Picture warmth setting, excellent feature selection, SuperTube produces great picture.

Hard to set with Avia, sound isn't incredible if you use TV's speakers.

This is an excellent HT Television. After setting it using my Avia disc, the picture is incredible while watching DVD's. It seems a little dull however when it is tuned to cable TV. This is easily remedied by changing the picture setting to normal instead of custom, and while custom is configured optimally with Avia, the theater setting looks excellent as well in a darkened room. I haven't found an audio setting that I am incredibly amazed with, but that's probably because I am running everything through my 7.1 system, so the TV's speakers don't have much of a chance in comparison. Most of the competition for this TV is priced several hundred dollars above it, but it doesn't seem like Toshiba cut many corners. With 2 composite video ins (one is disabled when S-video is used), one component video in, and an S-video, it's compatible with just about anything. The picture tube is also considerably flatter than most standard direct view sets, helping to eliminate some screen glare and reflections and reduce artifacts. Definitely worth the money at around $600-$800, but I managed to find it used in perfect condition for $250 which is even better.

Similar Products Used:

Apex 27" semi-flat tube (don't recall the model #.

component video inputs,better color "feel" than some, good sound on build in speakers, great picture on vcr/dvd movies,some cable channels.
good color "feel",excellent picture on vcr/dvd movies and some but not all cable channels, component video inputs, decent sound quality (unlike sony which sounded like a tin can)

could use a better comb filter for some of the poorer cable channels,i.e. too much video noise,jack labeling on back hard to read, too much of menue remains when adjusting picture settings.

after looking at sony, panasonic,hitachi and toshiba, I decided they were all tradeoffs in some ways. Sony had a nice pleasant picture but a little too soft and greyish green. Eventhough I have a hometheater receiver, I don't use it for watching most tv shows and the sony's sound quality left much to be desired. I liked panasonic in many ways including how fast it responds to commands, good sound and clean picture, but after a little more watching,thought the picture and color had a cold artificial feel to it, like everything I was watching was some sort of sci-fi movie. the hitachi color
temp seemed off to me and I wasnt that impressed with th overall feel. That left the toshiba which, while is not perfect, was the best for me. plus it is the only one in this price range with component video inputs and retailed about $100.00 cheaper.made in USA was a little bonus

Similar Products Used:

sony kv32v40, panasonic ct32sf35

I never thought to post a review of this set before... I've had it for almost a year now. I chose the Toshiba for several reasons. For one, I wasn't impressed with the way the Trinitron's looked... perhaps I should say that the improvement didn't justify the price for me. I also like Toshiba's philosophy of trying to bundle lots of features into their TVs. Sony, OTOH, seems to like to putting each additional feature on a higher priced model. The set is fairly un-remarkable to look at, basically the same as other 32 inch sets... black, with a few buttons on front.
It has 2 A/V jacks in the rear, (1 also supports S-Video) and Colorstream (component video) input. I would have preferred a few more connections, but I can live with it for now.
The picture out of the box impressed our cable-guy, who seemed skeptical of larger screen direct view TVs. I had to agree. I know cable isn't a good source for judging picture quality, but that's what the set is used for most often.
There is going to be some distortion in any direct view set, and the distortion on this set seemed pretty minimal to me. Some flat screen sets I looked at had more than this! It's not something that distracts me at all while watching TV, and that's good enough for me.
I do use the S-Video connector for my Sony Playstation. One thing I noticed in this mode is that the whole picture seems a bit off to the right... basically I can tell that the pic continues to the right, while there is a black area on the left (only 1 or 2 centimeters wide) where the picture would also be in a perfect world. This may be the fault of the Playstation though, as in some games you can choose to re-position the screen, and I can get it set up properly in those cases.
When I finally got a DVD player (and this time did go for the Sony - DVP7700) I used Video Essentials to tweak the picture, and was impressed with how good this set can look. It doesn't hold the black level perfectly when switching from bright to dark, but it wasn't dramatically off. The set wasn't over-saturating red (which VE says can happen on some sets)... one thing I noticed is that when using the component inputs, adjusting the tint doesn't change the picture at all... I guess that's normal for component video?
The remote is decent, it's backlit (when you press the correct button first). The on-screen menu is pretty straight-forward, although it took me a while to figure out how to do certain more advanced things like labelling the channels. The Picture In Picture has dual tuners, so you can watch 2 stations at once, or use it with the different video inputs. The PIP has two different "window" sizes, and can be postioned in all four corners of the set. One thing I wish you could change was the colour of the PIP border.
I am very happy with the set, and I imagine it's the last one I will buy until I go DTV.

