Toshiba Regza 37AV615DB

A little experimentation with the remote control allowed us to locate the relevant on-screen menu and it didn’t take long to tune into the various Freeview channels. However, we never did locate the Initial Setup menu and less experienced users who prefer to follow the instructions in the manual might struggle a little here.

Things soon picked up once we started to watch a bit of television. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of standard-definition Freeview channels on the 37AV615DB. This entry-level model doesn’t include the Resolution+ upscaling technology that Toshiba has been advertising recently, but it does a very respectable job when displaying standard-definition images.

Nondescript styling – not always a bad thing

Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson are obviously having a few sleepless nights at the moment, because the 37AV615DB really shows up the bags under their eyes. There’s also an adjustable sharpness setting, although we were happy enough with the image quality that we didn’t feel the need to use this at all.

Freeview channels displayed correctly, but the signal from our Sky+ box was initially displayed at its standard 576p resolution, which left it with big black borders on either side of the image. We were able to correct this easily enough by using the ‘4:3 Stretch’ option within the on-screen menu. However, the manual brushes over the various menu options and, again, we felt that there could be more help for the less-experienced users who are most likely to buy an entry-level set like this.

High-definition content also looks very good. Our HD tests revealed fine detail on the fur of fox cubs in a nature documentary and Spiderman swooped smoothly across the rooftops. The default colour settings could have been a little more vibrant, but the on-screen menu provides additional presets for colour temperature, such as ‘warm’ or ‘fleshtones’, as well as the ability to adjust the individual red, green and blue settings, if required.