LCD TV Reviews

Comparisons & Conclusion
At $3300, the Toshiba is $100 more than the Samsung LN52A750 and $700 less than the Sony KDL-52XBR4. Of the three, I prefer the Samsung with its better blacks, frame interpolation, connectivity features, and user interface. The Toshiba beats the Sony's effective blacks, and while their menu systems are very different, I don't particularly like either one. The Toshiba has a much thinner bezel than either of the others, which could be important for buyers with limited space.

There are many things to like about the Toshiba 52XF550U, including detail, color, shadow detail, and black level, the last of which was better than most LCD TVs can manage, at least with a low backlight setting. The 120Hz frame interpolation caused some artifacts in some test patterns, but not with real-world content. Then again, it didn't seem to help much, either.

On the downside, I was unable to fully calibrate the grayscale, though I didn't see any big problems in real-world material because of it. And while the color points were way off out of the box, the ColorMaster controls let me dial them in beautifully—just don't try it at home unless you have a colorimeter and know how to use it.

All in all, the 52XF550U is worthy of serious consideration.

Highs
Great color and detail
Excellent blacks and shadow detail
Color points can be shifted to near-perfection

Lows
Frame interpolation doesn't seem to do much
Standard-def processing not great
Grayscale can't be fully calibrated