colinm

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $569.00 from BB

Summary:
Follow-up: Thw squeal has stopped on it's own and the TV now gets 4 out of 5 stars in both categories.

Strengths:
Color performance, absolute picture quality with good sources.

Weaknesses:
Needs heavy tweaking if you are picky.

Price Paid:  $569.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
In shopping for another set, I had to buy a chassis that was less than or equal to 35" wide, HD capable if possible, amd less than $1000. Otherwise it meant a new entertainment center. My chioces at BB were the Samsung 3271 (HD) or the Toshiba 32AF43. First, I bought the Samsung HD. It was quite bad in geometry and absolute picture quality, so I repacked it and brought it back for exchange, and came home with the 32AF43. The picture quality is nearly first rate. I was comparing it to my previous set, a Sony 27V42 that has always impressed me, and has yet to be surpassed. The color is a bit on the bluish side if anything, even with the color temperature set to the most proper mode. I believe in tweaking, and my Video Essentials has been in the DVD changer since I first bought it. The TV burns in and it's colors have warmed up a bit, so it seems to be getting better every month. The Geometry needed some help - The blue THX rectangle was heavily distorted on the sides, so a good hour or two with some test patterns resulted in a good compromise. The upper right corner comes in toward center just a bit, all other corners are square. However - it has developed a horrible squeal, 5 weeks out of the box. After warming up for an hour or so, it will squeal loud enough to be heard anywhere in the room, over any typical listening level. It is not acceptable, and a call to the repair center will be made before the 1 year warranty expires. I'm only waiting to see if anything else goes wrong... So - For ~$570 it's a big, good looking set that can, after tweaking, deliver a good picture. I'm sure with an ISF calibration it could be much better, but that will come after a good 6 months of burning it in and seeing if the squeal is effectively dealt with by service. 4 stars. But I'm not completely happy with the set as-is, and if you don't want to mess with the service menu you may be stuck with what I would call horrible geometry. I'm pretty picky, though. So 2 stars = not completely happy.

Strengths:
Picture, 16:9 mode, geometry not bad after service menu tweaks, color getting better as time goes on. 1 year parts AND labor warranty. Great on-board audio if you need it.

Weaknesses:
Silver case, annoying squeal after 5 weeks. Bad geometry out of the box. Case/bezel is a bit flimsy, soft plastic. Picture settings are universal - active for all inputs/modes. What is good for DVD/Component is not good for Dish. Useless factory picture presets x3, 1 user setting.

Similar Products Used:
Sony KV27V42 Samsung HD 3271

Price Paid:  $650.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
This review is actually for a 32AF43 which is pretty much the same TV only with a couple more features (16:9 enhanced mode included). This TV has an amazing picture! The picture is sharp and clear and the colors are vibrant and true-to-life. The picture also continues to be clear even in the corners of the screen. The remote control isn't bad. It seems to operate my other non-Toshiba devices fairly well. The S-Video connection on the front of the TV is a plus for Playstation and X-Box owners.

Strengths:
16:9 Enhanced Mode Excellent Picture Front S-Video Input

Weaknesses:
Silver Color

Similar Products Used:
Sony 27" Trinitron

Price Paid:  $650.00 from Bill smith

Summary:
By far the last word in analog TV. Nothing comes close unless you jump to HDTV. Best picture quality I have seen for the money. Toshiba is closing out this model. They won't last

Strengths:
Sharp clear intense picture from all sources.

Weaknesses:
Internal sound under powered so external power is a must.

Price Paid:  $640.00 from Bernie's

Summary:
Great set, vibrant picture, decent sound but who cares when ya have HT,anyway set it up with AVIA disc, still not to comfortable with contast but it will take a little tweeking. Being a former A/V salesman I can tellyou all tv's come out of the box with the contrast set to high, though didn't have to mess with color tint or sharpness at all, not to bad for factory settings. Also it wasn't quite as heavy as I anticipated, two people no problem. Directv looks stuning, as well as dvd ( on component ). Remote sucks but there will always be others

Strengths:
spectacular picture, very little tweeking out of the box, not really that heavy

Weaknesses:
remote blows, but I don't even use it

Similar Products Used:
27" panasonic, now shipped to the bedroom