For many, the prospect of opening your TV's picture settings menu is terrifying.

After all, featuring a long list of options, all of which have jargon-heavy labels and technical descriptions, it can be daunting, and it's easy to make things worse if you don't know what you're doing.

But that's where picture presets come into play.

While I urge new TV owners to avoid the dreaded "Vivid Mode" like the plague, these presets can usually get you most of the way to a top-notch picture experience, and traditionally our favourite has been Filmmaker Mode.

As the name suggests, this mode is intended to capture the creator's intent, meaning it turns off a lot of the processing that your TV adds on top, such as motion handling, contrast and colour enhancement, and sharpening.

For picture purists, such as ourselves, those settings are often worth avoiding anyway, and we've seen many prominent Hollywood figures such as Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, The Wolf of Wall Street), Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Dune), and Ross Duffer (creator of Stranger Things) advocate for the picture mode.

You may be surprised to hear that the technical specifications for what counts as a true Filmmaker Modearen't set by the companies making TVs and projectors. Instead, it's an independently managed certification.

As stated by the UHD Alliance, which oversees Filmmaker Mode, to achieve certification, you must meet these exact standards listed on the Filmmaker Mode website:

• Maintain source content frame rate & aspect ratio
• White Point: D65
• Motion Smoothing/Interpolation: OFF
• Overscan: Only if signaled with the image
• Sharpening: OFF
• TV Noise Reduction: OFF
• Other image “enhancement” processing: OFF

This means that when we're faced with a new TV, our first port of call is changing it into Filmmaker Mode (or its equivalent mode, more on that later), as it levels the playing field by dialling those settings right in. Even if Filmmaker Mode doesn't achieve a completely perfect picture, it gets us most of the way there, leaving us to tweak small things like motion or brightness.

Switching off all of the unneeded processing in one click of a button is very handy, and seeing a TV go from its out-of-the-box Standard (which is usually garish and over-smoothed) or Eco (often dull and dim) setting to something I'd actually want to watch is always a relief.

That being said, Filmmaker Mode isn't a fix-all solution, and I've noticed a shift in the last couple of years. Specifically, some manufacturers seem to be stepping away from it to prioritise their own picture processing modes.

Sony is a prime example of this; it's never had Filmmaker Mode on its TVs, instead opting to prioritise its own set of internal standards for matching picture performance to the creator's intent. As such, it includes a Professional Mode on its TVs instead.

More recently, and this is what sent me down this rabbit hole, is Philips opting to leave Filmmaker Mode off its 2026 TVs. I've just finished testing the OLED911 – stay posted for the review – and it swaps out Filmmaker Mode for a new Reference picture preset.

Philips assures me that the goal here is the same, although I did have to toggle a few settings to get the picture exactly where I liked it.

Its justification was that users were reportedly confused by the naming of Filmmaker Mode, thinking that it was a setting used if you were creating movies. I'm not sure how much I buy that, especially in a world where we can quickly whip out our phones to Google something like that, but it's an interesting change nonetheless.

That said, these companies each have their own approach to "authenticity", and it's not one that we can always verify. Settings are applied even though it's "reference" or "professional" mode; take the Philips OLED911, which applies an HDR upscaling system to SDR content. While it can look good, we certainly felt that it wasn't very authentic for a reference mode.

Filmmaker Mode is also having to face the reality of TV picture processing becoming not only quite good, but also integral to how these TVs work.

Samsung, Sony, LG, Philips, TCL and all the rest still have picture processing happening in the background even if you opt to switch everything off in the settings menu. Modern TVs need picture processing to function, and as such, these manufacturers have gotten quite good at implementing it.

Sony especially excels here with its XR Processor, which handles a huge array of picture processing elements at all times, including identifying the focal point of the image and applying depth mapping to create a superbly three-dimensional image, even with all of the relevant settings disabled in Professional mode.

I've also found that TV manufacturers are stepping up their game when it comes to the picture modes that they implement themselves. Samsung's Movie Mode, for example, is excellent on the OLED TVs we've tested recently, as it enriches the picture with more brightness and impact (provided you turn the motion processing way down), and Sony's Cinema Mode is a similar story.

That said, LG and Panasonic TVs seem to respond best to Filmmaker Mode; our cheat sheet with any LG OLED is to put it into Filmmaker Mode and change the motion setting to True Cinema for the best picture experience.

Ultimately, I hope that Filmmaker Mode is here to stay, as it's a seriously valuable tool for those intimidated by TV settings menus, and I hope to see it keep evolving with the times. Having an easily accessible and consistent launch point for all TVs with standardised settings makes things easier for everyone.

Getting the best out of your TV shouldn't be an uphill battle, and Filmmaker Mode is one of the best ways to level out and simplify that process. I'm a huge advocate for having transparent and consistent guidelines.

While Filmmaker Mode has changed and evolved to adapt to things like Dolby Vision and ambient light sensors, I hope that it continues to be featured on TVs and projectors for a long time to come.

MORE:

Read our full Samsung S99H review

Here are our picks for the best TVs

As well as the best OLED TVs

For those familiar with our duo of Award-winning amplifiers, this year's What Hi-Fi? Awards will likely provide you with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

Yes, Sony's TA-AN1000 and the Marantz Cinema 30 remain the top two choices, as the 'Best home cinema amplifier under £1500' and 'Best home cinema amplifier over £1500', respectively; and while we would have loved to have replaced either, or both, of these amplifiers this year, the fact of the matter is that no competitors could beat these models.

Overall, it's been a fairly quiet year for AVRs in our testing room. Denon's AVR-X2900H (we'll touch on that later) was the only 2026 model we tested, and we finally got around to also testing the exceptional AVC-A1H, too,

Yamaha's new budget AVRs and Arcam's new Radia range haven't made it to our testing room yet, but we hope to rectify this soon. We're hoping that they could pose a threat to these unshakeable Award winners, but until then, let's take another look at our pair of reigning champions.

Sony strikes again...

The Sony earns a spot on our Awards list for the fourth consecutive year, which is both a good and bad thing. Ultimately, the Sony's sonic presentation is still hugely impressive for the money, but Sony's approach to AVRs is starting to feel a bit "bare minimum" for our liking.

This home cinema amplifier has been Sony's one and only option here in the UK since it launched in 2023, and there has since been no sign of a successor, or even any more models in the range. That said, there has also been very little in the way of competition up until this year, although Denon sought to change that with the launch of the AVR-X2900H.

While that amplifier tried with all its might to knock the Sony off the podium, we found that it ultimately leaned too hard into deep bass and a big, rich sound, while sacrificing agility and bass definition in the process.

We must commend Denon on its valiant effort; however, the Sony TA-AN1000's exceptional handling of dynamics, energetic and agile sound, and impactful, tuneful bass keep it on this list.

Now, looking forward to 2027, any chance of a new Sony AVR? We'll be waiting...

Marantz brings the class...

Moving on to the Marantz Cinema 30, this flagship AVR is enjoying its third year on our Awards list. It's held a permanent place on the rack in our home cinema testing room since we first unboxed it in 2024, and we certainly don't mind.

This AVR looks as good as it sounds: the textured finish, subtle accent lighting, and iconic Marantz porthole display hint at the luxurious and rich audio experience it goes on to provide. The Cinema 30 is bold, broad, exceptionally detailed and superbly immersive, taking any movie or song we throw at it in its stride.

While Marantz launched a few "Series 2" upgraded AV amplifiers earlier this year, the Cinema 30 wasn't included in that upgrade cycle – although we hope that Marantz is hard at work on a levelled-up model. As for now, this classy, grown-up amplifier remains the best premium option.

Now, it's a two-horse race for the Product of the Year position, which will be revealed on the 12th November at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2026 ceremony. Are you siding on team Sony, or is your money on the Marantz? All will be revealed in just over a week, so stay tuned...

MORE:

Find all of our 2026 What Hi-Fi? Award winners here

Check out our picks for the best AV receivers

As well as the best surround sound systems

The LG B6 is an entry-level OLED TV with big aspirations, being the first (we believe) set to sport a spiffy new OLED SE panel – a key bit of hardware that promises to improve performance while also bringing OLED costs down.

That makes it a very interesting set, despite its bottom-of-the-range status, as, if it delivers on LG’s performance promises, it could be the most accessible OLED we’ve ever reviewed and a step closer to our ultimate wish – a truly affordable OLED TV.

While its price is still slightly above what we’d call truly affordable, after putting it through its paces in our test rooms including against its arch-rival, we can confirm it’s a step in the right direction. But there’s still work to be done.

Price

LG’s B-series is the most affordable option in its current OLED portfolio in most regions, but it’s never been truly “cheap” – which we describe as being below £500 / $500.

That continues on the latest B6 line. The smallest, 48-inch option launched with a £1300 RRP in the UK (LG decided not to launch this size in the US). The largest 83-inch B6 model went for an even more wallet-busting £3600 / $4500.

The 65-inch LG B6 model we have in our review rooms cost £2400 / $2400 / AU$3300 when it first launched – £100 more than its main Samsung rival, the S85H.

But since then, the B6 line has had its price slashed at most UK and US retailers (Australian discounts are much less widespread), and at the time of writing, you can grab the 65-inch model for £1399 / $1300.

While there are regular fluctuations in the prices of both models, Samsung’s S85H is generally available for roughly the same price as the B6.

As you would hope, in the UK at least, the B6 is available for a good deal less than the ever-popular C6, which is currently around £1699. In the US, though, the price difference is just $100 right now, and in Australia the two TVs are inexplicably identically priced, which rather complicates the value argument.

Design

No one expects much from an entry-level TV when it comes to aesthetics, even an OLED – especially one from LG, which hasn’t really tweaked any of its B-, C- or G-series TV designs for a while. That remains the case for the B6, which is a fairly chunky unit, featuring a textured, fake marble-like plastic back, and attachable screw-in feet that are also, you guessed it, made of slightly cheap-feeling plastic.

Thankfully, despite feeling cheap, the build quality is solid, and the feet manage to hold the TV up without any wobble (as happens on many rival cheap TVs), leaving us fairly certain it will withstand the odd bump, or cat/toddler attack, without toppling.

But we do have a couple of issues with its design. First, its feet only have a single, wide set-up option. This means if you have a smaller cabinet or rack, it won’t fit. You’ll need one that’s at least 60 inches wide, based on our measurements. This isn’t unheard of on affordable TVs, but it’s annoying when its main rival, the S85H, does offer a central placement option for its feet.

Second, like the LG G6 and LG C6, the remote remains unchanged. You’ll be forced to use the same ageing, shiny plastic remote LG has paired its OLEDs with for nearly half a decade. Are the motion controls useful? Sometimes. But in today’s world, we’d like to see USB-C charging and backlighting added sooner rather than later. Both are fairly standard, especially on rival TCL and Hisense Mini LED sets, and even Samsung’s S85H at least has USB-C charging.

Features

You don’t normally expect to be writing “first” when reviewing an entry-level TV, but we’re 99 per cent certain it's an accurate description for one key element of the B6: its panel tech.

While LG Electronics never reveals the specific panel it uses on its TVs, all evidence suggests the B6 is one of the first-ever TVs to feature LG Display’s new OLED SE panels, as unveiled at the start of the year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

This is a variant of the base WOLED seen in most entry-level and even step-down OLED sets. Unlike the premium Primary RGB Tandem OLED and QD-OLED tech you see on flagship sets, OLED SE is bespoke-designed for cheaper sets, and hopes to gradually bring entry-level OLED costs down, making the tech more accessible.

But the part we found most interesting when we attended its launch is that LG Display claims it will simultaneously improve the performance of cheaper sets in a few key metrics, including peak brightness.

The B6 has a quoted 1000 nits peak brightness. While peak brightness isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to picture quality, that’s still pretty amazing considering even five years ago a flagship OLED would probably struggle to go over 700 nits.

Outside of that, the B6 offers two main upgrades over the outgoing LG B5. The first is its use of LG’s Alpha 8 Gen 3 CPU. This still places it below LG’s G6 and C6, which feature the more powerful Alpha 11 Gen 3, but it is a step up from the Alpha 8 Gen 2 sported by the B5. Key claimed improvements include more refined picture upscaling, more intelligent and accurate dynamic tone mapping and superior SDR-to-HDR conversion.

The second is Dolby FlexConnect. This is a new audio technology that aims to let TV owners create Dolby Atmos wireless surround sound packages using a mix of compatible speakers. It even lets you use the TV’s built-in speakers as the central channel. While the first system we reviewed with the tech, the LG Sound Suite, didn’t blow us away with its audio quality, its clever room calibration powers did impress us enough to view support for the tech as a bonus.

Outside of that, the TV offers the stellar library of features we’ve come to expect from LG OLEDs.

For gamers, the TV has four full-speed HDMI 2.1 inputs and support for 4K/120Hz, ALLM and VRR. So console gamers are sorted, and truthfully, even if you have a PC, it would have to be an incredibly powerful one to run triple-A titles at frame rates above 120Hz.

As a final perk, Dolby Vision Gaming HDR and Bluetooth low-latency controller support are both on board. The latter is a nice touch if you want to connect a third-party Bluetooth controller to the set and play via the cloud on GeForce Now or Xbox Game Pass.

HDR support is strong, with the B6 playing nice with the big three: Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG. That gives it a slight edge on its Samsung rival, which, like all the firm’s TVs, doesn’t support Dolby Vision. Samsung instead continues to push its homebrewed, open-source HDR10+ tech as the superior option.

WebOS 26 then ensures robust app support with all the major services, including Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ present and running correctly. Local catch-up support is also solid, with BBC iPlayer, Now and more all available in the UK.

Pretty impressive specifications for an “entry-level” OLED.

Picture quality

While the B6 doesn’t make the best first impression, that’s primarily down to the less-than-ideal default picture settings.

Playing our 4K Blu-ray copy of F1: The Movie, while running in its Standard mode, the set initially falls victim to some familiar pitfalls we experience with cheap TVs.

Movements feel floaty, with the cars appearing to be sliding, rather than driving, across the track. The contrast isn’t quite right, either, with the picture raising the brightest parts a tad too much, adding a cel-shaded, artificial feel to the picture.

Thankfully, as happens on nearly all of the modern LG OLEDs we’ve tested, things rapidly improve after switching to Filmmaker Mode.

Once done, the overbrightening disappears, and the image takes on a pleasingly punchy, but not overbaked feel.

There are only two minor quibbles. First, that motion still appears a tad smeary, compared to the C6 and Samsung S85H, even with all processing off – though not to the point that it's a deal breaker.

Second, that characters’ skin tones, in particular, feel a smidgeon green, an issue we sadly can’t easily fix, as the B6 doesn’t have colour profiles, instead relying on a slider control that only adjusts its temperature – and not with a great deal of finesse, making it better to leave it in its neutral setting.

Those points aside, the brightest part of the picture shines with a sparkle we didn’t expect from an entry-level OLED, with the fireworks shooting over the track holding a pleasing and distinct three-dimensional positioning in the night sky.

Our peak brightness stress test, Pan, is atypically mastered to 4000 nits. While the LG C6 is punchier than the B6 and retains a wider range of colours in the setting sun, the cheaper model delivers a performance that, even a few years ago, would have been considered unfathomably bright for a mid-range, let alone entry-level, model.

In isolation, the picture is pleasingly immersive.

But as we swap to our Sinners 4K Blu-ray, the green issue is exacerbated, to the point of being distracting. In the dim speakeasy, characters' faces appear jaundiced, and the intended red light effect is lost, replaced with a mellow yellow vibe. This gives the images a slightly smudgy, flatter feel than the S85H, which is a shame as it otherwise handles colours with more care, and more subtlety, than its affordable Samsung rival.

But, more pressingly, blacks are not uniformly perfect, as they should be on an OLED. Parts of the picture are raised, giving them a grey, almost backlit look. Sadly, reducing the Near Black Detail from 0 to -1 doesn’t fix the problem; some blacks still look raised, there’s just less detail in them.

Pressing the point with the opening scene of Alien: Romulus, there is evident flickering during the opening credits that are meant to be fully black as the logos emerge, then recede. Then, while parts of the picture are deep and a cut above that which you’ll experience even on the best Mini LED, including the five-star TCL C8L we are testing it against, they still aren’t perfect. Some parts of the black void of space still look slightly grey, compared with what we experience on the S85H and C6.

It’s a conundrum, one that means, while the picture is very good for the money, it ultimately doesn't match what we’d expect when investing in an OLED – whose primary selling point is its pixel-level light control and ability to deliver perfect blacks.

Switching to our SDR copy of True Grit, the set does a decent job with the grainy, spaghetti western feel of the movie. Though the picture is slightly flatter than the C6 next to it, the falling snow over the black background retains a pleasingly realistic feel, never falling victim to noise.

Throughout the movie, although the B6 does occasionally feel fizzy, struggling with the intentionally grain, it never becomes unwatchable or overtly distracting – as it can on many of the sets we test.

Our only minor issue is that, as is the case on the S85H, the picture feels a bit soft compared with the step-up C6 model, though this is more than forgivable given the difference in price.

Sound quality

The B6 comes with a basic 2.0 channel, 20W downward-firing speaker system that relies on clever AI processing to deliver a virtual Dolby Atmos experience.

Like nearly all modern LG OLEDs, it also has a very select number of audio modes. The two big ones are its Standard and AI Sound Pro options.

Starting with the out-of-the-box Standard mode playing F1: The Movie, the sound is generally fine, but slightly too congested for our liking. The rumbling engines, race commentary and character dialogue all feel flat, and too tied to the centre of the TV.

Switching to AI Sound Pro, the soundstage opens up, but there’s a lack of finesse. Engine noise doesn’t match the cars’ on-screen movements, and voices take on a hard, artificial edge.

The issue is exacerbated with Sinners, where during the complex medley scene, the ‘voice of God’ narrator comes in too heavy-handed, drowning out the intermingling music tracks as it rises. Then, as the psychedelic guitar swells in volume, distortion creeps in.

Switching to the Standard mode, the audio sprints back to the centre, creating a muddy wall of sound. Ideally, we’d like something in the middle between the two options.

Moving to our Blade Runner 2049 chapter two, low-end stress test, the B6 fails to deliver the booming, menacing synth with enough force to do it justice, but is conservative enough not to veer into distortion – as many TV speakers do.

Dialogue lacks direction, but the speakers are good enough to hear characters' voices, and, to our surprise, the higher frequencies don’t sound too hard-edged or veer into sibilance during the subsequent interview scene – so long as we stick to Standard mode.

So, like all recent LG TVs, the speakers are fine for casual TV viewing, but you will want to invest in a separate soundbar system for serious movie watching.

Verdict

The LG B6 is a good entry-level OLED in most ways. Its gaming features, HDR support and app offering are excellent. And its picture in isolation is solid, especially if you are yet to make the jump to OLED, or on a very early model with the panel tech.

But there is definite room for improvement. Audio, like most recent LG OLEDs, is middling, even by TV speaker standards. But more pressing are the issues we’ve encountered with its black level and handling of dark scenes. Yes, blacks are still better and more immersive than anything you’ll find on a Mini LED at this level, but they’re not perfect. And the TV’s tendency to push greens too hard can become distracting during certain scenes.

This means that, for those who can afford the extra outlay, the step-up LG C6 is a better option. Those who can’t also have other options, including the equivalently priced Samsung S85H OLED, or, if you’re not wedded to OLED, TCL C8L.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 3
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Samsung S85H

Also consider the LG C6

Read our Samsung S90F review

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

After over a year of waiting, British hi-fi brand KEF has announced you can transform compatible speakers into rear surrounds when paired with the Award-winning KEF XIO soundbar.

That is thanks to an update to the KEF KW2 RX receiver, which the brand says is “designed to expand your audio set-up without the need for long speaker wires spanning the room”.

The KW2 RX links the primary speaker to the XIO to deliver a “truly immersive yet minimal surround sound set-up”.

You can hook up speakers such as the LSX II, LSX II LT, and Coda W to use as dedicated surrounds. The last of those is particularly enticing, as we just gave the standmount speakers a What Hi-Fi? Award for its dynamic and controlled sound.

KEF says that it will be expanding this feature to even more speakers with a future firmware update, including the LS50 Wireless II in December this year, and the LS Luxe and LS60 Wireless in 2027.

You can connect a range of subwoofers to the XIO for “optical bass placement”, including the KC62, KC92 and KUBE models, but this has been possible since the soundbar released.

Set-up is done via the KEF Connect app, letting you pair the compatible speakers and configure them as dedicated rear channels.

When we had the KEF XIO in our test room, we were hugely impressed by its tuneful, engaging and detailed sound performance. In fact, we called the Dolby Atmos soundbar “one of the best soundbars we have heard” in our review. Hopefully the addition of rear speakers will make for an even more immersive experience, although we will have to wait until we have listened in our test room to confirm.

The KW2 RX will set you back £149, on top of the XIO's rather steep cost of £1999. That's not including the cost of the compatible speakers and subwoofers, either.

It’s exciting to see KEF add support for rear speakers with the KW2 RX receiver, but we are still waiting with some trepidation for the bespoke wireless satellite speakers promised at the XIO’s launch.

We have contacted KEF about whether these are still on the cards, and will keep you updated.

MORE:

Read the full KEF XIO review

Check out the best bookshelf speakers

And these are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

Back when I first reviewed the Sony Bravia Theatre Trio, I discovered an excellent alternative to a typical soundbar, with the separate right, left and centre speakers working together to produce a very satisfyingly cinematic sound by lifestyle system standards.

Impressive as it is on its own, though, the Trio can also be the foundation for an even more immersive Dolby Atmos system, and Sony also furnished us with a pair of Rear 9 surround speakers and a Sub 8 for that initial test.

With all elements working together, the delivery was elevated from an excellent soundbar alternative to a complete, room-filling home cinema. As I wrote in my review:

“Testing with the Rear 9 surrounds and Sub 8 dramatically increases immersion, creating a seamless bubble of sound that extends around the entire listening position. Atmos effects become even more precisely placed, and the busy cityscape of Blade Runner 2049 becomes extraordinarily convincing.

“Just as importantly, the minor shortcomings of the standalone system largely disappear. The slight buzz from the centre speaker vanishes once deep bass duties are handed over to the subwoofer, while the occasional over-emphasis of echo through Movie Theatre Acoustics is also cured.”

But I still felt the system could be even better.

Partly, that was down to a very light buzz from the Sub 8 during the bassiest soundtrack moments (yes, I'm mostly referring to Blade Runner 2049). Primarily, though, it was because I'd previously heard the Trio accompanied by two of Sony's Sub 9 subwoofers during a visit to the company's Tokyo HQ, and that had really knocked my socks off.

