Picture clarity, depth, precision. NTSC color decoder accuracy. Component video input.

Picture geometry, cannot hold black level, Bright Power On LED, slight green tint on left side of screen with component input, Green cutoff set too high from factory.

I picked up this great set for $349 at Home Theater Store in Houston, TX.

First of all, it has many problems. The picture geometry is horrendous, there are bowed lines near every screen edge and there is no symmetry to them. Even excessive tweaking in the service menu could not fix the crooked lines. In addition, this set cannot hold black level for anything. The S-series Sony was MUCH better. Even slight changes in the average picture level trigger immediately apparent difference in the appearance of black on the screen. Another annoyance is that you cannot disable the internal speaker. I'm thinking about opening up the set and cutting the speakers' connections, although that may be more work than it's worth. There is a slight green tint on the left side of the screen when watching through component inputs. I'm not sure what causes this, but it is annoying if you pay close attention to it. It is very apparent in test patterns, but for the most part unnoticeable when watching movies. Finally, the most minor annoyance: the power on LED is bright and annoying. I have to get rid of it somehow.

Ok, despite all these problems I still think this is a great set. Despite all its shortcomings, this TV shines where a good TV should: color reproduction, and picture clarity and depth. This set is amazing. I've never seen a consumer TV look so good. I calibrated the TV using Avia, and the results were astounding. There is ABSOLUTELY no "red push" that is all too famous in the Sony models, and as I found out recently, in the Proscan models as well. Using the color decoder saturation test pattern in Avia, RGB are all DEAD ON accurate. Absolutely no "push" to any of the colors. The picture from DVD is amazing... absolutely breathtaking. One minor thing that was easily corrected: the green cutoff was set WAY too high from the factory. From the service menu I adjusted the green cutoff down significantly and the red and blue cutoffs up slightly, using a greyscale step pattern to gauge the changes. I had to eyeball this, but I got it looking quite good. All in all, if you are after perfect color reproduction at a low price, Toshiba is the set for you, if you can live with a bunch of minor annoyances. Of course, this is a 1998 model I bought on closeout, the 2000 models have probably resolved a few of these things. I can't think of a better 27" set for $350. Highly reccomend. 5 stars for value, 4 for overall because of the irritation factor.

Similar Products Used:

Sony S-series/V-series, Sony FV VVega, Proscan 36"

Excellent picture and color clarity.

Volume levels do not seem to be loud enough. Who knows, maybe I'm just going deaf.

Anyone in the Houston area needs to go to the Home Theatre Store and pick up one of these! They're clearing them out for only $349! An excellent price for a high quality tv for the bedroom. I say bedroom because living rooms need projection tv's (in my opinion that is).

Similar Products Used:

RCA & Toshiba 27".

Great value, Picture quality and control, audio, component video input

Geometry distortion, dot crawl

I was in the market for a 27" TV. My previous Toshiba (model 2800XH, >10 year old Asian model, 27" multi-system, with BlackStripe tube and S-video, decent video quality) failed recently due to its power supply unit. Since I would buy DVD player in a few months, TV with component video inputs was preferable.

The models I was looking included Toshiba (CN27V71 C$850), Panasonic Gaoo (CT27XF36 C$1050), JVC (AV27D500, ~C$850) and Sony (KV27V66 C$920 and Wega KV27FV15 C$1400) (All Canadian street price est.)

Sony really knows how to make TOP-END consumer electronics. The tube is flat and picture quality is excellent, but its price is prohibitive. Video quality for the mid-line KV27V66, however, is so-so considering it's not that cheap. For about the same money, the Panasonic Gaoo is a better buy. Its picture quality is very good and dot crawl is well suppressed. Resolution and contrast are high (although personally I feel the image a bit artificial.) The tube is very flat too. The JVC also has a relatively flat tube, and quite a bit cheaper than the Gaoo. Although some reports say it has a very good colour decoder, personally I'm not particularly impressed with its video quality.

As for the Toshiba CN27V71, the picture quality is very good. Colour and image is very natural and smooth, although dot crawl is slightly noticeable (digital comb filter not as good as the Gaoo 3D filter). I like its colour temperature control and the component video inputs. It's possibly the best 27" you can buy for CAN$800. However, I'm a bit turn off by the curvative of the tube (considering it's marketed as a home-theatre 27").

