Toshiba BDX2400 – Performance

Say what you like about its shortcomings elsewhere, but the Toshiba BDX2400 delivers damn fine hi-def pictures for the money. We fired up Scott Pilgrim Vs The World on Blu-ray and the vibrant comic book images are faithfully reproduced, looking sharp and solid.

Warm colours, like Scott’s yellow and red Plumtree T-shirt, blaze from the screen, anchored by an excellent cinematic contrast level that makes blacks look satisfyingly deep. Its colour reproduction is also nuanced – colour shades blend subtly into one another and skin tones are realistic.

But like most Blu-ray players, it’s detail reproduction that really catches the attention. The kitsch patterns on the sofas in Scott’s apartment are horribly sharp and detailed, and you can make out strands of hair and skin textures during facial close-ups.

What’s more, edges are razor-sharp and movement is smoothly tracked. We also tried out the Silicon Optix HQV disc to see how well it handles trickier video footage and it does well, if not perfectly. It instantly locks to the Video Resolution Loss test cadence and renders the moving bars of the ‘Jaggies’ test with sharp, hard edges. Only the Film Resolution Loss test gives it any trouble, with some strobing in the striped boxes – but it’s not a major problem.

We also checked disc loading times and most discs fire up within 20-25 seconds, while trickier discs like Terminator Salvation took just 35 seconds to load, which is relatively fast.

Should I buy the Toshiba BDX2400?

If all you want is a simple, stylish and affordable Blu-ray player with internet content streaming thrown in, then the BDX2400 is a good purchase. It delivers excellent 2D Blu-ray pictures, while access to BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Netflix and DLNA file streaming are not to be sniffed at for £65.

We’re also impressed by the new design and jazzy operating system, which brings a level of modernity that previous Toshiba players lacked.

On the downside, to access those online goodies wirelessly you’ll need to fork out an extra £35 for Toshiba’s USB dongle, which pushes the price into the realm of rival players with built-in Wi-Fi and more generous online content, such as the Samsung BD-F6500. Format support over a network is also disappointing, but those things aside the BDX2400 is a likeable Blu-ray deck.

Verdict

Toshiba’s latest deck is a simple, affordable entrée into the world of Blu-ray and online streaming, and improves greatly on the company’s previous players. However, Wi-Fi costs extra, format support is limited and online content pales in comparison to some rivals.

Trusted Score