Toshiba Regza 40XF355D review

Toshiba Regza 40XF355D Review

Reviewed by: Ian Morris

Reviewed on: 29 October 2007

Performance
We've mentioned all the positives of the slender bezel on this TV. Now its time to mention the problems that it brings. The most obvious issue is that the thinner chassis means the structural integrity of the TV is slightly compromised. This means that quite extensive strengthening has had to take place. It is this that has pushed the price up slightly.

Additionally, small bezel means less from for substantial speakers. This can mean weedy sound and a total lack of bass. Luckily, Toshiba saw this coming and asked for some help from sound specialists Onkyo. The 40XF355D has specially designed speakers to help improve the sound. We found that dialogue was pretty clear and easy to understand. Don't expect big bass, but there is at least a subwoofer output if you want to beef up the sound slightly.

We used a Jamo subwoofer in conjunction with the built-in speakers and were amazed at the overall sound quality. We'd advise that people who don't want a full 5.1 system consider either a 2.1 setup or adding a sub. It makes a huge difference to movies.

The good news is that the slim bezel doesn't affect the picture quality, which on our test discs was excellent. We loaded Transformers on HD DVD into our player and were excited to see amazingly sharp and vibrant colours. Our old favourites Serenity and Happy Gilmore also looked brilliant with  bright colours particularly showing up in Gilmore.

Upscaled DVD also looked good -- although after being spoilt by the amazing sharpness of Transformers, nothing could ever match it. The two demo DVDs we were using -- Twister and Mission: Impossible II -- both looked good. Although the original film grain on MI:II is very apparent on DVD, the Toshiba did well.

Of course, Freeview picture quality was the weak link here. The Tosh does a decent enough job with these pictures, especially once the backlight is turned down. We'd also suggest turning off all the picture processing and noise reduction modes. It's easy to assume these improve the picture, but that isn't always the case.

Conclusion
In truth, you are paying a premium for this TV over other Toshiba models like the 42X3030D, which is available online for around £900, and closely resembles the 40XF355D in terms of performance. In fact, for many people, the space saving and visual impact will make this TV worth the extra cash -- you'll just have to cut down on the fruit pastels for a while.

Still, the performance of this TV is excellent, and if you do decide to go for this screen, we don't think you'll regret it.

Got an opinion? You can discuss this review and the TV in our forums.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday