There’s a conundrum that many movie fans face. You might be perfectly happy with your TV’s picture performance, but the audio is often another matter entirely. Punchy action scenes might be missing a sense of energy, and it may be difficult to make out dialogue during busy parts of a film.

Luckily, there is a way to fix this common problem. If you don’t have the budget or space for a multi-speaker package to upgrade your sound, then adding a soundbar to the mix is a great way to go.

• View all the Prime Day deals on Amazon

And, for those on the hunt for an even more room-filling experience, there is the option of getting a soundbar with Dolby Atmos support, which can provide a much-desired extra boost of surround sound.

With Amazon Prime Day deals swarming your search like ants to a melting Calippo, it can be hard to find a model that is genuinely right for you. That’s where we come in. We have tested hundreds of soundbars over the years, and have hand-selected four products that provide immersive sound and are at a discounted price right now.

Sonos Beam Gen 2

The Sonos Beam Gen 2 holds the crown as the top entry-level Dolby Atmos bar in our best soundbars guide.

The Beam Gen 2 measures just 7 x 65 x 10cm (hwd) and weighs 2.8kg, making it easy to place in front of your TV without obscuring the picture. Under the hood, you will find four front-facing elliptical mid-woofers and a centre tweeter.

Most importantly, it offers a detailed, rich, and enveloping audio experience, which is particularly impressive considering its compact footprint.

Despite the bar’s lack of up-firing drivers, the soundfield is immersive and we get a good sense of height as well as scale. In fact, we note in our review: “Whether it’s a chirping bird, a car or a voice, there’s remarkable consistency across the complete soundfield, and seamless handover between drivers, which we have to say doesn’t always happen when a Dolby Atmos soundbar has upward drivers to contend with.”

It launched at £449, but this Prime Day deal has seen its price drop to £337 at Amazon. That’s a saving of £112, and is well worth considering if you are looking to add an Atmos soundbar to your system.

Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9

If you are looking for a step-up soundbar to add to your system, then the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 is hard to beat. This Sony sounds exceptionally crisp and precise, and the Atmos-ness of its delivery is hugely impressive for a standalone bar.

We find there is a slightly clinical tone in its overall delivery, but its superb detail and punch mean it still achieves five-star success.

In terms of connectivity, gaming fans will be pleased to hear that the Bar 9 has a dedicated HDMI 2.1 input and support for 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM.

You can find it for £999 at Richer Sounds, chopping £400 off its launch price. At this price, it is also worth considering the Award-winning Sonos Arc Ultra. It’s a brilliant-sounding system, offering a rich overall sound with expressive vocals.

It features only a single HDMI eARC port, however, which is not as comprehensive as the Theatre Bar 9’s offerings. The Sonos model is currently available at its launch price of £999 at Smart Home Sounds, but we have our fingers crossed for a reduction before the end of Prime Day.

Hisense AX5125H

All-in-one soundbars work excellently for some people, but you might be craving that extra sense of immersion that can come with a soundbar package. And our top budget soundbar system recommendation is currently available for an absolute steal.

You can pick up the Award-winning Hisense AX5125H for just £199 at Currys, making it easily one of the best-sounding affordable soundbar systems we have heard.

The 5.1.2 system, which supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, offers a relatively compact design that is easy to accommodate in most homes. It is made up of two small wireless surround speakers, a wireless subwoofer and the main soundbar. Even though the surround speakers are surprisingly compact (each one measures just 14 x 9 x 11cm), they produce an impressively enveloping soundfield that massively improves upon our experience with the TV’s sound.

We noted in our review when watching Civil War: “Bullets whizz from the front to the back of the room and even behind the listening position, helicopters hover at ceiling height, and distant explosions rumble menacingly.”

Vocals are clear and sound relatively emotive too, although the subwoofer can get a little overzealous and cause them to become muffled in the busiest sections. Still, the Hisense system is a top performer in its class and is even more tempting at this discount.

Samsung HW-Q990F

Finally, we have the Samsung HW-Q990F, an Award-winning 11.1.4 soundbar package. Like the Hisense system, it is made up of a soundbar, a subwoofer, and two surround speakers.

It is a chunkier system in terms of its build, though. The surrounds, for instance, measure 25 x 25 x 25cm and the soundbar comes in at a more hefty 7 x 123 x 14cm (hwd).

With support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, we were impressed by the soundbar’s ability to create that all-important dome of sound as well as ensuring the sound moves organically between the channels.

When it comes to its bass performance, we say in our review: “There is a much greater sense of tonal variation from this subwoofer [compared with the older Q990D model], which unearths a new layer to the bass. The Q990F’s bass feels more organic, balanced, and seamlessly integrated into the system as a result.”

That all makes it a focused, tonally varied overall sound that immerses us in whatever we listen to. You can find the system for £750 at Amazon, saving you around a whopping £949 off its original price.

We recently reviewed the Q990F’s successor – the Samsung HW-Q990H. This new system managed to build upon our favourite aspects of the older model, resulting in an even more detailed and nuanced performance. That meant the Q990H took the crown when we put them head to head – but the Q990F is without doubt still a brilliant performer in the category.

Plus, the Q990H's price has dropped only a small amount for Prime Day (the cheapest we have seen so far is £1299 at Amazon). That makes the older model all the more tempting.

MORE:

These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

Check out the best budget soundbars

And here are the best TVs right now

TVs are getting bigger, and bigger… and bigger.

Hisense and TCL have been selling 116-inch and 115-inch TVs for quite some time now – and both of those look fairly modest compa red with Samsung’s behemoth 130-inch RGB Micro LED TV, which was unveiled at CES 2026.

The sensibly sized living rooms of many British homes are simply not built for a TV of that size – and many will find a proper surround sound package to be a squeeze as well. So does that mean you simply can’t fit a home cinema system into your house?

Of course it doesn’t!

We have tested plenty of smaller TVs and soundbars with modest footprints; and what they lack in size, they make up for in performance.

In fact, I have built a complete system, which includes a 42-inch OLED TV from LG, a superb scaled-down Hisense soundbar package (which even supports Dolby Atmos), and a five-star Amazon streamer that is no bigger than your average chocolate bar.

All of these products are Award-winners and, thanks to Amazon Prime Day, they are now all hugely discounted. At launch, this set-up would have cost you £1418; thanks to some pretty astonishing Prime Day discounts, it can now be yours for just £862.

This trio of petite home-cinema gadgets strikes the three core pillars of any good home cinema setup: picture, sound, and content.

And if you are happy to use LG’s webOS software platform and don’t mind a slight decrease in picture and sound performance, you could ditch the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max entirely, saving you a further £40.

The 42-inch LG C5, a compact OLED TV, is the definition of small yet mighty. Sporting a panel that delivers inky blacks and perfect contrast with ease, the C5 is a superb choice for movies – it’s and our pick for the best gaming TV, too.

We applauded its sharp, warm and rich picture, which we felt was hugely cinematic despite the comparatively small screen size from the 55- and 65-inch sets we usually test.

Furthermore, its gaming features are second to none. With a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz – ideal for PC gamers and more than enough for console gamers – and four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets. The smaller display also makes this a solid choice for dedicated gaming rooms, and it can even be used as an oversized desktop monitor.

The only area that the C5 stumbles in is sound. OLED TVs, in our experience, often disappoint when it comes to their built-in sound systems, and it’s no surprise that a TV this small doesn’t break the mould.

That’s where the Hisense AX5125H comes in. Tongue twister of a name aside, this soundbar system delivers proper surround sound at a price as modest as its footprint. The package includes a soundbar, subwoofer and two surround speakers, all of which pair wirelessly and with very little fuss out of the box.

We were surprised by its weight, scale, and spaciousness, which (much like the C5) far exceed its size. Dolby Atmos is supported with two dedicated upward-firing drivers on the main soundbar unit, and there’s even an HDMI 2.0 passthrough socket. (Maybe Sonos could learn a thing or two.)

The LG and Hisense make a great cinematic space-saving duo – and, in truth, you could leave it there. But by adding the heavily discounted, Award-winning Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max, you get a pretty big streaming upgrade.

Amazon’s top-tier Fire TV Stick delivers 4K streams with oodles of detail and natural colours, and with an extremely comprehensive selection of apps, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to content.

If you’re looking longingly at our best TV deals and best soundbar deals pages, but think that you can’t get involved with the Prime Day sales due to a lack of space, then hopefully this petite (and massively discounted) home cinema setup has changed your mind.

MORE:

Check out the best Amazon Prime Day AV deals live

As well as the best Amazon Prime Day hi-fi deals

And find the best OLED TV deals here

I love watching sport outside.

I think it's at least partly thanks to fond memories of watching football matches in pub gardens, cold beer in hand, sun on my back, perhaps a bowl of chips within arm's reach. Glorious.

These days, my pub garden visits are a little less frequent, so ahead of the World Cup I decided to try to bring the experience home. My plan was simple: set up a projector in the garden, fire up the BBQ and spend the summer watching football under the open sky.

What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Before we begin, I should point out that while I've spent almost 20 years reviewing TVs, projectors and home cinema kit, I have exactly zero experience of building an outdoor cinema. I also approached this project with a level of wanton optimism that, in hindsight, was entirely unsupported by evidence.

Still, if nothing else, my mistakes might help you avoid making the same ones.

Mistake 1: assuming an indoor projector would work outside before dark

The first challenge was deciding what to use as a display.

The windows for three rooms of our house face the garden, which limits the available wall space. After some negotiations with my equally football-obsessed wife, it was agreed that a projector screen could temporarily be hung across the dining room windows.

A projector seemed the obvious answer. After all, I wanted the biggest image possible, and no TV I can afford stretches to 150 inches.

While a portable projector might seem the natural choice, most battery-powered models aren't especially bright and often won't last through an entire football match. Since I was going to need mains power anyway, I borrowed the Hisense M2 Pro from our review stockroom.

It's a five-star projector, it's relatively compact, and it supports both BBC iPlayer and ITVX – a surprisingly rare combination in projector land and an essential one for World Cup duty in the UK.

So far, so sensible.

Then came Friday evening. Canada versus Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kick-off at 8pm.

At around 6pm, I wheeled the projector into position using some spare sections of hi-fi rack, ran an extension cable across the garden and powered everything up.

And... nothing.

Well, not quite nothing. The projector was clearly producing light, but there was no discernible image on the screen.

I moved the projector closer.

Nothing.

Closer still.

Nothing.

Eventually, with the projector just inches from the screen, a tiny image emerged from the gloom.

At this point, I began to suspect that projecting onto a giant screen outdoors before sunset might not have been my finest idea.

To be clear, this wasn't blazing Mediterranean sunshine. It was an overcast British evening on the opposite side of the house to the sun. Yet even that proved too much for a projector rated at 1300 ANSI lumens.

The lesson? A projector that looks bright indoors can look surprisingly dim outside.

Mistake 2: buying the cheapest 150-inch screen I could find

Perhaps I should have mentioned the screen.

Wanting something easy to put up, take down and store, I ordered a portable 150-inch projector screen from Amazon for the princely sum of £36.

It had excellent reviews.

It also turned out to be little more than a stretchy white sheet with a black border.

In hindsight, perhaps "buy the cheapest giant screen available and hope for the best" wasn't the sort of rigorous testing methodology that has sustained my career for almost two decades.

The biggest problem, I think, was that the screen had no backing. I hadn't considered this when ordering, but once it was hanging in front of our dining room windows, I could immediately see the issue: light was passing straight through it.

Thankfully, the screen was at least easy to install. With the help of some included ropes, a couple of conveniently positioned hanging basket brackets and my long-suffering wife, it was up in a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately, being easy to hang is only one of the qualities you want in a projector screen.

Mistake 3: forgetting that darkness and warmth rarely arrive together in Britain

I left the projector running while I finished cremating dinner on the BBQ and hoped conditions would improve.

By the 8pm kick-off, the picture was technically watchable, but only just, so we ended up watching the first half indoors.

By half-time, though, it was a different story.

As darkness fell, the image suddenly looked pretty decent.

The projector had enough light output after all, but only when the sun stopped competing with it.

At this point, I was even able to move the M2 Pro further back, create a much larger image and enjoy a picture that was genuinely impressive considering the circumstances.

The projector automatically re-focused itself each time I moved it, too, which was very handy.

At last, I had the something approaching the outdoor football experience I'd been aiming for.

There was just one problem.

It was absolutely freezing – hence the blanket-covered child in the photo above.

After about 10 minutes, common sense prevailed and we headed back inside.

What I'd do differently

The good news is that most of the problems were self-inflicted.

For starters, I picked the wrong projector.

The Hisense M2 Pro is an excellent lifestyle projector that's plenty bright enough for indoor use. It was never designed for outdoor use, which is an entirely different challenge, and I should never have expected it to work in daylight, regardless of the overcast skies.

Clearly, something much brighter is required. Perhaps the 3500 ANSI lumen-rated BenQ TK705i or Nebula X1 Pro might fare better.

I also need a better screen. At the very least, one with a black backing to prevent light passing through it. An ambient light rejecting (ALR) screen would be better still, though those tend to cost considerably more and are often designed for permanent or semi-permanent installation, which isn't where I am with this project.

Finally, I hadn't considered comfort enough. The irony of outdoor football viewing in the UK is that the picture often improves just as the temperature drops to unpleasantly nippy levels.

So yes, this first attempt was largely a failure, and, at 10pm last night, I was ready to abandon the whole idea.

This morning, though, I found myself browsing projector screens again, and I'm already planning phase two, which will probably involve a better screen, a fire pit and the considerably brighter Nebula X1 Pro – which, handily, we currently have in for review.

If that doesn't work, I may have to accept that the answer isn't a projector at all, but an outdoor TV.

Unfortunately, outdoor TVs are eye-wateringly expensive, particularly at the sort of size I'm aiming for.

Which means there's every chance I'll end up exactly where I started: watching the World Cup indoors and wondering why I thought I knew better than the British weather.

MORE:

Here are the best outdoor projectors you can currently buy

And these are the best projectors in general

We've built an awesome playlist that features a local artist from every World Cup 2026 host city

There’s a war going on for your living room. The premium TV technology of choice of the last few years – OLED – is under attack from a new, stunningly bright and vibrant foe – RGB Mini LED.

Every major brand has either launched its first RGB Mini LED TVs or is about to. Hisense launched its first RGB Mini LED models last year, in fact, but those were gigantic, 100+ inch sets, so a long way from a serious proposition for most people.

Hisense is also the first brand to submit to us a proper, mainstream RGB Mini LED TV to review, though – the UR9.

RGB Mini LED TVs are pitched at different levels by different brands, but Hisense is absolutely pitching the UR9 as a rival to flagship OLEDs. The price confirms as much.

So, what better way to benchmark it than against our current favourite flagship OLED, the Sony Bravia 8 II.

That, then, is what we’ve done. Over several days, we’ve tested the Hisense UR9 and Sony Bravia 8 II side by side, feeding all of our favourite discs and streams into both simultaneously, and judging them on picture quality, sound quality, features, usability, design and price.

This might not be a full RGB Mini LED vs OLED battle – the Hisense UR9 doesn’t represent all RGB Mini LED TVs, after all – but it is the opening skirmish in the broader TV tech war. And it's an eye-opening one at that.

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: price

The Hisense UR9’s pricing is interesting to say the least. In the UK, the 65-inch model we tested is priced at £2999, which places it in the same price category as brand-new flagship OLEDs.

In Australia, meanwhile, the UR9’s price of AU$3999 makes it slightly more affordable by local standards.

In the US, though, the pre-launch price of $3500 had dropped vastly to just $2000 by the time the TV actually hit stores.

Things are much more straightforward with the Sony Bravia 8 II, the 65-inch version of which launched at £2999 / $4000 / AU$5295, but can now be bought for £2299 / $2798 / AU$4995.

The inconsistent international pricing of the Hisense UR9 makes it a little tricky to judge this round, but seeing as we’re a primarily UK publication, and that we reviewed a UK sample, we’re going to prioritise the UK pricing and call this it in favour of the Bravia 8 II.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: design

The Sony Bravia 8 II and Hisense UR9 are both smart-looking TVs, but they take rather different approaches to design.

Sony has essentially carried over the styling of the A95L, resulting in a TV that looks purposeful, premium and monolithic. While it lacks the ultra-thin glamour of some rival OLEDs, the Bravia 8 II still feels like a flagship product, with its clean lines and understated aesthetic giving it a suitably high-end appearance.

The feet can be installed in either a low-profile position that leaves the bottom edge of the screen sitting just millimetres above your furniture, or a raised position that creates space for a soundbar. The downside is that those feet can only be positioned at the furthest extremes of the chassis, meaning you'll need furniture that's at least as wide as the TV itself.

The Hisense UR9 is a more practical proposition. At 4.5cm thick, it's chunkier than the Sony and doesn't have quite the same premium flair, but it is solidly built and neatly finished, with slim bezels and a restrained dark metallic finish.

Hisense has also made a couple of sensible usability-focused decisions. The centrally mounted pedestal stand occupies a footprint of only around 42cm, making the TV much easier to place on narrower furniture, and it too offers two height positions so that a soundbar can be accommodated beneath the screen.

The UR9's integrated Devialet sound system is more visually obvious than Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio+ setup, with perforations running down the sides of the chassis and across the top edge to house the side- and up-firing speakers. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does contribute to the TV's more functional, engineering-led appearance.

Ultimately, neither of these TVs is likely to be bought primarily for its styling, but the Bravia 8 II's cleaner, more premium design gives it the edge. The UR9 is practical and perfectly attractive in its own right, but it lacks the sense of sophistication that Sony's flagship delivers.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: features

The biggest difference between these two TVs is, of course, their panel technologies.

The Sony Bravia 8 II uses Samsung Display's latest QD-OLED panel, paired with Sony's XR processor and a custom heatsink. Because OLED technology is self-emissive, every pixel can be controlled independently, with no need for local dimming zones.

Sony doesn't publish specific brightness figures for its TVs, but the Bravia 8 II is estimated to hit around 1900 nits in small highlights, making it one of the brightest OLED TVs currently available.

The Hisense UR9, meanwhile, uses an RGB Mini LED backlight with 980 local dimming zones. Rather than relying on a conventional white backlight shining through colour filters, it uses separate red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly. Hisense claims a peak brightness of up to 3500 nits for the 65-inch model we tested.

On paper, then, these TVs take radically different approaches to creating their images. We're not going to award points for one technology over the other here, though, because what ultimately matters is how those technologies perform in practice. We'll get to that in the picture quality section.

There are other differences in the feature sets of the two TVs worth highlighting, though.

Hardcore gamers are generally better served by the Hisense. All three of its HDMI sockets are full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, with support for 4K/170Hz, 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM. It also features a DisplayPort connection, which remains extremely rare on TVs and could prove useful for committed PC gamers.

The Sony supports 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM, too, but still offers only two HDMI 2.1 sockets, one of which doubles as the eARC connection. That limitation remains one of our biggest frustrations with Sony's flagship TVs.

That said, we'd probably take the Sony's two HDMI 2.1 sockets and two additional standard HDMI inputs over the Hisense's three HDMI sockets and DisplayPort arrangement. The latter will be useful to a niche audience, but many buyers are more likely to benefit from having an extra ‘standard’ HDMI connection available.

HDR support favours the Hisense, though. The UR9 supports every major HDR format currently in use, including HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. The Bravia 8 II supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG, but, as is customary for Sony TVs, HDR10+ is absent.

The Bravia 8 II fights back with Google TV, which remains one of the stronger smart TV platforms available and features excellent app support. The UR9's VIDAA operating system is fast and responsive, but there are some notable omissions.

Most significantly, while the Apple TV app is present, it lacks access to the Apple TV Store and users' purchased libraries. That's a genuine disappointment, as Apple's movie store remains the best pay-as-you-go film streaming service available, particularly for 4K HDR movies.

Sony also offers IMAX Enhanced certification, its Studio Calibrated Modes for services such as Netflix and Prime Video, and Sony Pictures Core integration.

Ultimately, neither TV completely dominates on features, but the Hisense's broader HDR support, extra HDMI 2.1 socket and more advanced gaming specification give it the edge overall.

WINNER: Hisense UR9

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: picture quality

This is, of course, the section that really matters.

The Hisense UR9 makes an immediately strong impression. Once switched into either Filmmaker Mode or IMAX Cinema, it produces a rich, vibrant and remarkably composed image that rarely behaves like a traditional backlit TV.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the UR9 is how well controlled its RGB Mini LED backlight is. Throughout our testing, blooming is kept impressively in check, black levels are consistently strong and the TV almost entirely avoids the brightness pumping, flickering and shifting backlight behaviour that often gives Mini LED technology away.

Extra-bright HDR content is a particular strength. Movies such as Pan look spectacular on the UR9, with dazzling highlights and bold colours that comfortably outgun the Bravia 8 II for outright brightness. Sunlight bursting through clouds and glinting off fantasy scenery is delivered with real punch and intensity.

The UR9 is also a very accomplished motion performer, and it combines its brightness with rich colours, excellent shadow detail and a pleasingly cinematic warmth that stops the image from ever becoming gaudy or overblown.

In isolation, it's one of the best backlit TVs we have ever tested.

Direct comparison with the Bravia 8 II reveals why OLED remains the reference technology, though – at least for now.

Despite its impressive brightness and excellent local dimming, the Hisense simply can't match the Sony's pixel-level contrast control. Counterintuitively, some of the brightest highlights against the darkest backgrounds actually appear more impactful on the Bravia 8 II than on the much brighter Hisense, because the OLED can render them without any concern about blooming.

More significantly, the Sony produces a more solid and perceptually three-dimensional image. Objects and characters stand out from their surroundings with greater depth and dynamism, while subtle gradations within shadows, clouds and highlights appear more convincing and refined.

We've observed this extra solidity from OLED many times before, but the side-by-side comparison between these two TVs demonstrates it particularly clearly. Next to the Bravia 8 II, the UR9 simply looks a little flatter and less immersive.

The Sony also has the advantage when it comes to viewing angles. While the Hisense holds up better than many LCD-based rivals, the sweet spot in which it performs at its very best is still relatively narrow. Thanks to its OLED panel, the Bravia 8 II performs consistently from almost any angle.

And while blooming is rare on the UR9, it isn't entirely absent. Difficult scenes such as the bomb-test sequence in Oppenheimer or the opening starfield of Alien: Romulus reveal imperfections that even this highly accomplished RGB Mini LED set cannot completely escape.

The Bravia 8 II, meanwhile, is simply sensational. Its combination of dazzling brightness by OLED standards, vibrant colours, exceptional shadow detail and razor-sharp definition creates an image of astonishing depth and realism.

What impresses most isn't any single strength, but how naturally all of its strengths come together. The Bravia 8 II consistently delivers a picture that feels balanced, authentic and effortlessly cinematic, whether you're watching a pristine 4K Dolby Vision disc or a much more humble SDR stream.

The Hisense UR9 proves that RGB Mini LED can get surprisingly close to flagship OLED performance, and many viewers will adore its combination of brightness, richness and stability. But when viewed side by side, the Bravia 8 II remains the more complete and convincing picture performer.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: sound quality

Both the Sony Bravia 8 II and Hisense UR9 are unusually sonically accomplished by modern TV standards.

That's important, because while we always recommend pairing a premium TV with a dedicated sound system, for many buyers that’s either impractical or unpalatable.

The Hisense UR9 certainly doesn't disappoint. Its Devialet-tuned 4.1.2-channel sound system delivers a presentation that is impressively spacious and full-bodied, with particularly convincing width and height effects.

Dolby Atmos soundtracks benefit from a strong sense of scale, while bass is deeper and more substantial than most flatscreen TVs can manage. The overall character is smooth, rich and easy to listen to over extended viewing sessions.

The UR9's audio system isn't flawless, though. Dynamics can feel a little restrained during big action sequences, and dialogue doesn't always have the clarity and expressiveness we'd ideally like.

We also found ourselves preferring the Standard sound mode over the more expansive Theatre setting. While Theatre mode undoubtedly sounds bigger, it can introduce a slightly diffuse and faintly echoey quality to voices that makes dialogue seem less natural than it should.

The Sony Bravia 8 II takes a very different approach. Rather than relying on conventional speaker placement, its Acoustic Surface Audio+ system uses actuators to vibrate the screen itself, effectively turning the display into a speaker.

The result is one of the most cohesive and convincing audio performances we've heard from a TV.

Dialogue and effects are tied directly to the action on screen in a way that traditional TV speaker systems struggle to replicate, creating a stronger sense that sound is genuinely coming from the people and objects you're watching.

Like the Hisense, the Sony also sounds surprisingly spacious, with effects extending well beyond the edges of the screen. Detail levels are excellent, too, and the Bravia 8 II combines subtle dynamic nuance with enough punch to make action scenes engaging and exciting.

Bass depth isn't as generous as it is from the Hisense, but it's impressively controlled, and the overall tonal balance is exceptionally well judged.

Ultimately, these are two of the best-sounding TVs you can currently buy. The Hisense delivers scale, warmth and impressive Atmos effects, but the Sony's superior detail, greater dynamic expression and uniquely direct delivery give it the edge.

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: verdict

The Hisense UR9 is a hugely important TV.

Not only is it the first mainstream RGB Mini LED TV we've fully reviewed, it's also the first serious attempt to take on flagship OLEDs with a fundamentally different display technology.

And the good news for RGB Mini LED fans is that, in some ways at least, it succeeds.

The UR9 is bright, vibrant and impressively refined. More importantly, it avoids many of the traditional pitfalls of backlit TVs, with excellent black levels, impressively restrained blooming and a consistency that often feels surprisingly OLED-like.

In several respects, it's one of the best backlit TVs we've ever tested.

But while the UR9 proves that RGB Mini LED is a genuinely exciting technology with enormous potential, it also demonstrates just how high the bar currently is at the top end of the OLED market.

Ultimately, picture quality remains the most important factor in any TV buying decision, and it's here that the Sony Bravia 8 II retains a clear advantage. The Hisense has the stronger gaming specification, broader HDR support and spectacular brightness, but the Sony's superior contrast control, greater three-dimensionality and more natural, cinematic image make it the more accomplished performer overall.

This isn't a verdict on RGB Mini LED versus OLED as technologies, and it certainly isn't the last battle in what is shaping up to be one of the most interesting periods in TV tech for years.

Instead, it’s the verdict on the very best OLED TV currently available versus the first mainstream RGB Mini LED model. And while the Hisense UR9 proves that RGB Mini LED is ready to compete with the very best, the Sony Bravia 8 II remains the TV to beat.

OVERALL WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

The World Cup kicks off in less than a week, and we bet that plenty of people are making some last-minute upgrades to their set-ups, including splurging on a new TV.

TV shipments are up six per cent year on year, according to global technology market research firm Omdia, and while we hope that everyone buying a new set is consulting our carefully curated list of the best TVs, the likelihood is that there is a fair amount of impulse purchasing happening.

We don’t judge here, and we understand that many people will walk into a shop and pick the biggest and cheapest 4K TV that you can get, but we urge you to take stock before swiping your card and calling it a day.

The World Cup is running for just over a month, but your TV will last a whole lot longer; maybe not for life, but multiple TV manufacturers tell us that the average person replaces their TV every seven years.

With that in mind, I have devised a simple three-question system that anyone primed to make an impulse purchase this weekend should ask themselves.

Question 1: is this TV good value?

A cheap 4K TV is one thing; a good value 4K TV is something else completely.

Yes, we are seeing the likes of Hisense and TCL line shelves with super-affordable 4K sets, and some of them are truly great TVs – take the Award-winning, sub-£400 TCL C6KS, for example. But some of these super cheap sets can cut corners.

Panel technology becomes more basic at this level. That’s fine for those who want to catch the game, but for cinephiles who appreciate films as much as they do footy, you might want to consider looking up towards the mid-range Mini LED models at least.

Picture processing also tends to be more pared back at this level, too. Motion and upscaling are two processing factors to be mindful of – the former to accommodate fast-moving players springing across the pitch, while the latter can deal with sharpening up standard-resolution feeds from terrestrial broadcast channels.

Gaming specification also takes a hit here, with very few TVs at this level offering HDMI 2.1 support. While they are not entirely barebones, you can expect to miss out on high-framerate console gaming at 4K, and some budget 4K sets sport fewer HDMI sockets overall.

While opting for an affordable 4K set is by no means a bad decision, you also have to remember that you will be using this TV for plenty of years to come, so future-proofing is always advisable.

If you’re looking for TVs that tread the line of cheap and good value, you should check out our list of the best cheap TVs for some inspiration.

Question 2: will it stand the test of time?

Nearly every TV we see these days features a smart platform. Google TV is used by TCL and Philips, Tizen OS is featured on Samsung, webOS is on LG TVs, and Hisense uses its Vidaa platform on its sets.

Not all operating systems are made equal, and updates and app support can vary greatly between brands. While we are seeing decent coverage of the major streaming apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, we have seen some worrying gaps.

BBC iPlayer, for example, is missing on Philips’s current suite of TVs, which is quite an issue when we take into account that a considerable number of World Cup matches will be streamed free on BBC iPlayer.

Longevity is also, once again, something to be mindful of. Notably, Samsung and LG have both committed to supporting their respective TVs with seven years of software support.

If you want a TV that lasts, and you rely on built-in streaming apps, then we recommend going for a TV from one of these brands, or instead investing in an external streaming device.

Question 3: am I leaving room in my budget for a soundbar?

Our advice to anyone buying a new TV is to budget for a soundbar to pair with it.

TV sound, unless you’re looking at the upper-echelon of OLED TVs that feature speaker systems tuned by notable hi-fi brands, is almost always a let down.

And if you’re preparing to listen to commentators for hours on end, the last thing you want is a built-in sound system that is thin, tinny, and fatiguing on the ears.

A good soundbar doesn’t have to cost the Earth. Take the Sony HT-SF150, which delivers a solid cinematic sound experience for less than £100; or the Award-winning Hisense AX5125H, which includes Dolby Atmos support, surround speakers and a subwoofer for under £200.

While a good sound system will undoubtedly give you a more authentic experience during the matches (think of audiences chanting and cheering), you will also find a range of benefits, including a better audio experience when it comes to music and movies.

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Here are the ultimate World Cup tech deals

Check out our picks for the best budget soundbars

As well as the best OLED TVs

“OLED killer” is a phrase we’ve heard many times before. That's why, when we first saw RGB Mini LED at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we took most of the boasts to that effect with a minor pinch of salt.

