Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba 42XV555 DB - 42" Widescreen 1080P Full HD LCD TV - With Freeview

Great looking T.V, the gloss finish frame is great and slim, when watching the TV its not very prominent making you just see the screen when viewing.
The picture quality is good, very clean and crisp,you can change the colour settings to your own, easy done via the menu bottons.Some motion blur was only noticeable on analogue viewing but none via digital.
I have just viewed Van Helsing on H.D disc and the quality was to die for.
Sound quality was good and again you can change easy to your prefered mode,the 20 watt speakers give a good volume.Tuning for digital tv was very easy and quick, there is a good on screen programme/information guide which can be viewed well in advance. Good choice in format viewing from full screen to cinema screen.
My only disapiontment was though there are ample connections, 1 of the HDMI inputs(there are 3 intotal) is in a side panel along with the s-video/audio inputs, while this is good for easy access, it does not look appealing when viewing the tv at certain angles (right side mostly)as you see the cables sticking out at the side(a good 2-3cm out). As most of my external equipment is HDMI compatable i will be using this 3rd input, it also stops you from placing the tv flush against anything, e.g a wall.

Buyer do please note as stated by another reviewer this model comes with a black stand unlike the model 503 which has the same price tag and specifications comes with a silver stand. The black stand is more classic,all smooth and shinny, fits in better with the tv frame.
DO BUY THIS T.V

I wanted to comment to allay any fears about hanging this TV on the wall as there have been suggestions that it cant be done with cables in the rear, I have used 2 x scart and 1 x HDMI output from the back of the tv and have hung it on the wall using the wall hanging kit on offer on amazon with it. The HDMI cable is not a worry as it so small but the bigger, bulkier Scart cable fits in perfectly snuggly behind the TV given the fact that the input area on the back of the TV is counter sunk and the depth of the wall hanging kit so please dont let this put you off. I guess the reason the 3rd HDMI slot plus a few others is on the side of the TV is for convenience if you wanted to temporarily link up a games console or something (think drunk Wii night!!)you dont need to remove the whole TV from the wall.
What a fantastic TV with a bargain price tag (£619.99 at purchase plus free DVD upscaler and wall hanging kit for £15) very very pleased and would highly recommend this to anyone!
(please note - cables must all be purchased seperately)

Just bought this TV after trawling through different websites and reviews, looking at other brands. Didn't really think about Toshiba until we started looking, but having found good reviews for other models plumped for this, partly because the price was good. We paid £670 for this online, and considering we saw it for £899.99 in a high street shop I think we have a bargain. The other reasons were because of good reviews (like I said) and because of the looks and spec. Regarding the looks, in my opinion this is one of the best looking sets on the market. The frame, although not as sleek as Toshibas' picture frame models (which were a bit out of our price range) compared against other brands was the sleekest we saw, and with the gloss finish really does look the business. I'm glad we went for the 42", cos we did toy with the 37", I suppose it depends on the size of your room, but it takes up less space than our old 32" box and makes a big difference to the size of text etc. You can fiddle about with the picture and sound settings until your heart's content, and both are fantastic when you find your desired levels. There's also Auto Contrast which adjusts the brightness to suit the current light level of the room, which is a nice feature. Sockets galore, including 3 HDMi's and 2 Scarts, amongst others means there are plenty of connection options. This model is the 1080p HD version, for the full HD experience. I would advise anybody looking at HD TV's to go for this. As far as I am aware this is top spec at the moment, and although the only HD device we have is the XBox 360, for now, it should be a good investment for the future. And what a difference it makes to the 360! Everything is so much more clear and defined, the gameplay experience is vastly improved, and we picked up a HDMi cable, which works perfectly well, for a tenner. Don't be conned into buying over expensive cables because of the sales speil. Overall we are very happy with the purchase of this set, and highly recommend it.

Toshiba 42XV505 / 555 DB - 42" Widescreen 1080P Full HD LCD TV - With Freeview

I virtually never write a review for anything I purchase, but this is a true exception.

Firstly, I've just come off a long stint with a Samsung 32" HD ready and to be fair, I loved it, except for overly black pictures when playing Xbox and ps3.

This Toshiba is mind blowing... yes things are still very dark playing console... HOWEVER... you can actually see perfectly what is in the dark areas - the dynamic range is simply breathtaking.

Watched a 1080p blue ray and nearly died of happiness.

Are you guys following me on this...? Mr. Moan-a-lot seems to be unable to moan.

Ow, ow, actually there is just one teeny tiny thing. The optical out on the tele is not a pass-through... it only outputs the DTV audio, so you'll still need a switch box if your amplifier can only take 1 optical in.

I would never give 5 stars if they were not deserved.

Picture 4
Sound 3.5
Flexibility 4
Aesthetics 4
Value 5

The picture of the Toshiba 42XV505DB 42" LCD HDTV is a mixed bag.
I watched the 505DB with a blue ray DVD player and I was flabbergasted. The quality of the image, it's speed and detail were really impressive. With this kind of ancillary the TV really delivers well beyond it's budget.
With regular DVD the picture is good and responds quickly, showing keen detail.
With a regular analogue input the picture is highly changeable (the quality of the signal is the issue here). Pictures can range from good to intolerable. HD inputs are naturally excellent, whilst poor quality transmissions result in a blocky and grubby image that is distressing. A lot of time has to be spent adjusting the colour, contrast and brightness in order to get the best from this set; the factory presets are clearly designed for the showroom and result in gaudy and unrealistic colours. Even when correctly adjusted, skin tones are a little ruddier than normal and the greens are slightly lacking in vibrance; at this price it is utterly forgivable.
The sound is reasonable and I was surprised at the richness of the bass given the small cabinet size. I found the sound to be lacking in midrange clarity, and at higher volumes the cabinet will vibrate unpleasantly. It would be wise to connect this TV to an amplifier (thus resolving the lack of midrange clarity). Ultimately, the extremes of bass and treble are lacking, but this is TV, not Hi-fi.
The 42XV505DB offers a variety of inputs and outputs and will allows connections to 3 HDMI sources, 2 SCART devices, S-video, RGB phono, and a PC input. Sound connections are via phono sockets outputs (fixed and variable), as well as 3.5mm jack. I'm confident that 99% users will have all the connections they need.

Conclusion:
A 1920 x 1080 resolution 42" LCD TV at this price is astounding. It's not perfect and needs time and effort to set it up correctly, but with care and attention it is possible to get a more than respectable performance. If you want a big LCD TV and are not rabid about ultimate detail resolution, and absolute colour representation then this offers a lot of milk for little moo. If you are looking for minimal compromise TV then keep looking, but if you want big value, big screen TV, then you would do well to check this TV out. At £600 on Amazon, 42" TV has never been easier.