Streaming giant Roku is about to be acquired by Fox. The American media empire, Fox, has announced an acquisition of the company, covering its hardware, software, and services, in a deal worth $22 billion.

That's roughly £16.4 billion or AU$31 billion, using currency conversion, at the time of writing.

Roku currently produces a wide array of streaming devices, as well as affordable TVs manufactured in partnership with the likes of TCL, Sharp and JVC. The company recently launched its first projector, too.

According to the research firm Parks Associates (via BBC News), Roku is the largest smart platform in the US, powering more than a quarter of internet-connected streaming devices. It's closely followed by Samsung's Tizen-powered devices and then devices running Amazon's Fire TV software platform.

Worldwide, it's reported that over 100 million households stream content using Roku devices and services.

While no news regarding Roku's hardware lineup has been announced as part of this deal, it appears Fox plans to capitalise on Roku's existing advertising reach through its The Roku Channel service.

Fox already owns the popular streaming service Tubi, which it could merge with Roku's service in the future.

We've contacted Roku for comment and will update this page when we hear back.

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Check out our list of the best streaming devices

As well as the best streaming services for movies and TV

And the best cheap TVs

American brand Roku has launched its first range of projectors in the UK: the Sharp H272 and the Aurzen D1R.

As their names suggest, the models are launching with two respective hardware partners to “combine advanced projection technology with Roku’s intuitive operating system”.

Richard Halton, Country Manager at Roku UK, claims the projectors are, “bringing the seamless streaming experience Roku users know and love to an exciting new form factor – making big-screen entertainment more accessible than ever”.

The 1080p projectors include Roku’s full app library, including Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, and HBO Max. The two have also been designed to work when projecting the image onto a screen or wall (we highly recommend the former for the best picture quality).

The Sharp model claims to go up to 120 inches, while the Aurzen entry is a little smaller with a maximum screen size of 100 inches.

The Aurzen D1R is the brighter of the two, offering 280 ANSI lumens, compared to the Sharp H272’s 200 ANSI lumens. These are both on the lower end of the scale, so they will likely perform best in a dark room.

The D1R also has the on-paper edge when it comes to sound, offering two speakers driven by 5W of amplification, which beats the Sharp’s 3W offering. Both come with Dolby Audio, but, unsurprisingly for a budget model, there is no Dolby Atmos on the cards.

There are a few smart features included with both models, which should make setting them up a little easier. These include auto-keystone and auto-focus.

Bluetooth and HDMI connectivity are available, so you could pair wireless speakers, a soundbar, or a subwoofer for “an enhanced home theatre experience.”

You can also access Apple AirPlay support for streaming music, videos, photos, podcasts, and games from Apple devices.

Their designs look fairly similar, with both sporting a white rectangular body with rounded edges.

We don’t have pricing yet, but both will launch in June. With their brightness specifications and streaming offerings, Roku seem to have its sights set on the likes of the Xgimi Vibe One (£219 / $269 / AU$599) projector.

When we reviewed the Vibe One in our test room, we praised its compact design and natural-looking image, which ultimately earned it a solid four-star rating. We'll wait to see the projectors in our test room before giving a verdict, but they could be a strong entry in the budget projector market.

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Check out the best projectors right now

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If you are on the hunt for a cheap TV to add to your home, there’s a new budget contender on the scene which has just hit the market.

Enter the Sharp Roku QLED, produced in a collaboration between the two wallet-friendly brands. The 50-inch model is claimed to deliver “premium picture quality and intuitive streaming” and offers 4K resolution. It also marks the brands' first joint QLED TV release in the UK.

On top of that, Dolby Vision is on the cards, which they claim “brings out more detail, colour, and contrast, just as the director intended.”

It comes, of course, with the Roku TV operating system built-in. This platform gives you access to streaming apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. Freeview Play is also available with the new model, bringing with it such apps as BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

Roku says this can all be navigated with an “easy-to-use interface designed for everyday viewing”. There is also the option to use the Roku app, where you can browse TV offerings and use voice commands.

At a launch price of £349 at Curry's, the QLED is certainly targeting the budget end of the market. It does, though, have some stiff competition in the form of the TCL P7K. We tested the 43-inch model (which launched at the cheaper £269), and gave it four stars for its good picture quality considering the cost.

We haven’t tested the 50-inch P7K, but that set also comes in at a lower price than the new Sharp set, costing £329. We will have to wait until we get the new contender into our test room to give a verdict, but its streaming support and budget price tag could make it a solid rival for TCL.

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Check out our review of the TCL P7K

These are the best cheap TVs

Looking to improve your TV's sound? Here are the best budget soundbars

Roku and TCL have been accused of knowingly selling TVs with defective software that stops them working. The accusation was made in a class action lawsuit in California, USA.

The Roku OS operating system features on TCL's more affordable TVs. It's accused that faults with the former are affecting the latter, as well as other Roku TVs.

Plaintiff Terri Else alleges that Roku's software updates left the TVs inoperable. Issues include the TVs being 'bricked' (i.e. showing a black screen and unable to operate), restarting over and over, the screen flashing on and off, and freezing.

The lawsuit was filed against Roku Inc. and TTE Technology Inc. (trading as TCL North America) in the United States District Court, Central District of California.

It states that "Roku's software updates are repetitively defective, materially impairing the functionality of Roku Products, rendering many consumers' televisions either entirely unusable ("bricked"), blacked out, or otherwise substantially degraded in terms of device performance".

It also accuses the firms of failing to issue a fix to the problems they have introduced.

It says that Roku is a platform "which cuts corners, failing to ensure that the software updates are actually free of defects both in testing stages and at scale, failing to adequately invest in software updates which harmonise with the Roku Products, and failing to take appropriate remediative and corrective action once a defective software update is released".

