Customer Reviews

Toshiba 27A41 27" TV

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

 

 

This TV is great. It was rated a consumer reports best buy (technically it was the 27A51, but the only difference is that the A51 has PIP (picture in picture), which anyone who has PIP knows you use it for about the first week you own the tv, and then totally forget about it because it is really not that useful, and not worth the hassle of operating it.). Anyway, it has all the good inputs, like S-video, and component video for use with a dvd player. I have a VCR, DVD, and game system all hooked up at the same time. There is also a hidden set of inputs in the front which is nice for video games or when you want to hook up your camcorder or something. I have to admit that i don't really use the speakers that much because i have home theater kit, so i cannot attest to how good the sound is. The picture is always excellent, the remote is good and very easy to use. The on-screen menu is also very easy to use, and you can easily program your remote to control your vcr, and cable box, no matter the brand. I have a single pathetic complaint: The infrared specturm that reads the signal from the remote is not very wide, meaning that if you are way off to the side of the tv, it won't read the remote, but that is truly my only complaint.

I just set up my new home theater system. I have this 27A41 TV with a Toshiba 2150 dvd player using the Colorstream component cables. The picture on dvd is incredible, especially for a $... tv. I was impressed not only with the detail and resolution, but the richness of the color as well. The only bad thing about the TV is that the speakers are not that great. When I watched the first dvd on my new setup, the picture was so awesome, but the sound was not that great, so I decided to get a home theater in a box system, so the sound is not a problem anymore. The tv is definitely a great option if you want a sweet system while keeping the total cost of your home theater under $....

No better TV for the money. Period. Outstanding picture. Good sound. Nice set design with a commendably small footprint and a near-flat screen. All the features and inputs/outputs you need, nothing you don't. Excellent value.

Edit, Jan 10 2012: I *still* have this TV (can't believe it's been over 10 years) and it's still great! The picture remains as sharp, bright, and clear as when new. It's not HD, of course, but for SD programming its picture is much better than any plasma or LCD television. And there's something about a CRT image that's richer and warmer than what a flat-panel can manage. I'll soon be in the market for a new wide-screen HD set, but I'll still keep this one around for as long as it lasts. And after 10 years with no signs of degradation, that might be a very long time.

The Toshiba 27A41 is a great value. I've shopped for a new large screen for several weeks and I'm pleased with my final choice. This is my second Toshiba (I currently have a 20" Toshiba that is over 5 yrs. old and works perfectly too!)

By the way, Toshiba is a major maker of picture tubes for companies...I had a JVC that had a Toshiba picture tube (discovered that fact when I had that set service for a blown fuse.)

I am pleased with the front av port that makes hooking up a my ps2 a breeze. The sound quality is good, but what can you expect from 5 watt speakers...adding home theatre audio is a snap.

Overall, this is a great deal!

Given the price and category of this television (27" non-flat tube, analog), I have been extremely satifsied with the Toshiba 27A41 during the first six months of use. I would highly recommend this television (or its successor when Toshiba discontinues this model).

Compared to my ten-year-old 26" TV which it replaced, the 27A41 has much better picture quality when watching cable TV broadcasts, with high detail and good colors. This good picture quality is a result of the good digital comb filter. In an electronics store, I compared the visual quality of this 27" non-flat TV with a 24" flat-screen TV (which costs a little more) and could not see much difference except for potential glare problems on the 27" non-flat TV. But after choosing a good location in my living room, the 27A41 gives me no glare problems at all. A 24" flat-screen would have been too small for this room. So if you can find a good location for your television, a flat-screen TV is probably not worth the extra cost or smaller size.

The built-in stereo speakers are typical for speakers that are not side-mounted: they are small and don't sound very good at very high volumes. For casual viewing in small living rooms, the sound quality is adequate. When I need good loud sound, I connect the 27A41's stereo audio outputs to my portable stereo's audio inputs and blast the sound through external speakers. I'm not an audio expert, but the sound quality through my stereo seems very good to me. It should sound even better through a real non-portable stereo system with an audio amplifier.

The 3 sets of A/V inputs (2 rear, 1 front), S-video input, and ColorStream inputs (component video) are very useful in this age of VCR's, DVD players, camcorders, video game consoles, and satellite TV. I'm currently using a stereo VCR for the primary rear A/V inputs and a Playstation 2 for the secondary rear A/V inputs. Switching between the two is a snap using the 27A41's remote. It's also good to know that I have an open set of A/V inputs in front for convenient temporary connections (like for a camcorder). Although I haven't used the S-video or ColorStream inputs yet, it's good to know that I can use them to get the best picture quality possible from a DVD player or modern video game console.

Some might think this is unimportant, but the TOSHIBA brand name is a comforting feature to me. I know some people will disagree with me, but a big-name Japanese brand gives me a sense of quality and reliability. My family's previous television was an early-90's 26" RCA that started going bad two years ago (flakey cable/antenna input). After reading past issues of Consumer Reports at the library, I found out that RCA, GE, and Zenith (all American brands) were the most repair-prone brands of televisions. The big-name Japanese brands, including Toshiba, were rated as more consistenly reliable. Toshiba also offers very good prices compared to the other big-name Japanese brands.

Miscellaneous: The remote is medium-sized, lightweight, and easy to use. Programming the remote to control my JVC VCR was easy, but it lacks the buttons to control the VCR's advanced functions. The remote can also control a cable box. The owner's manual is thorough and easy to understand with clear illustrations where needed. The manual's illustrations are especially useful for figuring out how to connect multiple devices (e.g. two VCR's, DVD, cable box, camcorder, satellite, audio amplifier) to the television using all those inputs and outputs.

Overall, I give the Toshiba 27A41 5 stars because it gives me more value than I expected for the price I paid. For this price, you should not expect a glare-resistant flat-screen TV or huge built-in speakers. But the potential glare problems or inadequate sound can be made up for by choosing a good location and attaching an external stereo system.

This set has good picture quality but the sound quality of the built in speakers are poor and tinny. You will need additional audio components for this to work in a medium/large room. However, the unit is not Dolby Surround compatible.

I bought it because of all the great reviews, but I'm disappointed in the picture quality; it's not very sharp.