Customer Reviews

Toshiba 26HL66 26-Inch Diagonal TheaterWide 16:9 Integrated HD LCD TV

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been spending time seriously researching which LCD HDTV I'm going to buy. My choices are between the Sony 26S2000, Panasonic 26LX600, Samsung LN-S2641D, Sharp 26SH20U and Toshiba 26HL66.

I'm a Sony fan, owned several of their TVs over the years and been pretty happy. I was leaning that way again - my last TV was a wonderful 23" Sony LCD HDTV that I gave to a close friend because she didn't have a TV and I wanted a slightly larger model with HDMI anyway. I know most people now pass over the 26" and go for the 32" but the smaller size suits my small living room which I don't want to make a screening room!

However the recent Consumer Reports (that I personally respect a lot in the absence of any other thorough independent comparative study I can get my hands on) on the new crop of LCD HDTVs put my Sony preference on hold because the Toshiba is TOP RATED in both the 26" and 32" categories. I spent some time looking at these models over the weekend and my decision is almost made. The Toshiba picture looks great - better than the Sony (though it's hard to tell in a TV store where everything is on an HD feed).

So with Consumer Reports ratings and analysis placing the Toshiba ahead by 3 points overall, actual design and price comes more into play - and I have to hand it to the Toshiba! The Sony looks pretty dull and a bit too plastic (I know they all are made of the stuff!) whereas the Toshiba ironically looks pretty cool because it seems to have taken it's styling cues from Sony's highly desirable XBR line! BTW

I didn't include the XBR in my quest because it's much more than I can afford - though of course I lust after it. But for some $300 less, the Toshiba may well prove to be an excellent top rated XBR substitute. In fact it's the least expensive of all the other models I mentioned in this review.

In regards to the previous reviewer's comments, I noticed the same problem. Our tvs must have come from the same "defective" batch. Light leaks from the bottom left center of the screen when watching wide screen (16x9) movies. The light emanates upwards from the bottom of the screen, above the tv shell, and shines like a small spotlight on the black bar. I thought is was just light being reflected from the light on the ceiling in my room. Unfortunately, it wasn't a reflection. Then I hoped it would eventually just go away. It hasn't.

In regards to the Toshiba 26HL66, I can't knock it or brag about it. I will only offer you my experience. Let's start with the exterior. It's nicely designed, and just as sharp as Sony's high end XBR1 model. Although I've always been a Sony devotee, I purchased this tv because it performed better with fast motion than all other lcd hdtvs I looked at, and also because the color was excellent and produced a sharp image. Anyways, I went to Best Buy, Sears, Circuit City, K-Mart, Target, and Ken Cranes, to see for myself the pros and cons I've read about lcd hdtvs. The main con has been that lcd tvs can't handle fast motion, such as a football game or quick camera movement. Call it what you want, blurring, pixelation, or ghosting. This is definitely true. Lcd tv technology has not yet been perfected. Remember, this technology, not too long ago, introduced lcd computer monitors to the market. When it comes to handling fast motion, the Toshiba Regza lcd beats them all, including Sony's high end XBR1 line. I must have seen every 2006 lcd model on the market. Toshiba was the only manufacturer that stood out above the rest when it came to fast motion. I'll give this tv's response to fast motion a B+. Very good but not perfect as would be viewed on a crt tv. The sound quality is very good in a bedroom setting, which is where I have this tv. There are five viewing modes: natural, theater wide (1, 2, 3), and full screen. In standard definition (local channels), the natural mode produces an image of 17 (L) x 13 (H). It fills the screen from top to bottom with black bars on the sides. The three theater wide modes and full screen mode fill the whole screen. But only natural, full, and theater wide 1 modes show the whole image. Theater wide 2 and 3 modes zoom in, so you lose a little of the original image. I prefer theater wide mode 1. You get a nice full screen without image distortion. The image is slightly better in natural mode but it defeats the purpose of the tv's 26" screen size. It's nice to have choices. The remote control configuration is ok. I don't like the fact that the channel "enter" button isn't located near the numbers. It may take a few days to get a hang of all the buttons. They could have left a few off. But once you know the functions of all the buttons, navigating through the on-screen menus is simple.

