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The Toshiba 42XV635D is a relatively high-spec 42-inch HDTV, sitting one step below Toshiba’s flagship ZV Series sets. It sports a 1920 x 1080 screen and a suite of standard processing techniques, plus Toshiba’s much-hyped Resolution+ upscaling tech: some algorithmic wizardry that apparently takes standard def content, chews it up and spits it out in eye-slicingly sharp “near HD” quality.
Well, that’s the idea anyway. Resolution+ is essentially a sharpening tool for moving pictures, and its adjustable levels mean you can tailor its potency to whatever content you’re feeding the Toshiba 42XV635D.
The thing is, it only really works well with content that’s already pretty high quality. Chuck on a Blu-ray movie and Resolution+ will render it more pristine than it already is. Impressive. Flick the channel to UK Fossils TV and you’ll struggle to notice it having any effect on that fuzzy old episode of Terry and June.
Perhaps we were expecting too much, and in all other respects the Toshiba 42XV635D is a very capable 42-inch LCD at an astounding price. Black levels and contrast are decent if not class-leading, while motion is smooth (thanks to 100Hz scanning), colours are vivid and fast-paced games can be played without fear of ghosting artefacts on-screen. In fact, Resolution+ works well with games, adding an extra crispness to edges.
The built-in speakers are nothing special – certainly not good enough to warrant using the TV’s USB media playback abilities to listen to MP3s – but they don’t draw attention to themselves by distorting when bass levels get cranked up. They’re solid performers.
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There are four HDMIs for hooking up HD gear, plus component video, VGA and a couple of Scarts. The side panel also features an SD card slot and USB port for media playback of music, video and photos. Full DLNA capabilities would have been a nice touch, but given the price we can forgive Toshiba for not including them.
