TV Reviews

If you currently have a conventional TV set with the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio but watch a lot of DVDs, you're probably tired of black spaces above and below the picture wasting much of your TV's screen size whenever you watch the widescreen movies which have become the norm on DVD. The cure for this problem is to get a widescreen TV with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This Toshiba is an excellent 16:9 TV with a very sharp picture. Also important, this is an HDTV set which is ready to display the dramatically improved picture quality characteristic of the new High Definition Television broadcasts to which all networks are rapidly converting and which are now available from most cable and satellite providers. Although this Toshiba's 34" screen may not be as huge as some of the new thinscreen plasma TVs it is still quite large. Furthermore, it's picture quality is equal or superior to plasma TVs and its price is much lower. All things considered if you want a widescreen TV that's ready for HDTV and you don't want to break your budget to get one, this excellent Toshiba set may well be the answer.

I purchased this wonderful Toshiba after many months of research, including consumer reviews as published by National Consumer magazines. Price was a factor which ended up in my eliminating Sony which had previously been my number one choice. Review of repair records then proceeded to eliminate RCA and Zenith. My requirements were simple, a reasonably priced, good reliable 34" HDTV, in 16:9 format with flat screen, 3 S-video and 2 wideband component video inputs to facilitate my progressive scan DVD player, DSS system, cable etc. Hookup was relatively easy, (as I am not an electronics wizard), and with programming of the remote I now have control of all systems thru one device. Dss picture is fantastic, analog is not as definitive but than that is analog, not high definition. DVD qualty is excellent with monster cable connection. This TV is a definite buy, I am very pleased with the performance and the purchase price. ...

Simply the best there is , nothing compares to this , it has everything you could expect.I've investigated and searhed for a new tv. Until I saw this it passed with flying colors,the picture , sound ,sharpness, etc.. look for yourself and compare and you judge . Thank You ! Toshiba !

This television overall provides good performance but lacks some vital features. The good features are: 1. Has enough rca, dvd and s-video outputs 2. The pip screen can be resized at its location 3. The picture quality is good and sharp. 4. The remote is handy and is universal The flaws are: 1. The sleep timer is not easy to set as one has to go through a long process to set it. 2. The date cannot be displayed permanently on the screen 3. The date and timer are lost when there is no electricity

I looked at the Sony Wega and compared to the JVC as well and the Panasonic's picture just blew the others away. Sony's colors look washed out and faded. JVC's are better but they still don't compare to the Panisonic. Then if you factor in the price, it is an easy decision. This is a great television.

If your looking for a FST - Flat Square Tube, 800 lines of resolution, great multi-remote, cool and warm color settings in a 32", look no further.
This is hands down better than the Sony Wega, has 2 S-Video connections on back with RGB on front and back also - now even the Toshiba V61 and V71, Sony Wega do NOT have that. I considered those sets before I was won over by this set. Panasonic make great TV sets more than I can say for there 2.4GHz phones (which I own and despise!).
This set with all the features and great remote (which lights up), can control your home A/V receiver, DVD, Video, TV, Cable box and fits nicely in your hand.

I did a lot of research, and this TV ranks very high for the price. I had a SHARP 27 inch TV, with component hook ups, which was nice, but was kinda cheap. So, then I bought a nice flat 27 inch SONY, which was higher quality, but didn't have component hook ups, so it kinda evened out. All I'm really into is games (PS2 games that is) and I really wanted component hook ups. So, I didn't have that much money, and I really wanted to go up to a 32 inch. So, after looking at many reviews from consumer reports.com and other sites, I found that for the money, this is probably the best 32 inch TV you can buy. Even though having a flat screen would be a little nicer, in my opinion, flat screen is kinda over rated (I'm not talking about plasma screens). From what I've read, a flat screen MAINLY just helps with reducing glare, which is not a problem for me. This TV sends out a very high quality picture when hooked up with Monster Component cables and the PS2. I haven't really tested the sound because I use my amp.

UPS:
-excellent picture quality when paired with monster component cables
-affordable

DOWNS:
-not a whole lot of connections in the back (only 1 s-video, 1 component, and 2 composite, but if you use the s-video, it takes up a composite, and if you also use component, it takes up the other composite. Essentially only 3 inputs in the back total, which includes the antanna connection).
-no front connection, which doesn't matter to me

I looked at alot of TVs, and unless you get a refurbished TV, you won't find a better one ...

