HDTV Trends

No Channel Guide for Antennae Setting
This TV was extremely easy to assemble (just a few screws to position and tighten). I turned it on and was so excited since the picture was beautiful. However,. I only have an antennae--no cable or satellite. I pressed the Channel Guide and...it gave me a "Not Available" message. Not Available?? Surely, I thought I must not be pressing the right button or, perhaps, have not set up the TV correctly. I mean, my Mitsubishi DLP has a Channel Guide using an antennae. Heck, even my old CRT TV had a Channel Guide when I added the converter box! But sadly, no, the Owner's Guide states "Displays the channel guide in the CABLE/SAT mode."

Yes, you can use Favorites, the Channel Browser, etc., but if you want to find out what is on a particular channel through an antennae and how long it is scheduled for, you have to go to that channel and press "Info". No clicking on a Channel Guide, finding a show you like and then clicking to get switched to that channel. Perhaps they did not know that large metropolitan areas would get between 40 and 50 digital channels over the air.

If I would have known this before I bought it, this would have been a deal breaker for me. Yes, you can fault me for not reading the Owner's manual more carefully, but who the heck would think a CRT TV with a converter box would have more funtionality then a digital TV!

Too bad I gave my CRT to my brother--yes I would prefer it to this TV! Thankfully, this is only a "second" TV for back up use. I guess I will have to print out program schedules from the internet every week and keep close at hand.

If I have have misunderstood something about this TV, and someone would like to tell me how to get the Channel Guide to work with an antennae, please blast away! I'd rather have someone think I am technologically ignorant than to spend this money and be this unhappy with a TV.

Great TV at a Great Price
I bought this TV a few months ago, and it's worked out great since the day I bought it. Toshiba is a good brand, and the TV has a lot of inputs, including 2 HDMI, which is really useful. Along with the HDMI, the TV has an auxiliary audio jack, allowing you watch media from your computer, as long you have an HDMI to DVI adaptor and an auxiliary audio cable.

Not bad for the price
Pros:
i) Good picture quality - picture is bright, colours are brilliant, no shadows, viewing angle is so wide that I can even view the TV from my kitchen.
ii) Excellent connectivity - with HDMI, AV and PC input, you're never short of the types of connectivity this TV accepts. I especially like the PC connectivity which is hassle free, good resolution projecting my laptop on the screen, even with standard VGA cables.
Cons:
i) Sound quality - the sound quality is mediocre to below expectation. There's absolutely no bass. Expect to compliment this TV with a home theatre/external sound system if you want to really enjoy your movies.

TOSHIBA KILLS SANTA
NOTE: this is a general review of Toshiba's customer service center. Should you have any concerns about what may happen when or if you tv breaks, this is the chaos and frustration you will find in dealing with them. Please go with a different brand...

We bought a TV/DVD combo from Toshiba as a gift from Santa last year for my 8-year old so that she could watch her Full House and Lizzie McGuire movies on it in her bedroom. Unfortunately, after 4 months, the tv's picture stopped working. She told me to send it back to Santa, so off it went to our local authorized Toshiba repairman, as you cannot return these items to Amazon after a certain period of time. We were told by Toshiba that the tv was under full warranty for parts and service. The repairman said no. We would have to pay at least in service repairs. Well, it's been six months and we have yet to see our tv. The part that was supposedly broken was out of stock. Toshiba has sent out part after part after part...spending more in shipping and parts I'm sure than we actually paid for the tv. Now they are shipping out their 4th part...and we still have no tv and it's November. NOTE: the Toshiba representatives were rude and their supervisor (Dave Thomson) was scripted and condescending. TOSHIBA DOES NOT STAND BY THEIR PRODUCT AND DOES NOT HELP ITS CUSTOMERS.

My daughter got so upset that Santa didn't return her tv that we had to buy her another tv a few months ago. Then, she overheard one of the numerous heated discussions between my husband and Toshiba. Every time my husband called, we were told the issue would be "escalated". The representatives are scripted and said whatever they could to passify us. In the end, we were told by Toshiba's supervisor (Dave Thomson) that this was their final decision...to just continue to keep trying to fix an inferior product with no hope that it may get fixed. By the time we get the tv back, if we get it back, it will no longer be under warranty.

In the end, with no return of her original tv and the numerous phone calls to/from Toshiba, my daughter finally got the clue and realized Santa doesn't exist. Thanks Toshiba. MAY NO PARENT EVER RELY ON YOUR PRODUCT AGAIN! THE TECHNOLOGY IS LOUSY AND YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AN EMBARRASSMENT! GIVEN HOW TIGHT CONSUMERS' WALLETS ARE THIS SEASON, I HOPE PEOPLE LOOK PASSED YOUR BRAND AND SELECT A BETTER CHOICE.

FYI...When we purchased the tv, it was not made clear to us that it would be outdated within 14 months with the switch to digital.

Happy Holidays from a very dissatisfied customer.

Great first HDTV
I purchased this TV from a big box store three days ago; I am not disappointed.

This is my first HDTV, upgrading from a 12 year old Sony 27" Trinitron tube. The picture quality on this Toshiba set on HD sources is great. ESPN HD, NFL football, HBO HD, my XBox 360 all look great. Colors pop.

Non HD sources look nice as well. My Digital Cable box (Time Warner) is connected via a HDMI cable. Non hi-def stations (like Comedy Central) look wonderful (and every bit as good, if not better, than my old set). This Toshiba includes a "DNR" setting (Digital Noise Reduction) which cleans up standard def sources. The picture looks smooth and colorful, not splotchy and downgraded.

Some people have complained about the set needing several seconds to turn on. It does, but I doubt most people will be bothered by it. It takes 5 to 7 seconds.

One caveat. The factory presets on this set aren't ideal. The blacks were slightly washed out and flesh tones a little too orange for my liking. But after going through a THX Optimization (available on every Disney DVD), it looks great. Blacks are much deeper and flesh tones are appropriately pink.

This may not be the best LCD set on the market, but it is very good. In my opinion, it offers a better picture than the Sony KDL-32L4000 and costs significantly less. I found it for $[...] and am thrilled.