After all, for serious movie fans with deep pockets, OLED has been the TV panel tech of choice for nearly a decade despite the sea of “killers” squaring up to it. If you’ve checked our yearly list of What Hi-Fi? Awards winners in the TV category, there’s no denying OLED's dominance in the upper echelons of the market.

But, with our first set with the tech, the Hisense UR9, reviewed and rigorously tested against key rivals, including the Product of the Year-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, we can confirm our scepticism wasn’t entirely merited – and there is a lot to like about the hardware.

RGB Mini LED is an evolution of the base Mini LED tech we’ve seen for a while now. The key change is that the new panel creates colours using independent diodes made up of individual red, green and blue LEDs that feed directly into an optical lens behind the LCD panel.

Traditionally, Mini LEDs have done this by passing blue light through a QDEF (Quantum Dot Enhancement Film) sitting between the backlight and LED panel.

Companies, including Hisense, claim the new approach will let TVs offer improved colour accuracy, wider gamut coverage, higher brightness (resulting in improved contrast) and more.

And we definitely noticed improvements in all these areas, using the UR9, especially when playing bright HDR content.

“Extra-bright HDR material suits the UR9 especially well, too. Pan looks spectacular here, with dazzling highlights and bold, vibrant colours that comfortably outgun the Sony Bravia 8 II for outright brightness in many scenes. Sunlight bursting through clouds and glinting off the fantasy scenery of Neverland is delivered with real punch and intensity," wrote TV and AV editor Tom Parsons in our UR9 review.

“Crucially, though, the UR9 generally achieves this brightness without sacrificing balance. Skin tones remain natural, and there’s a pleasing cinematic warmth to the image – and it doesn’t drift into gaudiness.”

But, we're still not ready to call time on OLED's dominance, and the reason is a simple argument we've made before. Despite all its perks, the UR9 still can’t match a top tier OLED’s pixel-level light control.

It’s this ability to control every individual pixel, creating perfect blacks, and a holistically more three-dimensional experience, that still gives OLED its edge, and as Tom said prior to me writing this article, “I don’t see any way that a backlit TV will ever match OLED in those regards.”

And because of that, the team and I all have one question: Is RGB Mini LED’s place really at the top end of the market?

From what we’ve seen so far, it may be that its sweet spot is actually just below OLED, in the upper mid-range.

This was the case with Mini LED sets, such as last year’s Award-winning TCL C7K. Though the TV couldn't match a good OLED on pure picture quality, it proved a performance-per-pound/dollar champion and the best set you could get under £1000 thanks to its competitive pricing.

And we’re not alone with this thought. There are already several companies viewing RGB Mini LED the same way.

Philips Senior Director of Product Strategy, Danny Tack, openly told us OLED is better from a pure performance perspective when we asked where the firm’s new RGB Mini LED sets will sit in its 2026 range, at a press event earlier this year.

TCL, though it has high hopes for the tech, seems to have a similar feeling, already pitching its even more premium, but still backlit, SQD-Mini LED as being superior to RGB Mini LED.

Yes, we’ve only reviewed one RGB Mini LED TV so far. And yes, we’ll be happy to be proven wrong if a better set with it appears. We always advocate the best real-world performer in our advice and are hardware agnostic, after all.

But for now, it looks like OLED’s time in the sun is far from setting, at least in the premium end of the TV market.

MORE:

These are the best Mini LED TVs we’ve tested

Our picks of the best OLED TVs money can buy

We rank the best TVs

Here it is, folks: our first full review of an RGB Mini LED TV.

We have previously run extensive hands-on tests of a couple of RGB Mini LED TVs – most notably the huge Hisense 116UX – but, due to their astonishing sizes and prices, we’ve had to do the testing outside our own facilities. In our world, that’s not a full review, so those TVs haven’t received star ratings.

The 65-inch Hisense UR9 we have before us today is designed to address the size and price issues that have until now prevented more people from hopping on the RGB Mini LED bandwagon.

This set, then, is leading the mainstream RGB Mini LED charge. And, while it’s a fair way short of perfect, particularly next to a flagship OLED TV, the UR9 is an impressive TV in its own right and a tantalising glimpse at the technology’s long-term potential.

Price

Price is always a hugely important factor whenever we test a product, but it’s particularly crucial to how the Hisense UR9 will be viewed.

In the UK, the launch price of £2999 places the 65-inch UR9 in the same category as flagship OLED TVs such as the new LG G6 and last year’s Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II.

In Australia, though, the AU$3999 price puts the Hisense UR9 up against step-down OLEDs such as the LG C6.

Most interestingly (and confusingly), while the announced launch price in the US was a super high-end $3500, when the TV actually arrived in shops, the tag was a vastly cheaper $2000, placing the UR9 in an entirely different category, below even step-down OLED models.

Essentially, then, this Hisense is a rather different proposition in each of those three regions. Seeing as we are UK-based and it’s a UK sample we’re reviewing, though, it’s the UK price that we are primarily working with here. And that means the UR9 is going to have to face off against the mighty Bravia 8 II QD-OLED.

Design

The Hisense UR9 is not one of those modern flagship TVs that disappears into your living room.

At 4.5cm thick, it’s decidedly chunky by current premium TV standards, particularly next to the impossibly slim OLED models with which it competes on price.

The rear panel is completely flat, though, which makes the UR9 fairly tidy for wall-mounting, and the overall build feels solid and substantial.

The TV’s general styling is perfectly pleasant, too, though it stops short of being genuinely luxurious. Bezels are slim enough, the dark metallic finish is smart, and the overall aesthetic is clean and restrained, but the UR9 lacks the slick elegance and premium flair of rivals such as the Sony Bravia 8 II and Samsung S99H/S95H.

Hisense has made some nice, practical decisions, though.

The centrally mounted pedestal stand has a relatively narrow footprint of around 42cm, making the UR9 easier to place on narrower furniture than many similarly sized rivals. It also offers two height positions, allowing you either to keep the screen sitting low and tidy or raise it slightly to create extra clearance for a soundbar.

Rows of tiny perforations run down both sides of the set, while larger openings line the top edge. These house the UR9’s side- and up-firing speakers, which form part of its integrated Devialet sound system.

Overall, then, the UR9 is more functional than fashionable – a practical, purposeful TV rather than a particularly glamorous one.

Features and specs

The headline feature here is, of course, the UR9’s RGB Mini LED backlight.

Unlike a conventional Mini LED TV, which uses a white backlight shining through a colour filter layer, the UR9 instead uses separate red, green and blue Mini LEDs to generate colour directly. In theory, this approach allows for both greater brightness and more precise colour reproduction.

Hisense claims peak brightness of up to 3500 nits for the 65-inch model we’re testing here, alongside 980 local dimming zones and a native 170Hz panel, all driven by the company’s Hi-View AI Engine RGB processor.

Gamers are generally very well served – with one unusual caveat. Unlike most premium TVs, which have four HDMI sockets, the UR9 has just three. These are accompanied by a PC-gaming-friendly DisplayPort connection – something that remains extremely rare on TVs.

Is a DisplayPort connection more valuable than a fourth HDMI socket? We have our doubts, but to a small number of very committed PC gamers, it may be very useful.

All three of the HDMI sockets are 2.1-specified, though, with support for 4K/170Hz (and the console-friendly 4K/120Hz), VRR and ALLM. Some brands, including Sony, still offer just two HDMI 2.1 sockets on their TVs.

The UR9’s input lag is decent rather than exceptional. We measured 32.5ms at 60Hz in the standard Game mode, though enabling the Refresh Rate setting reduces that figure to a more respectable, though far from groundbreaking, 24.6ms.

The UR9 supports every significant HDR format currently in use – HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision – plus the intelligent Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive variants that respond to ambient room lighting conditions.

It is also IMAX Enhanced certified, and the UK version of the TV features an anti-reflective, anti-glare screen coating that proves fairly effective at combating bright-room reflections.

Audio specifications are unusually ambitious by TV standards, too. The UR9 features a Devialet-tuned 4.1.2-channel speaker system with dedicated up-firing drivers, plus support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks.

In the UK and Australia, the UR9 runs Hisense’s own VIDAA smart platform, while the US version instead uses Google TV.

VIDAA still isn’t the prettiest smart system around, but it’s fast, responsive and logically laid out. App support is broadly very good, too, with all of the major streaming services and UK catch-up apps present and correctly supporting the relevant picture and sound formats.

There are, however, a few frustrating omissions. Most notably, the Apple TV app lacks access to the Apple TV store and users’ purchased libraries, so it can’t be used for movie purchases and rentals. That’s a real disappointment, as Apple’s pay-as-you-go store is the best around.

While far less important for a TV, it’s worth noting that music streaming support is sparse, too, with Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and Qobuz all absent. There are no cloud gaming apps, either.

The inclusion of Freely is welcome, though, as it allows live TV channels to be streamed over the internet without an aerial connection.

Picture quality

The Hisense UR9 makes a superb first impression. In fact, perhaps the most impressive thing about it is just how rarely it behaves like a traditional backlit TV.

Before getting into that, though, some setup advice is required, because the TV’s default HDR settings do it few favours.

When first fed HDR10 content, the UR9 automatically switches into its HDR Energy Saving mode which, despite its name, is surprisingly aggressive. Colours skew cool and bluish, motion processing is overly intrusive, and the overall image looks unnatural and overcooked.

HDR Standard and HDR Dynamic are similarly best avoided, both pushing sharpness, brightness and processing much too hard.

Thankfully, Filmmaker Mode proves far more successful. It delivers the most accurate and balanced picture of the available presets, and it quickly becomes our preferred overall option.

Interestingly, though, IMAX Cinema is also unusually compelling. While its underlying settings appear almost identical to those of Filmmaker Mode, it consistently produces a noticeably brighter and punchier image without obviously compromising balance or naturalism.

As a result, we would stick with Filmmaker Mode for dark-room and purist viewing, but happily switch to IMAX Cinema during the daytime or whenever we fancy a little extra visual intensity.

Once properly configured, the UR9 is an extremely accomplished performer.

Play 1917 on 4K Blu-ray, and the opening logos immediately demonstrate just how well controlled the TV’s backlight system is. Blooming around the bright white text is minimal, black depth is strong, and colours look rich, warm and nicely cinematic.

More importantly, the local-dimming system generally goes about its business without drawing attention to itself. Throughout our testing, the UR9 almost never exhibits the flickering, brightness pumping or visibly shifting backlight behaviour that can make many Mini LED TVs distracting.

That consistency quickly emerges as the UR9’s defining strength. While many bright Mini LED TVs constantly remind you that they are dynamically manipulating a backlight behind the scenes, the Hisense instead achieves a broadly very composed, stable and natural delivery that often feels surprisingly OLED-like.

Blade Runner 2049 showcases this particularly well. Black depth is consistently strong, shadow detail is excellent and subtle blooming is tightly controlled. There’s also impressive richness and stability to colours, especially reds, which look wonderfully pure and saturated without drifting into pink or magenta tones.

Extra-bright HDR material suits the UR9 especially well, too. Pan looks spectacular here, with dazzling highlights and bold, vibrant colours that comfortably outgun the Sony Bravia 8 II for outright brightness in many scenes. Sunlight bursting through clouds and glinting off the fantasy scenery of Neverland is delivered with real punch and intensity.

Crucially, though, the UR9 generally achieves this brightness without sacrificing balance. Skin tones remain natural, and there’s a pleasing cinematic warmth to the image – and it doesn’t drift into gaudiness.

Motion handling is strong, too. The default Film setting is decent enough, but switching Motion Enhancement to Clear results in noticeably smoother pans without introducing the distracting soap-opera effect or processing artefacts that such systems often create.

The notoriously difficult Matera cemetery and chase sequence from No Time To Die is handled particularly well, with impressively little judder to the panning shots and clean rendering of drifting smoke and rapid camera movement.

Dropping down to standard-def and SDR, our Kiss Kiss Bang Bang DVD is reproduced with pleasing warmth, strong detail and impressively clean upscaling. Colours are arguably pushed a touch too hard at times, but the overall presentation remains highly enjoyable and consistently cinematic.

For all of the UR9’s strengths, though, direct comparisons with a top-tier OLED TV still reveal the limitations of even this undeniably refined RGB Mini LED model. Despite its impressive local-dimming system, the Hisense simply cannot match the pixel-level contrast control of the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Extremely bright highlights against deep black backgrounds are sometimes handled slightly conservatively, presumably to avoid blooming. Perhaps counterintuitively, those bright white logos against pitch-black backgrounds appear more intense and impactful on the Sony OLED than on the much brighter, on paper, Hisense.

More significantly, the OLED TV produces a more solid and perceptually three-dimensional image across the board. Objects and characters stand out from their surroundings with greater depth and dynamism, while subtle gradations within clouds, shadows and highlights appear more convincing and refined, creating a more rounded look.

This isn’t a new phenomenon: we have documented that extra solidity you get from OLED plenty of times previously, most notably when we used the Sony Bravia 8 OLED as a comparison in our Bravia 9 Mini LED review. But it bears repeating for those who are choosing between an OLED and a backlit TV.

Viewing angles are another clear OLED advantage. While the UR9’s picture performance doesn’t entirely fall off a cliff when you move off-axis, the sweet spot in which it performs at its very best is surprisingly narrow.

And while the UR9 usually keeps blooming impressively well controlled, especially for a backlit TV, particularly torturous scenes can still expose its limitations.

The bomb-test sequence in Oppenheimer is a great example. From the UR9, there’s a slight general greying to the image, plus some visible glow around isolated spotlights in the darkness. The opening starfield of Alien: Romulus, meanwhile, reveals that the UR9 cannot simultaneously maintain truly inky blacks and perfectly intense star highlights in the way an OLED can.

To be clear, the Hisense performs well in these scenes by LCD standards, and many owners may never notice such shortcomings during normal viewing. But they do prevent the UR9 from truly matching the effortless contrast precision and dimensionality of the best OLED TVs.

Sound quality

Developed in partnership with Devialet, the UR9’s 4.1.2-channel speaker system delivers a surprisingly expansive and full-bodied presentation by TV standards, with particularly impressive width and height effects.

The Theatre sound mode is the most immediately striking of the available presets, producing a presentation that extends well beyond the physical boundaries of the TV and creating a convincing sense of spaciousness with Dolby Atmos soundtracks.

There’s decent bass depth, too, and the UR9 maintains good composure at high volumes, avoiding the harshness and distortion that can afflict many flatscreen TVs when pushed hard.

The overall presentation is smooth and rich in character, which makes the UR9 an easy and enjoyable listen over long viewing sessions.

It isn’t perfect, though. Dynamics are a little stunted, and action scenes lack some of the punch and excitement they deserve, while dialogue could be projected with greater clarity and emotional expression.

The Theatre mode also slightly overplays its hand at times. While its extra spaciousness is undeniably appealing, it introduces a faintly diffuse and echoey quality to voices, along with a slight sense of delay that makes speech sound less natural than it should.

As a result, we find ourselves preferring the Standard sound mode for most content. It still sounds pleasantly spacious and open, but delivers dialogue with greater focus and cohesion while maintaining good weight and scale.

Ultimately, while even a modest dedicated soundbar will comfortably outperform it, the UR9’s audio system is better than that of most TVs, even at this lofty level.

Verdict

In several ways, the Hisense UR9 is one of the best backlit TVs we have ever tested.

Most of the time, you’re not even made aware that it is a backlit TV, so good are its black levels, its control of blooming and its consistent, flicker-free contrast.

While it is possible to trip up the backlight, it’s quite hard to do so, and many buyers may never see an unsightly bloom in their period of UR9 ownership.

But while this first mainstream RGB Mini LED TV is broadly mercifully free of the flaws that generally afflict backlit TVs, it still can’t match the overall picture quality of the best OLED models.

The pixel-level contrast control of OLED brings benefits in several areas. There are the notably brighter highlights on very dark backgrounds that even accomplished backlit sets, such as the UR9, are too cautious to go all guns blazing with for fear of blooming. There are the almost flawless viewing angles, too, which the UR9 is a long way from matching.

The biggest thing, though, is the generally more solid, more perceptually three-dimensional image that OLED provides. Next to the Bravia 8 II, the Hisense UR9 simply looks flatter, less dynamic and less impactful.

Ultimately, as enjoyable and technically impressive as the UR9 is, we can’t think of a good reason you would buy it over a flagship-grade OLED, and that’s the level at which Hisense is pitching it – at least in the UK.

Of course, if you are someone who has a flagship-level budget for their next TV and a general aversion to OLED, the Hisense UR9 should be right around the top of your list.

If you’re a UK buyer, it’s probably a good idea to wait and see if we get a massive US-style discount before placing an order, though.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

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Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

Surround sound systems come in practically every shape and size these days, but there's one modern alternative that we've seen sweep the world of home cinema.

We are, of course, talking about wireless soundbar systems. Bose has just unveiled its Ultra Lifestyle soundbar, subwoofer and wireless speakers, and it joins the likes of Sonos, LG, Sony, Yamaha and Samsung in offering an ecosystem of home audio products that can work together to essentially create a proper surround sound experience.

While they vary in quality – we've recently raved about Samsung's superb HW-Q990H, while LG's Sound Suite system didn't quite hit the mark – there's no doubting they are super popular, convenient, and effective ways to achieve surround sound without filling your living room with bulky floorstanding speakers.

We're even seeing companies get creative with their soundbar systems. Majority recently impressed us with its pint-sized Bowfell Halo Atmos system, and Hisense scored a coveted What Hi-Fi? Award with its superbly affordable AX5125H package.

While they won't suit everyone, and a true surround sound speaker package will always win in terms of delivering proper cinematic sound, there are plenty of great options around, and it's reminding us of a previous home cinema audio trend.

A full surround sound system in a box isn't a new phenomenon; in fact, they were all the rage in the early 2010s. Samsung, Panasonic, LG and many more used to sell a whole home cinema in a box, combining a DVD or Blu-ray player alongside a compact wired 5.1 speaker set, unlocking surround sound for the masses without the need for an AV receiver.

Our review of the Panasonic SC-BTT590 from back in 2012 highlights how capable these systems once were. We complimented this system, saying "the handover between speakers is smooth, making for a convincing surround sound".

Stretching even further back to 2010 with the Award-winning Sony BDV-E370, which featured an "easy, idiot-proof set-up" and speakers that "deliver surprising scale and power".

These nifty, streamlined systems were made to combine cinematic sound with plug-and-play convenience, which sounds like a very similar objective to the soundbar systems we're seeing today.

The biggest difference between the home cinema in a box systems of old and the current soundbar packages is the inclusion of a Blu-ray player that once acted as a hub to drive these speakers.

That's to be expected in a world dominated by streaming and massively improved wireless audio protocols, but being the physical media advocates that we are, it's a shame nonetheless.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Sonos, Bose, LG and Sony all take a modular approach, allowing you to connect surround speakers and subwoofers as you see fit, and most of these companies offer components at different price points.

More customisation and different speaker configurations mean you can essentially build a surround sound package that better suits your needs and budgets, which is always a plus.

Sony, in particular, has welcomed this approach with open arms, as it now offers five different optional subwoofers and three different types of wireless sound speakers.

So, are soundbar systems secretly just a revival of one of the 2010s ' best home cinema trends? We think they're more of a spiritual successor with the same mission statement in mind: save people from their TV speakers by bringing simple, effective cinematic sound to the masses.

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Check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

As well as the best surround sound systems

And find the best soundbar deals here

TCL has announced its latest answer to the art TV craze, and it's packing an upgrade that could see it produce a better quality picture than most of its rivals.

The A4000 Pro NXTVISION blends style and substance, with a frame-like chassis that challenges Samsung's super popular The Frame and Hisense's Canvas TV.

It's designed to blend seamlessly into your living room environment, and when paired with the Art Gallery mode (which features curated artwork and AI-generated content) and included walnut woodgrain frame, it doubles as a versatile piece of wall art when not in use.

Sounds familiar so far, right? Well, TCL hopes to set its offering apart by bringing the picture quality up to standard, as some of the frame TVs on the market sacrifice panel tech for the sake of design.

Not TCL, though, as it has included its precise QD-Mini LED backlight on this TV, and paired it with a matte HVA panel, which should improve viewing angles. That's quite a step up over Hisense's edge-lit QLED Canvas TV.

TCL claims to have included up to 488 dimming zones (presumably this refers to the largest 75-inch screen size), and the A4000 Pro also supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

Furthermore, this TV can support gaming signals up to 4K/144Hz over HDMI 2.1, with VRR and ALLM supported, making this a solid choice for gamers and home decor aficionados alike.

TCL has also included the Google TV smart platform and an Onkyo-tuned 2.0 channel sound system, which supports Dolby Atmos and DTS Audio. It says that "dialogue is clear and immersive without requiring an external audio set-up" on the A4000 Pro NXTVISION, which will appeal to minimalists who don't want trailing cables.

This TV comes in four sizes, starting at 43 inches, and it undercuts both of the rivals we've mentioned above. The 55-inch model starts at £899, which seems like a bargain compared to the equivalent Hisense, which we reviewed at £1099.

Samsung's 2026 Frame Pro (which is also billed as a Mini LED art TV), comes in at a staggering £1699 for the 55-inch model, which makes the TCL also look like a steal by comparison.

The TCL A4000 Pro NXTVISION is set to launch later this year, and you can see pricing for all sizes below:

• 75A400 PRO-UK – £1,399
• 65A400 PRO-UK – £1,099
• 55A400 PRO-UK – £899
• 43A400 PRO-UK – £599
  

MORE:

Read our full Hisense Canvas review

Check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs

And read our full TCL C7K review

This week, after over a year of waiting, we finally have a key bit of home cinema hardware in our viewing rooms, ready for testing.

Specifically, we’ve got the Hisense UR9, and are going to start our gruelling comparative testing process in mere hours.

Why’s that a big deal?

Hisense has a strong track record for delivering excellent-value hardware, and is responsible for some of the best UST and affordable projectors available right now. But its recent flagship TVs have generally been overshadowed by OLEDs and TCL-made rivals in the past year.

But, if you still don't get why we’re making such a big deal about the UR9, it's pretty simple This is the first TV we’ve got in for testing featuring RGB Mini LED panel technology.

This is a next-generation panel technology we first saw at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last year. It’s set to be used by numerous companies, including Hisense (obviously), Sony, Samsung, Philips, TCL and more.

Though, annoyingly, they all have their own name for and a slightly different spin on the panel tech, the fundamental idea is a simple one: improve picture quality by creating colours using independent diodes made up of individual red, green and blue LEDs that feed directly into an optical lens behind the LCD panel.

This is a very different approach to Mini LED, which creates colours by passing blue LED light through a QDEF (Quantum Dot Enhancement Film) sitting between the backlight and LED panel.

The theory is that the changed approach will let RGB Mini LED offer better colour accuracy, wider gamut coverage, improved brightness (resulting in improved contrast) and more.

In fact, the companies betting on the tech are so confident that the words “OLED-killer” have been muttered numerous times at the various demos we’ve had. This includes our look at Sony’s latest prototype last month.

And with the UR9 costing the same as a flagship OLED, it’s clear Hisense really thinks it can go toe-to-toe with our current top dog for picture quality in the TV market. But, will it actually deliver in the real world? After all, we heard the same inflated boasts about base Mini LED when it first came out many moons ago.

We’re going to find out, as we’re set to run it head-to-head with our current Product of the Year winner in the What Hi-Fi? Awards TV category, the Sony Bravia 8 II – a set our TV and AV editor, Tom Parsons, openly described as “the best OLED he’s ever tested” when we reviewed it.

We’ll be doing all our standard checks to see if the new, ultimately still backlit, Hisense can actually deliver a five-star OLED-beating performance, using our ever-expanding suite of test discs to check everything from peak brightness and black level to colour accuracy.

But, as ever, we want to get you, our awesome cinephile readers, involved. Do you have any questions about the UR9 or RGB Mini LED in general? Let us know in the comments section of this page, and we’ll endeavour to answer them while we have the set in our viewing rooms.

MORE:

These are the best Mini LED TVs we’ve reviewed

Our picks of the best OLED TVs

We rank the best TVs money can buy

With what has felt like a never-ending influx of panel technologies over the past couple of years – think Micro Lens Array OLED, RGB Mini LED and Primary RGB Tandem OLED – we've lost sight of the true future of TV panel tech.

Micro LED, which employs millions of microscopic self-immersive LEDs for an OLED-like experience without the drawbacks, has been quietly simmering in the background for years.

While Samsung has been selling its series of The Wall TVs with Micro LED panels for quite some time, the price tags attached have meant that they have been reserved for the super wealthy. We certainly don't see them in physical retail stores very often.

This is where Hisense steps in. The company kindly invited me to a morning spent in Harrods to oggle at its 136-inch MX Micro LED TV, which is set up and running alongside its UXQ RGB Mini LED TVs to tempt customers with deep pockets to invest in the next generation of TV technology.

Now, I appreciate that Harrods isn't a retailer that appeals to the masses – it's certainly not where I do much of my shopping. But this is a luxury TV technology after all, and the price tag reflects it.

At a staggering £119,999, this TV certainly seems to signify Hisense’s intent to move away from the affordable 4K models it has launched in the past, and make its mark on the premium home cinema sector.

Sporting a claimed peak brightness of 10,000 nits (our camera clearly couldn't handle the dazzling brightness) and a sound system tuned by French hi-fi company Devialet, this is an undeniably impressive TV specification-wise. The company even shared some insight into what you can expect if you do buy one of these huge (and expensive) sets.

Getting a 136-inch TV through a standard door is borderline impossible, but the modular nature of Micro LED means you needn't worry about that. According to Hisense, if you purchase one of these TVs, an engineer with the frame and Micro LED panels will arrive at your home and hand assemble the TV in roughly four hours.

For this price, that's the kind of service you'd expect – right?

Hisense does, however, have some competition. Samsung is also showcasing its Micro LED offering at Harrods, so it seems we are inching ever closer to seeing the true successor to OLED hit the mainstream.

I’ve even seen some more living room-friendly Micro LED TVs at the likes of CES and IFA, which scale the screen sizes down to between 65 and 85 inches. They remain concepts for now, but we could see more conventional models such as these in the future.

We'll need those prices to drop first, though – we highly doubt the average consumer will spend six figures on a TV anytime soon.

MORE:

MicroLED TV: everything you need to know

Check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

As well as the best Mini LED TVs

We're almost a third of the way through 2026, and if there's one takeaway from the world of TVs, it's that maybe too much is happening.

I'm deeply immersed in the release schedules and latest technologies tied to the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony, Philips, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL, and yet even I'm finding 2026 to be one of the most confusing years for TVs to date.

Part of that is a good thing, as we're getting lots of exciting innovations this year, which are sure to define generations of TVs to come, but they're ultimately meaningless if the messaging is unclear.

I've been catching up with the brands mentioned above since January, getting behind-the-scenes access to some of the more exciting TVs to launch this year. But, despite my extensive access to TV experts from said brands, I still have plenty of unanswered questions...

RGB Mini LED: mid-range marvel or premium panel tech?

The biggest TV news of 2026 is that practically every TV manufacturer is launching new backlit TVs with this state-of-the-art panel technology.

RGB Mini LED looks to be the successor to Quantum Dot Mini LED, as it strips away the QLED layer and swaps a white backlight for individual red, green and blue LEDs in the pursuit of greater colour accuracy and backlight control.

On paper, this sounds great, and we've even seen a few impressive sets, including the Hisense UR8 and TCL RM9L, in action. We've also just been treated to a demo of Sony's True RGB system.

The issue is that these companies can't decide where to position RGB Mini LED. And this lack of clarity on its place in the pecking order is already causing confusion.

Samsung and Hisense seem to be championing it as flagship technology, meaning it's reserved for premium models that sit alongside (or, in some cases, above) OLED TVs. Samsung's R95H appears to sit alongside the brand's S95H QD-OLED this year, which can only signify that the Korean AV giant sees it as a top-of-the-line technology.

Philips and LG, on the other hand, maintain that it sits below their respective OLEDs. Philips has been more open about this, as it claims "OLED is still the reference", and the company's mid-range MLED981 sits below even the entry-level OLED761.

So, which one is it? Is this new panel tech best suited to flagships? Or is it not capable of challenging even some of the most affordable OLEDs on the market?

Is OLED in trouble?

We were blindsided by two prominent OLED TV manufacturers, Sony and Panasonic, essentially selling off their TV businesses to Chinese firms, TCL and Skyworth. The latter is only handling Panasonic's European TV division.

Both Japanese giants are known for producing high-quality, and often fairly pricey, OLED TVs, but that may be about to change. While we can't speak entirely for Sony, we do know TCL's firm anti-OLED stance (specifically for TVs, the company uses OLED for mobile and automotive displays), so we don't have high hopes.

What we can presume is that Sony likely won't launch a premium OLED TV this year, as it now employs an unconventional release schedule, where each model is only refreshed every two or three years – or in the case of the A90K, possibly longer. The Bravia 8 II launched last year, so we expect this to stick around until 2027.

Speaking of not launching a new premium OLED, Panasonic confirmed that the Z95B will continue as its flagship offering in 2026. As it stands, the entry-level Z86C will be the only new OLED from the legendary Japanese AV company this year.

Pair that with the LG G6 being the first in the series to not score five stars (you can read our full LG G6 65-inch review here), things are already looking interesting for this year's What Hi-Fi? Awards judging process.

All we'll say is that it's a good job that the LG C6 is a simply superb OLED TV, as it might be among a modest cohort of new models this year.

Is Dolby Vision 2 really coming this year?

The final slightly baffling hot topic in the TV world is Dolby Vision 2. Now, I've seen it in action a couple of times, and I have to say that it looks superb, but there are so many unanswered questions.

Hisense and TCL were announced as launch partners at IFA 2026, and yet neither referenced it at their respective launch events in Europe last month. Furthermore, when questioned about it, Hisense confirmed that it should be coming to its 2026 TVs, but possibly not at launch. Instead, it'll likely be added via a software update down the line.

Philips, on the other hand, made no qualms about Dolby Vision 2 Max being supported on its 2026 OLEDs, including the OLED911. This feels more promising, especially when LG and Sony have remained especially tight-lipped about the new HDR format for quite some time.

