The Samsung's desirability is undeniable, but some superb competition highlights a couple of performance imperfections

Extremely pretty and amazingly thin design ; clean, detailed and punchy pictures from all sources ; very deep blacks ; capable motion processing

Especially weak sound ; can be beaten for black insight and colour balance

Once again Pioneer has delivered the goods; a premium product, with the price tag and - most importantly - the performance to match

A premium product: Full HD spec ; deep, dark blacks ; brilliant colours ; solid tuner and organised sound

It's expensive

A stylish, feature-packed set that looks the part and performs to an exceptionally high standard

Elegant styling ; clean, detailed images ; excellent Freeview picture ; natural colours ; sounds decent

Unintuitive, fiddly remote control

It looks pretty and pictures are excellent, but it's a bit of a pain to set up and use

Gorgeous looking set with Ambilight on or off ; fantastic detail and edge definition ; one of the most balanced and natural colour performances around ; great spec ; decent sound

Pointless processing modes ; ill-conceived remote ; more noise than most

We thought long and hard about docking the Philips a star on the basis of its hefty price - but ultimately if you want a great-looking object that's also a great-looking screen, the Philips is hard to criticise

Svelte looks ; simple to wall-mount ; separate media box ; impressive, convincing pictures from all sources

1800 is a lot of money for a TV in the current market

One of the coolest TVs we've come across for some time but it has some frustrating flaws

Looks amazing ; packed with features ; huge picture ; detailed, colourful images ; handles motion well ; sounds above average

Misgivings over how the TV handles incoming signals ; cost

The '9604 is one of the best 32in sets we've seen this year, but it doesn't push performance to a level that can justify its price

Huge aesthetic appeal ; sophisticated menus ; feature-packed ; fantastic with Freeview and Blu-ray images

Price, price, did we mention the price

Get beyond the unglamorous resolution and the TX-P42X10B is nothing but value

Great picture performance at the price ; pleasant enough design

Gives some detail and definition away to Full HD screens

Looking to venture into the world of Full HD? This set will help you on your merry way

Excellent Freeview picture ; clear, detailed images with high-definition sources ; copes well with tough viewing angles

Nothing major at this price

The 40-42in screen customer is spoiled for choice; here's another worth consideration

Sturdy build ; exhaustive spec ; great TV reception, good DVD upscaling ; chunky sound

Less impressive Blu-ray pictures ; warm colour balance ; screen reflections