I'm toying with the idea of replacing my Sony Bravia. It's only 20" and bought five years ago for £300 or so. It was perfect at the time but only 720p whereas my laptop is 17.3" and 1080p.

So....I'm considering something in the range of 36-40". I know this limits the benefit I'd get from full 1080p but I don't think I could fit anything larger in my bedroom.

I'm after recommendations - prefer a SMART TV that can hook up to my router (wired is fine for the mo), can play from USB drives. Like gaming on PS3. I hear lag is minimal on plasma yet gaming friends with LCD TVs are happy.

I've been recommended the Samsung ue40es6800 by a friend who supplies them for companies.

Any thoughts, ideas, or recommendations welcome.

Some thoughts in no real order...

Most TVs are supposed to have a Samsung panel anyway , my 37" LG from a few years ago certainly does and the picture's great. I've had no bother with lag even in CoD. Ask someone here if those superduper 'engines' companies bang on about actually make any difference!

Make sure you check up on the USB port - mine is only a service port, and my dad's Panasonic only displays JPEGs and curious video formats (not AVI/MPEG).

Be sure to check the dimensions. My TV is relatively large at the back (partly because it has decent speakers, something else to consider?), but it still fits in my prison cell of a room...

Big fan of Panasonic's Viera stuff.
Ours plays divx movies from USB sticks, you can schedule it to record to an external USB hard drive and you can watch other channels while it's doing that. Various HDMI inputs. There's even an optional network adaptor for it, if for some reason you desperately want your telly online.

Make sure it is 1080p not 1080i. Increasingly unlikely but you might get one if you do not check.

See if you can find reviews of it online.

Check for HDMI connections and SCART if you want legacy devices. Four HDMI is increasingly common now.

You can also get TV's with built in FreeviewHD or even FreeSatHD which saves a connection.

http://deals.discountvouchers.co.uk/deal/24068/lg-tv - any good?

Price wise good. Cheapest on Google Shopping £399. Only two HDMI and no mention if the Freeview is HD version. In which case it is not such a good deal if it is only standard definition Freeview. If so avoid, as this looks like a clearance item.

When gaming I turn off those 'engines'

To paraphrase Alexi Sayle

"Anyone who uses the word 'engines' outside light engineering is a complete and utter twat".