Toshiba Regza 32RL858 review

Out of the box, the 32RL858 copes surprisingly well with both standard and high definition sources. Pictures appear sharp and detailed, even during scenes with lots of fast motion. Colours are amazingly vibrant, leaping off the screen in a way that few other entry-level TVs manage to achieve. Freeview channels were mostly noise-free, although some of the lower-bandwidth channels had understandably less detail. Freeview HD channels fared better, but Blu-ray video is where the TV looks its best.

Although we were impressed for the most part, picture quality isn’t perfect. Dark scenes were the main offenders, revealing some grey areas where they should be black, and we noticed some inconsistencies in the backlight. Some areas of the screen look much brighter than they should, so we would recommend dropping the backlight to compensate.

Even the speakers, which are only rated at 10 watts, are reasonably clear and produce loud enough audio for a medium sized room. As a TV of this size will probably find a home in a second room, we were happy to see that you won’t need to invest in a speaker system for everyday viewing. However, its weaknesses were revealed during our Blu-ray tests – at higher volumes or when producing bass, they start to sound muddy and distorted.

If you’re looking for a second TV to pair with a games console or Blu-ray player, the 32RL858 could be ideal – picture quality is good for a budget set as long as you stick to high definition material, it has Smart TV features and the price is spot on. It isn’t perfect, but it’s difficult to find a better TV for the money. The fact that we haven’t seen the Toshiba set’s main rivals yet means you should wait to see what the competition comes up with before you buy, however.