Let's dispense with the foreplay, the Z1 streams 1080p24 wirelessly. Full HD Blu-ray video with no wires whatsoever. That's enough. Job done. Five stars. Now comes the padding.

Revolutionary advances in TV technology are few and far between. The industry generally favours evolutionary steps – as recently illustrated with LED backlighting and faster refresh rates (up to 200Hz on some LCD TVs). But every so often along comes a ...

Toshiba's 42ZV555D is one of a range of Regza-brand LCD TVs claiming to have resolved the dilemma by offering Resolution+ technology; it aims to deliver top-class performance with HD pictures, but also to be able to squeeze impressive quality out of ...

The 38mm deep Essence LCD sees Philips attempt at catching a slice of the skinny TV market. And the brand must be taking it seriously – it's even eschewed its unique Ambilight technology. With that USP discarded, the Essence (or the 42PES0001D, to ...

It's hard to see what new facilities could be added to a TV. Lately, refresh rates have already multiplied – to 100 and 200Hz; light-emitting diodes have started to take over backlighting duties; and freesat tuners have been integrated.

If you haven't seen one of Pioneer's Kuro plasma TVs, you're probably wondering what the hell all the fuss is about. Why do hardened home cinema hacks crumple in front of them as if they've had some kind of alien encounter? It's just a big telly, right?

There's nothing guaranteed to put Home Cinema Choice on edge more than a gimmick. Long experience suggests that where there's a fancy-sounding but ultimately shallow feature on a bit of AV gear, it's more often than not disguising a lack of quality in ...

First published in Home Cinema Choice 163

Looks-wise, this flatscreen is certainly different to the Samsung's regular Crystal Designed wares – there's no splash of red. This style is monikered ‘Platinum Black', although – subtle mottling aside – it's just black, really.

Generally, as a rule, we shy away from considering something as vulgar as expense when reviewing kit in HCC. We believe a product should always be tested and judged on its merits, rather than its cost. But what if it's a 52in telly ticketed at a ...