macshane

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
Bought the Toshiba 32AF44 Feb '05. Loved it until 2 weeks ago. The picture went completely black. Serviceman from Best Buy came out. Needs a part he didn't have with him, will take 1-2 days to get. We called & made an appt for 1/28 to have part replaced. WE called Best Buy 1/25, part is on back order until 2/5 (no one called us). Basically told by Best Buy to call Toshiba. Toshiba was closed, but you can send an email and get a response in 24 hours. No response yet (1/27). Not happy with response to warranty work.

Strengths:
When working, very nice set for the $$$

Weaknesses:
lack of service/warranty

maxximtl

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $489.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I recently purchased this TV as a replacement for my Samsung TXL2791F. The Toshiba is a step up not only in picture size, but also in quality. Even on Satellite signals, the 32AF44 is noticably better looking. My Samsung had some strange tendencies to make dark scenes look very irregular. That issue is gone with the Toshiba. Even my wife noticed the difference...which is saying a lot! From a functional standpoint, the TV is pretty straightforward. It has the usual component, S-video and composite inputs. Unlike the Sony KV32FS320, it only has 1 component input. That's not a problem for me, but it might be an issue for some people with more hardware to hookup. The menu's are easy to use and the TV has a couple of nice features such as automatically going into closed caption mode when you hit the mute button. As I mentioned before, the picture quality on the Toshiba is quite good. The only set that I really feel bested it was the Sony KV32FS320. Howvever, the Sony was $100 more and I couldn't justify the added expense for only a marginal improvement in picture quality. If you use Avia or DVE to calibrate the TV, you will be very happy with the results. Out of the box, the settings are pretty far off (which is common.) The 32AF44 is a pretty good looking set, with a two tone color scheme that I prefer to the solid silver sets (what happened to black TV's???) One note, the case of the Toshiba has a very unusual shape to it (it doesn't taper very much on the back side.) You will need to be sure that your TV stand is dimensionally large enough to hold it. Also, the set weighs in at 144lbs, so you will need to be sure that your stand can support that amount of weight. If there is one area on the TV that I feel is deficient it would be the speakers. Plan on using a home theater system with this TV because the TV's speakers are terrible. The sound on my old Samsung was far superior, but I guess you should be more concerned about the picture quality on a TV, right? Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase. This TV will hold me over until there is more HDTV programming available. 90% of our viewing is SD satellite, so this TV fits the bill perfectly.

Strengths:
Very good SD picture quality Great picture on Component Easy TV to use The case doesn't look too horrible

Weaknesses:
Sound is sub-par TV is fairly large and has an unusual case shape

Similar Products Used:
Samsung TXL2791F Older Sony 35"

toenail

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $449.00 from Sears

Summary:
It appears that this TV is offered in both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio and shares the same model number, 32AF44. I bought the 4:3 because my primary viewing is cable tv and I'm not ready to make the HDTV $$$$ plunge just yet. This set is aesthetically pleasing, with a fairly basic design. Operational menus are highly intuitive and can be learned in minutes without a manual for reference. Regular cable viewing is pretty good, with exceptional color and contrast. DVD viewing is outstanding when using colorstream component video connection in 16:9 aspect. This is the best resolution the set is capable of reproducing (480i) but don't be fooled, it's quite spectacular. Returning to standard cable afterward is a letdown. The sound from inboard speakers is pretty weak. There are many options to tailor it to your liking, but I've not found any combination that I've liked. They always seem to sound a bit tinny and thin. The remote is far from handsome, but reasonably laid out and also fairly intuitive. If you're looking for a large cable TV that does exceptional DVD, this unit is a good value. It does not handle HDTV or progressive scan input, so if you're looking for the high end be prepared to spend more $$$.

Strengths:
Color, contrast, DVD playback with component connection.

Weaknesses:
Speakers, remote control aesthetics.

Similar Products Used:
36" Mitsubishi CRT