Hey everyone. If you need more information or help with servicing this set, check out my Patreon. This is where you will find my cap kit lists for this Toshiba 24AF45 as well as capacitor kit lists for over 50 other CRTs. www.patreon.com/retrotechUSA
As far as cap kits, can I pre-buy a couple of kits for you for two Toshiba TV's I already have? And do they include replacement parts for all of the essential parts? 27AF42 and 27AF44
I have this set and I like it a lot. I don't have the same issue where adjusting the settings stabilizes the image, so my blacks are not bloomed/washed out. I know it's not a super desirable set, but 24 inch CRTs are extremely rare in my area. And I absolutely love the design of this TV's chassis too.
These Toshibas are my absolute favorites. Got a 14' I gave to a friend, have two 20"ers. I personally love the flat screen despite the geometry sacrifices. I'm going to be buying every one of them I see. Contemplating disconnecting the sharpness wire...
@@xminorthreatx I've been on the fence about it myself. I've been too afraid to open up the TV. Mainly because I'm worried the back of the chassis would be difficult to reseat back on. And I don't know enough about it to feel confident I won't zap myself.
@@MA-sv2bs It's pretty easy, I'd never messed with the inside of a TV before either, & I was scared as hell, but the wire is far away from the dangerous part of the TV and disconnects very easily. Still use precautions but yeah, definitely worth doing
@@xminorthreatxAccording to the manual for the 20AF45/20AF45C this model does NOT have the VM circuit. The features tables states "no" for that feature and the parts location diagram of the neck board also confirms that there are no VM connections.
I've got this exact set, when I first got mine it had vertical foldover which was easily fixed by replacing a known faulty cap. I am very impressed with the picture on this set, Though mine also has a slight jittering too but not anywhere near as bad as shown on the one here. I've not found any other bad caps in the power, deflection circuits, but found a lot of weak and dead caps in the chroma circuit. There appears to be a hot spot on the board right where the chroma IC is on the flip side.
Fantastic video! We laughed, we cried, and we got to see some ZAPS! But for real though, thanks for sharing the knowledge and taking the time to make great content!
Thanks for the info! I got a 14AF for free from my boss and have been loving it. Just went into the service menu and then thought I would check the hours now that I know how! And it’s only at 61! Guess this tv was barely used and I got pretty lucky!
Thank you Steve. I've enjoyed this tv for about 7 years without issue. Never worked on a CRT so it's good to know about the extra hazard of discharging it!
Great video For what it's worth, this is actually an Orion designed/manufactured TV (with the Toshiba brand more or less slapped on it) and is almost identical to many late model (2005+) RCA TruFlat, Panasonic Tau, etc. sets also made by Orion. In my experience, these end of the line Orion CRT TVs have actually been very great in both build and picture quality, and I would consider it an overall improvement from the original brand in many cases. I'd even go as far to say they're the next best thing to a Sony or Panasonic with low hours. Only major issues I've come across is bad capacitors in the vertical deflection circuit, and less often the power circuit. My guess would be they were under-spec on their heat tolerance, given that they seem to install exclusively Japanese capacitors in these. Sad to see there were so many issues with the one in the video, especially considering the relatively low hours on it. Wondering if it was operated in hostile environmental conditions or something
I have the 14" model, 14af44. Picked it up for free but it had 27k hours and a burned in tube. Did a tube swap (used a low hour tube from a composite-only Toshiba MD14F11), recapped the power and deflection circuits, and now it looks amazing. Component and s-video are fantastic, and the comb filter even makes composite look good. All around great set I would recommend to anyone looking for a high quality small CRT. Wanted to add that on mine, the circuitboard has leaded solder. I believe they moved to lead-free after the af44 models.
I just did a partial recap in the deflection and b+ and service on one of these for a guy. The anode does hold it's charge, which is why you should always use a discharge tool especially if your not familiar with the set. I didn't know about the VM but the set had a lot of pin cushion I flattened out 90% of the way from the service. Good work Steve!
I found a 27AF44 on the side of the road and despite having around 18000 hours of use, it still gets really bright at contrast set at slightlt less than halfway and the convergence is perfect or next to perfect, as I only see only a trace of red misalignment at the bottom right corner. I believe that this is one of the highest 240p analog CRT tubes that you can get, as the comb filter is very great, you can see text very clearly. I'd say it's even better than the JVC D-series, you just have to use a RCA cable with high shielding in order to take advantage of this filter.
That's how old stuff works. You might need to give it some time warm up, but it's consistent and made to last. Do not fix it if it's not broken. Nice video.
Honestly, I was excited to see this review and shocked at the results. I respect your knowledge and understanding of the set at a component level! I hope you try another one in the future because these are thought of as some of the best looking consumer sets in some circles! I love mine and also haven't had the blooming and blacks issue with a stable image.
oh boy! those discharges were scary. And it will take place everytime! certanly one of the scariest repairs you´ve done Mr. Retro Tech. I enjoyed the way you presented the sections and lastly the grading system was very clear and concise.
I have a 14AF44 (or 43 or 45, can't remember), and I absolutely LOVE it. I guess I got really lucky because I checked the hexadecimal hour counter and it only has about 100 hours on it, almost brand new, and I only paid $60 for it two years ago! It has near perfect geometry, especially for a flat screen CRT, and the colors are fantastic. No jitters, no issues of any kind that I can tell. I have two 20" Sony PVMs and a 14" Sony PVM, and I would say it rivals the quality of those. If anyone can find a Toshiba AF series CRT, I highly recommend one. From what I understand they have some buzz in the CRT community for being sought after.
