Toshiba REGZA 42HL67U 42-Inch 720p LCD HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)So, you are thinking about buying a new TV, but what to choose?If you are wanting a flat panel TV, you can get either a plasma or an LCD.Plasma can be cheaper, and can give a better picture (at the same price point), but plasma weighs more, uses more power, generates more heat, and can burn images into the screen and ruin the TV (which matters if you view things without distorting and/or cropping the image to fit your screen; if you are spending all this money on a HDTV, do you really want distorted or cropped images?).So, I decided for an LCD.The Pros of this TV:

This is an excellent TV for the money.It is the newer version of the 42HL67, which was a "Best Buy" in Consumer Reports, at the price of $1150.It has a better viewing angle than most LCDs, and it is capable of producing a superb picture, once you adjust the picture (unfortunately, the presets leave much to be desired for this, so I recommend getting a setup disc to properly adjust the various settings).Most of the picture settings are bad out of the box, though the tint adjustment is perfect right out of the box (at least mine was).You will need to adjust the settings separately for each input.Although that makes it more trouble to set-up, this is actually a good thing, because you may need different adjustments for different sources, and this way, once you properly set it up, you need not readjust when switching sources to compensate for differences in your sources.

The fact that it is only 720p (actually 768p, but let us not quibble) instead of 1080p is only going to be a problem if you sit very close to the screen.Otherwise, it gives all the resolution one can see (if fed a good HD source).And, of course, it gives all the resolution of the source for all non-HD sources (e.g., DVDs, etc.), and 720p HD sources.It is only less than what is possible with 1080i and 1080p sources (though it will accept such signals and convert them to its resolution).

The over-the-air tuner works fairly well, better than other HDTVs that I have tried.It even has a nice signal strength meter to help one adjust one's antenna.If, like most Americans, you live near a local HD broadcast, you can watch true HD without spending more money than what it costs to get this TV and an inexpensive antenna (I have been using my old antenna that was not designed for HD, and it works fine--and the TV is in my basement!!!--you, of course, should not expect to be so lucky if you put your TV in your basement, but you might be).

All sources look pretty good on this TV, though obviously you will see shortcomings of sources that are less than HD.Analog TV is much worse than 480i digital, which is worse than HD, but, still, it is better with these inferior signals than other HDTVs that I have tried.You will see differences between well made DVDs and poorly made ones.You will be disappointed if you have unrealistic expectations about what it is possible to do with less than ideal sources, but, otherwise, you should be satisfied with the picture you can get with this TV.The Cons:

The owner's manual is poorly written.Really poorly written.Many of the controls have no real explanation for what they do!This is one of the worst manuals I have ever seen for electronic equipment, and there are a lot of poorly written manuals out there.

The so-called "universal" remote that comes with the TV does not work on my equipment, even though they are in the list of brands it is supposed to control.It should control my other equipment, but it does not.And since the remote is not a "learning" remote, there is nothing to be done about it.If it does not control your other equipment after trying the settings in the manual, you are simply out of luck.So, don't count on the remote controlling anything other than the TV itself, though you might be lucky and it might control your DVD player or some other device.

It could use another aspect ratio control to properly view non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs without distortion or cropping (it has one choice that can almost do this ["TheatreWide 2"]; it is generally with minimal cropping which, contrary to what the manual seems to suggest, does not appear to distort the image [I used a test disc with test patterns to see what the various aspect ratios really do]).For undistorted and uncropped 4:3 sources (i.e., the old NTSC or "conventional" aspect ratio), one uses "Natural" (which is also the setting to watch widescreen broadcasts; being "Natural", it keeps the picture in the aspect ratio that it already is).For viewing anamorphic widescreen DVDs undistorted and uncropped, use "Full".Of course, if you like to fill the screen with a distorted and/or cropped image, there are selections for you as well.