There is, of course, the issue of Dolby Vision 2 content. To our knowledge, the only services that will support Dolby Vision 2 are Canal+ and NBC's Peacock service, neither of which really has the mainstream draw of Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video.

It is, of course, early days, so we could see more services pick the format up, but the creation of Dolby Vision 2 content is still a mystery right now.

Looking to a buy a TV now? Here's my advice...

If you're in the market for a TV now, my honest advice would be to hold out until we gain a little more clarity.

The best TV that we've tested this year (so far) is the LG C6, and while it is brilliant, it's also expensive right now. We expect this price to drop steadily throughout the year, as the C5 and C4 did, so your patience should be rewarded.

We're also yet to review any of the new RGB Mini-LED models, so if you can wait until we make a judgment on these upcoming TVs, we'd recommend doing so. It's entirely possible that RGB Mini LED could surpass OLED in terms of picture performance, but we won't know until we try them ourselves.

And if you're confused by the state of the TV world in 2026, then don't worry – we live and breathe TVs here, and even we're feeling a bit overwhelmed.

MORE:

Read our full LG C6 65-inch review

The LG C series is a bit of a mess right now, and it's all the better for it

Check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

April is usually when practically every TV manufacturer has officially unveiled its lineup of TVs for the year, and I've had the pleasure of seeing almost every new model in the flesh.

From new Primary RGB Tandem OLED flagships, to game-changing RGB Mini LED sets, and even affordable mid-range models (both Mini LED and OLED), the 2026 TV market is officially in full swing after a busy string of launches.

I started my year at CES, where Samsung and LG stole the spotlight with flagship OLED TVs, and from there I've attended hands-on events with Panasonic, Philips, Hisense and TCL to see each company's respective new TV ranges.

While we're still yet to hear from Sony about what it has up its sleeve (especially in the wake of its partnership with TCL), it's looking like a majority of the big players in the TV world have locked in their lineups.

I've selected the five that have caught my eye most at these events, and even included a bonus option which boasts some major improvements over its disappointing predecessor.

1. Philips OLED911

Kicking things off with Philips, the OLED911 is a sequel to one of my favourite TVs of 2025. The OLED910 offered up a picture experience that truly rivalled the Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, and there was no competition when it came to sound performance.

Its sequel, the OLED911, was unveiled at Philips' Unboxed Event in Berlin last month, and it stole the spotlight at the showcase.

It sports a second-generation Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel with an even higher claimed brightness figure than its predecessor and improved anti-reflective qualities to combat glare from ambient light.

Furthermore, it features a major upgrade for gamers: four HDMI 2.1 sockets (all of which support up to 4K/165Hz with VRR and ALLM), and it is also the first OLED TV in the world to support Dolby Vision 2 Max.

Rounding things off with the improved 81W Bowers & Wilkins sound system, which includes a slimmer rear-mounted subwoofer with four passive radiators, and dedicated left, right and centre channels, all of which feature dual 45mm midrange glass-fibre drivers alongside a 19mm titanium-dome tweeter.

This TV is feature-packed, and it comes in a slick new design as well, which makes it one of my top TVs to watch out for in 2026.

Read our Philips OLED911 hands on review

2. TCL C7L

While the pricey OLEDs are unquestionably the more eye-catching sets I've seen at these events, I've also been on the lookout for some of the more affordable options, which are guaranteed to shake up the mid-range TV market in 2026.

Case in point, the TCL C7L, which is a follow-up to the Award-winning C7K. Spotted at the company's Nxt Home launch in Paris last month, the C7L stood out thanks to its new Super Quantum Dot Mini LED (SQD-Mini LED) display, which promises more dimming zones, higher brightness figures, and better colour accuracy.

It's got big shoes to fill, but the TCL C7L promises to make some big picture upgrades over its five-star predecessor, which was enough to get me excited during my brief hands-on time with the new Mini LED set.

Read our TCL C7L hands on review

3. Samsung S99H/S95H

If we were giving out an Award for the luxurious TV of 2026, then Samsung's new S99H (S95H in the US) would have already won.

This new flagship OLED TV sports a brighter QD-OLED panel (Samsung claims there's a 700 nit upgrade in the TV's movie picture mode), and there have also been reported improvements to colour reproduction and banding visibility in lower-quality content.

Samsung has also made some changes to the One Connect system. The TV sports four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets housed within the main chassis. However, there is also an optional wireless One Connect box, which expands this to a whopping eight HDMI 2.1 sockets.

These upgrades sit inside a new, premium chassis that incorporates a Frame-style metal bezel, on which the QD-OLED panel sits to create a floating effect. I've seen this TV wall-mounted, and paired with the matte display finish, it really does look like a work of art.

I was treated to an early sighting of this TV at Samsung's headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, and was there to see its official unveiling at CES 2026. Despite being severely jet-lagged in both instances, this TV was an absolute showstopper at both events.

Read our Samsung S95H hands on review

4. Hisense UR8

2026 is a big year for backlit TVs, as the next generation of Mini LED panel technology is here.

RGB Mini LED was introduced on a handful of 2025 TVs, namely a 115-inch Samsung model and a 116-inch Hisense. It should come as no surprise that these gargantuan TVs with their first-generation panel technology are wildly expensive.

Thankfully, that's all about to change in 2026. Hisense isn't the only company to welcome the new panel technology into its line up this year; however, it wants to be known as the RGB Mini LED brand, and the UR8 is just one of its new models.

With promises of high brightness figures and rich, pure colours, Hisense is really going all-in on the new panel technology, which hopes to succeed Quantum Dot Mini LED.

Interestingly, I've opted for the cheapest RGB Mini LED in the range, which I came face-to-face with in Munich, Germany, last month.

This is mostly because I, and many others, presumed that a new panel technology would equal huge introductory price tags, and yet Hisense claims that this step-down model – which comes in 55-, 65- and 75-inches – will hit the market at a "competitive" price.

Read our Hisense UR8 hands on review

5. Panasonic Z86C/Z85C

Speaking of step-down TVs, Panasonic has only announced one new OLED TV this year, and it's unfortunately not a successor to the excellent Z95B from 2025. Instead, Panasonic (which is now producing its European TVs in collaboration with Chinese AV brand Skyworth) unveiled the Z86C (Z85C in Europe) at its event (also in Munich) earlier this year.

This entry-level OLED TV sports LG Display's new OLED SE panel technology, which removes the polariser to cut back on costs. This will, of course, reduce the TV's ability to combat glare and reflections, but for dark-room viewing, the Z85C should be just fine.

With its 120Hz refresh rate, supported by two HDMI 2.1 sockets, the Z86C is also a solid choice for gamers. In my brief experience with the TV, I found that even at this entry-level point with a stripped-back panel, the contrast and black depths that OLED brings to the table were unquestionably great, even if this TV didn't quite rival its Award-winning Z90B counterpart.

Read our Panasonic Z86C hands on review

Bonus: Sony Bravia 3 II

I'm sneaking in this TV as a bonus option, and I'm even breaking my own rules here as it's not a TV I've seen in the flesh. It's no secret that the Sony Bravia 3, which I reviewed last year, was a bit disappointing, especially by Sony's usually excellent TV standards.

It ultimately came down to the hardware limitation; the Bravia 3 featured a 60Hz direct-lit LED panel with no QLED layer, which made it feel quite expensive, especially considering it outpriced the Award-winning TCL C7K (which featured a 120Hz QD-Mini LED display).

I have to give credit where credit is due though; Sony has come back with a MKII refresh which directly addresses my gaming-focused concerns, and it even brings something new to the table for Sony TVs.

While we don't get Mini LED or even QLED here, it does now feature a 120Hz panel and four, yes four, HDMI 2.1 sockets to support gaming features.

Better yet, the Bravia 3 II now comes with Sony's XR processor, which has worked wonders in its more expensive TVs, especially when it comes to enhancing the sharpness and solidity of the image.

While I feel as though Sony could (and probably should) have crammed in another upgrade or two, these are certainly steps in the right direction. Unfortunately, this TV isn't currently slated to come to the UK yet, meaning we'll have to wait to see if this TV is an improvement over its predecessor.

Find out more about the Sony Bravia 3 II here

MORE:

Read our full LG C6 65-inch review

Check out our picks for the best OLED TV

As well as the best Mini LED TV

Samsung’s old dominance of the budget TV market has been severely challenged in recent years, most notably by the likes of Hisense and, especially, TCL.

Can the 65-inch U8000F do enough within its measly price to make the Korean brand the king of TV value once more?

Price

In the UK and US, at least, being able to bag a 65-inch Samsung U8000F for £469 / $430 really does look like a potentially huge bargain.

It’s perhaps not quite such an eye-catching deal in Australia, but when all is said and done, even AU$1299 hardly looks excessive for a 65-inch TV with the usually dependable Samsung name attached.

There are, as we’ll come to later, plenty of reasons why this TV is so affordable. These reasons don’t, though, include anything that might automatically disqualify it from being a potentially good performer for its money.

Not surprisingly, in today’s TV world, the strongest competition for the U8000F comes from TCL – in particular from the C7K and C6KS models, the 65-inch versions of which cost in the UK £829 and £479 respectively. The latter model actually adds local dimming and Mini LED lighting to the equation, despite costing more or less the same as the Samsung U8000F.

Design

The 65-inch U8000F is predictably built predominantly from fairly lightweight plastic. This makes it easy to move around, though, and actually, its bodywork still feels decently rigid and robust. That’s helped, perhaps, by the use of some attractively integrated ribbing in parts of the rear panel.

It’s fairly chunky around the back by today’s TV standards, making it a slightly awkward-looking wall hanging option – but you don’t notice its depth so much when it’s mounted on its pair of included feet.

These feet handily just slot and lock into holes on the screen’s underside, without the need for any screws. They’re positioned quite wide apart, however, meaning you’ll need a fairly wide TV stand to accommodate the TV.

The U8000F’s bezel tastefully sits more or less flush with the screen it holds, and is narrow enough when viewed head-on to prevent you from spotting the bodywork’s fundamentally plasticky nature.

The TV ships with two remote controls. One is an old-school looking chunky affair with a full button count, while the other is a much sleeker number with a nice polished finish and much reduced button count. It doesn’t carry a solar panel like the ‘smart’ remotes you get with Samsung’s premium TVs, but it’s comfortable to hold and easy to use.

Features

The panel at the 65-inch U8000F’s heart is understandably fairly basic by Samsung LCD standards. It’s lit by big ol’ regular-sized LEDs rather than Mini LEDs, and its backlighting doesn’t benefit from any sort of true local dimming system. It’s only a native 60Hz panel, too, which may limit its appeal to gamers with 120Hz (or more) consoles or PCs.

Most surprisingly of all, it doesn’t get a colour system built around Quantum Dots. Instead, as with all of Samsung’s U series TVs of the past few years, it gets something called PurColour, backed up by a Crystal 4K processor that’s a good few notches down in power and sophistication from Samsung’s Neo QLED processors.

If this PurColour system can still map colours accurately and subtly, though, it could still be enough to help the U8000F stand out from the budget TV crowd.

The TV supports high dynamic range video, including in the premium HDR10+ format. There’s no Dolby Vision, though; it seems like hell will need to freeze entirely over before Samsung joins most other TV brands in bringing Dolby Vision to its TVs.

The U8000F’s smart features and interface are provided by Samsung’s home-grown Tizen OS. This would normally be fine; Tizen now carries basically every streaming and catch-up TV service almost anyone could want, bar Freeview Play and Freely. You can operate the TV and find content by talking to it, too, via Samsung’s Bixby system or an external Alexa device. It maintains a dedicated Game Hub screen from which you can access streamed gaming apps or any game consoles or PCs you have connected.

Unfortunately, though, the 65-inch U8000F struggles with the demands of the latest Tizen system, typically running very sluggishly when it comes to opening menus, and booting up apps and streaming services.

While the U8000F’s lack of 120Hz support for gaming is unfortunate (if hardly surprising for such a cheap TV), it does have a few other gaming tricks up its sleeve. These include ALLM switching, VRR support and the HGiG system, whereby the TV essentially passes HDR output control to your Xbox or PlayStation console.

The set also takes just 9.7ms to render graphics when running in its Game mode – one of the lowest such figures we’ve measured.

Picture settings, meanwhile, include a Filmmaker Mode, raising hopes of an easily accessible route to accurate picture quality for AV enthusiasts, as well as Samsung’s suite of Picture Clarity tools for making pictures look cleaner and sharper. The Picture Clarity options here, though, do not include a blur reduction system as you get with more premium Samsung TVs; there are only noise reduction and judder reduction components to play with.

The U8000F’s sound is delivered by a fairly basic 2 x 10W sound system, bolstered by Samsung’s Q Symphony and OTS Lite features. Q Symphony lets the TV’s speakers join forces with those in Samsung soundbars, while OTS Lite uses nifty audio processing to try to make specific sounds appear to be coming from the correct part of the screen.

Connections on the U8000F, finally, comprise a trio of HDMI ports, a single USB-A port, an Ethernet port, the RF jack, a CI slot and, of course, wi-fi and Bluetooth wireless options.

Picture

The U8000F is very much a tale of two picture settings, looking very respectable for its money in its Standard mode, but struggling to meet the demands of AV enthusiasts with its Filmmaker Mode.

Starting with the good news, the Standard mode’s pictures immediately look surprisingly bright by budget TV standards. There’s a very clear step up in brightness between SDR and HDR content, as well as a mild expansion in the HDR image’s colour range. Enough in both cases to make HDR look convincing and surprisingly natural – helped by the presence of a surprisingly effective dynamic tone mapping system (a feature that’s by no means a given at the sort of price level the U8000F is operating at).

The TV’s brightness in Standard mode sits alongside some quite respectable black tones for such an affordable TV. This makes dark scenes comfortable to watch, and creates a degree of contrast that again helps to sell the idea that this is a more HDR-friendly TV than most of its similarly priced rivals.

We should stress that we’re not talking about depths of black in dark scenes of the sort you’d get with an OLED or premium LCD TV – there’s always a hint of grey to remind you that you’re watching a fairly affordable LCD screen – but the impact of this is mild by cheap TV standards.

Dark scenes contain plenty of shadow detail on the U8000F, too, avoiding that flat, hollow look so commonly encountered with budget TVs. Especially budget TVs that are as focused on producing a convincing black tone as this Samsung model seems to be.

The U8000F’s pictures are also sharp enough to look definitively 4K – and thanks to some crisp upscaling, this feels pleasingly true with HD sources as well as native 4K.

The sharpness does dip, though, due to some resolution loss over moving objects that none of the available Picture Clarity settings can completely fix (though choosing a Custom setting with Judder Reduction set to level four or five can at least reduce the impact of the screen’s quite strong native judder with 24fps sources).

There are a couple more Standard mode niggles to report as well. First, very bright picture areas can clip a little, meaning they lose subtle shading information and end up looking so stark that they draw too much attention to themselves (though this reduces with Dynamic Tone Mapping active). Second, colours in relatively dark scenes can ‘clump’ a little, so that very detailed areas such as grass or leaves become a bit rough and ill-defined.

You can also sometimes notice a slightly distracting lag between the backlight system dimming and brightening during scenes that feature abrupt cuts between dark and light shots, and finally, there’s a narrow stripe of light leakage running down the left and right sides of the picture – though this is only generally visible in the black bars above and below 21:9 and similar-ratio films. It’s typically too faint to appear where there’s any sort of picture information other than pure blackness on the screen.

While it’s good to find a very affordable TV that is ambitious enough to carry a Filmmaker Mode, unfortunately, that mode isn’t much fun to watch on the U8000F.

Clipping, for instance, becomes quite extreme without any Dynamic Tone Mapping in play, while motion looks both juddery and soft.

Colours feel flatter in Filmmaker Mode, too, and the image generally lacks impact. Perhaps the biggest issue with Filmmaker Mode, though, is that for some reason, perhaps due to its reduced brightness and contrast, dark scenes suddenly reveal multiple areas of backlight clouding at various points across the screen. You can reduce the impact of this if you watch in a little ambient light, but it’s a shame this feels necessary.

Dark scenes look generally a little greyer in Filmmaker Mode, too, and this greyness can also sometimes take on a slightly green or blue tint.

Not everything about the Filmmaker Mode is a bust. Colours look slightly more even-handed and nuanced, which contributes in particular to a touch less colour clumping in densely textured areas. Shadow detail is still strong, too, despite the extra clouding. Ultimately, though, the Filmmaker Mode’s slightly more nuanced feel in some areas isn’t enough to make it the sort of instant cinematic hit that movie fans might have hoped for.

There’s one more issue to mention, too, that actually affects all of the U8000F’s picture settings: viewing angles. View the TV from really any sort of angle, and the VA panel design causes contrast to take a substantial hit, with parts of the picture that should be black taking on a vivid blue-grey tone. Basically, if your room layout requires lots of people to routinely watch this TV from the side, it’s probably not the TV for you.

Sound

The first thing to say here is that we recommend pretty much always turning the U8000F’s Amplify sound mode on. Without it, the sound tends to feel small and trapped inside the TV.

Even with Amplify mode on, the U8000F’s sound doesn’t exactly shake your foundations. There isn’t much bass depth or presence, and volume levels, even set to maximum, are hardly going to burst your eardrums.

While we might have wished for the U8000F’s sound to give us a bit more, though, what it does give us is actually quite clean and engaging – at least to the extent that the TV seems to understand its speakers’ limitations.

So, bass, while not heavy, seldom distorts or crackles. Treble, while not particularly extended, doesn’t tend to sound harsh or forced. Voices are quite well-rounded and contextualised, and surprisingly, given there are only two speakers in play, the OTS Lite system places voices and spot effects decently accurately in the right place on the screen.

This all makes the sound quite clean and therefore immersive by budget TV standards, making it surprisingly easy to live with.

Verdict

The 65-inch Samsung U8000F is overall a solid TV for its money. It’s up against some stiff and only slightly more expensive competition, and it’s certainly not without its limitations, but provided you aren’t a die-hard cinephile desperately on the hunt for a good Filmmaker Mode, the U8000F’s Standard picture setting actually serves up a cleaner, more balanced, more punchy and above all more consistent performance than most rivals in its class.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 3
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the TCL C7K

Also consider the TCL C6KS

Read our Mitchell & Brown QLED1811 review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget Mini LED sets tried and tested

Hisense wants to be the RGB Mini LED brand. It came out swinging with the 116-inch UXQ last year to kick off its new range with a bang, and now it's bringing a duo of more reasonably sized models with the next generation panel tech to the market.

The UR9 sits at the top of its conventional TV lineup, and it aims to offer movie fans a brighter panel and a better sound system, so you'd think that would be what caught my eye during a trip to Munich, Germany, with the brand. But, at the event I found myself gravitating towards the step-down model instead.

Upon announcing the new panel technology, I began gearing myself up to report on sky-high prices that echo the early days of OLED and QLED, and yet, Hisense is determined to bring this new panel tech to the masses, and I think the UR8 will be the TV to do just that.

The TV sits below the two flagship RGB Mini LEDs mentioned above, and yet it offers a lot of the same features and on-paper performance benefits. My brief run-in with the TV left a strong first impression, and while we'll need to test it in our dedicated AV testing facility to settle on a final verdict, I do have a few early thoughts to share.

Price

Pricing hasn't been revealed for the UR8 quite yet, but we're under the impression that it will be fairly competitive. Hisense promises that pricing information should come soon, and the TV itself is currently slated to launch in the first half of this year.

It'll be available in five sizes when it launches, including a few more "average" living room-friendly ones, such as 55- and 65-inches. XL TV fans are, of course, still catered for, with Hisense also offering this TV in 75-, 85- and 100-inch sizes.

In terms of competition, it looks as though the UR8 will be going up against Philips' new mid-range RGB Mini LED, the MLED981, and Samsung is slated to launch a step-down RGB Mini LED model later this year, too.

Build

The UR8 isn't the flashiest TV I've ever seen, but the build is solid, stylish and slender at just 58mm in width. That's fairly slick by backlit TV standards.

Furthermore, it features a centralised pedestal stand, meaning you won't have to worry about obtaining a wide media unit to accommodate this TV. We saw the UR8 in its 75-inch screen size, and it featured this style of stand; however the very largest screen sizes may differ.

Hisense has also bundled in its button-heavy solar-powered remote. While it may look a little old school next to the slick minimalist remotes included with most TVs these days, we actually appreciate that every function has a dedicated button rather than having to remember a bunch of short cuts and long presses to access simple things like the input menu.

Features

It should come as no surprise that the headlining feature of the UR8 is the new RGB Mini LED panel technology. Hisense says that it delivers purer and more vibrant colours, and the Chinese AV giant has even achieved certification from colour-validating powerhouse Pantone.

Brightness is also a key benefit of the RGB Mini LED panel technology, and Hisense claims that the UR8 can reach a peak brightness of 3500 nits. That's below the 4000 nit figure quoted by Hisense for the UR9 step-up model, but it's still an impressive figure.

This new panel is being driven by the company's HiView AI Engine RGB processor, which has been specifically designed with the RGB Mini LED panel technology in mind.

Furthermore, this has to be one of the best-equipped TVs for gamers that we've ever come across. The UR8 sports a 180Hz panel, which tops the 165Hz limit we've seen on recent sets from LG, Samsung and Philips. On top of that is the inclusion of four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets, all of which support VRR and ALLM, with one socket doubling as HDMI eARC.

Hisense hopes that you won't need to use that HDMI eARC socket, though, as the built-in 2.1.2 channel speaker system, which supports Dolby Atmos, has been tuned by Devialet to reportedly deliver punchy, immersive cinematic sound.

Vidaa remains on board for all of your streaming needs, and while this isn't our favourite operating system on the market, we find that it covers a majority of the available streaming apps, based on our experience from using it on other Hisense TVs and projectors.

Last, and by no means least, the UR8 will be among the first Hisense TVs to gain Dolby Vision 2 support. Despite being announced as a launch partner back at IFA 2025, Hisense doesn't seem entirely sure when Dolby Vision 2 is coming to its TVs; however, it insinuated that it will be added via an over-the-air update after the TV's launch. It will also support HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG.

Picture

Unfortunately, Hisense didn't demo any real-world content on the UR8, but we did see a looping demo in the TV's dynamic picture setting.

While that's not ideal for assessing what the TV is like when watching movies and TV shows, it did give us a good idea of what the RGB Mini LED panel technology is capable of.

Furthermore, the content shown seemed fairly low-resolution to my eyes, which introduced some unfair banding and haloing around bright and colourful content on black backgrounds.

I will therefore reiterate that these hands-on impressions won't reflect the verdict from our future full review of the UR8.

That all being said, Hisense seems to have delivered on its promise of delivering rich, pure and vibrant colours based on this early look, as every shade pops on this display.

Reds, blues, greens, yellows, pinks and purples all appear rich and vivid, and while this will likely be reining in for an authentic cinematic experience, it's an eye-catching demonstration of the capabilities of RGB Mini LED.

These look especially effective against dark backgrounds, as the UR8 seems to deliver some seriously convincing black levels for a backlit TV. This is thanks to the RGB Mini LED system's more advanced backlight control, which should address the my, and the wider What Hi-Fi? team's, biggest issue with "traditional" Mini LED sets.

I couldn't test other crucial picture performance aspects, especially including motion, during this session, so you'll have to wait until our full review to discover if the UR8 can nail the majour pillars of picture performance.

Sound

I'll keep this short and sweet. Despite highlighting the UR8's Devialet-tuned 2.1.2 channel sound system, Hisense didn't actually demo it during the event.

However, based on the team I's experiences with last year's U8Q, we have fairly high expectations. We found that the U8Q delivered a powerful, spacious and cinematic sound, and while the bass could have been a bit more controlled, we ultimately deemed it to be a rather impressive built-in sound system.

Early verdict

It's too early to decide on a verdict for the UR8, but this TV is certainly worth watching out for based on what I've seen so far, combined with the on-paper specs.

It touts the latest panel technology. superb gaming specs, a high-spec sound system and plenty of software smarts, so as long as Hisense can nail the price, it could be on to a winner.

As a team, we're eagerly awaiting both of Hisense's RGB Mini LED models to land in our home cinema testing room, so check back soon for a full review.

MORE:

Read our full Hisense U8Q review

RGB Mini LED: everything you need to know

Check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs

Hisense has just officially confirmed its new TV range for 2026, and, in a surprise to no one, RGB Mini LED models are leading the line.

The Chinese brand was the first to launch an RGB Mini LED TV, in the gargantuan form of last year's 100- and 116-inch UX model. That continues in this year’s lineup, but it is joined by two much more mainstream models.

Those are the UR9S, which will be available in 65-, 75- and 85-inch sizes, and the step-down UR8S, which will come in 55-, 65-, 75-, 85- and 100-inch versions.

Both models of course feature RGB Mini LED backlights, and they are powered by Hisense's new Hi-View AI Engine RGB processor. They also boast an ‘Anti Reflection and Glare Free’ coating.

Hisense says that both of these TVs have a native refresh rate of 180Hz and will support 4K/180Hz gaming – though good luck building a PC powerful enough to take advantage of that.

The key difference flagged by Hisense is in peak brightness, with the U9S hitting a claimed 4000 nits and the UR8S limited to a (still very bright) 3500 nits.

We suspect there will be a difference in the number of dimming zones on each set, too, but this hasn’t yet been confirmed by Hisense.

As with the 116UX, the UR9S has three HDMI 2.1 sockets and a PC-friendly Display Port USB-C socket, whereas the UR8S has four HDMI 2.1 sockets.

Hisense’s partnership with Devialet continues with both TVs, but while the UR9S boasts a 4.1.2-channel sound system, the UR8S has a 2.1.2-channel solution.

One innovative new feature of both TVs is something Hisense is calling ‘KiDoodle’.

This is a second remote that comes in the box and can only be used to access family-friendly content, which seems like a very clever solution to parental controls.

The content that can be accessed via this remote will apparently be curated by real people, too, hopefully meaning that unsuitable stuff won’t sneak through.

Standard Mini LED models

Naturally, there are non-RGB Mini LED TVs below the UR9S and UR8S.

The first of those is the U8Q, which carries over from the 2025 range and received four-star review in our Hisense U8Q review.

Below that are the new U7S Pro and U7S, both available in sizes ranging from 50 to 100 inches.

The U7S Pro has a claimed peak-brightness of 3000 nits, a refresh rate of 165Hz, and the Anti Reflection and Glare Free coating, while the U7S is 1400 nits, 144Hz, and not ‘Glare Free’.

Devialet has also put its name to the U7S Pro’s 2.1.2-channel audio system, whereas the U7S’s 2.1-channel system appears to be Hisense’s own design.

The final model in Hisense’s 2026 range is the new E8S, which still boasts a Mini LED backlight and a 144Hz refresh rate, but is limited to a peak brightness of 600 nits on all versions except the 50-inch model, which, for some reason, can hit a claimed peak brightness of 1000 nits.

And that’s your lot! And it is a lot, isn't it?

What we don’t yet know is when these new models will be available or how much they will cost.

The latter will be particularly interesting to find out, as Hisense has tended towards relatively premium pricing in recent years, whereas arch-rival TCL has maintained its ultra-aggressive approach.

How will the two brands’ ranges line up in 2026? We shouldn’t have long to wait to find out.

More:

Check out our Hisense U8Q review and Hisense UX hands-on

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

Hisense has announced its U6 and U7 Mini LED TVs in time for the World Cup.

The firm says these models hit the "performance-to-value sweet spot". A more premium offering, the RGB MiniLED Series, will follow later in the year.

Both the U6 and U7 are aimed at those looking for big screens without big price tags.

With sizes up to 116 inches, the U7 is built for "sports viewing and large-scale hosting", and promises "exceptional motion performance, high-impact brightness and immersive sound".

The U7 boasts Hisense's Hi-QLED MiniLED Pro tech with Full Array Local Dimming and the Hi-View AI Engine Pro. These promise vibrant, lifelike pictures with stunning contrast and clarity across all types of content. The 165Hz native refresh rate should minimise blur, and it has 50W multi-channel audio built in, with both Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X.

The U6 range comprises the standard U6SF and U6SF Pro. Both have Hi-QLED MiniLED with Full Array Local Dimming and Quantum Dot colour tech, AI-driven picture optimisation, integrated subwoofers with Dolby Atmos audio. Both span screen sizes from 55 inches to 100 inches.

The U7 comes running either Google TV (U7SG) or Fire TV (U7SF), while the U6 range only runs Fire TV.

The U7 range should be available soon in the US, with prices starting at $1299 (around £980 / AU$1800). The U6 range will arrive soon after with prices still TBC.

MORE:

Should you buy a Hisense TV? Find out here

Which is the better budget TV brand: Hisense or TCL?

The best TVs money can buy

An entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar is, in theory, a great proposition. It means you can bring an immersive yet precise experience to movies at home, while not taking up your whole living room with AV kit. That’s not to mention their more affordable price tag compared to a multi-room speaker system is quite the boon.

There is a huge variety in the types of models you can choose, from small single bars to complete soundbar systems. And it is an example of each that we have before us today.

The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is an all-in-one model and our top current recommendation for buyers on a budget. It’s snagged a What Hi-Fi? Award every year since it was released back in 2021, and has batted away competition from countless other models in that time.

It’s getting a little long in the tooth, however, and more soundbars have started to trouble the reigning champ. Enter the Hisense AX5125H – a complete Dolby Atmos (and DTS:X) system in a box that's cheaper than the Sonos and offers more kit for your money. It scored a What Hi-Fi? Award last year, quickly making its mark as a great option for those on a budget.

That will rightly lead you to ask: which model should I buy? Well, don’t worry too much, because we’ve compared both models side by side to help you decide which one is worthy of your home set-up.

Hisense AX5125H vs Sonos Beam Gen 2

As we mentioned, the Hisense AX5125H is the cheaper option of the two. It comes in at £249 / $350 (around AU$500), which is quite the bargain considering you get a main soundbar, a subwoofer and two small wireless surround speakers.

This makes it the most affordable soundbar package we have ever had in our test room.

The Sonos Beam Gen 2, despite being just a single soundbar, launched at £449 / $449 / AU$649. We have occasionally seen it drop down to around £349 / $399 / AU$700 during sales events, but it has stuck pretty close to its launch price since it came out.

That still means the Hisense model is the clear winner here, costing £200 / $100 (around AU$200) less than the Beam.

