Toshiba REGZA 47ZV650U 1080p 47″ LED TV
| Brand: | Toshiba | ||
| Average Rating |
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The ZV650 Series takes LCD TV to the next level of picture quality, design, and features with 2009’s ZV650 full 1080p lineup, which feature a number of technological advances in both audio and video to make the most of your home theater experience. Fans of sports, video games, and fast-paced action movies will be wowed by the ClearScan 240 advanced frame rate technology, which greatly improves on previous 120Hz LCD panels for fluid, natural motion. The amazing high-definition picture is powered by the new PixelPure 5G 14-bit video processor, and the set includes Dolby Volume technology for a consistent audio level when changing the channel or when a program switches to commercial. ClearScan 240™ raises the bar for picture clarity with fast motion video, the Deep Lagoon™ design creates a new level of design elegance, and the long list of new features and nextgen connectivity are more than you could ever expect. Includes a PC Input for use as a PC monitor or gaming TV, and it also features a Gaming Mode to shorten the signal to screen time for faster game controller response. 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. Also has a fast 8ms response time CineSpeed LCD panel for cleaner high-action home theater images. A wide viewing angle ensures that you’ll have the best seat in the house, and four HDMI digital inputs for simple high quality connection to cable/satellite boxes, DVD players and more. And this HDTV, like all Toshiba 2009 TV models, meets Energy Star 3.0 certifications for reducing energy consumption by up to 25 percent compared with standard TVs. more info
Great Looking TV
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have wanted to get an HD TV for a while. I spent a weekend looking for one and saw this at a local store. I compared it to Sony, Samsung, LG and others and thought it had the best picture. The colors are better – clearer and more true to life, and it’s a lot less blurry than most TVs on the shelf. It provides a much clearer picture than regular or 120 TVs for less than true 240. Football, action movies and TV shows all look great. I don’t know how it would compare side by side with a true 240, but I’m not worried. It was on Amazon for less than the one store I found that carried it, so I ordered it. And it’s even cheaper now. The reviews I found online, such as CNET, were all favorable.
Delivery was free and took less than a week. Though the company Amazon had delivering it almost didn’t deliver it. I waited the day it was to show up and it never came. I searched my order for delivery company info, Googled them and called the local office. They had a driver bring it out at about 7pm, but if I hadn’t called, it would have been a few more days. That is the first problem with Amazon shipping I have ever had, but the first time it has not been USPS/UPS.
The box isn’t the cool, easy, lift off top. But since it isn’t real heavy, unpacking wasn’t too bad.
The TV is beautiful. The picture is great. I love the extra inputs. There are plenty for different connections. I can connect my laptop via HDMI and the picture quality is crystal clear. I had some problems with the remote at first, but I think it was just getting used to how it worked. What functions were active on what menu or setting.
I also purchased an LG Blu Ray home theater (LG LHB977) and they work great together. The LG has an extra HDMI input so my cable routes through it, simplifying the surround sound. And now that I have HD cable, I am more amazed at the picture quality. The Toshiba sound is great, but of course, not surround.
The TV supports plugging a USB device like an external hard drive into it and playing movies and videos from it. That function works very well. I have not tried using an SD card to view pictures.
I have had it for about 1 1/2 months and still love it. The LG Blu ray is pretty nice too. No complaints on it. Plus my wife likes the TV, so that is a great bonus. I love the TV and highly recommend it
New flatscreen
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We are very pleased with the Toshiba REGZA 47-inch LCD HDTV. It has a wonderful picture, great color, good size and is user friendly. Would recommend this product to anyone looking for an LCD HDTV.
Glossy screen
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I was seriously considering this TV until i saw it in bestbuy. It had a glossy screen which won’t work well with my den with lots of windows. If you’re in a similar situation, you might want to consider the previous series (46XV545U) which has a matte screen.
I don’t own this TV but I’m still giving it 4 stars because of past experience with toshiba TVs. Took off 1 star because of the glossy screen.