I can co-sign this 100%. Got my 14AF44 in a junk yard with some low hours. There is a slight convergence issue that appears in the upper right hand side when connected via component. Could careless at all since I’m not a TV repair guy. 😂😅 You aren’t joking that it rivals some 20” PVMs either. I’ve been consistently using it over my 2030 that was serviced a while back. RF & Composite look fantastic! Such a great device and it deserves the respect it’s been getting. If anyone can get it for free even up to maybe 100 bucks they should.
Toshiba CRTs are seriously underrated. I hope you do a review of the Toshiba 32AX60 sometime soon - it's the best looking consumer CRT I've ever seen. Curved with component too.
for toshibas, i like all the A series TVs, ax as well. AF/flats i generally dislike with one exception... the AFX. their cinema version of the AF. it had shocking good geometry and great color. side by side to my AF, its no comparison which is better. something to note though.. there is a cord you should unplug that enables vsm on these sets and makes them look not great. it might even be thw reason for the wobble.
I quickly learned to triple-check the CRT was discharged, waiting a short while until the last one, after I got bitten by a 14" set. I *_thought_* I'd properly discharged it, but a 3-inch blue-green spark to my finger proved otherwise. My whole arm really hurt for a while!
i love your videos! i have this tv in the 14 inch. super low hours and the picture is amazing. interesting about the edge thing. im really surprised by your review.. crt gamers love this model. i thought it was the top rated shadow mask. i do love the trinitron scanlines tho. found a mint 27 inch 1999 curved which is my fav. but the little toshiba is the one ill never get rid of. thanks again for your great videos
Regarding the Toshiba 24" Orion tube, it's obvious that time has not been that particular set's friend. Even with the lead free flyback, and only 1400 hours, that TV should be performing better. Perhaps it was stored in a shed, garage or basement that accelerated its demise. Only the 32" and 36" Toshiba's have a genuine Toshiba tube, so the difference in performance varies GREATLY depending on the model in question. I'd love to see your opinion on one of those larger sets with the Toshiba tubes, as they are a different beast entirely. Maybe you'll have the opportunity? Here's to hoping....
Raising the contrast and brightness fixed the warped edges on my Samsung. It also fixed the bad center convergence. I recommend running the TV as much as possible as a way of correcting issues. The capacitors can actually correct internally by running unless popped. Learning alot from you and planning to do more in depth repairs soon.
I have the 14" model and love it. It is my understanding that Toshiba used different tubes depending on the model year. I think a lot of people prefer the earliest years in the AF series if I recall. Been a year or so since I was going through the posts online. The 14" is great for a little bedroom and gaming SNES on especially considering the 14" kept the component inputs. Plus I got it for free so can't complain.
This was a neat watch. I have a 27AFX54 cinema series that I used for a while until I found a kv27fs100. I am still going to hang onto the Toshiba as a backup. Great content as always!
I have this TV, picked it up for free. It works well enough for my purposes which is playing SNES and occasionally N64. Mine doesn't seem to have the image issues you saw here (at least nothing that I've ever noticed). I'll have to check it again next time I use it. I also have a newer Toshiba 27DF46 that works quite well and was seldom used by the previous owner (an older woman). I'd love to pickup a Trinitron at some point.
Most of these that are DVD combos were actually built by Orion AKA Emerson. Cant tell on yours. Every time there was a T-storm ten of them came in. On those they were a dog to work on layout wise. The good news is they had a great pix ! LFOD !
Only the ones made in 2005 or later use lead-free solder! 2004 and earlier are totally fine. I have a 24AF44 and a 14AF44 and neither of them have any 'pb free' markings on the boards. They also specifically state in their service manuals that they don't use lead-free solder. If you check the service manuals for the 2005 models they have a whole page about using lead-free solder. 2004 models and earlier of course don't have that page.
have a 20 inch that I bought new back in high school. took it to college and then afterwards, bought a panasonic plasma and put the toshiba in the box. should probably dig it out one of these days and pop it up on offer up just to have someone take it.
I had the same problem with a Philips crt, although I lowered the brightness it never gave a black screen. I still prefer trinitron technology. Great video as always.
I have a 20” D series with a similar but much worse version of this issue. I’ve recapped a large portion of the board with no change. Unfortunately I don’t have access to a scope to narrow down what could be wrong, but I have a feeling it’s the flyback.
You should see my Toshiba 27DF47 paired with my 1 Chip SNES and HD Retro Vision Cables. It smacks your eyes right out of your face with the beautiful pixels. Absolutely destroys every Sony I've had personally.
I have a few of these… several more if you count the larger and smaller versions. I keep forgetting them on for days since the tube is so dark when there is no signal. That means I have inflated the hours count on some of them, though it probably wasn’t putting any real wear and tear in the tube itself. Anyway, I suspect that the glitching is related to the SNES’s sync jitter. I suggest trying a Genesis or some other source to see if you can keep the brightness lower with those. My biggest issue is the stretched screen with 240p component sources. It seems that they are using HD sync on component sources despite only supporting SD/sub-SD resolutions (also explained on HD Retrovision’s page about Sync Jitter). You have to shift the image to the right and compress it to correct for this. I love that these produce visible scanlines with 240p sources despite not having a high line count.
I got this exact set for free a few years back to use with my MiSTer, since my Sony didn't have component inputs. Mine has some geometry issues and the reds are too strong, but maybe I can improve that now that I know how to access the service menu! Sad to hear that it doesn't have the potential to look really great, but at least the price was right. Now that MiSTer cores are starting to support S-video, maybe it's time to get that Trinitron out again...