Models affected include – but are not limited to – the Roku Select Series, Roku Plus Series, and TCL 3/4/5/6 Series Roku TVs.

The lawsuit points to complaints on Roku's official community forums, highlighting issues, and the responses that amount to "often unsuccessful self-guided troubleshooting instructions".

It says that the firms' failure to take action is a breach of express and implied warranties, as well as California's Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

The lawsuit demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief plus damages and restitution for members of class action.

Apple recently settled a class action lawsuit in California that could see affected customers paid $95 each (around £70 / AU$130).

It's early days yet in the suit, so it's likely to be a while until any conclusion is reached.

A Roku spokesperson told us: "We believe the claims are meritless." We've contacted TCL for comment and will update this if we hear back.

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A load of five-star OLED TVs we recommend are disappearing – are they coming back?

Big screen, small price: get a brilliant budget TV ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026

Apple has officially refreshed its ranks, and while the headliners are impressive, we can’t help but notice some glaring omissions in the home cinema department.

But first, what did we get? There was the iPhone 17e, a more affordable variant of the Product of the Year-winning iPhone 17. It boasts a 6.1-inch OLED display, which uses Apple's Super Retina XDR technology for rich, vivid colours, as well as the same 1200 nits of claimed peak brightness.

A new iPad Air was also announced, featuring the M4 chip, an upgrade over its predecessor's M3 version. Apple claims the new model is up to 30 per cent faster than the iPad Air with M3, and up to 2.3 times faster than the iPad Air with M1.

However, the event was notably silent on the products we really wanted to see. Where on earth is the new Apple TV 4K? And with the current HomePod getting long in the tooth, we were primed for a third-generation smart speaker or even the long-rumored "HomePad" with a built-in display.

It might be wishful thinking, but we’ve spent the afternoon dreaming of what could have been.

The much-discussed Apple TV

Bear with me, here. Considering Apple has released a huge range of products featuring OLED screens at different sizes, it's not too much of a stretch to hope for Apple's own TV range featuring the same technology.

After all, we've seen firsthand its success with OLED in its iPhone and iPad range. The newest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17e, for instance, feature OLED screens. We tested the iPhone 17 with a selection of movies and TV shows, and said: "It’s natural where required, yet it’s not afraid to introduce some punch and pop, all without straying into looking overcooked."

And since Apple already has one of the best video streamers we've tested under its belt, in the form of Apple TV 4K, surely the brand is in a prime position to combine the two to create its own TV screen?

Brands such as Roku have combined the success of their hardware and operating system software to build its streaming platform directly into TVs.

Based on the excellent picture performance from Apple's OLED screens in smaller models and its top-performing video streaming platform offerings, it would be great to see how it would fare on a larger scale. A longstanding rumour, but I still want to believe...

Apple's own Dolby Atmos soundbar?

Apple's offerings when it comes to sound have also been fruitful, with the Apple HomePod 2 snagging multiple What Hi-Fi? Awards since its release.

When we put it through its paces in our test room, we were impressed by its solid yet natural-sounding audio as well as the compact, stylish design.

If you have the budget for it, you can combine two HomePod 2's with an Apple TV 4K to create a home cinema sound system.

As we noted in our review: "A stereo pair of HomePods is particularly beneficial with Dolby Atmos tracks, which sound even more open and three-dimensional, with very impressive spatial placement of voices and instruments."

But Apple could go one step further and create its own dedicated Dolby Atmos soundbar, taking the top-quality audio from the HomePod 2 while sprinkling in the streaming capabilities and the HDMI eARC functionality of the Apple TV 4K.

Setting up the HomePods and the Apple TV 4K separately is a bit of a faff (mainly as HomePods are not particularly suited to wall-mounting), so combining them into a single product would be a big win for functionality.

This might be pie-in-the-sky thinking, but a home cinema lover can dream, right?

MORE:

Here is our review of the Apple HomePod 2

And these are our thoughts on the Apple TV 4K

Adventures in AV: Apple is in a prime position to make Dolby's next-gen tech the actual "future of home cinema"

Panasonic has just unveiled its 2026 TV range, and it's not what we were expecting.

While there is a new OLED model, it's not a replacement for the flagship Z95B, or even the step-down Z90B. Both of those models will continue through 2026.

Instead, it's an all-new Z86C model (Z85C in mainland Europe), which Panasonic says features "a new OLED panel".

Our working theory is that this new panel is the budget-oriented OLED SE panel that LG Display introduced last month at CES.

When we put that to a Panasonic representative, they said, “LG display has launched a new panel; this is that panel”, which feels like confirmation to us.

The use of an OLED SE panel would position the Z86C as an entry-level OLED. Perhaps even at a similar level of affordability as last year's Philips OLED760 and Toshiba XF9F.

We're working on getting pricing information out of Panasonic.

The Z86C has a 120Hz refresh rate and VRR support, so it could be a good option for gamers, though the number of HDMI 2.1 sockets it has is yet to be confirmed.

All flavours of HDR are supported, so that's HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos is also on board.

Amazon's Fire OS provides the Z86C's smarts, whereas mainland Europe's Z85C features Google TV.

Both TVs will be available in 55- and 65-inch sizes.

QD Mini LED sets galore

While there's just one new OLED TV on the way from Panasonic this year, there is an onslaught of Mini LED models – but they're not all coming to the UK.

The Mini LED range starts with the flagship W97C and W95C, which differ only in the colour of their casework. These models are limited to mainland Europe.

They feature a 144Hz panel, "more than" 1000 dimming zones, and a claimed peak brightness of 1500 nits.

