We didn't think that Sony's flatscreen TVs could get much better, but the 40W4500 has proved us wrong. It's a stunning TV

We're not sure what's in the water over at Sony HQ, but the Japanese giant doesn't seem capable of putting a foot wrong when it comes to its latest LCD TVs.

We've already heaped praise upon the company's W4000 range of sets, but the ante has well and truly been upped by this 40W4500 flatscreen. It uses the impressive Bravia Engine 2 picture processor but, unlike the W4000 equivalent, this model is 100Hz and also features new Motionflow picture processing technology.

Sony claims that it produces a much smoother picture with improved detail levels. This new model also claims a higher contrast ratio than the W4000 equivalent (50,000:1, as opposed to 33,000:1), although we know that a superior figure doesn't always equate to superior performance.

One of the finest Full HD pictures we've seen
Whatever the figures, the Sony's internal wizardry certainly has a profound effect. The 40W4500 serves up one of the finest Full HD, LCD pictures we've ever seen. As you'd expect, the TV is at the top of its game when dealing with high-definition Blu-ray content.

Spin Transformers on Blu-ray, and it's difficult not to go dizzy with excitement. Any troubling traces of on-screen noise are banished and you're greeted with a picture boasting fantastic clarity. You can see the finest detail of Optimus Prime's sizeable frame.

Edge definition is consistently rock solid and with Motionflow turned on to 'standard' the picture looks super-smooth, but stops short of looking unrealistic, a problem that poorer picture-enhancing technologies have had in the past.

Special praise has to go to the Sony's contrast levels too. It manages to produce the kind of deep, rich, detailed blacks that used to be possible only on the very best plasma TVs. Even the drop down to standard DVD footage is dealt with easily. Insight and detail are still a major positive and the set extracts impressive detailing from the dark action of Street Kings.

It's punchy with standard-definition TV too
The Sony is a solid performer with standard-definition digital TV too. The Freeview picture shows a slight trace of noise, but on the whole the picture is punchy, well-defined and colours are well-balanced.

Some users have reported slight clouding issues with the LCD backlight, but Sony has issued a series of guidelines on how to tweak the settings to overcome this as you can read here.

On the sound front, the KDL-40W4500 uses S-Force Front Surround speaker technology. Sony claims that this helps to produce, and we quote, "true 3D surround sound" from the TVs speakers. To be honest, we found that the set sounded at its best when in standard stereo. The set sounds clearer and more composed with S-Force turned off.

In conclusion, it's fair to say that the 40W4500 is one of the finest TVs we've seen all year. And, if you want a screen that can make the most of high-definition content, you'd be bonkers not to give it an audition.

Click here to watch our video review of the Sony KDL-40W4500.