Toshiba 55UX600U 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV with Net TV (Black Gloss) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was a little leary of buying this because of other reviews on the net, from professional critics. However, none of them hold water. This is a fantastic HDTV, and the extra features with internet access make it perfect (pandora radio, even youtube). The picture is excellent from any angle, multiple inputs allow connections from any source. One thing that isn't mentioned is that the set will turn itself off after four hours if there's no input, that is set as a default. It was purchased for my elderly mom, and she loves it. Oh, and it's only a couple inches thick, and so protrudes from the wall even less than a picture frame!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Toshiba 55UX600U 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV with Net TV (Black Gloss)

Enjoy a stunning picture bursting with color and clarity as well as a wide variety of on-demand entertainment with the 55-inch Toshiba 55UX600U HDTV with LED backlighting (54.6-inch diagonal screen size), which features a 1080p Full HD resolution. The stunning 3M:1 dynamic contrast ratio LED backlighting produces a clearer, crisper image and is supported by Toshiba's CrystalCoat high contrast screen coating and AutoView ambient room light analyzer. It also boasts Toshiba's ClearFrame 120Hz feature, which doubles the video frames from 60 per second to 120 per second to virtually eliminate motion blur--making this a perfect set for watching fast action movies and sports.
Toshiba's Net TV provides on-demand entertainment from such Internet sources as VUDU (with over 3,000 1080p HD movies) and Pandora for streaming of personalized music channels. You can connect the set to a wired home network via the Ethernet port, or connect to a Wi-Fi network using an included Wi-Fi adapter.

This UX600U Series HDTV provides a number of convenient home entertainment options and key picture quality features, including DynaLight dynamic backlight control for deeper black levels and four HDMI digital inputs for simple high quality connection to cable/satellite boxes, DVD players and more. Plus, the HDMI ports feature fast InstaPort switching for quick changes from one source to another. With the Gaming Mode function, you'll experience reduced game control delay and improved reaction time--perfect for PC gaming--and the Photo Frame capability with Auto Slide Show enables you to display slideshows of your favorite images when not watching TV programming.

Offering an ultra-slim Air Lagoon design that's less than 2 inches deep, this UX600U Series HDTV also features MP3 playback via the integrated USB port, a PC input, a removable stand, and Energy Star 4.0 requirements.



Toshiba Net TV
Enjoy a new level of on-demand, Internet-based entertainment with the UX600U's integrated Toshiba Net TV capabilities, which includes a wide variety of entertainment and social networking applications. It provides access to VUDU Movies, which offers true 1080p HD, 5.1 surround sound and gives you access to over 3,000 HD movies on demand. And you'll be able to listen to streaming music from Pandora.

Additionally, video and photo services such as YouTube, Flickr, and Picasa Web Albums let you share content with friends and family wherever they live. News services including the New York Times, AP, National Weather, and more, provide up to the minute information about the world around you. And, the customizable Ticker available at the bottom of the screen allows you to keep up to date with information from your Facebook friends and Twitter feeds as well as News, Weather, or Stocks.

In order to provide simple and instant access to the Internet, the UX600 Series comes equipped with its own Wi-Fi adapter (compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n networks), delivering the latest content right out of the box and eliminating the need to purchase additional accessories. You can also connect to a home network via a wired Ethernet port.

