Group test: 52in LCD TVs pt2

Overview Price: £2,100 More info: Sharp Size (on stand): 1237(w) x 774 (h) x 94.6 (d)mm Weight: 33.5kg Native aspect ratio: 16:9 Claimed max contrast ratio: 10000:1 Claimed max brightness: 450cd/m2 Connections: Three v1.3a HDMI inputs; Two Scarts (both RGB); component video input; composite video input; S-Video input; D-Sub PC input; headphone jack; stereo audio inputs; CAM slot; RF input Sharp LC-52X20E Although not skinny like the upcoming 'ultra-thin' models from the likes of Hitachi and JVC are skinny, Sharp's LC-52X20E certainly tries hard not to be noticed. Its bezel is barely an inch wide, and it sticks out less than 100mm around the back, making its 52in screen surprisingly easy to accommodate. Its connections impress too by including three v1.3 HDMI inputs - though it's not quite as eye-catching in feature terms as its rivals today. The only things of real note are Sharp's tru-D processing for reducing judder, and an 'Action' picture mode that apparently reduces the screen's response time to cope with high levels of motion. Initially the 52X20E's pictures are rather disappointing. Colours look oversaturated, and black levels look rather flat and grey. Thankfully, however, this turns out to be down to the unfortunate factory presets Sharp ships the TV with. Calibrated properly and carefully, pictures show a dramatic improvement. Now colours look subtle but rich and realistically toned, and the image looks extremely sharp but also likeably free of noise. In fact, with HD at least the Sharp's images look more stable and solid than just about any other flat TV we can think of. Black levels also improve from being average to really pretty good with the settings corrected, and the set does a very respectable job of upscaling standard definition images to the screen's full HD pixel count. However, no amount of tinkering with the TV's settings managed to solve a few key problems. First, objects passing across the screen do sometimes lose noticeable resolution. Also, we were rather perturbed by the set's viewing angle limitations, as sitting more than 30 degrees or so off to the side of the TV causes severe loss of black level and colour saturation. Finally, the 52X20E's audio is really very average, sounding feeble and thin and as such hardly providing a fitting accompaniment for such large-scale images. Weigh up all the pros and cons, and what you're left with is a perfectly good TV, but one which is still outgunned by a couple of its rivals today.

Verdict Plus points Good pictures once you've got them calibrated, space-saving design, good connectivity Minus points The picture needs to be VERY carefully calibrated to look its best, the viewing angle is too limited, and motion resolution could be improved

Overview Price: £2,500 More info: Toshiba Size (no stand): 148(d) x 792(h) x 1278(w)mm Weight: 40kg Native aspect ratio: 16:9 Claimed max contrast ratio: 14000:1 Claimed max brightness: 500cd/m2 Connections: Three v1.3 HDMI inputs; Two Scarts (both RGB); component video input; PC D-Sub port; composite video input; S-Video input; Stereo audio output; headphone jack; stereo audio inputs; CAM slot; RF input; digital audio output; subwoofer line out Toshiba 52Z3030 Toshiba has already earned an enviable reputation with its previous LCD ranges, so we had high hopes for its latest flagship TV. It gets off to a good start, too, thanks to its opulent build quality and a strong roster of connections that includes three v1.3 HDMI inputs. It's also reassuring to find the 52Z3030 carrying Toshiba's Active Vision M100 picture processing. For the M100 bit indicates that as well as the standard Active Vision focus on colours, contrast, black levels and motion control, the set carries 100Hz processing designed to tackle LCD's traditional problems with blurring moving objects. Other intriguing features are a special '5:5' pulldown system for reproducing 1080p/24fps sources from Blu-ray discs with less judder, and a claimed contrast ratio of 14000:1 that's unusually high for standard LCD technology. Oddly, though, while the 52Z3030 appears to have everything it should need to deliver great pictures, its performance ultimately proves rather disappointing. The single biggest problem is the way moving objects tend to smear as they cross the screen, despite the 100Hz processing. But the set's black level response is a little suspect too. During normal daytime TV conditions dark sections of the picture look fine, but switch to films, with their more demanding contrast ranges, and dark areas can look rather greyed over. It doesn't help in this regard that as with one or two other TVs in this group test, black levels worsen drastically if you watch the TV from an angle greater than 30 degrees or so. Colours cause the 52Z3030 yet more trouble, as the set occasionally produces an unnatural tone or two, especially when watching standard definition. In fact, standard definition pictures in general can look rather noisy and unpolished. We're not saying that the 52Z3030 is unremittingly bad or anything. Its HD images are extremely sharp, for instance, its sound is outstanding, and although they can look a bit unnatural at times, colours are at least exceedingly vibrant and bright. It's just that, while the 52Z3030 can occasionally deliver quite outstanding pictures, it's way too inconsistent for comfort.

Verdict Plus points Good feature count, sometimes excellent pictures, rich colours Minus points Limited viewing angle, motion softness, standard definition problems

Final verdict There are plenty of real signs in this group test that LCD technology is moving in the right direction fast. We personally would be very happy to own three of our four contenders, and in the shape of Samsung's LE52F96BD, with its LED backlight technology, we're pretty sure we've seen a bona fide glimpse of the future of flat TV. The only screen we wouldn't really want to own, in fact, is Toshiba's 52Z3030. Nobody is more surprised about this than us; we'd entirely expected to like Toshiba's latest sets every bit as much as we liked the brand's previous ranges. But Toshiba simply hasn't progressed things as far as we'd like, even with its current range-topping Z models, with the result that it's suddenly fallen slightly behind the pack. A revamped Toshiba range is actually just around the corner, so we can only hope this gets the brand back on track - especially given the bad news it's had to swallow recently regarding its HD DVD format. In third place we've put the Sharp 52X20E. This is a real looker in design terms, and aggressively priced by Sharp standards too. But you have to be way too precise with your picture settings than should be the case to get the best from it, and even when it's perfectly calibrated one or two distracting problems remain. Second spot is awarded to Samsung's LE52F96BD. Thanks to its LED backlight system, this set actually completely revolutionises what we expect of LCD technology when it comes to black level response, and also outguns practically every LCD rival on colour richness too. But there are still definitely one or two residual problems Samsung needs to work out before LED technology becomes the leading light we fully expect it to be. What this all means, of course, is that the winner of our group test today is the Philips 52PFL9632D. This applies arguably the most advanced picture processing engine we've yet seen on a UK TV to produce picture quality to die for, even when watching standard definition. What's more, these emphatic picture standards are joined by one of the longest and most flexible lists of features we've ever seen, and a killer 'Ambilight' design that's sure to become a hot topic of debate at dinner parties. Aside from some very rare processing 'glitches', there's really very little to dislike about the 52PFL9632D indeed, making it the perfect serious home cinema centrepiece.

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