This TV, unlike all other HDTVs that I have used, cannot properly handle PAL signals (it simply chops off the bottom of the picture when fed a PAL signal, and the TV says it is receiving a 480i signal instead of the 576i PAL signal).(For those of you who don't know what "PAL" is, this probably won't matter, but in case you are curious, PAL is one of the formats of video used in many other countries which is on some DVDs, video tapes, and other such sources made for foreign markets.If the DVD or video tape is made for the U.S. market, even if it is a foreign film, it will NOT be in PAL, so you need not worry about this when shopping at most stores in the U.S.)In my case, I am thinking about buying an upconverting DVD player to deal with this issue, so that I will not be throwing away lines of resolution by converting to NTSC and then sending the image to this TV.If the TV were not otherwise capable of an excellent picture at its price point, this would cause me to return it, but since I can get an upconverting DVD player to deal with this issue, I think it will be okay for me, and can work for some others who want PAL capability, though if one needs it in the TV itself, one will need to look elsewhere (though good luck finding this kind of picture quality at this price).

Overall, the TV is excellent for the money, and its shortcomings are minimal, considering the price and overall quality.I think most people will be happy with it, and given what else is available, I think it is the best at its price point.It is certainly the best I have seen at its price point.Edited to add (17 September 2008):

The preset settings out of the box, "Sports", "Standard", and "Movie" are all way off the NTSC & ATSC standards for proper picture.If you doubt this, I recommend buying a setup/test disc and adjusting the controls according to it, and then comparing these settings (saved as "Preference") with the three presets mentioned above.With a particular picture, there is, for example, supposed to be a certain amount of color, and having more or less than the right amount is not in accordance with what it is supposed to be.Of course, a particular person may not notice a slight difference, or might even prefer the picture to be off instead of the correct amount, just as people may like to adjust the bass or treble in their audio to suit their tastes (rather than reflect exactly what is recorded).The same idea applies to all of the other picture parameters.Too bad Toshiba did not make their "Standard" preset actually conform to the standards of broadcast television.Ironically, "Movie" is closest to being correct, but it is far enough off that I strongly recommend getting a setup/test disc and adjusting the set properly.If, after watching it a while with it set properly, you decide that you prefer improper settings, you obviously can readjust things to suit your particular tastes, so you will only be out the cost of the disc and the time and trouble to set things up properly.But many people, I think, will find themselves happy with the correct settings, if only they were able to do the adjustments (which, again, require a setup disc).If you want an inexpensive disc, you can go with the Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up available at Amazon.com.

I might also add, the TV is excellent FOR THE MONEY.It is not the best TV ever made, but it is great at its price point, which was just a little more expensive than lousy off brand TVs, but giving performance more comparable with sets costing hundreds more.I am still very happy with my purchase, and now have an Oppo DV-983H DVD player which deals extremely well with my PAL issue mentioned above.The Oppo is also easy to make region free, and is widely regarded as being the best DVD player ever made.

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Product Description:
The Toshiba 42HL67U 42" Diagonal REGZA LCD TV has PixelPure 3G 3rd Generation digital video processor to run at a fast 333Mhz with high 14 bit internal processing. PixelPure is capable of producing an amazing 4,096 levels of gradation (16 times greater than an 8 bit processor) for a smooth, natural picture without image banding. PixelPure continuously monitors the incoming video signal, adjusting multiple picture quality parameters including real speed progressive scanning, dynamic gamma, dynamic backlight control and improved dynamic MPEG noise reduction. DynaLight utilizes advanced PixelPure histogram image processing to monitor the brightness level of each video frame, and automatically adjusts the backlight intensity based on the image content. Precise signal analysis allows for 256 levels of backlight control. This creates seamless transitions, and a Dynamic contrast that is up to 5x that of the original panel contrast. The result is a considerably deeper black level for increased detail and depth. CineSpeed LCD panels have the 8ms or faster response speed necessary for cleaner high-action home theater images. A wide 176-degree viewing angle and gloss black cosmetics complement the set in a compact cabinet with a slim SoundStrip speaker system.4-Modes Dynamic Contrast Static Gamma Color Temperature Control -Cool, Medium, Warm SRS WOW SoundStrip Speaker SystemDolby Digital Dynamic Range Control4-Item Universal Remote PC Support -VGA, 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i & 1080p Ports -3x HDMI Inputs, 15 Pin D-Sub PC Input, 2x ColorStream HD Component Inputs, 1x Side AV Input, 1x Rear S+AV Input, 1x RF Inputs, 1x Fixed Audio Out and 1x Optical Audio Out Dimensions -Width 40.46 x Height 26.52 x Depth 4.89 / 40.46 x 28.53 x 13.20 with stand Weight -54.02 pounds / 59.54 pounds with stand

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