Group test: 26in LCD TVs

For a while back there, we thought the 26in TV category might be about to kick the bucket. Sales bombed, and a number of manufacturers pretty much abandoned the relatively small screen size as us telly buying folk focused our attentions on adorning our living rooms with much larger flat TV fare.

But now the 26in size is back, with a vengeance. Apparently reams of us have now satisfied our living room flat telly desires, and are turning our attentions to other rooms of the house, such as kitchens, studies, bedrooms and conservatories.

The good old credit crunch has probably played its part too, as the constrained circumstances of many UK households has led to more than a few people having to 'downsize' their telly ambitions.

The response to this upsurge in demand for one of the smaller things in televisual life has been responded to quickly by the main AV brands, leaving it a relatively easy job for us to round up four current, high-profile 26in contenders for review in this group test. But will any of them prove to be anything more than Average Joes churned out in a hurry to meet a sudden unexpected trend?

Overview Price: £500 More info: JVC Size: 90(d) x 440(h) x 660(w)mm Weight: 12kg Native aspect ratio: 16: 9 Claimed max contrast ratio: 5000: 1 Claimed max brightness: 500cd/m2 Connections: Two HDMI inputs; Two Scarts (both RGB); component video input; composite video input; Stereo audio output; headphone jack; stereo audio inputs; CAM slot; RF input; digital audio output JVC LT-26DE9 Concerns about all our 26in contenders being a bit samey and unimaginative are quashed instantly by our very first contender. For JVC's 26DE9 goes well beyond the core call of TV duty by including within its diminutive frame a built-in hard disk recording system, complete with Freeview tuner and healthy 160GB of available memory. Blimey - we didn't see that coming. What's more, the 26DE9's has earned the official 'Freeview+' seal of approval, indicating that it supports a number of key PVR features as series link support and the ability to scan listings for alternative showings of programmes you want to record if there's a schedule clash. More good news finds the 26DE9 sporting JVC's DynaPix Plus video processing engine, for boosting detail, colour and contrast. But there is also a bit of bad news to report, since the TV only provides two HDMIs, and very unusually doesn't carry a D-Sub PC port for easy analogue PC connection. The lack of a D-Sub VGA port is particularly unfortunate on a 26in TV, given such a TV's potential for second-room (bedroom or study) use. The 26DE9 does its best to make us forget about this, though, with its generally really likeable performance. Its recordings are particularly good, looking all but identical to the original broadcasts - not surprising given that the TV records the incoming digital bitstream directly. The DynaPix processing also helps the 26DE9 present Freeview standard definition broadcasts with exceptional sharpness, and without exaggerating any noise that might be in the source image. Not that the 26DE9 only likes standard def. Its HD images are startlingly sharp too, proving that you don't need a massive screen to be able to appreciate the advantages HD has over standard definition. Wrapping up the good stuff are terrifically rich, solid and credible colours; a pleasingly minimal amount of motion blur; and some surprisingly potent audio for such a small screen. But while the good value 26DE9's pictures are capable of looking spectacular, the set also suffers one significant flaw. For dark scenes all appear with a distinct bluish-grey mist hanging over them, leaving them looking a bit unrealistic and short of depth and shadow detail.

Verdict Plus points Impressive built-in Freeview recorder, pictures can look excellent, good operating system, fair price for what's on offer Minus points Dark scenes look a bit washed out, no PC jack

Overview Price: £350 More info: LG Electronics Size: 663.8(w) x 227.3(d) x 505.8(d)mm Weight: 10.1kg Resolution: 1366x768 Native aspect ratio: 16: 9 Claimed max contrast ratio: 15000: 1 Claimed max brightness: 500cd/m2 Connections: Two HDMI inputs, S-Video input, component video input, two Scarts (one RGB), PC input, RF jack, CI slot, composite video input, headphone jack

Well, its connections are decent enough, at any rate, with key findings including an acceptable (for the money) two HDMIs and a D-Sub port for attaching a PC.

We definitely have concerns about its feature count though. For unlike larger models in the LG3000 range, the 26LG3000 doesn't have LG's XD Engine video processing, an 'Expert' picture setting menu, or 'SimpLink' enhanced HDMI communication support. Its operating system is a bit bland too, and its sound comes courtesy of two one-way speakers rather than the much more powerful array of four two-way speakers found on larger LG3000s.

Sadly some of the missing features just described really do have a negative impact on the 26LG3000's performance. Its sound, in particular, is pretty awful - thin, devoid of bass, and woefully underpowered.

Pictures, meanwhile, are afflicted with some pretty uninspiring black levels, which leave dark scenes looking grey and one-dimensional. The TV's colours leave much to be desired too, as some really quite strange-looking tones creep in from time to time, especially if you're watching standard definition.

Yet another concern with the 26LG3000's pictures is that they don't handle motion especially well. Cricketers, footballers and so on look rather blurred as they run around, and action films don't fare much better.

The 26LG3000 is not, thankfully, all bad. It produces HD images with a high degree of sharpness when images are relatively static, and isn't bad at converting standard definition to its screen's HD native resolution.

But in the end the combined weight of its problems ensure that the 26LG3000 isn't really in the same ballpark as our strongest contenders in this group test.