Unfortunately, now comes the cons. Toshiba doesn't offer a 1/8" stereo headphone input jack. I can live without this feature, but it would be nice, especially, since I've used headphones on my prior tv. Several other manufacturers lcds feature a headphone jack. Overall, standard definition tv (local channels) come in fair. Sharpness is disappointing, which basically means the image is grainy. However, some local programs come in better than others. I expected local channel viewing to be inferior to what I was seeing on my 1996 Sony 20" crt tv, which was sharpness and true colors. It is factual that local channels produces an inferior picture on lcd tvs, as compared to an analog crt tv. Regardless what the lcd tv is connected to, whether it be a cable box, satellite receiver, or a coaxial cable drop, it won't make a significant improvement to local channel viewing. Note that I am talking about local channels, not hd channels. Basic cable channels do come in better, with channels such as CNN, MTV, and ESPN standing out. I don't have premium digital channels.

Another drawback that I read about was that vcr playback doesn't look very thrilling on an lcd tv. I didn't hook up a vcr, but I believe the reviews. You would expect everything to improve with hdtv. In fact, it is the opposite. However, understand that it is not the hd technolgy that fails. It's the lcd technology that downgrades all viewing, with the exception of the few channels or shows that provide an hd signal. So if you're watching vhs tapes, store purchased dvd movies, local & cable channels, expect a downgrade, not an improvement with an lcd tv. Hdtv (high definition television) is only worthwhile when you're watching programming in hd. So if you have an analog tv, you may want to wait before jumping at buying a sleek lcd hdtv at a premium price. Perfection for hdtv may come when all channels switch to hd rather than the present analog signal. You may not be happy with your purchase until then. So if you have a bulky analog crt tv that puts out a great image like my ten year old 20" Sony, you may want to reconsider purchasing an hdtv at a premium price but not yet a premium product. As the market share for lcd tvs continues to increase and the problematic plasma tvs are phased out, expect significant gains in lcd performance in the next five years. I'm sorry I can't tell you how high definition looks on this tv. None of the local channels in Los Angeles have switched to an hd signal. Only a few select local and basic cable programs are carried in hd. I'm not sure how many of the premium cable channels carry hd, but I'm sure there aren't many. I guess we'll now have to wait until 2009 until our government makes the earthquake-like switch to hdtv, or is it 2011, 2012, 2014, 2020, 2050, 2060.....

I needed a good LCD panel for the kitchen. I had bought the Sharp Aquous and found it the worst flat panel I had seen. The motion artifacts were horrible on the Sharp. The PQ on this set is great. NO motion artifacts, very good black levels, easy to adjust. The SD from cable is very good and easily watchable. No, its not HD like, but one of the best SD i have seen. Using the component 720p is excellent. I fed it signal from my 1080i sat dish and the PQ jumped out, 3D vividness.

Loads of inputs, including one HDMI. Even a digital audio output.

Based on all the reviews, this one got the highest for 26". Amazon had a great price and shipped the next day. Arrived in perfect condition.

Yes, there are cheaper 26" LCD sets out there. For the $100 difference, i was glad to have paid it and get a great panel.

I wish the set was 1080, but i have not seen any 1080 sets in 26". and to be honest, not sure if it would matter in PQ with this size screen. The set also has a fixed power cord. I wish it had a detachable one. Sound is good, not great. But no small sets have great sound. But the sound is very listenable for kitchen or bedroom use.

I would not hesitate to recommend this set to someone that wanted a quality LCD for a kitchen, bedroom, etc. You will enjoy the PQ.

I first ordered an Olevia 323V. So I learned a lot about the whole HDTV thing in the couple days I had that unit. It turned out to be defective (made an occasional loud high-pitched squeal while not even turned on), so I returned it to the vendor (not amazon). I then decided to go with the Toshiba 26HL66. I also decided to go with this unit because it is one of the few 26 inch LCDs with a built-in HDTV tuner. I was hoping I might be able to pick some local HDTV broadcasts over an antenna without paying the cable company more $ for a cable box to decode the HDTV signals or whatever it does.

