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Toshiba has every area covered whether its business, home, or even medical, so we have come to expect big things from them when it comes to their LCD TVs. We wanted to check out their 29WLT66 to see if the small price tag was a true reflection of its performance.
Design
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Regza designs are rather ‘B’ class when it comes to design protocols, and if compared to a celeb, the Toshiba Regza 29WLT66 would have to be Jack Black. There’s no denying that it’s not attractive from the inside but the outer shell is somewhat dull. This matt black and grey design is littered with button labels below the very visible speaker which reaches the entire length of the TV. The stand has been kindly attached for you so there’s no need to get your screwdriver out. Dimensions include W 660 x H 534 D 274mm including the strand. The amount of visible screen is 66cm.
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Toshiba always provide an ample amount of features for sound, picture and extras to help you on your way. The 26WLT66 with 800:1 dynamic contrast ratio boasts a digital tuner as well as analogue, with an auto-tuner which kicks in automatically to tune in up to 100 channels for your perusal. For picture performance, Toshiba supply the Active Vision LCD and progressive scan to provide you with a clear and smoother performance. To enhance the picture once again, you can select preset picture formats depending on what you are watching. A great feature for those with remote control chewing children is the panel lock, this ensures all your picture presets don’t get tampered with. Other handy features include a 7-day electronic programme guide, giving you the chance to set reminders and timers for your favourite shows, this also comes with digital text too. At 26-inches, the 26WLT66 is a perfect size for the bedroom, and that’s why Toshiba have given you a sleep timer for when you just can’t keep your eyes open. Be sure to turn the sound down if you’re trying to sleep though, as the 26WLT66 has got terrific audio ability for such a small TV. Toshiba have given this LCD TV a 20 watt Nicam Stereo speaker backed up by SRS WOW Surround Sound and Bass Boost. The 26WLT66’s connectivity is rather backward in the general scheme of things. The reason for this is that they’ve provided 2 HDMIs which is fab, but then they’ve only provided one scart. Normally alongside the futuristic offerings of 2 HDMIs we would expect to see a minimum of 2 scarts, but not this time! Anyway, it’s got everything you need really, including component video, RGB scart, AV input (at the side), and PC input, so you can use the TV as a monitor. There is also a rear audio output and a headphone jack.
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After waiting longer than normal for the auto-tuner to do its business our optimism was fading rather quickly, however the picture performance put a smile back on our faces. Freeview pictures were an absolute pleasure to watch, the full-bodied, vibrant and realistic colours assisted to bring the picture right up close. We watched a episode of scrubs which contains sporadical fast motion scenes, but this didn’t phase the Toshiba 26WLT66. It handled motion superbly, in fact it was right up there with some of the top-end TVs. The standard definition performance lacked clarity at times, with poor black levels affecting the contrast noticeably. The 26WLT66 is fantastic with DVDs, we plugged in the Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S DVD recorder to see what it could do and we were very impressed. We popped in the colourful and testing old favourite Forest Gump to put this LCD to the test (very long test it was too), and it handled every area expertly. Each and every inch of the screen were filled with robust colours and clear contrasts.
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