Philips 42PFL9803H - £2,100
The 42PFL9803H is Philips' first LCD to use LED backlighting.
LED backlights are a big deal for a number of picture quality reasons, all centring around the fact that LED TVs use an array of individually controllable backlight segments – 128 of them, in the 42PFL9803H's case – instead of the single, always-on fluorescent lamp used in normal LCD TVs.
This approach can massively improve that traditional LCD weakness of poor black levels, since it allows you to completely switch off the LED segments in dark areas of the picture, achieving near perfect blackness.
At the same time you can leave the LED segments in bright areas of the picture running at full brightness. Read our review
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Samsung PS50A756 - £2,800
The set's connections are what really indicate what makes this plasma special.
Alongside a very handy four v1.3 HDMIs can be found two significant multimedia options: a USB 2.0 port and a DLNA-certified ethernet jack that allows you to stream in similar file types from a connected PC.
You can also hook up to a dedicated server set up via Yahoo, from where the TV can retrieve news, weather and financial stock reports, specially formatted to suit the TV screen.
Elsewhere, the PS50A756 benefits from a healthy stack of image processing systems, including 100Hz, and Samsung's Movie Plus system which interpolates extra frames of image data to make motion more fluid.
And finally, the screen sports a full HD resolution and a huge claimed contrast ratio of one million to one. Read our review
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Philips Aurea 42PFL9903H - £2,500
It's easy to be cynical about Philips' Aurea TVs. After all, shouldn't a TV be more about picture and sound quality than having loads of brightly-coloured flashing lights around its edges?
It's lucky then that the 42PFL9903H has more to offer, including four v1.3 HDMIs, a USB input for playback of a wide variety of multimedia formats from USB storage devices, and even a DLNA-certified Ethernet port for access to files stored on your PC.
The good times continue with the 42PFL9903H's AV performance.
Pictures come courtesy of the same screen employed on Philips' 42PFL9703D, meaning they combine Philips' Perfect Pixel HD video processing engine with a Full HD pixel count and wide colour-gamut LCD display. The results are as mesmerising as the antics of the Light Frame. Read our review
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Panasonic TH-50PZ800 - £1,500
As Panasonic's flagship plasma TV, you'd expect big things from the TH-50PZ800. And unsurprisingly, it's formidably featured.
Four v1.3 HDMI inputs instantly hit the right groove and these are joined by plenty of other useful in and outputs including a PC port and a digital audio output.
With hi-def material; from a nice Blu-ray or Sky HD feed the screen's pictures are almost uniformly excellent. The full HD resolution, for example, is most evident in the amount of fine detail on the screen, and in the superb scaling-free purity with which these details – and sharp edges – are reproduced.
This exceptional clarity of HD pictures is enhanced by the TV's excellent black level response, which is natural enough to enable the screen to render shadow details to perfection. The only thing that slightly lets this telly down is its handling of SD broadcast content which can be quite noisy. Read our review
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Samsung LE46A786 - £1,300
Samsung's aggressive pricing is matched by the resilience of its R&D departments to enforce premium quality, and the upshot is some of the best flatpanel TVs on the market for some of the best prices.
At just over £1,300 for a 46-inch TV, the Samsung LE46A786 already represents an attractive proposition, but considering that you get an Ultra Clear Panel 100Hz screen with LED backlighting for your wodge, it's a steal.
And it looks great too, especially as it's the first Sammy TV with a 'Crystal Design' surround that isn't spattered with red. This one has a blue tint haloing the fascia, and we prefer this colour. Read our review
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Sony KDL-52W4500 - £1,500
The Sony KDL-52W4500 is the first telly on our list sporting a traditional LCD screen. And while that often signifies weakness, when all's said and done, this is an outstanding TV which doesn't disappoint.
Its picture processing is close to state-of-the-art, producing images that have a three-dimensional depth be they standard or hi-def.
Given that this isn't one of the most expensive large screens on the market (similar sized TVs can easily command as much as a grand more with only minor differences in specification), it should be considered a bona-fide star.
With the KDL-52W4500, Sony is back with bang. This really is a brilliant Bravia. Read our review
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Philips 47PFL9603H - £1,400
Simply put, we've never seen a flatscreen that handles motion as ably as the Philips 47PFL9603D.
Thanks to clever use of advanced processing technology, eliminating LCD's traditional judder and motion, this TV is so smooth that you'd expect it to order a vodka Martini and steal your girlfriend from right under your nose.
It also delivers stiletto-sharp detail and crisp colours, and sports a superb array of features, top class connectivity and an eye-catching design – making it one of the finest big-screen TVs on the market.
The eye-popping picture quality is mainly due to Philips' suite of proprietary image-enhancing technologies, most drawn together under the Perfect Pixel HD Engine banner.
In brief, it combines several scaling, contrast-boosting, noise reduction and motion processing modes, all of which can be adjusted separately by the viewer. Read our review
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Now read: 50 Blu-ray movies every high-def fan must own
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