**Winner: Hisense AX5125H**

Hisense AX5125H vs Sonos Beam Gen 2: build

When it comes to design, the Beam is certainly the simpler of the two, with its all-in-one bar measuring 7 x 65 x 10cm (hwd).

It has quite a stylish yet compact design, sporting rounded ends with a perforated polycarbonate grille facing the listener. There are two colour finishes available – white and black.

On top of the Beam’s body are touch-sensitive buttons, LEDs, and far-field mics for voice control of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Hisense’s main soundbar is a fair bit longer, measuring 6 x 92 x 9cm (hwd), and is only available in black.

While the Hisense is longer than the Sonos, both main soundbars are compact enough to sit on most furniture and in front of most TVs without blocking their display, but not so small as to look insubstantial.

Hisense’s wireless subwoofer comes in at 29 x 21 x 30cm, and the surrounds measure 14 x 9 x 11cm each. Each bit of kit with the package model has a little more of a dull overall look than the Sonos, but nothing feels or looks cheap.

Unlike the Beam, there’s an LED display on the front of the Hisense soundbar, which is a pleasant surprise at this price and delivers information such as the input, sound preset and surround mode selected, as well as volume level.

The Sonos Beam Gen 2 does not come with a remote control, but it can be operated via the Sonos app and the TV remote.

With the AX5125H, there is no dedicated app to control the product. Instead, we get a remote that feels fairly basic and plasticky, as you would probably expect, but it does the job well enough. From here, you can turn on Bluetooth, change the output, adjust the volume, bass and treble levels, and dim the soundbar’s display.

Both soundbars are practical and easy to set up, but which one you prefer will be down to whether you are short on space or want more kit for your money. Hisense just takes it, however, for its handy LED display.

**Winner: Hisense AX5125H*

Hisense AX5125H vs Sonos Beam Gen 2: features

Under the hood of the Sonos, you will find one central tweeter and four elliptical mid-woofers, each powered by Class D amplifiers.

The 5.0 bar contrasts with Hisense’s 5.1.2-channel configuration. That consists of three front-firing channels and a driver in each surround for the ‘five’, one big driver in the sub for the ‘one’, and two up-firing drivers in the soundbar for the ‘two’.

At the back of the Sonos bar, you will find sockets for power, ethernet, and a single HDMI eARC as well as a connect/reset push button.

You will find more connectivity with the Hisense AX5125H, which offers a dedicated HDMI input. Passthrough is limited to 60Hz, so there’s no support for 4K/120Hz gaming signals, but any passthrough functionality at this level is a bonus, especially since the Beam does not have it.

Both soundbars support Dolby Atmos, but the Hisense AX5125H also supports DTS:X. That’s a big tick for movie fans looking for more options when it comes to surround sound technology.

The Sonos bar can be controlled by the Sonos app, which acts as a hub for the product. From here, you can access EQ controls and more advanced sound settings.

The app also offers room calibration to fine-tune the sound to your space, but it's worth noting that the Beam's calibration requires an iOS device – Android devices aren't compatible.

The Beam does not offer any separate sound modes, whereas the Hisense gives you a variety of presets to choose from: Movie, Music, Game, News and Sport. While it defaults to the AI setting, we settle on Movies for movies and TV shows, and Music for Music, after much testing.

For its offering as a complete system rather than a solo bar, as well as its DTS:X support, the Hisense model takes the crown for this category.

**Winner: Hisense AX5125H**

Hisense AX5125H vs Sonos Beam Gen 2: sound

Now for the juicy part: how do the two models compare when it comes to audio quality? Here, both the Hisense AX5125H and the Sonos Beam Gen 2 are quite different.

Hisense’s model produces an enveloping yet cohesive overall sound that delivers a more immersive soundstage than the Beam Gen 2, thanks to its separate satellite surrounds.

When watching Civil War in our test room, we note: “Bullets whizz from the front to the back of the room and even behind the listening position, helicopters hover at ceiling height, and distant explosions rumble menacingly.”

The bass delivered by the subwoofer is impressive considering the soundbar’s cost, with explosions and deep gunfire having a good impact and solidity.

There are frequencies at which the sub gets a little too excited, and it delivers a big thump that sticks out. This is made clear when watching The Batman, as our hero approaches the thugs in the subway tunnel, and one recurring bass note in the soundtrack is reproduced much louder than the others.

With the Sonos, although it is not as room-filling, counters with a more detailed and balanced overall sound that makes for a more authentic listening experience.

It is a particularly solid performer with voices, too, and we say in our review: “Whether it’s a chirping bird, a car or a voice, there’s remarkable consistency across the complete soundfield, and seamless handover between drivers, which we have to say doesn’t always happen when a Dolby Atmos soundbar has upward drivers to contend with.”

This is stronger than the Hisense’s performance in this area. We find with the AX5125H that while voices sound natural and pretty emotive, the busiest, bassiest sections cause them to become a touch muffled.

Unlike a lot of models at this level, both perform well with music, although the Hisense doesn’t quite match Sonos’ abilities.

The Sonos Beam’s strong vocal performance continues to shine with music, and keeps a good cohesion between the different frequencies.

When playing Tool’s Invincible with the Hisense, it manages to deliver some of the subtle warble in Maynard James Keenan’s vocals. But even at its lowest volume level, the subwoofer can’t resist interjecting slightly rudely at times and adding bass notes that stick out awkwardly.

It’s hard to pick out a clear winner here, as it really depends on what you are looking for. If you want a soundbar that offers clarity, detail and sophistication, then the Beam Gen 2 is a great pick. But if you are on the hunt for a genuinely room-filling, three-dimensional Atmos effect with a bassy sound to boot, then the Hisense model is the better choice.

**Winner: draw**

Hisense AX5125H vs Sonos Beam Gen 2

Both the Hisense AX5125H and the Sonos Beam Gen 2 are top five-star soundbars that will suit your home cinema setup if you are on the hunt for Dolby Atmos without a hefty price tag.

Sonos’ model delivers a more controlled overall performance with an excellent sense of precision and finesse that the Hisense system can't match.

But the AX5125H offers a more immersive soundstage with excellent Atmos presentation thanks to the extra surrounds and subwoofer. Plus, its more affordable price tag is a great choice for those on a budget.

We’re all tied up, folks.

**Overall winner: draw**

MORE:

These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars right now

Check out our review of the Hisense AX5125H

And here are the best budget soundbars

Cambridge-based brand Majority has launched an affordable soundbar system line-up with its Halo and Axis range. The company is dubbing the new entries its “most ambitious and comprehensive soundbar line-up to date”, which is “engineered to redefine what immersive home sounds like at this price level.” Bold claims, indeed.

At the top of the range sits the Bowfell Halo Atmos, Majority’s flagship surround sound system, which consists of a main soundbar, two wireless satellite speakers, and a subwoofer.

The 5.1-channel system delivers 300W of power output. As the name suggests, there is Dolby Atmos support which delivers “three-dimensional soundscape that brings height, space and precision to every scene,” according to Majority.

Connectivity options include HDMI ARC and optical inputs, alongside Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless streaming.

All that technology, though, comes in at the low cost of £170 (around $232 / AU$330), positioning it firmly in the budget soundbar category.

At that price, the flagship model is up against the Hisense AX5125H which launched at £249 / $350. The Hisense soundbar system snagged a What Hi-Fi? Award last year, and achieved a five-star rating for the amazing weight, scale, and spaciousness of its sound for the money. That’s tough competition for the Majority newcomer.

Majority is also offering a cheaper model with the Bowfell Halo Dolby. There is no Dolby Atmos and the soundbar relies on a wired connection to the satellite speakers rather than Bluetooth. The 5.1 system still features Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless playback, and is available for £120 ($165 / AU$230).

Majority is also launching the Axis series, which is even cheaper than the above models.

The Bowfell Axis Atmos is a 2.1-channel system consisting of a soundbar and wireless subwoofer, producing a 200W output. It comes in at £130 ($178 / AU$250), pitting it squarely against the Creative Stage Pro model, which just received a solid four-star rating from us and earned a spot as the best compact model in our best budget soundbars guide.

At the cheapest end of the spectrum with this launch comes the Bowfell Axis Dolby, a 2.1 system without Atmos or Bluetooth support. This soundbar will set you back £90 ($123 / AU$174).

While those price tags will undoubtedly prove tempting for those on a budget, we have yet to get these models into our test rooms to hear how they compare with class leaders – so it's probably worth waiting a while until you take the plunge.

MORE:

These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars we recommend

Check out our review of the Creative Stage Pro

And here are the best budget soundbars right now

2026 will be the year of the RGB Mini LED TV. Thanks to wanton obfuscation from TV manufacturers, though, that won’t necessarily be very clear.

RGB Mini LED is the next evolution of Mini LED, which, you’re probably aware, takes traditional LED backlighting and replaces the chunky, old-fashioned LEDs with vastly smaller ones.

Because the LEDs are so much smaller, loads more of them can be crammed into a backlighting system, resulting in better light control and, therefore, better contrast.

On standard Mini LED TVs, the LEDs are generally blue, and their light is passed through filters to create different colours. The difference with RGB Mini LEDs is, as you’ve probably guessed, that the LEDs themselves are red, green and blue.

When done correctly, the main advantages of RGB Mini LED technology are purer colours and extra brightness (which in turn creates even greater contrast).

Is RGB Mini LED an OLED-beater? It’s too early to tell, as most brands are launching their first sets that use the technology this year. I’m inclined to think it’s going to work better in the mid-range bracket, with OLED’s perfect blacks and pixel-level contrast control keeping it on top; but that’s beside the point for now.

The actual point is that RGB Mini LED technology is exciting stuff. So why are several brands avoiding using the real term for it and instead trying to make you think you’re getting something even more advanced?

I’ve sort of answered my own question there, haven’t I?

What’s in a name?

Look, I’ve got no real issue with TV brands using fancy names for what is ultimately quite boring terminology. But what I don’t like is when brands try to pretend a TV is something it’s not.

So, for example, Samsung’s original launch of ‘QLED’ TVs way back in 2017 really got my goat.

Why? Because the ‘QLED’ name had already been applied to a future panel technology involving self-emissive Quantum Dots – in other words, a true rival to self-emissive OLED technology. Here, though, Samsung was applying the name to backlit TVs with a Quantum Dot layer, almost certainly in order to place it on the same pedestal as OLED in potential buyers’ minds.

Samsung’s use of the term ‘Neo QLED’ to describe its Mini LED TVs, though, was fine in my book. Once the use (misuse, in my mind) of QLED was established, adding a word such as ‘Neo’ to denote the next technological evolution was just funky branding.

But why am I bringing this all up now? Because two brands are launching their RGB Mini LED TVs using the word ‘Micro’ rather than ‘Mini’.

RGB Mini LED and Micro LED are not the same thing

You see, Micro LED TVs already exist. They are currently ridiculously expensive, but they are available to buy right now. Samsung, LG and Hisense all currently produce genuine Micro LED TVs.

What makes a Micro LED TV ‘genuine’? It’s when the pixels are self-emissive, as they are with OLED and the aforementioned ‘true’ QLED.

Genuine Micro LED is generally seen as the eventual successor to OLED. All of that lovely pixel-by-pixel contrast control combined with greater brightness, purer colours and no risk of burn-in or degradation over time. I have seen it in action several times over the years, and I’m very much a believer.

But Samsung and LG – yes, two of the very same manufacturers that produce true Micro LED TVs – now also have other, less ‘true’ (at least in my opinion) Micro TVs on their books.

LG’s first RGB Mini LED TV is the MRGB95, which the brand is referring to as a ‘Micro RGB Evo TV’. Samsung, meanwhile, has its R95H ‘Micro RGB TV’.

To be absolutely clear, these are not TVs with self-emissive, Micro LED-derived pixels. These are backlit TVs that use very small RGB LEDs. You know, like RGB Mini LED TVs.

The argument appears to be, at least in LG’s case, that because the LEDs these TVs use are smaller than those in Mini LED models, the ‘Micro’ element is fair game.

I’d argue that there are lots of words for ‘very small’, and choosing ‘micro’ sure looks like an effort to blur the lines between these backlit RGB LED TVs and real Micro LED TVs.

It’s certainly the case that this has already caused a fair amount of confusion among us tech journos, so what possible chance does the average punter have? I posit that it's very little.

Interestingly, Hisense is very specifically sticking with the ‘RGB Mini LED’ name for its TVs in this arena, because it feels using the word ‘micro’ would be disingenuous.

On the other hand, it is adding the word ‘Evo’, which must be infuriating to LG – but that’s all good fun, if you ask me.

MORE:

Don't want to wait? Here are the best TVs you can buy right now

British manufacturer Manhattan TV has announced the Aero 4K TV, and it's swapping aerial-based Freeview for a more modern live TV solution.

As the name suggests, it will allow users to watch content from their favourite services in 4K, and the company has confirmed that it also supports HDR10, HLG and HDR10+. Dolby Vision is, unfortunately, not supported, but Dolby Atmos passthrough thankfully is.

The Aero 4K's main draw is that it supports Freely, which lets you stream over 60 live TV channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 over wi-fi.

While Freely is already supported on TVs from a handful of manufacturers, including Panasonic and Hisense, Manhattan cites research from YouGov, which claims that "over 70% of Samsung and LG users want Freely on their next TV" (from a sample size of 2,149 participants)

The Aero 4K hopes to step in, allowing users to access the internet broadcasting service without having to fully replace their TV.

Furthermore, the TiVo operating system allows users to access a wide range of international streaming apps, including Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video.

On top of that, TiVo is offering its own internet streaming channels via TiVo+, which features over 400 streaming channels and a selection of on-demand shows and movies, all of which are free to watch.

All of this can be navigated using TiVo's voice control system (as well as the included remote), and Manhattan claims that the Aero 4K is "simple to set up and easy to use".

It's rare to see a streamer offer users a free content library this extensive, and this is where Manhattan likely hopes to edge out competitors such as the Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Generation) and the aforementioned Apple TV 4K.

The Aero 4K undercuts both of those options when it comes to pricing, too. It's set to launch at a wide number of UK retailers in February for £69.99.

MORE:

I’ve tried Freely: here are five things I like and three things that could be improved

Read our full Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen) review

Here are our picks for the best TV streaming devices

There was only one thing I could possibly write about for this week’s edition of Adventures In AV.

The proposal of a Sony and TCL joint venture that will take control of the former’s home entertainment business (which produces its TVs, soundbars and more) has shaken the industry.

I’ll be honest, it’s shaken me. I didn’t see the news coming, and as someone who grew up in a Sony household and is a big fan of the brand’s OLEDs in particular (I currently live with an A95L), I’m deeply concerned about what it means for the future.

To be clear, I’m not blinkered towards Sony. There have been plenty of Sony products, including TVs, that have disappointed me, and I’ve been involved in plenty of less-than-positive Sony reviews over my 18 years of testing.

Besides, we review as a team (it’s the What Hi-Fi? ‘how we test’ mantra), so any personal subconscious biases are counteracted as part of our testing process.

But, at its best, Sony can be unbeatable when it comes to TVs, and I think we need Sony to continue to be Sony – but will that be allowed as part of this joint venture?

The Sony difference

Sony takes its time. These days, most of its TVs have a two-year lifecycle, while every other brand replaces its entire range every year.

That extra time allows for more careful and considered tuning and development, and it results in greater quality jumps between generations.

And where its rivals battle it out to produce TVs with the largest, most impressive-sounding numbers, Sony generally (there are exceptions, such as the Bravia 9) rises above such showboating and focuses on squeezing the most out of its hardware in the name of delivering cinematic authenticity.

I’m not saying that’s always the right course, but it’s important that we have a brand that takes this approach when all of the others (with the exception of Panasonic) are obsessed with fighting a numbers war.

TCL is, of course, one of those brands that is obsessed with numbers. Each year, it tries to outdo the likes of Hisense and Samsung by packing its new TVs with the most dimming zones and the highest brightness – and it often comes out on top.

My concern is that this approach could be applied to Sony – TCL is going to have the controlling, 51 per cent stake of this proposed joint venture, after all – and we could end up with yet another brand focused on tech specs at the expense of patient, careful development.

There is, though, a way this could all work out…

The optimistic vision

If it feels as though I’m doing TCL down, that’s not my intention. I’ve been incredibly impressed by the Chinese brand’s TVs over the last couple of years, with 2025’s range proving incredibly consistent and awesome value for money.

TCL is great at what it does, which is produce TVs with specs and picture quality well beyond their price points.

And this is precisely the area in which Sony is weakest. It rarely launches budget-oriented TVs these days (it's been selling the same 32-inch model since way back in 2021, for heaven’s sake), and when it does, they’re rarely, if ever, the best in class – the recently reviewed Bravia 3 is a case in point.

So, what I’m proposing is that the TCL and Sony brands continue to target the areas of the market they’re already most invested in.

In fact, I’d like to see them both double down – TCL could stop edging closer to the super-premium end of things and solidify its position as champion of the mid-range and budget sectors, and Sony could stop producing budget-oriented models that are more or less destined to fail, at least in performance terms, and concentrate entirely on premium and flagship models.

So, what’s the point of the joint venture?

But if TCL and Sony ‘stay in their lanes’ as I’m proposing, what’s the flipping point of the joint venture? I’ve got thoughts on that, too.

Without stepping on Sony’s toes, TCL could bring its Japanese partner’s processing and tuning nous into its TVs, potentially resulting in an irresistible blend of mid-range-demolishing specs and super-authentic calibration.

Sony, meanwhile, could benefit from TCL’s greater scale and resources, allowing it to produce more models without entirely compromising its conservative approach. Being shorn of the responsibility to produce more affordable models could help here, too.

I’m not saying we necessarily need Sony to replace every model every year, but it would be nice if it had the capacity to extend its OLED range into more affordable and smaller models. For the love of all that is holy, it could at least finally put 2022’s A90K out of its misery and replace it with a model to take on LG’s latest C series.

Let’s not forget that TCL is currently building a huge new factory that will produce OLED panels using a new, more efficient, inkjet manufacturing process. It’s intended for the likes of laptops and phones in the first instance, but surely TV panels are on the agenda, too.

Imagine if Sony could get first dibs on new, more affordable OLED technology as part of this joint venture. It could usher in a new dawn of Sony OLED TVs that no longer rely on the panel-manufacturing arms of LG and Samsung.

But will any of this happen? As should be abundantly clear by now, I just don’t know – and neither, it seems, do my contacts at Sony or TCL. Besides, let’s face it, any further official statement at this point is only going to put a positive spin on things, whether that's justified or not.

The proof will, as ever, be in the pudding, and we’ll be waiting a long time for that, as even if the joint venture is ratified, it’s not expected to commence operations until April next year.

In the meantime, I reserve the right to be very nervous about the future of Sony TVs – but also aware that there is a way it could all work out for the best.

MORE:

Here's our full news story on the Sony and TCL joint venture

And here are the opinions of several of our team members and readers on the matter

These are the best TVs you can buy right now

Sometimes an Adventure in AV can involve a short trip into our TV's settings menu to discover something new. Other times it involves physically trekking halfway around the world.

In my case, it's the latter, as I kicked off my year in Las Vegas, Nevada, scouting out the latest innovations in the world of home cinema at CES 2026.

As expected, the show was nothing short of overwhelming, with countless new releases and announcements that will shape the AV landscape for the year to come.

While the RGB Mini LED TVs and new OLED sets stole the show, two specific demonstrations stood out, as they will remain relevant well beyond the end of 2026.

The first showed Dolby Vision 2, and although it didn't launch at CES specifically, I now have a much clearer picture of what it is actually capable of.

It was initially revealed at IFA 2025; but it was shrouded in mystery and confusion, and every TV manufacturer I quizzed on the subject seemed almost as confused as I was.

The second demo was for HDR10+ Advanced, which I had a sneak peek at during a trip to Samsung's headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, back in October of 2025.

The Samsung team offered somewhat of a more complete answer, though they showed me simulated footage rather than actual working HDR10+ Advanced, so I had to take their word for the claimed performance upgrade.

The good news is that both Dolby and Samsung had major presences at CES 2026, and each showed their new respective dynamic HDR formats working in action. So I now have a much clearer picture of what the future of HDR will look like.

I'll start with Dolby, which showed me three examples of Dolby Vision 2 running on a beta-software build on a high-end, mid-range, and entry-level TV.

They all appeared to be bright and punchy Mini LED TVs, and while Dolby wouldn't specify the brand, the primary launch partner for Dolby Vision 2 is Hisense; I'll let you connect the dots there.

Dolby's demonstration truly wowed me. It showed an intense boost to brightness that transforms dark content to dig out detail that I presumed was simply lost to shadows indefinitely. It had regular Dolby Vision TVs set up alongside the Dolby Vision 2 versions in some instances, and the differences were practically night and day.

Digging up more detail in the dark areas did not come at the cost of lifted black levels, however, as it still looked natural to my eyes, and (most importantly) Dolby assured me that the system can recognise what is intentionally meant to be shadow details and not over-brighten those sections.

Dolby stressed how closely it works with directors and editors to ensure that their work is presented in a true-to-life manner.

There is a more advanced set of metadata underpinning Dolby Vision 2, which comes straight from the creatives themselves. And it results in enhanced brightness (and more) without the loss of detail and authenticity.

The need for this brightness-boosting version of Dolby Vision is rooted in the launch of super-bright Mini LED and RGB Mini LED TVs, which can far surpass the capabilities of the current version of Dolby Vision; this makes the super-bright TVs that we've seen crop up over the past couple of years even more compelling, as there is now a feature that can properly take advantage of their specifications.

Not to be outdone, Samsung showed a live demo running its new HDR10+ Advanced format on beta software, running on the new R95H RGB Mini LED TV.

Once again, the results were impressive, especially as Samsung had a “normal” HDR10+ TV running alongside the demo of the new format. Colours seemed more vibrant while remaining natural and balanced, and there was unquestionably more depth and contrast to the image.

There also seemed to be more in the way of detail levels, although (much like Dolby Vision 2), this was most noticeable in dark sequences.

Samsung also assured us that creator-derived metadata would underpin the changes coming to HDR10+ Advanced, which means that authenticity was also at the top of its priority list.

Furthermore, both companies dug deeper into Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+'s ability to handle motion. Traditionally, HDR formats haven't really played much of a part in motion processing; however, both Dolby and Samsung make a good point on this.

The (frankly tragic) reality is that most people out there will never open their TVs' settings menu. Some because they don't know how the settings work, others because they fear permanently messing up their TV by adjusting the wrong settings.

I sympathise. A TV settings menu can be daunting to the less technically inclined; and Dolby and Samsung's answer is simply to handle the motion processing themselves.

It's a bold move, and we'll need to test it more to confirm our feelings, but both formats showed promising signs during the demonstrations I attended.

Dolby in particular stood out with its Authentic Motion system, which can dynamically shift motion processing based on the content.

Therefore, minimal motion-processing can be applied during slower scenes, such as conversations, whereas fast-paced action scenes or panning shots can be aided by a pinch more.

It never looked unnatural or oversmoothed to my eyes, and it could solve the conundrum of judder being visible when using a TV's most accurate and authentic picture mode (in which motion processing is often switched off).

I will certainly need to do a lot more testing with both of these HDR formats to come to a conclusive opinion, but the good news is that both looked to be working as intended during CES.

This left me with a sense of hope for the future of HDR; it could be a bright and smooth year for the picture technology.

Samsung has already confirmed that HDR10+ Advanced will be coming to its mid-range and premium models sometime this year, and Amazon Prime Video will be the first service to offer select titles with the standard included soon.

Hisense, TCL and Philips TVs will launch with Dolby Vision 2 this year, and Dolby Vision 2 Max should also be supported on the higher-tier models within each of these manufacturers' lineups.

MORE:

Read our Hisense 116UXS hands on review

As well as our Samsung S95H hands on review

And our LG C6 hands on review

Hisense couldn’t really have been much clearer at this year’s CES about its intentions/ambitions for 2026.

Basically, it wants to complete its transformation from perceived AV technology follower into recognised AV tech leader – and it has identified RGB Mini LED TVs as its best opportunity to achieve this.

Hisense sees itself as the originator of RGB Mini LED technology, having been the first brand to a) unveil a consumer-facing RGB Mini LED TV back at CES 2025, and b) follow through on that announcement by being the first brand actually to bring an RGB Mini LED TV, the 116UX, to market in the latter half of last year.

Now, while other major brands are only just getting their debut RGB Mini LED TV house in order, Hisense has already unveiled a significant new advancement of its favourite TV technology.

The so-called RGB Mini LED Evo (no doubt LG loves that…) screen that’s set to appear in Hisense’s 2026 flagship 116-inch UXS TV will feature an additional new cyan LED in each backlight zone alongside the original red, green and blue ones that gave RGB Mini LED its name.

Are four colours really better than three, though, or is the 116UXS just another slice of CES hype?

Price

With the 116UXS not likely to be going on sale until well into the second half of 2026, Hisense isn’t yet prepared to attach a price to its ground-breaking new RGB Mini LED Evo model.

It’s not unreasonable to think, though, that it will track in the same price ballpark as the preceding 116UX. That monster set launched at £24,999 before dropping at some online retailers to £19,999.

In other words, as is so often the case, the showcase of a potentially major screen advance isn’t going to come cheap.

It’s worth adding that Hisense is launching what seem set to be a couple of fairly mass market-priced regular RGB Mini LED TV ranges (without the new Evo tech) for 2026, only a few months after the 116UX dropped. Perhaps we can hope for the same thing to happen with RGB Mini LED Evo screens down the line in 2027.

Design

Comparisons with the 116UX continue with the 116UXS’s design. In fact, without having a 116UX sat alongside the 116UXS for minute comparisons, we’d say the two sets look pretty much identical.

So their bodywork features the same perforated left and right side tubes, which house parts of a substantial audio system; very similar chunky blade-style metallic feet (though you can also wall mount the TVs if you have a wall strong enough, of course); and the same chunky grilled top edge, which houses more of the TV’s speaker setup.

Accommodating this audio system means the 116UXS doesn’t deliver the trimness from front to back (it’s 4cm deep) that some people like to see with premium TVs.

The metallic finish of the audio tubes and top panel looks suitably premium, though, and actually, having your pictures and sound delivered by one slightly chunky picture and sound all-rounder is still tidier than having a slimmer screen partnered with some sort of external sound solution.

Features

Clearly, the biggest feature of the 116UXS is its introduction of Hisense’s RGB Mini LED Evo technology. The last time we can recall a brand adding a fourth ‘sub-pixel’ (in that case, yellow) to its TVs was Sharp with its short-lived Quattron technology way back in 2010.

Adding a cyan LED alongside the usual red, green and blue pixels for the 116UXS, though, feels as though it’s going to be anything but a short-lived ‘experiment’. In fact, Hisense openly discussed with us the potential for further colour sub-pixels to be added in the future. For now, though, it has chosen to focus on cyan.

Cyan, says Hisense, sits in the area of the colour spectrum where human vision is most sensitive to subtle colour changes. So adding cyan LEDs to the 116UXS backlight mix should enable it to render subtler gradients, tones and transitions that even an untrained eye should clearly be able to see – enhancing the image’s sense of depth and naturalism.

Hisense’s Sonny Ming (General Manager of Product Marketing and Scenario Product Operation) was also keen to stress, when we sat down for a chat with him, that Hisense hasn’t just added cyan LEDs to the 116UXS and left it at that – it has also recalibrated the weight of the red, green and blue LEDs so that the addition of cyan properly enhances the overall colour experience, rather than upsetting the colour balance in any way.

The new colour configuration should, according to Hisense’s claims (which we haven’t been able to verify with our own testing at this stage) deliver 99.3 per cent red colour purity, 92 per cent green purity, 100 per cent blue purity, 6 per cent more accuracy when rendering the BT.2020 colour spectrum than QD-OLED TVs can achieve, and 23 per cent more BT.2020 accuracy than QD Mini LED TVs can achieve.

It should also, says Hisense, produce fewer eye-damaging blue light emissions than either QD-OLED or QD Mini LED produce, and be able to cover an unprecedented 110 per cent of the BT.2020 colour spectrum.

Hisense claims that its new technology is 30 per cent more energy efficient than QD-OLED displays, and Hisense’s latest Hi-View AI Engine RGB processing system has been further enhanced to take account of the new panel structure as it goes about optimising how it displays images.

Hisense claims the new Hi-View engine has 40 per cent more computing performance, 70 per cent more content scene recognition power, and 100 per cent more scene adaptation power to feed into the screen’s AI picture, AI Sound and AI Scenario picture enhancement tools.

The AI Picture system now includes a dedicated AI RGB Colour Dimming element that Hisense says “elevates traditional local dimming from simple brightness control to full spectrum, synchronised colour and brightness control”.

This is essentially Hisense referring to the ability of each red, green, blue and now cyan LED to have its brightness independently controlled for each lighting ‘zone’. Using this dimming metric, Hisense is able to claim more than 40,000 “colour dimming zones” for the 116UXS.

The AI Picture system is also claimed to include improved 4K upscaling of sub-4K sources; a new AI-driven HDR upscaler for turning non HDR content into HDR; improved RGB tone mapping to solve the potential issue of colour shift when moving from conventional processing to RGB Mini LED rendering; AI RGB Colour Peaking that apparently intelligently optimises the screen’s power usage to enhance brightness, delivering more consistency and stability when rendering chromatic highlights; and a new AI system for removing potential banding noise from HDR colour blends.

Hisense’s AI Scenario detection feature, meanwhile, now claims to have specific optimised Sports, Game and Film modes that the TV can automatically switch to based on more accurate detection of the sort of content you’re watching.

The 116UXS is claimed to be capable of hitting brightness levels of well over 8000 nits too, and its new screen technology is joined by a return of the Devialet Opéra De Paris 6.2.2-channel integrated sound system found on 2025’s 116UX.

The latest version of this Devialet-designed speaker system includes a back-to-back subwoofer configuration to minimise unwanted cabinet vibrations and distortions, a new Room Fitting Tuning feature that optimises the sound-stage presentation to your room setup, and an AI Clear Voice option that can isolate and amplify dialogue independently of the rest of the mix.

There will be a fairly major update to the 116UXS’s smart system, finally, as Hisense has announced that its usual Vidaa system will be rebranded as Home OS, reflecting the expanding use of Hisense’s proprietary smart system across other products in the home.