I would give the set 5 stars, but I haven't had much experience with other 32"+ direct view sets, so a very enthusiastic 4 stars will have to do.

I can not add much more than the previous review. I set a limit budget-wise and the Toshiba fit the bill. There is a later Zenith model, that HT appears to be quite excited about. But reading the specs. I don't believe the differences are that significant.One thing about this set, or maybe better sets in general, is they sure tell the truth.
Like an accurate speaker, anything inaccurate seems to stand out. I get satellite reception through S-video, and most films look decent, a fair number are lousy, in that the tint is way off, picture lacks clarity...etc...and are fair number are exceptional in color accuracy and overall balance. "Star Trek: The Insurrection" was fantastic! I found I could boost the color way up before saturation. Almost up to the Video Essentials recommendation which is supposedly ideal. The same goes when watching DVD through component inputs..the picture is superb, as I would expect. I am considering having the set calibrated, for a perfect gray scale, etc. but no rush. I really enjoy it the way it is.
Better labelling on the connections on back, is one recommendation. The overall color, geometric alignment, etc. is a significant improvement over the 27" Mitsibushi I use in the bedroom, which was over priced to begin with.
The only thing I am not clear about is the best way to calibrate it with the VE disc, that is in normal, warm, or theater mode. I may try all 3 and see what happens. Well, sometime when I'm not too busy watching it, that is.

"true" colors, Component Video Input, picture clarity

none

I purchased this set about six months ago and and extremely happy with it. I noticed when shopping for a new TV that this set clearly stood out while side by side with all the other models on the wall. The colors on this TV just seem "truer" than the other models. Sony colors seem really dull and the Panasonic flat screen was out of my price range. The TV sounds fantastic and the remote is a learning remote and can be used for the cable, VCR, etc. I just ordered a DVD player today, so I plan on utilizing the component video input shortly. The PIP is very clear and great for watching two football games at once and the favorite channel feature is very convenient for a quick look at what's on TV.

If you're looking for an exceptional picture with PIP and plan on buying a DVD player in the future, I would definitely recommend this set.

For the price, it has quite some feature sets

For it to be part of the CN (Cinema) line, this set has some disappointing flaws

I don't like bashing, but given this is the 3rd highest end TV from the Toshiba line, I should say this set (or the set I particularly saw) is very disappointing. FYI, the highest set would be CN36H97, CN36H95, then the CN32H95.

The price is very good, for ~$800 you get a 32" TV with component input and good built, etc. etc. But you don't get front inputs (all inputs are on the back), only 1 S-Video input. If Sony sets have red push, this set needs a bit of red push. With Aria/VE DVDs, the color decoders need some work, but pleasant enough to see. I couldn't push the green to where it should be, but the reds and blues are OK. I don't have the service manual for it, so I didn't go through the service mode. Anyone care to help?

The needle-pulse pattern doesn't do ANYTHING with the brightness, so I suspect Toshiba either have eliminated the voltage overload process, or they rigged the set to do well on the needle pulse. But I'm accusing, I don't like that; This set performs VERY well with the Aria/VE DVDs, but I found it hard to set because it seems all settings are OK. If you use the component input, the Tint control doesn't do anything to the color. I don't think this should be the case, so I might be doing something wrong here.

On the needle-pulse pattern, since to change brightness/contrast I have to go the menu, when I go to the menu, the needle line was BENT. If you just focus on the needle line, and press menu, the line will be bented a bit - so I don't know how the geometry of this set is being performed. The speakers are OK, I should say I'm surprised that given the space it's given, the sound comes out whole, and doesn't sound tinny - a plus here.

Value rating is a 5 since it's cheap, but quality not up to standards of Cinema Line. 3 Stars for quality.

Similar Products Used:

KV-32XBR48, KV-32XBR100