Toshiba 46SV670U 46" HDTV LED TV

For as many years as I can remember, I have always been a SONY fan!  Receiver, Walkman, Radio, etc. That was always the standard other manufacturers had to aspire to! Guess what, times have changed.

This is the first time I purchased any TOSHIBA TV, this TOSHIBA 46SV670U set, (also available in 55”) and let me tell you what my mindset was.

First and foremost, I believe SONY has been pricing themselves out of the market. A good 46" flat panel LCD set in the SONY line would be one of the XBR 8 or XBR9 models. They are about $2,500-$3,500, easy. Yes the high-end XBR sets are nice but way overpriced for a person who makes a living and has to support a family.

I currently work part time as a home theater consultant in a local electronics store. Luckily I can view many sets at my leisure, before making an educated decision as to which items to purchase.

Let me just pause here for a moment and discuss a few facts about LCD technology. You see, an LCD screen would be totally black if it did not have back lighting. That is a source of light behind the screen providing light so the screen can be viewed. Manufacturers have gone different ways to back light their LCD displays. Some have gone to a bulb, while others have gone to fluorescent bulbs, since they last longer.



The newest technology in back lighting utilizes LED electronics. LED'S last a long time, don't give off heat and don't take up much room in a flat screen enclosure. Quite a few companies have gone with LED back lighting, but only around the borders of the set. This provides lighting but is not good if there are light and dark scenes at the same time. The light will dim according to their need to provide light, but will do so unevenly, since they don't cover the entire screen. This TOSHIBA set has FULL BACK LIGHTING. That means LED'S are under the entire surface of the screen. The LED'S can do what is called LOCAL DIMMING, and only dim or light in a very specific area. This provides even lighting and a contrast ratio rivaling PLASMA PANELS.

 The contrast ratio as stated by TOSHIBA is 3,000,000 to 1! There really is no set standard for measuring this, but three million to one is great! The blacks are deep and a real true black, and the bright/white areas are nice and clean!

I digressed about the back lighting because I wanted to show you how advanced the technology was in this set. Since that is one of the main reasons I purchased this TV, I felt it was important to discuss.

Let me discuss this TOSHIBA, hopefully without boring you. I am trying to provide enough information for anyone to make an educated decision about purchasing this set!

First off, the most obvious, a description of the set itself. The stand is oblong and black, allowing the display to swivel, so you can position it correctly. The one physical attribute some people may not like is the bezel, (the width of the frame around the set). The trend lately has been to have as small a black frame around the picture as possible. This set interestingly enough, has a two inch black bezel with silver speckles at the end. It does not bother me personally, but folks looking for a narrow bezel should not consider this set! 

Some information for those readers who want to place this set, on the stand, into a wall unit. Dimensions with the stand:

30 1/2" HIGH

45 1/2" WIDE

12" DEEP-WITH ROOM FOR CONNECTORS IN BACK

When you turn the set on for the first time, the set-up menu appears. This will ask you all sorts of things about setting up your set. The easiest two choices are STORE USE, OR HOME USE! If you choose STORE USE, the set will have exaggerated colors, brightness and contrast for an in-store display. You will not want this. The HOME display sets up the picture with presets, and I have found that the preset for this setting is excellent. I am a nut about picture quality. I work in a high-end electronics store now, and I was a TV engineer for over 35 years, so I know good video and audio!

This set delivers good video with just the preset. I haven't had time yet to really "tweek" the set but for now it looks great as is. You can also adjust audio and raise and lower bass, treble and the standard assortment of tone controls. You also can choose the type of sound as well, such as movie, sports, etc. It does make a difference in the way it sounds, but for me, the standard setting from the factory is just fine.

This set is known as a "feature laden" flat panel! That means it has all sorts of advanced adjustments for picture, chroma, and expert settings as well. For the average consumer, you will most likely find the factory presets fairly decent and not have to diddle with them.

Since it is a feature rich set, let me give you a list of the features it has just in case you need any of them, or just want to know:
HDMI INPUTS- 4
POWER ON TIMER
USB CONNECTOR: (For your own media cards)
SD MEMORY CARD SLOT
2 SETS OF COMPONENT/& AUDIO INPUTS
RF/CABLE INPUT
PC INPUT: (For connecting a PC & using it as a monitor)
DIGITAL AUDIO OUT: (For connecting to a receiver, amp, etc)
SERVICE PORT: (For technician firmwre upgrade of software)-Really there should be a way of doing this yourself, and I  am waiting for a response from TOSHIBA about it!

NOTE: On the right side of the set are the controls as well as an HDMI INPUT, SD CARD SLOT, & USB TERMINAL. {Just so I don't confuse you, these are not additional ports, they are just located on the side, not the rear of the set.}

The REMOTE CONTROL can be programmed as a UNIVERSAL REMOTE, and lights up as well, which is a handy feature in a dim room!

One interesting feature on the TOSHIBA is a DOLBY VOLUME CONTROL. If you select this setting in the extensive menu, it will balance out the audio of programs and commercials. No more loud blaring commercials in the middle of a show, kind of comes in handy, and it works pretty well.

To be honest, I can go on and on about the features of the set, although I would be remiss if I did not mention one unusual feature. The set features what TOSHIBA calls a GRAPHIC VISUALIZATION WINDOW. This feature will display two graphics representing the number of pixels, brightness and output/input of the display. Something I have never seen on any other set.

TOSHIBA is pushing this set very hard, as they feel it is a great leap in flat panel technology, and it is! I can keep writing about other features, but so as to not bore you, here is the web site to go to listing all the details for those folks who want extensive information:
Since we are not allowed to give actual web links, go to: Toshiba.com, click on HDTV in the left hand pull down menu, and then click on LED TV!
This web site will give you full specs, key features, benefits and resources. By the way, as I stated above, this same set is available in a 55" model.
Here are some final bits of information. Like a coin having two sides, everything has negative and positive attributes. You have already read my positive feelings about this set, but let me briefly mention some things I am not crazy about.

First off, this set is somewhat reflective. By that I mean the glass tends to reflect room lights on the screen. This usually occurs with Plasma sets, but I am a little surprised on an LED set! I solved the problem but not having any lights on in the bedroom directly opposite the set. Is it a deal breaker, no not really!.

The fact that this set has so many features is great for set-up, but it is also somewhat of a negative since the menu gets so involved, and the selections that can be made are astounding! I have not delved deeply into the menu as yet, as I have only gone into initial set-up and did only minor adjustments from there. If I find anything negative about the menu system or something else negative about this TOSHIBA, I will update my review.

With a flat panel this advanced, you need to check out full specs, and EPINIONS is not the place to do it! We are here for real world feedback and our honest "Epinions" on products.

This is a great set, worthy of purchasing, and will not disappoint anyone. As I stated above, I NEVER purchased TOSHIBA, but with a set this good, I made an exception. LG has a set very similar to this, but it is more money and it is not worth paying the difference. The LG has THX Certification, but to me that was an unnecessary feature, that I did not want to pay for! Stick with this TOSHIBA and you will be happy!!

----------UPDATE---------

After using this set for a while, I find that I am still very happy with it. What I have found is that the reflective quality of the screen is quite annoying! I have to watch this set in an almost dark room because you see the reflection of every light bulb. Not a reason to pass on the TV, but it's aggravating! If a reflective surface bothers you, then skip this set.