So, ahead of our Awards testing process, I asked Sony to send the Trio back in, this time with the Rear 9 surrounds and a Sub 9, and at the risk of tooting my own horn, I was absolutely right.

The Sub 9 is huge. That’s not helpful if your intention is discretion, but it’s often a good sign in a subwoofer. And the Sub 9 looks pretty awesome, too. A monolithic almost-cube, it’s got an imposing, sci-fi-style appearance. It’s like having a Borg ship in your living room.

There’s a reason for the cube shape: the Sub 9 is a little like two rectangular Sub 8s that have been fused, but the two drivers are set up in a dual-opposing arrangement for reduced distortion. Power is doubled, too, from a claimed 300W to a claimed 600W.

Ultimately, not only is the Sub 9 vastly more powerful than the Sub 8, it’s even cleaner and more composed, too, and the boost it gives to the Trio system is significant.

Punchy yet refined, brutal yet tuneful, it delivers all of the weight and bombast that the committed bass-head demands, but with a degree of subtlety and integration that's very rare.

In a weird way, you almost forget the subwoofer is there, because it goes about its work so seamlessly. Rather than drawing attention to itself, it simply feels like an integral part of the system – the final piece of the puzzle that makes an already excellent home cinema setup even better.

I realise that the Sub 9 is an expensive optional extra, and that the base system is excellent in its own right, but I strongly recommend that anyone considering the Trio also auditions it with the Sub 9 before making a decision. The difference is significant.

Buy everything together, and you should get a big discount (I've detailed the current UK deal below), and based on my testing (and a couple of weeks of using the system at home), the extra outlay is well worth it.

MORE:

Check out my Sony Bravia Theatre Trio review

And here's the Sony Bravia Theatre Trio + Rear 9 and Sub 9 review

These are all of the best surround sound systems you can buy right now

Sony launched its latest 4K Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, just over a year ago. It seemed like the brand was reviving the category, but that is looking more uncertain now.

On Sony’s US site, the UBP-X700/K is being listed as out of stock with no mention of whether any more is coming soon. They are still available at retailers such as Walmart, but the retailer lists stock as low.

That follows on from reports via Kunkoku, a Japanese blog dedicated to Sony products and a Sony retail partner, that Sony has "ended shipments of its Ultra HD Blu-ray player".

The Japanese Sony site also shows the player is out of stock. When we reported on this story back in October, Sony told us that "this information has not been publicly announced by Sony. We are aware of the recent media reports but prefer to refrain from commenting on speculation".

If you are in the UK, though, hope is not lost just yet. You can still buy the UBP-X700/K for £299 but, judging by the worrying developments in other regions, this could be one of your last chances to get the player.

You can still use Sony’s PlayStation 5 to play your 4K Blu-rays, but that’s not the most comforting of news, considering Sony announced future consoles will not support physical discs.

There are still a selection of brands offering 4K Blu-ray players. Panasonic's DP-UB820EB, for instance, holds the crown as the best 4K Blu-ray player in this year's What Hi-Fi? Awards. We have also seen the newcomer Krovatar stepping up to the plate with its own set of products.

Hopefully Sony will still be a contender in the market for years to come, but these recent developments have us worried.

MORE:

These are the best 4K Blu-ray players

Check out the best TVs

And here are our 2026 What Hi-Fi? Award winners

While many households around the world may be familiar with the Haier brand from its long-running range of kitchen and laundry appliances, 2026 marks the brand’s debut as a TV manufacturer.

Haier’s lack of experience, though, hasn’t stopped it from making an instant splash with a debut TV range that combines big screens with small prices to eye-catching effect.

The H75S80GUF is a perfect example of this straightforward but bold launch strategy, offering a 75-inch screen for the relatively paltry sum of £699.

If this set can actually add some decent picture and sound quality to its price appeal, Haier will really be off to a flyer.

Price

The 75-inch S80’s £700 price in the UK (it isn’t available in the US or Australia) is seriously low for any 75-inch TV, never mind one that offers such attractions as Quantum Dot colours and a smart system that includes both Fire TV and the UK-specific Freely service.

The S80 range also includes a 43-inch model for £280, a 50-inch model for £350, a 55-inch model for £430, and a 65-inch model for £500. Those are all aggressive prices, but the 65- and 75-inch sets look particularly great value.

Other notable budget sets around at the moment are the £299 50-inch Sharp 4T-C50HJ6725KB, with its Roku TV smarts, while the 75-inch version of the Award-winning TCL P8L will set you back £970.

Design

The Haier S80 looks pretty classy for such a cheap TV – provided you don’t get too close to it, anyway. Or look around the back.

The frame around the screen is remarkably slim by budget TV standards, and what there is of it features an appealing textured finish that hides the set’s actually rather flimsy and plasticky core build quality. You can’t ignore how light the H75S80GUF is for a 75-inch TV when you’re attaching its feet and moving it into position in your living room, though.

Those feet are almost as lightweight as the screen they support, too, and since they can only be attached out towards the 75-inch TV’s bottom corners, you’re going to need a pretty large bit of furniture to place the TV on. Unless you’re wall-mounting it, of course – at which point the screen’s lightweight build quality becomes welcome, while its rather chunky rear depth does not.

The S80 ships with a remote control that’s as plasticky as the TV. This handset actually proves quite easy to use, though, thanks to its large buttons and reasonably ergonomic layout and shape.

Features

The 4K-resolution panel the 75-inch Haier S80 is built on is a VA type, so limited in viewing angles versus the IPS alternative, but more likely to deliver dark scenes more effectively. The panel is illuminated by LEDs placed right behind the screen, too, rather than around its edges, which again usually contributes to better contrast performance than the edge-lit alternative.

The S80 carries a degree of global light control capable of adjusting the overall brightness of the picture in response to what the image contains to enhance contrast. Not surprisingly given its price, though, Haier’s TV doesn’t carry any local dimming, where different zones of the LED backlights output different amounts of light to suit the picture’s needs.

The S80 is the latest on a fast-growing list of budget TVs that use Quantum Dots to deliver their colour rather than the dimmer, less dynamic RGB filter system that used to be the norm for budget TVs.

The H75S80GUF is natively a 60Hz panel but it can, according to Haier, use Dual Line Gate technology to get up to 120Hz at 1080p resolution for gamers. We should say, though, that we couldn’t get this feature to work with an Xbox Series X. We switched the feature on in the TV’s menus, but the Xbox refused to recognise that a 120Hz output was possible. Even after manually setting the console’s resolution to 1080p.

VRR is supported and working, though, as is ALLM switching. In its low-latency Game mode, input lag is 26.2ms – a decent rather than great result.

The S80’s HDR support extends beyond HDR10 and HLG to the HDR10+ format, with its extra scene-by-scene picture information. Haier has not coughed up for a Dolby Vision license, though.

Smart/streaming features are provided by two sources: Fire TV (OS 8) and Freely. Fire TV provides a comprehensive collection of the world’s most popular streaming services, while Freely allows UK viewers to watch most of the channels on the Freeview HD platform over the internet, rather than needing an aerial. This is a great combination of streamed sources to find on a TV as affordable as this one.

The S80’s connections, finally, comprise three HDMI ports, two USB ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an optical digital audio output, an Ethernet port, and both satellite and aerial RF inputs. As well as wireless connectivity courtesy of Bluetooth and wi-fi.

Picture quality

The S80’s pictures deliver an almost bewildering combination of inexperience and surprising strengths, chiefly built around the wildly disparate efforts of its Standard and Movie picture presets.

The Standard mode, which, as usual with such modes, is aimed at regular daytime living room use, is frankly a bit nuts. In particular, it pushes colours far too hard, leading to some seriously overcooked shades when rendering any relatively pure areas of red, green or blue, as well as disturbingly peaky skin tones that leave most people looking seriously flushed.

To be fair, the Standard mode’s excesses do leave you in no doubt that the H75S80GUF is capable of producing unusually rich and vibrant colours for such a cheap TV. The problem is that it does this without anywhere near enough control or restraint to deliver a picture that you can actually settle into and enjoy.

Haier’s TV also succeeds in delivering more brightness than we’d normally expect to see with such a cheap TV. Haier claims 350 nits for it, but in the Standard mode it seems significantly punchier than that for most of the time – even if you’re watching SDR content. While this brightness initially impresses, though, at least with HDR, it causes subtle shading information to be clipped out of bright HDR highlights.

The Standard preset does produce, though, a quite strong sense of contrast with images that contain a mix of very bright and dark content. As with its colour performance, however, there’s no control behind this contrast, meaning that light peaks look too bright (because of the clipping) while shadows look too inky (because they lack sufficient shading finesse and shadow detail).

Very dark scenes, meanwhile, reveal some very average blacks. Everything that should look black, in fact, ends up looking grey and washed out – an immersion-busting issue that makes dark scenes feel very different in tone to bright ones.

The dark scene performance isn’t helped, either, by the appearance of significant backlight seepage into the image’s outer edges. You aren’t really aware of this while watching bright footage, but all too often it causes dark scenes to appear with a distractingly distinct frame-within-a-frame effect.

While the S80’s Standard mode feels like the immature efforts of a new brand to show off what its debut TV can do without sparing a thought for consistency or naturalism, though, its Movie mode provides a welcome insight into some genuine future potential.

For starters, the Movie mode picture is actually nicely balanced. While colours still look fairly vibrant compared with most TVs at this price level, no tones stand out too much against the rest. For the most part, those tones also look natural and believable. Even with skin.

There’s also more visible shadow detailing in Movie mode, and the TV suddenly proves able to produce some pleasingly subtle, faint colours in those shadow details, too.

The brightest peaks of HDR images in Movie mode no longer lose anywhere near as much shading detail as they do in Standard mode, meaning they no longer look like white holes ripped out of the picture. The improved shadow detail and dark colour performance also mean dark scenes look much more convincing and immersive than their Standard mode counterparts. Especially as the various backlight control options the TV provides do their work without causing any flickering or floating black level issues.

Unfortunately, though, basic blacks in Movie mode are still pretty grey and, worse, the light seepage creeping in from the image’s edges is still distracting. Maybe more so, actually, than it is in the Standard preset.

Calling in a Dynamic Contrast feature (that’s off by default) improves black levels and reduces the obviousness of the light seepage. It also, though, really dims the picture down – so much so that the amount of shadow detail that gets crushed out of the picture can become excessive, and HDR pictures no longer feel like HDR.

There’s disappointment in store with the Haier’s Game mode, too. As well as not delivering the promised 120Hz capabilities with our resident Xbox Series X, the TV’s 60Hz performance proves pretty unpleasant, with substantial judder and blur joining the screen’s slightly high lag in making the gaming experience feel rather disconnected and fatiguing.

Motion with 24p movies looks a bit uncomfortable, too, though you can improve this a little, at least, by calling in an MEMC motion processing system.

Sound quality

First impressions of the S80’s sound are underwhelming to say the least. It can’t get very loud at all – certainly not loud enough to deliver an appropriate scale of sound for its 75-inch pictures – and there isn’t enough oomph to its presentation, especially at the bass end, to stop it sounding feeble and thin.

The sound also has next to no forward presence, leaving everything lacking impact and locked in the TV. The S80’s basic lack of power prevents it from being able to deliver the variation in density and volume that makes action movie soundtracks tick, too.

Over time, though, the S80's sound grows on us a bit. Dialogue, for instance, is always clear and intelligible, and usually (aside from some deep male voices) seems to be coming from the screen rather than the speakers mounted behind its bottom edge.

The way the TV often seems to deliberately choose not to even bother trying to take on big soundtrack moments, too, means that the speakers don’t fall prey to nasty distortions or other issues associated with speakers being driven harder than they can tolerate. This lack of distortion makes up a bit for the H75S80GUF’s lack of power and impact, and allows your ears to acclimatise somewhat to the sound’s thin quality over time. At no point, though, does its sound become more than distinctly average, and a dedicated sound system, even a cheap soundbar, is highly recommended.

Verdict

The first Haier TV to arrive on our test benches is a bit more of a mixed bag than we had hoped it might be.

The main thing that its ‘showcase’ Standard preset actually showcases is how little Haier seems to understand about what makes TV pictures enjoyable to watch. Yet its thoughtful Movie mode suddenly makes you think that Haier actually does understand picture quality after all.

Unfortunately, a couple of fundamental limitations of its panel prevent even the S80's Movie preset from elevating it beyond three-star territory. It does do enough, though, to mark Haier out as a brand to watch for the future.

SCORES

• Picture 3
• Sound 3
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sharp 4T-C50HJ6725KB

Also consider the TCL P8L

Read our Samsung U8000F review

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

Over the last year, we have tested a whole bunch of soundbars. Those range from entry-level Dolby Atmos models to premium soundbar systems, all of which bring something different to the table.

But we can only crown the cream of the crop at our annual What Hi-Fi? Awards. For some models, this is not their first rodeo in receiving an Award, while others have only just made their mark this year. Let's take a look at the soundbars that have made it onto our coveted list.

Samsung’s new generation takes over from its predecessor

Last year, the Samsung HW-Q990F took home both the Product of the Year Award and the prize as the best soundbar between £500 and £2000. We are yet to announce who will take home the POTY Award for 2026, but we can say that its successor, the HW-Q990H, has comfortably won the latter category.

Made up of a soundbar, two surround speakers and a subwoofer, the Samsung is a great alternative to a full-fat multi-speaker package. While it looks identical to the older model, the Q990H offers subtle improvements in sound performance particularly when it comes to detail and scale.

All of which helped it take the crown over its still excellent predecessor.

Sony takes two of the top spots

If you want a cheaper system, then the Sony Bravia Theatre System 6 is our top recommendation for the £250 to £500 price category.

It’s far from your typical system when it comes to design. The soundbar is directly wired to the subwoofer, the surround speakers are not. Then, the sub wirelessly transmits the surround sound information to a receiver box at the back of the room that is itself wired to the two surround speakers.

The oddball system delivers superbly punchy, weighty bass, as well an impressively enveloping and cohesive surround sound.

That’s not the only Sony soundbar to take home the gold this year, either. The Sony Bravia Theatre Trio + Rear 9 and Sub 9 is a premium soundbar system, which we tested at £2798 / $3250 / AU$5597.

We tested the Bravia Theatre Trio on its own and were impressed, but adding in the Rear 9 and Sub 9 only makes for a more immersive, detailed and punchy audio experience that makes it another great addition to our Awards list.

Sonos stays on top

If you are a regular What Hi-Fi? reader, then you will likely have heard about the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) before. That’s because it is a top performer in the entry-level Atmos category, and is receiving an Award for the sixth year in a row.

Although it offers a compact footprint, the five-star stunner delivers a delicate, nuanced and punchy sound that is unbeaten at its price despite tough competition from the likes of the JBL Bar 300MK2.

Taking the crown for the second time as the best soundbar between £500 and £1000 is the Sonos Arc Ultra. Its brilliant reproduction of Dolby Atmos soundtracks and its tight, tuneful bass make it a fairly comfortable winner over solo soundbar rivals.

Both of these all-in-one Sonos bars are an excellent choice if you want to upgrade your TV’s audio, and the brand has cemented itself as a force to be reckoned with in the all-in-one soundbar category.

Hisense’s cheap system scores being again, and KEF keeps its crown

The Hisense AX5125H is our top pick for those wanting a Dolby Atmos system on a budget, taking the prize for the second year. You get a lot of kit for your money, with the package consisting of a subwoofer, soundbar and two surrounds.

Of course, it is not at the same calibre as the more premium models, but you still get an amazing weight, scale and spaciousness for the money.

Also taking an Award for the second time is the premium all-in-one soundbar, the KEF XIO. The 5.1.2 bar sounds excellent with both music and movies and, if you have the budget, then this is the best premium model we have tested over £2000.

So, which one of these five deserved winners will be crowned the 2026 soundbar Product of the Year at the What Hi-Fi? Awards ceremony on 12th November? Tune in on the night to find out.

MORE:

These are the 2026 What Hi-Fi? Award winners

Check out the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

And here is our review of the Sonos Arc Ultra

Xgimi is one of several brands that have taken the entry-level and lifestyle projector scene by storm, only to slowly work their way up to increasingly more powerful and sophisticated models.

When we reviewed the Xgimi Horizon 20 Max earlier this year, we were very impressed indeed, stating that the talented projector was "only a refinement or two away from class-leading greatness".

But with rivals such as AWOL Vision taking big strides in the last few years – and nabbing this year's What Hi-Fi? Award at this price range – Xgimi has its work cut out for it for the next Horizon series. Have the refinements been enough?

Well, we'll find out very soon. The Xgimi Horizon 30 series is upon us, made up of three models: the Horizon 30 Pro, Horizon 30 Max and Horizon Ultra Max.

The star of the show, however, is the Xgimi Horizon Ultra Max. The range's top model comes with an incredible claimed brightness of 6,000 lumens and up to 10,000:1 native contrast. That's a five per cent claimed brightness increase over the Horizon 20 Max – and one of the highest lumen figures we've ever seen – and seven times the contrast.

All three models, however, will now support 4K/120Hz. This is still something of a rarity in the projector world, and twice the refresh rate of the Horizon 20 series.

The Horizon 30 Pro and Horizon 30 Max models will launch on 1st November, with prices starting at £2099 / $2499. The Horizon 30 Ultra Max releases a tad later on 11th November, priced at £2799 / $3,499.00.

Several accessories are available too, including stands, ceiling mounts and, yes, 3D glasses.

The specs certainly sound impressive, but how does this translate to real-life viewing? I got the chance to find out when I saw the new lineup at a launch event in Munich.

We'll save our final verdict until we get the Horizon 30 series into our test room for comparative testing, of course, but our initial impressions are below.

The Horizon 30 Ultra Max was the model being demonstrated, with clips from several different films shown to us.

There's no denying that the 30 Ultra Max is bright. During a sunny chase scene through Rome in Fast X, the film shines despite the presence of some ambient light. Several explosions and a flaming, rolling bomb light up the room, and there are some noticeable bright highlights courtesy of the many car headlights.

Moving on to F1: The Movie and the 30 Ultra Max is terrifically crisp and detailed. We can pick out every line and bit of stubble on Brad Pitt's Sonny Hayes as he prepares to race in the film's opening.

We were then taken to a room where the Horizon 30 Ultra Max is set up next to its predecessor, the 20 Max. We switch between the two, mid-explosion during a war movie, and the difference in contrast is immediately noticeable, with sparks and flames burning brighter and whiter against an impressively inky sky on the 30 Ultra Max.

Truth be told, I wasn't able to get a proper listen to the 30 Ultra Max's sound system, which once again features 12W Harman Kardon speakers. Dialogue was at least clear and intelligible despite the hubbub, though what should have been several thrilling action scenes, such as the famous lobby scene from The Matrix, did sound rather tinny.

We will, of course, give the sound a chance to shine in our dedicated test room, where we'll also have a more in-depth review of the picture quality and compare the projector with market leaders.

The Horizon 30 series has made several steps in the right direction – it all depends on whether it's enough to keep up with the competition. We'll let you know in our official review.

MORE:

Check out the best projectors

Here is our review of the Xgimi Horizon 20 Max

These are the best soundbars you can buy

The 100-inch TV market is largely dominated by Mini LED TVs. Why? The price of OLEDs around this size has long been an issue, and manufacturers have yet to break this particular size threshold because of factors such as cost and manufacturing constraints – but that might be about to change.

Various Chinese media outlets (via FlatPanelsHD) are reporting that a Chinese state-owned investment firm has made a significant investment to upgrade the production of large-screen OLED panels outside of South Korea.

Global marketing and research firm TrendForce reports that Guangzhou Development Zone Holdings Group Co., Ltd. and LG Display will jointly invest RMB1 billion (around £112.45 million) into LG Display Optoelectronics Technology (China) Co., Ltd's Guangzhou production plant.

The plan is to add assembly lines for 77-, 83-, 97-, and 111-inch OLED displays at its Chinese manufacturing plant. TrendForce reports that "the 111-inch production line is the world's first dedicated module production line of the same size based on the large OLED technology route".

As such, it claims that "the 111-inch module line is a major highlight of this project", and this is the first time we could see 100-inch-plus models that don't feature a backlit panel.

Furthermore, the investment in manufacturing could see more competitively priced large-screen OLED TVs in the future.

The high cost of OLED TVs at this size has long been attributed to the failure rate of producing these large-sized panels, but a more efficient manufacturing process could change all of this.

Now, there's no guarantee that the brands will opt to pass the savings on to consumers, or even opt to use these panels in their own sets; however, it certainly appears that some foundations for bigger and cheaper OLED TVs have been laid.

Only time will tell if larger and cheaper OLED TVs do start rolling off production lines.

MORE:

Read our full LG C6 review

As well as our Samsung S99H review

And check out our pick of the best OLED TVs for every budget

It’s fair to say that the great RGB Mini LED revolution of 2026 has been a little underwhelming.

While the technology clearly has lots of potential, it has somewhat suffered from high pricing that has forced comparisons with flagship OLED sets that, thanks to perfect blacks, pixel-level contrast control, awesome responsiveness and ample brightness, have ultimately come out on top.

There may come a time when an RGB Mini LED TV can beat a flagship OLED, but in 2026, the mid-range is where the greatest opportunities for success lie, and that’s precisely where the Hisense UR8 comes in.

Unlike the UR9 we tested earlier this year, the UR8 (also known as the UR8S) undercuts on price not only flagship OLEDs, but also (at least in the UK) mainstream models such as the LG C6.

In one way, then, that gives this step-down Hisense an easier ride, and its specs are not to be sniffed at, either, with a claimed 3500 nits peak brightness, 936 dimming zones, 180Hz panel and Dolby Vision 2 support being the obvious highlights.

Hisense isn’t the only one playing this game, though, and while the UR8 looks like good value next to many OLEDs, it’s still got lots of backlit competition, not least from its compatriot TCL. And, unfortunately, its on-paper abilities don’t translate into a truly impressive real-world performance.

Price

The 65-inch version of the Hisense UR8 we’re looking at launched with a price tag of £2299 / $2000 / AU$2495, making it proportionally more expensive in the UK than the US and Australia.

Thankfully, while pricing in the US and Australia has remained more or less static, the UR8 is currently available in the UK for £1699, making it a much more appealing proposition than it was at launch.

There’s still a problem, though, and it’s in the form of the C8L, the flagship model in TCL’s so-called Super Quantum Dot Mini LED range. While this launched with similar pricing to the UR8, its price has dropped, too, and at the time of writing you can pick it up for less – around £1600 / $1700 / AU$2295.

