Customer Reviews

Toshiba 20AF44 20" FST Pure Flat Color TV with Stereo Sound

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After looking for a small 20" TV for my bedroom, I recently purchased this model. At this price point you probably shouldn't complain, but this set does have serious flaws you might want to consider if you're thinking of buying it.

First, like most inexpensive consumer TVs, this model's color decoder is extremely inaccurate. It's heavily biased towards red, to make it look "good" to the average buyer. You can try to correct it using Digital Essentials, but you won't get it even close to right. As Digital Essentials points out, this is usually done to compensate for a bluish white point, in order to create the illusion that the screen is brighter than competing models.

The 20AF44 also only has one memory setting, although it has 3 video inputs. If you use several different sources, such as cable TV, a DVD/VCR, and/or a game console, it's very hard to find a setting that looks correct for all, and since it only saves one setting, you'll either have to compromise or keep resetting it.

The most annoying aspect is the VSM (vertical scan modulation). Although it's touted as a positive "feature" by the literature, believe me, it's not. The effect on the picture is rather like turning the sharpness control all the way up, giving edges in the picture bright white outlines. It especially makes text (such as in video games) look awful. Unfortunately, even turning the sharpness control all the way down doesn't help matters. This set doesn't offer any way to turn VSM off (not even in the service menu). I can only imagine this was done to make the picture look "sharp" to the uneducated viewer.

Furthermore, the set is filled with consumer level gimmicks to make the screen look brighter, such as the presence of an invar shadow mask. Invar shadow masks help prevent the phosphors of the television from burning into the screen at insanely high contrast levels. It doesn't make the picture quality any better. It's no surprise then that out of the box the TV is set to maximum contrast: not good for the TV or the picture quality.

At the under $200 price point I really don't know if you can find a decent television without such problems. I hear the Sony models allow you to turn off VSM, even on the low end sets. It might be worth investigating the Sony if you're in the market for a set similar to this.

I ordered received this Toshiba on 5/17 via UPS and it has the best picture I've ever seen on a 20 inch television. The manufacturer's specifications on the Toshiba site say the tube has an invar shadow mask, which is only found on the best tv's and is never found on sets selling at this price. The jack asssortment included is more than is found on many 27 and 32 sets.

Sound also is superb. I'm stumped by Robert Stewart's negative comments on his set. There's no buzz on my sample and the picture, as I said, is first rate. Perhaps he's got a line-noise problem with the his power source or one of the devices he has hooked up to the tv. If not, remember that sample defects like the ones he mentions can happen even with store-bought tv's, though in the latter case, making an exchange is a lot more straightforward.

The manual that came with this Toshiba is the best written and most thorough I've seen on an appliance in years, even perhaps a little too exhaustive ....like the complicated-looking remote, it might daunt some folks who like simplicity in their electronic gadgets. But both the manual and the remote are only as complicated as the set is versatile.

The lack of a TV/Video button on the front of set itself is a bit unusual, but a minor inconvenience, and it isn't true, as another poster writes in these reviews, that "you are out of luck" if you lose the Toshiba remote: Any programmable remote you can buy in a store will operate this tv, including the TV/Video function -- I've programmed a store-bought remote to work with this tv and it works all the basic functions, including TV/Video function fine.
Also, Toshiba offers replacement remotes for the AF series of tube tv's on its site under "accessories" for $10 each.

Tip: the price next to the image on this page of the Toshiba 20AF44 tv is $176.95 and seems to be an Office Depot offer . Check the "8 used or new" link, lower left of the picture of the Toshiba 20AF44 on this page for other, possibly better, offers, one of which may eliminate shipping as well as local tax.

I bought this over buying a Sylvania which was awful, as soonas I turned it on the picture was sharp and clear colors sharp, and clean. the sound is perfect, in fact I leave this TV on everynight and so far (since Xmas 2004) it has no buzzing or problems. The upper Digital channels from my IO Digital cable provider are sharper than ever!! I was going to buy a Sony, but Toshiba has always been a good product, and reliable
Here is a little trick i learned selling TV's when you purchae a new set leave it on a few days non-stop ( yes I said non-stop! )
this will surely test the set, if there are any flaws they will happen right away, then you can bring it back within your warranty with the store. They will never tell you this at a retail chain!
Anyway I highly recommend the 20AF44 Toshiba, make sure you use Monster S-Video or Componet Video Cables when hooking up DVD and Cable Box for best picture qulaity!

I reviewed the Toshiba 24AF44 with the same problem, however the 20AF44 was so bad it was impossible to watch. It is even worse playing back DVDs.
Velocity Modulation (VM), sometimes called VCM, makes the picture sharper but also causes some distortion on vertical lines, especially with a white background. Most brands offer a way to reduce the VM or turn it off completely (Panasonic and SONY for instance) but for some odd reason Toshiba does not offer the choice.
I found the colors to be very vivid and the sound quality to be quite good. The set is also good looking except for the exposed front inputs which mar the look of the front end of the TV.
However, the VM ruins the TV. I am returning it for a Panasonic CT-20SL14, which does not have VM. I personally think VM is a bad addition to any TV and unnecessary. If you are interested in a SONY, their 20 inch Wega offers a way to reduce VM or turn it off completely.
If Toshiba offered this in their TVs I think they would rate the highest because of the good color saturation, fine audio quality, and attractive case.
Unfortunately for now I would recommend avoiding all Toshiba TVs until the VM can be adjusted or turned off.