They also feature what Panasonic is calling "Glare Free Ultra", which is designed to reduce reflections and improve viewing angles.

The W97C and W95C will be available in sizes ranging from 55 to 86 inches.

Definitely destined for UK shores is the W94C, which will come in 55-, 65- and 75-inch sizes.

This looks on paper to be very similar to the W97C and W95C, thanks to its 144Hz panel and Glare Free Ultra anti-reflection tech, but it isn't clear whether it has the same number of dimming zones or brightness.

The W94C does feature the Amazon Fire OS, though, whereas the W97C and W95C are Google TVs.

The final UK-bound Mini LED model in Panasonic's 2026 range is the W91C. Interestingly, this is a Roku TV, rather than a Google or Amazon-powered one.

This model has just a 60Hz refresh rate, but it does feature the Glare Free Ultra tech, HDMI 2.1 sockets and support for VRR and ALLM.

All of Panasonic's new Mini LED sets feature Quantum Dots for added colour vibrancy, but there is also a range of QLED TVs with non-Mini LED backlights, too, as well as some entry-level LCD models.

Our man on the ground, Lewis Empson, will be getting hands-on time with some of Panasonic's new TVs later today, so stay tuned for his first impressions pieces.

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Here are the best TVs you can buy right now

Panasonic's sister brand Technics has also just announced a new turntable

US brand Roku has announced two new streaming sticks to join its lineup: the Roku Streaming Stick and the Streaming Stick Plus.

The updated streaming sticks will replace the Roku Express and Roku Express 4K, with the brand boasting “more features at the same affordable price points.”

The Streaming Stick is being pushed as the entry-level option to boost the features of any smart TV. It's a full HD model that only supports standard dynamic range content, meaning there's no HDR.

For those looking for something extra, the slightly more expensive Streaming Stick Plus offers 4K picture and HDR colour.

Both streaming sticks can fit behind your TV, with Roku calling the new range “compact without compromise.” Unlike their predecessors, the new devices can be powered directly by the TV, too.

You can also use the voice-enabled remote control to change the volume, turn the TV on and off, and search for what you want to watch.

All the same streaming services as the previous range should be available, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.

Both of the new devices will be available starting in June, with the Streaming Stick priced at £30 and the Streaming Stick Plus at £40.

At that price point, Roku is up against Amazon’s line of streaming sticks, such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick (3rd Generation) and the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K.

We are yet to get Roku’s new streaming sticks into the testing room to see how they compare, but its set of features and reasonable pricing sure looks promising.

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Which Roku stick or streamer should you buy?

Here's our in-depth review of the Roku Streambar

Check out the best streaming devices on offer right now

We have been banging on about wanting brands to produce more streaming soundbars for years.

This started when the Roku Streambar hit the shelves back in 2020, marking what should have been the start of a glorious new era.

The £130 / $130 / AU$224 soundbar-streaming hybrid turns a TV smart thanks to its impressive array of video streaming apps, which include Now TV, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus.

There are also quick dial buttons for a lot of these services including Netflix and Spotify, as well as a search function through the Roku app on its controller.

On top of that, while its sound performance lacked a cinematic feel, it still provided a solid balance and decent vocal clarity.

So while it wasn't perfect, we had hoped more brands would see the idea's merit and add more streaming capabilities to soundbars.

A Frankenstein streaming box-cum-soundbar just makes sense in our mind.

Sadly, while most ‘bars have some options for wireless music playback with at least Bluetooth if not wi-fi streaming via Airplay 2, Spotify Connect and Chromecast, there is still a gap in the market for movie streaming apps.

Which is why when Amazon unveiled its £120 / $120 Fire TV Soundbar and the pricier Plus version ($250 / £250), we hoped the idea may finally make a comeback. I mean it has 'Fire TV' in the name, right?

Sadly, when we got the slightly cheaper ‘bar in for testing, we saw that the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar does not include built-in streaming like the Roku Streambar, and it doesn't even have Alexa built in.

Of course, we didn't rate the Amazon Fire TV soundbar for what it isn't. We recalibrated our expectations and tested it in the same way we would any other 'dumb' soundbar, comparing it to similar and similarly priced rivals.

But while the Fire TV Soundbar's disappointing three-star score is all down to its sound quality, the separate issue about it not delivering on the expectations raised by its name remains.

Is that an 'us' issue? I don't think so. So far as I know, every previous 'Fire TV' device, from the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K to the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini LED has featured Amazon Fire TV smart platform, so there's every reason to expect this to be the same.

It seems clear that we're not the only people with this expectation, too, as Amazon has felt the need to add this disclaimer to the product page of the Fire TV Soundbar:

'This is an audio only soundbar. It is not Alexa enabled and does not support Alexa Home Cinema. A Fire TV streaming media player or compatible smart TV is required to access the Fire TV experience.'

And the Fire TV Plus? It does actually have some Fire TV smarts as well as a beefier sound system and support for Dolby Atmos, so perhaps it could be a decent soundbar regardless. We will be testing it very soon and look forward to finding out.

And, with any luck, Amazon also has a true Fire TV soundbar in the works.

MORE:

Here is our review of the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar

And check out more of our thoughts on the Roku Streambar

These are the best soundbars we recommend

It's easy to be cynical about yet another Amazon sales event, and it's fair to say that not every 'deal' included in the Spring Deal Days is the real thing, but there are some discounts worth shouting about.

This one is for those who like to watch a bit of sport or stream their favourite TV shows while cooking up a storm in the kitchen: the 24-inch Roku smart TV is down to just £99 at Amazon right now.

It's produced by little-known brand RCA, but don't let that put you off: we subjected this little telly to our full, rigorous testing process and found it to be surprisingly competent and very smart. User reviews are very positive overall, too.