And we mustn’t discount OLED here. While the Award-winning LG C6 costs vastly more than the UR8 and C8L in Australia (AU$3995), in the UK, its £1899 price means it will be just about in reach of many buyers considering the UR8, and it’s in fact currently the most affordable of all of these sets in the US, where it costs just $1400.

Design

The Hisense UR8 is a reasonably pleasant-looking TV, even if it doesn’t have much in the way of design flair.

Its slim black bezels help the picture take centre stage, while the dark grey bottom lip adds a touch of class. There’s also a subtle RGB Mini LED logo on the lower left, complete with a rather retro-looking red, green and blue graphic.

The stand is basic but practical, with two legs connected to a fairly neat baseplate with a relatively modest width of 40cm. There are high and low positions, too, allowing you to choose between a lower-profile installation and extra clearance for a soundbar.

The UR8 isn't especially thin, but that does allow room for a more substantial built-in sound system than you’ll find in many TVs. Its cabinet does feel rather plasticky, though, which takes a little of the shine off the overall impression during initial installation, but won’t be a factor once in situ.

Hisense has made the connections easy to access, with a generously sized recess that avoids the cramped arrangement found on some rival TVs.

The remote is a bit of an irritation, though. It’s far too long, requiring you to adjust your grip to reach buttons at each end. The solar panel on its face contributes to that length, and while placing it here rather than on the back makes practical sense, it doesn’t exactly look elegant.

The remote can also be charged via USB-C, which is handy, but the absence of backlighting is a shame.

The UR8’s most distinctive physical feature is its matte screen coating. This does an excellent job of suppressing reflections, to the extent that the lights, equipment rack and even the reviewer opposite the screen are barely visible on its surface, which very much isn’t the case with the glossy TCL C8L we have set up next to it.

That’s a genuine advantage for anyone watching in a bright room. The trade-off is that blacks look a little greyer under ambient lighting, but for those who regularly watch with all of the lights on or very bright sunlight beaming through the windows, the excellent reflection suppression could prove well worth the compromise.

Features

The UR8’s headline feature is its RGB Mini LED backlight, which replaces the conventional approach of using blue LEDs and a quantum-dot colour layer with individual red, green and blue LEDs.

The idea is that these separate colour sources can produce purer, more vibrant colours, while offering more precise control over brightness and contrast. Hisense claims up to 100 per cent coverage of the BT.2020 colour space, which would be an extraordinary achievement if fully realised.

The 65-inch version of the UR8 has 936 local dimming zones, while Hisense quotes a peak brightness figure of 3500 nits. Those are impressive numbers, although, as we’ll see, the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Processing comes courtesy of Hisense’s Hi-View AI Engine RGB, which is designed specifically for this backlight technology and handles tasks such as upscaling, contrast optimisation and colour processing.

The UR8 is also among the first TVs to support Dolby Vision 2, and this is a point of interest even though Dolby Vision 2 content is not yet readily available. Any ‘standard’ Dolby Vision content you play now brings up the Dolby Vision 2 Max logo, indicating an extra degree of processing to the Dolby Vision signal. It’s hard to tell, though, what effect this is having as it can’t be turned off. The Dolby Vision performance is interesting, nonetheless, as we’ll see later.

Every other HDR format is supported, too, so whether your content is delivered in HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ or Dolby Vision, the Hisense UR8 will happily play it. The TV is IMAX Enhanced certified as well.

Gamers are also very well catered for. The UR8 has four HDMI 2.1 sockets and is capable of handling signals up to 4K/180Hz (including in the much more common 4K/120Hz format), with VRR. ALLM is also supported, of course, so the TV will switch to a low-latency mode whenever a game signal is detected.

The latency isn’t as low as we expected, though: we measure 27.4ms at 1080p/60Hz. After much additional tweaking of settings, we manage to get that figure down to 14.2ms, but that involves switching Local Dimming off altogether, which inevitably compromises gaming picture quality significantly.

In fairness, while 27.4ms sounds like a lot, anything less than about 30ms is imperceptible to most gamers, and those who are prepared to sacrifice picture quality for additional responsiveness do at least have the option.

In the US, the Hisense UR8 features the Google TV smart platform, whereas UK and Australian buyers get Hisense’s VIDAA system. Broadly speaking, this isn’t a bad thing: VIDAA is straightforward, and it covers almost all of the most important streaming-service bases.

For starters, Freely is on board, granting aerial-free access to live terrestrial TV. There are dedicated BBC iPlayer, ITVX, 4 and 5 apps, too, and the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and Paramount+ are all present and correct.

In fact, while there are absences, they’re mostly more niche services, such as GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, Steam Link, VLC, Tidal, Apple Music, Qobuz, TuneIn and Shudder.

There is one big frustration, though, and that’s the Apple TV app, which lacks access to both the Store and your Library. That means there’s no way to browse and play the movies you’ve bought through Apple’s excellent pay-as-you-go service, which is a shame.

Picture quality

While the Hisense UR8 looks mighty fine on paper, the opening scenes of Alien: Romulus quickly expose a couple of significant problems.

Surprisingly, given the promise of RGB Mini LED, there’s remarkably little life to colours, with Rain’s red jacket taking on a grey-green hue and the flames of a bin fire lacking the orange and red vibrancy they should possess. Even the red helmets worn by workers in the background look strangely dull.

There’s a similar lack of intensity to the flames and the lights of the industrial equipment behind them, resulting in a picture that feels flat and underwhelming.

We’re watching in Filmmaker Mode, but switching to other presets doesn’t really solve the problem. Standard brightens the image considerably, but colours still lack richness, while HDR Dynamic pushes the picture towards an increasingly garish appearance. HDR Cinema is much like Filmmaker Mode, while IMAX Cinema adds a little more pop without straying too far from a broadly cinematic presentation.

IMAX Cinema is our preferred option, particularly if you’re watching in a brighter room, but even this mode doesn’t bring colours to life.

Black depth is an equally serious issue. Compared with the TCL C8L, the Hisense produces noticeably greyer blacks, even in a completely dark room. The black bars above and below a widescreen movie are visibly lighter, and the general lack of contrast makes images look less solid and three-dimensional.

The opening starfield of Alien: Romulus is particularly disappointing. The stars lack intensity, while the surrounding blackness looks hazy and grey, robbing the scene of the impact it should deliver.

Blooming is present, too, although not quite in the way we usually expect. Rather than producing small, intense halos around bright objects, the UR8 tends to create a softer, more diffuse glow that spreads across larger areas of the picture. That makes the effect less obviously distracting, but it comes at the expense of black depth and contrast. The TCL handles this balance considerably better.

As the spacecraft drifts into view, it lacks the definition and solidity it should possess, blending into the background rather than standing out convincingly. The interior of the ship is similarly flat and hazy, with the robotic pilot module struggling to visually separate itself from its surroundings and the lights and monitor readouts lacking punch.

Faces look a little grey and lifeless, too. There’s plenty of shadow detail, but it’s the lack of richness and contrast that makes the overall image feel so underwhelming.

This is particularly frustrating when we consider that the UR8 can get plenty bright enough. The problem is that brightness alone can’t create a convincing HDR image. Without the black depth and colour vibrancy to reinforce those highlights, the picture lacks the dynamism we expect from a TV at this price.

Blade Runner 2049 reinforces the point. The opening logos and text produce surprisingly extensive – albeit soft and diffuse – blooming, with large areas of the screen brightening around each paragraph as it appears. The text itself looks a little soft, too, and the combination of weak blacks and diffuse glow makes the sequence far less impactful than it should be.

Civil War is a more encouraging experience. The forest fire has reasonable impact, and there’s good detail in the highlights, but the flames still lack the brightness and three-dimensionality that the TCL produces. The wide shot of Kirsten Dunst sitting on the back of an armoured truck is similarly competent in isolation, yet looks noticeably less solid and dynamic when next to the C8L.

In brighter scenes, at least, the Hisense can produce a reasonably satisfying picture. There’s decent punch, good detail and enough brightness to give HDR material some appeal. The problem is that the image rarely feels as convincing as it should, because the contrast isn’t strong enough to give bright and dark elements the necessary separation.

Oppenheimer is another difficult test. The spotlights during the bomb test are controlled reasonably well, with little obvious blooming in some shots, but that’s largely because the black level is already raised. The TCL manages similarly restrained blooming while retaining considerably deeper blacks.

It’s worth noting that shadow detail itself is good, and the TV’s motion handling is a genuine strength. Even with Motion Enhancement and Clear Motion switched off, the movement of objects remains smooth and relatively sharp without looking unnaturally processed. It’s a nicely judged, cinematic presentation, although there is a little smearing that will be noticeable to anyone accustomed to the crisp solidity of an OLED.

Standard dynamic range material is much more successful than HDR. Watching Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on DVD, upscaling is clean, with a decent level of detail for such a low-resolution source, and strong shadow definition. Colours are slightly exaggerated, with Robert Downey Jr’s face looking a little too pink, but the overall picture is pleasant and enjoyable.

The real improvement comes when we switch to Dolby Vision, though.

Playing F1: The Movie in Dolby Vision Pro Reference mode, the UR8 delivers a noticeably better-balanced picture. Colours have more vibrancy, contrast improves (even though black depth remains somewhat limited), and the overall image gains a level of depth that is largely absent when we watch HDR10 material.

Skin tones look more convincing, highlights have greater impact, and there’s a better sense of solidity to the image. Detail levels are high, too, with sharpness that feels natural rather than forced. Motion remains good, and the picture is considerably more satisfying overall.

It’s difficult to say exactly how much of this improvement is attributable to the Dolby Vision 2 Max processing, because we can’t simply switch it off and compare like for like. What we can say is that the TV’s Dolby Vision presentation of F1 is substantially better than anything we watch in HDR10.

Unfortunately, the improvement isn’t consistent enough to solve the underlying problem. Watching Wolfs, again in Dolby Vision, we’re back to a slightly grey, murky image. The opening cityscape lacks the solidity it should possess, while the interior shots of the apartment look flat, with furniture blending into its surroundings.

So, while Dolby Vision makes the UR8 a more enjoyable TV, at least with some material, it doesn’t make it a consistently convincing one.

Sound quality

The UR8 features a 2.1.2-channel sound system tuned by Devialet that includes side-firing drivers mounted towards the top of the TV’s chassis, and it’s broadly more successful than its picture performance.

We start with chapter two of Blade Runner 2049, and, as most do, the sound system initially struggles with the demanding low-frequency effects, producing a bit of buzzing from the drivers. This distortion is less pronounced than it is from many TVs playing this scene, though, and it settles down quickly.

Dialogue is clear and well projected across all of the content we test, and sound effects have enough room to breathe to create a reasonably atmospheric presentation. There’s a decent level of detail, too, and the overall tonal balance is good, with a reasonable amount of bass that integrates fairly well with the rest of the frequency range.

Switching from Standard to Theatre mode adds a little more space to the presentation, although this comes at the expense of a small amount of clarity.

Even in Theatre mode, the soundstage doesn’t stretch as far beyond the edges of the screen as it does with some rivals, and there are moments when effects seem a little too centralised. The commentary during the opening race of F1: The Movie, for example, sounds more direct and central than it should.

Even so, the UR8 delivers a fairly open, spacious sound for a TV’s built-in speakers, and it’s certainly good enough for everyday viewing, though a dedicated audio system – even just one of the best cheap soundbars – will improve on it significantly.

Verdict

The Hisense UR8 is a frustrating TV. Its RGB Mini LED backlight promises a great deal, its feature set is excellent, and its gaming specifications are impressive, but the picture quality too often falls short of expectations.

The peculiar lack of colour vibrancy and black depth with HDR10 content are the big issues, and while some Dolby Vision content looks better, it’s still hit and miss.

In many other respects – detail, sharpness, insight, brightness and motion, for example – the UR8 is an accomplished TV, but those many qualities are undermined by those two fundamental flaws, which all too often leave the picture looking grey, flat, and a little bit lifeless.

At this level, you shouldn’t have to compromise to that degree. And, in fact, rivals such as the TCL C8L prove that you don’t.

SCORES

• Picture 3
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the TCL C8L

Also consider the TCL C7L

Read our LG C6 review

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

The Apple TV 4K 4th Generation was announced just over two weeks ago. Now, I'm not totally smitten with it due to the substantial price tag and the fact that I can access most new features via an older Apple TV 4K, but there are some genuinely interesting upgrades worth noting.

The most intriguing is the ability to pair the streamer with four HomePods to create a wireless Dolby Atmos surround sound system, akin to the Sony Bravia Theatre Quad or Valerion Thunderbeat systems we've tested previously.

You can mix and match HomePods, provided the respective front and back pairs match; essentially, that means you can choose from four HomePod 2s, four HomePod Mini 2s, or two HomePod 2s as fronts with two HomePod Mini 2s as surrounds.

As a recent HomePod convert, this is music to my home cinema-loving ears. Apple's audio tuning has been consistently excellent across all of the HomePods we've tested, and we know that the HomePod 2 works well in a pair for movie watching. Adding two more for surrounds is a no-brainer to me.

There is, however, one thing I wish Apple would either make itself or allow us to add to this system from a third-party manufacturer. That is, of course, a subwoofer.

Imagine a HomePod subwoofer. I already know the HomePod can produce impressively deep, rich bass for its size, but I really want a dedicated channel to take on home cinema duties – something that can really go to town with explosions and bass-heavy sci-fi sound effects.

Will Apple make one? Given that it's taken six years for it to launch a HomePod Mini 2, I highly doubt it; but what if Apple let us add a subwoofer from another company to its HomePod setup?

Admittedly, that's a very un-Apple move, but the company has recently partnered with LG to produce a range of smart home devices. LG also makes a modular, wireless subwoofer as part of its Sound Suite family of home audio devices, and we praised its "deep, powerful bass" in our review.

Adding an LG W7 subwoofer, or dare I say a Sonos Sub 4 or Sub Mini, to a HomePod system could be the answer here, although I suspect that Apple won't agree with me.

It's likely banking on the convenience and ease of plonking four HomePods in your living room and hooking them up seamlessly to your Apple TV 4K being enough. I doubt it wants you faffing around with a third-party app from a rival or having to look into extra connectivity options.

I also presume that adding compatibility for a third-party wireless soundbar is much easier said than done, so I'm really hoping Apple makes its own HomePod subwoofer if it does ever choose to go down this route.

Either way, I'm not holding my breath for now, but if Apple's quad HomePod system proves to be a success, then you never know what we might see further down the line.

MORE:

Read our full Apple HomePod 2 review

As well as our Apple TV 4K 2022 review

Apple HomePod 2 vs HomePod Mini: what are the differences

The most defining characteristic of Sharp’s latest Roku TV is its price.

£350 (and we have seen it available for even less) is practically peanuts for any 50-inch TV, never mind one which, as in this Sharp’s case, boasts both a comprehensive smart system and a Quantum Dot colour system.

With more than a few other ultra-budget QLED TVs failing to make their on-paper colour advantage count, though, can the HJ6725K buck the trend?

Price

The HJ6725K’s £350 price is so key to its identity that we’ve pretty much covered it already.

It’s a UK-only model, and the 50-inch model we’re testing is the only size in which it’s available. Sharp does sell 55- and 43-inch Roku TVs with slightly different designs and specifications, but this 50-inch set is the only one with the HJ6725 designation.

Similarly sized smart TV rivals for the same sort of money aren’t particularly numerous, but they do exist. While the Sky Glass Air isn’t available in 50 inches, opting instead for 43- or 55-inch versions, it’s hugely affordable given the picture quality and integrated streamed Sky TV service it carries – especially if you buy it with monthly payments through your Sky subscription.

Samsung’s U8000H range, the successor to the brand’s impressive U8000Fs, also includes a 50-inch model that also costs £299, but we’ve not yet had the opportunity to test it.

Design

Handling the HJ6725K while attaching it to its simple pair of included desktop feet reveals it to be unsurprisingly pretty lightweight in its build quality. You hardly need to be Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime to tuck this under your arm and cart it anywhere in your home where you care to use it.

Once you’ve set Sharp’s TV down and stepped back, though, its finish is glossy enough to disguise the plasticky bodywork underneath.

Its screen frame is unusually narrow for a budget TV, too, and parts of its rear, at least, are thinner than most budget TVs. There is a chunkier part of the rear where the TV’s connections, speakers and processors live, but while this might make the TV look slightly awkward if hung on a wall, it’s not something you’ll notice if you’re just using it on its feet.

The HJ6725K’s remote control is as flimsy-feeling as the TV. While you won’t be able to use it for bicep curls, though, its layout is straightforward and its buttons are big and well spaced.

Features

Despite how cheap and compact it is, the Sharp HJ6725K is a 4K TV with HDR support in the HLG, HDR10 and Dolby Vision flavours. It’s built on a 60Hz VA panel with direct LED lighting. Using a VA panel would normally mean we should expect limited viewing angles but better contrast compared with the alternative IPS panel option.

Colours, surprisingly, are delivered by a Quantum Dot system which, on paper at least, should be capable of a wider and more subtle colour range, as well as more brightness than the basic RGB filter system typically seen on budget TVs. We should add, though, that it’s not uncommon for Quantum Dots not to work at all as intended when introduced to TVs at the entry-level end of the market.

The HJ6725K’s provision of a Roku TV smart system is mostly welcome. Yes, the system’s interface looks primitive compared with most of today’s other smart TV systems, and it doesn’t provide as many features when it comes to things such as multiple user profiles and the ability to learn your viewing habits and make intelligent content suggestions. Its lack of sophistication does enable it, though, to be incredibly straightforward and simple to use, and it also runs slickly and stably even on TVs which, like this Sharp, aren’t equipped with powerful processors.

A free Roku App for your phone opens up the possibility of voice search, and the set also works with Google Home, Apple Home, Apple AirPlay and Alexa.

The Roku smart system is well known, too, for its consistent ability to provide all of the key global and local streaming services – though just for good measure, the HJ6725K additionally carries the Freely system, through which UK users can live-stream most of the channels available on Freeview HD, removing the need for an aerial on their house.

Connections on the HJ6725K comprise three HDMI ports, two USB ports, satellite and RF antenna ports, a headphone jack, an optical digital audio output and an Ethernet port.

The HDMIs only support 4K at up to 60Hz (the panel is only a 60Hz one) and don’t handle VRR, though the TV does support ALLM switching so that it can switch automatically to its fastest-responding Game mode without you having to do it manually. In this mode, the screen’s input lag is a very respectable 13.3ms.

The HJ6725K’s USB ports support a wide range of video, photo and music file formats, while built-in wi-fi is provided, of course, so that you don’t have to physically tether the TV to your router to enjoy its streaming capabilities.

The HJ6725K’s audio system, finally, is a straightforward 2 x 10W set-up with Dolby Digital but not Dolby Atmos or DTS:X support.

Picture quality

There’s nothing flashy about the HJ6725K’s picture quality, but as with everything else about this £350 TV, it gets the basics right.

Particularly good to see at this level is a solid combination of brightness and contrast. There’s enough brightness to give HDR content a clear lift in intensity compared with SDR, yet just as importantly, this HDR brightness boost doesn’t lead to dark scenes looking excessively washed out or greyed over.

Blacks do look a touch greyer in HDR mode than they do in SDR, but the difference is small enough to be offset by the extra brightness of the lighter HDR elements.

In other words, overall HDR images contain a wider light range than SDR ones do, with neither dark nor bright areas looking as compromised by trying to accommodate each other as we would have expected with a TV that doesn’t have any local dimming.

The fact that there isn’t any local dimming in the HJ6725K shows that its decent contrast has to be a result of the native capabilities of the panel.

That’s an impression underlined by the fact that, despite dark areas achieving deeper blacks than expected, they also retain plenty of shadow detail. In fact, you might see a little more detail in dark areas when watching HDR than content creators wanted you to see – but this is preferable to the alternative, and isn’t severe enough to leave dark scenes looking noisy and confusing.

The presence of so much subtle detail in dark areas means that dark scenes enjoy pretty much the same sense of depth as bright ones. Add to this the minimal greyness they’re affected by compared with many budget TVs, and even a slight green undertone to dark scenes can’t stop the HJ6725K from delivering a really consistent image that’s easy to become immersed in. That green tone is in fact so faint that we find ourselves pretty much tuning it out after we’ve been watching the TV for a few hours.

Inadequate backlight control can mean that deploying Quantum Dots on really cheap TVs such as the HJ6725K can actually lead to pictures that look more washed out and flat than those of old-school RGB filter TVs. Not so with this Sharp Roku TV, though. It’s instantly and gratifyingly obvious that the HJ6725K is capable of delivering a wider, richer colour range than most TVs in its class, delivering an obvious uptick in vibrancy and saturation when the TV switches from SDR to HDR content.

Unusually for such a cheap TV, the HJ6725K carries a dynamic tone mapping system designed to make incoming HDR signals make maximum use of the screen’s capabilities. And even more unusually for such a cheap TV, this system works well for the most part, resulting in noticeably more dynamic HDR10 images than you get without it, yet without the more extreme images looking forced or strained. The only tone mapping issue is that it can cause subtle shading details to become ‘whited out’ in the very brightest parts of the picture. The benefits of the tone mapping system comfortably outweigh this solitary negative, though.

Colours don’t lose saturation in bright or dark HDR scenes either, and skin tones are rendered with enough subtlety to stop actors turning into mannequins. There can be a slightly coarse look to areas of HDR shots that contain especially high levels of subtle detail and texture (trees, bushes, meadows and so on), but this is a minor point that doesn’t devolve into actual noise. The worst that can be said of it is that in conjunction with a slightly slow response time from the LCD panel, fast-moving scenes can look fractionally blurry with 24p footage. There’s no real issue with judder with such footage, though, despite the TV not having any motion processing to its name.

The HJ6725K’s brightness, contrast and colour make it able to function unusually well in both bright and dark room settings by budget TV standards, and it’s balanced and controlled enough in its HDR Dark setting to deliver as good a sense of ‘creative intent’ as you’re going to get with a budget TV.

There are inevitably other limits to the HJ6725K picture performance. For all our talk of how contrasty and bright its pictures look, and how this helps it handle HDR better, we’re clearly not talking about anything like the brightness and colour range/volumes you can get with more expensive TVs. It can’t give you anything like a full sense of HDR’s capabilities; it just handles what it can deliver exceptionally well.

Also, while the Dolby Vision Normal setting takes great advantage of the extra picture information Dolby Vision can provide to deliver more dynamism and control than the HJ6725K does with more basic HDR10 feeds, the Dolby Vision Dark mode can reduce brightness to a point where shadow detail starts to be crushed out of the picture.

