Hi-Tech TV on a Budget...Dorm Friendly!
Written: Jul 06 '02 (Updated Jul 06 '02)
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Pros: Component, S-Video, & tons of Composite Inputs; FLAT SCREEN!
Cons: None Really...Front S-Video Input Would Have Been Nice.
The Bottom Line: This TV is simply a great value. The price/performance point CANNOT BE BEAT. Picture quality is up there with Sony Wega. Stop reading and BUY IT!
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| strikefire83's Full Review: Toshiba 20AF41 20 inch TV |
INTRODUCTION
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Well, I went off to college earlier than most this year (June) so I needed a television for my dorm room. My Radio Shack pocket color TV just wasn't going to cut it, either. My dad is a Sony man, and we have a 36" Wega in our living room, so of course I looked to smaller Sony flatscreens first. *STICKER SHOCK* The picture quality was there, of course, but spending close to $400 on a 20" TV just wasn't in the cards for a poor college student. So I looked around a bit more and finally found this hot little Toshiba at my local AV shop. The price was right ($279) so I said what the hey and bought it.
PICTURE QUALITY
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OK, I urge anyone in the smaller TV market to BUY FLATSCREEN! Sure, you are gonna pay fifty to seventy dollars more, but you will know where your money went. The Toshiba has NO distortion on the edges of the picture like the cheaper Advent 20" that they had right next to it. It was sitting right next to the Wega and Panasonic models, which cost $100 and $60 dollar more each, and the picture was indistinguishable from them. Also, and I was surprised by this, this Toshiba has more options than the Sony. (I'll get to that a little later.)
SOUND
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Well, it's stereo...and the speakers are powered, unlike many of the cheaper models. The headphone jack in the front is a lifesaver, as my roommate goes to bed much earlier than I do. Overall the sound is pretty impressive, for a smaller television. There is a bass management setting that I didn't find very useful, but other than that everything is as it should be.
INPUTS
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Now this is where this baby really shines. You get a component video input, which was nowhere to be found on the more expensive Sony and Panasonic units. I have a PS2 (which acts as my DVD player as well) hooked up via a Monster AV component cable...let me just say that the picture has to be seen to be believed. AMAZING! Also, there is an S-Video input as well...I have my JVC SVHS VCR hooked in here, and the quality is also very crisp. There is a composite input in the front, and the S-Video/Component inputs can also double as composite if you don't have newer equipment. My only gripe is that there is no S-Video in the front for my DV camcorder...but that is just an afterthought.
OUTPUT
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I couldn't believe it either. This TV actually has an AV OUTPUT! Too cool. Our huge Wega at home only has audio out...any you have to enable a complicated menu setup to activate it. This feature has a number of uses, including piping a signal out to a receiver. My roommate and I have a cool setup where we have hooked his TV up to mine, so where we watch DVDs there are TWO screens to look at. Needless to say, our room is THE PLACE to go to watch movies on our floor.
OK. Enough blabbing. Just go out and buy this puppy, you'll be glad that you did!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 279
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strikefire83
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Reviews written: 1
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