Key Features
1080p HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels)
PixelPure 5G 14-bit internal digital video processor increases gradation levels (4,096 levels, or 16x that of a standard 8-bit processor) to create smoother, clearer images.
ClearFrame 120Hz screen refresh rate virtually eliminates motion blur, making this HDTV a great choice for fast action movies and sports. Toshiba's ClearFrame 120Hz system doubles the frame rate of an LCD TV from 60 frames per second to 120 frames per second using superior Motion Vector Frame Interpolation technology.
Resolution+ super resolution technology upconverts and enhances 480i/p and 720p input signals for a more detailed picture.
CrystalCoat prevents ambient room light reflections from washing out the television picture, creating up to 30 percent better contrast in bright rooms and allowing you to enjoy a deep, high contrast picture in all lighting conditions.
AutoView helps ensure an ideal image at all times for the day by combining an ambient room light sensor with incoming video content monitoring. AutoView automatically sets most of the TV picture parameters for you.
DynaLight Backlight Control utilizes advanced image processing to monitor the brightness of each video frame, and adjust the backlight intensity accordingly. This precision creates seamless transitions with deep blacks for increased detail and depth analysis.
Photo Frame capability allows this HDTV to act as both a TV and a digital photo frame. You can showcase your favorite memories as a clear, crisp slide show on the high-resolution television screen--all controlled with just the TV remote.
Gaming Mode takes the gaming experience to a new level by reducing game control delay, thus giving the player improved reaction time and a more realistic playing experience. This is great when used with popular gaming consoles, or with PC games using the TVs PC Input.
Built-in ATSC/NTSC/QAM digital tuning allows for tuning of standard cable channels as well as off-air digital broadcasts, in addition to digital "cable-in-the-clear" broadcasts.
Native Mode restores the size of the picture by the 3-5 percent that is generally lost during the normal over-scanning that occurs on traditional sets.
Cinema Mode 24 fps (3:2 Pulldown): This HDTV performs 3:2 pulldown detection and reversal, too--a handy feature for watching progressive-scan movie programs in their native 24-frame format. To adapt 24 frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video, frames in the original movie must be duplicated; 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this duplication by removing the redundant information to display a frame-accurate picture.
Color Temperature Control enables you to adjust white balance to achieve the best television picture possible in any viewing environment, or simply adjust the picture to suit your personal tastes. The "Warm" setting delivers a redder image that is ideal for display in a dimly lit room, while "Medium" and "Cool" provide a progressively bluer image for the best picture as room light levels are increased.
Three TheaterWide modes are ideal for displaying HDTV signals as well as enhanced for widescreen television DVDs.


TheaterWide 1: Letterboxed image is digitally expanded 33 percent horizontally and vertically. Useful for reproducing Academy Standard (1.85:1) formatted software.
TheaterWide 2: Letterboxed image is expanded 33 percent horizontally and 42 percent vertically. Particularly of use when viewing narrow letterboxed images originally filmed in Panavision or CinemaScope.
TheaterWide 3: Letterboxed image is expanded 33 percent horizontally and 24 percent vertically. Can be utilized when displaying letterboxed images that incorporate narrow bands at the top and bottom of the picture.



MP3 audio and JPEG image playback via 2 USB ports or SD memory card slot
REGZA-LINK (HDMI-CEC) allows peripheral AV devices such as a DVD player to be controlled by the remote control.
InstaPort fast HDMI switching between A/V components: Typically, when you switch HDMI inputs, there can be a five or six second delay. With InstaPort, as soon as you select an HDMI source, it will connect in a fraction of the time.
Ethernet port for connecting to wired home network.
Bottom-mounted invisible speakers integrated into stylish Horizon bezel design (20 Watts total power; 10W + 10W).
Channel Browser allows you to easily scan through the last 32 channels you have viewed, with screen images for the last five channels displayed, by channel, by favorites, and by input, at the touch of a button.
Channel Labeling allows you to put station call letters on the screen along with the station numbers, so you always know what channel you're watching
Input labeling enables you to name the individual inputs to denote usage, such as "DVD Player" (instead of having them display as just "HDMI 1" and "HDMI 2").
Removable stand for wall mounting (200mm x 400mm VESA mounting pattern)
Tri-lingual onscreen menu (English, French, Spanish)
Dual band Wi-Fi adapter (802.11a/b/g/n) plugs into USB port (security options--WEP64/128, TKIP, AES, WPA/WPA2-PSK, WPS, None)
Warranty: 1-year limited warranty on parts and labor

Connections
HDMI: 4 (HDMI-CEC) with 2 ports on the side
Component: 1 (on the side)
Composite A/V: 1 (on the side)
RF (antenna): 1
PC input (15-pin, D-Sub): 1
Digital audio output: 1 optical
Analog audio input: 3 pair (for each component and composite video input)
Ethernet networking: 1
USB: 2 (side)



Dimensions
TV with stand: 52.87 x 34.96 x 15.59 inches (WxHxD); 62.8 pounds
TV without stand: 52.87 x 32.95 x 1.96 inches (WxHxD); 53.4 pounds
What size TV should you get?



What's in the Box UX600U Series HDTV, remote control (with batteries), dual band WLAN adapter (WLM-10U1), removable stand, cleaning cloth, printed owner's manual
Toshiba 2010 REGZA HDTV Comparison
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Which Size HDTV is Right for My Room?