Of course, it doesn't have to go in a kitchen – it would make a great bedroom TV, too.

As you'd probably expect, this RCA TV is very basic in terms of design, but it's also very lightweight, which might be a bonus for those who can see themselves wanting to move their TV between rooms – or perhaps even from the house to the caravan for holiday time.

The HD-Ready (720p) screen is low-res by modern, full-sized TV standards, but it's fine for a TV this size and price, and the picture it produces is surprisingly bright and punchy – ideal for rooms that see a lot of light.

It's sharp and detailed, too, and it even handles motion fairly well, so you don't get the nasty ghosting that's typical of TVs at this level.

The real star, though, is the Roku smart platform, which is jam-packed with apps, from the usual big-hitter streaming services (Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV) to Now, Discovery+ (the current home for what was BT Sport) and all of the UK's catch-up apps.

All told, the RCA Roku TV was a bit of a bargain at its original price, and now it's cheap as chips!

MORE:

Check out our Amazon Spring Deal Days live hub

Heres the full RCA Roku TV review

And here are the best cheap TVs available right now

UPDATE: 20th March 2025:

Roku has contacted us to point out that these new startup ads can at least be skipped:

"There is a close button on these ads that will let you immediately exit the ad when it starts", says our contact.

That's better than being forced to watch a whole video advert before being able to access your device, of course, but it doesn't make these intrusive new ads significantly less disappointing.

Our original news story is presented below, unedited.

Autoplaying ads have become more and more commonplace throughout all the technology we use. Streaming services such as Disney+ and Netflix ask you to pay extra to avoid having an ad play after a certain time midway through watching. An increasing number of TV manufacturers are embedding ads into our daily lives, too, with LG arguably highest profile recent offender.

Now, American company Roku appears to be trialling a new feature, with many owners of smart TVs and streaming sticks running Roku OS complaining of having to watch video ads before they can even start using their device (as reported by Ars Technica).

This is not particularly surprising, considering Roku’s CEO told The Verge in 2018 that it planned to make its Roku OS, which is found on TVs and streaming sticks, a “next-generation ad platform.”

It has already included banner ads over live TV and video ads on the home screen, but these new ads, which pop up prior to the home screen even loading, seem to have got under the skin of many customers. Some people comment that they have been able to close the ad but others say they have not had that option.

One user on Reddit dubbed the new edition “pretty disappointing and intrusive,” and Roku's community board is rife with buyers tempted to ditch their devices all together and switch to another brand.

Roku tells Ars Technica that the new ads are ‘expected behaviour but not a permanent part of Roku OS currently.’ Which sounds rather ominous.

We understand that companies have got to turn a profit, but using customers as guinea pigs in their own homes is feeling more dystopian by the minute – and that’s putting aside the generally unpleasant trend towards invasive adverts being inserted into products that customers have already paid full price for.

MORE:

Here's our review of the RCA Roku TV

These are the best streamers we recommend

And check out the best TVs right now

Formula 1 fans in the US can now watch the sporting event in glorious 4K HDR thanks to F1 TV’s new Premium subscription. The F1 app has been available for TV platforms since the end of 2021, and this subscription is its latest addition.

In the UK, F1 fans can already watch in 4K via Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream, although you have to subscribe to an Ultra HD package.

For all the options in both the UK and US, it goes without saying that you also need to have a 4K TV. You can get an annual subscription to the US app for $130, which adds up to just under $11 a month.

The Premium subscription is not as inclusive as you might expect, though. US consumers can only access the 4K HDR content in the app available for Apple TV 4K (tvOS) and Roku.

F1 TV is also introducing a new Multiview feature, where you can combine multiple feeds from the race. However, this does not work with Android, which is a bit of a bummer.

On top of that, the first generation of Apple TV 4K is limited to 4K HDR at 30fps, which is a bit choppy for F1. You need the second- or third-generation model to stream in 4K HDR and 50fps.

Formula 1 will kick off this year on 14th March in Australia. If you are based in the US and looking for a way to watch the event in 4K, the new subscription tier could be a good option for you.

MORE:

Check out our Apple TV 4K review

And here are the best TV deals

These are the best outdoor projectors we recommend

Apple has announced that its partnership with Major League Baseball will continue next month, with 26 weeks of fixtures culminating in a series of marquee matchups being streamed on Apple's streaming service. Fans in 60 regions can tune in without local broadcasting restrictions, providing they have an Apple TV+ subscription. 

Many popular teams will be facing off, with matches set for the San Francisco Giants (6th September), Boston Red Sox (13th September), and Philidelphia Phillies (20th September) among many other high-profile teams playing across the next month. Now, while we don't profess to be baseball experts, we did notice that Apple is showing these games with a few state-of-the-art picture and sound features that have caught our interest. 

Apple claims it will be "bringing viewers an unparalleled viewing experience" with advanced cameras that "present vivid live-action shots". It should also sound super immersive, with broadcasts in 5.1 surround sound and Apple Spatial Audio enabled. If serious baseball fans really want to feel immersed in the action, then Apple is even showing the MLB broadcasts on the Apple Vision Pro headset. 

Furthermore, Apple has launched the Apple Sports app which will allow users to follow along with statistics and scores as they watch the broadcasts on Apple TV+. Apple Music users can also tune into exclusive playlists which feature the official walk-up songs and baseball-themed songs which can be streamed in Dolby Atmos and lossless audio quality. 

These baseball broadcasts can be found on the Apple TV app, which is preinstalled on a variety of Apple devices including the Apple TV 4K, iPads, iPhones, Macs and the Apple Vision Pro. Third-party devices such as TVs from LG, Samsung, Sony, TCL and streaming devices from Amazon and Roku are also supported, as well as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. 

