Audio Video News

When Toshiba unveiled its flagship SV670 series of LED-backlit LCD TVs with local dimming at CES last January, all who saw it eagerly awaited its availability. Six months later, that wait is nearly over—the company announced at the CEA Line Shows today that it will ship this month with two sizes: 46 and 55 inches ($2300 and $3000, respectively).

Toshiba decided to go with white LEDs rather than RGB clusters for a couple of reasons. According to the company, RGB LEDs tend to be oversaturated, which is fine for an expanded color gamut like xvYCC, but since there's no commercial content being produced with this gamut, there's no need for it in a TV. Also, RGB LEDs tend to age at different rates, so the grayscale can change over time.

What about edge-lit versus backlit? Edge lighting allows thinner cabinets and costs less, but backlighting exhibits better uniformity and allows local dimming for deeper blacks. Also, a conventional cabinet depth can accommodate higher-quality speakers for better TV sound.

The SV670 features pseudo-240Hz operation (120Hz with backlight scanning), a 14-bit video processor, and Resolution Plus upconversion that has been improved over last year—which is quite a feat, since I thought last year's version was superb. No Internet connectivity will be included because Toshiba wants to let that market settle down a bit before jumping in.

Click here for more coverage of the CEA Line Shows.