Panasonic TH-37PX60
Typically £1,850, or £1,285 from www.soundandvisiononline.com
Five stars
Elegant plasma all-rounder boasting tremendous quality and value
On inferior sets, moody night-time scenes in 24 melt into impenetrable gloom. Not so on Panasonic’s new 37in plasma, where strong contrast creates a thrilling mix of inky darkness and clear, low-light action. LCD technology has come on in leaps and bounds, but this elegant HD-ready Panasonic is proof that plasma is still top dog. Even with SD broadcasts, from the built-in Freeview tuner, you will notice beads of sweat on Beckham’s forehead as he strokes home a penalty, while excellent motion-handling helps you assess iffy offsides. Dip into Finding Nemo, and the kids will thrill to the vivid colours and immersive sound. Better still, this set is so simple, you won’t need Junior’s assistance. Only one HDMI socket is a gripe, but this Panasonic is the daddy.
Toshiba 32WLT66
Typically £1,200, or £825 from www.digitaldirect.co.uk
Five stars
Feature-packed top performer at a great price
Toshiba’s latest 32in LCD TV is proof that you don’t need a Ferrari-sized budget to enjoy Formula One. This smart, superb-value set delivers pictures on a par with far more expensive models — picking out, say, tyre textures at an F1 pit stop. The extra detail of HD helps to create real depth, and the set’s dynamic sound conveys the excitement of being there. This Toshiba is HD-ready as well as being digital and totes two performance-maxing HDMI inputs, which enable you to connect digitally a DVD player, or an Xbox 360, at the same time as an HD set-top box. You may see the odd touch of blurring on fast-paced footage. That said, this is a belter.
STYLE ICONS
Loewe Individual
Typically £2,300. Stockists 0800 027 6465
Four stars
High-performance, bespoke television — but at a price
Those who hanker after a designer technology will love this Loewe: a posh, HD-ready 32in LCD screen that picks out every quivering whisker in Bleak House. And, should whimsy take hold, there is serious scope to customise this set to blend with your decor. Choose from five colours of case, plus nine coloured side panels. Or opt for a built-in hard-disk recorder (£300 more), which holds 100 hours of SD video. As with most LCD sets, fast-paced football coverage isn’t flawless, revealing the occasional spot of image break-up. Yet the Individual is far more than a pretty face. It is a classy performer, with fine sound — though, frankly, pictures are no better than its Concept sibling, for £1,000 less (see the Doors review at www.tinyurl.com/9xc66). But who can put a price on style?
Sony Esprit TAV-L1
£4,000 from shop.sonystyle-europe.com
Three stars
Innovative package of style over substance, alas
Sony’s Esprit TAV-L1 gives the Desperate Housewives a lesson in glamour. Co-designed by the French furniture house Ligne Roset, this unique-looking creation contains a television and a smart audio setup too. Behind the customisable motorised panel — choose from four colours — lurks a 32in HD-ready LCD television, a virtual surround-sound system, and a DVD/CD player. A click of the remote control slides the panel down to watch Doctor Who, another raises it, ready to hear Dr Dre. However, you pay a hefty premium for this one-stop simplicity. The television is last year’s 32in Sony Bravia model — an average performer compared with this spring’s superlative KDL-32V2000, for about £1,500. Indeed, the Esprit epitomises style and simplicity over substance; much like those ladies of Wisteria Lane.
SPARE-ROOM FRIENDS
Humax LGB17DTT
Typically £400, or £360 from www.be-direct.co.uk
Four stars
Tasty smaller set with built-in Freeview
This snazzy 17in LCD slots perfectly into the kitchen, so MasterChef can offer inspiration as you prepare dinner. The Humax boasts a built-in Freeview tuner as well as analogue, which is rare for LCDs of this size, and saves the clutter of a digital set-top box. This widescreen Humax is a snap to set up and, unusually for a small television, delivers palatable pictures. Colours are natural-looking, fast motion is handled confidently and sound is superior to many rivals. Broadcasts are a touch grainy, but with DVDs, performance is upped a notch. Edges become sharper and the image is more stable. The set is not HD-ready and offers limited sockets other than basic Scart, but as a smart culinary accessory, it’s a treat.
