After its C3030 series, Toshiba launches the X3030.  There is now Full HD, 24p compatibility as well as Active Vision video processing, involving several methods of image optimization which was already found on the C3030 line. In this article, we are going to see if Toshiba took advantage of this update to improve its performances especially in colors. The response time is ordinary at 8ms.

First of all, in terms of inputs we are on familiar ground with two HDMI, a VGA and YUV.  Naturally, there is an integrated digital TV tuner and all of this for a relatively low price compared to the competition. So does this Full HD TV have the best quality/price ratio on the market ? Are there other advantages besides its design and adjustable base?

What can we use this TV for?

With SD sources like digital television, noise is immediately noticeable. In order to avoid this grain, it’s necessary to step back a little. Aliasing can also be seen and none of the processing systems included on this model could entirely eliminate it. However, Toshiba did add digital noise reduction and it has to be set to low otherwise there are ghosting effects on objects in movement.

In HD, the situation is better and we can see a significant reduction in grain, especially in darker sequences. As for aliasing, it disappears and we can attest to the efficiency of the anti-reflective matte panel. As this model is not equipped with 100Hz technology (M100 system), artifacts are visible on fast moving sports programs like soccer. And in some scenes, the 42X3030 even showed slight banding. In PC use, this TV can support 1920 x 1080 in 24, 25, 30, 50 or 60Hz. Text is very readable and the "Zoom PC" option allows you to have a nice and full image exempt of overscan.

Unfortunately, colors have not improved and with a temperature of 13,000°K (for an average of 6000°K), images lean towards blue.  The delta E measurements make the situation even worse with an average of value of 7 (should be inferior to 3).  Black was measured at 0.6cd/m² and compared to the Sony KDL32D3000 which goes down to 0.07cd/m², we quickly resorted to the OSD to try and find a remedy.

Fine tuning this television

We are very familiar with this OSD (it hasn’t changed), however, we haven’t always been able find satisfactory settings in obtaining more natural colors – we stopped after four hours of trying.  So there is no miracle this time and we ended up adjusting the color temperature to warm, which brought this value down to 8300°K. We continue with another bad surprise; we discovered that all settings are the same for all sources. When we connected our Playstation 3, the 24Hz mode worked well, however there were still cuts in fluidity. When we know the capabilities of this brand’s HD DVD players, of course, we could have hoped for a little more.