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If you’re a film lover, then the 40ZF355D could very well be the TV for you, with it’s 120Hz picture mode and full 10-bit panel. Toshiba’s high-end TV should also appeal to anyone who wants a cool-looking set: its ultra-thin frame means it has a major wow factor — and it saves space.
We can hear your questions bouncing of the walls of the Intertubes. You want to know what a 120Hz panel can do for your movie viewing experience. Having this particular jacked-up rate means that the TV can do 5:5 pull-down. This is a complicated and incredibly geeky subject, but essentially, it should reduce film judder considerably without distorting the picture like some TV processing can.
The addition of the 10-bit LCD panel also promises better colour reproduction too, which is complimented by a mode Toshiba calls ‘Dynamic Gamma Curve Correction’. There’s also the ‘xvYCC Broad Colour Space’, which should add up to equal a lovely, colourful picture.
As you’d expect, you also get three HDMI 1.3 sockets, which support CEC for simple, one-remote control of all compatibly HD players.
As well as offering 1080p, the Toshiba also has a contrast ratio of 30,000:1 and Active Vision M100 HD, which is Toshiba’s most advanced picture processing mode. You also get something called ‘exact scan mode’ to stop the TV from overscanning, and you’ll be seeing every pixel on a Blu-ray movie mapped to an exact point on the screen. This is also a useful feature for people planning to connect a computer to their TV, because PC displays need to be much sharper to be truly useful.
Sound is handled by an Onkyo speaker system. This is critical in this TV: the smaller case means that there’s much less space for speakers than on a standard TV. At the front is a forward-facing strip of speakers for the high and mid-range sound. At the rear of the TV, some larger speakers handle the low-end sound. Bass should have more kick than many thin TVs.
The 40ZFF55 is getting ready to hit the market soon, with a list price of around £1,300. We’re pretty sure that it’s going to be worth the money, but we’ll be confirming our theory soon with a full review. -Ian Morris
Update: Read our full Toshiba Regza 40ZF355D review.
