Televisions

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.