Is Sharp’s star on the rise? Hot on the heels of the news that Sharp could be about to get investment from Apple to become the supplier of iPhone and iPad screens, here’s another fillip to the inventor of LCD TVs – a cracking 3D TV that’s a polished performer with high-end sources, the LC-40LE831D. Hardly a major force in the UK flatscreen TV market, Japanese brand Sharp has a huge LCD business that’s largely Asia-focused and has, in recent times, been concentrating on the budget end of the TV and consumer electronics markets elsewhere. That all changed last year when [...]

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One unexpected side effect from the growing take-up of 3DTVs is that folks are migrating to larger screen sizes. This means a warm welcome should await Panasonic’s TX-P65VT30. This 65-inch iteration of its top-of-the-line NeoPlasma range is a glorious extravagance. The sheer size obviously poses a challenge. It takes three people to get it out of the box and the 56kg weight means wall-mounting will require some serious planning. It’s a good thing then that the supplied pedestal is smart and substantial. Engorged as it is, the design works well, with the edge-to-edge glass fascia taking [...]

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Samsung’s premium LED TVs are so advanced that they’re one malfunction away from taking over the human race. From Smart Hub web content and wireless media streaming to 3D, USB support and HD tuners, the Korean company’s high-end sets are packed with flashy features and smart technology that make them more akin to computers than TVs. But not everyone wants this sort of sophistication. Many people simply want a TV that allows them to watch programmes and play Blu-ray discs without having to do a degree in quantum physics first. That’s where the UE32D5000 comes in. This modestly [...]

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The Samsung UE37D5000 is one of best value flatscreen TVs available, despite a few surprising holes in the spec sheet. Fitted with a full HD panel and plenty of HDMI inputs it may be, but there’s no Freeview HD tuner. With the digital switchover having long since swept aside analogue broadcasting in large swathes of the country, it’s a huge risk to sell a TV to the masses that doesn’t have the hardware to fetch the likes of BBC One HD, ITV HD and BBC HD. However, we’re presuming that this gap in the UE37D5000′s spec is deliberate. After all, subscribers to Virgin and [...]

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It’s no surprise that Bang & Olufsen’s first 3D TV also happens to be one of the most expensive sets ever produced. More likely to be found on a yacht or luxury custom installation than the average living room, the BeoVision 4-85 boasts an 85-inch plasma screen, a host of features and a price that would make Croesus himself blush. The display is the same as that behind Panasonic’s TH-85VX200, so its pedigree isn’t in doubt. Amazingly, though, the 4-85 is about to become the smallest TV in the BeoVision range, with the non-3D 65-inch version being phased out and a whopping [...]

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  Which is the best 37-inch TV? Making the decision to upgrade from a bulky old 28-inch CRT TV is almost too easy, but heading straight for a 42-inch plasma can seem a little daunting. And thus the 37″ size has become one of the UK’s most popular shapes; a lot more impressive than a 32-incher, yet not big enough to entirely dominate a living room. It’s also often the maximum size for those of us who are forced, simply by the shape of our living room, to shove a TV in the corner. It’s a size division that’s as competitive as any, with the big brands weighing in [...]

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If you’re looking for the best 3D TV, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got the ten best 3D TVs on the planet – both LCDs and plasma – and put them all in once place for your decision-making pleasure. The jury’s out on which TV tech is best for 3D, but we can already summarise the differences. There’s a feeling that for sheer 3D effects – especially in terms of depth and leap effects – the bright-and-breezy LCD sets from Samsung are the most effective. The downside is that LCD TVs do seem to be affected by ‘crosstalk’ – when [...]

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