Toshiba 46LX177 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV

Toshiba’s Cinema Series has produced some of the best looking and high performing sets for the HDTV market. The 46LX177 46″ 1080p LCD is a part of this series, and same as the other members of this series, is something that would no doubt impress a lot of users.

You may notice that we have been talking about sets that features 120 Hz display component. The 46LX177 is no different. This HDTV has been labeled by Toshiba as a 120 Hz monster and includes other features such as ClearFrame; the increased color gamut, ColorBurst; and the 14-bit internal digital video processing, PixelPure 3G.

Out of the box, the Toshiba set features a two inch glossy black bezel. Its a pretty common design so there’s not a lot to be amazed of here - its just a black box. The 46LX177 measures at about 45″W x 28″H x 5″D and weighs 77 pounds. It comes in with a swivel stand which allows you some room to reach for whatever cables you have at the back.

Its connection panels are located, of course, at the back and includes three HDMI 1.3 compatible inputs, two Component (YPbPr) with matching stereo Audio Ins, one Composite (with Audio), one VGA (15 pin D-Sub) and an S-Video. Also included is an input for a wired remote control receiver. One set of L/R Stereo Ins are included, which is also the audio connection if you are hooking your laptop or PC up with a VGA cable.

Now comes the surprising part. Most HDTV sets in the market gives you all these standard inputs. However, the 46LX177 includes another input that is quite surprising. Beside the HDMI inputs is an Ethernet port, (RJ 45), that allows you to connect to your home network. I know some sets already have Wifi that let’s them connect to the internet/home network, and you would even say that its a bit “low-tech” to have wired connections when people are going for wireless convenience. But still, wouldn’t it be great to have these options? I mean just like a laptop or a desktop, you have an option to go wireless or just plug-in your available network cable.

This TV is great as an entertainment system. I said this cause the 46LX177 cannot only display movies/TV, but can also display JPEG pictures. Its Toshiba Home Interactive Network Connection or THINC lets you access JPEGs and MP3s located on your hard drive and play them back through the TV. Toshiba has also implemented a way to read emails on your TV. But that’s about it, letting you browse through the internet is a bit too much, but who knows, maybe soon that time will come.

As far as performance goes, the sets image quality needs a bit more tweaking. It doesn’t give you the out of the box perfection as other TVs have. You can fine tune its pictures with settings such as DynaLight, Dynamic Contrast, and Static Gamma.

Adjusting these settings will definitely improve the TVs black levels. Of course, they are not the same as plasmas but its respectable overall. Video images then becomes really good. The detail is 1080p sharp with rich colorful images.

You can also use the set as a computer monitor. To do this, you have to find a PC with a DVI Output, which you can connect to an HDMI Input on the TV. Then you should be able to display full 1080p resolution if your video card can support it.

Overall, users will appreciate the provided tools and features on the 46LX177. You do however need a little bit of tinkering with the settings for you to get the best picture quality you desire from this TV.

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