Very impressive
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Ordered on Monday night and received on Thursday with FREE shipping from TigerDirect! The box showed a weight of 50 lbs which is pretty light for a 47″ flat panel. The picture and colors are really excellent. I’m too cheap to spend $300 on a Blu player but Time Warner HD and standard DVD’s look very nice. Can I say the image is better then an LG, Sharp, Samsung etc?? I think with any one of those brands, I’d probably be saying the same thing. Toshiba quality is hard to beat and I really wanted the USB/SD card slot for showing pictures. I’ve played MP3’s from my thumbdrive and even viewed some AVI files. The JPEG picture display from my memory stick was excellent but their ‘browser’ seems to be a little buggy because now I’m having some trouble trying to get it to recognize the image files again.
PROS:
Not too heavy
USB/SD card slot (for JPEG, MP3, AVI etc)
4 HDMI
Swivel stand
Beautiful colors & picture
CONS:
may need a firmware update for the picture browser
this is not a ‘narrow bezel’ model
6-1-09: I’m a bit disappointed because the picture viewer from an SD card or USB flashdrive still does not work. I’ve contacted Toshiba and they say they are ’still working on it’. If you go into the store to buy one of these, take a thumbdrive (or SD card) and test this out first.
Refined again: You need to be geeky enough to handle this TV …
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Update 09-17-09:
Since Amazon did not let me return it for free, I’ll need to think of something else. Finally I’ve solved the black out problem by lowering UHF signal gain. It’s obvious that Toshiba did not put protective circuit there, which explains why my bedroom Sony TV does not have the same issue.
Well, you really need to be geeky enough to deal with the rough edges of this TV, and I’m glad that I did not waste my four years in college (my major’s EE) …
BTW, stars back to 4 again. I’m not a picky peon if my problems went away.
Update 08-07-09:
I think the TV had significant issues with its design.
I connect the TV to a UHF antenna, and every time I tuned to a specific channel (44.8 in Los Angeles), the TV simply black out. You have no chance to get out of it, yes, NO CHANCE. The TV remains black out until you RESET it, which means you have to be very careful about channel browsing, and all your stored information (e.g. favorite channels) are all gone.
I’ve attempted to work with Toshiba customer service to get this fixed, but they refused and insisted that “The signal is causing the issue with your tv and there is nothing Toshiba can do to fix this issue.” Great. Sony does not have this problem with the same antenna and location, and I’ll let you folks judge whose problem is this.
I’m trying to work with Amazon and see if I can have this TV returned. Meantime I’d recommend against this TV (Amazon does not allow me to reduce the star count, otherwise I’ll just give it 1 star since the tuner is flawed).
Old review:
Got my TV from Amazon today. The carrier (CEVA) is not too friendly compared to BestBuy guys. Since I paid Amazon some hundred bucks less and no shipping fee, that might be understandable.
If you dig previous reviews, people complained about thick frames, and it’s very true. These frames are thick and sturdy! The carrier accidentally swing the TV and one corner of TV hits the wall. Well, there left a hole in the drywall but the TV is not even scratched.
The screen glares a lot because I have two big (6′x8′) windows and plenty of sunlight in the room. I’ll need to use the blinds in order to watch TV in the day. The sound performance is, well, it produces sounds. It’s time to shop receivers and speakers for home theater experiences.
This TV has an USB port that plays DivX, XVid, MPEG-2 through USB port (unfortunately no HD contents). Yes the TV is capable of doing 1080p if you have an external source. Internal media player does not support HD video/audio codec of any kind.
I’ve connected a Windows 7 PC to this TV via HDMI, and, wow, my eyes are really open
The display is sharp and clear, and audio is also passing through without any problem. The performance of display is very good. Compared to my friend’s Sony and Samsung, my personal feel is that this TV is as crispy, if not better, as its competitors.
What I dislike about this TV must be its user interface (on screen menu and remote control), which is light years away from Sony. It’s not only confusing but also slow in response. The user manual is also written poorly. I’m glad I’m geeky enough to figure things out myself.
In short, this TV is pretty good albeit it has some rough edges. If you know how to configure things, it’s a pretty decent bang-of-buck choice of building a modern home theater.
