By Philip Wong, CNET News.com
10/11/2006
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/tvs/0,39037585,39272183p,00.htm

First appearing in the boxy CRT TVs, the 100Hz display technology is no stranger for the A/V industry. Designed to minimize screen flickering, it was adopted by many CRT vendors and was a standard feature in the late 1990s. Toshiba is reinventing the wheel by bringing this age-old visual enhancement technique back into play. This is implemented in its latest Meta Brain Pro 100 picture-processing engine in a bid to improve motion reproduction for its 68-series LCD TVs.

Design
The 32WL68E is an average-looking flat panel endowed with a clutter-free front. Conforming to the popular bottom speaker form factor, the shell is dressed in a tri-tone color scheme with an overall grey hue. The darkish facade is contrasted with strips of perforated black grilles and brushed metal lining stacked below a narrow 1.5 inch-thick LCD frame. Toshiba has also dropped the previous squarish stand in favor of a V-shaped Sharp Aquos lookalike capable of 15-degree two-way swivel.

Unlike most other flat panels we reviewed, the TV controls and easy-access A/V sockets are clustered in a vertical array, situated on the right corner of the 115mm-thick chassis. To keep the cords tidy and out of sight, the collection of input sockets is installed within deep recesses on the rear. Not only does this allow a near-flushed installation for wall-mounting, it also facilitates proper cable management for routing interconnects along the recesses with the aid of factory-installed attachment clips.

	The remote is a tradeoff between versatility and ease of use. (click for larger image)

Toshiba has shipped a higher-end controller which comes with multifunction capability for this Regza. Besides standard TV adjustments, it also supports video playback for the company's DVD players and settop boxes. While the matching black-and-silver remote are decked with well-spaced buttons and a large five-way navigation pad, we found these a bit unresponsive and too stiff in general. The lack of dedicated input, volume and channel buttons also added to our woes, hindering ease of use.

Fairing better is a well-structured software menu paired with a graphical user interface. Nested within the five submenus are a suite of video, audio and power settings which are more than adequate to customize the panel's operation. That's besides a group of specialized variants for configuring picture-enhancement functions, bass and treble tunings, among others. Just in case you need help deciphering some of the technicalities, Toshiba has also bundled a well-illustrated 30-page user manual for easy reference.

Features
While its 47-incher sibling carries a full-HD badge, the 32WL68E comes with a lower-resolution 1,366 x 768-pixel LCD panel out-of-the-box. At first glance, the rated 1,000:1 contrast ratio may pale against the competition, but Toshiba is probably being less number-minded here, favoring an average over dynamic value. This is matched by a competent 500cd/m2 brightness, wide 178-degree viewing angle and fast 6ms response time. The latter pretty much guarantees a ghosting-free picture ideal for sports programs and action movies.

The 68-series is also the first new-gen Regza LCD TVs featuring its latest proprietary Meta Brain Pro 100 picture-processing technology. This 100Hz scanning system doubles standard picture refresh rate resulting in smoother motion reproduction as well as eliminating video jitters. To supplement the image processor and minimize users' guesswork, Toshiba has also thrown in an automated light sensor for on-the-fly brightness adjustment to maintain consistent picture quality under varying lighting conditions.

	Two 1080p-ready HDMI terminals for the ultimate in connectivity. (click for larger image)

On the audio reproduction front, you will get a streamlined Jet Slit speaker system complete with dual 120mm woofers and twin 33mm tweeters. This is powered by a 15W amplifier and optimized with SRS WOW audio enhancement consisting of SRS 3D, FOCUS and TruBass--the former is said to restore spatial cues of audio tracks lost in recording and playback processes. For the ultimate bass delivery, the 32WL68E is equipped with a variable woofer jack for channeling low-frequency signals to an external powered subwoofer.

Connectivity junkies will appreciate the wide selections of input jacks available on this Toshiba flat panel. Most notable is a pair of HDMI terminals future-proofed with 1080p (50 and 60Hz) compatibility and dual 1080i-enabled component-video sockets. For computer users, there is also PC input supporting up to five different video resolutions, inclusive of a 1,280 x 768-pixel widescreen-centric version. Rounding it up are two sets of composite A/V and S-video inputs for low-definition videos and legacy playback boxes such as VCRs.

Performance
We got the Regza up to speed after a smooth round of SpyderTV calibration, hooked up to our reference Pioneer DV-969AVi DVD player and Humax HD settop box via Monster cables. Tuning into the local MediaCorp standard-definition broadcasts, we were greeted with relatively grain-free pictures accompanied by vibrant colors and occasional 3D feel. That said, there was also light dot crawl detected in a number of instants where high-contrasting colors were rendered onscreen.

Despite its modest contrast rating, the 32WL68E aced through AVIA's grayscale tracking, resolving all level of blacks much to our surprise. It did, however, exhibit light red push during our run of color-decoding tests, which proved to be a no show-stopper with the handy six-hue adjustment. The Regza's DVD playback also got our nod of approval, characterized by sharp contours, excellent shadow details and natural skin tones. We were particularly impressed by the rich saturated colors reproduced onscreen for animations such as Finding Nemo.

Playing back native HD materials on the 32WL68E brought the already impressive picture quality to a whole new level. Not only were the visuals stunningly detailed and clean, depth of field was also aplenty in most clips from an HD generator. The Regza also handled 1080i video downscaling and the fast-paced 720p Xbox 360 Ridge Racer Six exceptionally well. Scaling artifacts were basically non-existent, while eye-candy graphics were dished out in solid fidelity even in fast-panning sharp turns.

	Sharp text at the expense of black side bars. (click for larger image)

To achieve a near 1:1-pixel mapping for the PC interface, we supplied a 1,280 x 768-pixel signal from a Compaq V2000 laptop, with text turning out softer than expected. Disabling scaling boosted sharpness, but at the expense of black bars flanking the sides. As expected with most streamlined speaker systems, bass notes were a bit on the lighter scale. This was, nevertheless, offset by smooth vocal and reasonably extended treble, thanks to the pair of dedicated tweeters. Soundstage, on the other hand, was acceptable with fairly accurate stereo imaging and a wide spacious soundfield with SRS 3D engaged.

The 32WL68E's picture quality is without a doubt, one of the best among its class. However, given the influx of sleek-looking panels with souped-up aesthetics such as the Samsung's R7, we can't help but lament on the less-than-impressive styling for this new flagship series. Notwithstanding its appearance, Toshiba may just have a strong contender for this festive session if the panel is priced affordably.