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Martin Pipe  |  Feb 07, 2014  |  0 comments

Samsung is famous for its high-end TVs (anyone for a curved OLED?) but, as the PS51F5500 shows, isn't afraid to get its hands dirty at the budget end of the market. For a good chunk less than £1,000, this plasma gives you a helluva lot – 51 inches of screen real estate, Full HD resolution, active 3D support, onboard media player and Samsung's 'Smart Hub' technology, easily accessed by built-in Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

John Archer  |  Jan 30, 2014  |  0 comments

The latest in the new wave of UHD TVs, the Toshiba 65L9363DB, doesn’t get off to the most auspicious of starts, as at £5,500, it’s £500 more expensive than other 65in UHD/4K big-hitters from Samsung and Sony. And, although Panasonic’s L65WT600 is also £5,500, that model sports a cutting-edge HDMI 2.0 port while the 65L9363DB does not. In other words, if it’s going to justify its price, the 65L9363DB will have to perform better than its rivals – and that’s quite a challenge.

Steve May  |  Dec 20, 2013  |  0 comments

The only thing certain about the next evolution in broadcast technology is its uncertainty. 4K/Ultra HD may be widely accepted as the next step from 1080p Full HD, but even broadcasters have yet to agree a specification. While BSkyB looks certain to go with 2160p at 50/60Hz for its sports coverage, the BBC is rumoured to want native frame rates to top 100Hz. For brands eager to punt 4K screens this is all rather inconvenient, not least because TVs prior to this Panasonic model are tethered to 4K at 30Hz, thanks to the limitations of current HDMI chippery.

John Archer  |  Nov 08, 2013  |  0 comments

Ultra HD and OLED are the current buzzwords in AV, and plasma TV technology feels even more besieged than ever before, with confirmation from Panasonic that its 2013 range of plasma screens will be its last. Thankfully, it’s come out with all guns blazing with these models – but how much of the outstanding quality exhibited by Panasonic’s premium ZT65 and VT65 plasma TVs has filtered down into its mid-range series, as represented by the 42in TX-P42GT60?

John Archer  |  Oct 30, 2013  |  0 comments

Samsung may have been beaten to the 4K/UHD drop by Sony, but it’s not about to let its Japanese rival hoover up all the early-adopter UHD action. Not long after Sony’s 65X9005A lit up our test benches, Samsung’s debut ‘mass market’ UHD set, the UE55F9000, is here. And while it is in many ways quite different to Sony’s groundbreaker,  it still makes a potent case for the benefits of embracing UHD for your next TV.

John Archer  |  Oct 10, 2013  |  0 comments

Even by the standards of a market full of unfeasibly attractive TVs, the L55WT65 is outstandingly pretty. Everything about it, from its slim frame to its metallic finish, glass-edge trim and imaginative metal-edged glass table-top stand, is designed to seduce.

John Archer  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments

LG TVs certainly know how to make an entrance. The 55LA860W – one of LG’s most high-end 2013 sets – is a serious looker, thanks to a bezel so thin you don’t even notice it for most of the time; the beautiful finish applied to the bezel’s sides; and a striking metallic, open-frame desktop pedestal. The glamour even extends to the Magic Remote handset you get with the TV, as its small, strikingly conical form comes clad in a bold, shiny silver.

John Archer  |  Sep 20, 2013  |  0 comments

After exploding back on to the TV scene in 2012 with its stunning HX853 series, Sony is hoping to make just as much of a splash with that model’s successors, as represented here by the 55W905A.

John Archer  |  Sep 13, 2013  |  0 comments

When I was first told I would be doing an exclusive test of Samsung’s UE85S9 TV, I suspected my review would be built around just one thing: the jaw-dropping £35,000 price tag.

John Archer  |  Sep 11, 2013  |  0 comments

Philips has long had a reputation in the TV world for going further than most when it comes to video processing. This trend continues with its new 55PFL8008.

John Archer  |  Sep 07, 2013  |  0 comments

The UE55F8000 hits the ground running with its design, which combines an on-trend slender bezel with a dark, glassy finish and built-in camera. However, other designs in this roundup are spectacular too, so the UE55F8000’s styling alone won’t be enough to carry Samsung’s set to victory.

John Archer  |  Sep 04, 2013  |  0 comments

I’ve heard a startling amount of rubbish spouted about 4K/Ultra HD TVs in recent months. ‘Nobody cares about more pixels’. ‘The human eye can’t perceive the difference between normal HD and 4K resolutions’. ‘Forget UHD – what we need is OLED.’ ‘4K is just another marketing tool for selling more TVs.’ ‘Native sources won’t be available for at least five years’. And so on.

John Archer  |  Aug 20, 2013  |  0 comments

Samsung’s UE46F8000 is a frighteningly hard act to follow. Recalling that set’s combination of an astonishingly sophisticated Smart TV engine and ground-breaking LED picture quality still puts a big stupid geeky grin on our faces.

Steve May  |  Aug 16, 2013  |  0 comments

The entry-level Smart 3DTV sector is shaping up to be the hottest battleground for mass-market TVs. This year we’re seeing a wave of well-tooled tellies that appear to give away nothing to their more expensive brethren. You, dear buyer, are getting more tech than ever for your money. Typical of this value charge is the 42LA690V from LG. £900 (or less) will get you a 42-incher with high-quality Smart functionality and 3D-vision.

Steve May  |  Aug 06, 2013  |  0 comments

The Panasonic TX-P60ZT65 casts a longer shadow than its slender frame might suggest. It is, says it creators, the final word in plasma panel development. The most advanced PDP design to roll off Panasonic’s production line, albeit in limited quantities, the brand says it simply can’t take the technology further in any way than makes economic sense. So what we have here is the culmination of years of development, with a lineage that can be traced back through both Panasonic and Pioneer. The result is, quite simply, the best Full HD image you can buy today. 

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