And, last but not least, the HJ6725K’s effective viewing angles are very limited, with black levels in particular dropping off a cliff if you have to watch the TV from an angle of as little as 20 to 25 degrees off axis.

Provided you can sit pretty much opposite it, though, the HJ6725K’s pictures can overall be considered better than we would expect for the price.

Sound quality

In terms of audio, the HJ6725K again opts to do the core stuff well rather than showboating badly. So while the staging is only stereo with no real attempt to add a 3D feel, and while there’s no dedicated subwoofer in the speaker system to help it churn out really deep bass, its sound is actually enjoyably clean, balanced and engaging.

Voices retain good clarity even in the middle of dense action scenes, background effects remain background effects rather than becoming too dominant in the mix, and high-pitched effects don’t sound harsh or warbly.

Low-frequency sounds aren’t especially deep, but they don’t succumb to crackling or buzzing distortions, and also tend to sound nicely balanced with the rest of the sound.

The speakers are sensitive enough to bring out faint sound details without overstating them, too, so that the soundstage always feels busy despite not really pushing far forward or beyond the screen’s left and right edges.

The HJ6725K can flatten off a bit early when faced with the growing density and dynamics of a big action sequence, and sometimes its speakers pretty much give up on trying to recreate the deepest bass, but we prefer this 'leave it alone rather than mess it up' approach.

Verdict

While any £350 50-inch TV is going to come with significant performance strings attached, Sharp’s HJ6725K Roku TV does an unusually astute job of delivering all of the picture and sound quality basics well, resulting in a sensibly well-rounded and balanced performance that works precisely because it doesn’t try to be too spectacular.

Add in Roku’s basic but dependable and comprehensive smarts, and the HJ6725K is exceptional value for money.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sky Glass Air

Also consider the Samsung U8000F

Read our TCL 50P7K review

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

If you have struggled to make out dialogue and felt underwhelmed by the impact of an explosion from your TV’s speakers, then getting a soundbar could well be the answer to your problems.

They take up much less space than a beefy multi-speaker system, and there are plenty of budget options to choose from if you don’t have the cash to splash. Many of these bars offer Dolby Atmos support if you want three-dimensional sound, and it's that side of the category that we are here to talk about.

We have been testing soundbars ever since the category emerged more than 20 years ago, and have reviewed hundreds of models. We have been curating a list of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars too. And now, two new entries have leapt onto the scene as our top recommendations.

So which models are the most recent five-star stunners to make it onto our handy guide? Let’s take a look.

Samsung’s latest system is a stunner

First up, the Samsung HW-Q990H has taken the crown as the best overall soundbar package. It usurps the model’s predecessor, the Samsung HW-Q990F, thanks to its more refined and detailed sound performance.

The package launched at £1599 / $2000 / AU$1999, but it has regularly dropped to around £895 in the UK. That puts it at the pricier end of the soundbar package spectrum.

So what do you get for your money? The Q990H comprises two surround speakers, the main soundbar and a subwoofer. This is an 11.1.4 system, with an impressive total of 23 individual drivers on board. This includes 15 drivers in the main soundbar unit, three in each of the wireless surround speakers, and two eight-inch woofers (in a push/pull configuration) in the wireless subwoofer.

We rated the Q990H’s predecessor highly for its incredibly immersive, refined, and punchy performance, and the new model improves on this winning recipe. We say in our review that “Samsung’s considered approach to tuning the HW-Q990H has paid off nicely, and the subtle upgrades make all the difference”.

The new model kept what we liked about its older sibling, but delivers it with even more nuance, detail and scale.

That’s why the Q990H not only takes the crown in our Dolby Atmos soundbar guide as the best package, but also scores a What Hi-Fi? Award this year as the best soundbar system between £500 and £2000.

And Sony’s premium package scores big

If you can stretch your budget even further in pursuit of a Dolby Atmos soundbar system, then Sony Bravia Theatre System Trio + Rear 9 and Sub 9 is the best premium soundbar package out there.

Unlike the more conventional-looking Samsung model, Sony’s system does things a little differently. Instead of a single soundbar, it is divided into three separate speakers. The centre speaker is essentially a narrow soundbar, while the other two speakers are larger cylindrical units.

The two Rear 9s are a little shorter than these front right and left speakers, but still sport a similar shape. Finally, there’s the Sub 9, which is a huge, almost cube-shaped subwoofer. In total, that creates a mighty 5.1.4-channel system.

In terms of physical connections, there’s an HDMI eARC port for connection to your TV, plus a dedicated HDMI input that supports 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM. There's also Bluetooth, wi-fi, Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect on the wireless side.

So how does it sound? When we listened to the Sony Theatre Trio system on its own, we were impressed by its immersive soundstage and Atmos handling. Adding in the subwoofer and rear speakers makes for even more of an enveloping and engaging performance, as you would hope.

It creates a cohesive bubble of sound around the listening position, and we said in our review: “Effects move seamlessly from front to rear, while the system maintains the same sense of cohesion that impressed us with the Trio on its own”.

The subwoofer is well-integrated with the rest of the system, too. With our go-to bass stress test (chapter two of Blade Runner 2049), we found in our review that it “refuses to distort or warble, and yet it reaches plenty deep, and there is a sense of tonal variation within the bass, which makes it sound tuneful and dynamic.

All of that means it takes the crown as the best premium soundbar package, making it our top pick if you are looking for a cinematic addition to your home cinema set-up.

MORE:

Check out our full review of the Samsung HW-Q990H

These are the best soundbars

And here are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

It’s unmistakably another Leica: the Leica Cine Compact 1 is marked out by the company’s now-familiar aluminium Bauhaus-style housing, with key characteristics starting with right from the clear glass frontage.

Glass is Leica’s secret weapon, and this projector number three from Leica’s Smart Projection division again leverages the brand’s special abilities with lens manufacture.

Leica is, of course, known to consumers primarily as a high-end camera maker, though in fact there are multiple independent Leica arms with fingers in their various pies of geosystems, biosystems and microsystems.

It all began in the German town of Wetzlar in the 1860s where Ernst Leitz made initially telescopes and subsequently microscopes, before his son, Ernst Leitz II, famously committed the company to building Oskar Barnack’s revolutionary compact camera, with its idea of using 35mm cinema film, soon to become the standard for still photography.

So right from the offset, it was image quality which drove the company, and older readers may recall how Leitz/Leica home slide projectors were once the gold standard for home projection of still images (Leica’s first such projector was released in 1926).

So the company’s now three-strong smart home cinema projector range is extending their imaging expertise back into home projection, after a few decades of absence.

Build & facilities

The Cine Compact 1 brings a new entry point to the Leica line, since this is a smaller projector than the award-winning Leica Cine Play 1, and is also far more affordable at $2990.

(The larger Cine Play 1 originally launched at £2950 / US$3795 / A$5990, while the original ultra-short-throw Cine 1 is experiencing rather variable pricing internationally, currently [Oct 2026] at UK£6495 in the UK or US$6495 in the UK, but price-reduced in Australia from A$13,990 to A$7990 (we suspect a new edition of this model will arrive in the not-too-distant) future).

This more affordable smart mini Leica much resembles the larger Cine Play 1, but once you put them side by side the new model is clearly smaller at 209 × 226 × 193mm, while promising output of up to 1700 lumens (the specs note this is in ‘Ultra’ mode, so standard use will be slightly lower), and to support projection sizes of up to 220 inches.

Inside the projector, Leica’s optical system includes a Leica Summicron zoom lens with aspherical elements, optimising the output of a 0.47-inch pico DMD and triple RGB lasers to promise pixel-shifted 4K images which further benefit from the secret sauce of the company’s proprietary LIO (Leica Image Optimization). There is Dolby Vision and HDR10+ onboard to display any such High Dynamic Range material to its maximum ability.

It has smart set-up features: zoom, autofocus, keystone correction and intelligent screen framing, set up automatically wherever you may choose to throw the image from the projector’s integrated “360° rotation system”, a rotating base and stand which, as Leica notes, makes the projector a particularly versatile solution for everyday use.

It brings built-in sources as well as connections for external devices; crucially there is the VIDAA operating system onboard to access streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime, while VIDAA also now hosts all Australian catch-up services and Foxtel apps, several of which were missing from earlier Leica VIDAA versions as licences were still being negotiated).

The Leica Cine Compact 1 also has one HDMI input, with eARC compatibility so it could be used to take streaming sound to an external audio system, should you wish to expand on the built-in stereo speaker system; there is no optical or analogue audio output available for this. There’s a USB-A slot, presumably for file replay, along with screen sharing via Wi-Fi, and audio streaming available via Bluetooth or Apple AirPlay.

One inclusion which may attract a particular sub-set of movie fans: there’s a 3D Mode available here, compatible with DLP Link active shutter 3D glasses. With 3D pretty much now gone from all consumer TVs, projection is the only way left to enjoy all those 3D movies you bought in the 2010s.

And while a screen is always recommended for best performance, Leica has optimised the Cine Compact 1 for real-world scenarios including projection on walls or ceilings, even outside in gardens or on balconies.

The mini projector comes with an eco-friendly transport case; there’s an optional Leica tall stand available, while the integrated tripod thread enables the projector to be mounted on benches or the ceiling.

And the remote control is another gorgeous wand from Leica (pictured below); it’s genuine aluminium, it has a microphone for speech entry, and it’s wireless as well as IR, so no need to point. There’s no backlighting but the buttons are largely intuitive in position for volume, mute, and also useful on-the-fly brightness adjustment.

A little more hazardous for inadvertent operation are adjacent buttons to change the Picture Mode and Audio Mode. The Picture Mode button is in a position commonly used for the ‘Back’ key, so that we were erroneously invoking it regularly. But these Mode options do save you jumping out of a movie to otherwise access menus via the main VIDAA home screen. The bottom-left ‘menu’ remote button similarly accesses a set of adjustment menus that appear at the bottom of the screen for easy use over running content.

The one-touch-access buttons on the remote for Netflix, Prime, YouTube and Disney+ can also be hazardous, since an accidental press instantly cancels current programming and whisks you off to those services which are paying Leica for its remote real estate. But overall the remote control here is a delight, and far above the usual fare supplied with a mini projector like this.

Set-up & viewing

While the Leica can correct for off-axis projection, such correction does require remapping, which eats into your full pixel count, so if you can give your Leica a straight line to your screen or wall, so much the better. It fitted into the projection cavity at the back of our viewing room neatly, even with its little stand attached, allowing us to aim it down at just the right angle to fill our 100-inch screen without using any mechanical vertical shift.

We chose to adjust its screen-fit manually, which proved very simple and quick from our three-metre projection distance thanks to the excellent zoom options and other versatile projection settings accessible through the VIDAA interface for size, and shifting, and keystone edge adjusting, if necessary. Officially the optical throw ratio is 1.0 to 1.3, though you can go far beyond with a further digital throw of 1.3 to 3.2.

There’s a dedicated button on the remote control for auto-focus; this pops up a focus pattern for about four seconds; job done. Use it whenever you like. You can also choose which parts of auto-set-up you leave permanently active, your choice depending on whether you’re setting and forgetting in one position, or regularly moving the Compact around the home.

It was clear immediately that there was sufficient brightness to present a watchable 100-inch image even against moderate ambient light, impressively so from a projector so small. Meanwhile its full abilities naturally grew as darkness fell. Leica quotes a maximum projection size of 220 inches, but such a giant screen would receive lower illumination levels across the wider area.

That’s positioning sorted, but the image quality is subject to a full range of menus under the picture options. The basic picture modes are individually tweakable, starting from the defaults for Standard, Filmmaker, Cinema Day and Cinema Night, plus Dynamic and Sports.

Your choice can lean towards your preferences and also the current ambient light levels to overcome. General defaults were good, but we got best results starting from Filmmaker, switching the temperature back to Standard from Warm, then tweaking.

There’s HDR processing available here, for Dolby Vision material and HDR10 HDR10+; when streaming Dolby Vision you get additional picture mode options of Dolby Vision Bright, Dark and the very useful Dolby Vision Custom. On-the-fly brightness becomes unavailable in these modes.

One interesting option is to adjust the colour gamut, an option labelled as “Change the range of colours the Device displays.” There was a big difference in colour balance between relatively ruddy ‘Native’, more neutral ‘Auto’, and a clearly preferable midpoint of realism for our tastes, especially on skin tone, when DCI-P3 was selected. So we left it there. (The projector’s specs promise greater than Rec.2020 overage, seemingly without specifying DCI-P3 coverage.)

With colour and fit sorted, we started experimenting with motion.

From the external HDMI input the projector can handle all frame rates natively, 24, 50 and 60 frames per second in 4K, and up to 240Hz in 1920×1080 with ‘Gaming Mode’ activated.

From the internal streaming module it’s not so clear; we criticised the previous Leica Cine Play 1 for having its VIDAA interface locked to 60 fps output, causing pull-down judder when playing 50Hz material, such as is served by Australian catch-up services. We think that is still the case on this unit; with our torture test of Nemesis S1E2 on ABC iView, two minutes in (Canberra lake shots post-credits), the 50-to-60fps pulldown was mild but clearly visible as judder, and remained visible even after investigating the best possible custom smoothing settings (there is dejudder in levels of 1 to 10, though no deblur).

But that is a torture test, and we can’t say that judder distracted us in daily use, even on 50Hz catch-up services, and even on sports which might most betray such pulldown. So motion is well handled here, if not perfect. Some GoogleTV dongles which lock to 60Hz do allow an often-deep menu option to switch to native 50 fps operation; after we’d returned the projector Leica Germany said there are motion menus to switch to 48Hz for a 24Hz movie “to prevent judder effect applying at 60Hz”, though we haven’t seen this option, and no such switching seems available for 50Hz.

For critical image watchers wanting certainty of native frame-rate delivery, the easy answer is to use the HDMI input to attach an external media player that follows frame rate according to the source, like an AppleTV 4K. The projector will then follow these native rates, and you are relatively assured of being judder-free.

All settings optimised (some, like ‘AI Picture Optimisation’, seemed to do nothing), we were impressed by both the colour performance and the available brightness here from such a usefully compact projector. Even on difficult US and international TV shows, skin tones were kept impressively realistic, or were within an easy tweak of it.

Higher quality streams watched in a darkened room were able to get into truly impressive territory with wonderfully cinematic delivery; it might be easy to accredit the sharpness to Leica’s glass, though without a polymer version alongside to show the differences, the variables are many. It’s an important question, though, because the glass, and Leica’s algorithms, are a clear differentiator with what’s underneath.

Hullo Hisense

Because what’s underneath is another souped-up Hisense model. Even before we fully unboxed this Leica, we had a moment of recognition: the outer eco-case was familiar from a Hisense PX3 Pro previously sent to us for review. The closer visual match is with Hisense’s ‘C’ projector range, though we couldn’t match the Leica’s dimensions to any specific C model, so couldn’t directly compare to see exactly what has been changed.

We asked, of course. While Leica doesn’t broadcast the Hisense connection on its websites, the company has been pretty open that its projectors have been based on Hisense models; this has been described as a two-way collaboration, though we gather not one in which Leica will be sharing its glass!

In this case Leica locally agreed there is no direct model comparison in Hisense’s ranges here, but that the key upgrades applied by Leica to the Hisense original include the Summicron lens, of course, but also alterations achieving a higher lumen output than the Hisense original, including a light engine where stray light levels have been reduced. The internal sound system was also improved over the original, we are told.

As we’ve seen on previous models, the good glass really does help achieve sharp focus and colour uniformity right to the edge of the image. Good glass can also improve brightness: polymer lenses are less transparent, while glass is better at controlling colour dispersion.

One thing much improved over the previous Leica projector is the VIDAA interface. As mentioned it is now fully populated with Australia’s complete suite of catch-up streaming TV apps, and best of all, you no longer have to sign up to a VIDAA account to use it all. When we reviewed the Leica Cine Play 1 you couldn’t use that projector at all without agreeing to VIDAA’s privacy policy and end user licence agreements, which together totalled 20,000 words, and which allowed many forms of data collection, including mobile tracking if you used a mobile device. Leica Germany noted that “the VIDAA compliance boards are located in the US and EU, following US and EU regulations”, but we still didn’t like it.

Now, you don’t need to sign in to VIDAA at all; this seems only to prevent multiple profiles or a Kidoodle TV log-in option, and the Art Gallery. Small price to pay for a rare bit of privacy these days!

Meanwhile VIDAA ran responsively and smoothly, offering lots of recommendations; it lacked a ‘keep watching’ line of the things you’re in the middle of, but that may have been because we had refused those privacy options.

Sound options

As with all front projectors that have built-in sound, there’s the obvious disconnect that the sound doesn’t come from or even pretend to come from the screen; it’s likely to be coming from behind you.

That unavoidable positioning flaw aside, Leica has conjured a surprisingly meaty and balanced sound from this little box, despite only 10W of power and a simple stereo system within. It’s small and localised sound if compared with a proper hi-fi, of course, let alone a surround system, but it’s not unpleasant; ‘Music’ mode is cleanest and least spitty, ‘Standard’ adds a bit of edge to speech, while the ‘Theatre’ mode makes the sound a little more spacious but also a little more artificial.

We also went through the VIDAA projector menus to connect a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones, to which the audio instantly diverted. This was great for private listening, for cranked listening, or simply for better quality than via the internal speakers. The inherent delay of Bluetooth transmission is a danger here, and even with the delay slider minimised (it seems greyed out for headphone use anyway) there was just a little latency, but not enough to make things unbearable, and we’re fairly picky on latency. So headphones are a good option here.

We also sent the Bluetooth output to Primare’s all-in-one Allt-i-Ett audio system; again latency delay was just on the right side of bearable.

A final audio option is to take the sound out of the projector from the HDMI input socket, which offers eARC playback; it could thereby travel to a hi-fi or active speaker or even AV receiver; we suspect no surround sound in this configuration, as VIDAA seems not to request it (e.g. Netflix defaults to the AMBEO-encoded ‘Spatial Audio’ stereo mix rather than offering 5.1 or Atmos options).

Using the eARC in this way also uses the only HDMI input. With an AV receiver you might connect multiple sources, and run one HDMI cable to the projector, as if it was a TV, also bringing its own VIDAA stereo sound back again. So plenty of options here.

Conclusions

Leica’s Cine Play 1 and this new Compact 1 look similar, but the Compact is some 30% smaller in volume and 2kg lighter, so easier to move around, while its set-up is simple, helpful and versatile. And this smaller model nevertheless delivers delightfully sharp imaging which retains sufficient brightness for a 100-inch image to be viewable even over significant ambient light, still more so if you give it a real screen such as the ambient-light-rejecting screens available from Leica.

And once daylight fades, the Cine Compact 1 shines to its best abilities, delivering truly cinematic imaging, with Dolby Vision and other HDR capabilities, strong realistic colours and effective motion options.

And all this with VIDAA streaming inside, and serviceable built-in speakers too, all inside Leica’s highly attractive rebuilt casing, and with a gorgeous remote control. At this price it’s a double thumbs-up from us.

• See all our Australian reviews from Sound+Image and Australian Hi-Fi magazines

We’re in the run-up to the biggest event in home cinema and hi-fi fans’ calendars, the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2026 – where we will unveil this year’s Product of the Year winners at an exclusive black-tie ceremony.

But ahead of that, we’ve already had one huge shake-up in a key category: best OLED TVs.

After months of comparative testing in our dedicated viewing rooms, running all the latest sets we could get our hands on that are still on sale head-to-head, it was a bit of a bloodbath, with our advice completely changing last week.

And while the focus may be on the Samsung S99H dethroning the Sony Bravia 8 II as the best premium OLED TV – a development that surprised everyone on the team, including TV and AV Editor Tom Parsons – or the 65-inch C6 finally replacing the older C5 as our mid-range recommendation, it was another smaller set that caught my attention.

Specifically, the 48-inch LG C6.

Why this set? Because it's the biggest upgrade we’ve seen to small OLEDs in nearly half a decade.

In case you’re new to What Hi-Fi?, the home cinema team and I have long lamented the lack of innovation happening in small OLED TVs compared to their larger siblings.

Larger OLEDs, especially flagships, have been flooded with new hardware over the past few years. Within LG’s stack alone, we’ve seen not one, but two next-generation panels launch – first, Micro Lens Array, then the current Primary RGB Tandem OLED tech seen on the LG G6.

And that’s a huge shame for buyers who can’t accommodate big sets as, though there have been teething pains, the new panel tech has holistically been a positive.

Higher peak and operating brightness levels, better colour volume and accuracy, especially during dark scenes; the tech, when utilised correctly, can radically improve picture quality.

We’ve run the new TVs against basic WOLED and previous-generation MLA sets to confirm that.

So, it should make sense that we wanted to see it trickle down to smaller, more affordable sets.

And while LG has remained cagey, bluntly refusing our requests for confirmation of the specific panel used on the 48-inch C6, our testing suggests our wish may have finally been granted.

Comparing it to older models, its peak brightness, colour accuracy and general similarity to larger Primary RGB Tandem OLED sets add up to make a compelling case. Our primary reviewer, and senior staff writer, Lewis Empson said as much in our review, where he reported:

“If our theory is correct, it’s likely the cheapest way to acquire an RGB Tandem OLED TV, and if it’s not, then we’d really like to know how LG has pumped the brightness and vibrancy up to this extent. Regardless, it’s fully featured, talented in the picture and sound departments, and it proves that you don’t need to sacrifice a considerable chunk of your living room to achieve a cinematically satisfying experience.”

So even if it doesn't have it, the 48-inch C6 is the best small OLED we’ve ever tested – which is a huge positive and the reason we’ve had to completely change our OLED TV buying advice this month.

Here's hoping it's the start of a trend in the small OLED TV market...

MORE:
These are the best TVs we’ve reviewed

We rank the best small TVs

Our picks of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

2026 has been a particularly good year for surround sound speaker packages. We've tested new systems from Wharfedale, KEF, Paradigm, Dali and Q Acoustics, and while they've not all been perfect, it's been a whole lot of fun testing them out.

Proper surround sound is hard to beat, and while we love the convenience of the best soundbars, the immersion from placing speakers around our home cinema testing room and firing up one of our favourite movies is hard to beat.

Now, I've spent the last month assessing these speaker packages, and in doing so, watching the same clips from Sinners, Blade Runner 2049, F1: The Movie and Thunderbolts* more times than I'd like to admit, and it has led me to an inevitable conclusion: cohesion is the make-or-break of any speaker package.

What do I mean by that? Essentially, if the components don't deliver a cohesive experience, whether that be a tonal dissonance or a change in sonic character between the front, centre and surround channels, then the system has already lost me.

