Toshiba 37XV505D Review Conclusion

The Toshiba 37XV505D pulls out all the stops to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution at a low price point, but inevitably, its biggest limitations are in the LCD panel's ability to reproduce deep blacks, and its limited viewing angle.

Pros

• 1080p panel allows for excellent detail reproduction from 1080 sources
• 1:1 mapping option removes overscan on 1080 sources for optimum quality
• Excellent calibration options, readily accessible
• Excellent colour decoding
• 1080p/24 input allows for smooth playback from 24p sources such as Blu-ray Disc
• Low price

Cons

• Black level and contrast are lacking
• Limited off-axis viewing angle
• Settings are saved per-profile rather than per-input
• "Exact Scan" mode needs to be re-enabled sometimes (see Usability)
• EPG is unresponsive
• Remote control unsatisfying

Conclusion

Toshiba 37XV505D LCD television comes across as being strongly centered around one principle: value for money. Toshiba's inclusion of a 1080p panel (itself a premium feature) in a relatively inexpensive HDTV is commendable, to say the least. The detail present when fed a worthy full high definition source will put a big smile on a lot of people's faces.

Likewise, the control given to the user over greyscale and colour decoding setup means that it's possible to tweak the Toshiba 37XV505D's picture to near-perfection, making some small usability issues (EPG responsiveness, etc) unimportant. All of this is relatively consistent with Toshiba's past budget LCD offerings, but unfortunately, so is one other thing - the old LCD bugbear, black level. The panels fitted to these screens, although well-specified in terms of resolution, just can't muster the contrast to produce an image that really "pops", and like all LCDs, the contrast ratio drops off even more when you view the panel from any position other than straight-on.

If you're tolerant of this issue, badly want to see every iota of detail from your BD collection, and want to have some cash left over for movies - then the Toshiba 37XV505D might be just the ticket. Likewise, if you're a video gamer and sit right in front of your screen anyway, its viewing angle might not bother you. For those willing to tolerate (or ignore) some familiar LCD contrast issues, the Toshiba 37XV505D LCD HDTV represents surprising value for money.