Toshiba 29" TV - A Beast! (General Toshiba TV Opinions)

Member Name: cash40

Product:	General Toshiba TV Opinions
Date:	07/01/01 (775 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quality overall piece. Very worthy of it's price tag.

Disadvantages: They don't have the name of Sony

The Toshiba 2987DB.

This is a beast. No doubt about it.

So, the TV I’ve got is a 29" non-widescreen, with the full trimmings of Dolby Surround Sound, and a Toshiba VCR to boot.

The whole kaboodle comes as a single unit, with the tv sitting atop a sturdy charcoal colored stand which has shelves underneath for the VCR and two other things, such as a sky box and a playstation. The whole thing as a unit looks impressive in its own right. It has that kind of urban techie aura to it but with a bit more beef, this thing really stands tall and proud. Of course, you could lock the TV away in a nice wooden cabinet or something, but I wouldn't want to hide it away I'm proud of my huge ominous box looming in the corner.

Of course, a powerful design is all well and good, but it would be handy if I told you about the wonders that lie beneath.

The TV itself is, well, Toshiba. I could leave it at that, it explains itself. Toshiba are in my eyes one of the best makers of TV's, they are probably vying for the top spot with Sony. I had originally had my heart set on a beautiful Sony Vega, but finding the three grand was a minor hitch. I was told by the bloke in the store (TGS Electricals, believe me they are great!) that Toshiba are just as good, they just don't have the marketing surrounding them, so you'd presume they weren't a top player. On looking at their range of TV's, and seeing them in store, I was hooked, and I am glad I didn't lose an arm and a leg to get the health insurance money to pay for a Sony!

What can I say about the picture? If you, as a typical Brit, are used to a horrible little 21" TV, this thing will blow you away. The extra few inches make all the difference (heh heh, where've I heard that before!). Stepping up from 21" to 29" close to DOUBLES the size of the screen, (ask your/your kids maths teacher if in doubt). This makes everyt
hing so much more realistic, it's quite hard to get used to at first. I noticed it most on action films, if you've seen them at the cinema, then on a little telly you'll know the TV does them no justice at all, but on this, it comes a fair bit closer to reliving the cinema experience. This could of course be where the term Home Cinema came from, but people tend to think that only applies to widescreen tellies.

The surround sound also adds a new dimension to the experience, it's funny, the music in the Simpson’s comes at you from the back and the voices come from the front and sides. Amazing! (I sound a tad over-enthusiastic don't I!) I normally don't bother with the surround sound, and get the TV to play the normal stereo sound through all it's speakers. This puts you right in the middle of the noise, and with the 100+ watt bass speaker coming out the back, it makes all the rumblings good enough to shake the food off your plate!

What impressed me the most is not the sheer oomph this thing has, but the quality of it. One of the main problems you have with big screen TV’s is a reduction in picture quality. Seeing as all TV’s have 512 lines (or however many it is) the bigger the TV, the more spaced out the lines, so the more blurry or fuzzy the picture tends to look. The Toshiba just laughs at all this, it has a lot of neat things that let you sit nice and close to the screen without being put off by the lack of quality. The only one I really understand and can explain is the noise reduction, which pretty much eliminates all of the speckeldy fuzz you get on old videos, or where you don’t get great reception. On a big telly, a poor signal looks nasty, but this, along with the clever auto tuning gets you great signal every time. Sky Digital looks pristine!

In this day and age you expect TV to live for a few years, 5 or 6 at a push, as all that modern technology has a nice habit of
breaking the day the warranty expires. I get the distinct feeling that Toshiba do things differently, maybe it’s because of the Toshiba telly I’ve had since I was aged minus two years, which is still in perfect working condition, and has outlived countless other tv’s. (I’m 18 by the way) From my experience, and from what I have heard, the tv’s are built to last, mine is certainly a sturdy piece of kit (weighing something like 15 stone).

I would definitely recommend a Toshiba to anyone who’s wanting a new TV, or a video for that matter. I wouldn’t necessarily say get the 2987DB model that I have, not everyone is a settee spud like me so a 29 incher is a bit much, but from my experience the whole Toshiba range are top dog quality at reasonable prices.

Be proud to own a Toshy.

Summary: