Tour & Design

Front

Toshiba calls the design philosophy of most of their 2009 models 'deep lagoon', as the screen is designed to look like a pool of water. To achieve this effect, the front of the display is made from a single sheet of glass with a pattern of white dots at the edge that soften the edge. The glass sheet is surrounded by a metal rim. The design works well; it provides a softer, more diffused look than the conventional black bezel. Toshiba claims that the CrystalCoat coating on the front of the glass panel provides a wider contrast ratio in bright rooms and blocks reflections.

Back

Because the demo models were firmly attached to the wall, we were not able to get a photo of the secrets hidden on the back of the screen. However, we do know that there are 2 HDMI ports and a gaggle of analog video and audio inputs on the back.

Sides

On the right side of the display are the controls and a small selection of ports in a slightly recessed bay. These ports include a HDMI port and an analog video and audio input. The display is a little on the chunky side compared to some of the slimline models that we've seen recently; it is 3.94 inches deep and stands some way off the wall when mounted on it, as you can see from this photo of a wall mounted model at the CEDIA show.

Stand/Mount

We were not able to examine the stand of the 52XV648U, but the stand is the same style as the SV670, which is shown below. The rounded design complements the look of the screen and should do a decent job of holding it upright.

Aesthetics

The Deep Lagoon design of this screen is attractive; it has a clean, uncluttered look but also manages to look at little different to the standard black bezel design of most HDTVs. The dots around the edge look a little odd close up, but they defintiely help to soften the edge when viewed from a distance.