Recent studies report that a flat-panel HDTV occupies the number-one slot on everyone’s gift wish list. There’s no shortage of models from which to choose, and many seem indistinguishable. Toshiba’s Regza line includes models with an unusual feature, though: a built-in DVD player. Hook the 37-inch 37LX96 LCD TV/DVD player up to cable or an antenna, and it might give you all the entertainment options you want—with no extra components needed.

The set’s connection complement is fairly generous and includes a pair of HDMI digital audio/video inputs, so you can hook it up to a cable box or satellite tuner and a high-def DVD player. It does include a digital cable tuner, along with a terrestrial over-the-air analog/digital TV tuner, but the lack of a CableCard slot precludes (with most cable systems, anyway) reception of premium pay channels. Most of the connections are tucked behind a removable panel on the back. A composite video/stereo audio input occupies the right side.

I was pleased to find that the optimum picture settings I arrived at pretty much matched those provided by the Toshiba’s preset Movie mode, which includes reduced screen backlighting for a sensible balance of light output and good rendition of deep blacks. The Standard setting punches things up quite a bit, but not overly so, and the Sports setting proved virtually useless, with eyeball-searing brightness and woefully oversaturated colors. While the set does offer individual picture memories per input (a good thing), I would have preferred to have at least a couple of user-defined memories for each input rather than the single Preference setting offered.

Of greater importance is the provision for different color temperatures, with the Toshiba offering the usual trio of choices. Even at the Warm setting, however, the measured result showed it to be anything but, coming in at around 8,600 degrees Kelvin, giving a noticeably bluish tinge to bright whites. Surprisingly, the set doesn’t provide calibration controls that would allow me to adjust the individual primary colors’ drive and bias settings to lower the color temperature to the optimum 6,500 degrees Kelvin white balance. Since just about all modern high-definition displays provide easily accessible calibration controls, the omission is curious. The six-axis color-control adjustment that Toshiba provides works only within the color decoder function. It can’t improve the set’s basic colorimetry, and is best left alone. My color analyzer showed that the set’s blues are accurate in color but red and green are somewhat off the mark; that’s typical of LCD sets.

As do many other LCD flat-panels, the Toshiba provides adjustable backlighting, which lets me dial down the light output to a pleasing level that produces sufficient contrast while allowing for good low black details. At the lowest backlight setting, I measure 34 footlamberts, more than enough for a bright picture even in a moderately lit room. When I crank up the backlighting to its highest setting, the result was an incredibly bright 117 footlamberts—too much for regular viewing, but if you place the set near a large window that extra brightness may come in handy.

One of the set’s video processing functions—Auto Contrast—stands out as being truly useful. It does a very good job of increasing the low black details without washing out the picture. I leave the function on all the time, as it always improved the picture quality. The set also features various audio enhancements, including Dolby’s Virtual Surround, SRS WOW, and bass boost, but none elevate the resulting audio from the set’s tiny speakers out of the mediocre range.

Generally, the picture quality is good, with Toshiba touting both high bit video processing (which helps prevent noticeable gradations or "banding") as well as a speedy 8-millisecond response time, which helps prevent noticeable smearing of fast-moving picture details. Watching NASCAR racing in high definition, I notice no obvious smearing.

Thanks to Toshiba’s THINC network connection, the 37LX96 is home-network-capable via the RJ-45 Ethernet jack, which allows me to access JPEG pictures and MP3 audio tracks on my home PC. That is all it will do, however; I wonder why a rudimentary Internet browser was not provided.The internal DVD player, with a vertical slot tucked away on the left side of the screen, provides decent results, giving a good score on picture detail test patterns, and easily passing the grade in terms of color sharpness. The internal deinterlacing function works well for the most part, tripping up on torture tests from test DVDs but providing mostly jaggies-free results with both movie and video-originated program material.

Given that the set’s measured colorimetry is merely OK, and that calibration capability isn’t provided, I’m hesitant to recommend the 37LX96 as a primary HDTV display; many other flat-panel TVs offer more accurate rendition and more advanced control features. But in a bedroom or a den, the set comes into its own. It’s easy to use, it’s compact, and it can fit on a small tabletop or in many entertainment cabinets. And the fact that no extra components are required should make the 37LX96 a popular choice in small spaces.

DESCRIPTION
Tabletop LCD flat-panel HDTV with built-in DVD player on fixed-height swivel stand

DISPLAY CAPABILITIES
Widescreen LCD panel operates in both 4:3 and 16:9 modes. Accepts 720-line progressive and 1080-line interlaced HDTV, 480-line progressive and interlaced standard-definition signals. Includes analog and digital broadcast tuner with digital cable (unencrypted) reception capability

RESOLUTION
1366 x 768 pixels

CONNECTIONS
Two component video inputs, S-video input, two composite video inputs, RF input for antenna or cable, two HDMI digital audio/video inputs, four analog audio inputs, PC WXGA input via DB-15 connector, RJ-45 network connection, Toslink optical digital audio output, composite video output, two analog stereo audio outputs

DIMENSIONS
26.5 x 36.3 x 11.9 inches (hwd)

PRICE/CONTACT
PRICE: $2,199
CONTACT: 800.631.3811, tacp.toshiba.com