Toshiba 55WX800

To start, we have a panasonic 58 inch plasma (S2 series) in the house, this is the standard we are measuring against.

Once we unpacked the TV and installed the provided stand, we immediately noticed it was much more un-steady feeling than the panasonic, it would move/wobble when you would press the power button, (if you have a house that has much floor vibration when walking, you will notice it on the screen).

The appearance of the tv is sleek, modern and on par for meeting or beating competition.

The picture, first we must say it is highly recommended to see this tv in person, as it is a 3D tv with medium (at best) 2D picture quality (in our opinion). We viewed blue ray movies with motion/scenery etc…, played PS3 games and watched HDTV and non-HDTV channels. We have 5 in our family (3 in college plus mom and dad), it was a 100% decision to return the tv.

There was at times some digital disruption during the playing of Iron Man II, the move in 2D but with blue ray in HD, gave a feeling of a cheap movie set, as if everything was filmed in front of a blue screen that later on was inlaid into the movie. The white backgrounds were the worse by far. The colors are bright and can be adjusted, but the 2D viewing was not over-comable by us. We worked with the settings, followed the manual and search the website for best settings to affect the issue, in the end, the quality just wasn’t in the same league as the plasma.

The menus were friendly, easy to work with. The gaming was closest to the quality of our plasma of any testing we did, there was never a lag or issue when playing games, GT 5.0 and Demon Souls on PS3.

If you are a 3D person and plan to use this heavily for 3D, then I would recommend it as a strong contender, but in our house, 3D was going to the be exception, not the rule, so the 2D quaility was super important to us.

I imagine when we do go 3D next time, it will be with a plasma. We checked LEDs in the stores and they seem to be comparable with the plasma, but in our house they were not. The plasma won in both daylight and evening watching.

The clarity of the picture on the Toshiba is very strong, but the overall feel of the motion/background interaction in 2D left much to be desired in our opinion.

I have read other reviews on Amazon for the tv, and I will not argue their experience, it seems to be a very high end tv, but to us the 2D was the decision maker.

Rewviewed by : BigOnAmazon,   Dec 16, 2010

Toshiba REGZA 46XV645U

I had been looking at and researching HDTVs for a while and had pretty much decided on going with a plasma, due to the better viewing angle and deeper blacks. I was a bit hesitant, though, about picking up a plasma because of all the “burn-in” horror stories that have piled up over the years, so I was still hoping to find an LCD display that would blow me away while still being affordable. When I came across this Toshiba, it appeared that this would be that LCD. I made several trips to the big box whose logo looks like a big yellow tag and spent close to an hour each time comparing a few different models as best as one can in the controlled lighting of the retail environment. I was impressed with the black level, overall contrast, and picture quality of this tv. The image also appeared to be cleaner than others, with very few jaggies or digital artifacts.

I ended up purchasing this tv (great deal with the free 19″) and taking it home. The screen size is plenty large enough to see clearly from 10 ft away, but not too bulky to carry inside, unpack and set up by myself . It looks great and feels sturdy. The light-up Toshiba logo is a pretty nice touch, but I set it to off since it’s a little distracting. There are a TON of picture adjustments available through a few standard and advanced menu options. A lot of these options are probably only available on most other sets through service menus, which are meant to be navigated by professional calibrating services. I spent the first five hours of Saturday and a few more on Sunday tweaking the picture while watching blu-rays, with my main attention on getting a good, dark black level and accurate skin tones. I got the settings dialed in to what pleases my eye and thought it looked darn good (maybe not a professional calibration, but I was very pleased with it). The sound was not as bad as I’ve read in some reviews. I never experienced the crackling that others have, but I also never needed to turn the volume up past 30, even sitting 10 ft away. So far, everything was great but naturally, with the good, you get the bad.

The drawbacks that I experienced were more personal annoyances, I suppose, but I’ve read that they are inherent to LCDs (to varying degrees), and I still could not ignore them after I discovered them. The first of which is the limited viewing angle. After the hours of tweaking, the set looks incredible when viewed head on. This changed, though, when I stood up or watched as I walked around the room. The black areas turn bluish and the overall picture loses its pop. This was the case if I viewed from any other angle than sitting on the couch directly in front of it. Granted, that’s where I plan on watching tv from, but if I wanted to watch from the kitchen or have guests over, it wouldn’t be as enjoyable. I was kinda disappointed because I had not experienced this in the store. It’s not horrible, just something I didn’t like. Also, it may have been exaggerated by how good the picture looks head on. The off angle picture may be as good as last year’s model, but by improving the head on picture, it doesn’t look as good from the sides. Who knows. I’m also coming from decades of watching CRTs where the viewing angle does not change. I knew to watch out for this with LCDs, but I guess you just can’t get away from it unless you spend a few grand on one.