MORE:

Read our Apple TV 4K (2022) review

And our iPad Pro 13-inch M4 review

As well as our picks for the best media streamers

Amazon Fire TV users, your screensaver is about to be replaced by a full-screen advert.

In November, Cord Cutters News reported that Amazon planned to introduce video ads when you start your Fire TV – unless you quickly press something. 

Now, Amazon has decided to take things further by replacing your screensaver with a full-screen ad. If you leave your device for an extended period, a full-screen ad will run for roughly 30 to 60 seconds before eventually showing your screensaver. These latest changes appear to be implemented on all Fire TV devices released in 2016 or later.  

Amazon confirmed with Cord Cutters that these latest changes are part of an update to its ‘Ambient Experience’, which displays art, weather, widgets, and now ads, when your display isn’t streaming. These changes have all been via server-side updates, which means no software update is required on the user’s end. 

A wide range of affordable TVs and smart stick manufacturers have all been introducing adverts to their TV homescreens – Amazon Fire TV in November 2023, Google TV in January 2024, and Roku in April 2024. These brands are looking into more ways of adding interactive ads, pause ads, and even ads over your TV's HDMI inputs.

We recently wrote how we think the Apple TV 4K is easily the best streamer with the best operating system. Not only this, but it does not display ads on the homescreen. Perhaps it’s time to start considering Fire TV alternatives which aren’t so intrusive with their advertising. 

MORE: 

Our picks for the best TVs available: flagship OLEDs and affordable flatscreens tried and tested

The Apple TV 4K is comfortably the best streamer, but only if you change these settings

Tidal has announced its music streaming app will no longer be available on Samsung TVs. The change will affect TVs running Tizen OS starting from 8th July 2024. Users have been informed of upcoming alterations via email. 

The message from Tidal reads: “After July 8, 2024, Tidal will no longer be available on Samsung SmartTVs. To keep listening to your favourite tunes, log in to Tidal from your computer, download the mobile app, or discover other ways to stream.” 

For many years Tidal has been available on a range of smart TVs with the streaming service arriving on Samsung TVs in 2018. Recently though, Tidal has been taken down from other TV ranges such as Amazon’s Fire TVs and Roku TVs. Tidal remains available via Apple TV and Google TV though we are waiting to see if any other major brands will lose support soon.

If your TV is the only way you can access Tidal then this could be an issue, however, for many users, this shouldn’t be a huge loss. If you use an iPad, iPhone or Mac device, you can still cast to your Samsung TV via AirPlay 2. Or, if your TV is connected to an external audio system like a soundbar, you can most likely stream directly to it from any device supporting the Tidal app. Either way, using the app on a phone or tablet would be our preferred route over the TV app anyway.

Tidal has announced several other changes recently. Last week, the service announced it will be dropping MQA tracks in favour of FLAC format files for all its high-resolution and CD-quality music starting from 24th July 2024.  

Tidal also announced changes to its price plan in April 2024. Previously its high-res, lossless and spatial audio content was only accessible via a £20/$20-per-month subscription. Instead, a single individual user plan now costs £11/$11 per month, cheaper than Spotify’s plan which was bumped up to £12/$12 recently.

MORE:

Tidal scraps MQA and spatial audio format – here's what that means for subscribers

Tidal's monthly price drop is now in effect, and it's good news for hi-res fans

Perhaps because it’s never developed a smart system of its own, TCL has been unusually promiscuous when it comes to the operating systems deployed across its TV range. Roku, Android TV and Google TV have all cropped up on TVs in recent times, and the brand’s established some pretty deep links with TiVo, too. So we probably shouldn’t be surprised to find TCL’s 32SF540K now adding yet another name to the brand’s smart partner list in the shape of Amazon’s Fire TV OS.

Of course, Amazon produces its own 32-inch Fire TV, the 2-Series, which we recently reviewed. Can TCL beat Amazon at its own game? It sure can.

Price

TCL TVs these days pretty much always push the value envelope, and the 32SF540K is no exception. At £149 it is comfortably the cheapest of the trio of 32-inch TVs we’ve been looking at recently, undercutting Amazon’s own 32-inch Fire TV 2-Series model by £40 at the time of writing, and costing less than half as much as Sony’s KD-32W800.

Naturally, we’ll have to be on the lookout for feature or performance corner-cutting to explain such a puny price, but it has to be said that incorporating a full – and seemingly slick and stable – version of the Fire TV OS gets it off to a promising start.

Note that if you prefer the Android TV system, TCL also sells a similarly specified 32-inch Android TV model, the 32S5400, for the same £149 price.

While TCL had a 32-inch Fire TV model available in the US last year, it’s currently showing as out of stock. In Australia TCL currently seems to be limiting its presence to its bigger and more premium TV series.

Design

Aside from the distinctive-to-Fire-TVs short white LED strip hanging from the middle of the TV’s bottom edge and a little white Fire TV logo in its bottom right corner, the TCL 32SF540K looks pretty basic. TCL claims the design is ‘bezel-less’, but while it’s true that the actual outer frame is unusually slim, there’s an inner frame of black behind the screen that still makes the picture look like it’s sitting within a pretty substantial structure. 

A vaguely metallic finish, meanwhile, somehow still manages to end up looking and feeling plasticky, while its glossy black feet are as flimsy as these things get. The screen’s build quality is generally very lightweight, in fact – which we guess is handy, at least, if you want to tuck the 32-inch screen under your arm and move it to another room.

Much of the 32SF540K’s rear is a touch slimmer than that of other typical 32-inch TVs these days, but the speakers built into each bottom corner and a central connections section both add an extra inch or two, which means the TV still protrudes a bit awkwardly if you decide to wall hang it.  

