Customer Reviews
First Timer LCD/Flat-Panel 
2008-06-16
Last week our <4 yr old 32" Panasonic CRT set decided to stop working for some unknown reason. Though not exactly in our budget, we were forced to buy a new TV. It was time to upgrade to an LCD flat panel.
To make a long story shorter I was looking at the Sonys and the Samsungs when my wife spotted this Toshiba.
The good:
1) "By today's standards" the price was right. A lot of bang for the buck... so far.
2) It has multiple inputs for my older components as well as room to upgrade to newer ones, plus
3) The picture looked great.
4) It weighs less than 30lbs, a far cry from the CRT set it replaces. I can handle this one by myself.
5) Glare has been a problem in our home. This set has completely eliminated that.
6) Not a nice wood veneered cabinet, but the I have to admit that I like the piano black finish much more than I thought I would
The bad: (C'mon. You knew it was coming.)
1) I don't want to have to turn on the amplifier every time I watch the evening news, so I have to say that the built-in speakers leave a lot to be desired, even for TV built-ins.
2) I found the set-up to be challenging. It took me a few days to come up w/settings I could live with.
3) As one who remembers the "instant-on" TV craze it seems to take an unusually long time for the set to decide whether or not it will light. The Panasonic's (CRT) amplifier would come on almost immediately followed by the picture. When powering up this set, nothing at all happens for about 10 secs. It acts like an old tube set from the '60's. Is that normal for these?
That's about it, both the good and the bad as I see it so far. I only hope we can expect to get more than 4 yrs from this one.
Great TV for the price 
2008-05-09
The television is a great value. Amazon delayed the shipment origination for about a week, but once received by the shipping company it was delivered promptly and in very good "white glove" condition. My experience with Amazon over the past six months, with numerous products, is that Amazon intentionally delays shipping products that qualify for "free shipment", probably in an attempt to generate shipping fee income. This may produce some income, but it is very poor customer service.
Toshiba 32 inch LCD TV 2008-04-22
Bought this from Amazon.com and it's amazing. I bought the same one for my father and he loves it. He's 86 and very deaf but hears this just fine. Great price and easy setup. Amazon.com rocks with no sales tax or shipping! I love this store. It's $200.00 more at Overstock.com. What does that say? Thanks Amazon.com. I didn't install the HD part but don't need to because the picture is perfect. I would need a new DVR for HD but whats the point!
A Good Deal! 2008-04-20
A local seller had this on sale for the price I paid here but since I saved the tax and gas it would cost to drive there - I feel I got a pretty good deal. Since the free delivery is "white glove" - they will even remove it from the box to make sure there are no visible scratches/damages. Taxes where I live are almost 10% so I always check amazon before I buy any large ticket item. Every little bit helps.
As far as quality - picture looks great - TV is cute - the base is a little larger than I care for (16") but still OK. I'm not a real "technical-type" chick but I'm happy with my purchase. The remote lights up - all buttons - which is great for night time use but since I use a cable remote - I don't get to benefit from it.
Great picture. Tremendous value. 2008-04-05
Wow. This has been a great experience. The picture is drop-dead beautiful. The sound quality is good too. Paying $679 is wonderful. TV was delivered within a few days. Super easy to plug in and play. Remote is logical. Couldn't be happier with this purchase. Strongly recommend getting an HDMI cable (under $10 now) since the box doesn't include video cables.
Toshiba 32" TV 2008-07-19
Quick delivery. Well packed. Easy to install. Good color and clear pictures for TV this size.
Lucky if it lasts 
2008-07-06
TV was nice for a year and a half. The video board burned out which in turn blew out the lcd screen. Was only used about 4 hrs a week. Repair shop said it would cost as much as a new TV to fix. The tech also said it's poor design by Toshiba making the video board and screen as one part. Be careful, it's cheaper than the higher quality for a reason. My Sony has been around for 7 years, no problems.
I had extended warranty and they refunded me the entire cost of the TV instead of bothering with fixing it. That was surprising, so it must be a known common problem with Toshiba.
Better than expected - great value 2008-07-06
I went to my local electronics store, planning to buy the Sharp LC32SB24U rather than this Toshiba. The sales person suggested, before buying, I do a side by side comparison view of the Toshiba 32AV500U and the Sharp LC32SB24U. The Toshiba was $40 more than the Sharp, and I figured it would be the typical upsell.
But comparing the image quality of the Sharp and Toshiba, the Toshiba won hands down. The Sharp definitely had a more "washed out" look, while the Toshiba picture was more vibrant with blacker blacks and greater contrast. I doublechecked that both sets were tuned to the same HD source, etc. Anyway this demo was enough to (up)sell me and I bought the Toshiba. It has been great.
This unit is for the bedroom and I don't regret getting the 32" instead of a 26".
I didn't know much about QAM tuners before buying, but what that means is that I can connect my Verizon FIOS cable directly into the TV (no converter box) and receive digital TV channels, some HD channels, and all the digital music channels, all without needing a converter box. Obviously with a converter box you get a better user interface (onscreen interactive program guide) and many more channels, but for the moment I am happy using the TV with direct cable connection (no converter box) and saving a few $ per month.
HD picture quality is so much better than regular digital TV -- if you go to the expense of buying an HDTV (like this one) you really need to hook it up to receive HDTV or you are missing a whole lot.
I am not a videophile or audiophile but have to say that I would recommend this Toshiba very highly to anyone looking to spend between $600 and $700 for a 32" HDTV.
daughter loves it 2008-06-27
got this as a gift 4 my daughter,she loves it,says it has a great picture
Great TV, minor problem with VGA input 2008-06-17
I've had this TV for about a month now. I watched the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in HD a few weeks ago, and it was probably the sharpest sports broadcast I've ever seen. Colors look great and the blacks are pretty close. The built-in speakers are acceptable compared to some other off-brand 32" models, and are not too tinny or fake. The warm-up takes 5-7 seconds and the lag between channels is about a second. I have analog cable tv so this may vary with your results.
The only problem I've had with this is the VGA input from a computer. Depending on your use, this could be a big trade off. I have a Sony SZ laptop, one of the best ones they make. If I input the signal from the Sony, I can see a square develop in the upper-right corner of the tv that's about 7 inches wide and 4-5 inches high, which will disappear after a few seconds. This happens frequently if I play an AVI movie fullscreen, but if I burn that movie to a disc and play it on my Philips DVD player through the composite inputs, it looks fine with no squaring. It should be noted that I played 'Gears of War' (PC game) and it didn't exhibit this problem. I also see it if I scroll vertically through a webpage quickly, but only for a split second.
In summary, I'd give this Toshiba 3.5 stars overall, and round up to 4. I really don't watch much tv which will probably be its intended use among purchasers here. The VGA problem is extremely annoying, but I mostly use it for stock trading/reading articles on the internet. Also I plan on giving the tv away to a relative when I leave the US later next year, so no big loss. But if I had to do it over again, I'd probably pay a little more and get the 32" Samsung. I did a search and found two other people with this same problem, so I don't think it's an issue with my PC or its configuration. If I had an HDMI or S-Video output on my laptop (I don't), I could try those instead.