Panasonic TX26LXD60
Typically £1,000, or £625 from www.ebuyer.com
Four stars
Fine, HD-ready digital set ideal for the spare room or den
Your kids will love Madagascar on this HD-ready Panasonic. This television delivers bright, well-balanced colours and fine contrast that will bring the animals to life — with clear sound too. This is one of a few 26in LCD televisions with an integrated digital tuner, and two HDMI inputs help future-proof it for adding newer games consoles or advanced DVD players. Automatic setup is handled quickly and without fuss. This elegant set is big enough to entertain in most rooms, yet also compact enough for den or bedroom. However, images are a tad soft, and more challenging broadcasts, such as horse-racing, lead to some image instability. Darker scenes are also a touch blotchy, compared with the best Panasonic models. Not a world-beater, it is a fine set, nevertheless.
ENTHUSIASTS' TRAILBLAZERS
Pioneer PDP-5000EX
Typically £6,000. Stockists 01753 789789
Five stars
Sensational screen, exceeds minimum HD resolution
Enthusiasts prepared to pay for cutting-edge picture quality will love this seventh-generation Pioneer plasma. All European HD-ready sets show at least 720 horizontal lines, but this future-proofed 50in beast displays more than a thousand and is the first able to accept an image of 1080p — meaning 1,080 lines, progressively scanned. Once it is fed an HD or DVD signal, the results are exhilaratingly cinematic. As the oil fires light up the inky black desert sky in Jarhead, the experience is almost three-dimensional. When watching sport, lightning-fast motion rendering enables you to see a cricket ball fly off the bat more clearly than most England slip fielders. The snag? You need an HD subscription and a high-calibre DVD player too. Think four figures — or a next-generation machine. Indeed, a Freeview tuner would look so poor on this set that Pioneer doesn’t include one. Take the hint.
Philips 37PF9830
Typically £2,800, or £2,600 from www.amazon.co.uk
Four stars
Sublime, HD-optimised set, yet it struggles with Freeview
Philips produces highly innovative televisions, epitomised here. Not only does this award-winning 37in LCD set feature Ambilight2 — a feature that back-projects light onto the wall to reduce eye fatigue — but Philips has also squeezed in a premium HD resolution of 1,980 x 1,080. Again, once it is supplied with an HD source, you’d be forgiven for fearing Planet Earth might spray you with water as a whale breaches the ocean, so vital are the colours. However, switch to Freeview and the built-in tuner struggles to fill those extra pixels: Formula One coverage suffers from more on-screen fizz than the post-race champagne. Further, the 37PF9830 is unable to capitalise on the potential of next-generation DVD players. For those prepared to invest in HD, and a leading-edge DVD player, this Philips is sublime. Others should give the set a swerve.
DIGITAL TV jargon-buster
Aspect ratio A screen’s width related to height. Older sets have a squarer, 4:3 ratio; widescreen is now standard (16:9).
CRT (cathode-ray tube) Traditional, bulky television sets. Popularity waning.
DVB (digital video broadcast) Label indicates set has a built-in digital receiver.
Digital switchover (DSO) The UK’s move to all-digital television, occurring region-by-region between 2008 and 2012.
EPG (electronic programme guide) On-screen listings guide to digital television and radio. Triggers recording.
HD-ready Label on a set able to receive and display HDTV (www.hdready.org.uk). Expect one HDMI socket; two are better.
LCD (liquid-crystal display) Flatscreen technology, often used in PC monitors.
Plasma Flatscreens in which tiny gas-filled bulbs create the picture.
Resolution Number of pixels (points of light) in a screen. A resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels is the minimum for HD-ready. The second number shows a screen can handle HD images comprising 720 horizontal lines, or can adapt the 1080i format. Enthusiast-grade screens (1,980 x 1,080) can display the full 1,080 lines.
