After waiting far too long for Full HD plasmas to appear, they're now starting to become commonplace. The only remaining problem is their high price when compared with Full HD LCD TVs. All hail Samsung's £1,900 latest, then...

At last we have a LCD TV that’s designed as much for everyday Freeview as it is for the new era of high definition. Sharp’s latest screen is also one of its cheapest and while it lacks the style of sets further up its Aquos line-up, the LC32D44E is ideally set-up for any forward-thinking living room.

First of all, check out the price tag - a supremely affordable £600. And nestling amongst the Philips 32PFL7762D's cute retro design are no less than three HDMI sockets - all built to the latest v1.3 standard for Deep Colour compatibility too. This TV really is going beyond the budget flatscreen call of duty.

Reviewing Sony’s TVs lately has been very much a hit and miss affair. Over the past year the brand’s standards have been all over the shop. And its connections don’t get off to the best start, offering only a duo of HDMIs. At least these are capable of receiving 1080p/24fps feeds from Blu-ray players.

Enthusiasts of TV techno-bling troubled by the sheer choice of 50-,52- , 60- and 65in screens now have a new configuration to ponder: 58in. More than some, less than others. Actually, the size transpires to be a great fit for plasma-king Panasonic.

Like a fine wine, a business class flight  and an original mono copy of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts’ Club Band (in mint condition, naturally) 50in plasma screens have always had that air of exclusivity about them, forcing us poor folk to press our noses against the shop window like Dickensian urchins. Well, you can now pull away your hooter from the glass, as Samsung’s offering is defiantly breaking rank.  

The TX-32LZD85, a mid-range model from Panasonic’s new LCD collection, packs a fearsome on-paper punch. For starters, it’s got Full HD resolution, potentially adding an extra lovely level of purity to your 1080i/p HD gaming visuals.

The general public seem to be pocketing 32in LCD TVs like they’re going out of fashion. The thing is, they are. It’s 37in models that are the new, er, black. Piano black!

Full HD TVs seem to have made the journey from minor videophile concern to the mainstream in about a fortnight. Mirai’s DTL-742TE600 is at the vanguard of a wave of large affordable, flatscreens with 1080p panels that suddenly seem to have infiltrated the AV market and is among the cheapest sets of this size and specification we’ve seen.

We're getting pretty used to seeing outlandish contrast ratio figures in the flat TV world these days, but at 50,000:1, the contrast ratio of LG's 32LG5000 outguns its rivals today by a massive 40,000:1. Will this figure be truly apparent in the TV's picture quality, or will it just provide more ammunition for the argument that quoted contrast ratios are untrustworthy?

First of all, check out the price tag - a supremely affordable £600.

If you’re one of the many households in the UK that can’t afford a Sky subscription, the 37LT75 may be the perfect upgrade for the impending digital age.

Once one of plasma technology’s staunchest supporters, Hitachi is increasingly edging towards the LCD camp. So it comes as no real surprise to find ourselves faced with a new largescreen in the shape of the L37X01.

LG claims the 50PG6000 offers the blackest ever blacks on a plasma TV. Pioneer’s £4,000 ‘Kuro’ 50in plasma promised a 20,000:1 contrast ratio, whereas this sumptuous plasma giant claims to top that by 50 per cent. The 50PG6000 also boasts four HDMI inputs – one more than Pioneer’s flagship PDP – and sells for a quarter of the price.

At marginally under £500, JVC’s LC-32DA8BJ looks very good value on paper. It’s HD Ready, of course (we wouldn’t review it if it wasn’t), with a native 1366 x 768 pixel count; its connections include twin HDMIs and a component video input to meet your HD needs

Aesthetically the Panasonic TH-37PX80 is a bit boring, truth be told, lacking the glossy glamour and slenderness of many of its rivals. But things look up with the discovery among its connections of three non v1.3 HDMI sockets, all capable of handling 1080p/24fps inputs, but not Deep Color compatible

Today's rear-pro TVs are an interesting high-performance alternative to flatpanels, and this set certainly wins design points. It looks as slim as a 65in rear-pro set ever could, with a tiny 1cm wide bezel and surprisingly shallow 29.5cm depth. The 65DS8 employs JVC's own DILA projection technology, delivering a Full HD resolution and claimed contrast ratio of 10,000:1.

Panasonic has been the LCD manufacturer to beat in group tests for some time and this 26in upholds that enviable tradition in fine style.

Sony makes a brave aesthetic departure from regulation black slinkiness with this unusually chunky, gun-metal set.

There are plenty of euphemistic ways in which to describe sets such as this one. An optimistic marketeer or salesperson, for example, might opt for ‘inexpensive’ or ‘affordable’, while anyone who has seen the Mirai DTL-832E600 in action, however, might go straight for ‘cheap’.

Second-room TVs rarely come as well-specified as this HD-ready 22in Humax IDTV. With both analogue and digital tuners, it features a seven-day EPG for Freeview and a CI slot for pay-TV.

The outward appearance of the Samsung LE46A656A1F isn't the only feature to be upgraded from the company's previous models. This 46in TV has more bells and whistles than a football referee's wedding. It's Full HD (although, to be honest, that's a no-brainer for screens over 32in nowadays), with 1080p24 compatibility, and comes with 100Hz Motion Plus - the company's frame-doubling technology to eliminate LCD blur and judder.

The Philips 37PFL5522D is the company's most 'affordable' 37in screen and, unsurprisingly, it lacks the aesthetic pyrotechnics of so many LCD TVs higher up the company's range, shorn as it is of any sort of Ambilight system or sculpting flourishes. It's essentially just a basic black rectangle.

With Sharp now apparently focusing on the bigscreen end of the LCD market, the LC-32AD5E - with its budget £500 price tag - feels a bit like an afterthought.

Samsung squares up to its fellow Korean and longtime nemesis, LG, with a similarly handsome set and just a tenner between it and the LG 26LC55.