Samsung LE32R41BD: Bargain brilliance

Samsung LCD TVs -- we just love 'em here on Crave. Can't get enough of the blighters. We recently reviewed the LE40R51B, and even though it was one of the best-value flat screens we'd ever seen, 40 inches might be too big for the average living room. Which is why we set about getting this 32-inch model straight away, codenamed the LE32R41BD. Still high-definition compatible, the new feature encased inside the gorgeously slinky body is a Freeview tuner.

Connectivity is identical to its 40-inch bigger brother, which is no bad thing considering there's HDMI, component video and VGA on offer, in addition to standard RGB Scart, S-video and composite. We rigged our Xbox up via component video for a weekend of gaming on this beauty and the results were spectacular. Samsung's own DNIe picture processing takes all video signals and batters the life out of them until they're devoid of artefacts. The TV will boost contrast even further if you tell it to, and it can detect the light levels in the room to adapt the picture to match.

However, the really wonderful thing about this TV has to be its price -- check online and you can find it for well under £950. We didn't expect a 32-inch model to arrive this year at under a grand. Sure, we wish we had the eight extra inches of screen from the 40-inch model at home, but the 32-inch model has Freeview at the touch of a button -- checking the football scores on Sky Sports News has never been easier. It was hard work putting the LE32R41BD through its paces, but we've made it through the other side and we'll have a full review for you later in the week. -GC

Update: this review is now live here.