Picture Quality, Sound, Loads of connections.

Weird remote

I really like this T.V. The picture looks absolutely amazing with its 525 lines of resolution. While not quite as good as the Sony's(600 lines), it's very, very close. I did all the homework and found that the Toshiba is by far the best value for the 20" flat screens, costing $150 less than the Sony. I also like the amount of inputs. It has front stereo RCA conectors, another two sets on the back, S-Video, and Component Video connections. I could plug anything I wanted into this thing, whereas with the Sony, I can't really plug anything into it.

The remote is actually pretty good, but i found that you have to point it DIRECTLY at the sensor on the TV for it to work. Other than that it's really nice, with backlit buttons and solid construction. Its not huge, either, which I really hate.

Stereo sound really helps this TV and it sounds really, really good. I was totally surprised at the quality, especially on Playstation games.

So how does this TV stack up to the competition?

Sony's offering is way too expensive, and under-featured.

Panasonic TAU is a good alternative, with identical features but its still 100 bucks more.

Similar Products Used:

Sony WEGA 20"

Many inputs - component, svideo and front composite
Flat tube - less overall glare
Easy to use menu system
High contrast picture
Holds black level
BBE enhanced sound
Good convergence
Channel Labeling

+15% red push
blueish grayscale and no color temperature adjustment
Scan Velocity Modulation and no way to switch it off
Geometry not very good out of the box
Visible scan lines at times.
No video input labeling
Reset button on the remote

Overall this is a great tv for the price paid. The only one in this class (flat tube 20 inch sets) that I think matches it is the Panasonic 20SX10 (or current equivalent model). All tweaking and calibrations were done using the Avia dvd disc and using a Toshiba SD1600 dvd player via the component inputs.

I'll start with the weaknesses:

Unlike another Toshiba set I own, this set pushes red about 15 percent and I was not able to figure out a way to cure this problem other than lowering overall color saturation. The problem here is that most sets do push red so finding one with a balanced color decoder is hard indeed.

To go along with the red push, the set has a very blueish grayscale out of the box. This would be acceptable if the set had a color temperature adjustment as my other Toshiba does and as the Panasonic 20 inch model has I mentioned above. I was able to go into the service mode and tweak the low end of the grayscale so my eyes no longer saw a blueish tint on the 20 IRE window test pattern. I'm sure it is not even close to the D6500K NTSC standard but for now, it looks better than it did out of the box.

On the Sharpness test pattern, it is obvious the set has Scan Velocity Modulation. Even at a setting of 0, I could see ringing (a white edge) on the dark lines on the pattern. My only complaint here is that there is no way to turn this off for dvd viewing.

The Geometry was mediocre mostly on the right side of the set (a noticeable lean/tilt to the image) Using the service manual and getting into service mode, I was able to tweak the geometry using 4 service level parameters that are basically equivalent to what a computer monitor allows one to do. I was not able to fix things completely but I was able to "spread" the geometry distortion around the entire screen (this is usually what one ends up doing on a computer monitor as well) so that, while it's not perfect, it now looks more uniform and the problems are not dramatic in any part of the screen. In other words, it looks pretty good. Unfortunately, geometry problems seem to be common among the newer flat tube tvs from all manufacturers. In other words, it's a crapshoot.

When watching a dvd, scan lines may be visible from about 6 feet away or so. It really depends on the image on the screen. This is slightly annoying.

Video input labeling would have been nice since they included channel labeling and finally, whoever thought it was a good idea to put a reset button on the remote, wasn't thinking too clearly. This will reset all your user settings back to the default including the Contrast set to maximum.

Ok, now the strengths:

For the price, I couldn't find a better 20 inch set that had so many inputs, was a flat tube, had good resolution and convergence. The difference between the BBE enhanced sound option being on or off is like night and day. This was the best surprise the set offered. In addition, the set holds black level well across various picture intensities and has a very high contrast picture which tends to improve cable tv viewing.

Yes, I listed a lot of weaknesses but every consumer grade tv has problems and weaknesses. No tv is perfect and given this, I must say that the 20AF41 is a great value for what you get, especially for a 20 inch television.

Similar Products Used:

Sharp and Panasonic 20 inch tvs

Many people seem to be interested in how to access the
service menu on the 20AF41 (and 24AF41). I just want to say
that I give the following information without liability and
completely at your own risk. Remember one should always write down all settings before changing anything and be very careful about what buttons one presses when in the service mode of a tv. Careless actions can lead to a tv that can only be fixed by a repairman. In addition, it will help greatly if you use Avia, Video Essentials or some other calibrating disc that has objective standard patterns when making any changes especially to geometry.

To enter the service mode:

Turn the volume down to 0.
Press the volume down on the front of the tv
While continuing to press volume down on the front panel of the tv, press the number/channel 9 on the remote for a few seconds.

You should now be in service mode. There are 3 different modes depending on what input you're using. For geometry and grayscale issues, this doesn't matter since these settings are global for all inputs. Use the Channel up and down on the remote to cycle through the parameters and use the volume up and down on the remote to change the values. Press the Menu button on the remote to exit the service menu. The parameters affecting geometry are: PARABOLA, TRAPEZIU, COR TOP (corner top), COR BOT (corner bottom)

Good luck to all who need this information and once again, make sure to be careful when in the service menu.

Finally, I'd just like to say that my opinion on the tv is the same as before and being a few months later, I'd say that if I had to do it all over again, I'd still buy it given the competition.