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  • Introduction

  • Design

  • Front

  • Back

  • Sides

  • Stand/Mount

  • On-set Controls

  • Remote Control

  • In the Box

  • Connectivity

  • Performance

  • Contrast

  • Color & Greyscale Curves

  • Color Temperature

  • Color Gamut

  • Picture Dynamics

  • Resolution & Formats

  • Viewing Angle

  • Motion Performance

  • Screen Uniformity

  • Audio Quality

  • Power Consumption

  • Calibration

  • Video Modes

  • Software & Internet

  • Menu Interface

  • Other Interface Features

  • Instruction Manual

  • Conclusion

  • Photo Gallery

  • Ratings & Specs

  • Introduction
  • Design
  • Front
  • Back
  • Sides
  • Stand/Mount
  • On-set Controls
  • Remote Control
  • In the Box
  • Connectivity
  • Performance
  • Contrast
  • Color & Greyscale Curves
  • Color Temperature
  • Color Gamut
  • Picture Dynamics
  • Resolution & Formats
  • Viewing Angle
  • Motion Performance
  • Screen Uniformity
  • Audio Quality
  • Power Consumption
  • Calibration
  • Video Modes
  • Software & Internet
  • Menu Interface
  • Other Interface Features
  • Instruction Manual
  • Conclusion
  • Photo Gallery
  • Ratings & Specs

Introduction

Where does the Toshiba 50L2200U (MSRP $899) fit in this spectrum? Firmly in the middle. This is a TV that has no 3D or internet functions and just relies on its ability to display a picture. With that being said, we are happy to report that this TV is pretty good at what it does. When it comes to displaying a good picture, the 50L2200U does a fine job: color accuracy, motion performance, and screen uniformity are all done well. Even the viewing angle on this TV is not bad for an LED.

The 50L2200U does have some cosmetic issues: it's not the prettiest TV and the menu interface is also lacking visual appeal. Some technical shortcomings we noticed are the awful infrared signal that comes from the remote – it must be pointed directly at the IR sensor on the TV for your button presses to register – and some connections on the back of the TV that are hard to access. If you can get past these aesthetic and technical blunders, then the Toshiba 50L2200U makes for a good "basic" TV.

Design

Toshiba gives you more TV for less – size-wise, not feature-wise – with the 50L2200U. We've seen Toshiba get super-model slim with the 47L7200U, but that TV, their flagship model, is also $1000 more than this big hunk of plastic. The 50L2200U is not an atrocious-looking TV – it is merely an average-looking TV. This TV is thick both in depth and wide in bezel. The base it sits on is an uninspired rectangle that is completely function over form. There is a metallic-looking plastic strip underneath the bezel that adds a touch of class, but that's about it for anything interesting. With an MSRP of $899 for this 50-inch lumberjack, we can't ask for a whole more (or less).

Front

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Get yourself acquainted with that faux-metal strip below the bezel. The TV's infrared sensor is located towards the middle of the strip and if you don't point your remote directly at it, your TV won't pick up a signal. This is seriously annoying.

Back

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Sides

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Stand/Mount

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On-set Controls

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The on-set controls are located on the left-side of the 50L2200U. All of the basic buttons for controlling the TV are here and are easy to access in case you misplace your remote.

Remote Control

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Toshiba's little remote isn't the best that we've used. Some of the buttons are pretty small, like the menu and exit buttons, and accessing them in the dark is hard to do. The worst part about this remote is the problem with the IR sensor that we mentioned earlier. If this remote isn't pointed directly at the IR sensor, then the TV will not respond to your frantic button pressing.

In the Box

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The Toshiba 50L2200U comes with a remote, batteries, a quick start guide, a resource guide, and warranty information. There is no real "user manual" included – both the quick start guide and the resource guide are pretty bare.

Connectivity

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The 50L2200U has some basic ports, but there isn't much to see here. Toshiba included two HDMI ports, a USB port, a component input, a VGA port, an audio input and output, an antenna input, and an S/PDIF output.

We did have a bit of a problem with the placement of these ports. The lone USB port, the analog audio output, and the two HDMI ports are located on the left-side of the TV, which is great. What isn't so great is where the other ports are located, which is below the previously listed ports and facing down. This makes the component input, VGA input, audio input, antenna input, and S/PDIF output very difficult to access, especially since the 50L2200U doesn't swivel.

Performance

The Toshiba 50L2200U may not be able to take you into the third dimension or deliver cutting-edge streaming content via the internet, but it does produce a very good picture. There were plenty of positive things to say about this TV. The contrast was decent and so were the colors. The motion performance was pretty darn good for a budget TV with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The best feature we noticed on this TV was its excellent screen uniformity. Say what you want about this Toshiba's technical shortcomings, but it does what a TV should do: display a good picture.

Contrast

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The 50L2200U has a good contrast ratio of 2834:1. It has deep blacks that registered 0.08 cd/m2 and a peak brightness of 226.72 cd/m2 . While contrast doesn't mean everything for a TV, our color curves below show that this Toshiba transitions smoothly from black to white. More on how we test contrast.

Color & Greyscale Curves

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The colors on the 50L2200U are pretty good, with just the red curve being slightly problematic. That pesky red curve reaches its peak value too quickly and loses some of the transitional reds in the process. The greyscale curve, represented by the black line, has a great transition from black to white. More on how we test color performance.

Color Temperature

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The color temperature on the 50L2200U is admissible. The blue spikes on the chart are above the perceptible error limit, meaning that this Toshiba takes on a slightly cooler tone. More on how we test color temperature.

