Toshiba 40RV525U Great Flat Panel for a Great Price

I have been looking for a reasonably priced HD flat panel TV for some time. Having looked at the Sony Bravias closely and using them as the benchmark I searched for a comparable or better TV for less money. I found that Toshiba had an excellent contrasting image and would compete with the Sony and it was usually half of the Sony price. The small downside is the sound quality but using the auxilliary audio output allows for a standard stereo system or surround system to utilize the signal and makes for a fuller sound. Please note that the audio is not that much of a negative in my opinion as most people add a surround system to their TV's these days. I would absolutely recommend this TV to anybody looking for a low cost full HD TV!

Toshiba 40RV525U Satisfied Gamer,

I bought this as my first HDTV and so far I am very satisfied. The picture quality through regular cable(480i as it says) is not that good, but I mainly bought for my 360. Through the component cables the the quality while playing games is very good, but there are some things I notice. Now through the HDMI, the picture is excellent! There is a small problem though, the Xbox's NXE update doesn't allow sound to go through the cable. There are some temporary solutions like taking out the hard drive while off then plugging it in when the system is on every single time you want to play. This problem is not Toshiba's fault as other TV's from different brands are having this problem, too. MS is working on a fix as reported on other forums and sites though. Hopefully, they get it fixed quick because I love how the games look on this TV.

I originally wanted the Sharp Aquos 32" 1080p TV but after seeing this TV and price I couldn't pass it up. And I'm very glad I didn't pass it up.

Toshiba 40RV525U great value for 1080p

Just purchased this Toshiba hdtv and i have to say that I am very impressed so far..HD channels look amazing, just a great value for this TV..The blacks are deep, the colors are very vibrant..one thing I noticed that flesh tones arent red like the Samsung 40lna550...I purchased this TV from 6th ave electronics( thanks Victor) for 799 plus tax and I believe its a great value for this TV..i would highly recommend this TV to anyone looking to purchase a 40inch..Toshiba puts out a great product..I even purchased the 46 inch model too

Toshiba 40RV525U Great TV and a great buy

Purchased this TV about 4 weeks ago. Great picture and even better after a little tweaking, I have it hooked from my Dish 722 via HMDI cable with sharp picture and sound....I am going to connect it with a Panasonic sc-pt960 Home Theater system, so I'll comment further later on. I find this Toshiba TV to be a great product and IMOP feel it is as good as any Sony or Samsung model. I highly reccomend this TV for it's quality and value. Price can't be beat, Paid $679.00

Toshiba 40RV525U Nice...

Great image. I'm surprised by the black that it displays. To those unsatisfied by the sound, I suggest turning OFF the QSOUND (this is a simulation of surround sound (other TVs have done this for years, as well)). I put the Bass at 13 and the Treble at 15 without QSOUND and I'm pleased with the sound quality (might tinker a touch more).

Only downside I've seen is that it has VGA instead of DVI, but c'est la vie. I doubt I'll ever hook a computer up to it anyway (VGA isn't terrible).

PS3 looks nice :)

I don't know what else to add. I'm pleased all around.

Toshiba 40RV525U AWESOME TV

I recently purchased this tv about 2 weeks ago. I had about a 1 and a half month long process of comparing/contrasting tv's. I compared the samsung 40 inch a550 to this one. only big difference is contrast ratio. 30,000:1 (samsung) 15,000:1 (toshiba). as well as $80 price difference. I finally came to a final decision on the toshiba. I went to a local best buy and compared the toshiba to other top of the line lcd's (sony, samsung). I virtually saw no difference in the picture. I also have my blu ray player hooked up via hdmi. COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!! the picture is awesome. my xbox 360 looks absolutely stunning as well. the reviews are true that the sound on this tv is not up to par. but not many lcd's have great speakers because of the small size the speakers need to be to fit in tv. Which is why home theatre systems were invented, problem solved! I definetly recommend this tv to anyone looking to stay around th $700 range. its the best lcd you can purchase in this price range! I'd save yourself a $100 bucks or so and try out this toshiba! you will not be dissapointed!

Toshiba 40RV525U Great tuner, great picture, very good gaming, so so remote

Although I actually have the Costco version 40RV52U. They seem to be the same model.

Tuner: I'm very pleased to find that the tuner can bring in several digital HD channels off of my very basic ($[...] / month for 13 channels) analogue cable connection without any extra boxes, antennas or subscription fees.

Picture: I get all the local channels in either 720p or 1080i and they look great. The inauguration looked fantastic and I can't wait to watch the superbowl in HD from my own couch. SD channels are fine. 4:3 pictures are the equivalent of a 32.5" CRT so replacing our 27" was win-win. Lowering the sharpness helps SD. Upconverted DVDs and Netflix (both via XBox 360) look great. I'm sure a BlueRay player will be fantastic.

Sound: Great for TV speakers. I don't need the stereo on unless I want the big sound. The RCA output on the back is variable so you can set the stereo at a good volume and control it all with the TV remote.

Settings: They are straight forward and probably layman friendly, though I'd like a little more control over some features. I'd like to be able to disable the SmartSound feature during gaming example.

Remote: Not great. It needs to be aimed a lot more precisely than any of my other remotes. It is prone to double taps (jumping over settings in the menu / channels in the guide etc...) The keypress timing seems to be set too fast. Even though it is a "universal" remote (quotes used because it can't be programmed to my audio system) I'll probably replace it with the Harmony designed for the XBox 360.

Gaming with an XBox 360 and a Wii:

Audio: There is an issue with the 360's audio via the HDMI cable BUT I understand from a Microsoft friend that there is already a fix in Beta to resolve the issue. The SmartSound feature (to keep commercials from blasting) cuts the volume in video games sonmetimes so I have it wired directly to the stereo anyway.

Video: I've only had one moment during a particulary bright scene in Rock Band 2 which produced an odd slow-down effect. I changed a video mode to Gaming and haven't noticed it since. Fast paced FPS and driving games are smooth. The Wii is only 420p of course but Wii Tennis is a lot more fun in widescreen.

Other: There are enough inputs and outputs to keep me happy for a long time. It's light and easy to move around. The base is a little flimsy for my taste but not a concern. The shiny frame is not noticable though it might be if you have it in a bright or sunny room. I like that you can turn the backlight off behind the "Toshiba" nameplate on the front of the unit. Left side controls are easy to access and simple to memorize.

If I could remove 1/2 a star for the remote I would, otherwise it's a very nice TV, especially at the $[...] price point.

#################

1 month down the road: XBox 360 HDMI audio issues have been resolved by microsoft, but new HDMI issues have come up. The HDMI connection drops occasionally. Switching to another source and back resolves it, usualy until the next time I use the TV. Seems to be more prevalent while watching Netflix or a DVD and almost never does it during a game. Component inputs seem fine.

I think I'll swap it at Costco for a new one. If it continues I'll be getting another brand.

##############################

PROBLEM SOLVED! The replacement has no issues at all. I just had a unit with flaky HDMI inputs. I've played a few hours of XBox 360, watched several episodes of 30 Rock through Netflix and watched a couple of movies witohut any cut-outs. Perfect!