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Let's see. What we have in the 35WP26 is Toshiba
manufacturer of some of the best large-screen tubed TVs available
working its magic on the cutting-edge AV dream ticket of plasma technology.
Sounds good, doesn't it? Especially when Toshiba claims to have designed the
35in 35WP26 from the ground up to be a totally domestic toy.
Description
Tucked under what appears to be a fairly normal looking
screen is a weird but strangely attractive chunky, curvy stand that also just
happens to have a tuner and AV connections built into it. Sort of like an
external AV box, only, er, built-in. It's worth pointing out too that the
unique 35in screen size has a very comfortable feel to it. Hopefully, more
companies will follow suit.
Connections
Toshiba hasn't let us down, with not one but two sets of
progressive-compatible component video jacks, alongside three Scarts, though
only one of these can take RGB. Other highlights include a 15-pin PC jack and
subwoofer line out.
Operation
If you can handle a normal Toshiba TV then you can handle
the 35WP26. Its onscreen menus have been transferred directly from Tosh's TVs
and are very intuitive and accessible.
Distinguishing features
There are no particularly remarkable features that we
haven't covered already, just a couple of screenburn nobblers, horizontal
picture resizing and shifting, and a bass booster to set it apart from the
field.
Picture
Another day, another 'borrowed' picture engine. As with
Sony, Toshiba has drawn on Fujitsu for the plasma technology in the 35WP26.
Initially, though, it looks like Tosh has worked wonders with this borrowed
heart. Particularly gratifying after the Sony model is the black level
response. There's enough depth and detail response in shady areas to give
movies a real cinematic lustre. What's more, this darkness is achieved without
much of the plasma side effect of grey dot crawl. A knock-on effect of this is
that colours are vibrant and solid, too; though an ever-so-slightly greenish
tinge to the white balance doesn't suit flesh tones as well as it might.
Following on from the initially positive first impressions,
though, the occasional complaint creeps in. The main offender is noise, with
grain, solarisation, a generally 'lively' finish and even occasionally vertical
lines all apparent from time to time. Most of these are addressed by the TV's
noise reduction, but only at the expense of much increased softness. The other
little glitch is rather overt glowing over bright colours during camera
pans.
Sound
A surprising amount of bass grunt provides a strong
foundation for an aggressive sonic performance. The Tosh handles all but the
most extreme action movie moments with clarity and aplomb. If only ordinary TVs
were as consistent sonically as plasma screens appear to be!
Conclusion
The 35PW26 is a great concept very well realised. But you
can't help but feel that its performance might have been even better still if
Toshiba had been willing to place a home-grown plasma panel in the centre of
things. |
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