Toshiba REGZA 42RV530U 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

After researching various makes and models online, it was time for us to view the televisions in-person this weekend and this 42-inch LCD by Toshiba came out the winner. Actually, it's a toss-up between whether we or the TV happens to be the winner, but here's what went into our decision:

Full 1080p - sure, the 720p's are out there and they look fine at this size, but the minute you feed a true 1080p source in (blu-ray dvd, a gaming system, your computer, etc.) you would have to content with loss of picture of some sort, so we opted to not have to upgrade this set for a while.

Great picture and color representation. I compared this with both current and last-year models of Samsungs, LG's, Sony's and so on and of that group (in factory-standard settings) I found the color of the toshiba to be the most natural (Samsungs seemed a bit "fluorescent" and LGs a bit "wiggly." In addition, watching both slow and fast action shots on this set were both fine whereas the others may have had trouble following along. In addition, I did the "side glance" test where I walked down the aisle to see which sets would show me the best picture from one side or the other (when sitting on a love seat for instance) and this set was the only one not to lose anything either side-to-side or top-to-bottom.

Other factors: (to sell us both before and after the sale)

* 4 HDMI and a regular PCI input means that we will be able to connect both current and future devices to the screen.
* User Interface and remote are easy to figure out and use.
* Source and channel labeling
* Sound Leveling is a very nice feature that keeps the sound flat regardless of source (no commercial spikes).
* 1/2 Mute feature means that you can turn it down, hear your wife for once and then continue to watch the show... :)

I just purchased this Toshiba 42 inch 1080p television and have been blown away by the picture quality both in HD and SD. Set-up was about 15 minutes from the box to turn-on. The stand was easy to install and the set-up on the TV was a snap.I have it hooked up to my hi-def cable box and I am quite impressed by the clarity and sharpness of the picture. The HD is outstanding and the SD channels looke great! I am watching a standard definition DVD of a Boz Scaggs concert, which looks hi-def, and it is hooked up to the component video connection. There are plenty of audio and video inputs to satisfy anyone. I am not surprised by the beauty of this television, as I already own another Toshiba 42 inch HD TV with 1080p resolution, and I have always been happy with that set. My next purchase will be a hi-def DVD player to complete the HD experience. And by the way, the sound from the TV is actually quite good, so I can take my time to find a compact speaker system to connect this to. I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a great 1080p hi-def TV. Hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

I am extremely pleased with this tv. It met and exceeded all my expectations. The quality and features are perfect.

I researched for over 6 months on LCD tv's and finally made the decision to go with this model. I am very happy to say that ive made the right decision! I compared this tv side by side with many other higher priced tv's and could not see a difference. I admit I was hesitant because the price was much lower than other tv's with the same size/capacities. I figured, my family owned a Toshiba tv that lasted for over 12 years so it was a brand I could be comfortable with.

After taking it out of the box, it took 10/15 minutes to install the stand with the provided nuts/allen key. afterwards, just plugged the HDMI cord with the cable box and it was all ready! Side note, I purchased a 25 dollar phillips hdmi cable from walmart. (Even that might have been too much to pay), and turned on the tv. The picture was good but a few setting changes were needed. Some picture settings were set all the way to 100 (I guess thats factory default). After moving around some settings, the picture looks amazing! Sports are fantastic to watch- from baseball to something thats faster action/movement such as hockey.

As far as sound goes, i have read some reviews that the sound was sub par. Personally i thought the sound was fantastic, especially with such a sleek speaker design. Unlike some other tv's, you dont have gigantic speakers protruding from the sides. Also, the mute/ half mute feature is nice to have.

The only con I had was when I first started the tv, there were a few delays in some sequences on the screen for like a second, but it was gone and has never come back which makes me think that it was the new cable box starting up and not the tv.

At around 1150/1200 bucks i think this tv is excellent and highly recommend it. Best bang for your buck!

I purchased this two weeks ago, I got to look at some of the newer Samsung tvs and Sony Bravias and found this to have accurate colors and better specs.

I currently use this with an Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and a Scientific Atlanta 8300 Explorer HD dvr and everything looks great
I have no issues with the tv and ghosting is not a problem with this tv that plagues the previous models from Toshiba.

Blu-ray movies are gorgeous, at the price I paid $1199.99 nothing came close to it. I think this is the best 42" LCD TV you can buy right now, so if you got the cash go for it.

One thing that I suggest is you invest time tweaking the color modes, the default modes are sub par so I suggest you dive in and find out what suits you best.