Customer Reviews

Toshiba 24AF42 24" TV with FST PURE Flat Screen

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Audio is quite good for a set in this price range, but still suffers in comparison to, say, my [amt]computer speakers.

Image quality, judged from DVD and current-generation gaming consoles connected via component video inputs, is absolutely superb; the default/baseline visual settings produce horribly exaggerated screen contrast, although this is easily tweaked and remedied.

My rating is based on quality alone; on quality for price, however, 5/5 would be more appropriate.

In a search for a bedroom TV, I found this set and the Sony's. I feel that the picture quality of the Toshiba FST was slightly better than the Sony. It also had a better set of video inputs on the back of the set than the Sony (Toshiba allowed 2nd set of inputs to be composite or component video; Sony 2nd set of inputs is component only). The only feature I feel is missing in the set is color temperature control (the Sony does have this).

One problem I encountered with the Toshiba was that when turning up the volume, there is a huge jump between "4" (barely audible) and "5" (almost normal volume). I call to a Toshiba CSR claimed that this was normal behavior for this TV. Since I need lower volume levels occasionally, I was forced to return this TV. A second unit had the same problem. Just be aware of this if you are considering purchasing one of these for your bedroom or will need to run it at low volume levels.

I bought one of these at bestbuy.com. The colors were nice and the image was nice and sharp. The big problem was regulation. When an image had large bright areas, vertical lines would become curved. One doesn't notice this all that much when watching a movie or a TV program, but it's really clear on things like still photos shown by my DVD player. And even when watching a TV program, one can still notice it when one looks at images with lots of bright areas and clear vertical lines, like doorways.

I first noticed the problem when looking at JPEG stills in my DVD player. The DVD player (Cyber Home CH-500) puts a frame around the pictures, and the frame was distorted.

Adjusting the geometry via the service menu doesn't help much, since the problem is that bright areas in the picture shift the geometry anyway. Reducing brightness and contrast does help, but some of the problem remains.

I tested this with a laptop emitting some still images I drew. You can see the results of the test at home.att.net/~apruss/24af42.html. I also tried another 24AF42 at Best Buy on display, and it had the same problems. (I must confess that I forgot to try to adjust contrast and brightness on the display unit, so maybe it would have helped more on that unit.)

I suggest you either go for the 27-inch version (27AF42) which in my store testing did not exhibit the problem (there was some distortion, but it was within much more acceptable limits, I think) or check the unit carefully before buying. But maybe I was just unlucky with the two I tested.

I just bought this model this afternoon, to replace my 19 year old 19" Hitachi. After attaching my rabbit ears, that's right no cable or satelite connection, and adjusting the contrast, I have an absolutely beautiful picture, clear, sharp and incredibly detailed. I just finished watching The Green Mile on broadcast TV and frankly it looked just as good as it did the first time I saw it on DVD at my boyfriends, on his 36" Sony Wega TV. I have turned down the sound to the lowest possible level and found no annoying hum at all. I can hardly wait to see what kind of a picture I see when I bring home DVD player in a couple of weeks.
I think this was a great buy, and I couldn't be happier with this purchase.

I've had it for about 6 months now. Still love it. I only wish I had better cable service to put it to the test. DVDs look great. Definitely recommended for those not needing a huge tv.

Toshiba has some of the most reliable, well designed TV's--Period. Don't let anyone talk you into extended warranties. You won't need them. This TV has excellent quality thru-out with the exception of the remote. And how does a TV at this level not have a Picture-in Picture (PIP) feature? I have two other Toshiba's that are fantastic--(32" Cinema Series w/is simply awesome & a 27" that is about 6yrs old) both ahve excellent remotes and the 32" has built in PIP. Those are my main gripes.

The Toshiba 24AF42 may have one of the best quality pictures available, even with a plain vanilla cable connection. You may not even notice the difference in image quality between this and a 27". With that said, the 24" Toshiba has a noticable humming/buzzing that is terribly annoying at all but high volumes. You will definitely notice the hum at low volumes or on mute. It was annoying enough for me to send the TV back the next day. That's too bad. I really wanted to like this TV.

This TV has some great reviews, and is a consumer report best buy, but it hums. When you turn it on, there is a noticable hum from the back of the unit. It is annoying at low volume levels. Hummmmmmmmmm.

Other than that it looks great. Back to the store for this one.