Celcus LCD40S913FHD

 £250

Big-screen thrills on a budget – the very definition of a supermarket special

For

• Big and cheap
• Lots of connections
• Impressive picture performance
• Decent sound

Against

• No HD tuner or smart TV functions

NB: There are several versions of this TV with very similar model numbers on the Sainsbury's website. We tested the LCD (not LED) version of the 40S913FHD.

It would be easy to dismiss a large supermarket TV at a bargain price as a second-rate option. But in the case of this Celcus from Sainsbury’s, that would be a mistake.

Why? Because in the case of the Celcus LCD40S913FHD, you get an awful lot of TV for your cash. At just over 20cm deep, the chassis is no CRT but it’s a bigger chunk of telly than we’re used to. At 15kg, it’s a good 50 per cent heavier than the average 40in.

Still, sat in the corner on its (fixed) pedestal stand, that’s largely by the by for most people. A Full HD TV, the Celcus has a standard-definition Freeview tuner, three HDMI inputs and USB and PC inputs.

Component, SCART and composite video connections are here too, plus an optical audio output. No sign of an ethernet or wireless internet connection, so no smart TV.

The Celcus' menu has big, clear icons and responsive controls. There isn’t a huge selection of features to get through so a few tweaks of the picture via the THX Optimizer disc and we’re away.

Celcus LCD40S913FHD review: Performance
The standard-definition tuner gets us off to a solid start. There’s some blocking, especially on lower-quality channels, but colours are balanced and contrast levels are decent with clean whites and solid black levels.

Play a DVD or Blu-ray and results are arguably more impressive. Let your player do the upscaling and then you can enjoy good pictures, with which it’s simply hard to find too much by way of obvious fault. Even the speakers, given a larger chassis to work with, sound fine.

Comparative testing finds our eyes drawn to the bigger screen: it’s a solid all-rounder with smooth motion, good colours, decent contrast and a level of insight with which we wouldn’t grumble for this sort of money.

Celcus LCD40S913FHD review: VerdictSure, it’s low on features but then it’s low on price too – and for minimal additional outlay you could add a budget smart Blu-ray player for access to BBC iPlayer, LoveFilm and so on.

A £250 40in TV doesn’t need to set the world alight to be something of a steal, and that’s just what we have here.