LED, LCD and plasma TV: Buying a new TV Best TV brands
LG HD TV reviews
LG has made some dramatic technical improvements to its LCD and plasma HD TV ranges over the past couple of years, matching the high design standards of some of its lavishly glossy LCD and plasma TVs. With more LED HD TVs joining its model ranges in 2010, things are definitely looking up.
LG has also been at the forefront of pushing down the price of LCD and plasma HD TVs, with many of its entry-level models undercutting rival brands. But can it do the same for the pricey LED back-lit market?
We've tested 29 LG televisions in the past couple of years – scores range between 47% and 69%. See our review of TV brands for more information.
Panasonic Viera HD TV reviews
Panasonic has had some great success in recent Which? TV tests, but falls short of a 100% record thanks to some patchy performances of late. Nevertheless, ease of use is still a strong card in the Panasonic deck and it's now the only brand fully committed to plasma TVs.
We've tested around 27 Panasonic Viera televisions in the past year or so – scores range between 57% and 73%. See our review of TV brands for more information.
Philips HD TV reviews
Philips has been a bit hit-and-miss with its TVs – but has recently started to land a few more hits than misses. If you like your pictures sharp and yearn for something a bit different from the hordes of black glossy models available, Philips could be worth a second look.
We've tested 15 Philips televisions in the past year or so – scores range between 46% and 56%. See our review of TV brands for more information.
Samsung HD TV reviews
As with LG, we've seen some significant signs of improvement from Samsung over the past two years. Its position as the biggest-selling TV manufacturer in the UK has often felt more down to brilliant marketing and the chic, glossy black (and now much imitated) finish of most of its LCD and plasma TVs.
However, Samsung has been making waves with its LED TV ranges and making great strides in energy-efficient design.
We've tested 30 Samsung televisions in 2009 and 2010 – scores range between 38% and 75%. See our review of TV brands for more information.
Sony Bravia HD TV reviews
Japanese LCD TV manufacturer Sony produces televisions with plenty of features and lots of good eco selling points. Its always been at the forefront of the latest HD TV technologies (take power-saving light sensors, for instance) and, with the addition of wireless internet connectivity, and Freeview HD tuners to some of its new models, it looks set to stay there.
We've tested 31 Sony Bravia televisions in the past year or so – scores range between 50% and 68%. See our review of TV brands for more information.
Sharp HD TV reviews
Sharp leads the way with the energy-efficient LE600 LED TV
Sharp has been a bit hit and miss in our tests, and has failed to deliver TVs at a consistent Which? Best Buy level. However, on occasion the brand has got it right and produced some surprisingly good LCD TVs. Sharp is also busy producing new ranges of LED HD TVs. Those we've reviewed to date have been the most energy-efficient we've ever tested.
We've tested 11 Sharp televisions in 2009 and 2010 – scores range between 36% and 51%. See our review of TV brands for more information.
Toshiba Regza HD TV reviews
Partly in response to losing out to Blu-ray in the recent high-definition DVD format battle, Toshiba launched itself at the ‘how to make standard-definition TV look as good as high definition’ problem and came up with Resolution+ processing software.
Resolution+ is implemented on some of its Regza LCD HDTV ranges, and Toshiba claims that it displays SD images at near high-definition quality. See what we made of Resolution+ and read about Toshiba's latest ranges.
We've tested 13 Toshiba Regza televisions in the past year or so – scores range between 40% and 52%. See our review of TV brands for more information.