The 32SF540K ships with a typical Fire TV remote that only differs from the one supplied with Amazon’s own 32-inch Fire TV 2 Series model by adding a TCL logo alongside the Fire TV one, and replacing the dedicated Amazon Music button with a generic Apps button.

Features

While the 32SF540K’s single biggest attraction for many punters will likely be its price, it actually has quite a bit else going on inside its unassuming form.

The Fire TV operating system has plenty going for it, for starters. Anyone used to using Prime Video TV apps will instantly feel at home with Fire OS’s layout and general approach to content, and the additional menu options required to offer control over the TV hardware are integrated reasonably clearly. The system has previously proved itself capable of remaining slick and stable even on quite basic TVs, too, and that continues to be the case even on this £150 TCL.

Fire TV also has the considerable advantage – unlike Android/Google TV – of carrying all of the major UK-specific catch-up apps. In fact, it provides the Freeview Play umbrella app for bringing the catch-up services of the UK’s major terrestrial broadcasters into one easily browsable place.

Alexa is present and correct too – though as you’d expect with such a cheap TV, this only works via an Alexa button and mic on the remote; there’s no ‘far-field’ mic in the TV to which you might issue commands without needing the remote.

The 32SF540K’s panel, unusually for the 32-inch market, carries a Full HD (1920x1080) pixel count. It uses contrast-rich VA technology rather than the viewing angle-friendly IPS alternative, and it’s lit directly from the back rather than less controllably from its sides. These are all good picture quality signs – unless you or anyone else routinely finds themselves having to watch the screen from a wide angle.

There’s support for the HDR10 and HLG formats from both external sources and integrated apps, as well as playback of DTS Virtual X/DTS-HD and Dolby (though not Atmos) audio.

The 32SF540K’s connections include a couple of what TCL calls HDMI 1.4 ports, but which still support ALLM switching for gamers and HDMI’s eARC system for passing multi-channel sound on to connected and compatible soundbars and AVRs. There’s also an optical digital audio output, a 3.5mm AV input, a headphone jack and a single USB port.

You can enjoy content on the TV wirelessly, too, courtesy of integrated Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi 5 support. These wireless options are bolstered by support for both Miracast and AirPlay 2.

Surprisingly for a TCL TV, the 32SF540K isn’t exactly stuffed with picture and sound features. The only thing of note is a (as it turns out, useful) motion processor. 

Apart from the ALLM switching support, the only real gaming feature of note supported by the 60Hz-tops 32SF540K is an impressively low 15.3ms of input lag when the TV is set to its Game preset.

Picture

The TCL 32SF540K’s pictures aren’t as bright and contrasty as those of the recently reviewed Amazon Fire TV 2 Series 32-inch set, or as richly coloured as those of the Sony 32W800. Crucially, though, unlike those rivals, the 32SF540K manages to avoid any serious flaws, making it in the end a more effective all-round performer. 

When it comes to producing convincing black tones and dark scenes, for instance, while it doesn’t deliver quite such neutral blacks as the Fire TV 2 Series, it mercifully avoids the distracting glowing greyness of the Sony 32W800. 

It also avoids the tendencies of the Amazon set to either run too brightly with dark scenes (bringing out too much background detail and attendant noise) or else crush out too much shadow detail if you try to introduce more light control. Instead the TCL’s shadow detailing is well judged and, crucially, consistent, helping dark scenes look as full of depth as bright ones and contributing to a more immersive viewing experience.

The 32SF540K is more susceptible to losing contrast if watched from an angle than the Amazon Fire TV 2 Series set, so do bear that in mind if you’re buying a TV that will be watched by several people at the same time.

The 32SF540K’s colour tones aren’t as naturally warm and, for want of a better word, cinematic as those the Sony 32W800 is capable of delivering (sometimes to excess). But they’re way warmer, richer and just more natural looking than the oddly jaundiced efforts of the Amazon Fire TV 2 Series. This might be partly down to the TCL not being quite as bright as its Amazon rival (though it is brighter than the Sony), but if a little less brightness is the price we pay for much more consistently authentic and ‘lived in’ colours, especially when it comes to skin tones, so be it.

The TCL 32SF540K’s more considered approach to pictures has other advantages, too. Less detail and subtle shading is clipped out of the brightest highlights of HDR pictures, for instance. Also, while the balance between the lightest and darkest parts of an image might be less extreme than from the Fire TV 2 Series, it looks more natural. There’s little sign of the sort of colour noise and coarseness the Fire TV 2 Series sometimes exhibits, either, or the compressed-looking bright tones the Sony 32W800’s innate dullness can cause.

The 32SF540K’s HD pictures look slightly sharper and more subtly detailed than those of both the Sony 32W800 and Amazon Fire TV 2 Series rivals. Partly because of its more balanced handling of the brightest and darkest parts of the picture, but also, we suspect, because it sports a native Full HD resolution rather than the 720p resolutions of its rivals.

The clarity doesn’t disappear, either, into judder or blur during camera pans or over fast-moving objects. Especially if you call into action the surprisingly sensitive (in that it causes neither excessive soap opera effect nor unwanted side effects) Natural Cinema motion option. 

We should add that by far the crispest pictures from the 32SF540K are obtained from its Standard picture preset. Its Film mode looks much softer. To a fault, in fact. Fortunately the Standard preset is well suited to the sort of relatively ‘casual’ viewing conditions a 32-inch TV is likely to find itself being used in.

The 32SF540K’s pictures aren’t quite five-star wonders, in the end. But they’re much more consistent, considered, balanced and, as a result, easy to just settle into than they’ve any right to be for this price.

