Review Of The Toshiba 55SV670U Television
Television — By Ricky on September 8, 2009 at 3:00 pmThe Sum ‘n’ substance:
Thumbs up: Cheaper compared to LED based LCD’s; picture quality was very clear and vivid; plenty of picture adjustment features; extensive connectivity with four HDMI and one PC input; superb design; infra-red universal remote control.
Thumbs down: Off-angle performance was poor; fluctuation in back-lights; light reflected due to glossy screen.
Inside the trunk: LCD TV ; Diagonal size: 55 inch Widescreen; Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 2000000:1; Technology: TFT active matrix; Resolution 1920 x 1080; the two widescreen modes: Theater Wide , Conventional 4:3; Progressive scanning; LED Backlight technology;
Sound Output Mode: Stereo; 2 speakers included; slot for a SD Memory Card; Connector Type 1 x Digital audio input (optical) – Rear , 1 x VGA input ( 15 pin D-Sub (DB-15) ) – Rear , 3 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) – Rear , 2 x HD component input ( RCA phono x 3 ) – Rear , 3 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) – Rear , 1 x Fixed audio output ( RCA phono x 2 ) – Rear , 1 x Audio line-in ( Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ) – Rear , 1 x Remote control ( RCA phono ) – Rear , 1 x Composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) – Side , 1 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) – Side , 1 x S-Video input ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) – Rear , 1 x USB – Side , 1 x Composite video input ( RCA phono ) – Rear. Priced between: $2,195.00 – $2,999.99
The whiz-kid speaks: Toshiba seem to have to have got it almost right, the 55SV670U is a very smart piece of engineering with a sleek design to go along with it. It also is very well priced. Lets but the new toshiba under the scanner.
Razzle- dazzle: The 55SV670U has a very sleek design and has a glossy finish. The S models have a sheet of transparent material covering the face of the panel, that deceives the observer that the whole thing being composed of one glass pane when viewed from the side.
The frame around the screen of the SV670U series is framed out of silver metal, which borders a silver background that gradually fades gracefully in to black. On closer inspection you will notice that the black fade is suspended slightly above the sliver background and the silver consists many tiny little squares that curve inwards from the extreme edge of the panel. It is a complicated design which is engineered delicately with utmost precision and that results in a very bold and attractive yet unusual look. Just like the Z models, the S have a bulkier look because of the extra frame area. The external package is completed with a matching swivel stand provided by the company.
Inside dope:
The sliver and black design is carried forward on to the remote. The remote makes good use of the size and placement of the buttons. On the downside, no back-light provision and also people with fairly small palms might have a tough reaching for basic buttons.
The LED backlighting added with local dimming is the sole culprit for the SV670U’s price hike over the company’s step-down models.
The SV670U does have a 240Hz refresh rate which translates as, the TV takes each frame from a standard 60Hz source and repeats it four times.
This TV also features dejudder processing accompanied with its Smooth settings. Toshiba grants the user to get anti-blurring effects of 240Hz without having to engage dejudder at all. Picture adjustments are massive on the SV670U series. The 55SV670U also features a total of six modes, five of which are adjustable picture modes and one is called the “Auto-View,” that adjusts certain parameters (like brightness, contrast etc.) automatically ,by using its own logic, depending upon the amount of ambient lighting and picture content. The other modes are independent as per user input.
Also included in the toshiba bag of goodies are the 31-position gamma slider that permits a great deal of fine-tune settings such as the ability to lock or save your settings; to adjust the red, blue and green filters, which allow you to make small adjustments on the color and tint; and for the first time from Toshiba, a full colour temperature controller ; and the millions of automatic adjustments, including dynamic contrast and the automatic room lighting sensor, which is also manually adjustable.
Leaving the dimming on improves the performance of the back level performance.
The picture and video quality were exceptionally good although there was some blooming in the dark areas. The delivery of the black levels were well above average. The color of the Toshiba’s LED-based LCD display were outstanding; very vivid and distinct. The brightness levels were pretty good too.
The video processing had a film stabilization setting consisting of three modes: off, standard and smooth. the overall video- and film-based de-interlacing were handled very well by toshiba.
One issue to be pointed out was the poor off-angle performance. When we viewed The image, from just one side of the couch to the other side there was a washed look and the image lacked impact.
Nitty-Gritty: The SV670U’s Resolution+ processing, something that toshiba banked on as aide to standard- definition processing did not impress much. Bottom line being that toshiba offers a lot a functionality besides the off angle performance and the slight blooming. It also comes in at a very low cost and tops it all of with a great design. If you ask me, I’d say go for it.
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10 Comments
Yes, Toshiba is quite cheaper as compared to LED based LCD’s. I bought Toshiba TV about 16 months ago and I’m very satisfied. Thanks a lot for giving all the Toshiba features in detail. I appreciate your blog post. Looking forward to read more.
I have spent a complete year researching and saving for buying a good quality TV. I had originally decided to purchase Samsung, Special Edition….but now going through your article, I have decided to go for Toshiba 55SV670U. Great features and nicely writer article. Thanks.
I have bought this Toshiba 55SV670U for about one week ago. I had picked this television set over the Samsung, Sony and LGH90 after careful examination of the picture quality on all the sets. I never wanted to invest on plasmas as they appeared rather dim to me. I am satisfied with this set…. and with its much lower selling price.
When I wanted to purchase a TV, I went around to my local stores and started to check out the latest and greatest of televisions and checked out that Toshiba LCD was the best with great features. I am really impressed with your review. It talks about everything that is there in this product.
Extraordinary TV and at a terrific price as compared to other LED’s of the same size. It is very easy to wire up to a sound system and even easier to operate with nothing but a stellar picture! I must say Toshiba is worth the wait and I do not regret a single thing about the Toshiba television.
Great review and very true. Actually, I waited for 6 weeks to buy this Toshiba set while Amazon said they didn’t have them and ultimately I bought it from another online store. I mounted it up on the wall and sat down to see how it amazing it looked…!
I like what I have read about the Toshiba and will hold off on it for now. Even though, Toshiba’s off angle performance is poor as you have mentioned in your post, still this piece has many other features which interests people to buy it.
My desire for my TV set was high brightness, sharpness and high contrast ratios. I never gave much importance to weight and thickness. Toshiba gives me what I want. I will be looking at the picture more often rather than looking at the side view.
Thanks for the informative article. I like what you have written in favor of Toshiba. I am proud to be a new owner of new Toshiba 55SV670U. All I can say right now is that it is simply awesome. The sharpness of Toshiba LCD is very impressive. Anyone can go for it without thinking much.
Good to see that there are so many features in new Toshiba LCD. The most interesting feature that I found is picture adjustment feature and its universal remote control. I will definitely go for it when I will be able to afford it.