Toshiba 19AV501U 19-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

If you want a TV that offers an affordable transition to the world of HDTV, the Toshiba 19AV501U is worth investigating.

The 19 in the Toshiba 19AV501U name stands for 19 inches. Not a huge screen, but good enough to sample what HDTV has to offer, and good enough to work as a bedroom set.

It comes with built-in speakers as well as a first-rate digital tuner. With a depth of only three inches, it's perfect for wall mounting.

The Toshiba 19AV501U features SoundStrip speaker technology. This gives the TV and nice booming sound to it, although many buyers will choose to connect it to their home audio system for an even richer sound.

Thanks to the unit's ATSC / NTSC / QAM digital tuner, viewers can watch either cable TV or standard HDTV broadcasts. DVD movies in the 16:9 aspect ratio also play nicely on the screen.

In almost every important way, the Toshiba 19AV501U is a great looking television. It features a ten-bit video processor. Also, outstanding backlight control monitors how bright each video frame is and adjusts the backlighting accordingly.

And as is Toshiba's hallmark, this outstanding unit is a breeze to operate. It comes with a 4-item, full-function remote. The TV itself has an unbelievably large number of outputs and inputs, giving the buyer lots of hook-up options. For a compact model, there's lots you can do with this new Toshiba.