Panasonic's flagship 42-inch plasma TV boasts a 'Full HD' 1080p resolution and the full monty of the company's picture-processing technology to give an impressive viewing experience. But in the current financial climate, the 42PZ800&ap...

Outstanding HD picture quality; excellent connectivity; plenty of features

We're not totally convinced it's worth twice as much money as the Panasonic 42PX80

The Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ800 is a mighty fine plasma TV. In fact, with no 42-inch Pioneer Kuro sets around now, it's the best 42-inch plasma TV that money can buy. If money's no object, bag yourself a 42PZ800 with impunity. If money is an obje...

Having recently liked the performance of Sony's Bravia KDL-46Z4500 LCD TV before being put off by its high price, we took delivery of the much better value KDL-52W4500 with a real sense of anticipation. If it can approach the quality of the 46Z4500 a...

Well designed and built; great sharpness and brightness; good motion handling; multimedia connectivity

Dark scenes are badly blighted by backlight seepage issues; only three HDMIs; occasional grain with HD

What initially looks like being a spectacular success for Sony ultimately turns into a quality-control nightmare, thanks to the appearance of some horribly overt pools of light during dark scenes. Apparently these don't appear on all 52W4500 TVs, but...

In spite of the embarassing acronym, the Pioneer Kuro KRP-500A is a very high-end TV, aimed squarely at the home cinema enthusiast. With all its inputs and media gubbins in a separate box, it's incredibly thin for such a large panel -- and its pictur...

Picture quality; updated menus; massive control over picture settings; design; fantastic connectivity options

For the money, we think Pioneer could chuck in some speakers; it's expensive

This is the ultimate TV for home-cinema buffs. With its separate media receiver, this screen is perfect for wall-mounting or professional installs. The flexibility offered by the numerous inputs and DVB-T, DVB-S2 and DLNA mean it's got more functiona...

A 'Full HD' 1080p LCD TV for under £500? That'll be Samsung value. The Koreans have pulled another cracking bargain out of their capacious bin with the 32A558, a high-gloss, low-key 32-inch model with a panoply of image-processing features

Smartly designed; well connected; picture quality is generally very likeable

There are better performers out there; not enough reasons to choose this over higher-spec Samsung A656 range

The LE32A558 is certainly an accomplished and attractive LCD TV -- just as we'd expect from Samsung these days. We came away from it, however, feeling that if it was us, we'd be looking to find the few quid more necessary to get hold of Samsung&...

Sony is out to impress with its new 200Hz processing system available in the KDL-46Z4500. This upgrade offers some definite improvements in the clarity and fluidity of motion -- the picture quality is not too shabby either. With so much competition from L...

Beautifully built; stunning picture quality; what little the 200Hz technology offers

200Hz could be more impressive; steep price

With the 200Hz system on hand to give things that little extra nudge upwards, the 46Z4500 probably produces the best picture quality we've seen from a Sony flatscreen TV. But that's not to say the TV completely blows the competition out of the w...

With its 42PFL9803 LCD, Philips further hones a first-generation technology. Instead of a panel illuminated from behind like in most LCDs, the 9803 uses an array of more than 1,000 LEDs behind the panel to illuminate the picture. The result is a breathtak...

Styling; sound quality

Picture isn't as good as it could be; needs quite a bit of tweaking to get good results

We like the 42PFL903 a great deal. The styling alone makes us want to own one, and with the LED backlight, Ambilight and excellent picture processing modes it should be a real winner. For us, the price is too high for a TV that doesn't match the perf...

Styling; picture quality; clear sound

The price is on the ludicrous side; not as black as Pioneer's plasmas

We're not going to pretend this TV is cheap. It is, however, an impressive LCD TV with solid Freeview picture quality and amazing HD pictures. Even upscaled DVDs look good on this TV. It's one for you if you have your heart set on a Pioneer, but...

Sony is clearly attempting to appeal to people with a broader aesthetic with its 40E4000 LCD TV, as its design is anything but the usual slab a black plastic that most people have in their living rooms. With good speaker quality and very watchable DVD ups...

Interesting style; photo frame capability; menu system; picture quality; good sound

Design isn't for everyone; Freeview picture quality

Although its styling means it won't suit many people's tastes, this is a TV that most people would love to own because of performance alone. The Freeview picture is decent, upscaled DVDs are very watchable and HD looks wonderful. We even liked t...

The Philips Cineos 42PFL7603D is a lovely looking TV with superb HD performance and great sound at a sensible price -- the only real downside is the slightly ropey Freeview performance. This 42-inch 1080p LCD TV also has Ambilight, though not as advanced...

Design; sound; HD picture quality; connectivity; affordable

Freeview picture quality isn't brilliant; Ambilight is sluggish

This is a lovely looking TV with superb HD performance and great sound at a sensible price -- the only real downside is the slightly ropey Freeview performance. Also, Ambilight isn't anywhere near as involving as it is on the 9703

You can't help being impressed by a screen as slim as this -- and the best part is that Samsung hasn't sacrificed anything to get it looking so remarkable. It still has all the inputs and outputs you'd expect, including HDMI and USB, and of...

Design; picture quality; InfoLive and Wiselink Pro are nice additions to the feature set

Sound quality; price; menus are a little sluggish

This is a very appealing looking TV with decent picture quality, loads of extra features and very few downsides -- apart from the high price and weedy sound. The best part is that Samsung hasn't sacrificed any features to make the TV this slim