Picture quality

Right off the bat, it’s important to note that fully delving into the extra colour range and nuance that Hisense claims is made possible by RGB Mini LED Evo technology will require even more extensive testing than usual once we’re able to get a 116UXS into a more controllable location. It’s also worth remembering that the 116UXS is still many months away from its consumer launch.

With those words of caution covered, though, Hisense did have a remarkable number of 116UXS screens on its CES stand, including some in relatively dark corners to go with the attention grabbers positioned at the front. So, overall, we were able to get a pretty varied look at what the new screen seems able to do.

Despite the 116UXS’s advances being mostly built on colour, as with last year’s 116UX, it was actually the new screen’s brightness that first drew our eye. Hisense’s various demo reel content contained all sorts of ultra-bright HDR imagery that looked consistently so extremely bright that we completely forgot we were looking at these screens in locations as big and heavily illuminated as Las Vegas’s colossal CES halls.

The level of brightness the 116UXS can produce might have some AV fans worried that they’ll need to don sunglasses if they install it in a darkened cinema room. Actually, though, even in the darkest areas of Hisense’s stand, we personally never found the intensity too much.

In fact, the screen’s use of light actually felt more natural and intelligent than it did on the original UX RGB Mini LED screens, with an enhanced sense of light subtlety across the TV’s extreme HDR spectrum – including reduced clipping (lost shading) in the image’s most extreme highlights – despite the TVs using clearly aggressive picture settings to combat the CES show floor environment.

Not surprisingly, Hisense included a section of demo content containing a block of pure cyan, and this really sold the point about the usefulness to colour volume and general image brightness consistency of having as many dedicated colour LEDs as possible.

We didn’t feel strongly aware of any obvious dimming in the image’s intensity when it was showing pure red, green, blue or cyan colours versus colours created from a mix of the core elements, in fact, which counters a potential issue with RGB Mini LED technology.

Adding to the sense of radiance and colour volume the 116UXS can deliver is what appeared to be a seriously promising black-level performance. Many shots in the demo reel featured ultra-bright, richly saturated elements against full black backdrops, and these backdrops appeared to be pretty much free from any sign of general low-contrast greyness or local dimming haloing or blooming problems. Especially when viewing the screen fairly square-on.

Even the darkest parts of Hisense’s demo areas weren’t dark enough to allow us to absolutely confirm that the 116UXS tackles the occasionally slightly messy backlight fluctuations and blocking spotted when we tested the 116UX, but our general impression was at least promising. The blackness didn’t seem to become greyer and the bold colours didn’t seem to heavily desaturate when we watched the 116UXS from even quite severe angles, either.

The 116UXS’s sharpness is excellent for such a huge screen too, combining with what appeared to be pretty much infinitely subtle and banding-free colour shading to deliver a wonderful sense of depth and three-dimensionality.

A combination of the single-minded enthusiasm of Hisense’s demo material and the hands-on conditions available to us at CES 2026 did mean we couldn’t get much of a feel for how well the RGB Mini LED Evo system handles relatively complex content with lots of subtle colours and variations – the sort of content, in other words, that might really challenge the intelligence of the RGB Mini LED Evo LED configuration and dimming engine.

We’ll also need much more controlled lighting conditions to feel more confident about the screen’s handling of backlight blooming when using less extreme, more accuracy-focused picture settings.

All the areas that we could cast early judgment on, however, were certainly very promising.

Sound quality

There was really no opportunity to give the 116UXS’s sound system a proper workout at CES 2026.

Given how similar the 116UXS’s speaker setup and Devialet tuning are to that of the 116UX, though, it should deliver many of the same positive audio attributes that its predecessor did.

That should include plenty of volume; a really impressive ability to have the sound feel as though it’s coming from all the way across the screen rather than emerging only from its edges; clear, well-placed dialogue; nicely rounded peak trebles; and good detailing.

We didn’t see anything in the 116UXS’s audio arrangement to make us think it might deliver more forward audio impact than we got from the slightly swallowed-sounding 116UX, but there is potential in some of Hisense’s claims for the new screen to deliver heavier and less distorted bass.

Early verdict

There seems little doubt from what we have seen so far that the 116UXS will improve on its predecessor, offering both even more spectacle and, more importantly, more colour consistency and balance.

Improved local-dimming control also looks likely from our experience of the 116UXS to date – though hopefully Hisense’s focus on quite extreme demo content was just down to a desire to show off how far its technology can be pushed rather than an attempt to hide any potential ongoing weaknesses with its exciting and potentially hugely influential new TV tech.

MORE:

Check out our super-thorough hands-on review of the preceding Hisense 116UX

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

Epson has announced the latest addition to its Lifestudio projector range – and it's a departure from the stylish EF-72 that we reviewed last year.

The Lifestudio Grand EH-LS970 is the brand's new flagship ultra-short-throw (UST) projector that instead hopes to steal the spotlight from Hisense. It certainly has the credentials to do so on paper. It replaces the EH‑LS800, a projector we reviewed at four stars back in 2024.

The EH-LS970 boasts a “Real 4K UHD” resolution, according to Epson, featuring 8.3 million pixels and a maximum screen size of up to 150 inches.

It uses a 3LCD laser light source, which Epson boldly claims features “no rainbow effect”; we'll have to verify that ourselves when this new beamer lands in our home-cinema testing room.

Furthermore, that light source can reportedly deliver a staggering 4000 lumens of brightness, which is 1000 lumens more than the Hisense PX3-Pro's claimed maximum. You needn't worry about changing that light source, either: it reportedly boasts a 20,000-hour life span.

While that is an impressive picture specification on paper, Epson is also collaborating with a big name in the audio space to help it sound as good as it looks. The EH-LS970 features a Bose-engineered sound system with support for Dolby Audio.

Epson is leveraging an AI-backed picture-processing engine, and Google TV is on board, providing a wide range of streaming apps, including Netflix and Disney Plus.

Epson is even touting a handful of quality-of-life features, including “whisper-quiet operation” with a claimed fan noise of just 29 dB, or 18 dB in the projector's quiet mode. Gamers are also well catered for, with ALLM support and a reported input lag of under 20ms.

This all comes packed into a stylish chassis that aligns with the other lifestyle-leaning Lifestudio projectors in Epson's range.

It features a claimed throw ratio of 0.16–0.4:1, meaning you can achieve the full 150-inch picture by placing the EH-LS970 merely centimetres away from the wall (Epson has, unfortunately, not specified just how many centimetres so, again, we shall have to wait for a test sample to come in to confirm precise numbers).

Pricing for Epson's new UST projector is yet to be revealed; it is, though, expected to hit shop shelves in April of this year.

MORE:

Read our full Epson EF-72 review

As well as our Hisense PX3-Pro review

And check out our list of the best projectors

CES 2026 proved to be yet another busy and exciting showcase of the top home cinema and hi-fi products that are set to launch later this year.

We caught up with a wide range of manufacturers, including Samsung, LG, Hisense, TCL, Xgimi and Cambridge Audio, checking out their latest innovations, which are set to shape 2026 for cinephiles and audiophiles alike.

As ever, the show proved to be a major hit for OLED TVs, with Samsung and LG debuting a handful of truly impressive-looking sets, despite RGB Mini LED also having a prominent presence at the show.

New Dolby Atmos soundbars were also unveiled by the companies mentioned above, including a convertible Samsung soundbar that boasts a serious boost to bass. LG, on the other hand, launched its flagship, Dolby Atmos Flex Connect-enabled soundbar, which is also compatible with its new wireless speakers and subwoofer.

A duo of unique-looking projectors from Xgimi and Hisense also made an appearance at the show, both with unique and eye-catching designs.

And for the hi-fi fans, an exciting new turntable from Audio Technica was unveiled, as was a new range of active speakers from Cambridge Audio.

That's a lot to unpack, but you can find out exactly why we chose these freshly announced products below.

TVs

LG W6 Wallpaper OLED TV

Remember LG's Wallpaper OLED TV? That super-slender TV that you could affix to your wall with magnets remains a legend in the home cinema world, and it's got a spiritual successor in the form of the W6.

LG's latest flagship TV sports the Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel tech from the G-series TVs, and crams it into a sleek and stylish chassis that measures just 9mm thick.

It leverages LG's Zero Connect box, which was popularised on the M-series wireless OLEDs, which is what the W6 is replacing. Gamers may be put off by the wireless interface, but LG promises smooth 4K gaming up to 165Hz on the W6.

LG also claims that this TV can deliver a superb picture performance despite the slender frame. It's leveraging its new Hyper Radiant Colour technology (which can also be found in the G6 and some versions of the C6) and low reflectivity display tech, which should make viewing the TV in traditional environments easier.

If you're looking for style and substance, then you definitely need to pay attention to the W6.

Samsung S95H

Samsung has also given its flagship OLED TV a stylish redesign. Meet the S95H, an all-new OLED TV that takes design, brightness and functionality to a new level.

Its new design echos the firm's Frame TV, and the more effective Glare Free display coating makes this set look even more like a piece of art than ever before.

While looks are important, we care most about picture performance, and Samsung is claiming that this TV is a big step up over its five-star predecessor. It reports that the QD-OLED panel can reach a new peak brightness of 2700 nits in a 10% display window, and there is an overall improvements to highlights, colour and sharpness.

Gamers should get excited too, as Samsung is offering this TV with an optional new Wireless One Connect solution, which adds four HDMI 2.1 sockets onto the four already available on the TV itself. That results in eight high-bandwidth sockets primed for various consoles, disc players, streamers and audio equipment.

LG C6

We’ve been waiting generations (TV generations, not human ones) for a big panel upgrade to LG’s C-series OLEDs, and we finally have one – albeit in limited fashion.

That upgrade is from standard W-OLED to super bright Primary RGB Tandem OLED, but only for the 77- and 83-inch models, which will be given the C6H name to differentiate them from the non-Tandem C6 sizes.

Every C6 is getting a new processor this year, though, and it’s the same flagship chip that is going into the G6 and W6.

In other words, we’re expecting the C6 to be a decent upgrade on the C5 at all sizes, but it should be a huge step up in the 77- and 83-inch models, which looked great when we saw them at the show.

TCL X11L

While the big TV story of 2026 is going to be the tsunami of new RGB Mini LED models, TCL is swimming against the tide with a new concept – the Super Quantum Dot TV.

The Chinese brand, which is quickly turning itself into one of the industry’s biggest players in terms of quality as well as quantity, does have RGB Mini LED models on its slate for this year, but sitting above them all is this X11L SQD model.

According to TCL, its Super QD model can go brighter and more vibrant than RGB Mini LED models, while also having better local dimming and colour accuracy, and being slimmer.

That sounds like a very tasty recipe indeed, and the X11L looked stunning when we saw it in the flesh on the show floor. Astonishingly punchy, colourful and contrasty, this could be the flagship TV surprise of 2026.

Projectors

Xgimi Titan Noir Max

Xgimi is a brand with a growing reputation for always improving with each new generation of its projectors. Which is why we were happy to see it launch its new Titan Noir Max at CES.

Sitting below the firm’s Titan and Horizon 20 Max from 2025, we’re still waiting on final pricing, but there’s no denying it’s an interesting beast with some solid specifications.

Highlights include new “precision-tuned optics” and the firm’s “most advanced dynamic IRIS system to date”. According to Xgimi, these factors will fix one of our biggest gripes with its past offerings: their lacklustre handling of dark scenes.

If that rings true when we get a Titan Noir Max into our review rooms, then we may have a new power player in the coffee table projector market on our hands.

Hisense XR10

Hisense has a strong track record in the home cinema in a box space. So much so that its entry-level, dinky Hisense M2 Pro won a What Hi-Fi? Award last year.

Which is why we paid attention when it launched its new XR10 and boastfully described it as “a first-of-its-kind laser projector built for cinephiles.”

While it’s too early to tell if there’s any truth to that claim, it certainly does have some impressive hardware. Key specifications include a completely new custom chipset, the brand’s latest LPU 30 Digital Laser Engine, atypical liquid cooling system and a staggering 6000 ANSI lumens peak brightness.

Add to this the ability to project an image up to 300-inches big, and it has certainly piqued our interest, earning the XR10 a place on this list.

Soundbars

LG Sound Suite (H7 Dolby Atmos soundbar)

Rather than announce a whole new soundbar range for 2026, LG has instead launched a family of home cinema speakers that can be mixed and matched to create a setup that’s tailored just to you and your room.

This Sound Suite consists of the H7 soundbar, the M7 and M5 wireless speakers, and the W7 subwoofer. So, you can just buy the solo soundbar, or you can partner that with a pair of either speakers and/or the subwoofer. In that regard, it’s rather like a Sonos system, with the Sonos Arc Ultra as the starting point.

The difference is that Sound Suite is built on the Dolby Atmos FlexConnect platform, so the components should be super-flexible over positioning. FlexConnect is built into LG’s new TVs, too, so you can do without the soundbar if you prefer, and have your television act as the hub for just the wireless speakers and/or sub.

Conceptually, this is really neat, and it sounded good during our limited demo session, too. Here’s hoping it still sounds good when we get it into our test room for a full, comparative review.

Samsung HW-QS90H

Samsung unveiled its first convertible soundbar last year in the form of the HW-Q700F, and now it's back with an updated take on the format.

It ditches the external subwoofer in favour of more bass drivers directly inside the 'bar, and the bass upgrade was certainty noticeable during our demo at Samsung's First Look conference.

It features a total of 13 drivers inside, and a gyroscope to recognise when the soundbar is placed in either of its configurations; those being wall-mounted or table-top. It will then redistribute the sound to the appropriate drivers to ensure that front-firing sound and Dolby Atmos height effects are positioned correctly.

We noted its punchy and bold sound in our HW-QS90H hands on review, and it's bass performance frankly speaks for itself. The real question is this: does the HW-QS90H have what it takes to dethrone the Award-winning Sonos Arc Ultra?

Hi-Fi

Cambridge Audio L/R X

This is the flagship in Cambridge’s new range of L/R speaker systems (the others being the S and the M), and it’s set its sights high. It’s gunning for KEF’s LS50 Wireless II, a system that has won a What Hi-Fi? Award a staggering six years in a row.

But the X certainly looks impressive. In terms of features, it goes toe-to-toe with the KEF, with a spec that’s nigh-on identical. It’s also set to launch at exactly the same RRP (though the KEF has seen some significant discounts in its lifetime).

It’s not out until the summer, but our intrepid senior staff writer Harry McKerrell has already gone hands-on with it at Cambridge’s London HQ. He found it to be a “clear, clean and rhythmically sound performer, one which is capable of bringing out ample helpings of textural detail while going loud and proud in the process.” Although the usual disclaimer about this being just a first impression applies.

Looks like KEF has a fight on its hands.

Audio Technica LP7X

We’re always interested when Audio-Technica unveils a new turntable, and the AT-LP7X sits just below the very enjoyable AT-LP8X record player we reviewed last year.

The LP7X is, surprisingly, a belt-drive model – which bucks the trend of most Audio-Technica turntables that use a direct drive motor – a feature that has piqued our interest.

It comes with a J-shaped aluminium tonearm and pre-fitted moving magnet cartridge that offers ample adjustment and upgrade options down the line. The minimalist design also has a built-in phono stage and aims to offer flexibility for vinyl fans.

We’re promised a “clean, considered deck” that isn’t showy but focuses on the fundamentals for £679 / $999, and we can’t wait to hear it in action.

MORE:

Read our Samsung S95H hands on review

As well as our Cambridge Audio L/R X hands on review

And our Samsung HW-QS90H hands on review

Dolby Vision 2, the somewhat controversial new HDR format, was announced last year with Hisense listed as the only TV partner at the time.

Now, though, it's been confirmed at CES 2026 that two further TV brands will be supporting the format this year.

The first of those is TCL. This should come as little surprise after the brand whacked a 'Dolby Vision 2.0' logo on its stand at IFA in September – much to the confusion of everyone, including TCL's own staff.

We now understand that the brand's new SQD Mini LED range, including the new flagship X11L model, will get Dolby Vision 2 support via a post-launch software update.

Dolby also claims it will be added to TCL's mainstream C-series, presumably including the successor to last year's What Hi-Fi? Award-winning C7K – we've approached TCL for comment on that.

And while Philips hasn't even announced its 2026 TV range yet (that's not expected for a few weeks), Dolby has already revealed that several new models, including the (again, as-yet-unannounced by Philips) OLED811, OLED911 and flagship OLED951 will support Dolby Vision 2.

So that's Hisense, TCL and Philips all confirmed (at least by Dolby) to be supporting Dolby Vision 2 this year.

But what about the rest?

Sony and Panasonic

It's no surprise that we have no Dolby Vision 2 news from Sony or Panasonic.

Sony no longer announces its new TVs at CES, choosing instead to reveal new models around March or April each year. We're expecting a similar timeframe this year, so if Sony is going to support Dolby Vision 2, that's when we'll find out.

Panasonic, on the other hand, does usually announce its new flagship TV during CES. This year, though, it hasn't done that. It could be a while until we get any 2026 TV news from Panasonic (its overall range is usually announced around May), including whether Dolby Vision 2 is on the cards.

Samsung

It's also entirely unsurprising that Samsung hasn't been mentioned in relation to Dolby Vision 2, because Samsung has never supported Dolby Vision at all.

In fact, Samsung created HDR10+ as a rival to Dolby Vision, and it's launching HDR10+ Advanced this year as a rival to Dolby Vision 2.

LG

Now this is the surprising one: LG has long been regarded as one of Dolby Vision's keenest advocates, having supported it from the start on as many models as it possibly could, yet we've been told that the brand has "no plans to support Dolby Vision 2 in 2026".

That's a direct quote from David Park, LG’s Director of Product Strategy and Marketing in the US, who is very much a man who's usually in the know, yet he seemed surprisingly in the dark about Dolby Vision 2 in general, including whether it might be possible for it to be added to its 2026 TVs at a later date.

Will a lack of Dolby Vision 2 be enough of a factor to put prospective buyers off LG's new W6, G6 or C6 OLEDs, which otherwise all look very appealing? It's hard to say, but the fact that several other brands will be offering it this year, while LG won't be, will certainly provide pause for thought.

MORE:

Check out our CES Live Hub for all of the news as we get it

Here are all of the best TVs you can buy right now

LG has lifted the lid on its flagship OLED TV for 2026 – the predictably named G6.

If you thought this was going to be a year of OLED stagnation, you might be surprised to learn that LG claims the G6 is capable of going 20 per cent brighter than the G5 it replaces (and is pictured above).

The brand wouldn’t be drawn on whether this increase applies to small highlights or full-screen brightness (I suspect the former), but a figure this large is pretty surprising, and is seemingly made possible by a second-gen version of the Primary RGB Tandem panel found in the G5.

Interestingly, it has been confirmed that the new C6 also features a Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel, but only in its 77- and 83-inch screen sizes. While currently unconfirmed, it's also believed that the C6's panel is the same as that in last year's G5, rather than the second-gen version in the G6.

The G6's increased brightness is one of several elements that feed into what LG is referring to as “Hyper Radiant Colour Technology”.

Another element is an improvement to black levels and colours when the TV is viewed in a room with ambient lighting.

According to LG, the TV will deliver blacks deeper than 0.24 nits in a room with 500 lux of ambient light. That’s the sort of light that is recommended for tasks such as reading and sewing, so pretty bright.

This black performance in bright rooms has been achieved through a new polariser that improves reflection handling. The “Reflection free Premium” feature has apparently reduced reflections to less than 0.5 per cent.

According to LG, the anti-reflection technology of an unnamed competitor OLED (presumably the Samsung S95F) reduces reflections only to 1.5 per cent and can’t deliver blacks below 1 nit.

These are very small numbers, of course, and it will be fascinating to see how the different anti-reflection approaches look to the human eye.

The final element of the Hyper Radiant Colour Tech is the new Gen 3 version of LG’s Alpha 11 processor, which is significantly more powerful than the Gen 2 version in the G5 and is claimed to improve processing across the board, but particularly in relation to the upscaling of sub-4K content.

Unlike last year, when the G5 had a more powerful processor than the C5, this year's C6 will feature the same Alpha 11 Gen 3 processor as the G6.

Gaming features haven’t really changed for the G6, but that’s probably largely due to the LG G5 already being a beast in this regard.

So, as before, you will get four HDMI 2.1 sockets, all capable of handling gaming signals up to 4K/165Hz and all variants of VRR.

4K/120Hz cloud gaming via GeForce Now was added to the G5 and C5 a few months ago, too, and this will naturally also be supported by the new G6.

The G6 will also benefit from Bluetooth Ultra Low Latency support for game controllers. LG says this is a world first, and it should help to make cloud gaming feel more responsive.

One disappointment, at least to me, is that the design hasn’t changed for the G6. The ‘Gallery’ design has barely changed in years, and to my eyes it’s starting to look a little tired, particularly next to Samsung’s super-sleek and stylish flagship models.

Still, those intending to wall-mount their new TV will be pleased to read that all sizes of the G6 (as with the G5, it will be available in 55-, 65-, 77-, 83- and 97-inch versions) will be available with a “Zero Gap” bracket in the box.

Presumably, as before, some sizes will be available with a pedestal stand as an alternative, but we haven’t yet had this confirmed.

One interesting thing to note is that the G6 will not support Dolby Vision 2. LG stated during its CES pre-briefing that it has no plans to support Dolby Vision 2 in 2026.

In fact, I was rather taken aback by how little David Park, LG’s Director of Product Strategy and Marketing in the US, seemed to know about Dolby Vision 2, including whether it might be possible to add it to TVs via software update or whether it would need to be built in from the off.

Perhaps Dolby Vision 2 is simply much further away than we thought – or perhaps Dolby is at this stage working only with its launch partner, Hisense, on the new format. With any luck, we will find out more about this in the coming days.

MORE:

Here's everything we know so far about Dolby Vision 2

LG is also launching an RGB Mini LED TV, the MRGB95

Here are the best TVs you can buy right now

2025 has been a bumper year for reviews.

I’ve crunched the numbers, and we published more than 200 over the last 12 months, roughly half of which were in the TV/AV category that I look after.

I was involved in pretty much all of those TV and home cinema reviews, either as the primary tester or as one of the ‘second-lookers’ (we test as a team, so every review involves several What Hi-Fi? staffers).

Of those 100 or so products, these are the five that rocked my world the most.

(This would have been a list of eight, but I decided to set myself a rule of just one highlight per brand)

Sony Bravia 8 II

Yes, I know I’ve written about this magical OLED TV a lot, but it would be disingenuous for me to start this list with any other product.

This has been an incredible year for OLED TVs, with a whole new panel technology (Primary RGB Tandem OLED) stealing the early headlines, and the QD-OLED camp raising its game to compete. The result has been the closest, most competitive flagship OLED TV battle I can remember.

What’s interesting is that the Sony Bravia 8 II is, in terms of pure numbers, arguably the least impressive TV of the bunch, but it’s the best in real terms. It doesn’t go quite as bright in outright terms as its LG or Samsung rivals, and it doesn’t use its innate Quantum Dot-enhanced vibrancy to dazzle you with colours.

Instead, it uses the bright and colourful potential of the latest-gen QD-OLED panel to deliver even more natural and cinematically authentic picture quality.

This is just the most all-round appealing TV I’ve ever tested, with a balance of technical innovation and processing mastery that I don’t think will be beaten for a while.

Hisense AX5125H

One of the best things about this job is, of course, getting to test the latest super-premium kit, but there’s also a genuine thrill to discovering an incredible bargain – and that’s exactly what this is.

The Hisense AX5125H was just £249 when we tested it, and it can now be bought for an even lower price of £199. That’s about half the price of most decent entry-level solo Dolby Atmos soundbars, yet this is a Dolby Atmos soundbar with a wireless subwoofer and two wireless surrounds.

I don’t mind admitting that my expectations for the sound quality weren’t high, but as soon as I set the system up and ran the first movie through it, I knew we’d stumbled upon a budget beauty.

Whenever I would take a break from testing, I’d convince myself that the Hisense couldn’t be as good as I thought, but then I would return to it, put on another movie and be impressed all over again.

Without a doubt, this is the home cinema bargain of the year.

Epson EH-LS9000

While not a bargain in the way of the Hisense soundbar system above, the Epson EH-LS9000 is fantastic value for money, essentially redefining projector expectations at its price.

That price is £2999 / $3999 / AU$7299, which certainly isn’t a snip, but the LS9000 fully justifies the outlay with specs that include 4K (via pixel-shifting), a claimed brightness of 2200 lumens, substantial HDR support, and 4K/120Hz gaming, plus a performance closer to models in the category above.

The crisp, colourful and three-dimensional-feeling picture is such a joy that we took time out of our busy testing schedule to watch more movies and play more games on the Epson just for fun.

KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System

I could (some would say “should”) be writing about the incredibly impressive, boundary-pushing XIO soundbar here, but I’m an absolute sucker for ‘traditional’ home cinema, and I just loved listening to KEF’s Q Concerto Meta speaker package this year.

It probably helped that Senior Staff Writer Lewis Empson led this review, so he had to do all of the heavy lifting and calibrating, whereas I just got to enjoy the performance.

And what a performance it is: the combination of rich warmth and crisp punch is intoxicating, and the seamlessness with which effects are passed around the room is hugely immersive.

We put this system together by picking different speakers from KEF’s range, but it’s now being offered as a complete package for significantly less than the £3146 at which we tested it.

TCL 98C7K

If I had the space, I would have bought the 98-inch TCL C7K already.

The C7K had already impressed us in 65-inch form when we wrestled the 98-inch version out of its box, but I really didn’t think that TCL’s step-down Mini LED tech would effectively stretch to this gargantuan size.

Oh, how wrong I was.

This TV is an absolute joy to watch, delivering blacks, brightness and colours that projectors can only dream of. Like TCL’s other 2025 models, it’s nicely tuned, too, delivering a satisfyingly authentic home cinema experience.

It’s also now available for under £2000. That’s unbelievable value for money. If 100 inches was my limit, I would absolutely buy this TCL TV over a projector.

2025’s about to go the way of the dinosaurs, but what a run it had – especially if you’re a home cinema fan.

Over the past year, we have seen everything from the arrival of new cutting-edge OLED technologies to more than a few surprises that even our team of experts didn’t see coming. These included the arrival of the Award-winning KEF XIO, the British hi-fi brand's first Dolby Atmos soundbar.

But with the New Year on the horizon, you may be wondering, what’s next? Well, we’re pleased to report that the answer is “a lot”. There are already a wealth of new, potentially landscape-changing technologies confirmed to launch in 2026.

Which is why we have created this guide, detailing the key trends, products and technologies we think are worth keeping a particularly close eye on over the next 12 months.

There’s going to be an HDR war

By Alastair Stevenson

The launch of Dolby Vision 2 was a memorable moment in 2025 for two reasons. First, because of the way it was announced – in an unceremonious, concise blog post that appeared during the first press day of the IFA tradeshow in Berlin.

Not only did it have very little technical information, but its unveiling was also so unexpected that even the manufacturers supposedly making new TVs supporting the standard seemed “surprised” when we did a ring around, asking about it.

Second, because it has some fairly impressive features, including significantly more-advanced tone-mapping, and motion controls that should open a whole new plethora of opportunities to filmmakers. Certainly, the What Hi-Fi? home cinema team can’t wait to see what content looks like in Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max.

Never one to like being one-upped, Samsung couldn’t let Dolby’s new standard go unchallenged. Mere months later, then, it invited our intrepid senior staff writer, Lewis Empson, to Korea to see its answer to Dolby Vision 2 – HDR10+ Advanced.

With both standards set to launch in 2026, we can’t help but think the battle for HDR supremacy could be one of the year’s biggest tussles.

OLED will come closer than ever to losing its crown – but it will ultimately keep it

By Tom Parsons

The death (or, at least, the surpassing) of OLED has been predicted time and time again. And in 2026 it is going to be challenged like never before.

That challenge is going to come from RGB Mini LED TVs, with Sony, Samsung, LG and TCL all set or expected to launch models that feature the tech in the year ahead.

These won’t be the first RGB Mini LED TVs – Hisense launched its 116UX model this year – but they will be the first available in semi-realistic sizes (the smallest so far confirmed is the 76-inch LG MRGB95), and the level of competition will result in some excellent models.

What makes RGB Mini LED technology interesting is that it features coloured rather than white LEDs in the backlight. The idea is that colour reproduction is improved and, as there’s no need for a light-sapping colour filter, the TVs can go brighter.

We have seen prototypes from several brands, most impressively Sony and Samsung, and we feel there’s huge potential in the technology. Personally, though, while I know it will reignite the conversation of OLED-beaters, I can’t see RGB Mini LED coming out on top.

Yes, manufacturers are developing all sorts of technologies for backlight control, but at the end of the day, these are still backlit TVs, and I find it hard to imagine their strengths ultimately proving preferable to the self-emissive pixels of OLED.

I live to be surprised, though, and perhaps RGB Mini LED will do just that. A good shake-up of the TV industry sure would be fun to watch and experience.

We could finally get the much-anticipated Sonos Beam (Gen 3)

By Robyn Quick

Few soundbars have stood the test of time quite like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). It’s been four years since the Dolby Atmos soundbar hit the shelves and found its way into our test room, where it received a five-star review.

And, despite countless rival models in its price range attempting to challenge the Sonos bar, it has won a What Hi-Fi? Award every year since its release. It's easy to see why, with the soundbar offering an incredibly detailed, immersive, and warm audio performance all packed into a compact body.

We have been patiently awaiting the announcement of Sonos’s third iteration for years now. With the original Sonos Beam released back in 2018 and the Gen 2 model coming out in 2021, the new update is now well overdue.

I am optimistic that 2026 could finally be the time. We have seen the Sonos Beam (Gen 2)’s price drop by almost £100 in the UK well past Black Friday, which could be a sign the brand is looking to release a newer model soon. This is all speculation, of course, but who knows what 2026 will hold?

If it manages to improve upon the sound performance of the Beam (Gen 2), then this could be a game-changer in the entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar category. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled…

It could (and should) be a huge year for AV receivers

By Lewis Empson

2025 has given us some truly showstopping home-cinema products. The excellent Epson EH-LS9000, Sony Bravia Projector 7 and BenQ W2720i projectors spring to mind, as does the superb KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 surround sound speaker package.

While those deliver the most crucial aspects of any home cinema experience – picture and sound – you need a good AVR to act as the beating heart of a quality home-cinema system.

