BEST FOR: QUALITY LOVERS
PHILIPS 32PFL9603D £800

You won’t find a 32in TV that works harder to create convincing moving pictures than this Philips set. LCD technology was designed for the (then) static images of a computer and the screens require processing trickery to counteract motion blur and insipid blacks. Philips’s new Perfect Pixel HD technology achieves this with aplomb.

Other brands claim similar processing but this model sets a new benchmark for LCDs in terms of reducing fuzziness and keeping colours vibrant. The set also boasts Philips’s Ambilight feature (which projects coloured light onto the wall behind the set to add ambience) and powerful sound. The drawbacks are the price and a few fiddly settings.
Verdict: Complex and pricy yet still a genuine class leader
www.philips.co.uk

BEST FOR: STYLE GURUS
SAMSUNG LE 32A656 £575

Samsung understands that high design is the route to people’s wallets and this set stands out aesthetically. The semitranslucent bezel has a touch of red and has been put together without a single visible rivet. Picture quality was bettered only by the pricier Philips model, though both needed careful setup. The Samsung’s vibrant colours and fast response time make it ideal for gamers. The only weakness was its weedy sound, and even that’s solved by plugging in external speakers.Verdict: Sumptuous set with classy pictures but needs a separate sound system.
www.samsung.co.uk

BEST FOR: ALL ROUNDERS
PANASONIC TX-32LZD85£650

This Panasonic does everything well without excelling in any area. It combines cute, if undramatic, styling with good, albeit not jaw-dropping, picture quality when compared with the best LCD sets. The sound is punchy, yet it was outgunned by the Philips and Loewe. One distinctive virtue the Panasonic can trumpet is an SD memory-card slot, which means photography fans can quickly view shots on screen. This Panasonic was easy to set up and operate and its price is friendly too.
Verdict: Ideal compromise, but still a compromise.
www.panasonic.co.uk

BEST FOR: GADGET FIENDS
LOEWE CONNECT 32 FULL-HD+£1,700

If your computer is stuffed full of videos or photos you’d like to view on your TV, Loewe has the answer. This elegant German set connects wirelessly to a PC. This feature proved fiddly to get going but it worked well for music and photos, whereas video was more limited. The Loewe was top dog for sound. That said, despite its lavish price and designer pretensions, pictures were merely good rather than great (the screen is made by Sharp) and it came fourth overall.
Verdict: Stylish and unique but why not bag a better TV plus a wi-fi receiver box and trouser the change?
www.loewe-uk.com

BEST FOR: VALUE HUNTERS
TOSHIBA 32CV505DB£490

This Toshiba is cheap yet also refreshingly far from nasty. It avoids two common budget shortcomings in that it has three HDMI sockets and likeable pictures. Darker scenes actually looked black, rather than the milky grey of many budget LCD sets, and colours were fairly rich. That said, the Tosh was the second-worst performer here. Its most notable drawbacks were blurring during fast-moving footage and flat audio.
Verdict: Despite its flaws, this is the best sub-£500 set around.
www.toshiba.co.uk

BEST FOR: CLUTTER BUSTERS
HUMAX LP32-TDR1 £490

With so many gadgets clamouring for space, anything that reduces that rat’s nest of cables under your TV is a good thing.This Humax set is also a digital video recorder and it has a built-in 160GB hard drive that can capture up to 100 hours of TV shows. The LP32-TDR1 proved easy to set up, but recordings looked fuzzy compared with, say, a Humax set-top recorder, picture quality was only respectable and sound was feeble.
Verdict: Noble attempt at reducing cable clutter and ideal for a spare room yet underwhelming overall.
www.humaxdigital.com

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
HDMI The more of these HD-capable “digital Scart sockets”, the better. The Humax has one, the Samsung four, all the others three

Full HD: HD-ready is the HD standard, but some sets (not the Humax or Toshiba) have a higher resolution with 1,080 horizontal lines

100Hz Picture-processing system on some LCD TVs that helps to counteract motion blur. The Panasonic has it, while the Philips uses a similar technology

USB The Loewe, Philips and Samsung have a USB socket for showing pictures held on a USB memory stick. The Panasonic has an SD memory-card slot

Prices are the best found online

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