Toshiba 27DF46 27" TV

Pros: Excellent picture, good price for what you get, relatively small
Cons: HORRIBLE speakers, needs to be tweaked, can only switch inputs with remote

Let me caveat this review by saying, I am not an expert on TVs and monitors, but consider myself knowledgeable in electronics in general. I tried to do a lot of research before picking a television, and it seems that there's two major categories of ...

Pros: Nice picture, good price,
Cons: not the greatest sound, very heavy

When our 10 year old CRT died in a puff of smoke a few months ago we toyed with the idea of buying a plasma TV but found them to be way too expensive considering we don't have HD anything. So after shopping around for a little while, we came upon this ...

Pros: Can receive digital antenna signal
Cons: short lifespan makes digital signal capabilities irrelevant

Pretty simple. I purchased this TV because it would accept the digital antenna signal once the analog signal is phased out. The TV didn't even make it that long before needing repairs. about 14 months into it, the picture would occasionally go to just a horizontal line. With time this got worse.

After talking to Toshiba's Customer Service (1-800-631-3811) people several times they increased what they would cover. Originally, they would cover only half the parts. I finally compromised when they offered to cover all of the parts.

They ended up paying for the "main board" (about $165) and I had to cover the labor (about $85 to $95). In the end I would not recommend purchasing this TV. You may be better off getting a TV without the digital signal capabilities that will
last longer. Eventually upgrading to an HDTV.

Pros: Great picture, nice features, handy remote.
Cons: Horrendous, undefeatable speakers.

Once I got over the sticker shock of High Def LCD models, I started looking at conventional tube TVs. I planned on buying a Sony since this was to replace my trusty old 20" that lasted me 15 years. I compared just about every Japanese model out there. To my eye (and my six year old daughter's) the Toshiba was hands down the best - even better than the tried and true Sony. The sound, however, is reminiscent of a transistor radio. I found it annoying that there is no way to defeat the speakers for home theatre use. I wound up opening the case and unplugging them from the circuit board. Kudos for the remote. Although it's a little chintzy looking, it can be set up to operate a VCR, DVD player and cable box with well thought out function buttons. The aspect ration can be switched between 4:3 and 16:9. All-in-all, the Toshiba is hands down the best for the money. I'm very pleased.

Pros: Great picture, nice looking cabinet
Cons: Short lifespan, poor parts availability

My loving wife bought this tv for me for Christmas of 2006. After doing quite a bit of research, we decided on the Toshiba for price and quality and consumer ratings. The speakers are definately a drawback. The lifespan of this model was too. Near the end of April 2007, the beautiful picture went to the dreaded horizontal flat line. We took it to an authorized Toshiba repair facility and they checked it out. The technician told me the "board" would have to be replaced and that they are on backorder with Toshiba for at least 2 months! As much as we have loved the great picture and the ability to pick up HD broadcast from our antenna, I am very disapointed in the longevity and parts availabilty for this model.