DirecTV etc.) - Once adjusted it has excellent color and clarity on DVD or HDTV.

Cons: - several times the TV has made a loud POP, the picture disappeared and sound too. It does come back on immediately but needed to be readjusted again. - DirecTV signal looks HORRIBLE on this TV, you can see crawling around every sharp contrasted edge (even with SVM disconnected). My understanding after reading many other reviewers is this is common with HDTV's not just Toshiba. Consistent consensus is this is due to the signal compression from the DTV source or cable company source. I will, however, be trying Dish Network and different cables soon. - switching Inputs via remote is done by repeatedly pressing the INPUT button till you cycle to the input you want to watch (VCR, DVD, Satellite, etc)- this is minor but annoying, would rather have one touch selection. - TV speakers are terrible for voices. With just the TV speakers I am always straining to hear conversations - highly recommend a center channel speaker at the least.

Would I buy this HDTV again? No..and Yes. As I watch mostly DVD's and not TV I LOVE the picture and when paired with a good surround Sound system it's movie heaven. For the price - I don't think you can get a clearer richer picture in this size. HOWEVER.. Though infrequent, the occasional POP and loss of picture is disturbing. The quality of the DirecTV picture is very bothersome to me but, I am a perfectionist.

This is a brief update to my previous review of the Toshiba 56H80 HDTV.

In my previous review I mentioned that the TV broke after 1 week, and 3 months later, the service folks still hadn't been able to obtain the needed repair parts from Toshiba.

At 4 months the repaired TV was returned to me in perfect working condition. At 5 months it continues to work perfectly.

I continue to recommend this TV over its competitors because of the exceptional picture quality. If you do a side-by-side comparison of HDTVs, one thing to look for is noise in solid-color backgrounds. On Sony WEGAs, I see millions of tiny dots randomly moving around like insects. The Toshiba 56H80 has circuitry that eliminates this visual defect. (The video noise suppression can be disabled for ultimate sharpness from noise-free digital sources.)

I bought this television in anticipation of the HD and digital "revolution" and could not be happier with this product.

I do admit that when LCD and Plasma hit the market that I was thinking of making a switch until the reports of burn-in and afterimage held me back a bit. I am VERY hard on my TV. I leave it on 24 hrs a day and use it with my Xbox and PC when not watching regular programming. I simply could not get away with this on a newer set.

I have HD Satellite (DirecTV) and my DVD connected through the composite inputs and even 6 years later, the picture is surprisingly crisp and clear with absolutely zero burn in or faded picture. I have never had to have it repaired for any reason either.

If you find a Toshiba 56H80 for sale at a good price, I would strongly encourage you to give it a look before spending triple the amount on a later model.

I got this TV when it came out in 2000. Never should have gotten the warranty plan from Best Buy since I never used it.

But anyways, this TV has never failed me. The picture quality is still the same great quality as day 1. Watching sports, DVD's, and playing xbox 360 is quite amazing. I hesitate to buy a new flat screen plasma or LCD tv since I do not see any quality difference between this HDTV and the newer ones. I plan to keep it as long as I can.