Color Gamut

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This color gamut is satisfactory. The greens are a little undersaturated and the blues are slightly oversaturated. The white point is off and is more bluish. The reds look pretty good, though. More on how we test color temperature.

Picture Dynamics

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The picture dynamics were great on the 50L2200U. This TV kept a consistent black level with an increasingly white screen and a consistent white level with an increasingly black screen. More on how we test picture dynamics.

Resolution & Formats

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The Toshiba 50L2200U has a native resolution of 1080p and displays all standard NTSC formats.

Viewing Angle

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This Toshiba's total viewing angle of 53° is about average for an LED TV. It's not quite as good as the Philips 55PFL5706, but it beats the Insignia NS-50L240A13 and blows away the Haier L55B2181.

Motion Performance

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For a budget-friendly TV with a 60 Hz refresh rate, the Toshiba 50L2200U did very well in our motion performance tests. Image blurriness, which we test by having a picture moving quickly across the screen, was not bad at all. Our line test, which involves vertical lines moving horizontally across the screen, produced minimal jagged lines – something that much more expensive TVs can't always do. Finally, there was very little color trailing that we noticed.

We were not able to test the 50L2200U's performance with motion enhancement on because it does not offer any.

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Screen Uniformity

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This Toshiba has a great uniformity. We test screen uniformity by viewing an all-black and and all-white screen on the TV. The all-black screen looked excellent – there was no light leaking in and the black picture was smooth. An all-white screen was bright and smooth, although there was a tiny bit of shadowing on the edges.

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Audio Quality

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The audio quality on the Toshiba 50L2200U was average at best. The two 7-watt speakers don't produce a very loud sound, that is until you turn on the "dynamic volume" setting. This setting nearly doubles the volume and makes this Toshiba absolutely scream. The real question is whether this screaming sounds any good and the answer is "not really." We don't want to say that the 50L2200U has bad sound, because it doesn't, but the actual quality is just mediocre. Mid-range frequencies, like voices, sound good but the higher frequencies, like monsters shrieking and rockets screaming, sound pretty bad. The bass is not great, either. Bass and treble can be boosted and while we didn't want the treble any higher, raising the bass levels helped the sound.

There is a surround mode, called "Audyssey ABX." Audyssey is actually a separate company that makes audio technology. This mode spreads the sound out, giving a slight surround effect with the requisite bass boost that many of these modes have. We did prefer the audio quality with this mode toggled on.

Power Consumption

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We noticed that adjusting the backlight on this TV did not change the brightness of the picture very much. What we mean by this is that having the backlight at 100 gave us a peak brightness of 226.72 cd/m2, while having the backlight at 44 only brought the brightness down to 200.83 cd/m2.

How does this apply to power consumption?

Having the backlight maxed will give this TV an estimated annual cost of $22.26, which isn't anything special. Having the backlight at 44 gives a peak brightness of 200 cd/m2, our minimum recommended brightness, gives the Toshiba 50L2200U an estimated annual cost of only $12.50, which is extremely cheap. You can't even take your significant other out to dinner for $12.50!

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Calibration

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Calibrating the Toshiba 50L2200U required a few adjustments. We had to play around with the contrast and brightness settings in order to get the best results for greyscale and color definition.

All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

Video Modes

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There are five video modes on the 50L2200U: dynamic, standard, movie, PC, and preference.

Software & Internet

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The menu on this Toshiba isn't particularly appealing, but it does get the job done. There are five menu categories: picture, audio, preferences, locks, and setup.

| Menu Category | | Description |
| Picture | | Has options to change picture settings like backlight, contrast, and brightness. You can also change the picture mode here. |
| Audio | | Has options to change audio settings like bass, treble, and surround mode. |
| Preferences | | Contains options for closed caption, the default language, and changing input labels. |
| Locks | | Contains options for blocking television content based on ratings. |
| Setup | | Has access to system information, a sleep timer, and the media player. |

We mentioned in our Tour & Design section that the remote has a weak signal to the IR sensor, which makes changing menu settings a chore if the remote is not pointed directly at this sensor.

Other Interface Features

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There is a USB port on the 50L2200U for playing music or viewing photos. If either of those activities strikes your fancy, rest assured that this Toshiba does them well. When a USB drive is inserted into the USB port, the TV will detect it and you will be prompted to view the files on your USB drive or continue with your TV-watching business.

Instruction Manual

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The 50L2200U comes with a resource guide and a quick start guide, although neither of them are very helpful. The resource guide explains what the remote does and how to connect your TV to different devices while the quick start guide explains how to attach the base and what each port is. Not included are a list of specs or any troubleshooting tips.

A manual for so many TV models, they have to be further categorized by type.

Conclusion

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We were impressed with the Toshiba 50L2200U (MSRP $899). This Toshiba produces good colors, has deep blacks, and gets modestly bright. It's also easy on the power consumption, which is a bonus since this TV's menu interface isn't so easy on the eyes. Aside from a few aesthetic details, the 50L2200U didn't give us much to complain about. There is the nagging issue of an unresponsive remote, but that was our biggest complaint with this TV.

For the relatively low price of admission – the 50L2200U can be found for around $200 less than its MSRP online – this Toshiba is a great investment for people who do not want 3D or smart features on their TVs. If using your television as a means to watch cable content and movies is your main criteria when looking for a TV, then consider the Toshiba 50L2200U.

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Ratings & Specs

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Meet the tester

Josh Fields

Josh Fields

Staff Writer

@reviewedtech

An enthusiast of all things tech, Josh is one of Reviewed.com's resident television experts. When he's not looking at bright TV screens in a dark room, he's probably reviewing a laptop or finding a new snack at 7-11.

See all of Josh Fields's reviews

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