20-24in TV Recommendation (1 Viewer)

[Steve_Ch]

Looking into upgrading my ancient (12 years) bedroom TV, a Zenith 20" Stereo, it still works great but I really want to be able to watch DVDs in bed (the old box only has a RF input).
Video quality related items are important, such as possible component input, etc. Good reception capability is important, as I live in a broadcast friendly area, all I've ever need to get very good reception is rabbit ears. Audio is NOT as important, as I will be connecting DVD audio directly to a wireless DTS headphone (optical).
Finally, may consider TV DVD combo, as I have to get both.
Thanks.

 

[Tom Weeks]

In that size screen there are not many sets that offer the input capabilities that you need. Sony does have a Wega in that size range that will give you RF, S-Video, and component inputs. It also has an excellent picture. One word of warning--when you upgrade into a better model of tv you may find that your reception is no longer as good as it used to be. More advanced tv's (while looking wonderful on dvd) will display any imperfections in your reception. I found this out the hard way. You may look at a set in the showroom hooked up to a dvd or satellite source and think,"Man, what a great picture". You buy it, take it home and hook it up to the old rabbit ears and it does not look anything like what you expected. Good Luck and Happy Shopping

 

[Richard Watt]

Toshiba offers both a 20" & 24" in the 20AF41 and 24AF41. They are flat-screen and have both s-video and component inputs. I'm looking for one as well fpr my video game consoles. The cheapest I have found the 20" is $280 at J&R. The 24" ups the price a bit more to $400 or $450 I think.
Panasonic and JVC have similar units, though I am not sure about component inputs. Good luck with your choice.
Richard

 

[Steve_Ch]

Thanks Tom, I am aware of the input limitation of a smallish TV, but I just have a gut feeling that the reception business may not be as straight forward (ie a better/newer TV will have better reception and hence better picture), and your post confirms that. May be it's time get a "Dish" too .

 

[Steve_Ch]

Yes, Richard, Toshiba is high on the list, and I've also looked at their 20" Flat with integrated DVD, but at $499, it does not appear to be such a good deal.
There is a company in Florida selling a Aiwa 24" Flat for something like $260 (refurbish with factory warranty), I think their standard UPS is $50, so it makes it a $310 for a refurbish 24" Flat, sounds like an OK deal.

 

[ThomasL]

Steve, Panasonic and Toshiba both make 20 and 24 inch flat tubes that come in cheaper than the Sony models and have Svideo, component inputs as well as most other features. I bought a 20AF41 about 5 months ago for $270 and am happy with it. I toyed with a 24 inch (the biggest the CFO would allow in the fireplaced living room but I couldn't find any anywhere, at least the Toshiba model, and I didn't feel like paying the $500 that Tweeter wanted for the 24 inch Panasonic model. I did notice a few weekends back that BJs where I live sells the Panasonic model (24SX10 or 11) and it was priced at $350. That may have only been the display model - they didn't say. JVC also makes a 24 inch I'Art I believe and they also sell a D series 20 inch that has component inputs. I would avoid the built in dvd (or anything for that matter) models. The reason? because you'll lose both your tv and your dvd player if either of them breaks and needs to go out for repairs.
good luck,
--tom

 

[Steve_Ch]

Tom, I have pretty much ruled out TV-DVD combo, as the price of DVD players are so low now, even not considering the "one goes bad, both go" scenario, $$$ wise, I cannot justify it.
I have poked around some more, and did came across the JVC (I think they also have 20 as well as 24), but at least at J&R, they don't have the spec yet, and they are a little bit more expensive ($50 or so). I also saw a couple of very good user reviews on the Samsung 20" DynaFlat ($299), that may also be a possibility. BTW, $350 price for a 24" Flat is a real good price, if it's new. Thanks for the input.

 

[RyanT]

I too am looking for a 20-incher, and was going to go with the Toshiba 20AF41, when I heard from some friends that they ended up returning theirs for the Sony and Panasonic models due to problems with the screen. While I'd like component inputs, i'd rather settle for a superior tube with S-video inputs than a shoddy one with Component ins. The new Panasonic model (CT-20SX11) DOES NOT have component ins, even though last year's (CT-20SX10) DID! I think that at this size range, perhaps the difference between S-video and Component is not very noticeable?

The Samsung TSL2091F has component ins, but it is a Samsung, a brand that I have not had good experiences with, and it has sketchy features that sound great--'16:9 mode for widescreen viewing on a 4:3 set'--which sound a bit like BS to me. Also, search this home theater forum and the only notes you'll find on it are problems people have had with the screen.

JVC's new model (AV-20F702) has component ins, and it may be a good model to check out--unfortunately it is so new that no one seems to own one, or have any experiences with it--like how to get into the service menu and turn off VSM, for example.

