Televisions

Samsung has already set the 2015 TV world alight with the High Dynamic Range (HDR) glories of its UE65JS9500 LCD/LED flagship screen (reviewed here). Sadly, though, the £6,000 price tag attached to that ground-breaking TV makes it nothing more than a pipe dream for most AV fans. Cue the £1,400 Samsung UE48JU7000, which preserves some of the key features of the JS9500 series for just a fraction of the price. Let's be honest – this is a 4K screen that many more people will seriously consider buying. There's even a 40in version for the space-constrained 4K fan.

The TX-55AX902 has a lot to live up to. First teased over a year ago, when Panasonic created headlines with the promise that it was working on an LED LCD able to exceed the picture performance of its plasma TVs, it bristles with advanced image wizardry, plus a full-array LED backlight with advanced local dimming. So can it lay claim to the high-end 4K market?

Behind closed doors, in LG’s high-security Seoul HQ, dubbed The Twin Towers, there’s a white board screaming the message ‘2015 is the year of OLED!’ It’s underlined three times in red marker. There’s a smiley face drawn alongside.

It may not be the cheapest 48in screen we've seen recently, but Samsung's UE48H6400 still represents stunning value for money. The design, while not especially original – the X-shaped stand seems a bit dated – is still attractive, with a glossy inner bezel and see-through outer frame. And the Samsung scores points over its rivals by providing four HDMI inputs, joined by copious multimedia support in the shape of three USBs and Ethernet and Wi-Fi hookups.

Panasonic’s TX-48AS640 cuts a similar figure on your AV furniture to LG’s 47LB730V, with a bezel that combines silver top and bottom edges with thin black sides to striking effect. Connectivity is similar too, with three HDMIs, two USBs and both Ethernet and Wi-Fi network options.

LG has had a topsy-turvy year in TV. On the upside, the brand’s taken the Smart TV world by storm with its WebOS interface. On the downside, it’s struggled to keep up with some rivals on the picture quality front.

This year was always likely to be a tricky one for Panasonic in TV terms, without having its ever-reliable plasma division to woo film fans. And to be honest it’s lived up – and down – to expectations, with the brand so far delivering a slightly untidy mix of hit-and-miss LCD sets.