Our constantly updated list of the top 10 best 40-inch and 42-inch LCD TVs in the world today
Once known simply as 'plasma screens' in the collective consciousness, the 42-inch size is where the flatscreen dream started in the late 1990s - and where it's still at its most innovative and best.
Now a lot more varied, with plasmas rubbing shoulders with (and quickly being outnumbered by) LCD TVs and their ultra-modern LED TV makeover, 40-42 inches is still the sweetspot for anyone not overly concerned with ruining the interior design of their living room.
As well as being the fastest growing sector of the TV market, this size is also great value. Serious home cinema addicts have moved on to 50-inch and bigger screens, leaving this category a swarm of slashed prices.
That's truer than ever right now; the market is divided between brand new sets with built-in Freeview HD tuners, and those with standard digital tuners.
- Also read: 10 best sound bar systems for your HDTV
Whether you need a Freeview HD tuner is a choice you'll have to make (and depends on where you live), though we expect them to become a default feature very soon.
Nevertheless, if you're considering buying a TV without a Freeview HD tuner, demand a discount!
Arguably the minimum size where Full HD makes most sense and where a Blu-ray player is a must, the 42-inch size hasn't lost its allure despite becoming affordable.
Philips 42PFL9705
A tad small for 3D, but nothing touches this TV for image quality
Alongside Philips' unique Ambilight mood-lighting feature, the 40PFL9705's cutting edge credentials include direct, ? or 'full' ? LED backlighting, connected TV status and 3D readiness. There's no Freeview HD ? an alarming oversight on Philips' current range of TVs ? but nothing in the 40-inch category touches the 40PFL9705 for sheer image quality.
Read: Philips 42PFL9705 review
Sony KDL-40EX503
Pics, price, Freeview HD and online video streaming make this LCD a force
Sony's very first TV to come packing a built-in Freeview HD tuner adds decent picture quality, sets a new bar for online content, and is impressively easy to use for such a complex TV.
Particularly excellent is the 40EX503's black level response, which achieves levels of profundity much deeper than anything Sony has managed before.
It's good looking, too; a brushed aluminium panel running along the TV's bottom edge adds a touch of opulence to the otherwise straightforward glossy black rectangle.
Strapped with MotionFlow 100Hz and Sony's Bravia Engine 3 system, this TV's most interesting feature is streaming from YouTube, blip.tv, DailyMotion and LoveFilm, but the bottom line is that if you live in an area that already has or is soon to get Freeview HD, then the 40EX503 absolutely demands an audition.
Read: full Sony KDL-40EX503 full review
Sony Bravia KDL-40HX703
Sony's best TV to date matches Freeview HD to 200Hz scanning
Sporting Sony's new Monolithic design and a Deep Black Panel, this TV features 200Hz processing, Bravia Engine 3 video processing, 24p True Cinema Blu-ray mode, Live Colour engine, Bravia Internet Video and Freeview HD.
The 40HX703 also scores a palpable hit with the sharpness of its HD sources, which contain oodles of fine detail and enjoy a really crisp finish, but suffer no video noise.
The crispness is further boosted by the impressive 200Hz processing, which keeps judder and motion blur to a minimum without generating hardly any unwanted processing side effects (provided, of course, you stick with the 'MotionFlow' system's Standard setting).
Colours are superb, too, and the Bravia Engine upscales standard-definition sources unusually effectively.
Read: full Sony KDL-40HX703 review
Panasonic TX-P42GT20B
Panasonic takes 3D plasma to a smaller level, and throws in 2D to 3D upscaling
Just when it looked like LCD was about to bury its old rival once and for all, plasma proved it could show 3D pictures with much less ghosting noise, or crosstalk - but the only catch was size.
Those with smaller rooms (and bank accounts) can now invest in 3DTV thanks to this, Panasonic's first 42-inch 3D plasma. Endorsed by THX and the ISF, this is another superb plasma that underlines the technology's current 3D advantage.
Read: full Panasonic TX-P42GT20 review
Philips 40PFL7605
Edge LED with added Ambilight & Net TV, but no Freeview HD
Remarkably thin (it's just 42mm deep), but well built, this Philips has the usual classy touches - Ambilight, wireless streaming and Net TV - but no Freeview HD tuner.
That's an oversight and bound to put some people off, which is a shame, because at its core this superlative set is all about picture performance. And as Edge LED-backlit TVs go, you won't find a much slimmer or more impressive TV.
Read: full Philips 40PFL7605 review
Sony KDL-40NX703
This Sony offers excellent black levels ? and can be bought with a white bezel
The 40NX703's colours and contrast reduce during off-axis viewing, the TV's front panel can reflect direct light a little heavily, and its HD pictures aren't quite as crisp as normal for Sony. But with some good standard-def upscaling and a passable if hardly earth-shattering audio, the 40NX703 remains a seriously attractive combination of form and function. Meanwhile, 'monolithic' TV styling and a single layer glass topsheet make for a simple and striking design.
Read: Sony KDL-40NX703 review
Sony KDL-40NX713
This networked TV aims to be all things to all viewers
With Edge LED backlighting, Sony's NX Network sets combine advanced multimedia capability with premium picture performance and Sony's trademark Monolithic Design. This designer set is a top-flight picture performer and looks fabulous with Blu-ray. As a 3D proposition it has flaws, principally because you'll need to invest more cash to obtain the required accoutrements. But overall, the TV gets two thumbs up.
Read: Sony KDL-40NX713 review
Samsung UE40C8000
Samsung's gorgeous 40-inch skinny screen is an edge-lit LED delight
This elegant edge LED-lit TV's skinniness is just one of its many attributes, with 3D capability, DLNA networking, USB recording and internet TV among the auxiliary features that complement its jaw-dropping looks. A transparent-edged, brushed titanium bezel and ultra-black screen contains Freeview HD and plenty more cutting-edge tech, though it's too small for 3D.
Read: Samsung UE40C8000 review
LG 42LE7900
This wafer-thin LED TV is a plum puchase
LG's latest boundary-pushing screen, the 42LE7900, with its subtly plum-tinged frame and improbable profile, is jaw-droppingly lovely to look at and comes packed full of some the most exciting spec of any telly available today.
This set has every gadget you could possibly need and then a few more sprinkled on top for good measure. Most excitingly, it has Freeview HD brains built in, which means you won't need a digibox ever again. It also sports LG's NetCast web-browsing 'widgets', wireless capability for use with various media files or cord-free headphones and four HDMI inputs. It's also lit with LEDs, 100Hz scanning two USB inputs.
Underwhelming black levels and occasionally substandard motion handling cost the set a fifth star and an unreserved recommendation; this is one for those who prefer style over technical finesse.
Read: full LG 42LE7900 review
Panasonic TX-P42VT20
Panasonic's most advanced 42-inch screen yet brings full HD 3D to the plasma party
Panasonic's 'other' 42-inch 3D plasma is from the step-up VT20 Series.
For the extra cash you'll get an extra speaker, a wireless adaptor and perhaps the brand's best-kept secret - Infinite Black Pro.
It may look drab on the outside, but one of Panasonic's flagship screens uses plasma tech to display one of the best 2D and 3D performances around.
Read: full Panasonic TX-P42VT20 review
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