Great picture and color
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I went to best buy to actually compare the latest generation Panasonic and Samsung Plasmas. I saw this TV and it really stood out as by far the best LCD color and picture. It is a crapshoot in the stores with funky lighting, inconsistent video sources, and callibration but this is what I saw. Much better than the Samsung LCD and LED tvs and the Sonys. In fact, it was better than the Samsung plasmas. The only thing that matched it was the Panasonic two top plasmas – the U series was about even and the G series plasmas had the best picture in the store, with the possible exception of the Pioneer Kuros, but it was just slightly better than this TV and the Panansonic has a cheap plastic looking frame design. I came home and had to look up the Toshiba, as I had never seen it mentioned in the reviews of ConsumerReports, CNET and HDGURU, my typical “advice” sources online. Off angle viewing seemed very good as well. There was no sound on, so no idea on that and I couldn’t tell on the glare – not as good as the Panasonic G series, but at least equal to everything else I saw.
Excellent TV, Great Value
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Having purchased a 32″ Samsung 720p LCD TV previously, I was all set to purchase another larger 1080p 120Hz model for our newly-renovated basement. Decided to do some cost comparisons, and found this TV on Amazon at a great price. Had everything I needed and more and was several hundred dollars less then comparable Samsung and other higher-end models. I grew up with an old Toshiba picture tube TV, which lasted many years, so I was not concerned about quality. Amazon contracted sale out to Crutchfield, which has great customer service. The delivery guy (who I believe worked for a Crutchfield sub-contractor) was delayed by mechanical problems with his truck and ended up having to work overtime on a Friday evening in the pouring rain to deliver my TV. Another company might have had its driver reschedule the delivery, but when the driver arrived he said that he knew I was waiting and he didn’t want to disappoint me. How great is that?
I’ve had the TV for about a month now and no complaints. Picture is great (especially with an HDMI cable purchased from Amazon for only $0.22 — do not pay full price for these cables at a big box store!). CNET review said the black levels were “subpar”, but go and look at the comparable TVs side by side in a store and tell me if you can really see a difference. Nintendo Wii also looks great, though not sure I notice any upgrade with the “Game” picture mode feature. Understand some of the complaints about the high-gloss screen and bezel design, but I think these features actually make the TV look great when you hang it on the wall, and for basement viewing there is almost no glare. A lot has been made about the 240Hz refresh rate effect of this TV. I was told by numerous people that since I like to watch a lot of sports I shouldn’t go for anything less than 120Hz. I figured 240Hz would be twice as good. To be honest, I’ve done a comparison with my old Samsung (32″ 720p 60Hz), and it’s difficult for me to see a real difference when watching baseball, golf, basketball, etc., so that’s something you’d want to consider when thinking about the price increase between 720-1080p and 60-120-240Hz TVs. The true difference I notice is in the brightness and crispness of the picture. And, although I don’t watch a lot of standard def cable, there is noticeable difference with the new TV — Toshiba really does a great job with this upscaling feature. One little annoyance was that there’s some kind of bug that causes the setup menu came up every time you turn on the TV, but that’s a very minor quibble, and Joe D’s June 8, 2009, review tells you how to fix this problem (thanks Joe!).
Overall, this is a great TV at a great price. As another reviewer said, it’s nice to see Toshiba back in the game.
Great TV for a great price!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I searched around and has narrowed it down to a Sony or Toshiba. This TV has met all my expectations. Several features that I really like. The effect of 240 Mhz motion flow. Also the TV up converts regular cable pretty well. The last feature I really liked is it compensates if you the TV goes to commercial that is a lot louder. For the price you can’t beat the picture and features.
Excellent TV but . . .
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I agree with all the positive reviews here, but if you need to use closed captioning, you might want to read Freiwil’s review of the 46-inch Regza at Toshiba REGZA 46XV645U 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Black He is correct in saying that you have to use the cable box’s closed captioning option because CC is not transmitted through the HDMI cable. I called Toshiba to confirm this, and the rep said this is true. I really hate that because the TV has many CC options for font, size, and so on that are not available via cable TV. Also, others have mentioned a set-up issue (the set-up screen occurring every time you turn on the TV) on sets built before a certain date. The Toshiba rep admitted this is a problem, but she mailed a card to insert in one of the slots on the side to update the firmware and avoid this problem in the future. For the price, this is an excellent buy. The technician who set up our TV said that he thought the Sanyo top-of-the-line had gotten around the problem with CC. I hope Toshiba can do that! However, the higher end Sanyo we priced was $1000 more than the Toshiba.