I've tested packages with surround speakers that stick out because they don't sound as full-bodied as the front speakers. Instead of blending in nicely and working together with others to deliver a consistent sound, the speakers make themselves known more than you'd hope, breaking the cinematic bubble in the process.

It's hard to explain, but once you become aware of a surround speaker or centre channel not matching the front speakers, the surround sound magic quickly fades, and there's no real way to combat it. That's why manufacturers need to get it right from the start, or carefully consider which speakers they bundle together.

The best way to achieve this is to keep the drivers, or better yet the speakers themselves, consistent across the package. Take the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1i 5.1 HCP, a What Hi-Fi? Awards 2026 winner, as a prime example.

The front and surround speakers are all the same Wharfedale Diamond 12.1i speakers, and the 12.1Ci centre channel sports the same 25mm woven polyester dome tweeter and 13cm mid/bass drivers as those standmounts.

As a result, the system sounds remarkably consistent, and my attention was never drawn to the surrounds in an unwanted fashion.

Now, cohesion isn't a golden ticket to a five-star speaker package review. Take the Paradigm Premier v2 5.1 speaker package as an example; it features remarkable cohesion between the channels as it too keeps the drivers consistent, which is something we praised in our full review. However, its fundamentally hard-edged sound and lack of natural warmth still make it a tricky system to recommend.

You'll notice that the front left and right speakers are the ones that set the standard, and that's usually because they do the heavy lifting in a speaker package. A majority of sound effects are placed at the front of the mix, and the front speakers bulk out almost all of the sound around the dialogue coming from the centre channel.

That includes soundtracks, atmospheric effects and the general soundscape at large, so the surround speakers really need to follow suit and blend nicely when it comes to delivering surround effects with similar tonal qualities.

That's no easy task, especially as most systems use smaller and cheaper speakers for their surrounds to bring prices down and make these systems more accommodating in terms of size.

However, to reiterate my original point, it can be the make-or-break of delivering quality, immersive surround sound, so getting it right really is important.

MORE:

Read our Wharfedale Diamond 12.1i HCP review

As well as our Dali Sonik 5 5.1 review

And check out the best surround sound systems

Home cinema and sci-fi go together like Han and Chewie, and if you love one, there's a good chance you love the other.

But how much of a sci-fi movie fan are you? Just how broad is your knowledge? Now is the time to find out.

We have put together a 30-question quiz that covers the A-Z of sci-fi movies, both classic and current.

This is about breadth of knowledge: you will be rewarded for the number of sci-fi movies you've seen, rather than the finest of details you can remember.

For a lot of you, that will make it rather easy, which is why we've added a timer.

30 questions, three minutes. No time to ponder, and certainly no time to Google – just pure instinct and ingrained sci-fi knowledge.

There's a leaderboard, too. Let's see if you're light-years ahead of the competition.

MORE:

Can you name all the types of hi-fi and AV cables from the photos?

Can you remember when these pioneering AV products first came out?

Canadian audio brand Paradigm will be a familiar name for many when it comes to home cinema sound. Especially to those au fait with the custom install market, as the company has a wide array of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers for serious home cinema enthusiasts.

We are told by our office's facilities department that, unfortunately, we can’t take a hammer and hacksaw to our AV testing room’s walls, so it’s the new Premier v2 speaker range that has caught our attention.

This 5.1 speaker package opts for a more traditional route, mixing stately floorstanding and standmount speakers for a surround sound experience that you can add to any room – provided you have the space.

With a name like “Premier”, it seems as though these speakers are made for the red carpet and should, therefore, take cinematic sound in their stride. But there is a host of five-star speaker systems from Dali, KEF and Wharfedale that have recently upped the ante in this sector; so can this Paradigm package keep up?

Price

UK retailers aren't currently offering this specific system as a complete package, so you’ll need to purchase the components separately.

For the set-up we are testing here, you will need the Premier 720F v2 floorstanders (£2499/pair), the 220B v2 standmount surrounds (£1299/pair), the 520 LCR v2 centre channel (£999), and the Defiance S12 subwoofer (£1850). This brings the system to a total price of £6647.

In the US, things change slightly as Paradigm sells each speaker separately. The 720F v2 comes in at $1000 each, whereas the 220B v2 sells for $550; remember you’ll need to order two of each. The 520 LCR v2 costs $900, and the Defiance S12 comes in at $1600; taking the full price of the package to $5600.

Things are slightly simpler in Australia, where these speakers go back to being sold in pairs. Here you’ll find the 720F v2 for AU$3799, the 220B v2 for AU$1999, the 520 LCR v2 for AU$1599, and the Defiance S12 sub for AU$2999. That comes to a total of AU$10,396.

There haven’t really been any other speaker packages at this price to enter our AV testing room recently. The Premier v2 5.1 package sits squarely between two Award-winning speaker systems: the KEF R Meta 5.1 (£10,499 / $13,200 / AU$19,400), and the Dali Sonik 5 5.1 (£2199 / $4800 / AU$4596).

The Paradigm package, therefore, has to outperform the Dali to succeed. While beating the KEF would be a pleasant surprise, we certainly don’t expect it, given the considerable price jump for the R Meta 5.1.

Design and build

If there’s one area where Paradigm has hit the nail on the head, it's in the design of these speakers. This is an eye-catching, well-built and premium-looking cohort of speakers which will look suitably stylish in most living rooms and home cinema spaces.

All components match nicely, with a cohesive design across the range. The most notable design element is the spiral-style grille found on the front and surround speakers, which also serves as a visual motif across most of Paradigm’s speaker ranges.

We are also fans of the protruding industrial-looking feet that extend from the bottom corners of the 720F v2 floorstanders. They give these speakers a touch of individuality. And they provide more than just a certain look; these "Outrigger Shock-Mount Isolation Feet", as Paradigm calls them, work to physically decouple the speaker enclosure from the floor, to mitigate unwanted vibrations.

Speaking of the 720F v2 speakers, these sizeable three-way rear-ported floorstanders measure 100 x 32 x 43cm (hwd), making them fairly comparable to the KEF R7 Meta speakers from the Award-winning R Meta system. They are slightly lighter at 26kg per speaker, too.

The 220B v2 are an equally substantial set of surround speakers by standmount standards. These two-way ported speakers measure 37 x 21 x 33cm (hwd) and weigh 9.1kg. These surrounds require a sturdy stand, and there is no keyhole mount for wall mounting.

Moving on to the 520 LCR v2, this three-way sealed centre-channel speaker measures 21 x 59 x 31cm (hwd), and weighs 14kg. It should sit beneath a wall-mounted TV or projector screen without too much hassle, but you may find it a squeeze to fit it within a traditional media unit.

The Defiance S12 subwoofer rounds things out in this hefty system. This sub measures 38 x 40 x 43cm (hwd), and weighs 24kg, making it more substantial than the KEF KC92 subwoofer.

Our review system sports the Walnut finish, although you can also have the system in a Piano Black, Black Walnut or Satin White finish. The Defiance S12 subwoofer, on the other hand, is available only in Gloss Black.

Features

This speaker package is packed full of Paradigm’s proprietary driver technology across all of the components.

You’ll find a 25mm AL-MAC Ceramic Dome tweeter loaded by a heavily dished waveguide on both the 720F v2 floorstanders and 220B v2 standmounts. AL-MAC refers to a rigid, lightweight compound of aluminium, magnesium, and ceramic used in the dome diaphragm of this high-frequency driver.

Paradigm claims that the mix of materials was chosen to produce stable and lifelike high-frequency effects, while the waveguide “precisely shapes output to focus sound on the listening area while reducing unwanted room reflections”.

The centre channel changes things slightly by placing the same tweeter within a coaxial 15.2cm AL-MAG midrange cone. It features a 50mm high-temp multilayered voice coil wound around an Apical (a polyamide plastic film) former designed to handle high thermal stress without deforming.

The fronts and surrounds also share the same midrange driver found on the centre channel, though it sits behind a Perforated Phase-Aligning (PPA) Lens on these speakers. This unique spiral-patterned waveguide is designed to ensure that all frequencies will reach your ears simultaneously for a more harmonious sound.

It also acts as a physical shield and acoustic filter designed to block out-of-phase signals; Paradigm says that we should notice a more three-dimensional soundscape as a result.

You’ll also find two 15.2cm CARBON-X Unibody Cone bass drivers on the floorstanding speakers and centre channel. These unibody cones are designed for “maximum strength and minimal mass”, with Paradigm citing deep and controlled low end even at high volumes. They are placed towards the bottom of each floorstanding speaker, and they flank the tweeter on the centre channel.

Such drive-unit consistency across the speaker package is a good way to maximise sonic cohesion across the channels. It’s also worth noting here that the fronts, surrounds and centres are all bi-wireable.

Rounding out the package, the Defiance S12 subwoofer sports a 30.5cm anodised aluminium cone, which sits within a steel chassis for enhanced rigidity and stability. It is powered by 800W of Class D amplification, and Paradigm claims its frequency range can reach as deep as 16Hz.

This powered subwoofer features support for the company’s ARC Genesis room correction software, which can also be found on Anthem AVRs. The microphone and software are sold separately, and you’ll need a Mac or PC to complete the process. It does mean, however, that the subwoofer can be calibrated separately to the rest of your speakers.

When it comes to connectivity, the S12 offers a range of physical connections, including a balanced XLR, speaker-level inputs or RCA phono inputs for connecting to hi-fi systems, or an LFE RCA input for connecting to an AVR. Unusually, Paradigm includes a wireless transmitter in the box for connecting this subwoofer wirelessly.

Sound quality

While an exhaustive list of proprietary technologies across the drive units is impressive on paper, what really counts is how this speaker package performs.

We have it hooked up to our reference Denon AVC-A1H home cinema amplifier to power the system, and have applied the Audyssey X32 room correction system. We are using our trusty Oppo UDP-230 4K Blu-ray player to play cinematic content.

It is first worth mentioning this speaker system’s strengths, as there are many to note. Playing F1: The Movie, we are met with a big, spacious and powerful sound, with the opening providing a serious soundscape of cinematic audio. Car engines roar, announcers’ voices boom, and tyres screech in a muscular first outing for the system.

This is underpinned by an impressive level of detail, with the Premier v2 system refusing to leave any small sonic detail out of the overall presentation. This extends to voices coming through the centre channel, as both Stack and Mary’s voices during a fraught conversation in Sinners are presented with clarity and directness, which means no dialogue is missed within the greater mix.

Continuing the scene, the medley sequence, which features music from past and present, highlights the sonic cohesion between the components of the package.

Everything gels together with excellent consistency and fluidity, with no noticeable gaps, and the surround channels blend in seamlessly without distracting us. Instead, the system delivers a well-constructed bubble of sound around us, with surprisingly impressive dispersion that even fills out some sound above our seating position, despite the lack of dedicated height channels.

And we have to commend the overall highlight of the package – the subwoofer. The Defiance S12 pumps out rich, deep and controlled bass, meaning it hardly breaks a sweat with the tricky chapter two sequence of Blade Runner 2049.

The subwoofer digs deep without introducing unwanted fuzz or distortion, and its top-notch timing ensures tension is built throughout the sequence effectively.

If there is one takeaway you may have noticed from the Paradigm system, it’s that it's big and powerful. While that’s an asset, the system unfortunately leans a bit too far into the broad, heavy and punchy sound, and doesn't pay as much attention to sonic subtleties.

There’s an immediate sense that low-level dynamics are an issue, as voices are lacking in expression, and emotion isn’t communicated as clearly as we would like.

The hushed and emotional conversation in Sinners that we mentioned previously sounds like it’s being yelled at us, despite volume levels being modest, with Stack’s mic-drop line of “that I love you? That I think about you every day?” coming across as icy rather than vulnerable or heartfelt.

The flattening of voices and a lack of natural warmth means that we lose the character and inflexion of dialogue quite easily. Yelena’s cheeky one-liners in Thunderbolts* can sound dry rather than playful and sarcastic, and voices sometimes pierce through action sequences in a way that’s not wholly natural.

The longer that we listen to the system, the more we find it overbearing and insistent. Despite plenty of run-in time, there’s a hardness to the sound that doesn’t relent regardless of whether it's a bombastic action sequence or a softly spoken dialogue-led scene.

This experience extends to stereo music when we just have the floorstanders running.

There is plenty of power, rich bass and clarity, but Saviour Complex by Phoebe Bridgers feels aggressive for a softly sung track. Punchier tracks, such as Kiss The Ring from Hans Zimmer’s Dune: Part Two soundtrack, lend themselves better to the full-on sound, but even this can feel overdone.

If spectacle and punch are what you’re after, the Paradigm package may be plenty for you. But when it comes to nuance, finer expression in voices, and conveying emotion, the Paradigm struggles to let go of that punchy, “in your face” attitude, which can compromise the emotive intention of dialogue.

Verdict

Paradigm’s Premier v2 5.1 speaker package sports a refined look and more proprietary speaker technology than you can shake a stick at, but its overly assertive nature lets it down.

That’s not to say it’s a sonic write-off; there’s tons of detail to glean from this system, and the subwoofer is genuinely excellent, but punch and power need a softer edge to create a holistically cinematic experience.

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Design 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Here are all of the best surround sound systems you can buy right now

Check out our Dali Sonik 5 5.1 review and KEF R Meta 5.1 Speaker System review

ORIGINAL STORY 22/10/2026: Just when it looked like a 4K Blu-ray revival was in full gear, Sony could be about to bring the occasion to a crashing halt.

Reports suggest the firm is ending production of its final commercial model, the UBP-X700/K, despite only launching it just over a year ago.

Kunkoku, a Japanese blog dedicated to Sony products and a Sony retail partner, reports (via FlatpanelsHD) that Sony has "ended shipments of its Ultra HD Blu-ray player", with sales of the UBP-X700/K ceasing once stock runs out.

Visiting the Sony Japan online store reveals that the player is already out of stock, so it may already be too late for those looking to purchase the Blu-ray player in Japan.

This could leave the PlayStation 5 as the company's final remaining device capable of playing 4K Blu-ray discs.

But that will be of little comfort to physical media fans, as we know from Sony's previous announcement that future PlayStation consoles will not support physical discs.

On a wider scale, Panasonic could be the only remaining mainstream manufacturer to continue producing 4K disc players, with new players, such as Krovatar, and enthusiast manufacturers, including Magnetar, filling in the gaps.

Kunkoku affirms that "no information regarding a successor model has been announced at this time". While the end of production of 4K Blu-ray players is specifically in Japan from this source, we'd be surprised if Sony opts to continue selling them globally despite ending production within its home market.

Stock appears to still be available via Sony's official channels in the UK, and third-party retailers are also showing the UBP X700/K as available. That said, once stock runs dry, we could see a similar situation here.

We've reached out to Sony for comment.

MORE:

Read our Sony UBP-X700 review

Check out our picks for the best 4K Blu-ray players

And read our Sony PlayStation 5 review

When we tested LG’s Sound Suite system, there was a fair bit to like about the soundbar package.

Made up of the H7 soundbar, W7 subwoofer and two M7 speakers, the system offered a room-filling sound with impressive Dolby Atmos handling and deep bass. But its slightly aggressive overall presentation and inexpressive dialogue mean it scored a middling three-star review.

Now, though, LG is adding a big free upgrade that could make it more appealing for some, with the brand claiming to expand “immersive audio possibilities for home theatre enthusiasts".

The most notable of these upgrades is the addition of DTS:X support, as the soundbar system previously offered only Atmos. Even though the latter is much more widely available for both streaming and physical media, there are still a few discs that exclusively support the surround sound format. Anyway, it’s always nice to have both on board for comprehensive coverage.

That is available with both the LG Sound Suite as well as the LG H7 soundbar on its own.

LG is also giving the option to add in two of the W7 subwoofers instead of the one that we used to test the package. The brand adds that this should “improve bass consistency throughout a room, delivering more balanced low-frequency performance across multiple seating positions.”

On top of that, LG has added support for Wi‑Fi 6 GHz networks and 5 GHz DFS channels. You will also now be able to access Google Cast support, which means you can stream music directly from your phone, tablet, or laptop.

While it is not the upgrade we were hoping for in terms of improved audio performance, it’s certainly a welcome addition when it comes to surround sound support and increased flexibility.

MORE:

Here’s our review of the LG Sound Suite H7

Check out the best soundbars

And this is our review of the LG Sound Suite system

I’ve been very open about my love for the Sony Bravia 8 II – some might say nauseatingly so – having done the modern equivalent of shouting it from the rooftops by writing about it on the internet time and time again.

When it launched last year, the Bravia 8 II didn’t so much beat its very accomplished competition; it smashed it, leaving the likes of the LG G5, Panasonic Z95B and Samsung S95F sobbing and nursing their wounds.

Rightfully, it romped to victory in the 2025 What Hi-Fi? Awards, taking the Product Of The Year gong in the TV category.

It’s testament to Sony’s achievements with the Bravia 8 II that even this year, it is still very nearly the best TV available.

Wave after wave of new rivals have appeared, both OLEDs and fancy RGB Mini LED sets, and the Bravia 8 II has stood firm, batting each back while barely breaking a sweat.

With one exception: the Samsung S99H.

Yes, the only TV that we, as a team, and I personally rate higher than the Bravia 8 II is Samsung’s flagship QD-OLED. And, I’ll confess, it isn’t the TV I expected to topple the mighty Sony.

There’s no such thing as perfection

So, the S99H (known as the S95H in most regions outside the UK, where the S95H is an entirely different model) is now perched atop our list of the best TVs, but it isn’t without its controversies.

The most obvious is its wide metal bezel, onto which the main panel is mounted to look as if it’s floating.

It’s a striking design that looks stunning when the TV is wall-mounted, but weird and incongruous when it’s plonked on a TV stand with the (let’s face it, unforgivably cheap-looking) bundled feet attached.

Samsung has done away with the excellent One Connect box of its previous OLED flagships, too. Which means that, rather than having a separate device through which all connections (and power) are routed, leaving just one cable running to the display, the S99H has a typical collection of ins and outs on its rear.

Given that the design encourages wall mounting, that’s a bit of a shame. Yes, the S99H is compatible with Samsung’s new Wireless One Connect Box, but this is an expensive optional extra that is far from widely available (I currently can’t find a single UK retailer that’s selling it).

The final fly in the ointment is a lack of Dolby Vision support. I realise this is nothing new for Samsung TVs, but it remains a major annoyance. Samsung’s own HDR10+ is all well and good from a dynamic metadata point of view, but it doesn’t marry that to ‘as the director’ picture tuning with a single preset in the way that Dolby Vision does when it’s done right.

Even better than the best where it matters

Those flaws, though, pale into insignificance in the face of everything the Samsung S99H gets right.

Picture quality is, of course, the most important factor to any TV. And the S99H is the only TV that has got the better of the Bravia 8 II in this regard.

It very much feels as though Samsung has looked at what makes the Bravia 8 II so good and found a way to beat it at its own game. So, while the S99H has a newer, significantly brighter QD-OLED panel than the Bravia 8 II, Samsung has combined that with the most subtle and cinematically authentic tuning that we have yet seen from the brand.

In other words, this is a TV that is capable of dazzling to an almost unprecedented level, that pairs perfect blacks with the sort of brightness usually associated with a top-end Mini LED model; but put it into its Filmmaker Mode and it will also deliver your movies and TV shows in the manner the director intended.

One area in which the Bravia 8 II was always head and shoulders above its rivals was solidity and three-dimensional depth. The S99H is a match for it here as well. This is an image with a great sense of scale and immersion, without any sense of over-sharpening.

There really is no way in which the S99H’s picture is anything other than excellent, regardless of what it is you look for in a TV. And it has a feature set to match.

The HDMI sockets might be mounted to the rear of the TV, but they are all full-fat HDMI 2.1 affairs (the Bravia 8 II has just two of these) capable of handling 4K/165Hz signals (the Bravia 8 II tops out at 4K/120Hz), VRR and ALLM.

And yes, if you can find one, the Wireless One Connect box can add even more HDMI 2.1 sockets, should you need them.

Pair that specification with the actual gaming performance, which is exemplary, and this really is a gamer’s delight of a TV.

Tizen is rapidly returning to the top of the smart TV platform charts, too, regaining some of the usability it lost in a redesign a few years ago while offering one of the most comprehensive app selections you will find on any TV.

All of those apps are really well optimised, too, delivering all of the resolutions and dynamic range formats they should (Dolby Vision notwithstanding).

The S99H even sounds good by TV standards. Yes, it would still be close to criminal not to pair a TV this good with a dedicated sound system, but if you really must use the integrated speakers, they are at least decent – albeit not quite to the level of the Bravia 8 II’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ setup.

All hail the new flagship TV king

All of which is to say that the Samsung S99H is a magnificent TV. It’s the one model that has finally bested the Bravia 8 II in our testing, and the only TV I would seriously consider swapping my own Sony for.

Given how much I’ve raved about the Bravia 8 II over the past year, that’s about as strong an endorsement as I can give.

MORE:

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

If you buy the Samsung S99H, try to budget for one of the best soundbars or best surround sound systems

Over the past couple of years, one question has been nagging at home cinema nerds, myself included: are giant TVs going to kill off projectors?

There are good reasons to think they might: the average TV is currently capable of producing brighter highlights, deeper blacks and more vibrant colours than a typical projector; they tend to have more robust smart platforms and better gaming specifications; they don’t require the purchase and installation of a separate screen; and prices are coming down at a ridiculous rate.

But there’s a romanticism and cinematic authenticity to projection that a television can’t match, at least in the minds of many. And, while TVs are getting much larger, once you go over 100 inches, projection tends to be much more affordable.

It’s a thorny subject – one that my colleague Lewis Empson and I recently discussed on video.

You can watch that video below, but how does the projector industry itself feel about it? Are manufacturers worried that they are about to be rendered obsolete by their TV-producing brethren? We decided to ask them to find out.

If Sony, Optoma, Anker and Xgimi are worried, they certainly don’t seem it (we also reached out to BenQ, JVC and Epson, but didn’t hear back).

In fact, they all pointed to the unique qualities that projectors offer and TVs can’t match – and those qualities are thankfully much more quantifiable than “projectors make it feel like being in the cinema”.

Projectors don’t take over your room

A recurring theme in the responses was that projectors offer greater flexibility when it comes to how a room looks and functions:

“Projection continues to offer something televisions cannot easily replicate: a truly cinematic experience at 100, 120, 150 inches and beyond, without requiring a permanently dominant screen in the room,” says Optoma’s UK sales manager, James Fitzgerald.

“As homes become more multi-purpose and design-conscious, many consumers still value the ability to enjoy a large-screen experience when they want it while keeping their living spaces flexible and uncluttered,” he continues.

