Review Toshiba 55WX800U

Toshiba 55WX800U

The Toshiba 55WX800U is the company’s first range of 3D HDTV that is marketed under the Cinema Series LCD televisions. It is part of the WX800U series and it has a 55 inch screen as indicated by its initial numbers. It measures a mere 1.2 inches thick. The glossy black panel is held up by a short silver pole with a black flat base. This gives it an aesthetically pleasant look.

Features

The Toshiba 55WX800U has 3D capability coupled with a screen that can display full HD resolution at 1920 x 1080. Users can use the CineSpeed LED panel and DynaLight control to get the optimal brightness that they want. Although the refresh rate of the TV is listed as “ClearFrame” 240Hz, the name gives no extra benefit compared to the other 3D HDTVs in the market. It has a contrast ratio of 7,000,000 to 1.
Connectivity wise, the 55WX800U has 2 USB Ports, 4 HDMI terminals, an Ethernet port and a VGA connection. These ports are located at the right side and back of the TV.
It also comes with built-in Wi-Fi that enables you to streaming videos from the Internet. As Toshiba is in partnership with Yahoo! under Enhanced NET TV, users who have Netflix account will also be able to access websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The 55W800U is capable of playing music formats such as MP3, MP4 (AAC), LPCM and video formats such as MPEG2 PS, MPEG2 TS, AVCHD and MP4. In addition to that, it can display JPEG picture formats.
To play back 3D video you will need the Toshiba FPT-AG01U 3D active shutter glasses designed specifically for Toshiba 3D TVs. The glasses are black in colour and are made of thick plastic. There is a power button at the side of the glasses which users must press in order to turn the glasses on since they have an active shutter system. Please note that the box contents do not include the 3D glasses and they would have to be ordered separately.
There are 3 display modes present where you can have the option of watching 3D images from 3D content, 2D display from 3D content and the native display of the original received signal format. The Auto Aspect Ratio feature will help to regulate automatically the aspect ratios of 4:3 and 16:9 in accordance to whether it is receiving a VGA (60Hz), 480p, 720p or 1080p signal.
LG’s AutoView feature is a great addition to the set-up. This feature enables the screen picture to adjust automatically to the type of video that is being watched and the amount of room lighting that is present. Not only that, Autoview is able to change color temperature according to changes in the time of the day. This would ensure that the picture quality is at its prime condition at all times regardless of the conditions surrounding it.
The 55WX800U has an invisible speaker system which is bottom mounted and it consists of a 20W audio system with a 10W subwoofer. The speakers are also equipped with Dolby Auto Volume Control which is useful to ensure a consistent level of volume that is suitable for the ears. Bass emphasis level or voice levels are adjustable.

Performance

The 55WX800U is really impressive in terms of its performance although it is Toshiba’s first attempt in the 3D TV market. Be it 2D or 3D, it is able to produce excellent colors with detailed sharpness, thanks to its PixelPure 5G digital video processor that has the capability of producing up to 4096 shades of gray. The 240Hz refresh rate would ensure the reduction of any motion blur that is present is fast action videos. This results in significantly clearer images for sports or fast action movies as compared to the regular LCD TV. Viewing HD 1080p videos are not a problem at all with the resolution set at 1920 x 1080 and the blu-ray videos are displayed perfectly fine. Playing console games is also a smooth ride with no delays at all between the controller response and screen display using its Gaming Mode capability. This is made possible by having the video signal bypass some of the picture circuitry.
The 3D effects worked as well as the other 3D HDTV brands in the market. Images that are created 3D originally will naturally show up much better than those which are artificially imposed. It is recommended that you look at the TV head-on when viewing 3D videos to get the best view of the 3D effects. There were some minor flaws in that some of the effects did not seem to sync up that well with the 3D glasses. It may well have been a problem with the glasses rather than the TV itself. Even without utilising its 3D capabilities, it still functions great with 2D content.
The 55WX8000U is more than just being a conventional HD LCD television. With a SD Card slot and being DLNA certified, it can easily reproduce still JPEG images from the camera with a maximum resolution of 4096×4096 on its screen with no quality loss. Listening to music from your mp3 collection is an enjoyable experience too. The playback system is simple and it is able to navigate through 1000 files and folders. Although the internal sound system performs reasonably well it is best used with a dedicated home theater system to realise the full experience of high definition in 3D.

Conclusion

The Toshiba 55WX800U has everything the user would have expected from a high-end 3D HDTV – LED backlighting, Internet connectivity, 3D capability and full HD 55-inch display. The 3D capabilities may need a little more refining but overall, it is an excellent choice for anyone that wants to install a new home theater. It is a good start by Toshiba in launching its 3D HDTV line and future new models will certainly look promising.


List Price: $3,299.99
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