Excellect TV and value
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m a little puzzled by some of the comments appearing in other reviews regarding the TV’s size and bezel width. I don’t know what other folks are measuring, but the Lagoon style framing is not particularly wide and the TV measured with a tape measure is 46″ outside to outside horizontally, the diagonal is 47″ viewing area.
As a TV plugged into an HDTV cable box, the unit came up and set up in a couple of minutes on component or HDMI connection. The image is very bright, clear and colors are vivid. The CrystalCoat high contrast screen coating does a great job of killing reflections even in a room that has a good deal of natural daylight sreaming in through lots of windows. On HDTV, the screen is completely filled with no odd bars, lines or other distractions.
I’ve added a Sony 589W DVD and sound system with wireless rear speakers. It was inexpensive, but the wireless rear speaker sound is clean, no problems with other networks and other devices in the house degrading sound. Where Sony likes to ignore equipment manufactured by other companies, the Toshiba easily connects to and controls the Sony receiver. When watching DVD’s or TV the combination of the two perform admirably.
My TV was manufactured in March and had a firmware bug that triggers the quick set up dialog box every time the set is powered on. The work around is to disconnect the cable box, connect cale directly to the TV and let it auto program channels. After this, the TV will start without the quick set up prompt. I called Toshiba and they sent a firmware update on a USB drive that plugs into the TV and auto updates the firmware and also fixes the problem.
Consistent with other reviews, delivery took literally a few days by general freight, the package was in perfect condition as were the contents. We are very happy with the product and Amazon.
If there is one thing I would like to see added to the product, it would be an optional extended warranty. I know other companies offer these types of products, but there would be more peace of mind if offered by the manufacturer.
Quick’n Dirty
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I saw this TV at a local dealer. It was setup right next to Sony’s XBR6 46″ TV. By comparison the picture quality is very similar. If you disagree with this, you live in a fantasy dreamland where spending more money will magically make your TV watching experience better (at the expense of your new found inability to sleep at night). Sony is the crowned king of HDTV, specifically in their ability to upscale smaller signals (480i, standard definition). While I found the picture quality to be arguably the same as the Sony, the price was not. This TV costs about $400 less than a 46″ XBR6.
So, I bought this and took the chance on a TV that has relatively little information on the net about it (i.e. reviews from CNET etc). I bought it primarily for internet video streaming and playing a standard signal (480i) – with the hopes of one day upgrading to full 1080p in the future. The related feature in this TV is Toshiba’s “Resolution +”. It looks way better than standard def that I’ve seen on other TVs. Period.
Another concern I had was the 240hz effect that is NOT true 240 frames per second. There is 120hz with a back-light flicker effect that is supposed to help eliminate motion blur. The salesman did not offer a demonstration of this feature before I purchased the TV. So, I created my own: Using a computer as input through a component cable, I set up a windows screen saver – scrolling text. You can toggle this 240 clearview on and off to see the difference. I am happy to report that there is in fact less motion blur with the feature enabled. If you pay $250-$300 extra for a feature you had better be getting your moneys worth. I think having at least 120hz is right for the price. I cannot say whether the additional 240 clearview that this tv performs is anything to really shout about.
Beyond that, the quick’n dirty is that the picture quality is top notch for this generation (especially with a standard def signal). There are a number of features which make this TV a good buy. I consider those to be icing on the cake really. In summary:
PROS:
Top notch picture quality for the 2008 generation of LCDs
Top notch upscaling of standard def signals.
Plenty of connectivity and many fun features like the USB and SD card.
– NOTE: this TV will play DIVX movies (yah you pirates know what i’m talking about) straight from the USB input.
Very easy to use setup and menu.
Price is much lower than the name-brand alternatives.
