HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality was generally very good. Though it did a very good job displaying the fine detail of HD content we did note some added edge enhancement processing, but it wasn't distracting. There was also some slight loss of fine texture likely due to noise reduction processing. Color accuracy was very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Color temperature was slightly on the cool side, lending images a bluish tone. Contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--was good, so images had depth and dimension. Black level was generally good, though not as dark as better performers on the darkest scenes (though quality does degrade as you move to the sides - see viewing angle). The brightness level was good (with the backlight control turned up), making it a suitable choice for most rooms. There was visible banding (unnatural contours) on scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, rather than smooth transitions. Film mode operation for HD film-based content was excellent, with no visible jaggies along the edges of objects during motion scenes. Deinterlacing on the other hand was only good, with some jaggies visible when converting 1080i video content, such as from cable, to the display's native resolution.
VIEWING ANGLE. This Toshiba has a narrow viewing angle overall, below-average performance among TVs for this attribute. Only those seated directly in front of the screen will see the best picture quality. When we viewed the TV from the sides image quality degraded significantly. The picture showed a strong loss of color, so flesh tones looked very washed out. Black levels visibly brightened, reducing contrast especially on dark scenes. When viewing the image from above or below eye level to the screen, the vertical viewing angle was good. The picture showed some change in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR. This Toshiba TV has good motion performance, with some blurring on our motion tests. This is better than average for LCD displays with the basic 60Hz frame rate. This model does not include a blur reduction feature.
SCREEN REFLECTIVITY. Though not as mirror-like as on some models, this screen surface is glossy and therefore susceptible to reflections from a nearby lamp or window. It does a good job reducing glare from ambient light and maintains contrast in a brighter room environment.
SOUND QUALITY. This model has fair sound quality with below average performance. It's acceptable for typical programming, but shortcomings become obvious with movie soundtracks and music. Bass was lacking, but treble was nicely detailed, while the overall sound was a bit thin and closed in. The speakers produced a good volume range so this model should play sufficiently loud in typical room environments and without obvious distortion. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression kept the sound from distorting but also limited the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be a bit distracting on some audio content. If sound quality matters to you, you might want to add a soundbar or other external speaker system -- but if this smaller-screen set is a secondary TV, you might find its sound quality acceptable.
EASE OF USE. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. Toshiba includes a basic remote that has traditional button navigation controls and number keypad. The buttons have high contrast labeling making them easier to read in a dimmer viewing environment. The TV's stand is 25 inches wide.
INTERNET FEATURES. This TV does not provide access to the Internet.
CONNECTIONS. This model has two HDMI inputs-- one supports ARC (Audio Return Channel), one composite input, and no component input one USB port, an optical digital audio out, a headphone out.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A quick start guide. A remote control with batteries. No printed manual is included.