That’s a sentiment shared by Anker’s managing director for the UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, Faraz Mehdi: “Projectors are compact in size, take up no wall space, and become ‘invisible’ once turned off.”

And Apollo Zhong, Xgimi’s Founder and CEO, concurs: “A 100-inch TV is still a large piece of furniture that takes up space all day, every day,” he says. “A projector gives you the same scale when you want it, but doesn’t permanently occupy your room when you don't.”

Unlike the other manufacturers we spoke to for this piece, Sony produces TVs as well as projectors, so it has a foot in both camps. Still, Adrian Bond, Sony Europe’s product marketing manager for home projector and Bravia, agrees with his contemporaries:

“A projector in hidden housing with a retractable projector screen is vastly more discreet and flexible in aesthetics than a monolithic super-large screen TV.”

Projectors offer more flexibility over where you watch

Unsurprisingly, given the lifestyle and portable models they produce, a couple of the manufacturers were keen to point out the flexibility that a projector can offer over a very large TV.

“Many of today’s projectors also offer a level of flexibility that televisions simply cannot match,” says Optoma’s James Fitzgerald, “with compact designs that can be moved easily from room to room, taken to different locations, or set up indoors and outdoors depending on the occasion.”

Anker’s Faraz Mehdi agrees: “They allow portability, being easily moved and used in various settings such as bedrooms, living rooms, and campsites, which TVs cannot offer.”

But it’s not just about portability, argues Sony’s Adrian Bond; there can be benefits for those building dedicated home cinema spaces, too.

“Transporting, manoeuvring and installing a 115-inch TV is far more challenging than hanging a projector and screen, especially for any premium install in a high-rise apartment building,” he says.

Projectors are simply more cinematic than TVs

While a lot of the answers to our questions had a clear practicality argument at their core, Sony’s Adrian Bond wanted to make the point that, in some ways at least, projectors are simply better than TVs.

According to him, “our projectors still offer a different, elevated and more precise experience for the discerning cinephile.”

“A 100-inch+ TV is an epic viewing experience for sure”, he continues, “Our new FWD-115XR95M2 will deliver exactly this. But for the fully immersive experience that engulfs the peripheral vision and has a wider angle, then dedicated home cinema projectors are superior.”

Of course, a suitably large TV screen at the appropriate distance will also fill your vision in the same way, but Bond says there are also changing aspect ratios to consider:

“A TV at 100+ inches will still be fixed in 16:9 aspect ratio due to its form factor,” he says. “To watch in CinemaScope, you will still incur the black bars at the top and bottom of your screen, whereas with a home cinema projector and screen, you can enjoy CinemaScope as intended, on purpose-built screens.”

He makes an excellent point about sound, too: “With premium micro-perforated or woven projector screens, super high-end centre speakers can be placed directly behind the screen, perfectly matching audio with the action/dialogue on screen.”

This is, of course, the sort of sound-from-picture experience that we’re all used to from the local cinema, but it’s very hard for TVs to replicate, thanks to their typically frame- and/or rear-mounted speakers.

As Bond points out, this is the philosophy behind the Acoustic Surface Audio technology of Sony’s OLED TVs, which feature actuators that vibrate the actual screen to make sound. As clever and effective as this solution is in some regards, though, and as good as Sony’s OLEDs tend to sound by prevailing TV standards, it’s not in the same league as having a large, properly calibrated, hi-fi-quality speaker handling centre-channel duties by firing directly through a quality perforated screen.

The final word (for now)

So, are projector manufacturers concerned about the rise of giant TVs? It certainly doesn’t sound like it.

As Xgimi’s Apollo Zhong says, “We don't really see larger TVs as a threat. If anything, they confirm that people want bigger and more immersive screens. We also don’t think it’s a zero-sum competition. TVs and projectors solve different problems.”

I’m not entirely convinced the industry can afford to be quite so relaxed, though.

As TVs get bigger and more affordable, the advantages of projection will inevitably become harder to sell. Modularity, as pioneered by solutions such as Samsung’s The Wall, could also help to overcome some of the practical challenges of installing a truly enormous TV.

For now, though, I am inclined to agree with Optoma’s James Fitzgerald when he says that “projection remains uniquely positioned to deliver scale, flexibility, portability and cinematic impact in ways other display technologies cannot.”

A retractable screen, a portable projector or a dedicated home cinema setup can offer flexibility that a giant TV simply can’t, while a properly designed projection system can deliver the sort of scale and immersion that remain, for now, prohibitively expensive to achieve with a conventional TV.

And then there’s that elusive sense of cinema.

Perhaps it’s the sheer size of the image, the way it fills your field of view, the beam of light travelling through the room before the picture is reflected back from the screen, or simply the ritual of settling down in a darkened room to watch a film. Whatever it is, projection has a particular magic that even the best TVs struggle to replicate.

But I keep coming back to one question: what happens if cinemas themselves move away from projection?

Samsung Onyx LED screens already offer a TV-like alternative in some cinemas. If that approach becomes more widespread, will we still associate projection with that special sense of cinema? Or will we eventually come to regard a wall-sized TV as just as cinematic?

I don’t know the answer. But while TVs continue to close the gap, I suspect the future of projection will depend on more than just how big an image it can produce.

MORE:

Here are the best projectors and the best TVs you can buy right now

Check out this dream penthouse custom install home cinema

Pound for pound, the TCL C7K was arguably last year’s best value TV.

So, with added local dimming zones and TCL’s fancy new Super Quantum Dots on board, you’ve got to hope that this successor, the C7L, is going to be more than up to the job of repeating its predecessor’s success.

Price

The £1199 / AU$1790 price for the 65-inch C7L we’re testing is broadly in line with what last year’s 65C7K cost at the same stage in its life cycle.

That is pretty impressive, given that the newer model introduces a host of substantial hardware and software improvements – not least the step up to new Super Quantum Dots for colour reproduction.

In the US, the equivalent model is the QM7L, which costs $1200. However, while the C7L and QM7L are apparently identical in terms of hardware, we understand that the tuning is different, so this review shouldn’t be considered as applying to the QM7L.

Strangely, in the UK, the 65C7L costs a fairly whopping £700 less than TCL’s step-up 65C8L – a much more significant price gap than we see at other screen sizes (the 55-inch C7L, for instance, is only £200 cheaper than the 55C8L).

Similarly specified 65-inch TVs in the 65C7L’s price ballpark are tough to find. Recent price cuts make Hisense’s 2025 but still widely available 65U8QTUK probably the closest rival, though the 65-inch version of Hisense’s 2026 RGB LED UR8 TV currently costs £1699.

Samsung’s new 65QN80H model also costs £1199, though this doesn’t feature new SQD or RGB LED technologies, sticking with a relatively straightforward Mini LED backlighting system.

Design

The C7L features a premium design distinguished by its metallic finish and the extreme trimness of the bezel around the screen.

It’s not the slimmest TV around the back by today’s svelte standards, though, and the build quality is reasonable rather than fantastic.

You only notice this when you’re setting it up, though; from a normal viewing distance, there’s nothing cheap about the way it looks.

Happily, the C7L avoids the current trend of sitting big-screen TVs on feet placed under their bottom corners, going instead for a square plate stand under the screen’s middle that makes it easy to position the set on even the narrowest cabinets and tables.

The C7L doesn’t ship with the glamorous silver metallic handset you get with the C8L. Its remote instead sports a relatively plasticky black finish and a slightly cluttered-feeling full button count, including a set of numeric keys.

It does helpfully still retain, though, both a dedicated mic button for voice instructions and direct buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Disney+ and TCL’s own TCL Channels service of streamed TV.

Features

We should start this section with the two main areas where the C7L delivers clear claimed hardware improvements over its illustrious predecessor.

TCL’s new Super Quantum Dots might not wear capes, but they do feature no fewer than five different structural layers compared with the two used in traditional Quantum Dots. This results, it is claimed, in more stability, better colour accuracy/purity, and improved efficiency.

The 65C7L also features around 10 per cent more local dimming zones than its predecessor: 1152 versus 1008, to be precise. That’s a very generous number for the C7L’s price level.

TCL claims a peak brightness of 3000 nits for the 65C7L, too – though while this is another very high number for such an affordable TV, it doesn’t represent an increase on the claim of last year’s C7K.

The Super Quantum Dots have been applied to the second generation of TCL’s WVHA panel design. This ushered in a plethora of picture-enhancing features to great effect last year, including increased transient response for improved motion sharpness, advanced blooming controls beyond the mere dimming zone count, enhanced light control for subtler shading and premium shadow detailing, and substantial power consumption savings.

TCL’s AiPQ processing has been optimised for the new colour and backlight system, of course, while the C7L’s panel joins that of the C8L in supporting playback of 4K at frame rates up to 144Hz, and HD at frame rates up to 288Hz (thanks to Direct Line Gate technology).

These excellent gaming features are backed up by support for VRR, including in the AMD FreeSync Premium Pro format; a Dolby Vision game mode; ALLM switching; a respectably low 13.4ms of input lag in the screen’s fastest response Game mode; and a dedicated game menu screen offering a mix of graphics information and gaming aids.

The only disappointment from a gaming perspective is that only two of its four HDMI ports support the full range of cutting-edge gaming features, but at this price, that feels fairly forgivable.

The Dolby Vision gaming mode is just a small part of the C7L’s extensive HDR support. It also supports Dolby Vision IQ, where the picture adjusts in response to ambient light conditions, as well as the alternative HDR10+ premium HDR system, and, of course, the core HDR10 and HLG formats.

Smart features come courtesy of Google TV, but TCL has gone the extra mile to make sure that the C7L carries all of the catch-up services for the UK’s main terrestrial broadcasters that Google itself does not cater for.

The 65C7L’s startlingly advanced picture technology for its price is joined by a sound system that’s the result of another collaboration with premium AV brand Bang & Olufsen. This 2.2-channel, 60W system is short a few watts and a channel versus the 65C8L’s system, but it’s still a premium design for such an affordable 65-inch TV.

Picture quality

The first thing to say about the C7L’s picture quality, albeit rather unfairly, is that this year it falls some way short of the more expensive C8L. This is absolutely fair enough, of course, given the price difference between the two models. But we mention it because last year the C7K’s pictures arguably outperformed those of the C8K, at least in some areas.

Crucially, though, the bigger picture difference this year is down solely to the C8L improving so much; there’s certainly not been any sort of drop-off in the C7L’s performance. On the contrary, it’s still a shining star for its price.

The shining starts quite literally, with levels of both full-screen brightness and small peak brightness that you won’t find anywhere else for the C7L’s money. The radiance with which the TV can deliver bright HDR content is a phenomenal spectacle in the set’s excellent Standard preset, but also contributes to a really eye-catching light range with the set’s Filmmaker Mode. This is despite Filmmaker Mode understandably adopting a much dimmer baseline brightness to ensure it matches today’s most common video mastering values.

The 65C7L can deliver such compelling pictures in both its screen-tech-showcase Standard mode and accuracy-based Filmmaker Mode because it possesses some seriously impressive light control to go with the brightness. Intensely bright whites and colours can be delivered by the new SQD screen at the same time – as in, literally in the same image frame – as the screen is producing deep, rich blacks without generating major light haloing around the bright highlights. The resulting contrast is a marvel for a TV at the C7L’s price point.

The exceptional brightness and light management feeds into another lovely TCL colour performance, too. In fact, presumably thanks to the new ‘Super' Quantum Dots, there’s even more subtlety and nuance in the darkest and brightest colours than there was with last year’s C7K. That’s despite the fact that the screen’s contrast is even more extreme.

While the C7L’s Filmmaker Mode delivers a beautifully nuanced, accurate and cinematic image, where colours still look rich and HDR highlights still look punchier than they do with any other LCD TVs we can think of at this price, the 65C7L’s colours still look balanced and believable even when you’re watching the TV in its much brighter, bolder Standard preset. So whether you fancy a lights-down movie night or you want a picture that still looks spectacular in a bright living room, the C7L has you covered.

The C7L also serves up an impressively vibrant, responsive, crisp and clean video game performance (provided you use one of the two full bandwidth HDMIs), as well as crisp, detailed images with both native 4K and upscaled HD sources.

The Natural Cinema motion processing mode TCL provides does a good job, too (a better job, strangely, than it seems to on the C8L), of retaining sharpness and clarity over and around moving objects, without causing excessive unwanted processing side effects or the soap opera effect.

We mentioned above, though, that there is a clear gap between the C7L and the C8L in performance terms, so we now need to get into the cheaper model’s (relatively tiny) limitations.

First, extreme contrast content does reveal a little more backlight blooming than the C8L exhibits, especially in the black bars that are present above and below wide aspect ratio content. Blooming becomes much more noticeable, too, if you’re viewing the TV from a wide angle.

The Dolby Vision Dark and Standard HDR10 presets can both cause a few subtle shading details to become lost in the blackness of extremely dark scenes, too – though with HDR10 sources you can improve this artefact of the TV’s slightly over-enthusiastic dynamic tone mapping system by nudging up a provided Black Level setting. You can’t go too far with this, however, as the feature also raises black levels.

While some AV fans will like the glossy finish of the C7L’s screen compared with the matte look of some of this year’s key rivals, it can leave some quite obvious reflections if you have a direct light source anywhere opposite the TV.

Finally, TCL’s implementation of its new Eco features is a bit obscure and complicated, leaving us worried that at least a few C7L buyers will end up leaving their shiny new TV delivering pictures with only a fraction of the impact the screen is capable of with its Eco features turned off.

None of these issues, though, are remotely serious or common enough to stop the C7L from being, like its predecessor, arguably the best all-round value TV we’ve seen all year.

Sound quality

The C7L’s Bang & Olufsen audio co-production is good in some ways, but also not without its flaws.

The best thing about it is the way it has the power and speaker quality to produce a substantial soundstage that spreads right across your room from left to right, rather than remaining locked in the TV’s bodywork. There’s even a reasonable sense of height to the C7L’s sound ‘wall’, helping it get more benefit than most mid-range TVs from Dolby Atmos’s overhead effects.

There’s lots of detail in the spacious soundstage, too, making the world of whatever you’re watching feel busy and involving, and for the most part, effects – including individual voices during dialogue sequences – are placed with decent accuracy. Or, to be more precise, they’re placed quite accurately within a soundstage that mostly seems to be happening behind the screen, as the C7L doesn’t push its sound forward as much as we’d like.

Treble sounds, though, while clear, can sound a little harsh and brash at times, and bass doesn’t reach as deep or get as actively involved in the mix as we had hoped. In fact, low frequencies can drop out almost completely during the heaviest movie rumbles.

Overall, the sheer scale and clarity of the C7L’s sound, together with its ability to get seriously loud, ensure it’s a decent performer overall. We just can’t help but think, though, that TCL’s collaboration with B&O is capable of more – especially given the obvious quality of the core speaker components being used.

Verdict

The TCL C7L’s picture quality is really unfathomably good for a 65-inch TV that costs just £1199 / AU$1790.

It is bright, colourful and rich in contrast, but also balanced, subtle and natural, regardless of whether you’re watching it in its spectacular Standard preset or its more cinematically authentic Filmmaker Mode. It’s an excellent gaming display, too, provided you don’t need more than two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the TCL P8L

Also consider the TCL C7K

Read our TCL C8L

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

Projector brand Xgimi has added three RGB triple-laser models to its collection, promising to bring the “big-screen experience home without the need for a dedicated home cinema space”.

The Horizon 30 Series comprises the Horizon 30 Pro, 30 Max, and 30 Ultra Max. All of them offer 4K resolution and have a 120Hz refresh rate, with Xgimi claiming that the latter results in “smooth, natural motion”.

This follows on from Xgimi’s Horizon 20 Series which came out last year, but the China-based company says the new models will deliver an “upgraded viewing experience with vivid images in rooms with ambient light, greater depth in dark scenes, and smoother motion for fast-moving content”.

There is a Dual Intelligent Iris system built into each model, which Xgimi claims can adjust light output as scenes change. Like its predecessors, all three projectors also support Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG, plus IMAX Enhanced content.

On top of the projectors’ 4k/120Hz offerings, gamers will be pleased to hear that they support variable refresh rates (VRR), and auto low latency mode (ALLM) for "faster, more responsive play".

According to Xgimi, the models can project an image up to 300 inches, which should make for an immersive viewing experience.

There are a range of features built-in to make set-up easier, including optical zoom, lens shift, automatic keystone correction, and autofocus. There are also obstacle avoidance and screen alignment features on hand. This easy set-up is helped by each projector’s built-in stand, which you can tilt vertically and rotate horizontally if you need to adjust manually.

The 30 Ultra Max offers the highest claimed brightness of the bunch at 6000 ANSI lumens. Then the 30 Max comes in at 5300 lumens, and the 30 Pro claims to go up to 4800 lumens.

Google TV is on board, which gives you access to the usual streaming apps, including Netflix, Apple TV and Disney+. The projectors also come with their own built-in sound system, consisting of two 12W Harman Kardon speakers.

So, how much will the new range set you back? The most expensive of the bunch is the Horizon 30 Ultra Max, which comes in at £2799 / $3199 / around AU$5366. Next is the Horizon 30 Max, setting you back £2399 / $2699 / AU$4599. Finally, the 30 Pro will cost you £2099 / $2099 / around AU$4025.

We tested Xgimi's older Horizon 20 Max and gave it a solid four-star review in our test room, praising its extreme brightness and room-filling sound by projector standards. We said in our review that the black levels aren’t the best so, if the new models can fix this issue, we could be getting an even stronger entry to the market.

MORE:

Check out the best projectors

Here is our review of the Xgimi Horizon 20 Max

These are the best soundbars you can buy

We blinked, and suddenly it’s been more than a year since we got KEF’s premium XIO soundbar into our test room.

And, despite a very busy 12 months in soundbar land, the KEF XIO has clinched a What Hi-Fi? Award for the second year in a row.

One of its biggest direct competitors was the awesome Focal Mu-so Hekla, which has a much higher price tag (£3000 / $3600 / around AU$5695) than the XIO (£1999 / $2500 / AU£3600), but a 7.1.2-channel configuration compared to the XIO's 5.1.2 system.

As you would expect from a much more expensive sound system, the Hekla is more detailed, refined and dynamic than the XIO, which is why it very much deserves its five-star rating.

So why isn't the Hekla our Award-winner?

Primarily, it's because while the Hekla is excellent, the 'soundbar' label doesn't fit it entirely comfortably.

That's a lot to do with its design, which is less 'bar' and more 'slab' – albeit an extremely classy, attractive slab. Ultimately, It's not really suited for placement in front of a TV, and it can't be wall-mounted. Instead, it looks more at home on a side table, much like an all-in-one hi-fi system akin to a super-sized Naim Mu-so.

So, while on a performance-per-pound basis it's a relatively close call between the XIO and Hekla, KEF's entry makes more instinctive sense than the Hekla if you are looking for the premium soundbar experience.

The Samsung HW-Q990H also served as competition of sorts for the KEF XIO. Again, it's a slightly different proposition, as the Samsung model is a soundbar system with a wireless sub and surrounds, compared with the KEF's solo soundbar design.

These products are really designed for different people and use-cases, with the Samsung prioritising cinematic scale and immersion and the KEF taking a more hi-fi-quality approach to TV sound.

And because their markets are so different, they ultimately ended up in different sub-categories, with the Samsung taking the Best Soundbar System Award in the £500 to £2000 price bracket, and the KEF being assessed as a solo bar.

As well as the XIO's top-notch audio performance, its impressive hardware under the hood helps it stand out from the crowd.

It's deeper than many soundbars when standing on its feet, but it can be reoriented for wall-mounting so that it sticks out just 7cm. The smart chassis houses 12 drive units, each with a dedicated Class D power amplifier.

KEF’s Velocity Control Technology (VECO) is also built into the drive unit. Here, a flexible PCB with a sensing coil replaces a traditional former (the component the main coil wraps around) and measures movement speed. This allows the soundbar’s ‘brain’ to compensate for any errors detected.

In our review, we concluded that the KEF XIO “is one of the best soundbars we have heard”, and, another year on, it remains the best soundbar in its class.

Our only disappointment is that KEF hasn't yet launched a step-down model with a more compact design and lower price, but perhaps it will do just that before the 2027 What Hi-Fi? Awards. It would be fascinating to see a smaller XIO take on the excellent Sonos Arc Ultra.

MORE:

Check out the full list of What Hi-Fi? 2026 Award winners

Here's our review of the Focal Mu-so Hekla

And this is our review of the KEF XIO

Way back in 2023, as I hunted for a living room-friendly sound solution for my new home, I replaced a Sonos Arc with a pair of HomePod 2s, and what I discovered was a surprisingly accomplished Dolby Atmos performance in a super-neat package.

One of my criticisms, though, and a key reason I ended up with the Sony HT-A9 system long-term instead, was that “there’s currently no way to extend the Apple system beyond two speakers, so you can't add dedicated surrounds.”

Now, more than three years later, Apple has finally removed that limitation.

This new Apple TV 4K model, with its powerful A19 chip, can be partnered with four HomePod 2s, four of the new HomePod Mini 2s, or a pair of each, to create a full surround sound experience.

As before, there is no dedicated, manual calibration involved. You simply plonk the speakers where they are most practical, and their combination of integrated microphones will work out where they are and adapt the sound to each other and the environment. Very neat – assuming it works as well as it does with a pair of HomePods.

For those not already familiar with how an Apple TV 4K + HomePods combination works, the HomePods don’t play audio just from the Apple TV 4K itself. Thanks to eARC support, they can also handle sound from other devices connected to your TV, such as a games console or Blu-ray player.

There are other things I’m excited about with the new Apple TV 4K, of course.

Far-field mics for totally hands-free operation via Siri AI are actually rather appealing, I think, as long as Siri can play content from all streaming apps; and AV1 codec support is potentially a big deal for picture quality in the long run.

As someone who misplaces the tiny Siri Remote on a near-weekly basis, the new version’s audible Find My feature should prove very useful, too.

But it’s this ability to turn a HomePod setup into a proper Dolby Atmos home cinema system that has really piqued my interest.

The downside? Cost, of course.

The new Apple TV 4K is launching at £299 / $299 / AU$449, which is a massive price rise on the previous model, and each HomePod 2, which, from a sound quality perspective, I think you will need as the front speakers at least, will set you back £349 / $349 / AU$549.

So a full package that includes a new Apple TV 4K and four HomePod 2s will cost a hefty £1695 / $1695 / AU$2645 – though you could of course save some money by using HomePod Mini 2s instead of HomePod 2s as surrounds.