Toshibas were REALLY popular here in Brazil back in the early 2000s, thanks to a really aggressive marketing campaign focusing on reliability, and a unprecedented 5 year warranty. Thanks to that, people actually believed Toshibas to be more reliable than even other japanese brands like Sony or Panasonic, which would offer the standard 1 year warranty like everybody else. As you can clearly see, they're far from being as reliable as the brands I mentioned above, but it's and oddity that happened here and made Toshibas, from all sizes, to be extremely common here. I have a 32" wide and flat CRT from Philco, sadly it's not HD or progressive capable, with a really high-end tube from Samsung. If it didn't have a Samsung sticker on it, I would swear it's actually a high-end Trinitron tube, the picture quality is just amazing! I don't think this Philco was commercialized outside Brazil, as searching Google yields no results.
Interesting stuff. I got a 36 inch Toshiba from 1993 (give or take a year) for free when I went to go buy a 36 inch JVC from the guy. He just wanted it gone so I couldn't say no when I had the space in the car, ha. My Toshiba had similar characteristics where you really had to fine tune the image to work around it's flaws. I recall there being faint blue lines that ran diagonally across the screen. You could tune it to where they were mostly unnoticable once the tube warmed up, but you could still see them on black screens if you knew what to look for. I think the main hassle with that set was balancing the brightness, gamma, and colors to get it bright enough without washing out the colors with gray. Came out pretty nicely eventually. I ended up giving it away for free when I moved across country, but I was at least able to keep the 36 inch JVC alongside all my other smaller CRTs.
Hmm. I never heard about that being dangerous before Steve. This cetainly caught my interest and will be a fun video to find out why bro. 8^) Anthony...
All CRT is dangerous if not treated with respect. I don’t get this video just replace the fly back or if your good you can take them apart but it’s hard. Also you don’t seem to have the test tools for testing the fly back or other components. Use to repair these years ago and you need the right test tools to get the best out of these things. You need a meter to see the voltage of the fly back and fly back tester. It’s all special tools you need, also oscilloscope to see the signal. At the end of the day people don’t mess with CRT if you don’t know what your doing and don’t have the tools.
I have the 27inch model Compared to my Trinitron it has this reddish tint to the image Not as colorful and more grainy looking But using it produces a unique grainy look to retro gaming which some people may find appealing 😊
I just picked up a 20AF25 without a remote and can't seem to get a straight answer on which remote to use. I see both ct878 and ct847 as you are using here. Do have any insight into which remote to use or if it actually even makes a difference? Thanks again for being the Ultimate source of knowledge on CRTs on the internet!
I have a 32 maybe 35 inch Toshiba flat screen crt tv dvd vcr combo with an hdmi input. I can’t find any like it online. Looks to be widescreen as well.
My Philips tv's anode cap is the same way. Discharged it twice, used rubber handled pliers to pull the prongs out, and still zapped me so bad it made me jump back a few feet lol
I have the 27" version of this TV (27AF44C, CHASSIS M3N127T, Oct 2004), and it has absolutely none of the jitter you were seeing on that set. Contrast 32, brightness 20, CRT ON which is 2EBE (around 12k hours? that seems reasonable.) I find it's a perfectly nice looking set, and I ended up keeping it over a d-series I was testing out (though maybe more so for the nostalgia I have for the Toshiba, but also the d-series had a bit of visual distortion on the sides.) I think really when it comes to these older sets it's really a case by case sort of thing. I recently disabled the edge-sharpening and can't really tell much of a difference except maybe that the set has a bit more distortion/bloom on really bright scenes than it used to? At some point I'll reconnect it and see if it's just my imagination. In any case, great video! I'm now convinced that I will never try to do anything to this set that requires it to be discharged :P
I have the 14 inch 44af model I think. I sadly overpaid for it because it was a 14 inch with component inputs and I didn't want to pay for a big Trinitron. I kinda wish I got the Trinitron instead but this TV works I guess. I will upgrade in the future for sure.
I'm wondering if there were some other things you could have tried with the jitterbrightness problem. First, I wonder if it may have been caused by the VM module being faulty. Did you go back and drop brightness after disabling VM? Also, maybe tweaking brightness/contrast via other methods could have given better results. Maybe by adjust sub-brightness and sub-contrast in the service menu, or even increasing G2 on the flyback, then dropping brightness back to normal levels afterwards, in the user menu. Lastly, maybe ordering a replacement flyback if available. I know there is a store in Germany, and a store in Mexico that still have a ton of flybacks for various TV models. I can't remember the websites but they've been discussed on r/crtgaming
It's a shame that you have that video wobble issue. I have two 20AFs, one is a 45 I've had for a couple years, the other is a 44 I just got off Craigslist a week ago, and neither one have any such problems. I have dialed them in and get nice dark blacks. I have been wondering about the real difference between having the sharpness "mode" on or off, so thank you for being the only source I could find that actually shows the difference.
I once had it's slightly bigger 27“ brother and was also underwhelmed. The speakers were pretty poor, too. If you need component and it's your only CRT then you've hit a small jackpot, but the component is poor, flat, and I also had a washed out look on it. It did the job, but was happy to move on from it and let someone else appreciate it more than me.
@@jakefootball9402 wondering if we need to experience the 32" or 36" versions, as they often have the Toshiba tubes and have more premium parts that aren't sourced out... 🧐
Question from a noob in the CRT world who's getting this soon in a good condition. To remove the cable in there do I need to discharge anything or just unplug it and let it hang? Thanks for the review by the way! There was a serious lack of discussion about this TV.
Both my 20af45 I used to have and my current 20af46 has that loudish electronic buzz also. It's kind of annoying sometimes, but not as noticeable if the volume is higher.
I have a 20af43. It has a distorted pink spot in the upper left corner of the screen. Degaussing it with a wand did not resolve it. Gonna have to junk it.
I've got a 24AF46, which I believe is the following year's model (manufactured 2006). I haven't experienced any issues with shakiness, and my contrast and brightness are at normal levels. It's my second favorite CRT I have besides my 20M4. The picture looks really great at normal contrast and brightness levels. I assumed it's got lead-free solder if this one does. How much work was redoing the solder?