Sound

The 32SF540K’s budget nature is more apparent in its sound than its pictures. Its lofty DTS and Dolby audio ambitions are immediately undermined by an at-times pretty painful lack of power and dynamics from its speakers. The big bass drops and soaring synths at the start of the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack, for instance, cause all sorts of issues, from heavy crackling over the lowest frequencies to more distortions and breakup while presenting the high pings that accompany the appearance of each new section of prologue text better than we’ve ever heard before. 

Treble generally sounds thin and harsh under any sort of pressure, while despite the distress it can cause the speakers, bass that might have deflected attention from the shrill treble is always in very short supply.

Voices sometimes sound rather thin and nasal, too, leaving a decently well-spread and defined stereo soundstage, some strong if treble-biased detail and just about enough breathing room to handle day-to-day TV fodder cleanly as the 32SF540K’s only real audio strengths.

Verdict

Despite its flimsy audio and build quality, the 32SF540K is still overall a strong option by today’s admittedly rather impoverished 32-inch TV standards. Its picture quality isn’t perfect but achieves a thoughtful and easy-to-enjoy balance between all the key picture elements, and its Fire TV OS puts vast quantities of content at your command in a straightforward, stable and, despite how cheap the TV is, slick interface. These strengths are more than enough in themselves to make the 32SF540K’s £149 price look like a steal. 

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 2
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our Sony KD-32W800 review

Also consider the Amazon 32-inch Fire TV 2 Series

Read our Toshiba 24WK3C63DB review

Our pick of the best 43-inch, best 42-inch and best 40-inch 'small' TVs

Roku TV users are reporting issues relating to motion smoothing settings on the latest version of the company's TV operating system. It launched OS 13 alongside its premium Roku Pro Series TVs back in April of this year, however, users have now identified a peculiar picture issue. 

As reported by The Verge, multiple Roku TV users have taken to Reddit and Roku's forums claiming that motion smoothing is permanently switched on and cannot be turned off in the picture settings menu. This issue appears to be affecting TCL TVs running the Roku OS software according to user reports, while users with access to the "Expert" picture settings can still toggle motion smoothing. 

There are speculations that the new Roku Smart Picture feature added in this update could be playing a hand in this issue, however, it cannot be pinned down as the proven cause. This automatic picture optimisation mode can adjust picture settings based on the content on display, so it's likely that motion could be affected. However, users with older Roku-powered sets that don't have access to Roku Smart Picture are also reporting issues with motion smoothing.

Other users are claiming that this is the first time that their TVs have been able to access Roku's motion smoothing feature and that there is no mention in either the standard or expert menus as to how to switch it on or off. A community moderator for Roku has assured users that the company is looking into this apparent glitch.

Motion smoothing continues to be a divisive topic in the realm of TV. While we find that it can help or hinder a TV's performance on a case-by-case basis, our general rule of thumb is that it's best switched off if you're after the most authentic experience. Hollywood A-listers have also been quite outspoken in this, most famously Tom Cruise, who made a public service announcement back in 2018 instructing us all to switch the setting off. 

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best cheap TVs

As well as the best TV deals

If you’ve kept track of my sporadic old-man-rants-at-sky moments on What Hi-Fi?, you’ll notice that I’ve long bemoaned an ongoing and in my mind slightly sad trend in the world of TVs.

Specifically, there are currently woefully few good cheap TVs doing the rounds, especially at smaller screen sizes.

Let’s run through the evidence over the past few months. First off there’s the recent group test we ran, where we checked out around half a dozen of the top-selling small TVs on Amazon. Sadly, none of the sets managed to earn five stars. The 'winners' were the RCA Roku TV 24-inch (RK24HF1) and Toshiba 24WK3C63DB, which scored four stars. 

Even these suffered from some key issues, though, ranging from a lack of streaming apps, which made a Chromecast, Apple TV or Amazon Fire Stick all but essential, to a lack of HDR support. Sure they’re small, but I’d like to see at least a few of the innovations we’ve seen in the last decade start to trickle down to this end of the market.

The same is true if you go slightly up in price and look at the Amazon Fire TV Omni range. In our experience testing them, the Omni TVs are great at larger sizes, with the 50-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED remaining the cheap TV we recommend to most people. But go down below 50 inches and things take a turn for the worse, with the 43-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni, in particular, having too many flaws for us to recommend, despite its price.

So in short, based on our testing, if you want a great TV without any caveats that won’t dominate the whole lounge or bedroom, you’re out of luck.

The good news? While companies don’t seem interested in delivering great value in the smaller end of the TV market, we’ve seen great strides in improving your bang for buck when it comes to big-screen TVs.

Most recently this was showcased by the 85-inch TCL 85C805K. Is it cheap? Retailing for £1579 in our native UK, the answer is unequivocally no, as unless you're Jeff Bezos that’s still a large wad of cash. But, by 85-inch TV standards, it’s by far one of the cheapest we’ve seen at this size, and it represents cracking value when you consider how much hardware TCL has packed inside.

Excellent gaming features for PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S owners? Check. Full HDR support? Check. Reliable picture quality that can get you truly immersed in a film? Check. 

Even a couple of years ago, a TV this size with the TCL’s features and performance would have cost nearly twice as much – as we reported in our in-depth TCL 85C805K review: “Despite costing less than some 55-inch TVs, the TCL 85C805K manages to combine the sheer largesse of its 85-inch pictures with excellent gaming support and genuinely cinematic and immersive picture and sound quality. In other words, it’s pretty much a dream come true for home cinema fans who aren’t lucky enough to have limitlessly deep pockets.”

TCL is also one of many TV makers who think the future is in big sets. Samsung’s leadership team said a significant part of its R&D investment will go into large TVs in its last quarterly investment call, as it doesn’t think there’s enough scale at the smaller end of the market.

