Toshiba Regza ZF LCD HDTV

At the IFA 2008 Toshiba will introduce the first LCD HDTV containing the power of the CELL CPU known from the Sony PS3.

The Cell chip in the Toshiba Regza ZF-series is used for Resolution+. Toshiba’s Resolution+ creates upscaled images from SD sources that are supposedly very close to HD quality.

Other features of the Regza ZF HDTVs include full HD resolution, 30.000:1 contrast ratio, Audyssey Dynamic EQ, Active Vision M100 HD (100Hz), 10 Bit LCD-Panel, Wide Colour Gamut-Panel, Deep Color and xvYCC, PIXEL PROcessing VI, Onkyo Slim Speaker, and four HDMI ports.

In Germany the Regza 40ZF575D (40 inch) and the 46ZF575D (46 inch) will go on the market in October.

Which models Toshiba will release in the ZF series in other regions is not known yet. Toshiba will display the new Regza ZF at the IFA 2008 in Berlin starting 29th of August.

A little while back we looked at and were impressed by Toshiba’s HD Ready 32CV505DB, finding it a mighty fine 32in budget TV. So now we’re more than a little intrigued to find on our test benches the 32XV505DB: another Toshiba 32in LCD TV which brings a Full HD resolution to the table while adding less than £100 to the price.Aesthetically the 32XV505DB – part of Toshiba’s strangely-named Regza TV range – looks identical to the 32CV505DB, so far as I can tell. Which is no bad thing, as the combination of a slender gloss-black bezel, silver outer trim, and thin ‘speaker strip’ jutting out along the bottom make it one of the better looking small LCD TVs in town.

Connectivity is good for the money, too, particularly thanks to the inclusion of three v1.3 HDMI inputs, a component video input, a D-Sub PC port, an optical audio output, and even a subwoofer line-out should you feel inclined to add a powered bass speaker to your setup.

As we made clear at the start of this review, the absolute key specification in the 32XV505DB’s make-up is its 1,920 x 1,080 resolution – in fact, it’s Toshiba’s first ever Full HD 32in TV. This resolution is joined, as with any Full HD TV worthy of the name these days, by a pixel-by-pixel mode for showing the UK’s 1080-line HD sources without any image scaling involved to mess things up. Continue Reading…

Last year saw the introduction of the XF range, which wrapped decent size panels in cases with unbelievably slim bezels. The result was a 40in LCD TV with a physical size that was considerably smaller than many rival 37in models. On paper this was great, but the reality left a lot to be desired. You see inconsistency wasn’t the only problem with last year’s range, Toshiba’s sets also suffered from quite poor black level response. The disappointing black levels were something that I was willing to let slip slightly back in May 2007, when I reviewed the Regza 42X3030D, but by the end of last year Toshiba was still putting out sets with very disappointing black levels that simply couldn’t compete with rival models – the Regza 40XF355D highlighted this problem when I reviewed it.

Another problem with the XF range was that it injected a degree of schizophrenia into the Toshiba range – while the XF looked like it was the flagship model, with its slim bezel and catwalk looks, it lacked the features of the Z series, which sported 100Hz processing and 5:5 pulldown for 1080p 24Hz playback. The result was that many consumers wanted the features of the Z series, but in the chassis of the XF series; an option that simply wasn’t available to them. So, it was with some trepidation that I unboxed the new 40ZF355D, which is set to pick up where the 40XF355D left off. The good news is that before I’d even switched on the 40ZF355D, the specification sticker informed me that some of the problems with its predecessor had been addressed. Continue Reading…

Toshiba on Wednesday announced the launch of four lines of high-end LCD TVs; the ZH500, ZV500, RH500 and CV500, all under the company’s REGZA line. The ZH500 and RH500 series come with a built-in 300GB hard drive for recording videos or TV programs, while all four offer a recording option to a Toshiba Qosmio media-oriented notebook via USB. Furthermore, the ZH500 and ZV500 TVs feature built-in LAN and DLNA network support, as well as Bluetooth connectivity to sync photos with cell phones.

In addition to Toshiba’s latest Full HD video processing hardware, all models feature automatic image quality adjustment software that takes into account the room brightness via sensors on the front panel and the type of media being viewed, among other factors. Toshiba’s research found few of its customers bothered to optimize settings themselves.

The top-of-the-line ZH500 sets can be had in either 52-inch (52ZH500) or 46-inch (46ZH500) versions, and their hard drives are good for up to 29 hours of HD recordings. An SD card slot offers a quick way to transfer photos to the TV.

The ZV500 is offered with a 42-inch screen (42ZV500) or 37-inch display (37ZV500) and can record to a networked computer via its LAN connection.

Continue Reading…