Toshiba 50HP66

Toshiba 50HP66 Plasma TV Review

High definition plasma display televisions are becoming more and more popular and the Toshiba 50HP66 is worth a look if it's time to upgrade your set. The 50-inch screen is set in a stylish black cabinet that saves space by having its speakers mounted at the bottom rather than the sides. Out of the box this TV is ready to receive HD signals thanks to the built-in ATSC (DTV) tuner. It also features a QAM tuner that is compatible with unscrambled HDTV cable reception. In addition, this set also employs a standard analog NTSC tuner that receives regular television programming.

Setting up the Toshiba 50HP66 is a breeze with the included tabletop stand, which can also be removed so that the unit can be wall mounted with the purchase of an optional hardware kit.

If you've ever been frustrated by a "snowy" picture on your screen, Toshiba has you covered with its CableClear DNR+ technology. This helps to optimize poor NTSC signals coming either from an antenna or a cable so that video noise is virtually eliminated. This allows the Toshiba 50HP66 to consistently deliver a clear, sharp image.

In addition to the Cable Clear, the unit uses a digital 3D/YC comb filter that compares frames of video and determines how much "noise" is present. Once determined, the unit applies a certain amount of noise reduction and adds sharpness to keep the picture clear. This feature can be applied to video from a number of sources including: RF, Composite and S-Video.

To ensure the picture stays razor sharp, the 3D Y/C comb filter also separates brightness and color signals in the 3D domain. This allows the Toshiba 50HP66 to be virtually free of cross color, cross luminescence and dot crawl distortion problems. It also performs field-by-field comparisons of images to better separate color from black and white information and removes any hanging horizontal or vertical dots.

In order to better handle progressive scan movies, the TV's Cinema Mode feature performs 3:2 pulldown detection and reversal. This allows the progressive scan movie to be viewed in its native 24 frame per second format.

The Toshiba 50HP66 boasts an impressive 1366X768 pixel resolution and a peak 1000 cd/m2 (candela per square meter) rating for brightness. Like many other plasma displays, the Toshiba offers a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, which gives the set the ability to display more subtle color details that wont' become washed out by ambient room light.

Parent's worried about the children's video game playing habits can rest easy thanks to the Toshiba 50HP66's Game Timer Feature. This allows parents to set the TV to shut off after a specific period of time and stay off until a key code is entered.

Video adjustments can be made via the Individual AV Settings by Input function. This allows the user to tweak input settings of RF, composite, S-Video and each component of video input. The Toshiba 50HP66 also includes convenient features such as color temperature control, closed captioning, mute, sleep timer, trilingual on-screen display, video input labeling, channel labeling, channel/video lock and V-Chip parental controls.

All those beautiful pixels wouldn't mean much if the sound wasn't there to back them up and the Toshiba 50HP66 provides sound out of two stereo speakers that crank out 10 watts of power each for a total of 20 watts. The unit also utilizes SRS WOW virtual surround sound and a StableSound feature, which helps to maintain volume levels within a preset range regardless of how loud or soft the source signal is. This helps to eliminate situations like normal programming being followed up by really loud commercials.

The Toshiba 50HP66 also offers the following connection options:

* Composite A/V: 3 (1 front) in, 1 out * S-Video: 3 (1 front) in * Component Video: 2 in * HDMI: 2 in * RF: 1 in * PC VGA: 1 in * PC audio in: 1 * Digital audio out: 1 coaxial, 1 optical

The TV comes packaged with a remote control (with batteries), power cable, tabletop stand and printed instruction booklet.

Conclusion

The Toshiba 50HP66 is just about all the plasma display you'll need. Whether you're jumping on the HD bandwagon or setting up a home theater, you can't help but be impressed with the picture quality and features. If the unit has one weak spot, it would be the speakers, which seem to be slightly underpowered if you have a large room. But for the average home, this is one stellar system.

Best DVD Recorder Reviews Rating

10/10

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Toshiba 50HP66 Plasma TV Review
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