I had one of these when they were new, I won it in a raffle. Mine had awful geometry issues at both sides of the screen so it got demoted to the spare bedroom
Hey Steve. Have you come across this kind of screen jittering again on any other crt since? Reason I ask is I see the issue pop up from time to time and no one know what it is. I actually have a Trinitron with the same issue and have purchased a replacement fly back assuming it was the issue but before I swap it out, I’ll try your fix. Let me know if you’ve seen this issue since and know more about it. Thanks. Trav
I have a couple 13” toshis, one of which has a dvd player built in. The picture looks good but not nearly as crisp as my 27” trinitron. I’m hoping they don’t have that same lead free solder
Made by Orion, which may explain a lot of issues in this set. At least the SD sets are still good, given that we disable the VM filter. But the HD sets they made for Toshiba, not so much :(.
Hey there, do you happen to know what the toshiba service manual means when it says "place set with Aging Test" for a certain amount of time depending on the calibration procedure?
I've got a few of these Toshiba AF sets. Love'em, though I'll admit some portion of that is from nostalgia because I had a 20" back when it was new and it was my first "nice" TV if you will, back when I was like 13. There are two different case designs, fyi, denoted by the last two digits of the model #: 42 and maaaaybe 43 are the first design and 44-45 is the style shown here. Personally, I prefer the earlier, cleaner style. As for their performance, I'm not sure I've had the issues seen here? I've done the RGB mod on a 20" and the RGB mod and recapped a 24". I also managed to find another 24" locally last year (in the original box) that I haven't done anything to. I'm sure they aren't at a level compared to PVM/BVMs but no one should expect that and these things are pretty inexpensive or even free if you're lucky. Someone else already mentioned in the comments that the "CRT On" timer is displayed using hexadecimal so you need to convert it.
I really don't like those late model flat CRTs. The flat shadow mask tubes look nicer than the aperture grille models but they both change the look of old games. And not for the better. Plus it's like they all gave up on quality towards the end. The late model Sony Wega sets are nowhere near as nice as the older 90's slightly curved ones. I always use my Street Fighter 2 pcb to judge CRTs. It really looks different on flat vs curved slot mask tubes.
The problem I notice with flat CRTs is that the dots are more spaced out in the corners than in the middle (I guess this is unavoidable to compensate for the unequal distance between the electron gun and a flat surface?). So brightness decreases as you get off center. But it's not very noticeable in real use.
I have a trinity of Toshibas, (video on my channel), and I am completely happy with them. Ya win some and you lose some on old crts--even from the same make and model.
Did you try a different console? I have a 27" panasonic that Snes jitters like crazy, other consoles look beautiful and the Snes doesn't jitter on a panasonic 20" or toshiba 36", looks like some snes do the same on the OSSC. Voultar confirmed that his RGB kit doesn't prevent jitter, because is not an issue, just some TVs don't like the sync on the snes
Hey everyone. If you need more information or help with servicing this set, check out my Patreon. This is where you will find my cap kit lists for this Toshiba 24AF45 as well as capacitor kit lists for over 50 other CRTs. www.patreon.com/retrotechUSA
I do offer high quality restoration services and have restored CRTs for purchase available on Patreon!
As far as cap kits, can I pre-buy a couple of kits for you for two Toshiba TV's I already have? And do they include replacement parts for all of the essential parts? 27AF42 and 27AF44
I bet the hairs on your arm went up on that first discharge where you free handed it
Glad you didn't get zapped but damn was that intense
Velocity Modulation interferes with light gun games. Do you think disconnecting or de-soldering VM coils on HD CRT tvs would be possible?
I've picked up three of these so far and they are the most consistently good looking consumer crts I've tried!
I have this set and I like it a lot. I don't have the same issue where adjusting the settings stabilizes the image, so my blacks are not bloomed/washed out. I know it's not a super desirable set, but 24 inch CRTs are extremely rare in my area. And I absolutely love the design of this TV's chassis too.
I have the 14 & the 20 inch. I don't have these issues either. The image through component looks fantastic on both
These Toshibas are my absolute favorites. Got a 14' I gave to a friend, have two 20"ers. I personally love the flat screen despite the geometry sacrifices. I'm going to be buying every one of them I see.
Contemplating disconnecting the sharpness wire...
@@xminorthreatx I've been on the fence about it myself. I've been too afraid to open up the TV. Mainly because I'm worried the back of the chassis would be difficult to reseat back on. And I don't know enough about it to feel confident I won't zap myself.
@@MA-sv2bs It's pretty easy, I'd never messed with the inside of a TV before either, & I was scared as hell, but the wire is far away from the dangerous part of the TV and disconnects very easily. Still use precautions but yeah, definitely worth doing
@@xminorthreatxAccording to the manual for the 20AF45/20AF45C this model does NOT have the VM circuit. The features tables states "no" for that feature and the parts location diagram of the neck board also confirms that there are no VM connections.
I've got this exact set, when I first got mine it had vertical foldover which was easily fixed by replacing a known faulty cap.
I am very impressed with the picture on this set, Though mine also has a slight jittering too but not anywhere near as bad as shown on the one here.
I've not found any other bad caps in the power, deflection circuits, but found a lot of weak and dead caps in the chroma circuit. There appears to be a hot spot on the board right where the chroma IC is on the flip side.
Fantastic video! We laughed, we cried, and we got to see some ZAPS! But for real though, thanks for sharing the knowledge and taking the time to make great content!
Thanks my friend!
I had the 27 inch version of this tv. Never should’ve got rid of it.
Thanks for the info! I got a 14AF for free from my boss and have been loving it. Just went into the service menu and then thought I would check the hours now that I know how! And it’s only at 61! Guess this tv was barely used and I got pretty lucky!