The final thing that is influencing my decision, is that I'm trying to resist the whole silver electronics thing--while most people probably don't care, I think the industry's movement towards silver cabinents is gaudy and designed for the showroom rather than the living room. It's like everyone (in response to Sony) is trying to push this futuristic look now that, in the future, will become associated with this particular time period--look at the 'futuristic' TVs of the 60s, they are nothing like what TVs eventually came to look like. I'd rather have a simple black cabinent that doesn't call attention to itself--that's why I think I'm going to go with the new Panasonic 20", which perhaps reflects this mentality, as this year's is black, while last year's was silver.

Any comments or further suggestions are welcome; Steve, let us know what you end up going with, and how it works out. Thanks all,

Ryan

 

[ThomasL]

Ryan, I had minor problems with my 20AF41 but nothing that wasn't "fixable." What exactly does "problems with the screen" mean? My problems were basically geometry related and perhaps that is what you mean. This does seem to be a common complaint among Toshiba flat tube buyers and, it seems to me, flat tube buyers of all models in general including Sony. The severity of the problem really determines whether or not it's fixable via the service menu. I had some bending on the right hand side, mainly on the lower half. I was able to get it to the point where I don't notice it anymore. I still have a slight bowing toward the middle of the screen on both top and bottom but it is probably about a 1/16th of an inch distortion and is not noticeable unless I'm tinkering with Avia. I recommend that you (and everyone really buy either Avia or VE and calibrate the set you buy. It will greatly aid in determining/quantifying what the problems are especially geometric and convergence problems. My other nitpiks were a "hot" grayscale and red push of about 15 percent. The latter two complaints are par for the course for many tvs and I don't think the Sony, JVC or Panasonic models will differ greatly. I think the main advantage is that I believe they may offer a color temperature control user setting and Toshiba does not on this smaller model. I wish they did and I wish they included a way to turn off SVM. I'd just like to see what dvds and cable look like with it off.
good luck,
--tom

 

[RyanT]

My friends complained of geometry problems, and they said that the Panasonic and Sonys had higher resolution tubes--whether or not this is something they could discern themselves, or is just something they read somewhere, I have no idea (I didn't see for myself).
I may end up going with the Toshiba after all(or maybe the JVC?), because I need as many inputs as I can get--I need at least 2 S-video or 1 S-video and 1 component, as I need one for video editing and 1 for DVD. This, apparently, rules out the new Panasonic model, according the Panasonic Canada's site:
http://www.panasonic.ca/English/audi...-24-27sx11.htm
Why on earth Panasonic has removed so many inputs from their last model (CT-20SX10), I have no idea. Also, Sony is far behind with their model, which has the least number of inputs of them all. I guess the good thing is that there ARE 20" models with these inputs available now, which was not the case a couple of years ago. A silver cabinet is not the worst thing in the world... guess I'll get a silver DVD player to go with it...
Life's tough, huh? Thanks,
Ryan

 

[ThomasL]

Ryan, besides having information on the actual tubes used (i.e. manufacturing quality) etc, your friends may have been talking about the horizontal resolution numbers thrown around by manufacturers. I believe Toshiba says that the 20AF41 has 525 lines of horizontal resolution but whether that is per picture height or the number of pixel groups across the entire length of a horizontal line on the screen is anyone's guess. For a smallish set like this, it really isn't going to make a difference. There is only so small pixels can be, so tv sets of this size are going to be limited to the amount of resolution they can have. I think I looked at the Avia horizontal resolution patterns and it looked like the set could display around 400-450 lines of resolution according to my eyes which are about right with the 525 number since 525 * .75 (the per picture height number) would be ~400. The DVD spec has a maximum of 540.
My purchase was mainly driven by a 10 percent Best Buy coupon I had so it came down to the 20AF41 or the FS13 Sony model. For the price, the Toshiba offered more and the better Sony model - FV12 - was about $120 more at Tweeter. I would say, just be mentally prepared for possible geometry problems, but they may be fixable in the service mode.
good luck,
--tom

 

[Steve_Ch]

My personal experience with Toshiba "stuff" has been good. In the last couple of years, I ended up getting a number of Toshiba "things" (a p3 600 Laptop, a DVD player and a 27" regular TV with component input), they are all "boring" but prices are great and I haven't had any problems at all with any of the items.

I believe it was Ryan that commented on the "silverization" of exterior, I too, have similar opinion about silver boxes. I was at the local BB yesterday and they have a Samsung as well as a Sharp 24" Flat, both retail for $499. The Samsung is nicely black, the Sharp is silver but with round rather than square corners. looks nice. Neither screen really jumps out and there weren't any detail spec available.

I am curious about the brand new JVC too, as they usually has pretty good products. BTW, I don't know if anybody noticed this, but the flat tube TVs appear to have a "deeper" form factor and weigh substantially more than a "regular" TV (for instance, the 20" Flats weight almost at much as my 27" and the 24s weight anywhere from 15-20lb more).

BTW, I am not in a great hurry for this, so in addition to checking out the product, I am also sniffing around for best deals, and since I will be getting a second DVD player along with it, I may be able to get a bundle deal too.