As you may recall from our 2025 Awards, we crowned the Sony TA-AN1000 and Marantz Cinema 30 as our winners. This is the third year in a row that Sony has won the coveted Product of the Year title, and the Marantz earned its second commendation after the Cinema 30 made its Awards debut last year.

While we love these spectacular AVRs, we do wish that they would receive some sort of serious competition. The major players in the AVR market, namely Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Sony, Arcam and JBL, were all eerily quiet this year.

In fact, many of the best AV receivers are beginning to grow somewhat long in the tooth. The Denon AVR-X2800H was released back in 2022, while the Arcam AVR5 is a year older.

I hope to see this AVR drought end in 2026, as the manufacturers mentioned above have had plenty of time to prime a selection of new models. I'm keeping my hopes up for an epic battle of the AVR brands that will completely shake up our Awards list for next year.

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

As well as the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

Dolby Vision 2 vs Dolby Vision 2 Max: what you need to know about Dolby's next-gen HDR format

CES is still a couple of weeks away, and yet the announcements continue to arrive early. This time it's Hisense, which has made a big announcement ahead of the Las Vegas-based technology convention, and it's great news for projector fans.

The Chinese AV company has announced "the next chapter" in its laser projector story, in the form of the XR10 and PX4-Pro. The former acts as a traditional 4K home cinema projector, whereas the other builds on an established, and Award-winning, ultra-short throw design which proved to be very successful for the brand with the PX3-Pro.

Starting with the XR10, Hisense is positioning this as "a first-of-its-kind laser projector built for cinephiles who want the big-screen theatre experience without sacrificing design". We can see the design appeal, as it features a unique-looking translucent design, with a big, bold lens positioned in the centre of a champagne-gold enclosure; classy.

It's packed full of Hisense's latest laser technology, including the brand's latest LPU 3.0 Digital Laser Engine, a "fully upgraded chipset", and a pure RGB triple laser light source, which can reportedly deliver a staggering peak brightness of 6000 ANSI lumens.

Hisense is also drawing attention to its 16 all-glass lens system, which reportedly provides better light transmittance and temperature stability, resulting in minimised light loss and purer colours.

This is also the first projector that we've seen to include a liquid cooling system, which reportedly improves heat dissipation. Worried about mixing liquid with a delicate projector? We are, too, but Hisense ensures us that "the leak-resistant design ensures consistent performance over time".

Hisense is also touting an optical zoom range of 0.84x to 2.0x, with a minimum screen size of 65 inches, and a huge maximum screen size of 300 inches. Furthermore, lens correction is handled by "the industry’s first 4-camera + dual TOF intelligent sensing solution, combined with smart AI Auto Adjustments". Vertical and horizontal lens shift is also supported for more versatility when it comes to placement.

Moving on to the PX4-Pro, this is a successor to a home cinema testing room favourite. The PX3-Pro took home a five-star review back in November 2024, so our expectations are high with this upgraded model.

This ultra-short-throw projector can deliver an image up to 200 inches, and it features a higher claimed peak brightness of 3500 ANSI lumens, up from 3000 ANSI lumens on the PX3-Pro.

It also sports double the contrast ratio of its predecessor, with a claimed 6000:1 achieved via the new IRIS lens system. Hisense promises "immersive visuals with vibrant colour and crystal-clear detail" for gaming and movies alike, and a sleek, modern design that should appease the interior design-conscious.

We're still awaiting information regarding pricing and availability for these new models. Hisense has confirmed that the XR10 and PX4-Pro will both be showcased at the brand's stand at CES 2026.

We'll be on the ground at the show, so stay posted for our hands-on impressions of these projectors.

MORE:

Read our full Hisense PX3-Pro review

As well as our Hisense M2-Pro review

And check out our picks for the best projectors

I started reviewing TVs way back in 2007, and I genuinely think that next year could be one of the most interesting for televisions in a really long time.

Why? There are three main reasons: the controversial introduction of two new HDR formats; a new, compelling challenger for OLED's top TV tech crown; and, on the other hand, the arrival (finally) of more affordable OLED TVs.

Let's look at those in turn...

Dolby Vision 2 vs HDR10+ Advanced: the battle nobody asked for

Back in September, Dolby announced that it was working on a new version of Dolby Vision, called, predictably, Dolby Vision 2.

The news was met with a… sceptical reaction.

We asked our own readers for their opinions and checked out some of our regular Reddit haunts, and while some people did respond positively, many seemed downright annoyed about the Dolby Vision news.

There were people arguing (fairly, in my opinion) that most TVs can't take full advantage of Dolby Vision as it is; others posited that the new format is just a ruse to force them to buy a new TV; and a few suggested that Dolby Vision 2's AI processing will actually make picture quality less true to what the director intended.

I understand all of those takes, and I continue to feel a little wary of Dolby Vision 2 myself, but the more I've read about it, the more I have come around to the idea.

The important thing for me is that it's all tied into the studios mastering the movies and TV shows we're going to be watching in the years to come. Dolby Vision 2 is, according to Dolby, all about empowering studios to tailor their content to the TVs we have at home, and enabling us to get a more accurate picture.

There's still a lot that needs answering. Are the studios actually on board with all of this? Are the enhancements genuinely intended to improve accuracy? Which manufacturers are getting on board?

Here's hoping we get a lot of answers at CES 2026 in January, because I've been shocked by how little the people I've been speaking to in the TV industry know about Dolby Vision 2. Frankly, they seem to be as much in the dark as you and I are.

If Dolby Vision 2 has an uphill struggle to convince us of its merits, Samsung's rival HDR10+ Advanced has a mountain to climb.

On paper, it's designed to do much of the same stuff – improve motion, contrast and colours with the help of AI, and take advantage of new, brighter display technologies – but Samsung doesn't have the links to movie studios that Dolby does, so the idea that these improvements are in the service of more accurate picture quality is even harder to swallow.

Of course, I'm not going to judge either of these new technologies before I've seen them in action (neither has been demonstrated in anything other than 'simulations' so far), and it will be genuinely fascinating to test and compare them.

Perhaps one or both of them will defy the cynics and usher in a new dawn of at-home picture quality. Here's hoping.

The RGB Mini LED onslaught

2026 is going to be the year of RGB Mini LED, of that there can be little doubt – but what does it mean for OLED?

Honestly, that's hard to tell. While some manufacturers have already officially unveiled RGB Mini LED TVs, most have not, and even those that have are rumoured to be keeping further models behind the curtain until CES at least.

It seems to me that different manufacturers have different plans for the new panel tech, with some pitching it as the new, all-conquering flagship TV technology and others seeing it as a step-down from OLED.

My take? I think the range of quality will be absolutely huge, much as it is now with 'normal' Mini LED TVs.

Let's not forget that RGB Mini LED TVs are still backlit, so elements such as the number of dimming zones and the processing that controls them will be incredibly important to the final picture quality.

Some TVs will have more LEDs and dimming zones, others will have better processing, and it's probably only those that combine both that will mount any sort of challenge to the best OLED TVs.

Even those that do will have their work cut out for them if the goal is actually to beat OLED.

I'm inclined to believe that no amount of tiny, coloured LEDs in a backlight will match the pixel-level contrast control of OLED, but I live to be surprised; I was certainly very impressed indeed when I saw Sony's prototype RGB LED TV way back in March of this year, and I expect the final version of that set to launch in 2026.

Ultimately, I do think RGB Mini LED will be a game-changer – I just don't know whether it's the mid-range TV game it will change, or whether it's the flagship TV game that OLED is currently winning. I'm sure excited to find out, though.

Cheaper OLEDs, finally?

In 2026, we saw, for the first time, a 55-inch OLED TV launch for less than £1000.

Said TV is the Toshiba XF9F, and while it's unfortunately not particularly good, what it represents is very exciting indeed.

We have long pined for and predicted the arrival of more affordable OLED TVs – and we might even have got them by now were it not for several significant global events that I won't mention here – but it feels as though they might, finally, be right around the corner.

If it were just the Toshiba XF9F, I wouldn't be so sure, but Philips also launched its 55-inch OLED760 model for £1199 this year – and, at the risk of spoiling our upcoming review, that's a genuinely great TV for the money.

In 2026, I can imagine Toshiba having another crack at the budget OLED and it being more polished. I can also imagine Philips going even more aggressive on the pricing of its affordable model.

My imagination even stretches as far as seeing the likes of LG and Samsung looking at these new, affordable OLEDs and deciding that they need to go cheaper with their entry-level models.

I'm not saying that there will be lots of sub-£1000 55-inch TV launches, but I do think that base-spec OLEDs will launch for less than ever before in 2026, and thanks to discounting, those people with a £1000 budget who want a large OLED TV will be almost spoiled for choice.

Won't that be a fine thing?

MORE:

Here are the best TVs and best OLED TVs you can buy right now

This is everything you need to know about Dolby Vision 2

Confused about the new panel tech? You won't be once you've read our RGB Mini LED explainer

When I joined What Hi-Fi? three years ago, I signed myself up to join a long, hard, epic quest on a par with Galahad’s search for the Grail.

A dangerous one that has driven many a staff writer and editor to madness in the cold, dark depths of our home cinema review rooms.

Editor’s note: There’s still one room we don’t open in the basement, in the dark, where he who can not be named continues his mania, repeatedly blasting Groundhog Day at full volume, using an ever-growing pile of three and four-star cheap soundbars…

Specifically, the search for a great-sounding, cheap Dolby Atmos soundbar to dethrone the tyrannically good Sonos Beam (Gen 2).

Why do the team and I hate the Beam (Gen 2) so much that we want to see it fall off its pedestal, you ask?

The truth is, we don’t. What we hate is that it has been unchallenged so long that the affordable Dolby Atmos soundbar market has started to feel a little stagnant and, well, boring.

The Beam (Gen 2) is good and has lasted surprisingly well, but there’s been a lot of innovation in the top-end and mid-range market since it launched, which is begging to trickle down a little further. And that’s before we mention the general improvements in audio quality we’ve enjoyed over the past three years on even moderately more expensive units.

Which is why we keep hunting, ever hopeful that three years on, there’s still room for improvement in the affordable end of the market.

And this year, while we didn’t achieve our goal, we found two excellent devices that came darned close in the shape of the Hisense AX5125H and JBL Bar 300 MK2 – the first sub-£350 soundbars good enough to earn five-star ratings since I joined What Hi-Fi?’s noble cause.

The Hisense AX5125H is the bigger deal of the two. First, because it’s cheaper, second, because it’s not just a soundbar, it’s a soundbar system that packs two wireless satellites and a cable-free subwoofer.

Getting that much tech for less than £350 is impressive, but what sets the Hisense apart is that it actually sounds good. As we said in our Hisense AX5125H review:

“The Hisense AX5125H caught us completely off guard. Most solo soundbars that cost this sort of money are seriously deficient in terms of audio quality.

“[But that’s] simply not the case, though. This remarkably affordable system delivers Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks with room-filling, sofa-shaking exuberance, and while it of course has its limitations, it’s a vast upgrade on the sound of any TV we’ve tested.”

Hence why we gave it a trophy at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025. However, despite its perks and price, while it's the best cheap system we've tested, its audio isn't quite as finessed as the Beam's. Its nature as a system also means it will take up a lot more space, which is another factor some buyers will need to consider.

The second, freshly reviewed JBL is more of a direct rival to the Beam. While the full-width bar is not an Award-winner, it came a hair’s breadth from defeating its arch-rival during our head-to-head shootout.

Offering a bombastic performance, it may not be as refined as the Sonos, but it’s still an easy five-star recommendation and excellent alternative to its smaller, more established rival. As our noble testers said in our review:

“Ultimately, the Beam’s greater precision, detail and dynamics – and its musical ability – make it the better choice overall, but the JBL’s weightier, more bombastic and more room-filling sound will win it many fans.”

With two such close shots fired across the Beam (Gen 2)’s bow, I can’t help but think that’s a win regardless of whether the reigning champ keeps its crown, and I can get a little excited about 2026, where I’m hoping we’ll see yet more great-sounding soundbars appear.

MORE:

These are the best soundbars we've reviewed

We rate the best surround sound systems

Our picks of the best cheap TVs

It's no secret that Sony is working on a new high-end TV that's utilising the latest RGB Mini LED panel technology; in fact, we've been treated to not one, but two behind-closed-doors demonstrations of the prototype set in action.

While those brief encounters haven't given us much insight aside from a vague idea as to what the new flagship Sony TV for 2026 could perform like, we now have a new piece of the puzzle that pertains to how Sony will be marketing this TV.

A trademark filing in Japan and Canada (first spotted by Sony-centric news site The Walkman Blog) has revealed that Sony has claimed the name True RGB, which is likely linked to the new RGB Mini LED panel technology.

Reliable AV news source FlatpanelsHD has verified the trademark filing, which can be found here.

This suggests that Sony is gearing up to launch its mysterious new TV, potentially under the True RGB moniker. That being said, the company rebranded its TV and AV offerings in 2024, combining everything under the Bravia title.

We'd be surprised to see Sony make a U-turn on this naming convention so quickly, which is leading us to believe that this True RGB name will instead be how Sony refers to the panel technology, much like how Samsung opts to call it RGB Micro LED in its TVs.

Speaking of Samsung, and also bringing Hisense and TCL (both of which are also making RGB Mini LED TVs), we're not sure as to how the other manufacturers will react to Sony staking the claim of having "True RGB", especially considering how closely Samsung is guarding QLED these days.

Nevertheless, this trademark filing could suggest that Sony is primed to launch its new TV next year; however, we have inquired with Sony as to when we could expect its first RGB Mini LED TV, but the Japanese AV powerhouse has kept incredibly tight-lipped.

With CES around the corner, it could be the perfect opportunity for Sony to start 2026 with a bang. Ultimately, we're one step closer to a new flagship Sony TV, which is exciting considering how much we liked the Bravia 8 II.

MORE:

I quizzed Sony about its mysterious next-generation OLED-killing TV – here are 3 surprising things I learned

Read our full Sony Bravia 9 review

Check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs

If you thought the Black Friday TV deals were good, check out this early Cyber Monday deal.

The 65-inch Hisense U8N, which launched at a price of £1800, can now be picked up for just £769 at Hughes.

• Check out all of the Black Friday deals at Amazon
• Richer Sounds Black Friday event
• Sevenoaks Black Friday deals
• Peter Tyson: Black Friday event

I suspect this is your last chance to get this deal, as this is an older model that has now been officially discontinued, and most retailers have now sold out.

When the Hisense U8N first landed last year, its £1800 price tag pitched it deep into OLED territory. Now that it's available for under £800, it suddenly becomes a very different – and far more compelling – proposition.

Design and build feel like a serious step up from previous Hisense sets. The stand is solid and stable – heavy enough that shifting the TV demands two people – and the slimmer speaker grille leaves ample room underneath for a soundbar.

The 4K 65-inch panel uses Mini LED backlighting and Quantum Dot tech, and the TV supports all four of the current HDR formats: HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

Gaming specs are great, too, with support for 4K/120Hz (and 4K/144Hz if you've got a powerful PC), VRR, ALLM and gaming in Dolby Vision. There are just two HDMI 2.1 sockets, though.

Picture-wise, once you tweak the settings, the U8N is a really good peformer. Blacks aren’t quite OLED-deep, but shadows retain detail, and bright scenes stay controlled rather than blown out.

In dark film scenes, contrast and shadow detail are rich; in bright sunlit HDR scenes the TV’s high peak brightness makes highlights pop. Upscaling older 1080p or lower-res content also impresses – grain, texture and shadow detail remain intact, preserving older films’ character.

Sound is a bit of a weak spot – the built-in 2.1.2 setup is serviceable at modest volumes, but strained when pushed harder – but hopefully this super-low price leaves space in your budget for a soundbar.

In short, while the Hisense U8N once looked like a not-great choice alongside similarly priced OLED sets, it looks like exceptional value with this super-cheap Black Friday / Cyber Monday deal.

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals

When all else fails, you can always rely on some seriously huge Black Friday projector deals to crop up during the savings event. We've seen huge savings on Sony, Epson and Xgimi projectors already; however, this Hisense deal might just take the proverbial cake.

The PL2, an Award-winning ultra-short throw projector designed to replace your TV, is currently just £959 at Currys, making it less than half price. We reviewed it at £1999, so this jaw dropping £1040 saving is a sight to behold.

Capable of beaming an image up to 150 inches onto your projector screen or, in a pinch, your wall, the PL2 offers up a feast of impressive picture and sound credentials.

This UST utilises Hisense's X-Fusion Laser Technology, which is capable of producing a bright 2700 lumen image, with punchy and vibrant colours to match. Despite this, we considered the PL2 to be balanced and consistent in our full review, and the 4K resolution means details are sharp.

Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are both supported, which is appreciated as many projectors include neither, and Dolby Atmos is featured via the 30W speaker system, as well as via HDMI eARC.

Better still, Hisense includes its comprehensive Vidaa streaming platform on board, meaning you won't need to plug anything into the PL2 if streaming is your preferred method of watching.

The only area where the PL2 lags slightly behind is its gaming specifications. HDMI 2.1 is technically on board, but the projector can only reach 60Hz at 4K, or 120Hz at 1080p.

There is also an included game mode, which is automatically applied when the projector detects a signal from a gaming source. Ultimately, at this price, we find that small gaming-related setback to be far from a dealbreaker.

At its launch price of £1999, we already considered this projector to offer huge value for money. However, at just £959 – a discount of £1040 – this becomes one of the best value home cinema deals of the year.

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• LG C5 55-inch: lowest-ever price at Richer Sounds
• JBL soundbar: now better than half price
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• Sony headphones: now just £29
• Stereo amplifier: Cambridge Audio now £299
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Vinyl: 3 for £66 at Amazon
• Wireless earbuds: Award winners now £75

Black Friday 2025 has come and gone, and with the hour approaching midday, Cyber Monday is officially middle-aged, which means the window to take advantage of this year’s deals bonanza is rapidly closing.

And having been here from the start, endlessly searching for all the best home cinema deals to be had, I can safely confirm, my advice from the start hasn’t changed.

• Check out all of Amazon's latest Black Friday home cinema deals

Yes, despite decent savings on our 2025 Product of the Year winner, the Sony Bravia 8 II, a stellar discount on the 55-inch LG C5 and incredible savings on the 48-inch Samsung S90F, I’m still not recommending an OLED to my friends and family this year.

Why not you ask? Well, as I said earlier this month, it has nothing to do with the quality of this year’s TVs. Jump to our best OLED TV guide, and you’ll see there have been a lot of great sets launched this year.

It’s because all of my nearest and dearest already pulled the trigger on a new OLED in the past few years. And, if you find yourself in the same situation, that means I have one very different piece of advice – one that has nothing to do with your TV.

Have you thought about getting a Dolby Atmos soundbar system?

This year, the piece of advice I'm giving to most of my friends and family relates to their audio setup.

Unlike What Hi-Fi?’s regular readers, many of my friends, even those with OLED TVs, haven’t properly backed them up with a decent sound system. Yes, the philistines are still using their TVs' built-in speakers, despite my nagging.

And yes, I have been telling them for years to at least invest in a soundbar – screaming from the rooftops, 'Yes, a Sonos Beam (Gen 2) will sound better than your TV's built-in speakers!'.

What’s different this year is that I’ve become even more demanding, and I’ve elevated my ‘get a soundbar’ advice to ‘have you thought about a soundbar system?’.

And there’s one big reason for that. Specifically, for the first time ever, we’ve found an affordable, entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar system worthy of recommending, in the shape of the five-star, Award-winning Hisense AX5125H, which is available for £189 on Amazon right now (save £60).

It may not have a catchy name or look fancy, but this is a big deal. Soundbar systems aren't new, and we’ve had plenty of cheaper units pass through our test rooms, but nothing below the £500/$500 mark has managed to wow us.

Which is why, when another affordable system came in for testing, the home cinema team wasn't exactly fighting over themselves to review it.

TV and AV editor, Tom Parsons, took on the job. And, days later, pigs flew.

Tom emerged from our basement test room and came to find his colleague, Lewis Empson. 'Could you come and check something with me?', he asked.

Moments later, they both reappeared and the process repeated, with various members of staff, myself included, all being called down to the basement to check Tom wasn't imagining things.

And each time, after an extended listen, we all found ourselves nodding in agreement. We had indeed finally succeeded and found an affordable, great-sounding soundbar system not just worthy of a five-star rating, but ultimately a What Hi-Fi? Award as well.

As we said in our Hisense AX5125H review: “The fact that you can get this much kit with these specs for this price is really rather impressive – the fact that it actually sounds good is pretty astonishing.”

So much so that I’m actually recommending this system to most people over the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), with its satellites and subwoofer adding a layer of directionality missing from our previous budget soundbar recommendation.

Above it, things are simpler, with Samsung’s flagship HW-Q990F system, which is a fellow Award winner, offering the best Dolby Atmos experience you can get without investing in a full-fat 5.1.2 multi-speaker setup.

Currently selling for £818 (save £881) on Amazon, trust me, the Samsung HW-Q990F is worth the investment if you have the cash.

Which third and finally brings me on to my advice for those with a decent, modern soundbar looking for an upgrade this Black Friday.

I’m suggesting people with compatible, modern soundbars think about making the upgrade to a system setup this year.

If you own a Sonos Arc or Arc Ultra, adding a couple of Sonos Era 100 or (if you’re feeling flush) Sonos Era 300 speakers as satellites will truly take your sound to the next level. We’ve tried the setup, and while it ain’t cheap, it is rather good.

Or, if you have a Sennheiser Ambeo or a recent Sony Bravia series soundbar, many offer wireless satellite speakers and subs as add-on options.

If your model is compatible, why not pick some satellites and a sub and level up your movie audio without replacing your main 'bar?

Trust me, when done right, rear speakers make all the difference with surround sound – which, as any serious movie fan knows, is just as important as a decent picture for a properly immersive home movie experience.

It's for all these reasons that I’d urge you to consider splurging on a soundbar system, or upgrading your current soundbar, over replacing your TV this Black Friday. It's a great way to up the home cinema ante, without splashing out on a new screen.

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• LG C5 55-inch: lowest-ever price at Richer Sounds
• JBL soundbar: now better than half price
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• Sony headphones: now just £29
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Vinyl: 3 for £66 at Amazon
• Wireless earbuds: Award winners now £75

Owning a complete home cinema system is the stuff of dreams, isn't it?

But did you realise you could buy such a thing for a little over £500 this Black Friday?

• Check out all of the Black Friday deals at Amazon
• Richer Sounds Black Friday event
• Sevenoaks Black Friday deals
• Peter Tyson: Black Friday event

Well, it's true! By combining two amazing Black Friday deals – on five-star components, no less – I've built a system that includes a 4K Mini LED TV and a complete Dolby Atmos soundbar system for just £538.

The system

• TCL 50C6KS Mini LED TV: £349 at Amazon
• Hisense AX5125H Dolby Atmos soundbar system: £189 at Amazon
• Total cost: £538

The TV

The TCL 50C6KS is our favourite budget 50-inch TV – and it has the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 gong to prove it.

What really wins you over is the picture: deep, inky blacks – rare on a sub-£500 TV – combined with really strong brightness and vivid, convincing colours thanks to its Mini LED backlight and Quantum Dot panel.

Shadows look rich, HDR highlights pop nicely, and there’s a surprisingly good amount of detail even in dark or complex scenes.

On top of that, it supports the full spread of HDR formats – HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG – so you can access all of your content in the highest possible quality.

Google TV is built in, so all of the big, global services (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, etc.) are ready to go, and TCL has gone out of its way to add all of the UK's main catch-up apps, including BBC iPlayer.

Not that you'll need it, but the built-in sound also over-delivers for the money: surprisingly detailed, decently spacious and with Dolby Atmos support – more than you’d expect at this price.

Sure, it isn’t perfect: the screen is 60 Hz only, so it can't handle 4K/120Hz gaming (though the gaming experience is otherwise very good, it has to be said).

Motion is also a little soft, and on rare, extremely bright highlights, there’s a little clipping or slightly blatant dimming-zone transitions.

But honestly, those felt like tiny trade-offs at the full price of £419, let alone the Black Friday price of £349 at Amazon.

The Dolby Atmos soundbar system

You no longer have to spend a fortune and mix-and-match lots of different components to get a full home cinema system. Instead, you can get it all in one box, and for less than £200.

The one-box system I'm referring to is the Dolby Atmos-friendly Hisense AX5125H.

This isn't just a soundbar, but a full 5.1.2-channel system that includes a soundbar, a wireless subwoofer and two wireless surround speakers.

The result isn’t just louder than your TV’s built-in speakers, it’s genuinely cinematic: Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks come alive with solid impact, plenty of bass and a sense of space that makes films and shows far more immersive. Importantly, voices remain clear, even during heavy-duty scenes.

For the money, this is simply the most complete surround sound setup you’ll find.

Setup is refreshingly simple: HDMI eARC gets you going in minutes, no fuss. The hardware feels solid, and though the design is no flashy showpiece, it’s compact enough to sit naturally below most TVs (including the TCL C6KS) and doesn’t look toy-ish.

Sure, there are some limitations. The sub can get a little over-enthusiastic now and then, which in the busiest action scenes can make bass slightly boomy and even muddy dialogue a little. And while the package is excellent for movies, for stereo music or nuanced sound-mixes, it doesn’t quite reach high-end levels.

Again, though, those were minor issues at the original price of £249, so they really pale into insignificance with this £60 discount.

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• LG C5 55-inch: lowest-ever price at Richer Sounds
• JBL soundbar: now better than half price
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• Sony headphones: now just £29
• Stereo amplifier: Cambridge Audio now £299
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Vinyl: 3 for £66 at Amazon
• Wireless earbuds: Award winners now £75

Black Friday proper might not be until this Friday, but the Black Friday sales have been live for ages now.

That means that some of the very best projectors are already down to their lowest-ever prices.

• Check out all of the Black Friday deals at Amazon
• Richer Sounds Black Friday event: huge savings on TVs and projectors
• Sevenoaks Black Friday deals: save up to £2700 on TVs
• Peter Tyson: save hundreds on a new AV receiver

I've been testing projectors ever since I joined What Hi-Fi? way back in 2007, and I firmly believe 2025 is one of the best we've ever had for home cinema projector quality.

The quality has been so high that I and the rest of the What Hi-Fi? reviews team had a very hard (but admittedly fun) time choosing our 2025 projector Award-winners.

But, after days of testing in our dedicated home cinema room, we managed to whittle the competition down to six awesome winners.

And, amazingly, every one of those winners has been discounted for Black Friday – by thousands of pounds in a couple of cases.

So, if you're in the market for a projector this Black Friday, simply scroll down to find the best model for you at the absolute lowest possible price – and scroll right down to the bottom of the page to find my wildcard choice, which I heartily recommend you also consider.

Today's best Black Friday projector deals

• Hisense M2 Pro: was £1299, now £854 at Amazon
• Hisense PL2: was £1999, now £1199 at Richer Sounds
• BenQ W2720i: was £1999, now £1599 at Richer Sounds
• Epson EH-LS9000: was £2999, now £2899 at Sevenoaks
• Sony VPL-XW5000ES: was £5999, now £3999 at Peter Tyson
• Sony Bravia Projector 8: was £15,999, now £11,999 at Richer Sounds

The wildcard:

• TCL 98C7K: was £2399, now £1899 at Richer Sounds

Hisense M2 Pro

The Hisense M2 Pro is a seriously impressive little projector. For something this compact and portable, the image quality is way better than you’d expect.

It uses a triple-laser light source, which gives it punchy colours and a really clean, vibrant look without things feeling overcooked. Skin tones stay natural, reds don’t go nuclear, and there’s a nice bit of depth to the image.

As you would expect at this level, the Hisense isn't native 4K, but uses pixel shifting to deliver a perceptual 4K image. It works really well – from a normal seating distance, it looks plenty sharp and crisp enough.

Brightness is another strong point. With up to 1300 lumens, the M2 Pro holds up surprisingly well in rooms that aren’t pitch black. You obviously get the best contrast in low lighting, but it doesn’t completely collapse if there’s some ambient light around.

HDR performance is good too, and the projector supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ on top of the usual HDR10 and HLG.

Black levels aren’t OLED-deep, but for a projector this size, they’re respectable. Contrast is good enough to give movies a nice cinematic feel, especially on a proper screen.

Basically, if your priority is getting a sharp, colourful, cinematic image without needing a full home cinema setup, the M2 Pro absolutely delivers, and it's amazing value with this Black Friday deal.

Hisense PL2

If it's an ultra-short-throw projector you're after, the Hisense PL2 is the model to get.

Because this is a UST projector, it sits just inches from your wall, yet it can produce a massive, 150-inch image.

Visually, the PL2 impresses big time. With 2700 ANSI lumens of brightness, it’s bold and punchy – even when there's ambient light in the room.

Colours feel natural, not overcooked, and the dark-detail handling is really good: shadows in moody scenes still reveal texture, making it feel quite cinematic. There’s excellent HDR support too — Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG and HDR10+ are all in there.

Contrast is quoted at 3,000:1, so blacks don’t disappear completely, but for a UST projector, they’re pretty respectable. You do need to tweak the picture a little – the out-of-the-box settings aren’t perfect – but once you dial it in, the image looks consistently balanced and cinematic.

All in all, if you want a high-quality, big-screen feel without the hassle of mounting a projector far away, the PL2 nails it – especially for movie fans.

BenQ W2720i

The BenQ W2720i puts picture quality front and centre. Using a 4-LED light source and pixel-shifted 4K DLP tech, it produces a sharp, detailed image with a level of control that’s hugely impressive for the money.

Black levels are particularly strong for a DLP projector, helped along by BenQ’s dynamic dimming system.

Dark scenes keep their depth without losing fine detail, so you don’t get that flat or washed-out look that cheaper projectors often suffer from. There’s a real sense of contrast and punch, especially in a dark room.

Colour performance is another highlight. With excellent coverage of Rec.709 and very good DCI-P3 support, colours look natural and balanced – skin tones are spot-on, and bright scenes never feel overcooked.

At 2500 ANSI lumens, it’s bright enough for a bit of ambient light, but like most projectors, it really shines when the lights are down. HDR (in the HDR10 and HLG formats) adds extra depth and highlight detail, without tipping into harshness.