Thank you Steve. I've enjoyed this tv for about 7 years without issue. Never worked on a CRT so it's good to know about the extra hazard of discharging it!
Great video
For what it's worth, this is actually an Orion designed/manufactured TV (with the Toshiba brand more or less slapped on it) and is almost identical to many late model (2005+) RCA TruFlat, Panasonic Tau, etc. sets also made by Orion.
In my experience, these end of the line Orion CRT TVs have actually been very great in both build and picture quality, and I would consider it an overall improvement from the original brand in many cases. I'd even go as far to say they're the next best thing to a Sony or Panasonic with low hours. Only major issues I've come across is bad capacitors in the vertical deflection circuit, and less often the power circuit. My guess would be they were under-spec on their heat tolerance, given that they seem to install exclusively Japanese capacitors in these.
Sad to see there were so many issues with the one in the video, especially considering the relatively low hours on it. Wondering if it was operated in hostile environmental conditions or something
Those late model RCA TruFlats were made in China by TTE Technology, a joint venture between Thomson and TCL.
I have the 14" model, 14af44. Picked it up for free but it had 27k hours and a burned in tube. Did a tube swap (used a low hour tube from a composite-only Toshiba MD14F11), recapped the power and deflection circuits, and now it looks amazing.
Component and s-video are fantastic, and the comb filter even makes composite look good. All around great set I would recommend to anyone looking for a high quality small CRT.
Wanted to add that on mine, the circuitboard has leaded solder. I believe they moved to lead-free after the af44 models.
I just did a partial recap in the deflection and b+ and service on one of these for a guy. The anode does hold it's charge, which is why you should always use a discharge tool especially if your not familiar with the set. I didn't know about the VM but the set had a lot of pin cushion I flattened out 90% of the way from the service. Good work Steve!
Yeah, it seems most flat Toshibas over a certain size have this VM circuit. Thankfully it's straightforward to disable
I found a 27AF44 on the side of the road and despite having around 18000 hours of use, it still gets really bright at contrast set at slightlt less than halfway and the convergence is perfect or next to perfect, as I only see only a trace of red misalignment at the bottom right corner. I believe that this is one of the highest 240p analog CRT tubes that you can get, as the comb filter is very great, you can see text very clearly. I'd say it's even better than the JVC D-series, you just have to use a RCA cable with high shielding in order to take advantage of this filter.
That's how old stuff works. You might need to give it some time warm up, but it's consistent and made to last. Do not fix it if it's not broken. Nice video.
Honestly, I was excited to see this review and shocked at the results. I respect your knowledge and understanding of the set at a component level! I hope you try another one in the future because these are thought of as some of the best looking consumer sets in some circles! I love mine and also haven't had the blooming and blacks issue with a stable image.
oh boy! those discharges were scary. And it will take place everytime! certanly one of the scariest repairs you´ve done Mr. Retro Tech. I enjoyed the way you presented the sections and lastly the grading system was very clear and concise.
I have a 14AF44 (or 43 or 45, can't remember), and I absolutely LOVE it. I guess I got really lucky because I checked the hexadecimal hour counter and it only has about 100 hours on it, almost brand new, and I only paid $60 for it two years ago! It has near perfect geometry, especially for a flat screen CRT, and the colors are fantastic. No jitters, no issues of any kind that I can tell. I have two 20" Sony PVMs and a 14" Sony PVM, and I would say it rivals the quality of those. If anyone can find a Toshiba AF series CRT, I highly recommend one. From what I understand they have some buzz in the CRT community for being sought after.
I can co-sign this 100%. Got my 14AF44 in a junk yard with some low hours. There is a slight convergence issue that appears in the upper right hand side when connected via component. Could careless at all since I’m not a TV repair guy. 😂😅
You aren’t joking that it rivals some 20” PVMs either. I’ve been consistently using it over my 2030 that was serviced a while back. RF & Composite look fantastic! Such a great device and it deserves the respect it’s been getting. If anyone can get it for free even up to maybe 100 bucks they should.
I just found one but the picture is very blue, no green.
Just keep in mind the hours counter is in hex, so 1388 hex to decimal equals 5000
Thanks! I didn't know that
Even 5000 is insanely low hours. I lost so many Xbox 360s to lead free solder.
How do you calculate it?
Googled it myself just sounded too confusing
5000 so low wow
@@swardmusic yup. For people wondering: 2 hours of TV a day for 7 years is 5110. Very low hours
I have a Toshiba HD CRT set that has a similar "jitter" problem. Going to try upping the brightness..
Toshiba CRTs are seriously underrated. I hope you do a review of the Toshiba 32AX60 sometime soon - it's the best looking consumer CRT I've ever seen. Curved with component too.
Not sure thats true, if youre on /crtgaming they are brought up every 2nd day.
for toshibas, i like all the A series TVs, ax as well. AF/flats i generally dislike with one exception... the AFX. their cinema version of the AF. it had shocking good geometry and great color. side by side to my AF, its no comparison which is better. something to note though.. there is a cord you should unplug that enables vsm on these sets and makes them look not great. it might even be thw reason for the wobble.
I quickly learned to triple-check the CRT was discharged, waiting a short while until the last one, after I got bitten by a 14" set.
I *_thought_* I'd properly discharged it, but a 3-inch blue-green spark to my finger proved otherwise. My whole arm really hurt for a while!
i love your videos! i have this tv in the 14 inch. super low hours and the picture is amazing. interesting about the edge thing.
im really surprised by your review.. crt gamers love this model. i thought it was the top rated shadow mask. i do love the trinitron scanlines tho. found a mint 27 inch 1999 curved which is my fav. but the little toshiba is the one ill never get rid of.
thanks again for your great videos
Regarding the Toshiba 24" Orion tube, it's obvious that time has not been that particular set's friend. Even with the lead free flyback, and only 1400 hours, that TV should be performing better.
