Toshiba 26AV713 review

The Toshiba 26AV713 continues the trend of praiseworthy Freeview tuners in its 2010 range of TVs Tested at £290.00

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

Simple-but-effective approach sees Toshiba equalling the class leaders

Pros

  • +

    Very nice tuner

  • +

    deep blacks and punchy colours with Blu-ray

  • +

    decent detail

Cons

  • -

    Lacks black detail

  • -

    poor sound

  • -

    DVD picture could be better

Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.

Toshiba hasn't been having a particularly good time of it recently, especially in terms of TV reviews.

All too often in recent months, we've found that the company's high-end models are a qualitative step behind the class leaders, while its budget offerings have been undercut for price.

So the company may be rather pleased with the rating for its 26AV713B – it might ‘only' be four stars, but that's still very good.

Decent punch and vibrancy

There's nothing beautiful about its styling or menu system, but it's passable in both regards, and while it has a low score for HDMI connectivity – with just two sockets, both rear mounted – we're not convinced many people need more, on what is likely to be a bedroom set.

You'll notice early on that the Toshiba has an active backlight, which slowly lights or dims in accordance with the action on screen.

These systems are ten-a-penny these days, and some are worth using (as long as you're not gaming), but the Toshiba's backlight goes too dark in dim scenes, robbing them of too much detail. A word to the wise: it's best switched off.

Even then, its portrayal of Gotham City in The Dark Knight is still a little lacking in insight, but the blacks are very impressive in their inky depth.

Good detail and edge definition
Besides, the lighter scenes of the Blu-ray prove that the ‘AV713 has very good detail recovery and edge definition. There's decent punch to the whites, and vibrancy to colours, as well as a good overall sense of vitality and texture.

If there's occasionally just a little too much red to skin tones, it generally avoids unnatural warmth.

Unfortunately it's not quite as capable with DVD. Its 576i pictures are unpleasantly smeary. This can be cured by sending 576p from your player, but its blacks can lack detail, and there's not as much overall vibrancy or punch as with Blu-ray.

Detail levels are good, however, and in isolation, the Toshiba will be a fine DVD display – although there's no getting around the fact there are better options if standard-def discs are your priority.

Clean, solid and vibrant pictures
The Freeview tuners on Toshiba's 2010 TV range have garnered a fair amount of praise from us over the past few months, and we're going to continue the trend here. The ‘AV713 produces very clean, solid and vibrant pictures, and the EPG is simple and sensibly laid-out – plus, it doesn't cover the whole screen.

The sound is less impressive, however, with the Toshiba throwing out comfortably the smallest, most cluttered and least distinct audio in the test.

You can add some scale and space by using ‘surround' mode, but it's still lightweight. So, a mixed bag really, but one with enough positives for it to be worth considering, especially if you find it reasonably discounted.

See all our TV Best Buys

Follow whathifi.com on Twitter

Join whathifi.com on Facebook

What Hi-Fi?

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

Read more about how we test

Latest in Televisions
RCA Roku TV 24-inch (RK24HF1) small TV
My favourite kitchen TV has dropped to under £100 for Amazon Spring Deal Days
Sony XR-48A90K
Amazon has slashed the price of this five-star Sony OLED, but we have found an even better deal
LG OLED42C3 and OLED65C3 in What Hi-Fi? test rooms
Amazon has slashed the price of a five-star LG OLED TV for its Spring Sale – but I wouldn't buy it
LG C5 55-inch OLED TV
Now is a great time to buy a new OLED TV, but not a 2025 model
Sony Bravia 8 65-inch OLED TV
Philips OLED810 vs Sony Bravia 8: how do they compare?
An illustration showing four OLED panels stacked on top of one another and displaying a sunset scene
Primary RGB Tandem OLED TV tech explained: how it works, why it’s better than MLA and how it compares with QD-OLED
Latest in Reviews
JBL SA550 integrated amplifier
JBL SA550 Classic
iFi Zen Phono 3 phono stage
iFi Zen Phono 3
Google TV Streamer video streamer
Google TV Streamer
Samsung QN990F on a white media unit with a grey curtain in the behind it and soundbar in front
Samsung QN990F 8K TV
Elac Debut 3.0 DB53 standmount speakers
Elac Debut 3.0 DB53
 iFi Zen DAC 3 digital-to-analogue converter
iFi Zen DAC 3