And, actually, now I think of it, that is very similar to what Sony charged for the HT-A9 system I still use at home, and a lot less than it charges for the Bravia Theatre Quad (£2499 / $2500 / AU$3699).

A Sonos Arc Ultra with two Era 300 speakers as surrounds will set you back £1797 / $2002 / AU$3232, too, so perhaps this Apple TV 4K home cinema isn’t quite as startlingly expensive as it first looks.

Of course, the real test will be how this system sounds. I was impressed by what a pair of HomePods could do on their own, so I am particularly keen to find out whether adding dedicated surrounds can deliver the kind of fully immersive Dolby Atmos I’m after – and how it compares with the Sony HT-A9 system I still use at home.

The new Apple TV 4K is due to go on sale on 13th November, so you can expect our test results around then.

MORE:

I replaced a Sonos Arc with two HomePod 2s – and I might not go back

Here are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars and best surround sound systems you can buy right now

• Check out our main best surround sound systems buying guide

• Check out our best AV receiver buying guide

• Want more choice? Check out our best soundbars buying guide

• Check out our best projectors buying guide

• Check out our best Blu-ray players buying guide

• Check out our Best OLED TV buying guide

Building a speaker package around two different five-star models doesn't guarantee success, but it's certainly a promising start.

And that's what we have here. The Dali Sonik 5 5.1 package, which replaces the Award-winning Oberon 5 5.1 Speaker Package, uses a pair of five-star Sonik 5 floorstanders at the front and a pair of equally acclaimed Sonik 1 standmounters as surrounds.

They're joined by the Sonik Cinema centre speaker and Dali's long-serving Sub E-9 F subwoofer, which first launched back in 2013.

We already know the Sonik 5 and Sonik 1 are excellent, and the Sub E-9 F has proved its worth over the years. But how well do they work together, and can the Cinema centre maintain the same high standard?

Price

Buying the components separately in the UK would cost you £2396, but retailers such as Richer Sounds are doing a package deal that drops the total price to £2199. As we’ll see, that’s excellent value for the performance on offer.

While we’ve not been able to find any such packages in Australia, the total cost to buy the components separately is AU$4596, which again looks like very good value, essentially being a close-to-direct currency conversion from the UK price.

It’s a different story in the US, where again there are no pre-bundled packages, and the cost of buying the speakers separately will set you back $4800. If we were to simply do a currency conversion on the UK price, the US price would be around $3000.

While the package is still a compelling option at $4800, such is the level of performance it offers, it’s not the no-brainer bargain that it is in the UK and Australia.

Design

The first thing that strikes you about this package is how compact each component is. The Sonik 5 floorstanders are delightfully dinky, measuring just 83cm once the spikes are attached.

They’re relatively narrow, too, and while their surprisingly diminutive form might immediately make you question their ability to produce satisfying cinematic scale (something we’ll get to in the Sound Quality section), it also makes them vastly more living room friendly than typical floorstanders.

The Sonik 1 surrounds have the same 16cm width as the floorstanders, but they’re just 21cm deep and 28cm tall. They’re not so small as to be confused for ‘lifestyle’ speakers, but for proper hi-fi speakers, they’re decidedly bijou.

These compact dimensions make the Sonik 1s easy to find space for on a shelf, and there are even eyelets on the back so they can be hooked onto wall screws, though a pair of solid stands will get you the very best performance.

The E-9 F is very small by subwoofer standards, too, which is great for flexibility over positioning, if mildly concerning from a bass depth point of view. We’ll get to the sound it produces below, but it is worth noting that the E-12F, a larger subwoofer with a larger driver, is available in the same range, should you have the space and bass demands to warrant it.

Given the sizes of the other speakers, we were slightly concerned that Dali might have gone tiny with the centre. Instead, proportionally speaking, it feels like the most substantial speaker in the system.

This is a good sign as far as we’re concerned: with so much audio going through the centre channel, most notably the all-important dialogue, it’s vital that the centre speaker is a serious bit of kit, rather than the afterthought it occasionally appears to be in some packages.

Unusually, the centre speaker uses a pair of elongated reflex ports on the front, flanking the trio of drivers, whereas the Sonik 5 and Sonik 1 use the conventional circular variety on their rears.

The front-facing ports make the Cinema centre more comfortable right up against a wall, which is where it may well find itself. The rear-ported speakers, though, benefit from having just a little room to breathe – about 10cm from a wall in the case of the little Sonik 1, and around 40cm for the Sonik 5.

If they’re much closer, you may find that bass is a little exaggerated – a good AV amplifier will be able to compensate for this at least to a degree, but it’s best to get the placement as correct as possible.

Speaking of which, Dali recommends that the Sonik 5 are positioned facing directly forwards, rather than toed-in a little as is the norm for stereo speakers. We found this advice to be well worth following when testing them as a stereo pair in our hi-fi room, but in our AV room, where we tend to position front left and right speakers a little further apart, we find that a minor amount of toe-in provides an excellent stereo image with music without compromising the width and openness of the cinematic soundstage.

As well as having living room-friendly dimensions, the Sonik speakers have a very living room-friendly design, with straight edges and a smooth MDF finish.

Four colours are available – white, black ash, walnut and the natural oak of our review samples – with the wooden speakers having a clean front panel that complements the subtle grain of the rest of the cabinet. The slightly beige colour of the front panels of the speakers in our oak package won’t be to everyone’s taste, but in the right room the speakers will look lovely.

The one shame is that the E-9 F subwoofer is only available in black or white, so if you choose the walnut or oak finish for your speakers, you will have a subwoofer that doesn’t match. That won’t be an issue for those who plan to hide their sub out of sight, but a consideration for those who expect to position it on show.

Features

Every speaker in this package uses the same driver technology, which is a good starting point for achieving a cohesive surround sound presentation.

Each has a 29mm woven-fabric soft-dome tweeter, while the 13cm mid/bass drivers use a combination of paper pulp and wood fibre. The Sonik 5 floorstanders and Sonik Cinema centre each have two of these mid/bass drivers, while the smaller Sonik 1 make do with one.

Those mid/bass drivers also incorporate Dali’s patented Soft Magnetic Composite (SMC) technology in the motor system, which the company says reduces distortion by combining very high magnetic conductivity with very low electrical conductivity.

Each speaker uses a two-way crossover, and sensitivity is relatively consistent across the range: 88dB/W/m for the Sonik 5, 86dB/W/m for the Sonik 1 and 89.5dB/W/m for the Sonik Cinema. All have a nominal impedance of 6 ohms, so the specifications suggest no obvious obstacles to partnering them with a suitable AV amplifier.

There’s just one pair of speaker terminals on each model, so bi-wiring isn’t an option.

The E-9 F subwoofer has a 23cm driver powered by a Class D amplifier rated at 170W RMS, with a quoted frequency range of 37-200Hz.

Sound

It’s hard to resist the draw of Sinners when testing a new piece of home cinema kit, but we skip past the usual genre-bending performance by Sammy and kick off with the intoxicatingly wild Rocky Road To Dublin section.

There’s excellent detail as Stack and Sammy drag another poor soul out of the club, while the first lines of Remmick’s song echo airily across the room, as if travelling over open fields. There’s no sense of individual speakers producing the sound; instead, the perfectly matched speakers place effects exactly where they should be.

Despite the lack of upfiring or ceiling speakers, the Sonik package manages to place effects such as rolling thunder high in the space, while sending sounds convincingly behind the listening position, too. Adding dedicated height speakers and additional rears for a full Dolby Atmos system would increase immersion further, but this cohesive, room-filling 5.1 package already delivers impressive scale.

That cohesion isn’t just spatial; it’s tonal, too. When the song kicks in fully, the subwoofer does a terrific job of integrating the thumping drums while giving them plenty of power and texture. Unsurprisingly, given the size of its driver, the E-9 F doesn’t produce the deepest bass, but it compensates with impressive rhythm and expression. It never sticks out in the way some larger, less sophisticated subwoofers can, either.

These qualities are further illustrated by our usual bass stress test: the opening of the second chapter of Blade Runner 2049, which can turn many a subwoofer into a sobbing, distorting mess. The E-9 F again doesn’t dig as deep as a larger sub might, but it produces more depth than you’d expect from its size, remaining composed while gamely delivering the rhythm within the dense low end.

The Sonik Cinema centre speaker is excellent, too. Like the other Sonik speakers, it combines dispersion and directness expertly, giving dialogue a lovely focus without drawing attention to the speaker itself. Dialogue is detailed, with the low-level dynamic subtlety needed to convey emotional inflection and the tonal expression to make each character’s voice sound clear and natural.

Subtle, refined and composed it might be, but the Dali Sonik package is also capable of thrilling dynamic shifts. The opening race in F1: The Movie is packed with bombastic moments, which the system reproduces with terrific authority while remaining composed throughout.

We already know the Sonik 5 floorstanders are excellent with music, and they prove it again when we switch from surround sound to lossless stereo.

Playing Feeling Like a Stranger by Midnight Faces, we’re struck by how the speakers combine spaciousness with stereo focus. The instrumentation has room to breathe, while the vocals remain clear and direct. The gentle sax is a delight, too, with a lovely balance of airiness and tangibility.

My Curse by Killswitch Engage demonstrates the speakers’ ability to marshal a bludgeoning metal composition without letting it become mushy or suppressing the soaring vocals. The Mother, from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s haunting score for The Road, meanwhile, is delivered with all the subtle detail of the analogue-style recording intact.

Verdict

The Dali Sonik 5 5.1 package is a superb all-rounder.

Regardless of the movie we’re watching or the track we’re listening to, it delivers a beautifully cohesive performance, combining smooth openness and detailed directness with impressive scale. Nothing sticks out, nothing feels out of place, and the system handles everything we throw at it with effortless composure.

Few speaker packages offer such a comprehensive blend of talents, and the fact that the Sonik 5 does so at this price only adds to the achievement.

At this level, it’s among the very best we’ve heard – and it gives packages in the class above a serious run for their money.

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Design 5
• Compatibility 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Bowers & Wilkins 606 & 607 S3 speaker package

Also consider the KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System

Read our Dali Oberon 5 5.1 Speaker Package review

Best surround sound systems: home cinema speakers and soundbars put to the test

While it’s always a thrill to review the latest and greatest flagship TVs, there’s something really satisfying about discovering an affordable model that punches above its weight.

That’s precisely what we have here. Having tested myriad budget sets as part of our Awards judging process, one model stands head and shoulders above its rivals: say hello to the TCL P8L.

Price

The 65-inch TCL P8L we’re testing launched with a price tag of £849, but it can now be bought for an even more attractive price of £749.

If you want to go a little smaller and/or cheaper, there’s a 55-inch P8L with a price tag of £649, and the range goes up to a whopping 98-inch model, although pricing for that one has not yet been revealed.

The P8L series is designed to offer a more budget-conscious alternative to LG's C-series, but the specs still look very attractive for the price, with Mini LED backlighting, Quantum Dot colours and 4K/144Hz gaming all on the menu.

If you’re wondering about US and Aussie pricing, there isn’t any, as the P8L isn’t available in either of those regions. We understand that the US QM6K model is at least very similar, but the potential for differences means this P8L review shouldn’t be considered as also applying to the QM6K.

Design

The TCL P8L is a pretty good-looking TV for its price. Plastic features heavily, of course, but it’s been largely successfully disguised to look like metal.

The thin bezel is black on three sides, with a slightly thicker silver lip at the bottom. There's a TCL logo at the centre of this bottom lip, and another badge that says ‘Premium QLED’ close to the top of the right edge. It looks rather like a cuff at the top of someone’s ear, and it really bothers some of our reviewers.

In the box are two silver feet that can be positioned either fairly close together, giving the TV a footprint that’s just 56cm wide, or further apart to make more room for a soundbar. The amount of clearance beneath the bottom of the screen is just 6.5cm, though, so do bear that in mind.

At its thickest point, the TV is a not inconsiderable 7cm, but this tapers at the edges in a fairly attractive way. This thickness serves a purpose, too, as in the centre of the rear of the TV is a large Onkyo-branded ‘Ultra Bass’ subwoofer that will hopefully give the TV’s audio some low-end heft.

Features

Also on the back of the P8L is a recess for the physical connections, which include four HDMI sockets, through two of which the TV can handle 4K/144Hz (and 4K/120Hz) gaming. VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming are all supported, too, even via the two 4K/60Hz ports.

Dolby Vision is of course supported for movies and TV shows, too, but so are HLG, HDR10 and HDR10+, which means the P8L scores a clean sheet of high dynamic range format support – something that no TV from Samsung, Sony or LG offers, regardless of price.

As is the norm for TCL TVs, the P8L runs the Google TV smart platform, which brings with it a huge app selection. TCL has also gone out of its way to support all four of the UK’s terrestrial catch-up apps.

In fact, of the 32 apps we check every TV for, just four are absent from the P8L: the Amazon Luna and Xbox cloud gaming apps, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Not only is everything else on board, but every app that should support 4K, HDR and/or Dolby Atmos does so.

In terms of core panel tech, the P8L is of course an LCD set, but it features Quantum Dot colours and a Mini LED backlight with, according to our count, 72 independent dimming zones.

The P8L also boasts one of TCL’s HVA panels, which launched last year and have quickly garnered a reputation for providing better viewing angles and less blooming than typical VA panels. TCL says that this is backed up by a ‘Bionic Lighting Algorithm’ that is designed to optimise details of light and dark scenes.

‘Transient Response’, meanwhile, is designed to reduce ghosting caused by backlight lag, and there are, as is the norm in 2026, umpteen AI picture processing features on board, though we elect to avoid these in favour of a more authentic picture that’s truer to creative intent.

It’s worth noting that the P8L’s panel features quite a reflective glossy coating that can prove a little troublesome in very brightly lit rooms. Of course, that also means it doesn’t have the raised black issue that is common with TVs with matte coatings.

For sound, TCL has teamed up with Onkyo, which has produced a 2.1-channel system comprising the aforementioned rear-mounted, 15W subwoofer, and two 10W speakers built into the TV's underside. Dolby Atmos is supported via this speaker system and the HDMI eARC port.

Picture quality

At the P8L’s level, we still see lots of TVs with no local dimming, and yet more with very poor local dimming. The TCL’s Mini LED backlight, though, is a breath of fresh air.

While blooming around bright objects on black or very dark backgrounds (studio logos at the start of movies, for example, and the spotlights during the bomb test scene of Oppenheimer) certainly isn’t non-existent, it’s subtle and diffuse enough not to distract, and while blacks certainly aren’t OLED-deep, the P8L skillfully avoids producing the flat, grey image that’s typical of similarly priced rivals.

In fact, this is a pleasantly dynamic performer that delivers punchy highlights and impressive depth for the money. It skilfully balances the requirements for sparkling stars and deep, dark space in the opening of Alien: Romulus, for example.

This knack for balance is evident in the way the P8L handles colours, too. The reds and oranges of the recovery ship’s cockpit lights are punchy and vibrant against their dim, metallic housings, but character skin tones are rendered in natural hues and shades.

This balance is achievable with very little user input required, too: the Filmmaker Mode has been really well tuned to deliver impressive cinematic authenticity without the lifelessness that can afflict this same preset on other budget-oriented TVs.

That said, if you prefer a bit more pop, the Standard preset provides a crisper, cooler, brighter picture that’s still surprisingly nicely judged – just remember to reduce the Motion Clarity setting to Low or Off if you choose this preset, as the default Medium setting over-smooths motion in that soap opera fashion we all know and loathe.

On the subject of settings to watch out for, be sure to delve into the TV’s Energy Dashboard to switch off Dynamic Brightness, as this can artificially dim the picture.

Even when uninhibited, the P8L isn’t the brightest TV. It’s bright enough to deliver the benefits of HDR, but in a very bright room, it can struggle somewhat to punch through, even in its brighter presets.

And while we’re talking flaws, while the P8L’s black levels are satisfyingly deep considering the price of the TV, there’s also a little black crush, with some fine details lost to dark shadows. Raising the Black Level setting just a touch can resurface this lost detail at the expense of some depth, but it’s tricky to find the perfect balance. We find 53 to be the sweetest spot, but it still doesn’t quite provide the perfect blend of depth and shadow detail.

These really are minor niggles considering the price of the TV and the overall picture quality it provides at that price, and that remains true when we drop from the 4K HDR movies used so far to an HD SDR stream of The Turkish Detective from BBC iPlayer, which once again demonstrates the TV’s considered approach to colours and contrast while also proving it to be capable of clean, detailed upscaling.

The P8L is a strong option for gamers, too, with those impressive specs being backed up by a punchy, responsive performance. Gamers looking for a big, budget TV to accompany their PS5 or Xbox Series X should put this TCL to the top of their lists.

Sound quality

Considering the down-firing nature of the drivers, the sound they produce is impressively well anchored to the screen, with the dialogue of The Turkish Detective appearing to come directly from the characters. And while voices aren’t projected particularly far out into the room, they’re still clear, relatively detailed and reasonably emotive by the standards of affordable TVs.

That said, there’s a bit of a lack of lower midrange that can make deeper voices sound a little more lightweight than they should.

Switch to a Dolby Atmos movie, and the P8L has a surprisingly successful stab at supplying cinematic width and height, with effects stretching reasonably far to the left and right, and even a little way above the TV. And while the lower-midrange might be a little lacking, the subwoofer provides a useful bit of upper-bass that gives the presentation some additional solidity.

Of course, while the P8L sounds pretty good for a TV in its price range and will do the job with everyday content, you really need to budget for a dedicated audio system if at all possible. One of the best budget soundbars will boost your overall movie enjoyment substantially.

Verdict

The TCL P8L is a rare find. It’s not the cheapest TV, but it punches well above its weight in terms of picture quality and specs, and it sounds good by general TV standards, too.

Those with super-bright rooms might find its unspectacular brightness and reflective coating a slight issue, but for everyone else, this is the new benchmark for large, sub-£1000 TVs.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Amazon QL65F602U

Also consider the TCL C8L

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

LG’s 42-inch OLEDs have remained our top choice for space-conscious cinephiles for quite some time. They prove that you don’t need to sacrifice a large amount of space for a 65-inch (or larger) set to achieve a top-of-the-line picture experience.

While there haven’t been huge performance leaps between generations, we have found subtle improvements occur each year, and we expect to see a similar affair with the 42-inch C6 that we have before us today.

This compact OLED aims to deliver a large-scale cinematic experience that suits smaller rooms, which is a mission we’re more than familiar with after reviewing every generation of this TV since 2022’s C2; the first 42-inch OLED to hit the market.

The real question is, does it continue the legacy of the acclaimed series that’s been championed by cinephiles and gamers alike? We certainly think so…

Price

Originally launching at £1300 / $1399 / AU$1999, the OLED42C6 can now be found for around £999 / $1000 / AU$1695 thanks to months of discounts. Going back to that launch price, LG actually undercut the outgoing 42-inch C5, which launched at £1400 / $1399 / AU$2199, making it cheaper in the UK and Australia.

Speaking of which, there are still some C5 stragglers to be found for around £849 here in the UK. That’s a decent discount, but we could certainly make a case for spending the additional £150 to score the latest and greatest C-series TV.

Looking at the competition, LG’s main rival is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Samsung. The Samsung S90H is available in all the same sizes as the LG C6, with the equivalent 42-inch model currently available for £999 / $1000 / AU$1466.

Panasonic also offers last year’s Z90B, which we awarded five stars at 48 inches, in a 42-inch option. It costs slightly more than the C6 at £1099, but the Z90B’s front-firing speaker bar may appeal more to audiophiles.

Design

Place the 42-inch C6 next to the C5, C4, C3 and C2 from the previous five years, and you’d have a nearly impossible game of Where’s Wally on your hands. The C6 looks identical to its predecessors, although that’s no great shame as LG is sticking with a well-built and smart-looking formula.

The compact set rests upon two blade-style feet at each end; usually we prefer a central stand (as found on the C6 from 48 inches upwards) for maximum furniture compatibility, but the small footprint of this TV means that it’s not too wide and should fit on a majority of media units with ease.

And with 72cm between these feet, there is enough room to squeeze a soundbar between them; the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), for example, measures in at 65cm, meaning it should easily fit.

However, we should note that the feet can only be attached at one height, that being 3.7cm. That’s not loads of clearance; going back to the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), that soundbar stands at 6.8cm tall, so there is a chance that your soundbar may encroach on the C6’s bezel.

Assembly is simple thanks to the feet attaching with just two screws each, and the “small” screen size is easy for a single person to get into position provided they possess the appropriate wingspan.

Rounding things out with the remote, LG continues to offer just one button-heavy handset in the box. Its Magic Remote has some nifty features, such as a scroll wheel and Nintendo Wii-style motion pointer, but we’d still like to see a backlight and the return of a dedicated source select button, which has unfortunately been sacrificed for a general smart home-focused connected devices button.

Features

The 42-inch C6, much like the 48- and 65-inch versions, is a feature-packed OLED TV that’s equipped for cinephiles and gamers alike.

This TV sports a 4K WOLED panel, as has been the case with all previous iterations of LG’s 42-inch C-series TVs. While that may seem somewhat obvious given LG’s track record, it is worth highlighting this year, as LG seems to be mixing in Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel technology depending on the screen size.

Officially speaking, the 77- and 83-inch options tout LG’s Brightness Booster Max feature and Hyper Radiant Colour system, which require the Tandem OLED technology to work. On a more speculative note, we recently reviewed the 48-inch version of this TV, and its unexpectedly high brightness led us to believe that it too is using the more advanced panel technology, although LG will neither confirm nor deny whether that is the case.

Regardless, our main concern is how this TV performs, as panel technology and on-paper specifications are not always indicative of picture performance.

Moving on to the processor, the OLED42C6 sports the same Alpha 11 AI Processor 4K Gen3 as its larger siblings, which handles picture processing and runs the webOS smart platform. New for this year is a 12-bit processing pipeline, which reportedly enhances brightness and colour.

There are also countless AI picture and sound features, which are handled by this processor. Dual AI Super Resolution, for example, is a two-layer upscaling system (one for sharpening edges, the other to refine textures and details), which enhances lower-resolution content as well as 4K content.

AI HDR Remaster, another AI-backed persistent picture feature, enhances contrast, sharpness and colour using a frame-by-frame process. SDR content takes on a more HDR-like appearance, and HDR content should look “more vibrant and realistic”, according to LG.

AI Picture Pro serves as a hub for many of these picture features, and it also uses content recognition algorithms to tweak the C6’s settings depending on the content you’re watching. Alongside this is AI Sound Pro, which works in a very similar way, albeit for the audio settings instead.

