Toshiba Regza 42AV550 (42-inch LCD)

By Philip Wong, CNET Asia
Feb 27, 2009

The Regza 42AV550E is Toshiba's latest entry-level HDTV that comes with a pocket-friendly sticker price of S$2,099 (US$1,491.19). Unlike other comparable no-frills entries in the market, it is actually a bit too lean with only one instead of two HDMI inputs. Beyond this connectivity bottleneck, the 42AV550E does deliver competent picture quality, which is what really matters for such low-cost panels. But is it really worth every single penny of its price? Read our review to find out.

Design

Generally, aesthetics have never been a priority for most manufacturers and their budget products. This Regza is no exception, though it's pretty easy on the eyes with a combination of smooth rounded corners and thin-glossy panel frame. To further minimize bulk, the 42AV550E features a streamline speaker array and easily accessible TV controls lined along the bottom of the screen. There're two issues worth highlighting. First of all, there're no auxiliary A/V inputs except for a earphone jack on the right. We would have also preferred a swivel instead of the matching but fixed table stand.

We've picked up even more signs of cost-cutting for the remote. While we can overlook the grayish color mismatch, Toshiba's directional pad, which doubles as the volume and channel keys, is harder to get used to. It was a similar case for some of its ambiguous buttons which could have been better labeled. To switch between its five external inputs, you can select via a toggle key or an onscreen listing called up by the Ok button. Putting aside the above shortfalls, this remote is comfortable to operate, responsive, and has a good layout with well-spaced-out buttons.

Having been provided with bare essentials so far, we're pleasantly surprised by what is available in its text-based software menu. Besides fundamental settings such as brightness, noise reduction and audio tone, users will also have access to backlighting adjustment and an indepth six-hue color management function. The video elements of these options are consolidated under four picture modes: Dynamic, Standard and Mild are factory-tuned and non-customizable; while Memory caters to those savvy users who prefer to tailor picture quality to their own liking.

Tags: TV, noise reduction, video, software, adjustment

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