Toshiba REGZA Cinema Series 46SV670U 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with LED Backlight and ClearScan 240, Black Right now Thursday, December 10, 2009

1st, let me say this, I upgraded from the Toshiba 46XV545U 120Hz LCD T.V. (bought in April 2009, it got stolen :( "Last year's model"). The picture on this one is noticeably better. In fact, it is awesome, BUT this TV has a couple drawbacks that people should be aware of, and I think its why it is $700 off its MSRP only a few months after it came out:

1) Case size: If you're expecting one of those "thin" LED backlit LCDs like Samsung's, look elsewhere. This TV is 4-6" thick, thicker even than the straight LCD I replaced. Also, it has about 3-1/2" fascia around the screen itself. This is also much more than my old TV, presumably to hold the LED backlights. So, the case is bigger. This fact, combined with the design, makes it look old, like a 5 year old LCD. I much preferred my old Toshiba in terms of design.

2) Glare. Maybe I didn't look closely enough at the description, but my last Toshiba had a matte finish on the screen, which given my sunny living room, was a huge plus and should not be underestimated. This TV has a glossy finish on the screen, which results in lots of glare. This affects watching TV during the day big time and unless you have a dark media room, you need to be aware of this.

3) "Backlights"? @ Jason B. LeBrun, "ubrban nerd": Granted, I am not a techie, and don't know much about LED v. conventional backlighting on LCD TVs, but the backlighting issue here is not more cool than annoying, its annoying to the point that if my particular TV is not defective or malfunctioning, I cannot recommend this TV. If this effect is universal, then I guess its something we all have to live with for now. The "effect" is a large (6" square or so) glowing box around a bright object on a dark background. In other words, say you're watching "The Dark Knight" at night, and hoping to enjoy those "deep blacks" you've been hoping for with a 240Hz, LED-backlit TV, well, you get them, unless there's a candle or light on screen (which is all the time), in that case, there is a faint, light square of glow around that light that significantly brightens the supposed dark blacks around it. If you have your computer linked in, and move the mouse cursor around a black background, as Mr. LeBrun said, you can see this light box move around the TV as different segments of the backlights light up, casting their glow in a square around it. This is to the great detriment of an otherwise perfect picture. Very distracting, and takes away from the best quality of the TV, the "dark blacks." Like I said, if this is common to all LED backlit LCDs, then fine, but it is very noticeable here, and if its particular to this model, I would say look elsewhere. My old Toshiba didn't have his issue, and I almsot wish I'd just replaced it with an identical model.Get more detail about Toshiba REGZA Cinema Series 46SV670U 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with LED Backlight and ClearScan 240, Black.