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Toshiba 32WLT68 Review |
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Reviewed: 19 February 2007
Design
In the style stakes the Toshiba 32WLT68 is an absolute stunner. A glossy black screen frame with polished silver strip underneath combine to create a look and finish that will add a touch of style to any living room.
Features
We expect good connectivity from all of our flat screens these days, but the Toshiba 32WLT68 excels. Three HDMI inputs get the ball rolling, and very conveniently (especially if you are a game player) one of these is along the edge of the screen rather than tucked away at the back.
Screen size & shape: 32in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound system: Stereo Resolution: 1366x768 HD Ready: Yes Contrast Ratio: 3500:1 Brightness: 500cd/m2 OTHER FEATURES: Active Vision M100 picture processing, Auto backlight adjust, 7-day EPG, digital noise reduction. SOCKETS: 3 HDMI input, 2 scarts (1 rgb), composite video input, S-video input, PC input.
Heading up the Toshiba 32WLT68's list of features is something called Active Vision M100. This system retains the benefits of Toshiba's core Active Vision, namely colour tone enhancement, extra sharpness and enhanced black levels, but with the 'M100' element adds another feature which doubles the Toshiba 32WLT68's refresh rate from 50 to 100Hz. This feature has been introduced to combat LCDs traditional problems with showing fast motion pictures.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Toshiba 32WLT68 has been designed to combat the bugbear of LCD screens, poor black levels. Toshiba's response (like Panasonic with the TX32LXD600) has been to create a technology which adjusts the screens backlight depending on the how dark or light a scene is.
Performance
What is immediately apparent with the Toshiba 32WLT68 is that motion handling is absolutely superb. The M100 system can be seen at its best with fast sporting action where it is absolutely peerless. Toggle this feature on and you won't believe quite how smooth the action appears and how judder free camera panning takes place.
High Definition pictures are superb, with even the tiniest of details appearing with very little grain or dot crawl.
Colour reproduction is up there with the best, with a colour spectrum which produces incredibly natural tones and depth especially with High Definition content.
What is more disappointing is how poorly the Toshiba 32WLT68's automatic backlight adjust performs. Detailing on darker scenes is retained, but there is a noticeable greying effect especially in graduated areas.
Standard Definition pictures are good on the Toshiba 32WLT68, but fail to live up to the levels achieved by some of this screen's rivals which are actively employing technology specifically designed for enhancing SD sources. This is a feature which has come to the forefront of consumer concerns about LCD TVs with the disparity between HD and SD becoming evident along with the realisation that widespread High Definition picture availability is a long way off.
The sound system on the Toshiba 32WLT68 is adequate rather than awe inspiring, and inadequacies in this area are becoming all too apparent when compared along with High Definition content.
Conclusion
Not so long ago, the Toshiba 32WLT68 would have blown away all 32in LCD rivals, but times have changed, and very quickly. The 32WLT68 is a very good all round performer, but doesn't quite cut it in this highly competitive category.