For those hoping to add a more personalised touch to their AI experience, Personalised Picture Wizard and Personalised Sound Wizard allow you to choose from a range of preset image and sound samples to adapt the settings to best suit your taste without having to dig into the system settings menu.

That said, we find that LG’s AI settings can be a bit heavy-handed and usually don’t preserve picture and sound authenticity. Switching to Filmmaker Mode in the picture settings is a much more effective and equally easy way to dial this TV’s picture in.

Stepping away from AI and back to the realm of AV, the 42-inch C6 supports HDR in the HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision HDR formats. HDR10+ isn’t supported, which isn’t a surprise considering the format was created by Samsung.

Dolby Atmos immersive audio is also supported via the 2.0 channel sound system and through connected HDMI eARC audio devices.

Speaking of HDMIs, LG’s established formula for winning over gamers remains, as the OLED42C6 sports four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets capable of handling signals up to 4K/165Hz with VRR and ALLM. For those without a console, the C6 also supports a wide range of cloud gaming apps, including Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now and Amazon Luna. LG claims that the C6 is also the first TV capable of 4K/120Hz game streaming via Nvidia GeForce Now.

webOS 26 is also home to plenty of non-gaming-related streaming apps too, including a strong array of regional and global offerings, from BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 to Disney+ and Apple TV. Our biggest criticism is how advertisement-heavy the operating system is, but sponsored content can be switched off in the settings menu.

Picture quality

While the 48-inch C6 surprised us with its bright, rich and punchy performance, the 42-inch C6 follows in the footsteps of its 65-inch sibling by acting as a subtle but appreciated improvement over its predecessor. That’s to say it's a refinement on a five-star formula in the picture department, which is fine.

As has been the case with several previous C-series OLEDs, we gravitate towards Filmmaker Mode as our preferred picture setting, although we do switch to Cinematic Movement in the TruMotion settings as we feel this irons out judder effectively without introducing the soap opera effect.

LG’s Cinema Home setting – which is essentially its version of the “movie” preset found on other TVs – is also a setting that’s worth exploring for those who crave a touch more punch, or who are viewing the C6 in environments with abundant ambient light.

With these settings dialled in, the 42-inch C6 serves up a superb cinematic image that never reminds us that we’re watching a “small” TV.

Much like the 65- and 48-inch versions of the C6, the 42-inch excels when it comes to contrast. The opening of F1: The Movie features impressively punchy highlights, including stadium lighting and fireworks, which juxtapose the inky-black night sky effectively.

There is an impressive sense of depth, solidity and richness to the picture as Sonny Hayes waltzes towards the garage and pit lane during the opening of the film, which, when paired with the sharp outlines of subjects and strong detail levels, develops an excellent sense of immersion.

Switching to Civil War, the C6 proves it can deliver a balanced, natural image during the military base sequence. Foliage looks crisp and verdant without straying into over-vibrant shades of green, and there is a real sense of three-dimensionality to the picture too.

As fighter jets soar over the camp, we find that the 42OLEDC6 takes fast-moving objects in its stride, with no apparent judder. Switching to Blade Runner 2049 affirms this, as a sequence in which Officer K’s flying Peugeot hurtles towards the LAPD and passes behind a handful of buildings in the foreground reveals no artefacts or flickering motion.

Simply put, the 42-inch C6 ticks every box in our picture testing process, and its large-scale cinematic picture isn’t held back by its modest display size.

Sound quality

LG’s small OLED TVs have never blown our socks off when it comes to sound performance, and the C6 isn’t really an exception. That said, it’s not a total disaster either; it’s more of a mixed bag, if anything.

We do like that the sound presets are pleasingly simple, and things become even easier with our guidance: skip the AI-labelled sound modes and stick with standard. While they aren’t without use (the dialogue setting will certainly be handy for those who struggle to hear voices, for example), they do compromise the overall mix and apply a synthetic finish to the sound. Our advice is to stick with “standard”.

With that in mind, we use the opening sequence of F1: The Movie to assess the C6’s performance. Overall, there are a few strengths to note here; the C6 produces quite a clear and detailed sound, which especially extends to voices. While they don’t project all that well, there is certainly definition and a touch of tonal variation, which is appreciated given dialogue really is the most important factor.

Furthermore, the sound of race cars soaring around the track (and, from our perspective, across the screen) flows nicely from right to left, and there is a sense of spaciousness and openness that is quite impressive given the size of the set. The sound doesn’t fill our testing room, but we have to commend the sense of space it is able to muster given its speaker configuration.

While there isn’t a huge amount of height to the fireworks that burst over the race track and shower sparks onto the cars below, the C6 presents them with satisfying snaps, crackles and pops; although, much like Rice Krispies, there isn’t much weight behind them.

And that brings us onto the overarching issue with the 42 C6’s sound: there just isn’t much oomph. Given that this is a 2.0 channel, subwoofer-less system in a relatively small chassis, that’s to be expected, but it isn’t helped by the shortfall of absolute volume. When cranked to 100 per cent, it remains easy to talk over the C6 without having to raise your voice, and there is a dip in the midrange that leaves the sound (especially voices) feeling a bit hollow and lightweight.

Paired with a somewhat drab approach to dynamic expression, which leaves Led Zepplin’s Whole Lotta Love sounding flat, the C6 is best accompanied by a compact Dolby Atmos soundbar for serious movie watching sessions.

Verdict

The 42-inch LG C6 once again proves that you don’t need a huge TV to score genuine cinematic impact.

Middling sound aside, the C6 delivers a seriously impressive experience, underpinned by a composed approach to contrast and sharpness, resulting in oodles of cinematic depth.

While we’re used to sets 55 inches and above, we’d happily spend hours watching movies on this compact OLED.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 3
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the LG C6 48-inch

Also consider the LG C5 42-inch

Read our Panasonic Z90B 48-inch review

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

Back when we reviewed the Bravia Theatre Trio, Sony’s soundbar-in-three-parts, we also tested it with the optional Rear 9 surround speakers and Rear 8 subwoofer.

We found the system to be excellent in both guises, but we theorised that an upgrade from the Sub 8 to the Sub 9 might solve the one remaining niggle (very occasional buzzing from the subwoofer) and elevate the system from excellent to truly exemplary.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been testing that theory, and at the risk of tooting our own horn in an undignified fashion, we were absolutely right. Although we think there’s a way it could be made better still…

Price

The Bravia Theatre Trio alone is a premium product with a £1999 / $2000 / AU$2999 price tag, and the Rear 9 speakers and Sub 9 will set you back £699 / $750 / AU$1299 and £899 / $900 / AU$1299 respectively when bought separately.

However, in the UK, you can get the extra components for half price when they’re bought with the core system, taking the total price to £2798. In the US, meanwhile, we’ve found everything bundled together for a not-quite-as-discounted price of $3250.

No such discounting currently exists in Australia, so Aussies will currently have to pay AU$5597 to put this complete system together.

Alternatives at this level aren’t terribly common, but the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra (£2516 / $2446 / AU$4366) is a strong option, while the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro (£2300 / $2150 / AU$3996) is a much less appealing one.

Another alternative, particularly for those who don’t want the soundbar component, regardless of how compact it is, is Sony’s own Bravia Theatre Quad, which is also compatible with the new Sub 9. That pairing will set you back £2949 / $2496 / AU$4998.

Design

As we said in our original review, the Bravia Theatre Trio is an unusual proposition from a design perspective, replacing the traditional soundbar with three separate speakers.

The centre speaker is essentially a very narrow soundbar, while the left and right speakers are substantially larger cylindrical units with fabric coverings, metallic top rings and up-firing drivers. They're attractive and reassuringly solid, if a little imposing.

The centre speaker's low-profile design means it’s unlikely to obstruct your screen, and Sony supplies spacer feet if you need it to straddle your TV's pedestal stand. The left and right speakers have flat backs and can be wall-mounted using suitably positioned screws.

The two Rear 9s have a strong resemblance to the Trio's front left and right speakers, but they're a little shorter and lack the extended, flat back.

They can still be wall-mounted directly using a suitable screw, though, or attached to the supplied brackets if you want to angle them towards the listening position, which, thanks to Sony's calibration system (which we'll get to shortly), isn't really necessary unless your placement is particularly unusual.

Then there's arguably this system's centrepiece, the Sub 9, which is quite a different proposition. This is a huge, almost cube-shaped subwoofer that looks rather like two Sub 8s that have been fused together.

At 23.3kg, it's also almost twice the weight of a Sub 8, so you'll want plenty of space for it and a bit of muscle to get it into position. Measuring 39 x 40 x 35cm, it's not something you can casually tuck behind a sofa, either.

All five speakers are wireless, of course, so there are no cables to run between them, but each obviously needs a mains connection.

One omission is the lack of a display. The Trio relies on status lights and the Bravia Connect app to tell you what it's doing, which is fine for changing volume but less convenient if you simply want to check that you're correctly receiving, say, Dolby Atmos.

If you don't have a recent Sony TV that can display this information for you, you'll need to pick up your phone, unlock it and open the app to find out. That's more faff than there really should be for such a simple task.

Features

The Bravia Theatre Trio is a 3.0.2-channel system on its own, with a claimed 405W of amplification.

Add the two Rear 9 speakers and Sub 9, as we have here, and it becomes a full 5.1.4-channel system, with a further 180W claimed for the rear speakers and a substantial 600W claimed for the Sub 9. That’s a hefty 1185W of claimed total system power.

The system supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and the addition of the rear speakers and subwoofer means it’s also fully IMAX Enhanced certified.

Sony's 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology remains at the heart of the system, using the physical speakers as the foundations for up to 24 phantom speakers around the room. With the Rear 9s adding physical speakers behind the listening position, the surround field should be considerably more convincing, with Sony's processing continuing to fill in any remaining gaps.

The Rear 9s also broadly mirror the driver arrangement of the Trio's front left and right speakers, with a woofer, tweeter and up-firing driver, and while the rears use slightly smaller woofers and tweeters to the front speakers, the up-firing drivers are the same, potentially boosting consistency and cohesion, particularly of height effects.

Set-up is handled through the Bravia Connect app, which walks you through the process and asks for the positions and heights of the individual speakers. You can use approximate, relative positioning to get through the process quickly, and this produces excellent results in typical layouts, but it’s also possible to add specific distances, which results in even greater cohesion and accuracy of effect placement, particularly in unusually shaped rooms and/or when the speakers are positioned asymmetrically.

The calibration system is particularly neat. The speakers have their own microphones, but Sony also supplies a dedicated USB-C calibration microphone that plugs into your phone. You then hold the phone in the listening position and let the system measure the room.

It's a much more reassuring solution than relying on the microphone built into whatever phone happens to be running the app, and it makes the calibration process both consistent and thorough.

The system then adjusts itself to account for the room and the actual positions of the speakers, including compensating for speakers that aren't perfectly positioned. The whole process is surprisingly quick, too.

There's plenty of scope for tweaking afterwards, including bass level, voice enhancement and different sound modes, but the default settings are accurate and sensible enough that most people will never need to venture into the advanced settings.

In terms of physical connections, there’s an HDMI eARC port for connection to your TV, plus a dedicated HDMI input that supports 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM. There's also Bluetooth, wi-fi, Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect on the wireless side.

If the TV to which the Trio is connected is a recent Sony model, various controls and settings are integrated into the on-screen menus, which is genuinely handy, but the dinky bundled remote is fine as an alternative, and the aforementioned Bravia Connect app is excellent if you can be bothered to pick up and wake up your phone.

Sound quality

The Bravia Theatre Trio was already an impressive performer on its own, but adding the Rear 9s and Sub 9 transforms what is already a big, cohesive presentation into a genuinely immersive home cinema system.

Arrival in Dolby Atmos is an excellent demonstration of what the complete system can do. Dialogue is clean and precisely anchored to the screen, while the more subtle elements of the soundtrack are reproduced with impressive delicacy and insight.

When the soundtrack suddenly opens up, such as when a squadron of jets buzzes Louise's school or the transport chopper lands on her lawn, the system fills the room with sound.

The cohesion and precision are deeply impressive. You don't hear the speakers, you hear the sound they make. The jets fill the ceiling and streak from one side of the room to the other in a completely natural fashion, with no obvious gaps as they move around the soundstage. There's enormous scale here, but also excellent tonal consistency and enough refinement to prevent the presentation becoming hard or harsh.

The Rear 9s add considerably more than simply sound from behind you. Effects move seamlessly from front to rear, while the system maintains the same sense of cohesion that impressed us with the Trio on its own. The result is a convincing bubble of sound around the listening position, rather than a front-heavy presentation with occasional effects coming from the rear.

The first trip into the alien vessel is particularly effective, with the system creating a cavernous, echoey environment and giving the aliens' deep ‘voices’ a wonderfully convincing presence. There's a strong sense of space, but also plenty of detail within it, allowing individual sounds to remain clearly defined rather than becoming lost in the overall effect.

The system's precision is just as impressive in Blade Runner 2049. The adverts outside K's apartment are positioned perfectly, high above the listening position, while individual raindrops in the balcony scene are placed with remarkable accuracy. This is the sort of three-dimensional positioning that makes Dolby Atmos feel genuinely worthwhile, rather than simply adding a vague sense of height to the presentation.

Bass is another major strength of the complete system. Arrival contains plenty of low-frequency information, but it isn't simply a succession of brutal bass drops. The Sub 9 handles the soundtrack's varied low end with impressive subtlety, sounding tuneful and controlled when required, before delivering enormous weight when the soundtrack demands it.

Its integration with the rest of the system is excellent, too; it never feels like a separate speaker doing its own thing.

The improvement over the Sub 8 we tested with the Trio previously is particularly obvious with chapter two of Blade Runner 2049. The minor buzzing we heard from the smaller subwoofer has disappeared, replaced by an almost sub-sonic thump that is both exceptionally deep and tightly controlled.

The Sub 9 also resolves the rhythm within those deepest notes much more cleanly, where lesser speakers can turn them into an indistinct rumble. The result is greater impact, but also greater definition and composure.

The system has plenty of dynamic firepower elsewhere, too. Civil War's chaotic battle sequences and the aerial action of Top Gun: Maverick show how effectively it can transition from quiet dialogue and subtle background detail to huge, room-filling effects.

Despite its wireless and relatively lifestyle-friendly design, this is capable of the sort of scale, dynamics and precision we'd expect from a much more conventional home cinema system.

For music, the system gives you a useful choice of presentation. Leave Sound Field switched off and stereo material is played through the front left and right speakers and Sub 9, giving you the most direct and authentic stereo presentation. Switch Sound Field on and you can either have the system upmix stereo material into a surround presentation or select Multi Stereo to send it through all of the speakers.

Being the purists that we are, our preference is to turn Sound Field off, which gives you the kind of authentic stereo experience that a soundbar can’t match. That said, we would like the option to play stereo music without the involvement of the subwoofer: while it’s impressively integrated and tuneful for a speaker of its type, the two front speakers are capable of producing a cohesive, balanced delivery without it.

The Bravia Theatre Trio was already an unusually accomplished home cinema system, but adding the Rear 9s and, crucially, the Sub 9 turns it into something genuinely exceptional.

The scale, cohesion, precision and bass performance are all outstanding, while the wireless design and clever calibration make it considerably easier to accommodate than a conventional 5.1.4-channel speaker package.

Most importantly, our theory about the Sub 9 has proved correct. The occasional buzzing we heard from the Sub 8 has disappeared, while the larger subwoofer delivers deeper, cleaner and more controlled bass.

Combined with the Rear 9s, it gives the Trio the kind of immersive, room-filling performance that makes this feel much more like a proper home cinema system than a collection of wireless lifestyle speakers.

There are a couple of minor niggles: we'd like the option to remove the Sub 9 from the stereo music configuration, and the lack of a display makes checking the incoming audio format more fiddly than it should be. But these are tiny blemishes on what is otherwise an outstanding package.

A properly configured AVR and Dolby Atmos speaker system will still have the ultimate performance advantage, but it will be considerably more complicated to accommodate and set up.

Verdict

If you want serious, genuinely cinematic surround sound without turning your living room into a speaker installation, the Bravia Theatre Trio with Rear 9s and Sub 9 is the best alternative to a traditional AVR and Dolby Atmos speaker system that we've tested – and we'd be very tempted to add a second subwoofer…

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Design 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony Bravia Theatre Trio

Also consider the LG Sound Suite System

Read our Sony Bravia Theatre Quad review

Best surround sound systems: home cinema speakers and soundbars put to the test

We've reviewed projectors in all shapes and sizes over the past couple of years, and there's one form factor that's taking the industry by storm as we speak.

The lifestyle projector – or you may have heard of them being referred to as coffee table projectors – is the hot home cinema topic at the moment, with manufacturers such as Epson, Xgimi and BenQ all launching cute cuboid projectors that can beam pictures north of 100-inches with ease.

They're essentially a full home cinema system in a box, offering picture, sound and (more often than not) streaming smarts, allowing users to plonk them onto their table and get stuck into their favourite movie, TV show or video game.

However, there's one particular model that we've been championing since the 2025 What Hi-Fi? Awards, and it comes from Hisense. The M2 Pro is a brilliant all-in-one system, delivering an Award-winning picture experience and a built-in smart platform that allows you to turn your living room into a fully-fledged home cinema.

We showered it with praise at its £1299 launch price last year, but Amazon's current Prime Big Deal Days sales mean that you can snag it for just £814.

The Hisense M2 Pro is capable of beaming an image up to 200 inches, with Hisense claiming a peak brightness figure of 1300 lumens. This should be plenty bright enough to combat ambient light in most living rooms, although our TV and AV Editor, Tom Parsons, found that it's not quite bright enough for outdoor viewing.

Considering that this projector requires power from a mains plug at all times, that's no great shame.

The projector is in its element indoors, however, as it offers a consistently crisp and colourful image that never extends beyond its own capabilities; a notable hurdle at which we've seen many other lifestyle projectors stumble.

It's very capable when it comes to retaining dark detail and punchy highlights alike, all thanks to its solid handling of contrast. We also find motion to be impressive, provided you switch it to the Film motion preset; our recommendation is to stick with Filmmaker Mode overall, as this takes care of the settings for you.

This projector also comes with a 10W 2.0 channel speaker system built in. While it will never match a proper surround sound system, or even a decent soundbar, the M2 Pro's speakers are handy to have in a pinch, and we even commended it on delivering "a surprising amount of sound volume for such a small package".

It prioritised dialogue during our testing, which is the most important aspect after all, making it perfectly usable for those who don't already have an external sound system to hook it up to.

Speaking of hooking things up to the projector, the M2 Pro sports a single HDMI socket, which doubles as HDMI eARC if you do plan on tying this into a wider home cinema system.

While that may seem stingy, it's enough to hook up a Nintendo Switch for a sport of Mario Kart, and with the built-in Vidaa smart system offering a wide array of streaming apps, we're willing to bet that most people will never get around to using that HDMI socket.

At £482 off its original price on Amazon, the M2 Pro is a convenient projector that doesn't skimp on picture performance. It's a hidden gem in the projector world, and one that I'm always eager to shout out when a sale arises.

MORE:

Read our full Hisense M2 Pro review

As well as our Hisense PX4 Pro review

And check out the best Amazon Prime Big Deal Days offers here

Prime Day, or Big Deal Days, or whatever the fudge else Amazon’s calling it this very second (as noted by regular contributor Joe Svetlik earlier this week, it changes a lot), is entering its second and final day.

As we noted yesterday, though, it has been a bit of a damp squib so far, especially if you’re shopping for hi-fi.

Good deals have been isolated and usually limited to one product within a category, rather than the holistic drops we see on swathes of headphones, TVs and the like during Black Friday.

Which is why, with a particularly heavy heart, I am sad to inform any bargain-hunting TV buyer that the best deal we’ve seen on an OLED is gone.

Specifically, the stellar Amazon saving on the five-star, Award-winning 48-inch LG C5 from last year which let you pick it up for a modest £699 (saving £500), is now gone.

Stock has run out on Amazon, and the retailers still selling it are charging £999 or more.

If that hasn’t put you off and you’re still eager to buy a new OLED, but don’t have deep enough pockets to pay the full price, or make the jump up to flagship territory, I’m sad to say this is a double-whammy bad news post.

After trawling Amazon and rival retailers, both specialist and mainstream, I haven’t found any deals on good OLED TVs that we’ve fully reviewed and recommend that come close to matching yesterday’s C5 deal.

There are only two close – but not as good – deals currently running. The 48-inch LG C6, which we just finished reviewing and can confirm is a palpable improvement on the C5, currently retails for £1087 on Amazon (save £110). A good TV at an okay price, but far from what we'd describe as cheap.

Alternatively, if you really want to get the cheapest OLED possible that’s not completely terrible, the four-star, entry-level 48-inch Samsung S85H currently costs £824.10 at Richer Sounds – though you’ll need to claim £75 back from Samsung after purchase to unlock the full discount.

But that means you’re paying more for an OLED that doesn’t quite match the performance of the older C5 when it comes to pure picture quality – we know that, as we tested them both.

So what’s my advice to buyers looking for a new OLED? Sadly, unless you need a new TV this very second, I’d strongly suggest waiting a little longer.

Stock of the C5 may come back, and I’m expecting prices of all the OLEDs mentioned in this feature to drop even further in price, especially during Black Friday.

If past events are anything to go by, come November I can even see the C6 – which, having seen it in our review rooms, is the first OLED in nearly half a decade to tempt me to upgrade my ageing LG C2 – dropping below £899, which would make it an incredible option for serious movie fans on a budget.

If that hasn’t answered any of your OLED TV questions, feel free to drop a comment on this page, and I’ll endeavour to respond as soon as possible!

MORE:

These are the best OLED TVs we’ve reviewed

Our picks of the best 50-inch TVs

We rank the best soundbars

It's no secret that I love the Sony Bravia 8 II OLED, which romped to victory in the What Hi-Fi? Awards last year and now takes pride of place in my own living room.

Despite some extremely frustrating bugs that were introduced with a recent software update, I still love the TV. And, in fact, it's still better than almost every TV that's launched since.

There is one that has defeated it, though.

No, it's not the Bravia 9 II or LG G6 – it's the Samsung S99H, and it's just hit its lowest-ever price to coincide with Amazon Prime Big Deal Days.

This deal isn't an Amazon deal, though. Instead, you can get the 55-inch Samsung S99H for £1849 at Richer Sounds, and the 65-inch model for £2399 at Richer Sounds.

The retailer says you can also claim additional cashback from Samsung, to the tune of £150 for the 55-inch model and £200 for the 65-inch version. For a TV this new and this awesome, that's exceptional.