If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Remember our review of the Samsung LE37R87BD? Well we’ve just uploaded a video review of the Samsung LE37R88BD, it’s sister set, which you can check out on or Video Review page! Happy viewing from Gadgetheat.

Everybody likes a list so we at HDTV Reviews came up with one. A few years ago if I told you HDTV’s would be under £500 you would have laughed in my face and asked me what I was smoking (ahem) but these days you can get some pretty nifty deals without blowing a hole in your pocket. If you’re looking for a second television or a HDTV dedicated to your games console, spending more than £500 is a bit excessive unless you really have money to spare.

We’ve put together a list of the top 5 HDTV’s for around the £400 - £500 that are definitely worth checking out.

1. Sony KDL32S3000

No surprises as to our number 1 the Sony KDL32S3000. This is a decent sized 32 incher and the SONY quality runs through this like a river. You get 3 HDMI ports plus the Bravia engine technology, what more could you want?

2. Samsung LE32R87BD

This could have easily been a SONY dominated list but we couldn’t over look the Samsung LE32R87BD. The winning feature of this set is the ‘game mode’ which makes all us Ps3 and Xbox 360 addicts extremely grateful

3. Toshiba 32C3035

This was the amongst the first Toshiba we reviewed and so far it has proved to be the best. Easy setup straight out the box, great picture and it also has a slick design that makes it stand out from the normal HDTV crowd.

4. Sony KDL32D3000

This is the bigger brother of the S series. More ounce to the bounce but slightly more expensive. If you’re not happy with the S series for any reason (and you got to be one tough customer not to be) the Sony KDL32D3000 would be a step up in the right direction.

5. Philips 26PFL5522D

We haven’t yet reviewed a Phillips at HDTV Reviews but this is definitely on our list. At 26 inches it is smaller than the other televisions on this list but it’s great value for money and looks fantastic both picture wise and aesthetically. It could do with a few more settings and options in terms of getting the picture just right so it won’t be making it any further up this list.

Toshiba 37X3030

We have a few bees in our bonnet here at GadgetHeat, one of them being the motion blurring on many HDTV’s on the market and the attitude of many manufactures seems to be one of ‘put up and shut up’ (unlike the near flawless Samsung LN46A650).

This is evident from the start in the Toshiba 37X3030. Although Toshiba claim that it has a 24fps (Frames Per Second) capability (which would effectively eliminate motion blurring) the Toshiba 37X3030 cannot actually do anything much with it as it is not fully 24fps compatible. Confused? We know we are….

What is the point of having a feature that is not fully implemented? What this means in effect is that in action sequences or in any panning shots we get the dreaded HDTV blur that makes you yearn for your old CRT monitor. Watching sports in standard definition on the Toshiba 37X3030 is a struggle because of the speed of motion so you will have to sit a reasonable distance away from the set to be able to tolerate it.

Another gripe is the fact that you cannot input 1080i/p through VGA on the Toshiba 37X3030. You have to use HDMI or component. You may see this as a small problem as all Blu-Ray and HD DVD players these days have HDMI connectors / slots but if you have a Xbox 360 (non-Elite) be warned that you will have to use component to get the HD experience on some games.

On the plus side (yes there are some pluses) watching up-scaled DVD’s or HD DVD / Blu-Ray on the Toshiba 37X3030 is amazing. You will have to adjust the settings to suit your room and viewing distance but once that is done you should get the full 1080p benefit from this HDTV.

The Toshiba 37X3030 is a classy looking television set and the piano black finish makes it stand out somewhat from the usual HDTV crowd. It’s not a dust magnet either in particular.

For the price (around £600 - 700) the Toshiba 37X3030 is pretty good for a Full HD (1080p) television and if you have Sky HD and the such you won’t be disappointed - just make allowances for some pixilation when it comes to fast moving images.

Straight out of the box the Samsung LE37R87 can be a little bright for some users but, saying that, the clarity of this latest Samsung can’t really be knocked but at HDTV Reviews, we’re all for knocking….

Yes it will take you a while to fiddle with all the options (especially since you will probably have to switch from the default ‘dynamic’ mode to ’standard’ in order to get the picture pitch you want) but once it is done, this high definition television will perform as good if not better than those which cost up to £200 more….For HD signals.

For Freeview and SD signals reviewers have been given conflicting reports. Some claim that the SD picture is upgraded whilst others claim that it can be fuzzy or deteriorate from scene to scene. It looks like it mostly depends on how you set your viewing options (colour, contrast etc.) so as mentioned, take the time to get it right.

Although the Samsung LE37R87 looks the part, this HDTV is a bit too slick… It’s like a dust magnet so if you’ve got kids, keep them away because you are definitely going to be able to see every sticky little fingerprint they leave behind (not exactly a modern look).

Again on the downside the Samsung LE37R87 does not come with surround sound and it outputs in 720p rather than 1080p (you can read our report on the 720 v 1080 debate here).

Don’t forget to browse our own stock for some HDTV deals.

100Hz is currently the upper limit for commercially available LCD HD TV’s at the moment and you could usually expect to pay upwards of £1000 for one so to find one with a good make and build for under £600 sounds too good to be true.

The Toshiba 37WLT68 straight out of the box gives a crystal clear picture and if you compare it with a Toshiba 60Hz HDTV of similar spec the difference it immediate. Blurring is less of a problem with the Toshiba 37WLT68 due to its M100 100Hz processing technology however, as with most other LCD TV’s pixilation can occur from time to time especially with background images which is a disappointment considering that it is otherwise such a high spec HD Ready TV.

The range of input output options is impressive with 3 HDMI ports, VGA, component, S-Video amongst others with the only niggle of the Toshiba 37WLT68 is the habit of reverting to 4:3 aspect when the HDMI input for the DVD player is changed.

A really annoying negative of the Toshiba 37WLT68 is the response times. The remote control sucks to be frank and changing anything or getting information up on screen will leave you twiddling your thumbs from time to time as you wonder whether or not the thing has crashed, but no, it’s just taking its sweet time. This may sound like a minor point in comparison to all the other considerations when buying a HD Ready TV but if you’re like me, I want my gadgets to respond immediately and not leave me hanging waiting for response.

This is a generic problem so if you do plump for the Toshiba 37WLT68 there’s no point returning your remote control to Toshiba for a replacement as it will not be any better.

Looks-wise I don’t see how anyone can complain about the Toshiba 37WLT68 as it is proper gorgeous and in an average sized living room it will look great on or off. Hope you enjoyed this HDTV Review, as with all our other HDTV’S, we have it at a great price at our store.