Toshiba 40BV801B 40-inch Full-HD 1080p LCD TV with Freeview HD

I settled on this tv after deciding I wanted the cheapest CFL 32inch LCD tv from a big trusted manufacturer, with full HD 1080-p and freeview-HD. This toshiba ticked all the boxes and I am not disappointed! Although it seems to have gone up in price since I bought it...?

Fantastic service from Amazon -it arrived within a couple of days of ordering with free delivery -amazing!
Easy to set up out of the box, the tv spent about 5 mins scanning the channels and was ready to go. Even the stand was already fixed to the base (although I will wallmount at some point)

The picture from the freeview HD channels is amazing and it does a pretty good job on the normal channels. I have had to fiddle with the settings to get the best picture for me (there is a backlight energy save mode which I turned off -it makes the picture too dark in my opinion -and I set the colour temperature to "cool" -more natural)

The sound is good in my opinion now I have tweaked it -I turned everything to max on the equaliser and the "effect" on.

I have this tv linked to an upscaling dvd player for normal dvds. Some are amazing quality with 1080p upscaling (eg. even dark scenes from 'the blue planet') but some are a little grainy, especially on dark scenes. The results seem to be variable depending on the dvd (do they come in different qualities?) One thing which has helped with this is tweaking the settings on the dvd player -it is now running in enhanced quality to improve the contrast between light/dark. The tv also has a "film mode" which shows the film in 24fps which improves the action scenes.

I don't game so I can't comment on gaming capabilities. It can also accept a usb stick, which I haven't tried.

If I had one gripe, it would be that the menus and electronic program guide are a bit annoying/slow to use. And it takes a while for the tv to show a picture after turning on. So that's two gripes -hence only 4stars. But I can put up with this for a few more notes left in my wallet from the cheaper price!

All in all, after considering all of the tvs/technology available for around this price from major manufacturers, I think this is a fantastic tv. It might take a bit of fiddling with the settings to get the most out of it.
Hope this helps someone!

As with other reviewers we spent days and days researching televisions before finally, and with some trepidation, opting for this one as we had previously been Panasonic aficionados. Thanks to Amazon Prime it arrived the next working day, nice especially during the Christmas/New Year holiday week!

On unpacking the first things that struck us were; nice to have the stand attached from the factory, and the weight, or lack of it! A whole 9Kg (without stand attached as we were wall mounting it) made it feel very light in comparison with our "main" television, an older model LCD 32" Panasonic but we quickly discovered where the weight saving has been made and more on that shortly. One thing to say is that the quality of construction/finish is first class, with a thin side bezel, slightly thicker upper and lower bezels. Very classy and not at all "budget" looking.

So, then we connected it up in the spare room and (having found the tiny on/off switch at the side of the set!) waited. As per other reviews (and as it quite clearly states in the instruction manual) it does take a while (30-45 seconds or so?) to fire up with a picture and the menu response is slower than other models we've seen but it is acceptable. Auto-tuning and following the on screen prompts makes setting up a doddle. We also like the rather large, slightly retro-looking, remote control with its big chunky buttons, although agree that having volume/channel controls in the horizontal plane is counter-intuitive.

Picture quality; on SD, not bad, not bad at all, but then we were trying to compare it to a Panasonic which cost more than double two years ago! At least the Toshiba comes with Freeview HD built-in and this is where it excels! The picture quality in Freeview HD is very good indeed, especially for what is supposed to be a "budget" model. Connecting up external HD sources (easy thanks to the range of connectors available, rear and side), proves the value of going for a full 1080p screen, superb definition, good blacks, excellent colour and warmth. As per another review, switch off "power-saving" mode within the menu and you'll see a difference immediately, especially if you then tweak the backlight. A good range of adjustments are available within the menus and I'd suggest taking the time to try them out.

So, that weight saving I mentioned earlier, where did it come from? Easy, the speakers, or lack thereof! The sound quality is very poor, very poor indeed! Thankfully we knew in advance that the television was going to be connected to external speakers (courtesy of the "old-fashioned" RCA phono sockets helpfully still fitted to the rear of this set) so we weren't too worried but if the in-built speakers are your only sound source you'll be disappointed, trust me! Even tweaking the settings could not bring up decent bass levels.

One other very minor niggle; why don't the machine screws that fit the base also fit the sockets for wall mounting brackets? Surely that small bit of design thought would be helpful for customers?

Instruction manual finally; Toshiba trumpet the fact they have saved 25,000 trees per annum by making the book small and allowing you to access the advanced instructions online, except the advanced instructions aren't online yet, just a copy of the book that comes with the television, at least not that I can find! Nice one Tosh!

So, good picture quality, very light weight, classy looking, excellent HD performance and ease of set up, but very poor sound quality so be prepared for that and buy some external speakers, then you get a television that starts to challenge far more expensive kit without breaking the bank.

Edit 17/01/2011: Thanks to MrT for adding a link to the online instruction manual but as mentioned above it is actually the same manual that comes with the television and doesn't cover all functions strangely enough. It is handy though; we found it prior to purchasing the television which meant we could check that it did come with required connections we wanted for our surround sound system (which it did). I'd recommend it for anyone thinking of purchasing this television as essential reading as it gives good insight into the features of the television. Oh, and after several weeks of owning the set we now spend more time watching this television than the more expensive Panasonic!

I wanted a 32inch TV with 1080 and HD freeview, with great features, easy to use and also also not being some little known brand. This is the best and most competitively priced you will find. Especially if you watch amazon for a few days and catch it on a cheap day.
It arrived in two days, before even my account was debited! Straight out the box, stand attached, smart looking and a few minutes later - hey presto better viewing than on my 42inch top of the range Panasonic plasma which is only 18 months old and cost 3 times the price! Gutted!
Whilst I agree with "full throttle" the menu is a little slow to react, its better than any other supermarket shelf TV, which will be the same price if not more, the likes of which should be avoided - honestly what make is that you say?!! But at least it keeps the channel you were watching volume on whilst the program menu is displayed so you can still hear what you were watching and decide to go back if you hear something good.
If you don't mind 50Hz refresh, then this is a great TV.
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