I did a lot of research for the new TV I was getting ready to buy. I read the issues of Consumer Reports magazine where they reviewed televisions. I also read a lot of reviews and articles on the internet. I then went to stores to view the picture quality of the TVs I was thinking about buying. It came down between this Toshiba 20" TV and the Sony 20" TV (KV-20FS120). The Sony was about $50-$70 more expensive, so I went with the Toshiba.

The TV picture quality was okay, but when I started watching DVDs I kept noticing this color flicker on vertical lines. Many thin, vertical lines (like on the edges of doors or windows, thin trees, etc.) had this green and pink color flicker. I played the DVDs to others and they saw these color flickers right away without me having to point out where it was to them. I wasn't sure if it was my DVD player, so I played the DVDs in other places and didn't get this problem.

So I returned the Toshiba TV and bought the Sony. Not only does the Sony not have these color flickers when watching DVDs, but I feel the Sony has an overall better picture quality and I am totally happy with it.

I bought a 20AF44, excited as I was because I own a 20AF41 and a 14 inch 14AF42 (or 14AF43, I forgot the model number) and was very pleased with them. Unfortunately, when I hooked up my sample of the 20AF44, the screen image wasn't very focussed. Looking at text on the screen, there was a greenish hue on the right side of every letter, and the letters weren't focussed. I later discovered (partly from reading other reviews) that the velocity scan modulation, which is supposed to improve edge sharpness of images, does bad things to text, making them look fat and rough on the edges (even though it brightens same). You can't turn VSM off in the on-screen menus...BUT you can see what the screen image looks like without the VSM when you activate the on-screen menu and look at the image then. The VSM gets turned off when the menus are on so that the menu text looks clean, but you can then see the TV image behind the menus without the VSM on. Image text is clear and clean and normal looking without the VSM on. My 20AF41 and 14AF42 don't have aggressive VSM and the latter two show no difference whether the on-screen menu is on or off.

So I returned the 20AF44, as I was dissatisfied, and bought a 20-inch Sony (the model number was ?????VM300, I think). This sample was too dark and contrasty, even with the menu brightness turned up full, and although someone else on Amazon reported that tweaking the brightness with the service menu fixed things up, I didn't want to, as I demand that the unit perform properly out of the box). So I returned the Sony, and got another 20AF44. The greenish hue on text was gone, and I accepted the artifacts of VSM...but now there was an intermittant high-frequency squealing sound from the picture tube depending on the source material. I couldn't figure out what material triggers the squealing sound...also, if I activated the on-screen menu and scrolled to the two right-hand menus, that tended to cause squealing, and if I scrolled to the two left-hand menus (the sound and picture menus), the squealing would tend to stop). Note that this squealing is different from the normal humming sound that all picture tubes make. So I am going to return this second 20AF44 and buy something else. I'm frustrated by the whole experience and don't know what to buy now, as I NEED to have a 20 inch TV, and I remain happy with the two existing Toshiba TV's that I have.

After looking through several choices for a tv that would work in a smaller room or bedroom I chose this one. Compared to the other tv's at this size (20") it has features that few others do. I noticed a lot of complaints about text being fuzzy or "off" and the tv having "warm" red colors. I've had the tv for several months now and i never noticed these complaints. Maybe i'am not as critical as others are, but for $160 I feel like I got a deal.

One other note I would like to mention:
I believe I ordered from a site that went through amazon.com (used and new section), I did not bother them about it but when i recieved the tv I noticed a small, almost unnoticeable dent in the top middle. I believe it was made by the shipping company but it looks like a lot of weight went into making it because the plastic is hard. Not enough for me to send it back although I wondered how i got it so cheap...

I've owned this model for over three years and never had a single complaint until recently, after moving, started having trouble getting it to power up. It wasn't jostled in the move, at all, but it was the first time in those three years when its power was interupted - that is, unplugged.

It took five minutes of listening to it go "click ... click ... click" while trying to fully power up. Then, it was fine for two weeks until it was again unplugged. Since then, it usually comes right online, but other times can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes for the picture to come up.

I would recommend this TV for people who are looking for a bargain on something decent, until HD prices come down more.

Although the picture is great, its strength is in the audio. It delivers a much fuller sound than competitors in its class.

Honestly, this model is probably the best I have ever had! What I like most about it is the flat panel! Excellent quality! I don't think I could get another better one than this for the money! Great deal!

I ordered this TV, just as my previous 20" Toshiba was fading. It was over 10 years old and had stayed top quality until the sound started going out.

This TV has a fantastic picture, and a very nice interface both in the menu and the buttons on the panel.

I do have two complaints however. There is no TV/Video button next to were the volume up/down or chanel up/down is. The only place I found it is on the remote, so if you lose the remote, I guess your out of luck.

The other minor complaint I have is that there is no plastic cover up where the 3 RCA inputs cables hook up to in the front. I just think it would look nicer if there was a silver door covering those up when not in use.

Besides that, I would recomend this Toshiba for anyone who is in the market for a smaller TV. I recieved it yesterday and am very impressed with these models over the Sony's, JVC's, Panasonics, Philips, etc.