Toshiba REGAZA ZV650 | 52ZV650U, 47ZV650U and 42ZV650U 1080p Full HD LCD HDTV

Toshiba’s REGAZA ZV650 series includes the 52 inch 52ZV650U, 47 inch 47ZV650U and the 42 inch 42ZV650U. The ZV650 models feature all the stunning detail of Full HD (1080p) provided by over 2 million pixels per frame. Toshiba has bestowed these models with their full suite of premium features lacking only the LED backlighting with local dimming of the premier SV670 series. The dynamic contrast ratio is a very respectable 100,000:1 for a conventionally CCFL florescent backlit LCD HDTV.

Toshiba REGAZA ZV650

Motion Blur Reduction – 240Hz Refresh Rate

Motion blur is an inherent weakness of LCD displays compared to Plasma and manufacturers have compensated by implementing higher refresh or frame rates. The Toshiba ZV650 models have Toshiba’s ClearScan 240 technology which reduces motion blur through a combination of interpolation of extra frames along with use of a scanning (flicking on and off extremely fast) backlight. The same approach has been used by VIZIO while Sony and Samsung use a pure frame interpolation technique.

Using the Motion Compensation/Motion Estimation (MEMC) system the video processor inserts extra interpolated frames between existing frames to boost the frame rate to 120Hz which is twice that of the 60Hz source. The Scanning Backlight approach, like it sounds, is one of rapidly turning the LCD display backlight on and off to create extra dark frames or partially dark frames bringing the refresh rate up to 240Hz. Both the pure interpolation and hybrid approaches reduce motion blurring with any difference difficult to discern for the average viewer.

One final point to note about Toshiba’s implementation of ClearScan 240 technology is that it can be controlled separately from the film stabilization processing which minimises film judder. So, if it happens that the anti-judder (film stabilization) produces artefacts which can be annoying the anti-judder processing can be switched off.

As an aside, motion blur has been identified as the likely cause of the mysterious phenomenon of “Rods” which were strange, winged, missile like objects which showed up on some video recordings. It had been speculated that Rods might be some mysterious unknown creature. The TV program MonsterQuest showed using side by side video recordings at normal and ultra fast frame rates that what was clearly a moth at the ultra fast frame rate looked like a mysterious Rod on the normal frame rate video. Very likely all Rod anomalies are similar blurring of birds or insects.

Sound Quality

Sound quality has been well addressed by Toshiba and includes Dolby Volume sound leveling, and Audyssey EQ. Dolby Volume utilizes highly specialized human psycho-acoustic algorithms to ensure a even volume level through channel changes and commercials. Considering how many consumers find these volume changes annoying this should be a highly regarded feature.

Sound Controls

Bass And Treble: adjust bass, treble and balance.
Surround: activates a virtual surround sound effect

Voice Enhancement: boosts clarity of vocals
Dynamic Bass Boost: selects a deeper, richer bass
Dolby Digital Dynamic Range Control: switch from ATSC to analog broadcast at the same dynamic range.
Two-level Mute: half volume and complete mute options
Digital Audio Output: An optical digital output available to connect to surround processor (Dolby Digital or PCM formats).

Video Processor

Each generation of HDTVs reveals continual improvement in the power of the video processing chip and this is true of Toshiba’s 5th generation PixelPure video processing system. the digital video processor is 14-bit and the increased gradations create smoother, clearer images. Software constantly monitors changes in signal quality (noise), content, and motion across frames to enhance sharpness, contrast, and color reproduction. The digital video processing system runs at an impressive 333Mhz.

An interesting feature is Toshiba’s proprietary Resolution+ processing system which is designed to improve 480i, 480p, and 720p image detail. Not simply scaling, Resolution+ uses complex image correction to enhance the detail of each image for a better image at the displays 1080p Full HD native resolution.

Picture Optimization

There is an extensive range of picture optimization options with the ZV650 series.

CableClear DNR: Noise reduction system to clean video noise from poor incoming NTSC signals
Picture Size: Extensive range of choices is available for sizing image to match the display size and includes: Natural, Theater Wide 1, Theater Wide 2, Theater Wide 3, Full, 4:3 HD, 4:3 Stretch, Native and Dot-by-Dot.
Auto Aspect Ratio: automatically selects the picture size
Picture Modes: Matches the picture optimisation to the video source and includes: AutoView, Sports, Standard, Movie, PC and Preference .
Color Temperature: three preset color temperatures – Cool (bluish), Medium (neutral), or Warm (reddish). Levels of greens and blues can be adjusted for each preset temperature.
ColorMaster: adjusts hue, saturation, and color brightness of six different colors (Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Magenta, Cyan)
Base Color Adjustment: select the base color to adjust and fine tune the Hue, Saturation and Brightness
Expert Mode: individually enables/disables the Red, green, and Blue components of the picture for more accurate adjustment of each color.

Dynamic Contrast: HDTV adjusts video automatically when changes in picture quality that affect contrast settings are detected
Backlight Adjustment Pro: adjusts backlight to match the ambient light conditions

MPEG Noise Reduction: reduces visible interference caused by MPEG compression
Static Gamma Adjustment: adjust picture black levels
Film Stabilization: minimizes video shaking that can occur during Cinema Mode processing.

Connectivity

Connection options are good with these models having 4 HDMI ports, a PC input, a USB port for loading digital multimedia files (photos – JPEG, movies – DivX, or music – MP3) and notably a SD Card Slot to read data from the (camera) memory card and display it on the large Full HD display. It is surprising that HDTVs haven’t incorporated SD slots to date especially when it is becoming a common feature on PC monitors.

A new feature from Toshiba we hope becomes widespread is InstaPort for faster HDMI switching between HDMI connected components. This technology reduces the typical five or six second delay when switching HDMI sources to a fraction of the time.

The Toshiba ZV650 has a multimedia playback interface along with slide show functionality for still images.

REGZA-LINK is Toshiba’s name for its implementation of CEC which allows basic control over HDMI connected A/V devices using the remote control provided with the LED LCD HDTV. An added convenience is the ability to select input sources from the remote and switch them on and off.

One connectivity option that is surprisingly absent given that the ZV650U is a premium LCD model for Toshiba is Internet connectivity.

Summary

Toshiba LCD TV market has risen impressively from just 4.1 percent in November 2007 to 11.4 percent in April 2009 reflecting a significant vote of confidence from consumers. While their picture performance may not match some more expensive offerings customer feedback has focused on the significant picture improvement over traditional CCFL (fluorescent) LCD HDTVs. Combined with favourable pricing, the Toshiba ZV650 models represent good value for money.