Make the most out of your PC's hi-def capabilities with these four great HDTVs!

Sharp’s LC42GD1E

Watching high definition on a small TV or PC monitor is one thing, but for the true immersive experience it’s tempting to get as big a screen as possible. And at £1,300, this Sharp 42-inch LCD is one hell of an option.

Thanks to its 1,920x1,080 resolution – the highest currently available – you can match the high-definition pictures and video pixel-forpixel with this screen.

There’s compatibility with all the major PC resolutions, from VGA to SXGA, and the LC42GD1E displays a desktop screen without any overscan.

Gamers may get slightly annoyed with connectivity: although there’s a brace of HDMI inputs, the PC input doubles up as the component video input, meaning Xbox owners will need to use the supplied adaptor with the HD AV cable. This makes it impossible to simultaneously hook up an Xbox 360 and a PC (unless the latter is fed through the HDMI input) and also involves rummaging through the menus and fiddling with resolutions.

But it’s worth the hassle. Sharp’s truD pictureenhancing technology doesn’t have to do as much as most TVs simply because it presents high-definition material as it comes, pixel for pixel. So even fast-moving games benefit from incredible stability while the overall picture remains clean.

Unusually for an LCD, the LC42GD1E is able to reproduce the colour black almost exactly, something that lends an awful lot more realism to games and movies. Elsewhere, colours are vivid and dazzling, although if you do get round to watching pictures from its Freeview TV tuner then be prepared for an altogether less impressive performance.

If it proves itself a hi-def hero but a Freeview flop, at least the LC42GD1E has decent speakers – although it’s probably worth investing in others. At less than £1,500, this TV that let’s you fulfil your big screen dreams without breaking the bank.

Toshiba’s 23W330

It’s unusually skilled for such a small TV. If you watch video and games more than you work on spreadsheets, rest assured that a TV is always going to provide better results than a dedicated PC monitor. The blur and judder you see when playing fastmoving games, for instance, is tackled better by a good LCD TV than it is by most LCD monitors, and this sleek looking model is very adept.

The 23W330 can be attached to a PC in two ways: regular PC input or HDMI. Some high-end PC graphics cards now have HDMI outputs, but those with Digital Video Interface (DVI) can also connect to HDMI with a cheap crossover cable.

The position of the desktop on the screen can be adjusted via a special PC menu, while a ‘dot clock’ can be adjusted to tweak the appearance and reduce any colour banding. There’s also an option to adjust the phase, which reduces any dotty noise on the screen.

An Xbox 360 can be hooked up via the component video inputs on the back of this set, although the Xbox 360 Elite’s HDMI output will render this a non-issue.

Dedicated inputs for PC audio are further clues to the dual talents of this TV, and the built-in Freeview tuner is a nice extra, although it’s the high definition video on its 1,366x768 pixel screen that really impresses. YouTube or any other poor quality video doesn’t hold up too well, and there is more ‘catch-up’ needed over fast-moving graphics and video than you’ll find higher up the scale.

This can be blamed on the TV’s small size, which is also the reason for the 23W330’s poor sound quality. But overall this is one of Toshiba’s finest TVs and well suited to use with a PC. Just don’t get rid of your desktop speakers.

Philips 42PF9731D

If money’s not an issue – as in really not an issue! – you can get the best, but that doesn’t just mean finding a TV with the most features.

This Philips LCD TV is further proof that it’s unwise to get too obsessed about resolution. Although it cannot show 1,080p ‘full HD’ pictures pixel-for-pixel, you actually see a lot more on this screen than on those with ‘better’ features. The 42PF9731D scales down a 1,080p signal from an Xbox 360, but is able to upscale poorer quality sources to near-HD levels of detail.

It’s the ideal partner to the Xbox 360 add-on HD DVD drive (£130), but there’s another reason why this is the ultimate TV for gamers; in addition to the Clear LCD Technology, you get Ambilight Surround. Unique to Philips TVs, Ambilight projects light from three sides of the TV in colours approximate to what’s showing on-screen at any given moment. For instance, play Pro Evolution Soccer and the dominant colour – green – will light up your room, and if there’s a close-up of Rooney’s red shirt on the left-hand side of the screen, red light will project onto that side of your room – with green to the left and up to the ceiling. It also reduces strain on your eyes, which makes a long session less tiring and adds some extra sparkle to an involving picture already high in detail and brightness.

A couple of HDMIs, component video and a PC input are present, and there’s some multimedia excitement in the form of a 7-in-1 multiformat card reader and two USB ports as well as an Ethernet connection. It’s possible to add the 42PF9731D to a network and stream music and low-quality video to it, but this can be a complex process. There are many features packed in here, such as a 3D Comb Filter and Jagged Line Suppression, but the real beauty of this TV lies in its combination of Ambilight and crystal clear hi-def pictures, marking it out as one of the greatest screens available for gamers.

Panasonic’s TX-26LXD70

Reach 26 inches and you have an impressively sized PC monitor, but there’s a lot more to this Panasonic TV.

This is LCD technology reinvented, because as well as being based around a whole new type of screen, called IPS Alpha, the TX-26LXD70 is perhaps the most advanced of its kind. It’s also the most expensive, but there are reasons, such as connectivity options including a PC input, a jack for PC audio, component video for Xbox 360 and two HDMI slots.

While those after an Xbox 360 Elite will find the two HDMIs handy in the long run, they should also find useful the TV’s readiness to show 1,080p video signals. This ability to screen the most detailed high-definition picture format makes the TV unique for its size, however it does have to scale the picture down to fit its WXGA 1,366x768 pixel screen.

But the effects are stunning. While anything in HD looks simply awesome, there are other significant picture talents. Panasonic’s use of 100Hz processing (which doubles the speed that images are refreshed), is designed to overcome the fact that LCD screens can get blurry when showing fast moving action and that most of them show grey instead of black.

The smooth, precise pictures and realistic looking blacks mean that the only real weakness is this set’s speakers – yet they’re still better than most. Even standard definition material looks OK thanks to some trickery from Panasonic’s V-Real 2 engine, while the viewing angle is almost panoramic: great for multiplayer action when not everyone can sit in a deadcentre position.

By releasing a screen capable of auto-detecting the optimum resolution from a PC and showing all manner of video in excellent quality whatever the resolution, Panasonic has set the benchmark for all small combination TV/PC monitors.