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See the Toshiba 32C120U (pictures)

If you want the cheapest small TV with halfway-decent picture quality, look no further than the Toshiba 32C120U.

David Katzmaier
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
David Katzmaier
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1 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Overview

Cheap TV comparisons are like cheap boxes of chocolate. As long as you temper your expectations, you never know what you're going to get. Toshiba's 32C120U is currently selling for the insanely low price of $250 on Amazon -- ranking it among the top few on that site's Best Sellers list for the last couple of months. Amazingly, given the price, it doesn't suck.

In fact, in picture quality the 32C120U competes well against our current favorite 32-incher, the Samsung UN32EH4000. The Toshiba's main weakness, color accuracy, is easier to overlook when weighed against its advantages, including black-level and bright-room performance. It's not nearly as stylish as the fetching, thin-bezeled Samsung, but for this cheap at this size, how much do you really care?

Read the full review of the Toshiba 32C120U

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Top detail

If you like your small TVs the same way certain hipsters like their eyeglasses -- glossy black, thick of frame, and otherwise unadorned -- you'll have little to complain about in the 32C120U.
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3 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Corner detail

The generic-looking set's only bit of visual panache is a faint grayish fade along the bottom edge.
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4 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Stand detail

The panel can't swivel on the unremarkable oval stand.
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5 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Side view

It's pretty obvious the 32C120U is no LED TV.
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6 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Inputs

If you gaze upon the 32C120U's back, you'll count two HDMI ports, one each component- and composite-video, an RGB-style PC input, and a USB port. That's a standard array for a cheap TV.
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Remote in-hand

Toshiba's tiny clicker is disappointing even for a TV this cheap.
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Remote detail

The remote's closely spaced warren of poorly differentiated, mushy keys is an error magnet.
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Main picture menu

The 32C120U offers a nice array of tweaks, including the ability to adjust the grayscale slightly and choose from among a bunch of different gamma settings. The DynaLight backlight control is another nice little perk.
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10 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Grayscale controls

Unlike traditional grayscale controls there are only two adjustments, but they're better than nothing.
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Picture quality

I was frankly surprised how good the Toshiba's picture looked for a TV this inexpensive. Its black levels were the deepest among cheap 32-inch TVs we've tested, beating out those of the former champ, Samsung's EH4000, by a substantial margin. Its color accuracy is flat-out poor, however, so the Samsung is still our overall choice in this category. That said, the Toshiba earns the same 6 in Picture Quality we awarded the Samsung, largely on the strength of its other picture-quality virtues like shadow detail and bright-room performance.

Read the full review of the Toshiba 32C120U

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