I bought this TV here on Amazon.com and picked it up same day at [a local store](I LOVE THAT!)

If I may, here's the question you are asking yourself: Should I get a (very) expensive HDTV now, or waste some money on another regular TV, which I'll eventually replace with HDTV when the prices come down?

For this price, I recommend the latter. This TV is a bullet-proof, basic TV, with a very good picture. Definitely worth the price, and I guarantee you won't have any regrets. It may not be your home-theater dream screen, but it is a great bargain with a much better than average picture.

To sum it all up: Get this TV, and retire it three years from now when you buy your HDTV (at a significantly reduced price.)

Bought at [local store] on sale for [money]. Lousy store (don't get me started) but glad I bought this TV. Set up was very easy - basically plug it in, connect the cable and VCR, and enjoy.

This TV replaces a JVC that had served me well for 9 years. The picture quality on the Toshiba is excellent and the sound is just fine even without using an external amp. If I connect a DVD player to it, I'll likely also connect my stereo to it then too.

Did a lot of research and exploration before picking this box. The flat panel machines are slightly nicer, but hardly worth the additional cost, and from reviews I've read, are not that reliable. Besides, those machines are extremely heavy.

The JVC machines I looked at often had a distinctive background hum (reviews I saw on a variety of web sites indicate this is not an isolated matter). The Sony's just seemed overpriced for what you got. Consumer Reports gives the Toshiba a strong rating, and so far, I agree.

I bought this TV over a similar RCA 34" widescreen more for the excellent quality history that Toshiba's are noted for (vs. RCA). However, for some reason the TV turns itself on and off at will and often times won't restart. Toshiba repair has been scheduled.

When working, the TV is excellent. Great picture with a digital Satelite signal and outstanding with progressive scan DVD. I was worried about going with a widescreen vs. the standard 4:3 aspect ratio sets. Trust me....this is the way to go. We quickly got used to the widescreen format and love it. The Toshiba does a great job at stretching the images from standard signals and not showing too much distortion. The Toshiba remote control is substandard and not universal. We purchased a Sony programmable remote to operate all our compenents...it works great.

I've had this TV for just over 6 months - LOVE it! We use component cables with Progressive-scan Sony DVD player and also use the component cables with Sony PS2, both versions of video is so crisp, it hurts your eyes! Also have HD cable box, and the HD picture is phenomenal (for the 5 channels available, so far...) Remainder of channels come in very clear. Was considering Sony flat-screen and Samsung 30" plasma when we purchased this. Very happy with the choice we made!

Great features with the TV, PIP, etc.... so many you will spend hours pouring through the manual. Our favorite is a "1/2 mute" where the first time you press the mute button, it mutes 1/2-way... low enough that one can answer phone briefly but the remainder of viewers can still hear. Also had multiple settings for the widescreen so you can choose which "fit" is best per movie (some widescreen DVD's are not exactly the 16:9 (or 1.78:1) aspect ratio). For example, Star Wars II is 2.35:1, so you may have black bars to view movie in proper proportion (or, if you choose to fill the screen, you stretch/smush the video to fit)... one of the things we didn't realize until we bought the TV and started trying out all the movies....

And should you choose to purchase this model, have a buddy handy for moving it in, it is HEAVY!!

If you currently have a conventional TV set with the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio but watch a lot of DVDs, you're probably tired of black spaces above and below the picture wasting much of your TV's screen size whenever you watch widescreen movies -- which are becoming the norm on DVD. The cure for this problem is to get a widescreen TV with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This Toshiba is an excellent 16:9 TV with a very sharp picture. Furthermore, this set is HDTV ready so that when you get HDTV cable or satellite service, this TV will be ready to display the dramatically improved picture quality characteristic of the new High Definition Television broadcasts to which all networks are rapidly converting. This Toshiba's 34" screen, although quite large, may not be as huge as some of the new thinscreen plasma TVs, but it's picture quality is equal or superior to plasma TVs and its price is much lower. All things considered if you want a widescreen TV that's ready for HDTV and you don't want to break you budget to get one, this excellent Toshiba set may well be the answer.

