Toshiba CZ32V61 32 inch TV

CZ32V61 has a 32? high-contrast flat square tube, component video jacks and up to 750 lines of horizontal resolution. Since DVD players produce about 500 lines, this TV will be a perfect companion to a DVD player, especially if you use the component video inputs.

Digital satellite broadcasts and digital video from modern MiniDV (or Digital 8, if you wish) camcorders will also look good. Although the component connection is preferred for better picture quality, in some cases (the camcorder doesn?t have it) you might have to use S-Video connection, which is not bad either.

CZ32V61 has Dual Tuner Picture-In-Picture, which allows you to watch two channels at the same time without the use of your VCR (you would have to employ your VCR?s tuner with TVs that have 1 tuner PIP). You can use Single Box Mode to resize the picture box, move it and even freeze the picture. In Six Box Mode you can get a continuous channel preview in six small boxes along the bottom of your screen. To support this dual-tuner PIP, the TV has 2 RF inputs, so you can connect 2 different antenna or cable cables.

The TV has a digital comb filter, color temperature control, V-chip for parental control, fine white-level and black-level expander. It also has 2 speakers capable of producing front surround sound of up to 10 Watts, trilingual onscreen display. Of course, MTS stereo and SAP with dbx is standard.

There is a theater mode, which changes the picture settings to create ?cinema-like? image. Black-level expander shuts of the electron gun when certain (low) level is reached, so black areas are pure black and not ?dark gray?. Sleep timer shuts off the TV at preset delay (up to 3 hours in 15 minutes increments).

All these ?gizmos? pay off ? the picture quality is excellent. The sound, on the other hand, is good for news only. For movie viewing, I?d get a good sound system, preferably with real surround sound instead of fake ?front surround?.

Channel labeling allows you to see channel names instead of numbers. There is a ?Channel Return? feature that allows you to return to the last viewed channel with a push of the button (Panasonic calls it ?R-Tune?), so you can switch back and forth between two channels.

There are 2 rear A/V composite inputs, A/V outputs, S-Video input, component input and 2 RF inputs. I think that a front panel A/v input would be helpful. The TV supports up to 181 channel and weights 125 lbs.

The remote operates the TV and most brands of VCRs and cable boxes. It has four cursor buttons with good layout and size.

I think that the price is about right ? the TV has dual tuner PIP, which increases the price. I?m not the fan of styling of this TV, but it is a solid device that will be a good medium-budget addition to your DVD or satellite TV.