Televisions

While the original PS4 and Xbox One consoles trailed behind TV technology when they first came out, the Xbox Series X and PS5 are running ahead of most 2020 TVs. Graphics features such as 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rates and automatic low latency mode switching have caught the vast majority of this year's displays on the hop, including many of Sony's own models. Oddly, the only game-friendly exception in its range isn't some high-flying, megabucks flagship, but the mid-range XH9005 series.

We’ve certainly seen some interesting combos in the past: VCRs with onboard surround hard disk recorders, TVs with built-in DVD players, and iPod-ready melons. Okay, we might have made the last one up. Taking us back to into the solid realms of reality, though, is Sony’s KDL-40EX43B, which updates the DVD/TV concept by combining a smart-looking 40in LCD TV with a Blu-ray player.

Sony’s EX723 series turned out to be some of the worst 3D performers we’ve seen, but subsequent 3D models have upped the brand’s game. On paper at least, this set looks equipped to do the business. It carries MotionFlow XR 400 processing; a system that combines the detail boosting, noise-reducing qualities of Sony’s new X-Reality picture engine with a 400Hz effect to hopefully kick crosstalk into touch.

When the light falls just right, Sony’s W9 LED TV glints emerald, like something precious – which, indeed, it is. This 40in thinscreen follows hot on the heels of one of last year’s finest LCD displays, the HW8, and seeks to maintains Sony’s forward momentum with a modicum of extra functionality and a splash more AV refinement.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Sony enjoyed a bumpy 2011. Quite apart from its well documented financial ills, the brand’s sprawling TV range was wildly inconsistent, with not even top-flight models escaping criticism.

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.