Customer Reviews

Toshiba 26AV502U 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just got this TV when Amazon dropped the price. I am very pleased with it, its a terrific value. The picture is amazing, its highly energy efficient costing only $1.14 a month to operate based on 6 hours viewing a day. Its an Energy Star TV. Sound is also good for what it is it has 2 X 5 watt speakers. I saw the other review here and am a little perplexed as I've found this TV to be a great value for a standard 26" LCD TV which is what it is. I'd highly recommend it.

I purchased mine from best buy as I work at the store. I use it in my room so I can watch movies and stuff when my roommates are watching reality TV or something else stupid.

Either way,...

Pro's:
-Great sound considering the size of the speakers, I would compare this to Sony Tv's to be honest. Can not get as loud, but same quality.
-No glare at all. the matte finish diffuses all the light which is great.

Cons:
-Black level detail. In darker scenes/games you will lose much detail, but that is because of the matte finish. Its a trade-off for not having to deal with glare.
-No optical out, meaning if you have a cheap-o home theater in a box with only 1 optical input, you will be limited for surround sound.

The 5 star reasoning: The black level details are not up to par in my book. Maybe this is unfair because I sell TV's all day and see the best, but I think it could be better. Maybe not for the price though. Which is why I still gave it 5. I think the average user would never notice and would be very happy.

I was surprised to see how great the picture looks, coupled with the extensive inputs/outputs, while the price was over 30% lower than other comparable models. The only negative is that the screen cannot be tilted and the vertical viewing angle is not very good.

I've had the Toshiba 26" TV for 3 weeks, using it with both over-the-air and DirecTV HD service with RGB cables. The sound is adequate, better than some other reviews might have indicated. Color is very bright, contrast ratio is good. My only disappointment is the unexpected "de-pixellation" (for lack of a real word) for signals received in 1080i resolution. At 720p, which is the designed resolution and the product used by ESPN HD among others, the picture is HD-sharp; at 1080i there is some small-detail blending not present in our other 32" direct view HDTV. I found the details in the manual readable and helpful.
For the price, and use as a second, lightweight HDTV or DVD screen, this Toshiba is a good value. If you're after super detail and speed, pay a lot more for a larger Samsung 120-Hz LCD.

This is a great television that packs a lot of bang for the buck. It's loaded with features, small enough to be used in a bedroom yet large enough to be the center point of your entertainment system, and HD-ready right out of the box. The only downside is that, rarely, the set can actually crash when trying to process a really weak or garbled HD signal. It freaked me out the first time I saw it do this; I thought the thing had short circuited! But a quick press of the power button (and a new HD set top box from my cable provider) resolved the issue and it has yet to crash again. Others have complained about the viewing angle, but I haven't any complaints. Perhaps I just have mine more favorably placed than the others do?

With its many inputs the possibilities are endless. Picture quality is next to perfect! Great buy.

I actually ordered the 'U' but received the 'R' model. From what I read the only differences are the layout of the on-screen menu and the layout for the inputs on back. The 'R' model seems to be manufactured after the 'U'. The inputs for the 'R' are found on the face of the back. That of the 'U' is on the bottom of the back meaning one must push up to get wires connected.

I recently bought the Toshiba 26" 26AV502U and I actually received a 26AV502R. I'm not sure what the difference is but from a google search there doesn't seem to be one. The TV is the perfect size for a bed room and the picture is excellent if you view the picture from a small viewing angle (perpendicular to the TV screen). If you move just a little more then 20 degrees or so to the right or left however, the picture quality declines rapidly. So viewing degradation occurs at a much lower angle then you would expect. So don't buy this TV if you can't view it straight on.

I purchased the Toshiba 26AV502U for $399 in January 2009 from 6th Ave Electronics in NY/NJ metro area. The picture quality and sound remain excellent for use in our kitchen where we have it wall mounted with a Sanus MF202. This allows us to easily change the viewing angle but for most part we view straight-on. I knew when purchasing this is not going to be par with a Regza/Bravia/Aquos experience. But it delivers good performance for the price.

Our viewing on this set is mostly news or evening prime time shows and some sports events. Sound quality is terrific. Our provider is Verizon FIOS. We have set the pic resolution to 720p. I do not think 1080i adds to viewing experience on a 26" tv. I too agree some very dark movie scenes are difficult to view. We have the FIOS media DVR attached to another tv. I have noticed a red "bleed" (on something like a woman's dress) when viewing a previously recorded 'live' show but I have not seen this effect while viewing on demand or scheduled movies or shows. I assume problem is with the FIOS DVR quality and not the tv.

We have used tv occasionally with a laptop but we need to reset the pic size and resolution defaults for the tv everytime we go from FIOS to laptop and back again.

I love this flat screen TV. I had bought a new JVC tube TV a few years ago which, surprisingly, went dead after just two years. So, I bought an old 20 inch tube off Craigslist for $20. I'm not that picky, and ignored my friends when they teased me about half my screen turning everyone "green" and the fuzzy picture. Still, I was sticking to my guns. Until I bought my 89-year old mom, a 22 inch flat screen a couple of months ago.I decided to pick a price point and when a 26 inch flat screen hit that point, I would jump on it. I had targeted this Toshiba and was tracking it on several sites. Amazon, in all their brilliance, dropped their prices the days after Christmas and scooped their competition. I also knew that I could trust Amazon, as opposed to sellers I never heard of, and so I bought this set from them. It arrived way before the promised date, and was fairly easy to set up. It works great, easy to use, volume is fine, despite a couple of reviews to the contrary. Would recommend this to anyone looking for an apartment-sized TV, or one for a bedroom. What a difference in viewing from anything I've had before.

After much searching and researching I purchased this TV from Amazon as it was the best deal, with the features I wanted, for this model and fit my space limitations perfectly.

Pros:
Easy to set up. Good picture quality, good color, blacks look fine to me so can't agree with other reviewers, good remote, works well with over the air antenna. Sounds great with my cheap Pioneer surround sound. I'd rate the on board sound fine as well. I didn't find the manual at all difficult to interpret. I had it scanning channels with a cheap antenna 10 minutes after taking it out of the box. It picked up 32 over the air channels. I do live on a hill in a major metro area so that may help. I've seen some digital signal breakup when viewing distant stations when there is heavy rain but you cannot fault the TV for that. I do not have this TV placed in an optimal viewing location, 8" above ground level inside a built-in cabinet so the viewing angle is from above looking down, hardly optimal, and I still think the picture is fine. I was concerned about the viewing based on other reviews? Side angle viewing I would rate exceptional.

Cons: None. Its a good TV for the money.

Other: It would have been nice if my old Panasonic surround sound would pick up the Toshiba remote.