Archive for Steve May
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Televisions 5 out of 5Sony KDL-40W905A smart 3D TV review
13 May 2013Sony seems determined to improve its image. While rival TV manufacturers tout voice recognition systems and play tuner Top Trumps, Sony’s latest flagship is all about picture quality. Indeed with its groundbreaking wide colour Triluminos backlight and...
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Televisions 4 out of 5Panasonic TX-L47DT65 Smart 3D TV review
22 April 2013Panasonic has brought its A-game to LED this year. After years of treading water, the brand’s engineering and design teams have seemingly been let off the leash, culminating in its DT65 Series screens which positively throb with bright, fresh ideas....
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Televisions 4 out of 5LG 84LM960V 4K TV review
25 December 2012There are big changes afoot in the TV biz. With nothing to be made from selling Plasma and LED LCDs, television manufacturers have been scrabbling to find the next big thing. Eighteen months ago that looked to be OLED, but insurmountable manufacturing...
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Home Cinema 4 out of 5Toshiba 47VL863 review
17 November 2011Toshiba deserves its reputation as a click-teaser. SED, Cell TV, Full-array LED: all mouth-watering TV technologies that it’s promised that have come to nought. But there is hope. This year the company appears determined to be cutting-edge and not just...
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Home Cinema 4.5 out of 5Sony KDL-40HX723 review
14 November 2011Sony TVs are a bit like Star Trek movies. They alternate between good and woeful for no apparent reason. But while the decent Trek flicks are relatively easy to predict - stick with the even-numbered outings and you won’t go far wrong - avoiding the...
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Home Cinema 4.5 out of 5Samsung UE40D6530 review
11 November 2011Between the two of us, we've fallen a little bit in love with Samsung’s D6530. Maybe it’s the way it doesn’t try too hard to look gorgeous, or the seductive silkiness of its blacks. Whatever the reason for its magnetic allure, we just want to sit...
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Televisions 4.5 out of 5Panasonic TX-P42VT30 review
5 July 2011Ever since Pioneer pulled the plug on its highly-rated Kuro line of plasma screens, enthusiasts have been looking for a new hero brand to fill the void. Panasonic has always been the favoured candidate, not only because it has consistently enjoyed critical...
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Cameras 4.5 out of 5JVC Everio GS-TD1 review
18 May 2011Until now, Panasonic has been a lonely champion for homemade 3D, offering a range of camcorders compatible with its VW-CLT1 3D accessory lens. We looked at the brand’s HDC-SD900 recently and were suitably impressed, although like all the 3D capable...
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Home Cinema 4 out of 5EchoStar Freesat HDS-600RS review
19 April 2011The Freesat audience may comprise Sky wobblers and value seekers, but that doesn’t mean they should be denied a little innovation to call their own. Enter the HDS-600RS, world’s first personal video recorder with integrated Slingbox. The brand responsible...
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Home Cinema 3.5 out of 5Harman Kardon BDS 800 review
23 March 2011The Home Theatre in a Box (HTIB) business is dominated by brands that build systems to a price, loading them to overflowing with the latest digital doodads. There is, though, a less frenetic high-end to this market, where simple sophistication is valued....
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Home Cinema 4.5 out of 5Samsung UE55D8000 review
15 March 2011With no immediate replacement for the extraordinarily over-engineered 9000 Series on the horizon, Samsung’s waif-thin Series 8 models have become the new LED flag wavers for the brand. At first glance the models look rather similar, but the new Series...
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Cameras 4.5 out of 5Panasonic HDC-SD900 review
25 February 2011Panasonic has slashed the entry price of DIY 3D by expanding its range of 3D compatible camcorders and making the conversion lens an optional £280 accessory. You can now step up to 3D via the £899 HDC-SD900, the most affordable new member of the brand’s...
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Laptops 4 out of 5Asus G53JW 3D review
11 February 2011The G53JW is the latest in Asus’ hardcore Republic of Gamers range. The spec reads like a wish list for FPS hedonists: Intel i7 Quad Core 740M processor, Nvidia Fermi-derived GeForce GTX460M graphics, Blu-ray writer, 3D. It even ships with a large custom-designed...
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Home Cinema 3.5 out of 5Sony SMP-N100 review
2 February 2011The SMP-N100 is Sony’s first dedicated IPTV and network media player. Once the exclusive province of relatively esoteric PC brands, this sector of the market is now being groomed by the big TV makers, which means a whole new tranche of telly-watchers...
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Televisions 4 out of 5Toshiba 40VL758 review
3 December 2010Toshiba has upped its game rather dramatically with its latest range of LED TVs. Produced in collaboration with the jolly Danes from Jacob Jensen Design, they are uniformly slim (this 40 incher is a mere 29mm deep) and well made. They’re also surprisingly...
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Televisions 3 out of 5LG 42LE4900 review
1 December 2010LG has dramatically upped the ante with its latest range of slim-screens. The 42LE4900 is a beauty. Pencil thin, thanks to an Edge LED backlit display, and weighing just 14.5kg, the TV has been designed to turn heads, and that’s even before the bright...
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Cameras 4 out of 5Panasonic HDC-SDT750 review
18 November 2010The 3D revolution seems inevitable. Analysts predict a massive take up of 3D TVs, as much as 45 per cent of all models sold by 2014, and 3D theatrical releases continue to rake in healthy box-office revenues. Both studios and PPV operators are licking...
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Televisions 4.5 out of 5Samsung UE55C9000 review
15 November 2010Samsung may be top dog in the global TV market, but it’s still rankled by the fact that it’s not truly regarded as a high-end brand. Despite critical plaudits and mass-market success, its moniker isn’t bandied around as a premiere league name. Samsung...