Perhaps it was stored in a shed, garage or basement that accelerated its demise.
Only the 32" and 36" Toshiba's have a genuine Toshiba tube, so the difference in performance varies GREATLY depending on the model in question.
I'd love to see your opinion on one of those larger sets with the Toshiba tubes, as they are a different beast entirely.
Maybe you'll have the opportunity? Here's to hoping....
Raising the contrast and brightness fixed the warped edges on my Samsung. It also fixed the bad center convergence. I recommend running the TV as much as possible as a way of correcting issues. The capacitors can actually correct internally by running unless popped. Learning alot from you and planning to do more in depth repairs soon.
I have the 14" model and love it. It is my understanding that Toshiba used different tubes depending on the model year. I think a lot of people prefer the earliest years in the AF series if I recall. Been a year or so since I was going through the posts online. The 14" is great for a little bedroom and gaming SNES on especially considering the 14" kept the component inputs. Plus I got it for free so can't complain.
yup you are right the af43 was the first model to start using Orion tubes. I have a 43 and its solid, but not the best
Love my 14" AF as well. I would like to get a 14 inch JVC or Sony flat screen to compare it to.
@@alanm6o9any Toshiba AF sub 27 inches is an Orion tube
I have this exact tv. And love it. Looks very good to me.
But once again an awesome review.
Discharging my 27af scared me more than any other CRT. It gave me the single biggest spark that I've ever seen or heard.
This was a neat watch. I have a 27AFX54 cinema series that I used for a while until I found a kv27fs100. I am still going to hang onto the Toshiba as a backup. Great content as always!
This is my daily driver CRT these days
I actually have a second one with under 500 hours put away as well LOL
Fantastic set, awesome vid
I have this TV, picked it up for free. It works well enough for my purposes which is playing SNES and occasionally N64. Mine doesn't seem to have the image issues you saw here (at least nothing that I've ever noticed). I'll have to check it again next time I use it. I also have a newer Toshiba 27DF46 that works quite well and was seldom used by the previous owner (an older woman). I'd love to pickup a Trinitron at some point.
Most of these that are DVD combos were actually built by Orion AKA Emerson. Cant tell on yours. Every time there was a T-storm ten of them came in. On those they were a dog to
work on layout wise. The good news is they had a great pix !
LFOD !
Great content, always learning more about CRT repair from your videos.
Only the ones made in 2005 or later use lead-free solder! 2004 and earlier are totally fine. I have a 24AF44 and a 14AF44 and neither of them have any 'pb free' markings on the boards. They also specifically state in their service manuals that they don't use lead-free solder. If you check the service manuals for the 2005 models they have a whole page about using lead-free solder. 2004 models and earlier of course don't have that page.
have a 20 inch that I bought new back in high school. took it to college and then afterwards, bought a panasonic plasma and put the toshiba in the box. should probably dig it out one of these days and pop it up on offer up just to have someone take it.
I had the same problem with a Philips crt, although I lowered the brightness it never gave a black screen. I still prefer trinitron technology. Great video as always.
the best guy when is about Crt tvs, Good video! love it!
I have a 20” D series with a similar but much worse version of this issue. I’ve recapped a large portion of the board with no change. Unfortunately I don’t have access to a scope to narrow down what could be wrong, but I have a feeling it’s the flyback.
You should see my Toshiba 27DF47 paired with my 1 Chip SNES and HD Retro Vision Cables. It smacks your eyes right out of your face with the beautiful pixels. Absolutely destroys every Sony I've had personally.
I have a few of these… several more if you count the larger and smaller versions. I keep forgetting them on for days since the tube is so dark when there is no signal. That means I have inflated the hours count on some of them, though it probably wasn’t putting any real wear and tear in the tube itself.
Anyway, I suspect that the glitching is related to the SNES’s sync jitter. I suggest trying a Genesis or some other source to see if you can keep the brightness lower with those.
My biggest issue is the stretched screen with 240p component sources. It seems that they are using HD sync on component sources despite only supporting SD/sub-SD resolutions (also explained on HD Retrovision’s page about Sync Jitter). You have to shift the image to the right and compress it to correct for this.
I love that these produce visible scanlines with 240p sources despite not having a high line count.
I got this exact set for free a few years back to use with my MiSTer, since my Sony didn't have component inputs. Mine has some geometry issues and the reds are too strong, but maybe I can improve that now that I know how to access the service menu! Sad to hear that it doesn't have the potential to look really great, but at least the price was right. Now that MiSTer cores are starting to support S-video, maybe it's time to get that Trinitron out again...
Toshibas were REALLY popular here in Brazil back in the early 2000s, thanks to a really aggressive marketing campaign focusing on reliability, and a unprecedented 5 year warranty.
Thanks to that, people actually believed Toshibas to be more reliable than even other japanese brands like Sony or Panasonic, which would offer the standard 1 year warranty like everybody else.
As you can clearly see, they're far from being as reliable as the brands I mentioned above, but it's and oddity that happened here and made Toshibas, from all sizes, to be extremely common here.
I have a 32" wide and flat CRT from Philco, sadly it's not HD or progressive capable, with a really high-end tube from Samsung. If it didn't have a Samsung sticker on it, I would swear it's actually a high-end Trinitron tube, the picture quality is just amazing! I don't think this Philco was commercialized outside Brazil, as searching Google yields no results.
HD crts suck for retro games no scanlines
Interesting stuff. I got a 36 inch Toshiba from 1993 (give or take a year) for free when I went to go buy a 36 inch JVC from the guy. He just wanted it gone so I couldn't say no when I had the space in the car, ha.
