Toshiba 42X3030D Pt 1

Part one of the Toshiba 42X3030D review is up.

As some of you may already know, the X3030D marks the 1080p entry on its latest range of products. The tantalising Motion 100 Hz feature will only be available in the Z series, which is due later this year.

The X series feature 24FPS processing but details on this is sketchy at the moment. It’s a shame we can’t check its 24fps input because of the lack of 24fps devices out there. Of course I don’t also know what it does with the 24fps input, which is also another important question. mmm…where can I get a video processor? Sponsors anyone?

The 37inch panel for the X3030D states a 3500:1 contrast ratio, which should mean a different panel than the 42 inch and worse yet, poorer blacks.

Vincent and I are busting our ***** on this model because it is taking a LOT of work on the greyscale and colours. We’ll try to get this up as soon as we can.

28 comments

  1. just get the new LG dual HD and blur ray deck becuase all that does is out output 1080/24p

  2. Woot, Nice one guys ! Your the only people i trust with reviews and will be buying soley on your findings.
    Thanks Lee

  3. Thanks guys! Looking most forward to see how this one competes against the M86/M87 that you recommended alot =)

  4. Robbie Razzler

    Come on sponsors, get these guys a blue ray or HD dvd player!!!

  5. Been looking at this (on demo at Currys). Want to see its s/d performance. Was considering the Philips with PixelPlus3HD but only 37″ now, and don’t need/like the Ambilight.

    Looking to pair with a Canon HV20 camcorder which does 1080i but also 1080/25p.

  6. you know i really want this tele!

    will you sell me yours once you have completed the review! :)

  7. Looking forward to the rest of the review; especially interested in the optimum settings determined post-calibration.

  8. Does this set offer 1080p over all inputs? Still looking for a set that will handled 1080p over VGA for the 360 reliably.

  9. It can do 1080p over component (and HDMI naturally!) with 1:1 pixel mapping, unfortunately I don’t have the VGA cable though from what I’ve read the max resolution of VGA is limited to slightly better than 720p.

  10. Clarification: from what I’ve read the max res of VGA input on the Tosh is limited

  11. I have now taken the plunge and got this set but the colours are crazy to say the least! Can you guys please let us know your post calibration setting when you post the 2nd part of the review.
    Thank you guys. Lee

  12. @Leeroy: madmaxII has posted a decent ‘starter for 10’ here:

    http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4816549&postcount=103

  13. Tq Al ;]

  14. I have just seen the new LC32RD2E sharp screen with 100mhz and 4ms response time. Would be great to get a review on this tv. Motion blur is my biggest grievence with lcds but with this spec, the tv could all but banish motion blur

  15. Not to be rude to the hosts of this fabulous site, but the complete article seems to be online already!

    Check out the rest, starting to read with: http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Toshiba-42X3030D/Benchmark.php

    Cheers,
    Ron

  16. Thanks for the heads-up Ron.

  17. It’s not up for public consumption yet. We will release it formally today. But nice try.

  18. Excellent review all the same, well done chaps! You’d be doing us a great service if you’d consider publishing the settings you arrived at post calibration. And as I did before with the Samsung settings you published, I’d be only to happy to make a donation to the site. Thanks once again.

  19. Needs some advice; looking to buy either the Toshiba 37WLT68 or the 37X3030DB since the WLT68 has had great reviews. Can anyone give me any advice on what is the best option. Will tend to watch std tv with the odd film through Toshiba HD DVD player. I would be grateful for any advice.

  20. So this TV got a “HDTVTEST Qualified Recommendation”

    and the Samsung got a HDTV Test Recommended.

    Where is the difference? :D

  21. Good question, Sarah.

    Colin, Vincent? What’s the scale by which to measure?

    Ron

  22. For our case, the Toshiba required service menu access for greyscale adjustment and more work on the colour front to get it right. Hence, qualified recommendation.

  23. Colin do you plan on publishing the 3D colour settings following your calibration? I know several folks who’d definitely appreciate them!

  24. Yeah sure.

  25. Thanks for the review. I’m giving this TV some serious consideration, and was wondering, is 1080p overkill at a distance of about 10 feet (my viewing distance)? I’ll be using it for a lot of PS3, and the internet browser within it.

    Some post-calibration settings would be a great help too, just to get us off on the right foot!

  26. Any news on when the settings will be released ?

  27. Hi guys ,you have very valuable info on he settings and really ,there are a lot of us looking forward for them.I appreciate your work a lot and there is no need to be reluctant to release those settings,we understand very well how those shoukd be taken into consideration but we need them as a starting point .

  28. Guys theres plenty of settings info at avforums.com just search for ’42X3030D Settings’.