Product Description

As your source for digital home entertainment, Toshiba offers one of the most extensive television lineups in the industry. Whether you're looking for the latest in HDTV, the flattest FST Pure flat-screen TVs, or the highest quality in portable televisions, Toshiba has what you want.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41535 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Toshiba
• Model: 27AF45
• Dimensions: 26.50" h x 24.50" w x 34.00" l, 105.00 pounds
• Display size: 27

Features

• 27" Flat screen ; 29 1/8" x 22 5/8" x 19 1/2" (W x H x D)
• Choose either 4:3 standard or 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
• Parental control via a V-Chip
• S Video, Component Video,
• Surround Sound

Amazon.com Product Description
The Toshiba 27" flat screen TV offers high-end features for a modest price. The 16:9 aspect ratio lets you view a variety of formats, up to, and including, Widescreen. The flat screen is enhanced with a comb filter, invar shadow mask and velocity scan modulation.

Audio features include 2, 5 watt speakers providing virtual surround with MTS stereo. A sound leveler and SAP (secondary audio programming) capability round out the package.

Parental control via the V-chip and a sleep timer add customization abilities, as does the optional Spanish interface.

A remote control, headphone jacks, and both rear and front connectors make it user friendly. And the bargain price makes it even more friendly.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Except for Connections
First, this is an excellent TV in terms of what matters to most folks: the picture. I'd definitely give it 4.5 stars if there was that option. So don't let this four star review scare you off.

I'm knocking this TV down simply because there is only one S-Video input and one component video input. Even that would be fine except that these inputs are also the two RCA inputs. So, reading the product information, you think (well, I thought, anyway) there there were five separate inputs, where in reality there are only three (plus the one on the front; this one is RCA, btw, so that's also not so good for MiniDV home video which is better viewed via S-Video input). Again, this is not a big deal unless you've got, say, two DVD players, or one DVD plus a Laser player, or two quality satellite inputs, or frequently watch MiniDV and also use the S-Video for TV, etc. Maybe not a factor for most people, but if it *is* a factor for you, look elsewhere for a TV. (Of course most folks with all that stuff will be buying HDTVs, anyway.)

That critique made, I'll quickly add that I think the picture is great. I'm no expert, but it ranks with the best standard CRTs I viewed at Best Buys. The styling is sleek, as well. Sound is very good and plenty loud for my general viewing purposes (when watching satellite movies or DVDs we play through the home theater set-up). Finally, I called Toshiba regarding the 27AF45 vs the 27af44 (the 44 stands for 2004, the 45 for 2005). I was told the only differences are cosmetic. If that's so, then there were essentially no changes, since the two TVs look so similar. I'd say buy whichever is cheapest.

One more thing: I bought this TV about a month ago, when Amazon very briefly was offering it with Super Saver free shipping. Doesn't seem they're offering it at all now, but for those debating delivery via Eagle Freight (Amazon's shipper), I had no problems at all. They were very pleasant on the phone when I called to find out the delivery date. They came that day, and they brought the TV right into my living room. The delivery guy also waited for a couple minutes while I hooked it up and checked out the picture and sound to make sure the unit was working properly. And this was all free. My experience is of course only with this TV, but Eagle delivers all Amazon's larger TVs, so if you're thinking about that option, you might want to factor this experience in.

Big Picture - Small Price !
I just wanted a TV to hold me until HDTV becomes standard. So I didn't want to spend more than $400 total. I was ready to purchase the SONY KV27-FS120. But it was this Toshiba that caught my attention. The Toshiba was also $70 less compared to the SONY. The TV on display had a DVD playing through the Toshiba's Component Video input. Toshiba calls that the "Color Stream" input. I immediately noticed how detailed the picture was. There was no video noise and the area outside of the letterbox bars was solid black.

The colors were outstanding. The brightness & contrast showed clean distinctive shades. The overall image was very detailed and clean. I felt that the Toshiba seemed equal or better than any of the others 27" standard CRTs I viewed in this price range. So I bought it and I am happy with my purchase. Out of the box , I had to lower the color and brightness levels significantly. There is a reset function to set it back to factory default levels. Everyones viewing preferences are different. So some people may like the default settings. After some minor Audio & Video adjustments, it looks really fantastic. The screen is pure flat,and shows no distortion, glare or reflections. That's important if the TV faces windows.

The TV is less than 30" wide, since the side speakers are not overly large. So the TV screen appears wider than those TV's with larger speakers on the sides. The sound is very good, but not great. However, I think most people usually connect their TV's to a stereo amplifier. Especially when viewing a music or action DVD. Using the BBE sound option gives the sound more clarity and presence. Theres is also a Surround sound mode that is very good. But it really depends on the source. Music sounds great with both the BBE & Surround Sound ON. The TV also has Bass and Treble controls. There are three Sets of Audio/Video Inputs. Which at this price range is all you are going to get.

For DVD viewing it's best to use the COMPONENT Video Input. Which gives a more detailed and brighter picture than S-VHS Input. The S-VHS(Super VHS)connection gives you a much better picture than standard composite inputs. But it is the component input that gives you the best overall quality. There are also front COMPOSITE Audio/ Video inputs for connecting a camcorder or a Playstation. Also found on the front panel is headphone jack. The sound using headphones is good enough for late night viewing.

My only negatives are if you connect powered speakers to the TV's audio outputs. You wont be able to control their volume using the TV's volume control. Also the included multi brand (TV/Cable/DVD) remote only works just the very basic features of cable boxes.

Next best thing to High Def!
This TV is just amazing. My decision was narrowed to a few choices because of the 30" space limitation in my cabinet. I was happy to find this unit measured in at less than 29", about 1/2" less than the published spec. So basically it was down to a JVC Le'Art 27" and this model from Toshiba. I have to admit that I have not had good experience with Toshiba products over the last couple of years, but seeing this unit side by side with the competition it was pretty clear which one was going home with me.

The only complaint I have is as others have mentioned with the hookups, but maybe I can explain this with a little more clarity. There are ONLY 3 inputs on the back of the chassis: 1) Composite Coax 2) Shared S-Video/RCA Video Audio & 3) Component Connection. That's it for the rear of the TV and that's all most people care about so that means that this Toshiba model is NOT ideal for a primary or Home Theater setup.

However, the sharpness of the picture and the depth and clarity of colors will blow you away, especially in "Color Stream" mode. This is provided via the component connections. Watching "The Incredibles" was a totally new experience on this unit, with some scenes actually appearing in 3-D quality. Same with Son of the Mask. As for the built in speakers, 5Wx2 wont impress many enthusiasts, but this Toshiba sounds great in either standard, BBE, or Surround Mode.

This TV is a bar-goon at around $300, and maybe its best feature is that it only weighs 88lbs. so you wont put yourself in traction if your girlfriend decides to upgrade her apartment setup to accomodate a rapidly approaching FOOTBALL SEASON! 5***** for the picture, 4**** for the features, and 3*** for the combo VHS/DVD remote.