My Toshiba had similar characteristics where you really had to fine tune the image to work around it's flaws. I recall there being faint blue lines that ran diagonally across the screen. You could tune it to where they were mostly unnoticable once the tube warmed up, but you could still see them on black screens if you knew what to look for. I think the main hassle with that set was balancing the brightness, gamma, and colors to get it bright enough without washing out the colors with gray. Came out pretty nicely eventually.
I ended up giving it away for free when I moved across country, but I was at least able to keep the 36 inch JVC alongside all my other smaller CRTs.
D Series
Hmm. I never heard about that being dangerous before Steve. This cetainly caught my interest and will be a fun video to find out why bro. 8^)
Anthony...
All CRT is dangerous if not treated with respect. I don’t get this video just replace the fly back or if your good you can take them apart but it’s hard. Also you don’t seem to have the test tools for testing the fly back or other components. Use to repair these years ago and you need the right test tools to get the best out of these things. You need a meter to see the voltage of the fly back and fly back tester. It’s all special tools you need, also oscilloscope to see the signal. At the end of the day people don’t mess with CRT if you don’t know what your doing and don’t have the tools.
I have the 27inch model
Compared to my Trinitron it has this reddish tint to the image
Not as colorful and more grainy looking
But using it produces a unique grainy look to retro gaming which some people may find appealing 😊
I have the remote and everything and holding volume down on the unit itself and #9 on the remote but it just doesn’t show the service menu
Wouldn't adjusting g2 voltage on the flyback produce the same effect as increasing brightness/contrast?
I just picked up a 20AF25 without a remote and can't seem to get a straight answer on which remote to use. I see both ct878 and ct847 as you are using here. Do have any insight into which remote to use or if it actually even makes a difference? Thanks again for being the Ultimate source of knowledge on CRTs on the internet!
I have two of these. Great audio/video
I have the 27" version. I guess I'll have to be careful in trying to fix the vertical fold problem.
I have a 24Af44 . I use it as my tate set up and love the thing!
I have a 32 maybe 35 inch Toshiba flat screen crt tv dvd vcr combo with an hdmi input. I can’t find any like it online. Looks to be widescreen as well.
My Philips tv's anode cap is the same way. Discharged it twice, used rubber handled pliers to pull the prongs out, and still zapped me so bad it made me jump back a few feet lol
Will you so a review on the Panasonic SuperFlat/Gaoo series? I love my Gaoo and would love to hear your thoughts on it!
I have the 27" version of this TV (27AF44C, CHASSIS M3N127T, Oct 2004), and it has absolutely none of the jitter you were seeing on that set. Contrast 32, brightness 20, CRT ON which is 2EBE (around 12k hours? that seems reasonable.) I find it's a perfectly nice looking set, and I ended up keeping it over a d-series I was testing out (though maybe more so for the nostalgia I have for the Toshiba, but also the d-series had a bit of visual distortion on the sides.) I think really when it comes to these older sets it's really a case by case sort of thing.
I recently disabled the edge-sharpening and can't really tell much of a difference except maybe that the set has a bit more distortion/bloom on really bright scenes than it used to? At some point I'll reconnect it and see if it's just my imagination.
In any case, great video! I'm now convinced that I will never try to do anything to this set that requires it to be discharged :P
I have the 27 inch model of this and it is an awesome tv for retro gaming
I have the 14 inch 44af model I think. I sadly overpaid for it because it was a 14 inch with component inputs and I didn't want to pay for a big Trinitron. I kinda wish I got the Trinitron instead but this TV works I guess. I will upgrade in the future for sure.
I'm wondering if there were some other things you could have tried with the jitterbrightness problem.
First, I wonder if it may have been caused by the VM module being faulty. Did you go back and drop brightness after disabling VM?
Also, maybe tweaking brightness/contrast via other methods could have given better results. Maybe by adjust sub-brightness and sub-contrast in the service menu, or even increasing G2 on the flyback, then dropping brightness back to normal levels afterwards, in the user menu.
Lastly, maybe ordering a replacement flyback if available. I know there is a store in Germany, and a store in Mexico that still have a ton of flybacks for various TV models. I can't remember the websites but they've been discussed on r/crtgaming
Wow! I have a 20 inch JVC D series with the EXACT same jitter problem! And the tv darkens just like the Toshiba. I was wondering what it might be.
It's a shame that you have that video wobble issue. I have two 20AFs, one is a 45 I've had for a couple years, the other is a 44 I just got off Craigslist a week ago, and neither one have any such problems. I have dialed them in and get nice dark blacks. I have been wondering about the real difference between having the sharpness "mode" on or off, so thank you for being the only source I could find that actually shows the difference.
I once had it's slightly bigger 27“ brother and was also underwhelmed. The speakers were pretty poor, too. If you need component and it's your only CRT then you've hit a small jackpot, but the component is poor, flat, and I also had a washed out look on it. It did the job, but was happy to move on from it and let someone else appreciate it more than me.
@@jakefootball9402 wondering if we need to experience the 32" or 36" versions, as they often have the Toshiba tubes and have more premium parts that aren't sourced out... 🧐
Question from a noob in the CRT world who's getting this soon in a good condition. To remove the cable in there do I need to discharge anything or just unplug it and let it hang? Thanks for the review by the way! There was a serious lack of discussion about this TV.
I had to pull the hsync for composite off the board to get rid of jitters. Lost all composite but I never use that anyways.
I find the buzz on my 20af45 louder than other sets
Same here. Wondering if it's the sound of something failing.