I've owned other JVC products from 13" to 36", and this model is the best of them all! The 27" flat screen gives the illusion that the tv is much larger and the picture is absolutely incredible! Playing DVD's and watching digital quality tv is most rewarding. The sound output is excellent especially with the JVC Hypersound option. The remote is very user friendly with the illumination and universal controls for any vcr, cable box and dvd. I was tired of having so many remotes around the house. Plus the silver exterior makes the room brighter and (hides the dust very well). This is an awesome unit and you can get excellent pricing at BJ's wholesale club. FIVE STARS!!!!

Great picture and feature set. Kid friendly set lets you disable the front buttons from the kids. Theater Pro setting helps get the picture looking good (only a few changes using AVIA to get the picture near perfect). ...Highly recommended.

Just bought the TV from a local store, we compared this product against comparable Sony and Toshiba 27" flatscreen models. Couldn't tell the difference in picture or quality, yet about $50 cheaper than either of the two. Great value for your money, and although longevity remains to be tested, so far a great TV for all our daily uses.

TV is great, love it, nothing bad to say about it, other then the picture quality could be just a little bit better.

For starters is a great looking TV (on the outside), looks great in the living room, your wife will not whant to hide it in the closet and most important it looks super great with a DVD player, I just traded my old 50" for this set and on the old set there was hardly any difference betwen the way my DSS system looked and the way my DVD looked, on the new set there is a whole world of difference. I had some friends ask me if this is HDTV. BUT! one thing I really hated about it was that it has a Video out but not a tunner out, so when I hook it up to my A/V receiver, if I whant to watch regular TV I have to use 2 remotes, one to set my A/V to TV and the other one to set the TV to TV, can you belive that? , my old system 1989 model had a Tunner out! , some body at Sony was sleeping on the Job. Besides this small fall back its a great TV and people will say "wasnt projection TV supposed to looked bad! "

great value buy it!

I love it except that it is too big for my small New York appartment. Ideal if you have space.

I went to Best Buy yesterday and thought I was buying the 20AF42. I compared the display model 20AF42 to other TV's and thought it was the best deal, even though I was aware of the time lag when switching channels. So I bought it and took it home. When I took it out of the box, I immediatlely noticed that the front panel control buttons looked different from the display model. When I plugged it in, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was NO lag time when switching channels. I realize now that this must be Toshiba's brand spanking new attempt at perfecting their 20" pure flat screen. They definitely succeeded here. I checked the model number today, and sure enough the box says 20AF43, and not 20AF42. Although I bet there are stores still selling the 20AF42 as runoff. I stongly advise to wait for the 20AF43 to arrive in store stock. Picture and sound is GREAT! However.... the other reviews were correct. There IS a low level hum coming from the inside of the unit (not from the speakers, but from the circuitry inside cabinet.) This is the only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars. For most people, this probably won't be a problem, especially if you place the TV inside an entertainment center. The noise comes from the back of the unit, and has the same pitch as one of those flourescent bug zapper machines, but at a very low level. I only hear it at night when the house is real quiet and when I turn the TV volume way down. But if you think this will annoy you (as it does for some people who reviewed this product) then I would suggest that you get another brand TV, for it seems as though this problem is inherent in this model, if not in the entire Toshiba flat screen line.

I was looking for a 20" to fit in an armoire we have in the bedroom, but I wanted an FST tube, and enough AV in/outs for my receiver, DVD, VCR and gamecube. Not only was this the only TV that had them all, but it was cheaper than the Sony and others I looked at!

You really need to check out the Toshiba website to see all this TV has to offer. It has an awesomely clear true flat tube, no less than THREE standard AV inputs, as well as ColorStream Component Video inputs, and separate Audio outputs.

For those not familiar with Component Video, if your DVD also has these connections, it conducts a far superior picture quality to your TV tube directly by dividing the signal into three. Get a decent cable, and you will notice a marked difference in clarity and definition, with significantly less "bleeding" of color edges. To complete the package, connect your DVD to a receiver via a digital optical cable, and you are set!

So, compact and clear round the front, and more than adequately equipped round the back, definitely worth every cent.

If your looking for a smaller TV for the bedroom, den or kitchen, this 20" TV is an excellent choice. There is little difference between this TV and a Sony flat screen TV (Sony KV-20FV300) of the same size, except that the Sony costs about $... more. I decided to buy the Toshiba because of two features the Sony did not have: a video output on the back and a sound stabilizer for loud commercials. This attractive TV has great picture quality, very good sound and all the Audio/Video inputs and outputs you will ever need for a DVD and/or a VCR.

