The 20AF41 excels in picture quality and input choices.
Written: May 03 '09 (Updated May 03 '09)
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Pros: -Great picture quality
-Good audio quality
-Numerous input choices
Cons: -No clock
-Generic design
-No menu button on front panel
The Bottom Line: The 20AF41 is a great contender against other mid-level 20 inch televisions. Watch for the failed capacitor, which can prevent the set from operating properly.
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| jedo1507r's Full Review: Toshiba 20AF41 20 inch TV |
The Toshiba 20AF41 I have was a recent trash/curbside find and had the common problem of failing to operate, clicking its relay every few seconds. I replaced a bad capacitor for less than $1 and the set operated normally. I was surprised what this Orion-made Toshiba offered.
First Impressions:
The set has a nice suite of AV inputs, such as two composite (front and rear), one s-video, and one component input--which is labeled as "ColorStream". There is an AV output with composite video and variable audio output (there is no option in the menu for a fixed setting, which may upset a few folks).
Toshiba contracted Orion to manufacture television sets and other video products for them at the time. Since this was my first time working on an Orion set, I was expecting subpar components, like the ones you would see in a Funai-made set. Nope, I was proven wrong with a JVC flyback, Nichicon and Rubycon capacitors - though some bad design killed a critical capacitor. Funai used Sus'con, Letac, Bai-Li and other interesting brands, if you wanted to know. You gotta love a good forum to help out with such a simple problem.
Feature Set:
"FST Pure" flat-surface picture tube (Orion-made)
Cable-ready analog tuner with MTS stereo decoding and SAP capabilities
BBE audio processing (compensates for the TV speakers)
Stable sound (volume limiter)
Sleep timer (from 2 hours to 10 minutes)
3 AV inputs:
- Video 1: 1 s-video input (shared with 1 composite input)
- Video 2: 1 component input (shared with 1 composite input)
- Video 3: 1 composite input on the front panel
1 composite video output
- variable audio output
Headphone jack
Channel labeling
Favorite channel
Closed captioning and text display
V-chip
Remote control with programmable VCR and cable box codes.
Video Quality:
Well, I did not expect much from this trash-find of a television and was expecting the flat-surface CRT to be weak. After the suspect capacitor was replaced, I turned on the set to be greeted with a sharp and really bright image. It appears to have a VSM (vertical scan modulation, or something like that) as an edge enhancer--but it cannot be turned off. I did not run into problems with any of the AV inputs, compared to what I have read about (especially the notorious component inputs).
Audio Quality:
The side-mounted, front firing full-range stereo speakers are of typical television quality (good for general use). The menu allows for a bass and treble control, BBE audio processing--which makes the built-in speakers sound deeper than they have without it, and stable sound--which acts like a volume limiter to minimize surprises.
Usage:
This set has been in use every day since the three months that I have had it up and running, and I have not been disappointed. I do not have the original remote, so I was not able to mess with the favorite channel feature or mistakenly hit the reset button, but a decent universal remote can access the menus and do many of the features found on the set's original remote control. The video quality has surpassed the JVC AV-20020 that I reviewed earler, mostly because of the VSM. So far, I have been impressed.
What I did like:
-Great picture quality
-Good audio quality
-Great set of AV inputs
-Decent-looking menu
What I Did Not Like:
-Where's the clock? 20-inch sets tend to have a clock featured, plus automatic on/off at specific channels and specific times.
-The component video input is not able to do a progressive scan rate. (not a biggie, but you might as well expect that)
-The set's cabinet design is BLAND-ish! But Tosh's sets have tended to be bland prior to the change in manufacturers.
-The lack of a [Menu] button and/or an [AV] selector on the front of the set.
-The remote looks BLAND! It's an Orion design, meaning odd placement of the 10-key and nothing more to differentiate from other brands made by that company. (from looking at a copy of the owner's manual)
Verdict:
The 20AF41 is a competent upper-level consumer set with a good picture and decent sound quality. The abundant AV input capabilities make this a good daily set. The set can be usually found in secondhand shops and is worthy of your consideration for a used set.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 0.00
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Epinions.com ID:
jedo1507r
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Location: Clarksville, Tennessee
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 0 members
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