Both my 20af45 I used to have and my current 20af46 has that loudish electronic buzz also. It's kind of annoying sometimes, but not as noticeable if the volume is higher.
i would love to see ypu working on a sony trinitron kv27sf200 , sf300 or any in those series. thanks everything that you do! keep up the good work! ^^
I have a 20af43. It has a distorted pink spot in the upper left corner of the screen. Degaussing it with a wand did not resolve it. Gonna have to junk it.
tbh i'd love to have any spare flat screen CRT TV for games like DDR
I've got a 24AF46, which I believe is the following year's model (manufactured 2006). I haven't experienced any issues with shakiness, and my contrast and brightness are at normal levels. It's my second favorite CRT I have besides my 20M4. The picture looks really great at normal contrast and brightness levels. I assumed it's got lead-free solder if this one does. How much work was redoing the solder?
I just checked my af45 and it appears to be a leaded solder board no PB free label on board or flyback thankfully!
Very nice I just got one but the ir remote receiver not working I have to replace it very scary any recommendations?
I had one of these when they were new, I won it in a raffle. Mine had awful geometry issues at both sides of the screen so it got demoted to the spare bedroom
Hey Steve. Have you come across this kind of screen jittering again on any other crt since? Reason I ask is I see the issue pop up from time to time and no one know what it is. I actually have a Trinitron with the same issue and have purchased a replacement fly back assuming it was the issue but before I swap it out, I’ll try your fix.
Let me know if you’ve seen this issue since and know more about it.
Thanks. Trav
Did disconnecting the velocity coil have any effect on the jitters?
Yeah, that would be worth going back to check out I think. Set brightness back to something reasonable and see if the jitters come back
I have a couple 13” toshis, one of which has a dvd player built in. The picture looks good but not nearly as crisp as my 27” trinitron. I’m hoping they don’t have that same lead free solder
Do you recommend removing anode cap before replacing remote receiver?
Made by Orion, which may explain a lot of issues in this set. At least the SD sets are still good, given that we disable the VM filter. But the HD sets they made for Toshiba, not so much :(.
Great video as usual! I wish you could come to Japan and check my CRTs!!! Maybe one day...!!!
Just came across one with a cracked chassis. Are there any recommended replacements? Looking to use for an rgb arcade build
I have 2 Toshiba 24AF45's and neither one has the issue yours has.
which brands are considered best at keeping well with age? I'm never gonna be able to do much in terms of servicing..
Hey there, do you happen to know what the toshiba service manual means when it says "place set with Aging Test" for a certain amount of time depending on the calibration procedure?
this is awesome
I just found a 14f, But the picture is blue and none of the green appears. I am debating on opening it but after this video, I dont know.
I've got a few of these Toshiba AF sets. Love'em, though I'll admit some portion of that is from nostalgia because I had a 20" back when it was new and it was my first "nice" TV if you will, back when I was like 13. There are two different case designs, fyi, denoted by the last two digits of the model #: 42 and maaaaybe 43 are the first design and 44-45 is the style shown here. Personally, I prefer the earlier, cleaner style. As for their performance, I'm not sure I've had the issues seen here? I've done the RGB mod on a 20" and the RGB mod and recapped a 24". I also managed to find another 24" locally last year (in the original box) that I haven't done anything to. I'm sure they aren't at a level compared to PVM/BVMs but no one should expect that and these things are pretty inexpensive or even free if you're lucky.
Someone else already mentioned in the comments that the "CRT On" timer is displayed using hexadecimal so you need to convert it.
The 3 tone exterior on these black back charcoal/silver front is beautiful compared to a black plastic crap tv.
btw rgb modding component is largely useless with $15 aliexprress converters rgb to component
Try and Coury from My Life In Gaming has these brands of CRTs. Idk if theirs have issues like this.
Also just curious about the tube brand mounted on this set, Is it Toshiba manufactured?
Do you know how to get into the service menu of a durabrand du1301? I need to fix the overscan on the screen
I really don't like those late model flat CRTs. The flat shadow mask tubes look nicer than the aperture grille models but they both change the look of old games. And not for the better. Plus it's like they all gave up on quality towards the end.
The late model Sony Wega sets are nowhere near as nice as the older 90's slightly curved ones. I always use my Street Fighter 2 pcb to judge CRTs. It really looks different on flat vs curved slot mask tubes.
The problem I notice with flat CRTs is that the dots are more spaced out in the corners than in the middle (I guess this is unavoidable to compensate for the unequal distance between the electron gun and a flat surface?). So brightness decreases as you get off center. But it's not very noticeable in real use.
Constructively I would say that you can’t really say it’s has downsides as a model when the flyback is shot. It is just this one sample has a problem.
However it was a fun video and good content. I would just call it a deep dive into one sample and not a review per se.
Hey steve, I need help for repairing a PVM. If I join your Patreon, can I ask you some questions there?
Thanks!
Also, I think the 27" plus have Toshiba tubes rather than the Orion
Do you think you’ll do any other CRT or even PVM/BVM reviews?
You dont happen to know someone in the Netherlands, to do a service on my Eizo Flexscan F67 CRT Monitor?
would this be similar to a toshiba cinema series hd television? mine is from around the same era and is in need of servicing.
I had one of these. Used it for years, got rid of it about 10 years ago and gave it to my Mom. It died shortly after that.
I just got a 20 af and it great but has static or dog whistle noise always help 😭
Why is there not so much if any dust on the inside of those tv sets? Is if just that you use new old stock or do rebuilds etc?
I have a trinity of Toshibas, (video on my channel), and I am completely happy with them. Ya win some and you lose some on old crts--even from the same make and model.
I've got a 32a43 and was wondering if there is VM edge enhancement and if there is how to turn it off
Same methods apply from this video to a Toshiba 24AF42?
Did you try a different console? I have a 27" panasonic that Snes jitters like crazy, other consoles look beautiful and the Snes doesn't jitter on a panasonic 20" or toshiba 36", looks like some snes do the same on the OSSC. Voultar confirmed that his RGB kit doesn't prevent jitter, because is not an issue, just some TVs don't like the sync on the snes