My other gripe was with the uneven backlight, or cloudiness, in dark areas, especially along the top and coming from the top corners (“flashlight” effect). Before purchasing this tv, I had found only one account of this occurring with this Toshiba. I had actually forgotten about it and wasn’t looking for it when I noticed it myself. I didn’t notice it until nighttime when I had the lights dimmed and the screen was supposed to be black. It’s more apparent while performing non-viewing actions, such as switching inputs, changing channels, etc., but it is noticeable at certain times while watching movies. I didn’t notice this during the day but, again, just something I didn’t like. It’s also possible I received a faulty display.

All in all, this is a great LCD for the price. I couldn’t find one in-store in the same price point that came close. Great picture, super sharp, and lots and lots of picture tweaking options. I didn’t have the chance to take home any other LCDs to see if they had the same low viewing angle properties or uneven backlight that mine did, so I don’t know if this Toshiba is an exception or not. I did end up exchanging it for a plasma, though, because I felt they suit my tastes better (and it turns out that burn-in is not a huge issue anymore), but for those looking for an LCD and looking to spend $1200, I would highly suggest taking a look at this one.

Reviewed by : whickus,   Aug 17, 2009

Toshiba 32RV525R

I bought this TV on the infamous Gold Box Deal of the Day. I was skeptical of the “low-end” aspect of the TV but decided I couldn’t pass it up as I could use it in the bedroom whenever I get my dream ‘perfectly crisp’ and ‘advanced LED’ HDTV in the near future. I love HDTVs that have great detail and crispness to the point of awe. I received the TV 2 business days later after ordering in the evening during the deal.

I set the TV up and the size works perfectly in my living room which my viewing space between the couch and the TV is just about right for the TV (It’s not a large living room). Over the air HDTV channels are accessible with the internal digital tuner.

The picture is great. It isn’t the perfection I wanted and it isn’t very crisp and doesn’t bring awe. That is what the fairly expensive TV’s bring. For the deal price and the price the TV is selling now, it is a great purchase to make in order to view broadcast and satellite. I was pleased and glad I bought it. I purchased a ps3 as well to view netflix streaming, blue-ray, dvd up-convert, and gaming. The picture that the ps3 brings to the table is very sharp, crisp, and detailed. HDMI connections seems to bring out the best in the TV as always should. Played a couple demos and they looked great as well as testing a Blue-Ray movie. I simply was impressed.

In a Nutshell: This TV isn’t top-of the line as that is obvious and it wasn’t intended to be. Instead this is a “low-end” TV that wasn’t intended to be low-end and is very much a “under high-end and above low-end” product. If you do have a large living room, consider getting this TV for the bedroom. If you have a dorm or small apartment, the TV will satisfy your current needs in your living room for the price. (take “for the price” lightly as it isn’t a bad statement in this instance)

Reviewed by T. Colston,   Jan 21, 2010

Toshiba 32AV502R

So I was in the market for a 32 inch tv and found this Toshiba to be a great value. I 32 inches, having 1080P isn’t necessary and worth the extra cash. I also reviewed the 37 RV525R, which is virtually the same set but with 1080P. It’s got good blacks, better than everage. Excellent whites, as most LCD’S have. Handles motion very well despite not having 120 refresh rate. Does a good job with 3:2 pulldown, although you have to turn that feature on, which is the cinema mode turned to film. Viewing angle isn’t too great, but then again no lcd is. Once you get 14 degrees off-axis you lose 50% of the picture’s contrast. Reflections aren’t too bad with this Toshiba, so it’s ideal for brightly lit room. Color accuracy isn’t too bad but there is a green push which the picture menu allows you to correct. The audio is also very good for a little flat panel, except you get a little vibration with certain dialog with the bass turned all the way up. The remote is excellent and is very user friendly. The menu system is very simple and easy to navigate. Overall, this is a great value. Sure, you will get a better tv with either the Samsung or the Sony, but you will pay more for the extra features they come with. Are they worth it to you? It does, however, outperform the LG,Sharp, and the Panny in most areas. At the price you can grab this for it’s hard to turn down. Here are calibrated settings for this tv.
. Note: I will keep updating these settings until I feel they are perfect, so keep checking in from time to time.
UPDATED SETTINGS..1/2/10…THESE NEW SETTINGS WILL GIVE YOU MORE POP.
HDMI
MODE: PREFERENCE
CONTRAST: 48
BACKLIGHT: 80
DYNALIGHT: On
BRIGHTNESS: 56
COLOR: 39
TINT: 0
SHARPNESS: 0

ADVANCED PICTURE SETTINGS:
DYNAMIC CONTRAST: OFF
STATIC GAMMA: 0
COLOR TEMP: WARM
B DRIVE: 0
G DRIVE: -5

NOISE REDUCTION:
DNR: OFF
MPEG REDUCTION: OFF

THEATER SETTINGS:
PICTURE SIZE: NATIVE(HDMI)
CINEMA MODE: FILM
AUTO ASPECT RATIO: OFF

I gave it a four star only because of the speaker vibration during certain dialog and the major color adjustment it needed, but for the money, I could have easily given it a five star.

Reviewed by : Michael D’innocenzio,   Sep 19, 2009