If you want a clean, cinematic image with accuracy and polish, rather than loads of gimmicks, the W2720i is a very easy projector to recommend.

Epson EH-LS9000

The Epson EH-LS9000 is one of those projectors that immediately feels like a step up into proper home-cinema territory. Using a 3LCD laser engine with pixel-shifted 4K, it delivers a big, bold image that looks clean, detailed and effortlessly cinematic on large screens.

Sharpness is excellent, and there’s a real sense of depth and dimensionality to the picture that makes films feel more immersive.

Colours are a particular strong point: they’re rich and vibrant without tipping into artificial territory, and skin tones look natural and consistent. Motion is handled smoothly, too, with fast action staying clear and controlled rather than smeared.

In darker scenes, the LS9000 shows plenty of subtle shadow detail, which helps give films a layered, three-dimensional look. Black levels aren’t OLED-deep, of course – they can look more dark grey than truly black – but contrast is still strong overall, and the image retains plenty of punch and dynamic range.

It’s also impressively bright, so highlights have real impact, and it holds its own even on larger screens or in rooms that aren’t completely pitch black.

All in all, this is a really polished, confident performer that prioritises cinematic picture quality over gimmicks, and it does so with style.

Sony VPL-XW5000ES

The Sony VPL‑XW5000ES is a real milestone projector – it’s Sony’s most affordable native 4K laser projector, yet it punches way above its weight. And even after several years on sale, it's still the absolute best performance-per-pound projector you can buy.

The 0.61-inch SXRD chip delivers full 3840×2160 resolution without relying on pixel-shifting tricks, producing an image that’s sharp, layered, and effortlessly cinematic.

Sony’s X1 Ultimate processing adds refinement: the Dynamic HDR Enhancer boosts brightness in highlights without flattening the rest of the scene, while Reality Creation sharpens detail naturally.

Colour performance is excellent too – the Triluminos Pro engine gives rich, controlled tones and renders skin tones beautifully.

Contrast is strong, with deep, rich blacks that give films plenty of punch, and while the 2000-lumen laser source might not sound super-bright on paper, it delivers HDR highlights that really pop, making the picture feel dynamic and immersive.

Setup requires a bit of patience since zoom, focus, and lens shift are fully manual, and it doesn’t support Dolby Vision or HDR10+. Even so, the VPL‑XW5000ES is an absolute stunner at its full price of £5999, let alone this discounted price of £3999.

Sony Bravia Projector 8

The Sony Bravia Projector 8 takes everything that impressed about the XW5000ES and pushes it further.

It’s still a native 4K model with SXRD panels, but it’s brighter, with deeper contrast and even more punchy HDR highlights. Colours are rich and accurate, and skin tones remain natural even in vivid scenes.

Blacks feel weightier, too, while shadow detail is more visible, and the picture overall has a bit more “wow” factor – films look cinematic in a way that really makes the extra spend feel justified.

The lens keeps the edges sharp on huge images, so you don’t lose detail even across a 150-inch or larger screen.

Motion handling is excellent, and for gamers, it’s a big step up thanks to HDMI 2.1 ports supporting 4K/120Hz and ALLM.

Put simply, while the XW5000ES nails native 4K on a standard setup, the Bravia Projector 8 is a worthy step up for those with even more premium systems – brighter, more cinematic, and ready to dominate a dedicated home cinema room.

The wildcard choice: TCL 98C7K

And the wildcard? That would be the 98-inch TCL C7K. Yes, it's a TV rather than a projector – that's what makes it a wildcard.

If you're looking at a projector because you want a roughly 100-inch display at home, I really think that it's also worth considering this TV.

For less than £2000, this TCL offers a 98-inch screen with higher brightness, deeper blacks and better contrast than any of the projectors above. It's got better gaming specs, too, and a better smart platform.

Sure, it lacks that almost indefinable charm that you get with a projector, but it makes up for that in so many ways.

I'm not saying you definitely should buy this 98-inch TCL TV instead of a projector – I'm just saying it's worthy of some thought.

More of today's best Black Friday deals

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Wine, beer and spirits: save up to 34% on drinks

Hisense has been on particularly bullish form this year.

In 2025, the Chinese powerhouse has delivered the world’s first Mini RGB screen, ever better value king-sized LED TVs, a cracking collection of new lifestyle projectors, and – based on our recent time with its 65U8QTUK – substantial improvements to the upper echelons of its core LCD TV range.

We’re hoping that those substantial improvements are also present in the 65-inch U7Q Pro we’re looking at here.

Price

While the recently reviewed U8Q seemed slightly expensive by the standards of some of 2025’s seriously tough competition, the current £899 price of the 65U7QTUK Pro (to give it its full name) feels like much better potential value.

A basically identical version of the U7QTUK Pro exists in Australia, under the name U7QTAU. Note that, unlike the UK, Hisense Australia doesn’t carry separate Pro and non-Pro versions of the U7QT series. No reliably direct equivalent of the U7QTUK Pro exists in the US.

There are some notable spec differences between the UK’s £899 U7QTUK Pro and £699 standard (as in, non-Pro) U7QTUK models.

In particular, the non-Pro version has significantly fewer dimming zones, features a less powerful sound system, only supports gaming up to 144Hz versus the Pro version’s 165Hz, and doesn’t boast the more expensive model’s anti-reflection screen.

Design

The U7QTUK Pro has a distinctive and attractive, if slightly chunky, design.

From the front, the chunkiness isn’t readily apparent; the TV sits on a centrally mounted stand with a strikingly open neck that actually makes the screen look quite lightweight and ‘floaty’, while the bezel around the screen restricts itself to a pleasingly narrow but premium-looking glossy grey trim.

From the side, though, you certainly notice how the back panel sticks out 7.5cm at its deepest point. That’s quite a distance by today’s premium TV standards, and doesn’t make for the most elegant wall-mounting option.

The U7Q Pro’s depth will be pretty easy to forgive, however, if it turns out to be a result of Hisense using a really uncompromising backlighting system.

Joining the U7QTUK Pro in its box is a remote control that bangs the premium drum with a smart black metallic finish, an appealing silver metallic menu navigation ring, and even a large solar panel built into its front edge, which means you’ll never need to replace its batteries.

Features

The U7Q Pro has a lot to say for itself for a 65-inch TV that costs well under £1000.

Firstly, it uses a contrast-friendly VA panel rather than one of the IPS panels that have crept into some premium Hisense TVs in recent years.

It illuminates this panel with Mini LEDs rather than regular-sized LEDs, too, for extra light control and, potentially, brightness. And the output of those Mini LEDs is controlled by a strikingly numerous 560 separate local dimming zones.

The non-Pro model only gets 220 dimming zones by comparison – a substantial enough difference that alone could justify the additional cost.

Hisense claims that the U7QT Pro’s screen boasts an anti-reflective finish, though while this does seem to reduce general light spread across the screen in bright rooms, it doesn’t reject specific intense reflections nearly as comprehensively as the filters on Samsung’s premium OLED and LCD TVs. Or Hisense’s own Canvas TV range, come to that.

The LED panel uses Quantum Dots to produce its colours, while its native 120Hz refresh rate gives it significant gaming appeal. In fact, its gaming refresh rate support extends to 165Hz, though that will be of no benefit to those who game on consoles, as they are still limited to 4K/120Hz.

Further gaming attractions include VRR support (including AMD FreeSync) across the whole refresh rate range, and a dedicated Game Bar menu that provides detailed signal information and access to features such as genre-based picture presets, aspect ratio adjustments, a super-imposed Aim Point, and mini-map magnification.

The TV’s input lag at 60Hz is 13.2ms – a very good if not quite class-leading result.

All four of the U7Q Pro’s HDMI connections support the full range of gaming features, which is always good to find at a time when some of the biggest and best TV brands out there still limit you to two full-bore gaming HDMIs.

Other connections include one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, an optical digital audio output, the inevitable RF tuner, a physical headphone jack, a left/right phono input, an Ethernet port, plus, of course, both wi-fi and Bluetooth support for wireless streaming and content sharing.

Driving all the U7Q Pro’s picture hardware and features is Hisense’s latest Hi-View AI Engine Pro chipset. The AI-bolstered enhancements provided by this processor include an AI Sports mode to reduce motion blur and create a stadium-like look to images, a genre-recognition system that can adjust the pictures to best suit the type of content they contain, AI-boosted upscaling of HD and SD sources, and even a system for upconverting SDR to HDR.

Talking of HDR, the U7Q Pro continues Hisense’s welcome policy of supporting all of the main HDR formats: HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision. The screen also boasts IMAX Enhanced certification, meaning it has been judged capable of doing justice to the ultra-clean IMAX Enhanced masters available on Disney+ and a few 4K Blu-rays.

The promising array of picture specifications and features is joined by a 50W 2.1.2-channel sound system designed to deliver the height as well as width and bass effects of Dolby Atmos mixes. There’s support, too, for Hisense’s Hi-Concerto feature, where the TV’s sound system can work in tandem with Hisense soundbars.

Smart features, finally, are delivered by Hisense’s in-house VIDAA system. This carries all the streaming apps most households will need, and is pretty straightforward to use – either via the remote or voice control.

The TV also carries the Freely service, which lets you live-stream any BBC, ITV, Channel 4 or Channel 5-affiliated channel (plus a few more besides) found on the Freeview digital broadcast platform, rather than having to watch them through an aerial. Freely also includes tens of thousands of hours of on-demand content.

Picture

For its price, the U7Q Pro’s pictures are excellent in some ways and with some content, but can’t quite deliver the sort of consistency needed to make it an unqualified winner.

Its handling of dark HDR scenes provides a particularly good example of what we’re talking about.

With some very dark shots, the backlight performance is outstanding, delivering some of the deepest, richest blacks we’ve seen from any LCD TV, never mind a 65-inch one with this price tag.

In its Standard picture preset, it also manages to show more subtle shading detail in the darkest picture areas than the TCL C7K with which we compare it.

However, despite its high dimming zone count, the 65-inch U7QT Pro’s excellent black levels can at times be interrupted by more backlight blooming than the TCL exhibits. Also, with mid-dark scenes that contain a lot of subtle background details, the U7QT Pro’s black levels can suddenly start to look quite grey and misty in Standard mode compared with the TCL – despite the fact that Hisense’s set doesn’t achieve the same brightness peaks and colour intensity that the TCL delivers.

Not being able to control its zonal light output quite as intelligently as the screen’s core capabilities deserve can also mean that sometimes Hisense’s Standard mode can reveal slightly more detail in dark areas than it should – and sometimes this over-exposed picture information can contain a fair bit of noise.

Switch to Filmmaker Mode and the character of the U7QTUK Pro’s dark scene presentation changes, but still generates a mix of greatness and inconsistency.

The very darkest scenes again enjoy clearly deeper, less grey-tinged black tones than the TCL can provide. The backlight blooming issues that affect the Hisense’s Standard preset are pretty much absent in Filmmaker Mode, too.

However, the slight excess of shadow detail apparent in Standard mode suddenly switches to a noticeable lack of subtle shadow detail. You can improve this with a dedicated Dark Detail feature, but this doesn’t completely resolve the issue.

It’s also noticeable in Filmmaker Mode that while the U7Q Pro delivers deeper black levels than the TCL, bright parts of mostly dark pictures look substantially less dynamic and vibrant on Hisense’s model, making the HDR experience feel relatively limited.

The U7Q Pro’s colour performance is similarly inconsistent. In bright HDR scenes, while Hisense’s TV doesn’t get as bright as the rival TCL C7K in Standard mode, it actually delivers a more balanced and nuanced colour performance that helps such images look more three-dimensional and natural. Some shades, particularly greens, look slightly more natural than they do on the TCL, too.

With relatively dark scenes, though, the U7QT Pro’s colours can wash out quite dramatically, leaving, for instance, the blue and cream floor tiles of Sapper Morton’s home in Blade Runner 2049 looking a monotone grey. This issue becomes more pronounced in the Hisense’s Filmmaker Mode, too.

Hisense’s set avoids adding faint magenta or blue undertones to blacks, which is a peculiar, mild flaw of the TCL – but it also suffers with some occasionally quite pronounced backlight ‘jumps’ not apparent on the TCL when showing relatively dark scenes, such as the scene in Blade Runner 2049 where Agent K flies his spinner over LA towards the police headquarters.

The U7Q Pro tends to suffer slightly less with detail ‘clipping’ in the brightest HDR picture areas than the TCL, though, and its pictures also tend to look slightly sharper and crisper, especially with native 4K content.

The Hisense set’s Film motion preset yields slightly crisper but still cinematic motion handling with 24p sources than any motion setting on the TCL does, too.

The more content we feed the Hisense, the more we start to detect a theme: it looks its best – and sometimes, at least, better than the TCL – with relatively mild HDR content, but it tends to reveal some inconsistencies with relatively potent HDR masters.

At this point, it’s important to stress that all of our main comparisons of the U7QT Pro’s pictures are being made against an Award-winning TCL TV. So the fact that Hisense’s set, in some ways and at some times, outperforms that TV means it’s actually a really strong performer in the context of the TV world at large, revealing substantial progress by Hisense’s TV division that bodes well for the future.

It’s just that consistency matters above all else to a truly immersive TV experience, and on that front, the 65U7QTUK Pro comes up just a little short.

Sound

As with its pictures, the U7QTUK Pro’s sound is often excellent. We’re immediately struck by the scale and volume of the soundstage its 2.1.2 sound system creates as it busily and boldly casts its sound well clear of the TV’s physical bodywork.

There’s a palpable sense of height to this soundstage when playing Dolby Atmos soundtracks, too, thanks to the included up-firing speakers.

Transitions across this wall of sound are delivered with conviction, and Hisense has managed to craft a convincing soundstage ‘structure’, complete with both vertical layering and a sense of score work and other extradiegetic sounds correctly existing beyond the left and right boundaries of a mix’s diegetic elements.

The speakers have the power and headroom to handle even the densest action or horror movie soundtrack moments, never falling away or collapsing in on themselves as so many TV sound systems can under pressure. Such dense moments don’t sound thin or harsh, either, thanks to the presence of pretty strong amounts of bass from the TV’s built-in subwoofer.

This subwoofer can, though, succumb to crackling distortions when pushed really hard by Hollywood’s most extreme low-frequency impulses, especially if a heavy bass sound is either very sustained or drops very suddenly.

There can also be a slight loss of impact from hard sounds such as punches or gunfire when the rest of a mix is particularly dense.

Finally, dialogue, while clear and well-rounded, can sound a bit locked at the centre of the screen, rather than seeming to come from the location of different speakers’ mouths across the screen.

In the end, though, the positives of the U7QT Pro’s sound comfortably outweigh its limitations.

Verdict

The 65-inch U7QTUK Pro delivers a big improvement over its Hisense predecessors, to the extent that at times it seriously delivers some of the best picture quality the LCD world has to offer.

It just isn’t quite consistent enough in the end, though, to create the sort of ‘settled’ feeling that leads to a truly immersive experience.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Hisense 65U8QTUK

Also consider the TCL 65C7K

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget LED sets tried and tested

With Black Friday fast approaching, you might already be having a browse to see what home cinema deals are available. And who could blame you? Plenty of retailers have some bargains on offer for a variety of different pieces of kit, from projectors to Dolby Atmos soundbars.

But how do you know which ones are worth your time? I have been keeping my eye on the best deals in the latter of these categories, and I know when you are getting a good bang for your buck.

These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbar deals that are on offer currently ranging from a budget (but brilliant) soundbar system to more premium models that are sure to upgrade your home cinema setup.

• Hisense AX5125H was £249 now £199 at Argos (save £50)
• Sony HT-S2000 was £349 now £299 at Amazon (save £50)
• Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 was £1399 now £899 at Peter Tyson (save £500)

Hisense AX5125H

First up, the Hisense AX5125H is a five-star complete soundbar package that blew us away during testing and has just snagged a What Hi-Fi? Award this year.

With support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, as well as easy set-up and operation, the 5.1.2-channel system consists of a soundbar, a wireless subwoofer and two wireless surround speakers.

When we had it in our test room, we praised its amazing weight and spaciousness for the money as well as its tonally expressive bass.

The Hisense model has dropped from £249 down to £199 at Argos, making it even more tempting for those on the hunt for a budget steal.

Sony HT-S2000

The Sony HT-S2000 is another budget Dolby Atmos soundbar that offers a surprisingly cohesive and expressive audio performance.

The 3.1-channel arrangement offers clear dialogue, an impressive directionality and decent kick from the built-in subwoofer.

We say in our review while watching Batman Vs Superman Dawn of Justice: "As fists (and bodies) start flying, there is a crisp and impactful thud to each hit, and this bar’s dynamic capabilities are shown off in further detail with the culmination of the scene when Batman crashes through a wall in dramatic fashion."

Its singular bar design is easy to set up, taking less than a minute to upgrade your TV's sound quality. In terms of connectivity, it features Bluetooth 5.2 and HDMI eARC – as well as an Optical audio connection in case your TV lacks eARC capabilities.

While it launched at the more than reasonable price of £349, this early Black Friday deal drops its tag all the way down to £299 at Amazon.

Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9

At the more premium end of the Dolby Atmos spectrum, the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 is a great model that is certainly worth a second look.

Having tested the Bravia Theatre Bar 9 in our dedicated listening rooms, we awarded it a five-star rating – positioning it among the finest Dolby Atmos soundbars available today.

When watching Unbroken, the soundbar showcased what we described as "arguably the most Atmos-y delivery we've heard from a solo soundbar".

The soundbar's ability to project audio far beyond its physical boundaries – extending sound to the ceiling and well into the room – represents an impressive achievement in single-unit Atmos implementation.

It has dropped from £1399 to £899 at Peter Tyson, saving you some of your hard earned cash while still bagging a top-notch soundbar.

If your budget can stretch a little further, it's worth checking out the five-star Sonos Arc Ultra which we just crowned a victor at the What Hi-Fi? Awards this year. After all, Black Friday might result in drop from its current price of £999 / $999 / AU$1799.

MORE:

These are the best soundbars we have reviewed

We rate the best surround sound systems

Sonos Arc Ultra vs Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9: which flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar is better?

Most of us have dreamed of setting up a proper home cinema. I mean who wouldn’t want to experience the joy of watching a movie from the comfort of your own home, in your favourite chair with a full-fat long-throw projector and multi-speaker 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos surround sound system?

But if you’re like me and many others, actually making that happen is surprisingly difficult. I detailed the problems I had trying to fit a proper surround sound system into my spare room and lounge earlier this year.

Cliff Notes: I never even made it to measuring throw distance for the Sony VPL-XW5000ES I had been eying up. Short of inventing Tardis interdimensional space expanding technology, even the speakers I would have wanted for a set-up justifying the projector wouldn’t sensibly fit in the space.

But, after helping review more projectors than I care to count as a part of this year’s What Hi-Fi? Awards home-cinema battle royale, I have some good news for all my fellow movie fans. There are alternatives that help bridge the gap between a full-fat home cinema and basic TV setup.

This year, the team and I spotted two cost- and space-efficient projectors that, while not as magical as what you’d get with a set-up like the ones detailed in our Absolute Cinema column, are still wonderfully engaging and fun.

And I’m expecting both to get pretty hefty discounts over Black Friday 2025. Which is why I recommend keeping an eye on them.

Here’s what you need to know.

The Hisense M2 Pro – an ideal starting point

First up is the Hisense M2 Pro, which is our current Award-winner in the best projector under £1500 category.

It’s one of the latest “coffee table” projectors to hit the market. This is a compelling new form of projector that has been gaining in popularity in recent years thanks to its focus on ease of use.

The units aim to offer a simple “home cinema in a box” experience featuring support for streaming apps, powerful auto correction, short throw distances and baked-in sound systems.

I was involved in reviewing the M2 Pro, and I can confirm that, while the experience isn’t “full fat”, the unit is the best entry point to home cinema I’ve seen this year.

Thanks to its hinge design and intuitive operating system, you can get the tiny unit set up and playing movies within minutes of taking it out of the box.

But, most importantly, it offers a surprisingly mature experience. Unlike rivals, this projector accepts the inherent shortcomings of its form factor and hardware and focuses on consistency.

For example, rather than fall victim to the temptation of trying to make up for its naturally imperfect black level by raising the contrast (resulting in a loss of detail), the unit does the best it can with what it has.

This means that, while its image is noticeably greyer than a more expensive long-throw unit, detail is maintained and the image is holistically better as a result.

The same is true of its stereo speaker system, which never pushes itself too hard. Instead it accepts that it can’t match a proper speaker setup and instead limits itself to operate within its parameters. This means that while it sounds a little thin, it is free of distortion and remains suitably composed, and doesn't distract you from what's playing out on screen.

As we say in our review:

“The Hisense M2 Pro isn’t perfect. But by focusing on making all the right compromises and delivering a consistent, balanced home movie experience, it gets more right than it does wrong. This adds up to make it one of the best coffee-table projectors on the market. Offering solid picture quality, excellent app support and a wonderfully easy set-up process, it ticks all the right boxes for its target market.”

On top of that, I expect the unit to continue dropping in price. Since we reviewed it, the M2 Pro has slowly started enjoying hefty discounts, dropping to as little as £949 right now at select stores.

Based on my experience covering Hisense and past Black Friday shopping events, I have a strong inkling that its price will drop even further in the coming weeks.

Which is why I strongly recommend that buyers who are looking for an easy to use, great-value projector that can be easily stored away, should keep a keen eye on the Hisense M2 Pro this deals season.

The Hisense PL2 – a big screen experience, for those short on space

The Hisense PL2 is the best ultra-short-throw (UST) projector on the market right now. As the name suggests, this is a category of projector designed to be placed incredibly close to a wall.

The PL2 can throw up an image of between 80 and 150-inches from as little as a foot away from the screen – or wall if you’re a philistine.

That makes it a fantastic option for any buyer who wants a discreet unit that doesn’t dominate a room’s feng shui, or one who is short on space but still wants a big-screen home-cinema experience. I fall into the latter camp and use a Hisense PX3 UST in my home study/hobby room for this reason.

Why the PL2 specifically? For very similar reasons to the M2 Pro. For starters, the PL2 is already great value, retailing for less than £1500 right now. More importantly, it offers a consistent, mature picture that is missing on many rival USTs.

Rather than go for “oomph” and crank contrast or colour volumes to eye-catching but horribly artificial levels, the PL2 focuses on uniformity. Which makes it a great performer that makes it easy to focus on what you’re watching, not what the projector is doing.

It also features a Dolby Atmos sound system built in, with upward firing drivers. This is good enough for casual viewing – though I recommend investing in a soundbar system and taking advantage of its eARC connection if you want the best results. Even the entry level Hisense AX5125H will offer better audio.

As we say in our review:

“Hisense’s focus on delivering a balanced picture that accepts the shortcomings inherent to a UST lets the PL2 offer a consistent, controlled picture that never distracts from what’s playing on screen. This, plus its competitive price and advanced features, help the PL2 punch well above its weight and make it an easy recommendation for any movie fan on the hunt for a UST projector.”

If the massive price drops we saw during last year’s Black Friday sale on its predecessor, the PL1, are anything to go by, I’d suggest that any home cinema fan short on space should keep an eye on the PL2 this month. I’m expecting similar discounts to appear over the next few weeks.

If I’m right you may well be able to grab the Award-winning Hisense PL2 for as little as £1200 – a hefty £800 saving on its launch price.

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals

2025 has been a vintage year for projectors.

We’ve had Sony’s super-premium Bravia Projector 8 taking on (and ultimately defeating) the awesome JVC DLA-NZ800; the slightly less premium Bravia Projector 7 bringing Sony’s most advanced picture tech to a more accessible level; and we’ve looked at next-gen portable and coffee table models, from the Xgimi MoGo 4 to the Hisense M2 Pro and Anker Nebula X1.

But the brand that has really impressed (and surprised) me the most is Epson.

• Check out all of the early Black Friday deals on Amazon

While Epson has fared exceptionally well in the fairly recent past, with its EH-TW7100 and EH-TW9400 models having won a combined 10 What Hi-Fi? Awards between 2019 and 2024, the transition to laser lighting and new form factors, such as UST and coffee-table designs, has proved a challenge.

Of the nine new Epson projectors we reviewed between 2021 and the end of 2024, just one received a 5-star rating – the EH-LS12000.

This year, though, the brand has launched two five-star projectors, and one of those has essentially redefined expectations in its price category.

Traditional home cinema designs meet next-gen laser lighting

Those two new five-star stunners are the EH-QB1000 and EH-LS9000, and it’s perhaps unsurprising that they are both closely related to the EH-LS12000 mentioned above.

The QB1000 takes the LS12000’s excellent performance and elevates it. So much so that Epson places it in another class, hence the ‘QB’ rather than ‘LS’ product code.

This so-called ‘Pro’ model has awesome brightness (a claimed 3300 lumens at its peak) and Epson’s more advanced picture processing. And the result is a projector that is capable of taking advantage of HDR content in a way that very few rivals can match.

It also makes it a particularly strong model for mixed-use rooms, where its superior brightness can punch very effectively through ambient light – though I like to think that if you’re spending this sort of money on a projector, it’s for a room that can be blacked out for serious movie-watching.

As brilliant as the QB1000 is, it isn’t quite the very best projector available at its level. That’s because its £4799 / $7999 / AU$11,900 price puts it up against some really serious competition, including, most notably, the imposing Sony VPL-XW5000ES.

But while the Epson QB1000 isn’t quite able to topple Sony’s multi-Award-winner, which produces deeper blacks and leverages Sony’s legendary picture processing to deliver movies with even greater detail and sharpness, it’s an excellent alternative and superbly talented in its own right.

A performance-per-pound champ

But it’s the EH-LS9000 that has really rocked my world this year.

It’s not as good as either the QB1000 or LS12000, but by offering a surprisingly large percentage of the performance of both, while coming in at a much lower price of £2999 / $3999 / AU$7299, it frankly stuffs the competition at its level.

Even during the midst of our Awards testing – our busiest period of the whole year – senior staff writer Lewis Empson and I took extra time out of our day to spend more time with the LS9000, feeding it more of our favourite test scenes and hooking up a PS5 for a spot of super-punchy Ratchet & Clank action.

As reviewers, we of course love spending time with the very best, most premium products out there – it’s one of the greatest perks of the job. But being wowed by a device that costs surprisingly less than expected is a real joy, too.

That’s why it’s Epson, rather than the usual Sony or JVC, that is the projector brand that has most impressed me in 2025.

MORE:

Here are all of the best projectors you can buy right now

If you're not sure which one to buy, check out our Epson EH-LS9000 vs EH-QB1000 comparison

Samsung has just announced its exciting new dynamic HDR format, and while it's not slated to launch until next year at the very earliest, I've had a sneak peek at what Samsung envisages the future of HDR10+ looks like.

During a visit to the tech goliath's headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, Samsung showed me a simulated version of this new format, which it's calling HDR10+ Advanced, in action.

Given the circumstances of the demo, I'm of course not drawing any firm conclusions, as the final format could be quite different, but what I saw looked very promising.

HDR10+ Advanced is set to bring a range of picture-enhancing features, including improved accuracy and precision when it comes to tone mapping and colour presentation, as well as a content recognition system that will apply adjustments based on the genre of the TV show or movie you're watching.

It's been developed with next-gen RGB Mini LED TVs in mind. Samsung is, of course, developing such TVs (which it confusingly calls 'Micro RGB TVs) itself, but other brands, including Hisense, TCL and Sony, are also aboard the RGB Mini LED train.

The new RGB Mini LED panels are expected to reach brightness peaks of up to 4000 nits, so an HDR format that can better take advantage of the capabilities of these super-bright TVs makes a lot of sense to me. Evidently, Samsung feels the same.

Samsung placed two of its 115-inch Micro RGB sets side by side to demonstrate what it's aiming to achieve with HDR10+ Advanced, with one TV showing traditional HDR10+ footage and the other showing edited footage to simulate how the HDR10+ Bright picture mode should perform.

The biggest difference to my eyes was colour presentation. Skin tones seemed richer, and clothing appeared more vibrant without looking unnatural. This is presumably what Samsung is aiming for with its Advanced Colour Control feature, which leverages more advanced metadata provided by content creators.

Furthermore, the potential of improved tone mapping appears to pay off with the inclusion of brighter, more eye-catching highlights against darker backgrounds.

Speaking of the darker sections, there seemed to be more definition and detail to skin and hair textures in a sequence with two scientists inspecting an artefact in a dark cave.

It's hard to make a conclusive decision about HDR10+ Advanced, as this is just Samsung's vision for the format, rather than a finalised version. Despite that, I think Samsung is heading in the right direction.

I also appreciate the fact that Samsung has already gone as far as demonstrating its intentions for the format. The rival Dolby Vision 2 format was announced over two months ago, but has still not been seen in action.

I think that CES 2026 could be the battleground for these new formats, with Samsung and Dolby going head-to-head in order to steal the HDR headlines.

MORE:

HDR10+: everything you need to know

Dolby Vision HDR: everything you need to know

Read our full Samsung QN90F review

As well as our full Samsung S95F review

In case you missed it, we published our What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 Best Buy winners earlier this week.

This is a big deal as it means, after months of comparative testing, our reviewers have finally crowned the best of the best hi-fi and AV hardware in each of the 29 categories we cover.

And, in that sea of products, there were more than a few upsets where upstart products de-throned long-standing winners. Three of the biggest came from Hisense – here’s what you need to know about them.

The best UST just got better

The Hisense PL2 is the successor to last year’s Hisense PL1, which was 2024’s best UST projector under £2000.

Despite it looking nearly identical to its predecessor, once we plugged it in, we found that the PL2 is a significant step forward when it comes to picture quality.

Though it goes brighter and can display a larger picture than the PL1, when we ran the two units head to head in our viewing rooms, the PL2’s handling of dark scenes is what really helped it shine.

Whether it was the creeping, eerie basement and sewers in IT or a heated nighttime battle scene in Civil War, the PL2 offered surprising levels of dark detail and inkier (albeit still not quite perfect) blacks than the PL1.

This makes it an easy recommendation and this year’s best UST projector for movie fans.

As we said in our review:

“Hisense’s focus on delivering a balanced picture that accepts the shortcomings inherent to a UST lets the PL2 offer a consistent, controlled picture that never distracts from what’s playing on screen.