Got this as a gift for my mother. I compared a few brands but for the money this one just can't be beat! The reviewer below who described "HUGE" pixels and a "distorted" picture needs to return his coke bottom glasses for a new pair. This is typical for most sets in this price range, it's not an HD display. Clearly he must have a problem with Toshiba or he just isn't informed.

Anyway, it's a great product. I got it for my mother for crying out loud! :)

I got some online rebates for this television and it came out to be suprisingly cheap. The picture is among the best i have seen on non-HD televisions. I have my DVD player hooked up to it using an S-Video cable and the picture is just amazing. It also has some of the best speakers i have ever heard on a television. You can actually hear the bass! The flat screen also greatly reduces glare which makes this ideal for a living room setting where every seat has a different angle of the television. There are video inputs on the front (very nice feature) and a few more in the back which makes hooking multiple accessories up to it no problem. The television itself is, in my eyes, just about perfect. It is easily one of, if not the best 27" flat screens on the market. The only drawback I can think of is the remote, which is a minor flaw to say the least. It is workable, though some of the buttons are not as intuitive as they could be. All in all, a great television for a great price, I have no regrets!

I myself have been a fan of Sony, but when buying my next t.v I wanted to step up the research. I looked at a few web reviews like the ones here and could bot find a definitive answer- there was one place to go- Concumer Reports. Consumer reports rated this the best 27 inch television- this was what I needed to see- if I have learned one thing, it is to trust these guys! I was finnaly ready to buy, so I drove up to Best Buy to find an open box model of this tv- it was 75 $ off with no noticeble flaws. Once I got it home I knew I made the righ choice- it has a clean and vibrant picture with crisp sound, and yes you can here the base! Everything you would need in a tv for not too much money! If your in the market for a new tv, look no further!

I purchased this TV in November after much research online and in the various stores...This was the best set for the price and I could not be more satisfied. After 5 months of owning it, I don't know how I did without it! The picture is clear, the sound is terrific and nicely complements my home theater system...Although leary about spending nearly [$] for a purchase online, I was very happy to save the cost of shipping and sales tax. My only complaint was that the company that delivered the set sent only one person for what is clearly a two person job. I ended up having to help the guy get it into my house.

I did a lot of research before buying this widescreen tv. I chose this tv for its price point and features and was I pleasantly surprised at the picture quality. The picture is so sharp and the colors are really vivid. I especially like the 16:9 widescreen format. It is great for watching dvd's and future upgrade to high definition picture. The free shipping was also a plus to be considered, I had no difficulties with the delivery company. This is a great buy.

I did alot of researce before selecting the toshiba 57"hdtv.I am well pleased with the selection.The picture is wonderful.This is
a really good set at a great price.When I ordered there was free shipping,which I thought was really nice.Amazon keep me posted on my order and did a good job seeing the order through.It was strange placing an order for a tv online,but with the service Amazon gave me,I felt like they really delivered the goods.Amazon
made a good impression on me.The tv speaks for itself,it really rocks.

I am a college student, so first of all, saving space by having the TV in my computer is a beautiful thing. Some people wrote it is slow and a peice of crap, and at first I agreed. For the first few days I was using AOL Dial Up service, and when I also used Windows Media Player and AIM with it - only 3 programs - I wanted to throw it all out the window. Once I moved into my dorm, though, and hooked it up through the ethernet connection, it was a work of art. It runs faster than I could ever ask for, even the programs to programs, not just the internet. Being able to message with friends and email family while having my TV on PIP so I can watch shows is awesome, and the fact that it is all wireless and the computer itself only has one plug in besides the additional ethernet and cable cord, it is just awesome. No messy cords, no additional television in my room. If you have dial up, I would not recommend this. If you have a broadband or other similar connection, however, this is heaven sent!

I have truely enjoyed this product from the time I removed it from the box. It was so simple to setup and use. I used it for about nine months as a primary TV, DVD player, Radio, and Computer. I have had no problems and can't believe how crystal clear the screen is. It is an investment I am not sorry I made. I use it still as a secondary TV in my bedroom, as well as a primary computer. It never ceases to amaze me.

I am a college student. I purchased this unit in my dormitory. This is just an excellent product. I used this to do my homework, play game, and even watch TV and video. Everything I do I can do it in this computer. I don't need spend a lot of budget to buy TV, radio, DVD player, computer and monitor. This product is all I need. Because it is all in one, I can have more space now in my tiny dorm.