CONS:
Glossy Screen
Thick Bezel trim
Bezel has this kinda ugly white pattern on it – who ever decided to add this needs to quit their job… ya you know who you are.
Wonderful
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have it for a month or so. It looks and works great. Installation was super easy, colors are fine right out of box to me. We watched several blu ray movies and picture is breathtaking. So far I am very happy with purchase.
First-rate for less!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve had mine for about a month now and can’t get home quick enough to watch it every day. Compare it side-by-side with mid-level Samsungs and Sonys, and you’ll have to agree the picture is every bit their equal, and it costs hundreds less. I’m kinda picky and have never had a TV that I could leave in “Automatic” picture mode before, but I do now. Reflections from the glossy screen are not bad at all in my living room, the sound is better than in my other LCD TVs, and recent versions of the firmware have eliminated the setup nag at turn-on (mine, built in May 2009, does not have the issue.) I’m not saying it is the best TV out there, but if you give it a fair look you may just take one home. Toshiba has become serious about playing with the big boys in LCD TV, that’s for sure.
Better than Samsung and Sony!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
i lucked out with the 47-Inch Toshiba REGZA 1080P 240Hz LCD HDTV
Delivered yesterday and Out of box HDMI Color and picture-perfect and not even yet calibrated.
2 yrs ago i bought a 40″ Samsung LCD HD with Best Buy’s 4yr warranty; good thing because the back-lighting started going out in shadowy patches. The GEEK SQUAD guy came ASAP and reported that the “accountants” decided it was more “cost-efficient” to swap the TV than fix it. I got credit for an equitable swap and went to store the next day. I was debating between another (larger) 46″ LDC Samsung or Sony when i saw a 47 “Toshiba REGZA 47ZV650U with Dolby sound. I was never happy with my Samsung audio so that got my attention. (the last Toshiba i had was a tape-deck! so this was a gamble) When i saw it had ClearScan 240(tm) with Backlight Scanning, i said, “I want that one.” (and paid the additional price)
So far my new Toshiba TV is fantastic! (i bought another store warranty. The old days of 20 year working TVs are long gone.)
Toshiba Back in The Race
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this TV from Amazon last week. Shipping was fast, less then a week (including the weekend). The TV was well packaged, but shame on Toshiba for not making it one of those boxes where you basically lift the top of the box off the TV and its just sitting on the bottom base of the box for easy removal.
The TV itself is amazing looking. I actually went to Best Buy and checked it out before ordering, and it was sitting in-between a bunch of Sony’s and Samsung’s and I actually thought the picture looked better then both of those brands. Though its hard to tell at these retail stores since they usually get paid to hook the expensive TV’s up to a Blu-Ray player and the cheaper TV’s up to the cheapest cable/source they can find.
So far I’ve used my Xbox 360, my Blu-Ray Player, my Wii and Digital Cable on this TV and everything so far looks awesome.
There is no lag at all while gaming. The TV has a mode for gaming, but honestly I couldn’t tell it made any difference because the games looked great on all of the modes.
HD Cable looked great, watched some hockey, no ghosting or jittering at all. I’ve never owned a 120hz LCD let a long a 240hz, so I can’t compare the two, but its definitely better then the old 60hz LCDs.
I only own 1 Blu-Ray movie (Beowulf) but watching it on this TV connected to my Sony Blu-Ray player it looked amazing. Regular DVD’s upscaled on this player to 1080p also looked amazing.
Standard cable looked ok, Toshiba claims Resolution+ up scales regular TV to higher quality, but I’m not really convinced. Though I really haven’t watched enough standard def to truly judge.
The TV is very light, I think it weights about 50 pounds with the stand. I love the swivel base and the connections all seem to be layed out nicely, I also like that it has both a USB and SD slot on the side. The deep lagoon border around the bezel is interesting it almost gives it a 3d look, I think it would look a lot cooler mounted on the wall, but mines just sitting on a stand.
My only real con about this TV is the size. Its a 47 inch but the bezel is large, bringing it almost to 52 inches when measured horizontally.
I’ve only had this TV for 3 days now, but I can honestly say it looks like Toshiba has finally gotten back in the game and launched a nicely priced and highly competitive TV to the market.