We were able to get our hands on one of the first Toshiba televisions equipped with a digital tuner compatible with HD: the Regza 37CV515DG. In addition to our 37 inch model, the CV515DG also comes in 32 and 42 inch versions.
A well equipped entry level model
There are three HDMI which isn’t too many for connecting all the sources one may have (satellite receiver, game console, media player, etc.) or for those that will be coming in the future. Another accessory is a light sensor that enables adjusting the brightness of the screen depending on ambient lighting. Of course, we deactivated this system when we took our measurements.
Despite the integration of this function, the panel limited to HD Ready (1366 x 768 pixels) confines it to the entry level.
As usual with Toshiba, default settings aren’t that great. Colors are too saturated and brightness isn’t very high (roughly 100 cd/m²). On the other hand, this low brightness means a very dense black measured at 0.11 cd/m², an excellent value. In addition, you can increase the backlighting to attain 420 cd/m². This is too much for everyday use, but it’s always reassuring to know that the screen has this type of power in reserve. Either way, whatever the setting, contrast is somewhere around 900:1 or just barely in the average.
Lower the color saturation
Once our adjustment of settings was finished, the image is very pleasant with colors that are much more natural.
The CIE diagram is almost perfect. This accuracy translates into movies whose colors appear very natural – on the condition that you lower the preset saturation value.
To accomplish this, we had to deactivate all of the dynamic filters and lower color saturation from 50% to 33%, without which skin tones appear too red. Viewing HD sources turns out to be a real pleasure. On the other hand, SD sources (TV, DVDs, etc.) have slightly inferior quality due to rescaling that takes some of the details away from images. Those with home media players that have good rescaling will want to avoid this TV doing the task.
Finally, viewing angles are a bit narrow and blacks quickly turn gray if we veer a little too far from the central axis of the screen. As for sound, it’s quite flat, mediocre, and doesn’t set itself apart from the competition. A real complementary audio system will be required for true home cinema.
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