[CES 2012] Toshiba has announced a new Toshiba 7200 (and 6200) Smart TV that is truly the best that the company has come up with in terms of software, design, and image quality (at least, on paper). First, it is obvious that the design has gone to the next level as you can see it with the ultra-thin bezel, which Toshiba calls “bezel-less” design. I used to think that thin bezels did not matter so much, until I tested a TV with ultra-thin bezels. Now, the thick bezels seem very distractive… If you have a chance, check those out.Internally, the TV is capable of 240Hz, which is not really a record, but usually anything above 120Hz is a bit hard to notice. The extra framerate is usually used to smooth out motion (sometime too much, but you can tweak it), and provide fast 3D framerate. Note that Toshiba is using passive 3D, which means that glasses can be very cheap (<$15). In terms of absolute image quality, purists tend to prefer active 3D, but it requires more expensive glasses that need to be charged.
Toshiba’s Smart TV is DLNA, so it can stream from countless home media servers and other devices that it connects to, thanks to the built-in WiFi. The company has also added a number of “smart” features, like media guides, web browsing – which all are “classic” smartTV apps. Toshiba Tablets owner can also control this TV with their integrated infra-red (IR) controller. The DLNA tablet can also “push” content to the TV.
While HDTV is a very tough business, it’s nice to see Toshiba improve so much in just one year. The “bezel-less” design is a great idea, and we will play with the user interface when we have a chance.