True full-HD display stars

The good: Appealing design; good picture and sound quality; excellent user interface.

The bad: Extremely expensive; confusing configuration options.

The bottom line: For the price of the Loewe Individual 40 Compose Full-HD+ 100 DR+ with a few of the trimmings, you could buy a 60-inch plasma TV. Those who're willing to spend thousands, however, will almost certainly find the feature set and design to their taste.

The good: Good picture; powerful sound; attractive design.

The bad: Expensive; only three HDMI inputs.

The bottom line: We like the styling and A/V performance of the Loewe Art SL 42 Full-HD+ 100 DR+, as well as the extra functionality you can add.

The good: Clear and rich pictures; 21:9 mode eliminates letterbox bars; excellent sound quality; IDTV; YouTube video playback; onboard Web browser; DLNA network multimedia streaming; 802.11b/g Wi-Fi-enabled; five 24p-ready HDMI inputs; unique Ambilight ambient lighting.

The bad: Occasional motion artifacts; slow Web services; image cropping for 4:3 and 16:9 content; extremely pricey for an LCD TV without LED lighting; slow 7-second TV bootup time.

The bottom line: Watching ultra-wide movies is a treat on the new Philips Cinema 21:9. But for everything else, you should just settle for a regular 16:9 HDTV which costs a lot less.

The good: Impressive visuals; good audio quality; DLNA support; solid attempt at creating power-efficient TV.

The bad: Some Eco features a bit naff; LED backlighting more power-efficient.

The bottom line: The Sony Bravia KDL-40WE5 is an impressive first stab at creating a "green" LCD TV. While picture quality is good, you pay a premium for the panel's proprietary backlight.

The good: Excellent sound; superb image processing; attractive design; eco-friendly modes.

The bad: 200Hz mode is bad; poor off-axis viewing.

The bottom line: The LG 42LH50YD is a very capable television with a smattering of features, but don't buy it simply for the 200Hz mode.