Customer Reviews

Toshiba 15LV505 15.6-Inch Widescreen LCD TV with Built-in DVD Player (Black)

5 star:		(215)
4 star:		(126)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

If you are looking for a very small LCD TV, this is a nice product. If you have room for a 19", by all means I would go for the larger screen. Keep in mind that, even with the abundance of digital and high def signals out there today, many channels/programs will be broadcast in 4:3 format. Since this TV is a 16:9 profile screen, a 4:3 display will appear that much smaller on this 15.6" screen.

However, if you have a tight space, like on a kitchen counter under cabinets, this TV is perfect. It included a built in DVD player, which is a nice perk. The picture is vivid and HD display on it is excellent. At this size there is absolutely no reason to go for 1080p. For a 15.6" screen, or even a 19", 720p is fine.

At this screen size, Toshiba's competition tends to be "store brands" or no-name brands. This is the lone high quality name brand TV in this class (size).

What included in the box:
* 15.6" (measured diagonally) flat screen TV.
* Attached stand.
* Remote control.
* Power cable.


The TV comes with a QAM tuner so you can pull any unscrambled analog and digital TV signals from your cable company. The TV accepts coax and ColorStream component connections.

PROs:
* Vivid picture
* Fully adjustable backlight and picture format, as well as all the usuals (brightness, contrast, audio, etc.).
* Excellent sound.
* Matte finish screen reduces glare so screen is viewable in bright and low light situations.

CONs:
* Tuner is fairly slow when switching stations.
* Stand is not adjustable for different angles or height.

Overall, this is a nice TV for the price and has many of the functions you'd want. An adjustable stand would be nice but at this size its not a necessity. I'm not sure why the tuner lags as much as it does, taking approximately 2-4 seconds in between channels. If you channel-surf often, this will annoy you.

I would have rated this a 5 had it not been for the slow tuner.

This is a nice little unit. I find the picture very clear and the sound is not bad, considering the size of the speakers. Very light and has a very good viewing angle, better than some larger lcd's I've looked at. The built in dvd player is simple and works well and the remote is very intuitive and easy to use. The only downside is you cannot mount this tv to the wall. Because of the dvd player it is not compatable with any of the the existing wall mounts. It has no mounting holes for a wall mount.
Other than that it is a great little unit for the money and works well for small spaces.

Since I just bought this to replace a space killing CRT model I don't have long-term experience. But so far, the picture is crisp and bright, there's an included DVD player (which I didn't need but oh, well)and its footprint is wee-wee-tiny......on my breakfast counter it is a godsend. I now have room to spread out the morning paper there. I paid close attention to reviews of 15" flat screen TV's and while I think $299 was pretty high for a small screen, the other cheaper no-names seemed to have rotten reviews. I'm trusting in Toshiba's reputation and the reviews. The unit was shipped amazingly fast from AMAZON and is light as a feather.
I'll reserve final judgment for about a year to see how it works then.
One thing that I find odd is the VERY VERY slow switching of channels.

I'm far from being a "techie," but within a few minutes of removing this item from the box, plugging it into the wall, and attaching an ordinary coaxial cable, I was commander of a media empire (with nary a glance at the instruction manual). First of all, this thing is remarkably light, compact, and transportable. Even though it was delegated to replace the aging Emerson 13" TV in our kitchen, I can't think of anything I would rather take with me to another room, my desk, or on a trip. As is the case with any flat LCD screen, it doesn't "play" as large as its cathode ray equivalent. (For example, If you want to experience the effect of your old 27" big tube TV, you'll need a 37" LCD display--not just because of aspect ratio but the brighter, more intense, life-like quality that is unique to the "picture-tube" television sets of yore.) So given the shallow profile of this baby, don't be surprised if you find yourself second-guessing whether or not you should have sprung for the 19"-20" model.

Nevertheless, once you've lit up this little Toshiba, chances are you won't want to let it out of your sight. It doesn't have HDMI inputs--just coax, S-Video, and 3-color component video. Yet with a screen this small, clarity and brightness are never an issue. Even with an ordinary coax connection, the images are as crisp and sharply defined as the "enhanced" HD signals at a Best Buy or Sears TV department, the colors are vivid yet complex (just be sure to set it in permanent "Movie" mode--all of the other settings push contrast at the expense of hues and colors).