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Onkyo HT-RC270 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I will preface this review by saying I am not a die-hard audiophile who's interested in the schematics of the circuit boards inside, and how discreet they are, and whether or not they use premium toroidal coils and all that other stuff. I merely like watching blu-ray movies, playing hi-def video games, listening to music, and making the whole experience sound good. So with that in mind if you're looking for an in-depth analysis of the output of this unit using reference loudspeakers that each sell for the price of a baby grand piano, you might want to search for a different review. ;)
It took a while for me to write this review. Mainly because this is one seriously complex piece of equipment. It's got more connections, more buttons, and more overhead with regards to setup than my home computer network. Don't let this scare you away though, it is an absolutely outstanding receiver. I'll try to relay the experience I've had with it so hopefully you can get some value from reading my wall of text review.
My setup:
I'm not using any spectacular speakers for this. I've got a somewhat hodge-podge of KLH for surround speakers, Panasonic for the rear channels, and a large sub I've had for years and don't recall the brand (it's a 10" sub though.) My main interest was putting together a system that would sound immersive, and not necessarily give a crystal-clear reproduction of the source material (again - not an audiophile, just your average listener.) This is why I didn't bother spending thousands on speakers, and chose to use what I had from my old 5.1 system. The receiver is paired with a Samsung 48" LED LCD TV. For Blu-ray and games I've got a PS3, as well as an Xbox 360, a PS2, and a Nintendo Wii. For cable I have a Comcast HD DVR. The TV, PS3, Xbox 360, and HD DVR are all hooked up with HDMI cables. The Nintendo is using RGB RCA connectors.
Ok with that out of the way, I'll move on to what I went through after unboxing this thing.
Initial setup:
Connections -
This is where the confusion starts. It's a 7.2 receiver, but it's has *more* than 7 channels that can be hooked up to it. However it can only output 7 channels at a time, and this is why it's labeled as 7.2. I believe the ".2" stems from the fact that it's got dual sub channel outputs, for people who think one subwoofer is not enough. Looking at the connections this thing has is intimidating. It's got an unbelievable amount. HDMI, component, S-video, composite, USB, 11 connectors for speakers (YES - ELEVEN!), subwoofer connections, low level audio outputs, antenna connectors, coaxial connectors, serial port connector, optical connectors, a CAT-5 cable input to hook the thing up to the internet/world wide web, and other connections that I don't even know what their purpose is. WHEW!
Tackling the manual clears some of these things up, to a degree. When you're making your connections you will notice that inputs are grouped according to their suggested purpose. An example is the Cable/Satellite section. It has an HDMI input, component video inputs, an S-Video input, composite video input, coaxial audio input, and two RCA inputs for audio (left/right). Not all groups have this many, and some have different options such as "Game" - it has an optical audio connection. This is for flexibility. You'll want to use the best inputs your device supports to get the best results, of course. It would be silly to have a nice DVD player with component output and optical audio and hook it into the receiver using composite and RCA audio connections. So with that in mind, stick to the best outputs on your devices, and you'll have to play around with what makes the most sense with your gear. I would highly recommend putting this all down on paper before you start plugging everything in, otherwise you'll wind up going back and shuffling things about when you find out what you were doing won't work.
The way the unit chooses which input to use is through the on-screen display in the setup menu. Inside of it you can decide which group uses which input. The caveat is you cannot do something like hook in a blu-ray player to the Game group's HDMI input, then use an Xbox 360 component output on the Game group's component input. One input per group. This is why planning ahead is important to avoid this mess. Hopefully this clears up a bit about hooking devices up. I don't want to go into more detail, because if I did this review would be more massive than it already is going to be!
MY RECOMMENDATION FOR SPEAKER LAYOUT: This is COMPLETELY subjective. You may find that your preferences differ. My goal was immersion when watching movies or playing games. You're "limited" to having 7 surround speakers active at a time. The receiver supports some very funky layouts and surround-sound encoding. The speaker positions it supports are: center channel, left and right, WIDE left and right, HEIGHT left and right, surround left and right, and rear channel (either rear left and right, or just a single rear speaker.) If you have a huge room and the money, there's nothing stopping you from hooking up every single output to speakers. Just remember - the system will only drive 7 powered channels at a time. The channels that are driven are decided by either you, or the source material you're playing. Since I don't have tons of money or a huge room to hook up all the speakers, AND from experience I've whittled down my speaker position preferences: I went with center channel, left/right, surround left/right, and rear left/right. This (in my opinion) offers the best experience and most immersion. When you play back media which supports 7.1, it sounds AMAZING. Stuff moves behind you. To your sides. And in front from left to right. You can literally hear things flying in a circle around you. I tried out the height position just to see what it sounded like... wasn't even really noticeable at all, and a complete waste. I have not tried out the wide left/right as my room doesn't have the space to support it.
