We did spot some motion judder during camera pans, but if this TV is set up correctly – and it's not a difficult screen to adjust – the LE40A856S1W does a more than adequate job with high quality sources. It just doesn't always deliver the cinematic brilliance it should be capable of.

If hi-def lacks ultimate pizzazz, standard definition is presented very consistently. Digital TV channels tune in quickly and produce pictures that retain a lot of sharpness, and despite the occasional judder and flicker from DVDs, images are relatively clean and contain a lot less noise than HDTV channels.

Great value

The set does an adequate job with dialogue-heavy material, but the impact of movies is lessened and not helped at all by the SRS TruSurround XT mode. Music, meanwhile, lacks bass and, with little treble detail, sounds muffled.

The Samsung LE40A856S1W is all about 'the look', and in that it succeeds at a canter. With a £1,000 price tag the feature-loaded screen (even if some of them are pointless) certainly offers decent value for money.