I have a big Sony flat screen that takes me several minutes to locate the switches, adjust the TV menu, then the set-top box, and by the time I find my way through the plethora of Time-Warner channels, I've missed the opening skit to SNL. The Toshiba, by comparison, is instant (allow for several seconds for the channel to lock and the screen to illuminate. The audio is acceptable for dialog. There's no distortion or "canned" quality, though for listening to Bernard Herrmann's score to "Vertigo" (the first DVD I fed the machine), I might give some consideration to using audio "out" for headphones or a hi-fi system. For most purposes, the sound is just fine. The remote, moreover, is bigger and friendlier than those coming with sets costing 5-10 times as much (yet this is one set for which the remote is an unneeded luxury). And I find the channel changes to be relatively quick for an LCD hi def processor.

In sum, simplicity, practicality, price and state-of-the-art technology tell me this is a "gadget" to own--if only because it behaves less like a gadget than a utilitarian necessity. Just remember to set it in "movie mode" (I know, too yellow on most HD sets), which seems like the perfect setting for all program types on this baby.

[June, 2010 update: the set is still performing like a champion--and still among the best-selling flat-screens on Amazon. The word has gotten out.]

We purchased this combination TV and DVD player for our 17' Casita travel trailer. So far, we've only used it in the DVD mode since we camped in remote sites where we do not get TV signals (we do not have satellite capability with our trailer...so unless there is a cable hookup where we camp, the DVD player is our main use). We DID try out the TV with our cable connection in the house before placing it in the trailer and we were happy with the picture and sound it produced. As far as the trailer, we particularly like this 15.6" set because it draws a mere 30 watts which is less than 1/2 the power of the prior 13" LCD set we used with a separate DVD player. We like the widescreen since this is the mode most often used on DVDs produced now and by using less watts, we can watch more movies without using up our battery power and having to recharge with the generator.

i bought this tv to replace a bulky older tv i had in my kitchen (also a toshiba). my old tv had a fabulous picture, sound and was complelety reliable. it simply took up too much counter space, so i replaced it with a flat panel. the new tv, as noted in a few other reviews, takes a very long time to turn on (perhaps 6-7 seconds before a picture appears), but once it's on, it's a very good picture. my bigger complaint is that the volume is quite low. on some channels, i literally have to turn up the volume to full capacaity, and i'm 3 feet from the tv, in a small kitchen. i would not recommend this tv if you plan to be across the room...you'll never hear it!

My wife and I choose to get our TV signals over the air with an antenna. So, with the looming switch to digital-only broadcasting, I decided to simply replace an analog Sharp Aquos 13" set with a new, widescreen model. After much research, I chose the Toshiba. I've had some experience with Toshiba products and have no complaints. I wanted a 'brand name' set for reliability concerns.

We've had it for just less than a month and are generally pleased with the set. The move to a digital signal has resulted in a much improved picture over our older Sharp analog LCD. The viewing angle is good, which is important to us as we use this TV on our kitchen table and we sit on opposite sides.

As others have mentioned, channel switching is a bit slow, the set does not swivel vertically and I wish the remote had direct input for a few favorite channels. We have not tried the DVD player and don't plan on much use of this feature.

Amazon shipped this item promptly and we were pleased with the price.

If you're in the market for a smaller size widescreen TV, I can recommend the Toshiba.

Bought this after reading lots of other reviews. They are very accurate.

Perfect picture - forget about the 720P, that's all you will want
Nice clear sound - I'm a little hard of hearing and this is easy to listen to
Awesome tuning ability
Very slow when surfing channels
DVD works perfectly
Very light
Perfect for TV in a small room or RV
Easy to set up and use
Screen cannot be rotated up or down
Has no quality equivalent in this size
Costs less at Amazon than any poorer quality set at Walmart, Best Buy, etc.

Make careful note of model number: 15LV505

I purchased this TV to replace an old rabbit eared CRT on the kitchen counter. Running new cable was the only work involved. The only problem that I have encountered with the TV itself is that I watch it too much.

As far as installing cable I suggest the following Web site: http://www.swhowto.com/index.htm

This LCD TV/DVD combination is perfect for the kitchen counter. All features including TV resolution, DVD picture and sound quality and CD sound checked out as excellent. The only minor complaint is when pressing a selection with the remote resting on a surface, rather than being held in the hand, the unbalanced design of the remote tends to allow it to tip over to one side. I highly recommend this product for the compact design and versatility of features.