As I was about to bet my money on the CN27V71 at the store, I came across the CN27H95. I've heard rave review about this last-year model on the internet (etown.com, Consumer
Digest best-buy, etc.) It's basically identical to the '99 V71 except for a few differences. Toshiba added V-chip this year to the V71 but sadly to cut cost, did away the Invar shadow mask (although confusingly Toshiba US site still show Invar mask) and resorted to a less-flat tube. I had two sets placed side by side and I immediately noticed the curvature difference. Given every thing else is the same including the final price (US list price for H95 was US$745 vs V71 US$600), the choice was obvious. I bought the H95.

Since I only had it for a few days and I haven't got DVD yet, it is too early to report any findings. However, one thing I noticed was geometry distortion on the sides. Horizontal lines were curved on the sides. I haven't check vertical lines at the top and bottom yet. I'm not sure if this is normal on the H95 or V71 (or other decent 27" TV for that matter), or it just happens on mine. Did any one notice the same problem?

Regardless, I am quite happy with its performance so far and it is definitely a good value.

I was in the market for a 27" TV with component video input. I have the Toshiba SD-2109 DVD player, and since I needed a new TV I really wanted one with component input. Surprisingly, the choices are really limited. I wanted a Panasonic TV, but none of them had component input. Another thing that I wanted (actually this is one thing that my wife insisted upon as well) is to have the tube fairly flat. The options were the JVC D Series, Toshiba, and (I believe) Sharp.
I looked at the JVC, but while pretty flat, I didn't really like the colors. Next to the Panasonic, the color seems to be a bit faded. Plus I read several opinions on this forum, and it seems that some had problems with their unit right off the bat.

The Toshiba was my next natural choice, since by DVD Player is a Toshiba too. The neat thing w/ Toshiba TVs is that almost all of their TVs have the ColorStream (component vid.) input. For my budget, the CZ27V51 was a contender ($399 from 800.com -- delivered). While this is a good unit, the only reservation that my wife and I have is the curviness of the tube. It's not much (compared to RCA TVs) but enough to annoy us esp. compared w/ the JVC. And the higher end Toshiba, the CN27V71, was too expensive (cheapest place I found was Onecall.com, who had it for $565 delivered).

Then we came across the Toshiba CN27H95. I was told that this was Toshiba's high-end TV but a predecessor to the CN27V71. I shopped around, and Good Guys actually had it for $445 ($485 w/ tax). They even have a floor model, which was only $345 but it didn't come with a remote. So I opted for a new one.

Although this is last year's model (it's replaced by the CN27V71), I couldn't see much difference w/ the new one. It has dual tuner PIP, 2D digital comb filter, Black Level Expander, etc. etc. The only things that is different: it's missing is the V-Chip but I could care less for it.

Considering that the lower end model, the CZ27V51, is $399 (at 800.com), I think I did pretty well. For $85 more I got into Toshiba's cinema series.

So far, I must say that I am very impressed. The blackness is really deep, and best of all the 'warmth level' is adjustable. There's also a 'theater mode' which is ideal when viewing DVDs (and all the lights off). Thus far, I've only used the S-Video but the color is very vivid (used A Bug's Life as test).

I'm going to rent Video Essentials to calibrate the colors properly. Also, I've heard that some of Toshiba's CN series have 'moire' problems when connected via the component input, so I'll post a new entry if I see anything ...

Great picture, nice price, near flat screen, varied inputs.

no

Picture a home theater TV for the average-income person, with a stunning picture, varied inputs (2 composite, 1 s-video, 1 component, RF), decent sound, and nearly flat screen. This is the Toshiba Cinema 27" TV. It's a better value than any 27" home theater TV because it is made for home theater (thus the Cinema name) You can adjust color temperature and theater mode as well as basic settings such as sharpness, color, bright, tint, and contrast.

I have it hooked up to my Toshiba SD2109 DVD player via S-video and I am wanting nothing. The problems with my previous TV have dissapeared.

Give this and its larger cousin a serious look. They are Sony Wega class quality for less money and have component video-in, unlike Sony.

Similar Products Used:

Zenith 25" Stereo TV