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There are now so many televisions to choose from that it's hard to get a clear picture of what will suit you best. Here Duncan Madden, a former editor of Boys Toys magazine and one of Britain's leading technology journalists, tunes in to the five best flatscreens. Click to view Top 5 TVs.
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Best Second-Room TV (Philips 15PF5121) |
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 While a television in the sitting room has been a necessity for years, a second set for the kitchen, bedroom or study is becoming equally essential for many of us. This Philips LCD 15-incher combines slick looks and classy performance in an unobtrusive design that won't dominate the room. |
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When buying a 'main room' television, there are certain prerequisites the modern gadget-obsessed buyer will likely insist upon. Namely, it has to be HD Ready, sport a 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratio and feature all the connectivity you need to hook up all your peripherals. But when it comes to a second-room TV, unless it's for something like a dedicated gaming setup, these factors are pretty much superfluous. Are you really likely to need the HD functionality for watching the news while whipping up dinner? Er, no. Will your enjoyment of the Jeremy Kyle show be lessened in bed if he's not presented in widescreen? Again, no.
Which is why this Philips is the right second-room choice. Because what it does is keep things simple and concentrate on the essentials - great picture quality, unobtrusive yet classy design and solid uncompromising build quality.
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Keep it simple |
| Described by Stuff magazine as, “quite clearly a tech-spec cut above its rivals” and “the class act of the portable LCD world”, this 15-inch screen does one thing supremely well - throw out very good standard definition TV signals. The majority of TV shows are still broadcast in 4:3 (as opposed to 16:9) format, which suits the Philips just fine. And, thanks to the Crystal Clear III picture processing, the colour reproduction is vivid and bright with a strikingly natural quality brought to skin tones and razor sharp edges no matter what's on. |
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 Alongside this, the Philips is as close to being HD Ready as a 4:3 television can get thanks to its 1024x768 pixel resolution high-definition XGA display and the inclusion of a DVI input. Hook it up to a good DVD player with DVI or HDMI out and you benefit from an astoundingly punchy picture - and the same can be said for your other HD peripherals.
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Sound as a pound |
Virtual Dolby Surround means the sound is more than adequate for a second-room setup, and comes in particularly handy if you use the PC input, turning the screen into a computer monitor meaning you won't need to buy a typical 2.1 setup to get decent sound for your music and video files.
While there are certain things that would improve the Philips further, such as a built-in Freeview tuner, these would only up the already fairly high price. But supplied as it is with a decent tiltable stand and the option to wall mount with an extra bracket, the Philips provides the perfect second-room combination of performance and aesthetics without ever getting ideas above its station.
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For further explanation of technical terms click here
Typical Price: £240-£300/$475-$594
For currency converter click here
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