“This, plus its competitive price and advanced features, helps the PL2 punch well above its weight and make it an easy recommendation for any movie fan on the hunt for a UST projector.”

The only downside is that, unlike the Hisense PX3 Pro, the PL2 can’t run games in 4K/120Hz, but that’s standard for a unit at its price.

A tiny projector that packs a lot of punch

The Hisense M2 Pro was a bigger surprise than the PL2. There are two main reasons for this.

The first is down to its tiny size, with it being one of the smallest projectors in its class. So much so that you may mistake it for a 1080p portable unit, rather than a 4K home cinema in a box.

Second, because it’s surprisingly affordable compared to most of its rivals, retailing for as little as £999 / $999 at the time of writing. That makes its only real rival at the moment the four-star Epson EF-72, which costs £1150 / $1000.

During testing, we found it ticks nearly all the right boxes for a unit its price and is an ideal option for people on the hunt for an easy-to-set-up home cinema in a box that can be discreetly stored in a cupboard when it’s not needed.

As we said in our full review:

“The Hisense M2 Pro isn’t perfect. But by focusing on making all the right compromises and delivering a consistent, balanced home movie experience, it gets more right than it does wrong.

“This adds up to make it one of the best coffee table projectors on the market. Offering solid picture quality, excellent app support and a wonderfully easy set-up process, it ticks all the right boxes for its target market. Unless you’re willing to spend a lot more, you’ll struggle to find a better projector.”

The only downside is that it has very limited connectivity, featuring a single HDMI and USB input on its back. So if you want to connect a Blu-ray player, games console or separate sound system to it, you will have limited options and have to contend with a lot of cable swapping.

A Dolby Atmos soundbar system for how much!?

Speaking of sound systems, finishing off this list is the catchily named Hisense AX5125H, which nabbed our best soundbar system under £500 trophy and is one of the biggest surprises we’ve encountered this year.

Why? Because it’s the first “good” and cheap Dolby Atmos sound system we’ve ever tested. Honestly, if you had told us a few months ago you could get a decent sounding, Dolby Atmos soundbar that comes bundled with a wireless subwoofer and satellite speakers for £249 / $350, we’d have called you a liar. And for good reason.

We’re constantly hunting for great value, affordable AV hardware to recommend, but as with TVs, there’s currently a shortage. That’s why the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is still the reigning champ at the affordable end of the market in our best soundbars buying guide and a repeat Award-winner despite being multiple years old.

So, finding a good, cheap soundbar with this much additional hardware is like watching pigs fly from an AV reviewer's perspective. We said as much in our review, where we reported:

“The Hisense AX5125H caught us completely off guard. Most solo soundbars that cost this sort of money are seriously deficient in terms of audio quality, so surely sound must have been compromised even further for Hisense to have delivered a complete system with these specs.

“That’s simply not the case, though. This remarkably affordable system delivers Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks with room-filling, sofa-shaking exuberance, and while it of course has its limitations, it’s a vast upgrade on the sound of any TV we’ve tested. If you thought convincing, exciting Dolby Atmos sound was out of your budget, it’s time to think again.”

We don’t dish out praise like that often.

But we’d like one more thing next year

"What about Hisense’s TVs?", I hear you ask.

Sadly, the majority of our reviews for Hisense’s 2025 range are yet to go live. But what we can confirm, based on our published review of the Hisense U8Q and upcoming review of the U7Q, is that while the brand is making progress with its TVs, that progress is not as palpable as what we’ve seen from its soundbars and projectors this year.

Our experience so far suggests that Hisense's current TV focus is on pushing the spec boundaries, particularly where brightness and dimming zone figures are concerned, but perhaps hasn't quite figured out how to harness these specs to deliver truly consistent picture quality. That's something we noted in our hands-on of the next-gen Hisense 116UX, too.

We're not done with Hisense's 2025 TV range, of course, and there's every chance there are gems in there that we've not yet discovered, but on the evidence so far, this is an area that the brand could do with working on next year.

Especially given the great year arch-rival TCL is having with its Mini LED TVs…

MORE:

These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars we’ve tested

We rate the best projectors money can buy

Our picks of the best AV receivers

It has been an exceptional year for projectors.

We have been inundated with new models over the last 12 months, with new brands and old hands alike producing projectors in increasingly varied shapes and styles.

Even those models that look like typical home cinema projectors are now frequently bringing with them hitherto unobtainable specs, particularly in terms of brightness, HDR support and gaming features – and they’re bringing them down to more affordable levels.

We considered over 30 new projectors for this year’s What Hi-Fi? Awards, and the standard was higher than ever before, which made it incredibly hard to pick our six winners.

It’s testament to the rate of progress that of these six, five are first-time winners.

Before we get to the winners, you might be wondering what happened to our Award for 'best portable projector'.

While we have tested some interesting portable projectors this year, we simply haven’t found one that we deem Awards-worthy.

We have, though, found a ‘coffee table’ projector that we deem to be very worthy indeed.

Convenience and quality combined

That coffee table projector is the Hisense M2 Pro, a compact block of sci-fi style that produces huge, bright and vibrant images.

Its lack of a battery means it’s not what we would call properly portable, but it is small and light enough to be easily moved between rooms and hidden away in a cupboard when it’s not needed, which is great for flexibility.

The comprehensive smart platform (a rarity among even so-called ‘smart’ projectors) and decent sound make it a really convenient home cinema in a box.

On its way to victory, the M2 Pro defeated several new rivals and three incumbent winners – the BenQ W1800 and X3100i, and the Epson EH-TW7100. Very impressive indeed.

Hisense vs Hisense in the battle of the USTs

There was less competition in the UST category this year, with Xgimi the only brand to mount a noteworthy challenge against Hisense – a challenge that was fairly easily shrugged off.

Ultimately, it came down to which Hisense model offered the best performance per pound.

After much comparative testing and deliberation, we decided that model is the entry-level PL2, which is simply brilliant value for money.

If it’s an ultra-short-throw model you’re after, the Hisense PL2 is absolutely the one to buy.

A winning hybrid

Before we abandon flexibility entirely in favour of hefty, super-serious home cinema models, take a look at our next winner, the BenQ W2720i.

While it doesn’t have the super-stylish design that we’re now coming to expect from coffee table projectors, it will work as such while also being perfectly suited to permanent placement if preferred.

This hybrid approach thankfully doesn’t compromise picture quality, unlike many of its rivals.

Instead, it makes for an awesome all-rounder that is unbeatable at its price – something that became clear when we compared it against rivals including the Hisense C2 Ultra (review coming soon) and BenQ’s own X3100i.

Serious cinematic quality hits a new price point

Now we get to those super-serious home cinema models.

Epson’s latest 4K laser projector range has gone three-for-three, with the EH-QB1000, EH-LS12000 and EH-LS9000 all having received five-star ratings in our reviews.

In the end, it’s the most affordable model, the EH-LS9000, that gets an Award. It offers the core picture quality of its more premium siblings at a much more accessible price, and that makes it a cut above everything else in its class.

The EH-QB1000 was also close to getting an Award, but in the end, it couldn’t quite trump the incumbent Sony VPL-XW5000ES.

That’s now four years on the bounce that the XW5000ES has been a What Hi-Fi? Awards winner.

It had to fend off the BenQ W5850 (review coming soon), and we compared it to its newer, more premium sibling, the Sony Bravia Projector 7 (another review that's coming soon). Ultimately, the veteran XW5000ES is still the best performance-per-pound option.

Another Sony takes the super-premium projector crown

Finally, at the very top of the Award-winning projector tree, we find another Sony model – the Bravia Projector 8.

It was the tightest of tight calls between this Sony model and JVC’s similarly-priced DLA-NZ800 but, after much deliberation, our team of expert reviewers gave the nod to the Bravia Projector 8 on account of its mesmerising contrast and detail.

So, those are our six Award-winning projectors. The question now is which one will also be crowned the Product of the Year at our glitzy Awards ceremony on 13th November. Stay tuned to find out.

MORE:

See every What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 winner here

And here is the complete list of the best projectors you can buy right now

At What Hi-Fi?, our team of experts have tested more soundbars between us than we care to count.

In fact, we've been covering them since the category emerged in the early 2000s when Yamaha launched the world's first soundbar, the YSP-1.

Since then the models appearing in our review rooms have ranged from dinky designs under £100 to beefy £1000-plus Dolby Atmos systems aiming to rival a full fat multi-speaker set-up.

That means we know what makes a good soundbar, and lets us keep our best soundbars guide up to date and accurate to with all the models we know are worth your time and money.

And with our What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 testing giving us more clarity than ever on what products are best for your home cinema set-up (and your wallet), it was a no-brainer to add two of the best performing soundbar packages to our list of recommendations.

With one model taking the budget soundbar market by storm and the other setting a new precedent for premium packages, there’s something for everyone here.

A surprisingly brilliant budget package

When we got the Hisense AX5125H into our test room, we were not expecting audio excellence.

That's not because we're biased against it. It's just that we've been let down by a lot of cheap soundbars recently, many of which have decent specifications, on paper, but sound terrible in the real world.

We tested this model at £249 / $350 (around AU$500), which is quite a jaw-dropping price for a system consisting of a main soundbar, subwoofer and two surrounds.

But this Award-winning Hisense model proves that you should never judge a book (or bar) by its cover.

With support for both DTS:X and Dolby Atmos, we were pleasantly surprised to find that this soundbar system is an incredibly cohesive and immersive performer at this price.

While watching the dystopian action thriller Civil War, for example, we found: “Explosions and deep gunfire have good impact and solidity, and there’s just about enough tonal expression for bassy soundtrack elements to sound reasonably musical.”

The vocals remained nicely clear and sounded relatively emotive too, although the subwoofer can get a little overzealous and cause them to become muffled in the busiest sections. Still, you can get an impressively cinematic and immersive sound from this system, which is a serious surprise given its price.

Even its specifications are shockingly comprehensive for this price point.

While many owners will simply connect their TV to the Hisense AX5125H via HDMI eARC/ARC and be done with it, those with external sources (particularly those with lots of them) will be pleased to see that the soundbar also has a dedicated HDMI input. Passthrough is limited to 60Hz, so there’s no support for 4K/120Hz gaming signals, but any passthrough functionality at this level is a bonus.

We haven’t tested a soundbar system that comes close to this level of performance for such an affordable price, so it’s an easy recommendation for those looking to upgrade their TV’s audio without breaking the bank.

A step up system from Samsung

If your budget can stretch further, there is another What Hi-Fi? Award winner that we would heartily recommend.

Enter the Samsung HW-Q990F – a system once again consisting of a soundbar, two surround speakers and a subwoofer.

Its predecessor, the Samsung HW-Q990D, received a five-star rating after being reviewed in our test room where we praised its three-dimensional and dynamic performance.

This makes it a tough model to beat, but the Q990F manages to only improve upon this system’s sound quality.

It's an 11.1.4-channel system, with 23 drivers in total. With support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, we were impressed by the soundbar's ability to create that all-important dome of sound as well as ensuring the sound moves organically between the channels.

When it comes to its bass performance, we say in our review: "There is a much greater sense of tonal variation from this sub [compared to the Q990D], which unearths a new layer to the bass. The Q990F’s bass feels more organic, balanced, and seamlessly integrated into the system as a result."

Its connectivity options continue to impress. The system carries a very well-stocked feature set, with DTS:X audio, HDMI 2.1 passthrough with 4K/120Hz gaming and Dolby Vision HDR support. There are also countless sound modes to choose from, including SpaceFit Pro, which adapts the sound to best suit your room and speaker placement.

We awarded the Q990F five stars at its full price of £1699, but you won't need to spend that much to pick up right now as this hugely talented Dolby Atmos soundbar system is already getting discounted. You can grab it for around a grand at most stores right now, making it an even more enticing option for home cinema aficionados.

MORE:

These are the best soundbars right now

Check out the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

And here's our full review of the Hisense AX5125H

The soundbars category is always one of the most exciting to judge as part of the What Hi-Fi? Awards.

This is a category that’s jam-packed with contenders of all styles and prices, and each year there is technical advancement that pushes the boundaries in terms of sound quality.

This year, the biggest surprises came at opposite ends of the price spectrum, in the form of the very different KEF XIO and Hisense AX5125H.

From super-premium to amazingly affordable

The KEF XIO is a marvel that packs unique KEF technology (some from its hi-fi products, some entirely new) into a gorgeous, premium soundbar that’s as fabulous with music as it is with movies.

It’s the new, super-premium soundbar of choice, beating the incumbent Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max and the new Yamaha True X Surround Surround 90A.

The Hisense AX5125H couldn’t be more different. This is a super-affordable system that, despite its low price, includes a wireless subwoofer and surround speakers, and supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

The fact that you get so much for your money here is remarkable enough – the fact that it sounds really good is borderline astonishing. What a bargain.

Sonos unseats Sony

We’ve got two more new winners in the soundbars category, the first of which is the Sonos Arc Ultra.

“New?”, we hear you ask. Well, yes; while the Sonos Arc Ultra has actually been available for almost a year now, it crucially came out after our Awards deadline last year, so didn’t publicly exist in time for consideration.

It’s a different story now, of course, and the Arc Ultra’s brilliant reproduction of Dolby Atmos soundtracks and its superbly tight, tuneful bass make it a fairly comfortable winner over solo soundbar rivals from the likes of Sony (including last year's Award-winning Bravia Theatre Bar 9), Samsung and Marshall.

Another Samsung system victory, and a return of a repeat winner

Samsung does still take a big win here – for its HW-Q990F soundbar system.

This replaces the HW-Q990D in Samsung’s range and in our list of winners, having faced and defeated competition from the likes of JBL, Yamaha, Sonos, Sony and Hisense over the course of 2025.

Our final winner is the incumbent Sonos Beam Gen 2. This small but mighty Dolby Atmos soundbar has now been a winner five years in a row, which is incredibly impressive, particularly considering how much competition it has faced in that time.

This year, it defeated new challengers from JBL, Harman Kardon, Sony, LG and more. We’re starting to think that the Beam Gen 2 will only be beaten when Sonos launches its replacement.

So, which one of these five deserved winners will be crowned the 2025 soundbar Product of the Year at the glitzy What Hi-Fi? Awards ceremony on 13th November? Tune in to whathifi.com to find out.

MORE:

See every What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 winner here

These are the best Dolby Atmos movie scenes with which to test your soundbar

And here is the complete list of the best soundbars you can buy right now

Hisense’s mission to prove that it’s now officially a serious player at the premium end of the TV market is really hitting its stride.

No sooner have we had our retinas blown off by the dazzling colour, contrast and brightness of the brand’s debut RGB Mini LED TV, the mammoth 116-inch 116UX, than we find our test benches sagging under the weight of the aggressively eye-catching talents of the 65-inch U8Q.

As well as being built like a tank, this representative of the most premium series from Hisense’s regular (as in, not RGB Mini LED or projector-based) TV range packs all kinds of serious and cutting-edge features and specifications.

But do all of its on-paper glories translate into the sort of performance heroics we now expect to see from a flagship-level Mini LED TV?

Price

Once upon a time, not so long ago, £1699 / AU$2999 for a premium, feature-rich 65-inch Mini LED TV would have looked like a bargain. The past couple of years have seen premium TV prices plummet so fast, though, that the 65U8QTUK actually looks quite expensive.

TCL’s latest flagship 65-inch TV, the 65C8K, for instance, is currently available for just £1199 / AU$1750, and two excellent OLED options, Panasonic’s Z90B and Philips’ OLED760 (review coming soon), are also available for similar or less than the Hisense.

As we’re about to discover, though, the U8Q really does boast some seriously impressive specifications – and crucially gets more effective all-round use out of those specs than any ‘mainstream’ Hisense TV we’ve seen before.

One note on model numbers before we proceed, though: while there is a U8Q model available in the US (it’s often called the ‘U8QG’), we understand that this is fundamentally different to the UK U8Q we’re reviewing. We’re told that the Australian version is, however, the same as ours.

Design

Setting the Hisense U8Q up proves quite the workout. While the bezel around its screen is fairly on-trend slim, it’s pretty chunky around the back by modern standards.

This isn’t ‘empty’ depth, either; this is a seriously heavy beast even before you attach its robust metal footplate-style desktop support.

The set’s weight hints at some premium innards as well as uncompromising build quality – a hint backed up by the appearance of metal-covered speaker outlets in the TV’s extended side panels.

As well as being compact enough to let you place the 65-inch U8Q on even quite slender pieces of furniture, the desktop ‘foot’ lets you adjust the TV’s height, potentially opening up enough of a gap to install a soundbar.

We wouldn’t necessarily call the U8Q beautiful in the typical shallow sense of the word, but if your tastes lean towards products that look like they’re literally bulging at the seams with cutting-edge tech goodness, then this Hisense is bang on the money.

The U8Q continues this design theme into its remote control. This is unusually big by modern handset standards, but it wears its size well thanks to a gentle brushed metallic black finish offset at its heart by a gleaming silver circle of menu navigation buttons.

It also scores over most rival TV handsets by featuring a large solar panel at the bottom of its front edge.

Features

The U8Q kicks things off here in spectacular fashion by featuring a VA-type LCD panel illuminated by Mini LEDs capable of pumping out, it’s claimed, up to 5000 nits of brightness.

To make sure all this light goes more or less where it’s supposed to, Hisense has fitted the TV with 2048 separate local dimming zones; a huge number that potentially immediately goes a long way towards explaining the large price gap between the U8Q and TCL’s 1688-zone C8K.

What a TV does with its dimming zones can actually be more important than the number of them it has, but having as many zones as the U8Q has to at least class as a promising foundation.

We should add, though, that some screen sizes in the U8Q range apparently use IPS panel types rather than VA ones, so we can’t say for sure that our experiences with the 65-inch model will apply to other screen sizes in the range. An IPS panel will usually, for instance, deliver less impressive contrast than a VA one.

Control of all the U8Q’s local dimming zones is delivered by a new Hi-View AI Engine Pro processor that Hisense claims sports a 1.6x faster CPU, 2.2x faster GPU and 1.5x faster NPU than the processor used on last year’s equivalent U8N TVs.

As you might expect with so much power at its disposal, the Hi-View processor extends to the TV’s audio, content recognition and power-saving features, as well as across all aspects of picture performance.

The U8Q’s colours are delivered using Quantum Dot technology to support both finer tonal definition and a wider range of tones capable of retaining saturations at the sort of extremely high brightness levels the TV can support, while gamers will be pleased to hear that refresh rates are supported up to 165Hz using Hisense’s Game Mode Ultra technology.

The set also supports VRR right up to that 165Hz maximum figure, including in the AMD FreeSync Premium Pro format. And, in its Game mode, the TV takes a respectably speedy 13.7ms to render incoming 60Hz graphics. This drops to just under 7ms with 4K/120Hz feeds, too.

You can also call up a dedicated gaming menu when a game source is detected, from which you can select such gaming aids as genre-themed image presets, different aspect ratios, a virtual Aim Point, and the option to enlarge a game’s mini-map.

As we now expect of almost any TV, too, the U8Q’s HDMI ports support ALLM switching, so that the TV will automatically switch into its low-latency Game preset when a game source is detected.

The U8Q scores further gaming points over many of its premium rivals by having all of its HDMIs (rather than just a couple) support the full range of gaming features enabled by the HDMI 2.1 specification. Less great, though, is the fact that there are only three HDMIs, when pretty much every other premium TV these days has four.

Hisense has an interesting excuse/reason for only providing three HDMI ports: it also has a Display Port (cunningly disguised as a USB-C port) tucked into the TV’s side.

While DP connections are fairly common in the PC/monitor world, they’re extremely rare on TVs. We can't help but reflect that we’d personally have preferred Hisense to have stuck with four HDMIs on the U8Q.

Other connections of note include a couple of USB ports (one 2.0, one 3.0), an optical digital audio output and a physical headphone output. Plus, the now inevitable wi-fi and Bluetooth wireless options.

The U8Q is capable of playing back all the HDR formats found in the mainstream picture content world, including both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ premium HDR variations, with their extra scene-by-scene picture information.

An AI-backed ambient light sensor unlocks the IQ and Adaptive versions of Dolby Vision and HDR10+ too, meaning that they adapt their output to suit your room conditions so that you always get a consistent HDR experience.

The U8Q further underlines its premium position by achieving IMAX Enhanced accreditation. In other words, IMAX considers it capable of unlocking the full benefits of the IMAX Enhanced mastering system available on some Disney+ content and a few 4K Blu-rays.

Plus, there’s a Filmmaker Mode designed to present pictures based on the industry-adopted video standards used in most professional mastering studios.

In the UK and Australia, the U8Q’s smart features are provided by Hisense’s own VIDAA system (whereas the closest US equivalent, the U8QG, gets Google TV).

VIDAA still looks a touch basic compared with some rival platforms, but it’s actually really easy to use, including via voice control, and these days carries all of the key streaming apps most people will need. This includes Freely, which lets you livestream the majority of channels on the Freeview broadcast platform, rather than having to rely on an aerial.

Hisense hasn’t focused its premium thinking exclusively on the U8Q’s picture quality. It also features a sound system that delivers a claimed 70W of total audio power across a 4.1.2-channel suite of drivers. This includes speakers built into the TV’s sides, two up-firing drivers, and a promisingly large dedicated subwoofer built into its rear.

If you add a Hisense soundbar, meanwhile, you can also unlock the brand’s Hi-Concerto system, where the speakers in the TV and those in the soundbar work in tandem.

Picture

The U8Q shows a substantial improvement in multiple key picture areas over its predecessors, resulting in some genuine 'wow' moments. It isn’t quite consistent enough, though, to obliterate all of its competition.

The good news hits you first, though.

For starters, you’re instantly aware of how dazzlingly bright this screen is. It hits brightness peaks with small HDR highlights that are up there with the most intense we’ve ever seen. And, amazingly, it manages to retain the intensity of those peaks almost unchecked, even if they appear against a very dark backdrop, without that dark backdrop typically becoming greyed over or blighted by obvious backlight blooms or halos.

This gives us an immediate sight of just how advanced the U8Q’s backlight controls are. The extra dimming zones Hisense has introduced for its U8 series this year, together with what seem to be major improvements in the processing Hisense is using to drive those dimming zones, combine to deliver outstanding contrast and dynamism.

Surprisingly, the brightness isn’t as extreme in the U8Q’s Standard picture mode as it is on TCL’s C8K rival. But Hisense’s set pushes for deeper, richer black levels – especially with images that contain a particularly stark mix of very bright and very dark areas.

In fact, it produces a depth and neutrality with its black tones that suddenly makes us aware of a degree of greyness in the C8K’s darkest moments that we’d not felt aware of before.

All, to repeat this point, without causing the sort of backlight distractions or histrionics that might usually accompany such light extremes – including not having to dim down small bright highlights to suppress blooming.

The U8Q’s Standard mode colours sometimes extend beyond the saturation levels of the C8K too, joining with the rich contrast in producing images of rare intensity and vividness.

Even the heaviest saturations still contain plenty of subtle shading, though, helping images look three-dimensional, sharp and textured at all times.

The sharpness holds up really well when there’s motion in the frame, too, even with 24p film sources, thanks to excellent suppression of both smearing and judder without needing to introduce a level of motion processing that might induce excessive smoothing (AKA the soap opera effect).

While the U8Q can look class-leadingly good in Standard mode with very dark scenes, though, at least at first glance, if you look hard or long enough, a few issues start to present themselves.

First, dark scenes can lose subtle shading details in their darkest corners, leaving them looking empty and hollow – like dark holes in the picture rather than fully integrated parts of it.

The U8Q’s push for extreme contrast in Standard mode can also cause a little silhouetting with HDR sources, where objects against bright backdrops look so dark by comparison that they become mere shadows.

You can improve these problems via a handy Dark Detail feature, but it isn’t a perfect fix, especially as it doesn’t really do anything to stop colours from desaturating when they don’t have much brightness to feed off.

The Standard mode also very occasionally sees low-lit objects suddenly and distractingly take on slightly more light mid-shot as the local dimming system belatedly realises there’s an object there and decides to pump a bit more brightness into it.

The U8Q’s colours in Standard mode are slightly inconsistent, too. In one part of a particular shot or during a particular scene, colours might look excellent – even richer and more satisfying, in fact, than those of TCL’s 65C8K. But in another scene or even another part of the same shot, colours can look a bit off-key. This is especially true with skin tones, which can appear a little green around the gills and plasticky.

The Dynamic Tone Mapping Hisense applies to its Standard mode to try and optimise HDR to the panel’s capabilities can be a little over-enthusiastic, too. So while we generally applaud the light and dark extremes the screen goes for, occasionally a bright highlight will clip (lose subtle detail) quite noticeably, or you’ll see a sudden jump or drop in the image’s overall brightness in the middle of a shot containing what should be only subtle brightness variations. If you turn the Dynamic Tone Mapping off, though, the image feels a bit too flat for a Standard mode.

The U8Q’s Filmmaker Mode also feels a bit off, unfortunately. The adjustments this mode makes to the TV’s settings in pursuit of more accurate pictures find those fantastically inky and rich black tones on show in the Standard mode taking a pretty substantial hit, leaving dark scenes suddenly looking noticeably grey.

The Filmmaker Mode images are much dimmer than those of the Standard mode, too – more so, it seems to us, than they really needed to be.

Filmmaker Mode colours look a bit strange at times, as an apparent attempt to make the general colour tone warmer actually introduces an unwanted reddish pink tone to proceedings, and the greyness now apparent with some dark scenes causes relatively faint tones to look a little flat and blue.

It’s a tribute to how much the U8Q gets right, though, that despite its inconsistencies, it still classes as a strong picture performer overall – at least in its Standard mode.

Sound

The U8Q’s sound system makes a strong first impression.

It can get loud enough to keep the TV’s big and impactful Standard mode pictures suitably cinematic company, while having enough power in reserve to also propel sound effects far enough away from the TV to create a large and immersive soundstage that doesn’t sound forced or ‘gappy’.

In fact, most effects are placed quite crisply and accurately around the soundstage.

The U8Q rounds its sound out with a solid amount of bass courtesy of that large subwoofer on its rear, which joins some respectable headroom at the treble end of the spectrum in allowing Hisense’s TV to handle dense soundtrack moments with real force and power, as well as building up to suitably raucous crescendos with big action or horror scenes. The TCL C8K sounds rather lightweight and polite by comparison.

There is, though, a lack of discipline to the U8Q’s sound. That heavy bass can sometimes go too far with sustained bass sounds, succumbing to distortion, buzzing and dropouts when the going gets really tough, as well as sounding a bit coarse compared with other elements of the soundstage.

The bass is also a bit lethargic, meaning it struggles to respond to deep percussive beats with any real rhythm or clarity.

Some ambient effects, such as wind in the trees or people breathing heavily, can sound a little too prominent in the mix. And, finally in the negative column, while dialogue sounds clean and clear, it can tend to appear a bit stuck in the middle of the screen.

While the U8Q will of course be easily beaten for audio by a soundbar, it’s still a pretty strong sound performer by TV standards. Just one that could do with knowing its own limitations a bit better.

Verdict

There are times with the Hisense U8Q where we feel we are watching easily one of the best TVs of the year.

In its Standard mode with punchy HDR content, its combination of brightness, contrast and extreme backlight control feels truly cutting edge and is glorious to behold.

It’s just a bit too inconsistent and expensive, though, to secure that elusive fifth star.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the TCL C8K

Also consider the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini LED

Read our Samsung S90F review

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and budget LED sets tried and tested

We've just announced the latest batch of What Hi-Fi? Award-winners, and out of the four years I've helped to review and judge the finest AV products the industry has to offer, I think that 2025 has been hands-down the most exciting to date for TVs – and it's possibly not for the reason you think.

While there have been specific models that rightfully earned their five-stars this year, I'm looking at the TV market as a whole, as this year has seen the most definitive divide between the entry-level, mid-tier, and flagship categories.

Why do I think that? Well, this is the first year that we've bestowed a flagship OLED TV with a What Hi-Fi? Award, with the Sony Bravia 8 II taking home the title of "Best premium 55-77in TV".

And it was a tough call, as LG, Panasonic and Samsung all had worthy adversaries. You can read a previous entry of Adventures in AV here to find out more about how hard that judging process was.

Previously, we've refrained from giving the flagship models these accolades, as the mid-range OLEDs (think the LG C-series or Sony's Bravia 8) have traditionally provided very similar picture quality at a considerably lower price.

That changed this year, as the latest crop of flagships has truly wowed us, with impressive next-generation OLED displays that are a true step above their WOLED counterparts.

We're at the point now that we think people really should consider stepping up to the flagships if their budget allows, as the price-to-performance ratio now makes a lot more sense at this level.

That's not to say that the mid-range categories haven't impressed, though. The LG C5 is a sensational TV for the money, offering a crisp, contrast-rich picture and excellent gaming features, all at a price that's significantly lower than the premium Sony, or its G5 counterpart.

And I can't talk about the mid-range category without celebrating TCL's triumphant year. The C7K has truly wowed us, as it has fended off competition from the likes of Samsung and Hisense in order to claim the "Best budget 55-77in TV" Award.

TCL scoops up a second award with its C6KS, which is our "Best budget 48-50in TV", which is both a great TV in its own right, and a more definitive step down compared to the C7K.

Panasonic's 48-inch Z90B, on the other hand, is a fantastic alternative for those who want top-notch picture quality, impressive sound and a full-featured smart system in a TV that can suit smaller living rooms.

The best part about this list is, as I've said before, how defined each level is. There are no blurred lines between the OLEDs, as the flagships and mid-range models can shine in their own right, while the TCLs are positioned for those who want great picture quality without spending OLED money.

Selfishly, it makes recommending TVs a whole lot easier for me. I'm often quizzed by readers, friends and family about what they should buy, and with our latest Awards list offering a clear-cut best option for each price category and use case.

This is all thanks to these TVs being better than ever before. TCL had a slightly rocky 2024 thanks to the underwhelming C855K not living up to its Award-winning predecessor, and while we felt that the likes of the LG G4 and Samsung S95D were good TVs, they perhaps weren't enough of a step up over the likes of the Bravia 8 to take the crown.

With improvements across the board this year, it only feels right to celebrate all of these TVs at their respective levels, though my hopes and expectations for 2026 are now sky high.

MORE:

Check out all of the latest What Hi-Fi? Award winners

Read our full Sony Bravia 8 II OLED TV review

And find the best TVs here