Hands on: Toshiba Regza WL768 review

Toshiba Regza WL68 - 3D with added zing
Toshiba Regza WL68 - 3D with added zing

IFA 2010 will be remembered as the show where 3D TVs came of age.

The likes of Toshiba, Sharp and Philips may not have been first to market with their televisions but giving themselves a little time has meant that each company has come up with something pretty special.

And Toshiba's may well be the smartest of the lot.

The Toshiba Regza WL768 is the cream of the crop of Tosh's TVs this year and it is fitting that as it was announced at IFA, Europe's biggest tech show, it has been given something of a European flavour.

The TV has been designed by Jacob Jenson, who may not be a household name in the UK but on the continent he is treated like a design king.

Toshiba 3d

Jenson has created a traditional TV design – we've heard rumour discarded designs were somewhat more flamboyant – but with enough creative flair to make it stand out.

From the stand (rounded) to the flush screen/bezel combo, the TV is easily the most stylish Toshiba has released and thankfully the tech inside is suitably hi-tech to match the exterior.

Toshiba

Inside the WL series is LED Edge backlighting which can be enhanced when the 3D is turned on. There are two 3D innovations that Toshiba is packing in the TV. These are: Intelligent 3D and 3D Resolution+.

Having tech that adapts to whether you watch 3D or 2D content is a good thing, as you need a brighter screen for 3D to work properly.

Toshiba

Toshiba knows this so that is why it has added Intelligent 3D into the mix. It automatically optimises the TV screen's brightness and colour reproduction as soon as it detects a 3D signal. And in the demo we saw it did just that, making the image appear much brighter in a side by side comparison.

To make the 3D crisper, Toshiba has put its Resolution+ software into the TV. This analyses each single image and improves edge detail and texture in near-real time.

The results are subtle but it does make a difference.

Toshiba 3d

While it is the WL68's 3D capabilities which will make the headlines, there is another piece of functionality on the TV which is impressive – its web connectivity.

More and more manufacturers are creating online portals for their TVs but Toshiba has decided to slim down its online content to YouTube and the BBC iPlayer.

Both of these have been scaled to work on the big screen and are easily accessible from the TV's remote.

Toshiba 3d

Online content for TVs is set to explode, so it is good to see Wi-Fi connectivity on the WL series.

When it comes to other connectivity, there's more than enough ports on board. With four HDMIs, two USB, component, composite and even Scart you won't be left wanting.

There's also Freeview HD on board, so even if you have no set-top system to connect the TV too, you can get HD straight from the box.

Toshiba 3d

With such a breadth of features, it's surprising to find out that for the 55 inch version of the TV you will be expected to pay around £2,500.

Considering this is a good £2,000 less than the Samsung 9000 series, Toshiba has created a premium product at a very desirable device.

The Toshiba Regza WL series has a UK release date of October.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.