On-screen menus -
I will touch on these lightly as there are simply too many menus, sub-menus, and sub-sub-menus. The most important ones are setting up the speakers, mapping inputs, and setting up the surround modes for each source. Start by setting up your speakers by going into the Speaker Setup/Speaker Configuration menu. Step through each speaker pairing and choose a frequency to cut off at, or set the pair to OFF if you don't have speakers in that position. Next go to the Input/Output Assign menu and step through each source you have and select the input it uses (this is where you choose, for example, if your game console uses the HDMI input or the component input, etc., depending on which input you plugged it into) Last you will want to set the Listening Mode Preset for each source. The last step can be confusing since there is a myriad of choices to choose from. I've typically found that for sources which can output different surround modes that selecting DIRECT for all modes is the best except for 2 channel signals - then it's up to your preference on what listening mode to choose. "Direct" allows the source material to select the surround mode to use, so you hear media the way it was meant to be heard. If you force a surround sound mode, the receiver does some fancy processing of its own to simulate the chosen surround sound mode, which will not be the way it was recorded. For sources that do not have multiple surround modes (for instance a VCR), it's up to your set up and listening preferences as to the surround mode you choose (my preference based on my set up is PLIIx THX Cinema for almost all sources that don't have the ability to play back in a surround mode.) I'd go through all of them while listening to your source material, and make your selection based on what you think sounds the best.
There are some other items, such as choosing how far apart your speakers are, and naming your inputs more accurately, but again trying to keep this review as minimal as possible here (too late!)
USE:
The remote. Lots of choices, and some odd groupings. There are two different groupings with regard to your sources. One group selects the input you wish the receiver to play from (Cab/Sat, Game, etc.) and the other chooses the mode the remote is in (TV, Receiver, etc.) The latter is so the remote can control the device. You can press TV for instance, and if you have a TV that can be controlled via the Onkyo remote, then you're in luck and can operate most of the TV via this one remote. The remote could be laid out better. Given how complex the receiver is, it's not too surprising the remote is so cluttered.
The cool factor. Look, you can hook the thing up to the web. Why would you want to do that? Because it supports streaming audio over the web, that's why! Whether you set it up to stream from your Windows PC, or directly off the web with Pandora/Sirius/V-Tuner, it's worth it. I have some very strange taste in music, and when I went on the web with the receiver using V-Tuner (which is free with your Onkyo by the way) I found dozens of obscure stations that played back exactly what I like. If *I* can find music on there that I like, I almost guarantee you that you'll have no problems finding hundreds of stations to listen to. It's simply awesome.
On screen display. For menus it's very nice to have them displayed on your HDTV instead of the tiny LED screen on the Onkyo. Makes menu options much easier to scroll through and select.
Video. Setting up the video can be confusing, especially when it comes to mixing HD 16:9 sources with standard 4:3 sources. All the different stretching and zooming modes to squish or pull a 4:3 source so it looks good on a 16:9 wide screen HDTV is a pain. I don't...Read more›

Click Here to see more reviews about: Onkyo HT-RC270 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver (Black)

If you\'re ready to take your first step into the world of networked home entertainment, let the HT-RC270 be your guide. This versatile A/V receiver sports a handy Ethernet connection that lets you enjoy streaming PC audio and internet radio in the comfort of your living room. When it comes to connectivity, the HT-RC270 handles virtually anything you throw its way. You get six 3D-ready HDMI 1.4a inputs (one on the front-side); 7.1-channel analog audio inputs for legacy components; analog RGB inputs for PC video; a Universal port for Onkyo peripherals; and a front-side USB input for Pod models and flash memory devices. Onkyo has a well-earned reputation for bringing advanced audio features to a wider audience. In the case of the high-value HT-RC270, that means low-jitter Burr-Brown DACs; lossless HD audio from DTS and Dolby; Audyssey MultEQ room-correction; and the expanded surround dimensions of Audyssey DSX and Dolby Pro Logic IIz. All of this connectivity and processing power earns the HT-RC270 the quality assurance of THX Select2 Plus.

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