This unit is so much better than the Olevia. The picture is excellent. The stretch feature on the Olevia (to fit a normal tv 4:3 picture into the widescreen 16:9 format) really warped the movement around the edges, but the Toshiba is much smoother and more natural. The speakers on the Olevia sounded very flat and tinny, but the Toshiba is deep and rich and wide.

And then I found out that, after set-up, and after browser through the channels, that the HDTV tuner had found several HDTV channels that were coming over cable already, and I could watch then for free! My first experience of HDTV was watching something on a PBS channel, showing a nature scene, with the campfire so vivid, and the stars so clear and bright, it was just amazing.

I decided to order from amazon, because that have a great price, and a great return policy. A lot of online places do not let you return electronics over a certain size.

So I am very happy with this set, and would recommend it to anyone.

This is the third Toshiba HL series tv I have bought. One for the family room and two for bedrooms. With the QAM feature you do not need any extras if you just want basic cable tv in HD. I plugged it in, played around a bit with the channel menu and found CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX all in HD for no extra charge as cable companies are required to broadcast these without enscription. Color, picture and sound are fantastic even on non-HDTV stations. This tv rivals the Sonys...which until now have been my favorite, and the price is much less.

Others have noted that this Toshiba 26" LCD TV was rated highest by Consumer Reports. While this TV does have its strengths, I don't think it deserves such praise from Consumer Reports. I have this TV hooked up along with a Samsung 26" LCD TV to compare it to.

Some strengths of this TV include the sound, which I think is much better than the Samsung's. The basic cable picture is better and clearer than the Samsung's. The viewing angle seems a bit better than the Samsung's; the picture doesn't seem to fade or "wash out" quite as badly as it does on the Samsung, when I sit off to the side.

I can't comment too much about the high defintion picture. I can only pick up the local PBS station in high def; apparently my local cable company scrambles the signals so I can't pick them up that way. I'm not willing to my cable compnay even more for the high def channels, or at least not yet. The over the air option for picking up high def doesn't work for me. Apparently being 30 miles from the nearest big city is too far for the high def signal to travel.

Some of the flaws of this TV (for me anyhow) are the colors don't look quite as vivid as the pictures on the Samsung. This Toshiba seems to lack detail or clarity that the Samsung has; I can tell this when I watch the same thing on both TVs. And to me the major flaw is not being able to see details in dark scenes or shadowy scenes on this Toshiba TV, that I can see when I'm watching the same thing on the Samsung.

Overall, this TV reminds me a lot of a Polaroid 26" LCD TV I had in the summer of 2005, which I wound up returning, mainly because of not seeing details in dark scenes. (That Polaroid TV had other flaws, but this isn't the place to bring those up). The contrast ratio on this Toshiba is only 800:1, so maybe that's the problem. That is my biggest problem with this Toshiba TV, plus the sharpness of the picture just doesn't seem that good.

the more situations i put this TV in, the more one thing irritates me. On the bottom of the screen there is a slight light that emits upward. Though MOSTLY unnoticeable, when watching dark settings in movies or games there is a light glare 6" offset from center on the screen.
When watching movies in 2.35:1 aspect (with black bars top and bottom) there is a constant white blur on the bottom of the screen. This TV simply has trouble in dark settings.
I could be picky because i bet some people wouldn't notice or care. But seeing how i noticed in the first 20minutes of use, i have a hard time looking past it.

Consumer reports didn't let me down with their review of this TV. Great picture, east to use set up screens....I did adjust the contrast and color a bit as people looked a bit too red...now the picture is Perfect. I wanted to get the next size bigger, but my wife did not want that big of a TV and I must say...the 26" is perfect for a bedroom. I took the stand off and mounted it to the wall...love the wall mount

Bought this TV because it was highly recommended by Consumer Reports. So far its great. Picture is awesome, sound is good. For a bedroom TV I couldnt ask for anything more. It was delivered quick and in perfect condition.

I've had this TV for a few months now. I looked and looked to find a LCD TV that had great sharpness, contrast, excellent blacks, and a picture that didn't lag. This TV is great on all counts. I'm currently using it as my personal TV and it rivals our high quality 42" Plasma in every way. If fact, I actually prefer this TV most of the time.