Samsung LE40R51B: Super-size me

Even to us hardened reviewers, first impressions count. And from our first look at this 40-inch Samsung LCD, we're ready to add it to our list of favourite things, along with Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream and Pret a Manger BLT sarnies.

But is 40 inches a little too big? If you're a bit 'ker-azee' like us and set it up to play Battlefield 2, then an LCD that completely fills your peripheral vision while you sniper people's heads off will burn nightmare visions of 'Nam directly into your brain. But when we're not baiting the office Health & Safety officer and use the TV in the normal manner, we can appreciate that the LE40R51B is the most stylish thing we've seen outside of a Bang & Olufsen factory. But are there any flaws in this beauty, any cracks in the frontispiece of AV glory?

Well, the TV's innards are bereft of a digital tuner, so you'll have to buy a box or put up with the smeary mess of an analogue signal. Other than that, this is one of the most bargain-tastic 40-inch LCDs we've seen -- we even found this baby online for as little as £1,600. It's fully high-definition compatible too, with HDMI and PC sockets on the rear (as well as component video and two Scarts). And unlike other cheaper LCD TVs, it has Samsung's DNIe picture processing, which beats the bejesus out of the incoming picture signal until it's as clean as a Hilary Duff movie. The final seal of approval comes from Microsoft -- it's using this range to demo the Xbox 360. We doubt the big man okayed using the set himself, but Samsung should consider adding the 'Bill Gates approved' badge next to the 'HD Ready' one.

Thanks to the price, this TV and its smaller brother, the LE32R41BD (which has a digital tuner) have got the AV world in a bit of a lather -- they're just such good value. We'll see if this 40-inch model has the picture quality to match powerhouses from Sharp and Panasonic when we give it a definitive review later this month. -GC