Packed Set: Toshiba HDTV line to offer HDD and USB storage

It seems Toshiba is feeling the heat from competition from various companies, and will soon be upgrading their REGZA line of HDTVs (at least in Japan) to include many new features common to today’s sets, including USB and HDD storage. You can read more about it here:

If you were contemplating a move to Japan (you know, because you’re sick of waiting for all those feature-packed REGZA HDTVs to make it stateside) the idea just got a little more compelling. The new REGZA R1 series (up to 42-inches) and REGZA H1 series (32 and 37-inch displays) sport USB ports for recording and external storage. All but the 32-inch models feature 1080p (the little guys make due with 720p) and the R1 line also feature IPS panels and an enhanced gaming mode. All of the above support DLNA streaming, four HDMI ports, analog inputs, and two 10W speakers. But that’s not all! In addition to USB, the H1 line throws in the 500GB hard drives that are becoming commonplace on other REGZA models lately.

Look for the sets to appear in stores in early to mid June, and estimated street prices will begin at ¥150,000 (about $1,600 USD), while the R1 line is due very soon and will start at ¥130,000 (about $1,400 USD), pretty reasonable prices for sets with this line of features.

It appears Toshiba is in the running as far as feature-packed HDTV sets these days. Hopefully, these will drop in the states sooner or later.

Toshiba REGZA 40RF350U 40″ LCD HDTV

Toshiba 40RF350U 40″ REGZA 1080p Widescreen HDTV LCD – Black

As we are moving toward high-definition television broadcasts next year, it only makes sense to own a widescreen TV that is Full HD-ready and can provide a better picture with 1.8 times more color than existing HDTV signals. That is exactly what this 40″ LCD television offers as well as dynamic backlighting, DynaLight, that improves the contrast and the black level. You’ll also see smoother transitions between color changes as this 10-bit flatscreen from Toshiba provides 64 times more colors than a standard 8-Bit panel to produce the sharpest images thanks to the PixelPure 3G digital video processing. With the REGZA 40RF350U you’ll also experience crystal clear sound from the 10 watt SoundStrip 2 speakers SRS WOW Dolby Digital even without a surround sound system. When you have the Toshiba 40RF350U 40″ REGZA 1080p Widescreen HDTV LCD – Black you’ll be watching and hearing the best that digital television has to offer.