Toshiba Series 7 HD TV screens: Mid-range 1080p sets to offer new Cloud TV platform
Alongside the flagship 4K Series 9 84-inch set, Toshiba have also been recently touting their more modest Series 7 TVs. 1080p Full HD and web connected 58, 50 and 48-inch models will touch down from May 2013.
Each screen houses built-in Wi-Fi, 4x HDMI inputs, 2x USB ports (with support for recording to USB), active shutter 3D (two pairs of glasses ship with the screens) and Toshiba’s 200 AMR (Active Motion & Resolution) picture processing technology. Freeview HD is built-in, while there’s also support for Intel WiDi screen sharing.
Style-wise, the screen continue in the aesthetic standards established by the Series 9 set, with an aluminium foot extending it’s shiny looks up to the lower edge of the screen, while the rest of the reasonably thin bezel is finished in black.
The sets will also feature the new online Cloud TV platform.
Aiming to unify Toshiba’s connected TV services, users will be able to personalise their interface through individual logins (with parental controls), organising a homescreen to show apps and video streaming services that best suit their TV viewing habits. As users use the Cloud TV interface the TV will begin to recognise viewing habits too, and provide suggestions of shows to view.
Plenty of the big-name video apps are included, such as Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer and Blinkbox, while a universal search engine built by Rovi hunts down content across all services, including the built-in Freeview HD. 
A full Twitter client, with support for #hashtag searching and picture-in-picture views, is also included, with the app offering up trending shows and topics. Whether or not we’d actually use a Twitter client on our living room screens is another matter when it’s so easy to tap away on a laptop or phone, but the picture-in-picture view with a Twitter feed side-by-side a live TV show could prove amusing for “social” shows such as X-Factor.
Skype video calling is also supported (provided you have Toshiba’s sold-separately camera unit), as well as Intel’s Wi-Di wireless screen sharing protocol.
No word yet on pricing, but we’ll keep you posted.
