Television Purchasing Guide

Desire to discover the latest buzz in LCD HDTVs? Just change one letter to LED, and you’ve got it. In manufacturers’ quest to improve contrast ratios and black amounts to much more plasma-like performance (which we favor), LCD HDTV manufacturers keep enhancing the basic exhibit technologies. In this case, Toshiba and other makers use Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) with local dimming being a light source, rather than conventional and widely utilized fluorescent tubes. In theory, this change greatly improves photo quality although decreasing energy use, a win-win for all concerned. Toshiba’s new 46-inch 46SV670U HDTV is its initial LED model, comes as loaded being a Cadillac, and has a price to match. Let’s see if it’s worth it.

The Toshiba Regza 46SV670U is an extremely interesting HDTV. Whilst flat panel makers like Samsung and LG race to make the thinnest LED displays possible (much less than 2 inches thick), the depth of Toshiba’s first-gen LED set is quite close to fluorescent-based LCDs, and comparable to plasmas, which usually measure between 4 and 5 inches. In cases like this, it’s 4.4 inches deep. What sets the Regza apart within the looks department is its Deep Lagoon Infinity Flush Front. It’s a seamless piece of glass using a tiny eighth-inch silver bezel. Like Samsung’s Toc models, there is a design accent built to the frame that carries more than towards the supplied swivel stand. When we saw it earlier this 12 months, Toshiba execs explained their thinking as we viewed the Tv: they asked us to envision ourselves in the ocean’s edge and watch the sand fade away as the water got deeper. We do not know if the designers sipped too many pina coladas shore-side when they thought this up, simply because we didn’t hear the soothing sounds from the Caribbean checking out the set. No matter; the Deep Lagoon is interesting, along with a big step above your fundamental black HDTV using a thick picture-frame bezel.

Combined with the Deep Lagoon motif, you will find Regza and Toshiba logos about the front (the Toshiba lights up whenever you turn the power on, but this is often disabled). There is also a remote sensor, two LED indicators for power, and the timer along the bottom with the display. Downward-firing speakers built-into the bottom with the panel push out some fairly decent sound, with a total of 20 watts. Still, we think buyers ought to at least take into account upgrading to a sound bar to pair with the set.

The correct side of the Tv hosts a series of controls you will in no way use, unless you misplace the remote (channel up and down, etc). There are also HDMI, USB and A/V inputs, along with an SD card slot. Sadly, it cannot playback AVCHD video files, as choose Panasonic HDTVs can. The 46SV670U can play DivX and MP3 files only from USB devices, and also JPEG images.

The rear with the show serves as the repository for the primary jack pack, which has an additional three HDMI inputs, for a total of four. There are also two sets of component inputs, 1 composite, PC/HDMI1 Audio and PC inputs, and also optical digital audio out. The possible lack of an Ethernet port makes a surprising omission on a top-of-the-line television.

As noted, the 46-inch Television comes by itself swivel stand, which is very simple to adjust. This is a heavy television, weighing 72.8 pounds while using stand, and it measures 45.6 inches wide, 30.8 high and four.4 deep.

First, you’ll need to get past every one of the Styrofoam utilized to maintain the set in position during transit. Beyond that is the 72.8-pound Television, with its swivel stand, an 84-page owner’s manual, a cleaning cloth to the display plus a candy-bar style remote. We consistently complain about the basic remotes supplied with high-end HDTVs, and this one is pretty basic as well. Even though it handles three components along with the Tv, there is no LCD exhibit, and it is not a learning remote; You need to punch in codes to the device you want to control. There’s no HDMI cable either, so make sure you have them on the ready. We did, and after connecting a FiOS cable box plus a Panasonic BD player, it was time to watch tv.

Another key spec for LCD HDTVs is the refresh rate, since older sets tended to smear quick action, for instance thrown quickly balls or football spirals. Companies overcame this issue by adding 120Hz refresh rate technologies, and from our past reviews, this worked nicely. Toshiba now offers ClearScan 240 with backlight scanning to narrow the gap with plasmas even much more (plasmas by no means had this problem in the first place). Note this isn’t a true 240Hz frame rate, given that it combines a 120Hz frame rate with backlight scanning to produce the impact. Marketing individuals just love those big numbers.

Toshiba clearly utilized all its tech tricks to increase picture top quality, including a PixelPure 5G 14-bit processor, along with the LED backlighting and faster frame rate. Now it had been time to see how they performed in real life.

We connected the FiOS box and BD player via HDMI, then powered about the HDTV. Before doing any picture tweaking, we tuned to ESPN HD using the default settings. It was immediately apparent this was the best LCD HDTV image we’d experienced. The annoying screen-door and blocking effect that appear on of most LCD sets was mostly gone. It looked every one of the world like a plasma, with deep blacks, strong contrast, and great colors. And this was before making any adjustments. (For that record, the Sony Qualia 005 from 2004 was the best LCD we had experienced prior to the Toshiba; that LED set cost $12,000 compared to $1,800 for the Regza at a legit on the internet dealer.)

Once we got more than the initial good impression, it absolutely was time to adjust the picture parameters and watch more material. Like every tv, the Regza has principal photo modes for instance sports, movie and so forth. Somewhat diverse is AutoView, which adjusts the image with respect to the ambient light. When you’re in this setting, you can also make a lot more in-depth choices such as brightness, color, tint, backlight, color temp, dynamic contrast, film stabilization and much more. We were content leaving it in AutoView for the most part, and we’re sure most viewers is going to be pleased at the same time. The sports alternative was a lot more like vivid on other sets, with sunglasses-required brightness and a too-strong bluish cast. Avoid this 1, but movie and standard appear fine.

We watched highlights of Yankee home runs versus the Red Sox, and the Buffalo Bills versus Tennessee Titans game. ClearScan 240 did its work and eliminated all of the typical LCD motion issues. Picture top quality reflected the source from the FiOS box, while using primary colors of game shows reproduced really nicely (Drew Carey truly needs a better hair dye work, though). The Regza was a stellar performer with HDTV signals.

Now it was time to view some BD disks and try the ultimate “black” test: examining most of the scenes from Network. Folks, the blacks were truly deep – plasma amounts – with fine detail and accurate colors. Again, you’ll be actually happy watching in AutoView or movie mode. We adjusted the ambient light amounts from a totally dark room to turning on overhead fluorescents and the image held, with no reflection whatsoever – something you can’t say for each plasma exhibit.

Audio was decent, but it might be a shame watching movies with no a boost from a sound bar or 5.1-system. Engaging Dolby Volume mode worked well, limiting the booming sound of commercials (a feature that may doubtless be welcomed by sleeping spouses in the united states).

The Regza 46SV670U is often a terrific, albeit expensive HDTV. To our eyes, it dramatically closed the gap with far better 1080P plasma models. Pioneer Kuros – bless their discontinued plasma hearts – even now remain at the pinnacle of picture top quality with amazing blacks, but it might be tough justifying the value difference, other than for that wealthiest video esthete. Purchase this television, and you’ll be extremely happy. Now, is it worth $500 more than a similar-size Panasonic TC-P46G10, which also provides superb colour? We’d opt for the Panasonic, then buy a BD player and a bunch of disks with the cash we’d save. That said, Toshiba deserves raves for this HDTV, and we’re certain the price of LED LCD HDTVs will conclude plasma levels every year or so. Then we’ll truly have trouble – but they’re the kind of problems you need to have.