Bottom place, unfortunately, belongs to JVC's 42DV8. This seems extremely harsh on a TV that sports, thanks to its 100Hz system, quite possibly the clearest, crispest motion yet seen on an LCD TV. But we guess tackling just one of LCD's technological shortcomings can only get you so far when you're slightly off the pace in other areas.
Samsung LE40M87 takes the bronze medal. This is a fearsomely well-specified TV at a crackingly affordable price, which also delivers consistently impressive pictures, complete with black levels that leave most LCD rivals for dead. But it falls down just enough with motion to fetch it up short of our two plasma contenders.
It's quite hard to pick a winner between these two plasma heroes. They both cost pretty much the same, with the Panasonic 42PZ700 claiming a full HD resolution while the Pioneer 428XD claims world-beating black level response and a huge feature count. In the end, it came down to a feeling that the Pioneer's black level and colour supremacy ultimately delivered slightly more positive impact than the Panasonic's extra resolution.
AVReview: Group test: 40-42in TVs
Samsung LE40M87 takes the bronze medal. This is a fearsomely well-specified TV at a crackingly affordable price, which also delivers consistently impressive pictures, complete with black levels that leave most LCD rivals for dead. But it falls down just enough with motion to fetch it up short of our two plasma contenders.
It's quite hard to pick a winner between these two plasma heroes. They both cost pretty much the same, with the Panasonic 42PZ700 claiming a full HD resolution while the Pioneer 428XD claims world-beating black level response and a huge feature count. In the end, it came down to a feeling that the Pioneer's black level and colour supremacy ultimately delivered slightly more positive impact than the Panasonic's extra resolution.
AVReview: Group test: 40-42in TVs