And many will love this trend, including one commenter on our Facebook page who told me to “just build a bigger house”, the last time I bemoaned my inability to fit an 85-inch set into my home. 

But, as I’ve noted before, many of us simply don't have room for such big TVs, but do still care about picture and sound quality. That's why I’d still love to see more of the innovation we see on the larger, more expensive sets trickle down to smaller, and cheaper, TVs. 

Until this happens, the truth is that if you want the best bang for your buck, in most instances it may be worth going big or going home when shopping for a new TV.

MORE:

These are the best 65-inch TVs we’ve tested

We rate the best cheap TVs

Check out our picks of the best OLED TVs

The budget TV world is so crowded these days that it’s tempting to think any new brand wanting to join the fray must be either working on Dutch courage or simply a bit mad. On the admittedly literally small evidence of its RK24HF1 24-inch TV, though, it could just be that relative newcomer RCA really does know what it’s doing.

Price

At £136, the RCA RK24HF1 Roku TV is cheap even by the generally price-sensitive standards of today’s 24-inch TV market. It’s more than £30 cheaper than the recently reviewed Samsung UE24N4300, for instance. Which means it joins recent Roku-based TVs from the likes of TCL, Hisense and Logic in targeting the budget end of the TV world.

While RCA sells TVs in the US and Australia, its range in those territories doesn’t go smaller than 32 inches. Only us Brits, it seems, still want TVs smaller than that.

Design

Compared with the surprisingly heavy-duty Samsung UE24N4300, RCA’s RK24HF1 24-inch TV is almost shockingly lightweight. Even with its ultra-basic feet attached, it weighs so little a toddler could easily tuck it under their arm and wander around with it. Not that we’d suggest they were allowed to do such a thing, obviously. 

We guess this makes the RK24HF1 a particularly portable TV if that matters to you. But it also raises concerns about both the quality of its internal components and its ability to withstand any knocks it might incur while you’re carting it around. 

The RK24HF1’s bezel, rear and feet are all made from pretty basic-looking black plastic, and the bezel and rear are both more prominent than you might expect of a 2024 TV. The crisp RCA and Roku TV logos on the screen’s bottom edge liven things up a bit, but overall the RK24HF1 looks a little dated and cheap. 

It ships with a similarly dated-looking and lightweight remote control. To be fair, though, this remote control is quite effectively organised – not least because it draws on all of Roku’s decades of experience with remote control ergonomics.

Features

The main features of the RCA RK24HF1 are its eye-catchingly affordable price and built-in Roku smarts. If you’re not familiar with Roku, you might think from simply looking at its menus that it’s a pretty basic system compared with the more glamorous looks of smart TV platforms such as LG’s webOS and Samsung’s Tizen services. In reality, though, the Roku system’s basic look is the well-researched result of a laser-focused desire to keep things as simple as possible for end users. 

Particularly welcome and effective is the way the list of content icons that dominates the home page includes the set’s inputs as well as streaming and gaming apps. You can easily customise its source running order, too. The fact that it doesn’t try to do anything too clever in terms of pop-up windows, content recommendations and the like actually feels quite refreshing in its simplicity versus the much more complicated smart TV systems of more premium TVs.

The amount of content the Roku platform carries is immense, too. From Netflix and Disney+ to Prime Video and Freeview Play, everything is there. Having such a combination of simplicity and comprehensiveness at your fingertips makes it very easy indeed to live with the interface’s slightly drab presentation.

RCA claims that the RK24HF1’s screen is a premium LED affair capable of producing richer tones than its basic models. It uses a VA panel type, with a native HD Ready resolution of 1280x720. And yes, it does feel weird to be talking about HD Ready TVs again in these days where pretty much every TV you can buy is a 4K or 8K model. But then we guess fitting a 4K pixel count inside a 24-inch screen would be way more trouble than it's worth given how little visible difference it would likely make to picture quality. 

The RK24HF1’s near obsession with keeping things simple extends to its picture features. Pretty much the only important tool available to you is the option to adjust the picture’s brightness using simple one word descriptions – ‘bright, brighter, brightest’ and so on – rather than the usual rather meaningless numerical brightness adjustments. Personally, we would have appreciated a bit more fine-tuning over the picture settings, but it’s hard not to admire how Roku tries to think like regular people think.

Unlike a surprising number of other 24-inch TVs, including the Samsung UE24N4300, the RK24HF1 does not support any form of high dynamic range playback. Nor is there support for cutting-edge gaming features such as 4K/120Hz and VRR – but you won’t find these gaming features on any other 24-inch TV either. 

The RK24HF1 is pretty well connected. Its three HDMIs are particularly generous by small TV standards, and these are joined by a USB port, the inevitable RF tuner input, a headphone jack, and an optical audio output. The connectivity also supports control of the TV via Roku’s admirably straightforward iOS/Android app, as well as support for the Apple AirPlay, Apple Home, Alexa and Google Home wireless connectivity platforms.

Picture

The RCA RK24HF1 Roku TV’s picture quality – as with numerous other cheap and cheerful Roku-based TVs we’ve seen over recent years – is surprisingly enjoyable. 

The first thing that strikes us about it after recently spending time with Samsung’s UE24N4300 is how bright it is. Even though it doesn’t (arguably quite sensibly) bother trying to support HDR sources, its pictures pop off the screen with much more intensity and punch than those of the Samsung. Which is, of course, just what you want from a screen that may well need to compete with the typically bright environments in kitchens, conservatories and the like. 

RCA’s claims that the RK24HF1’s screen features a premium colour performance are backed up by a voluminous palette that has no trouble at all ensuring that saturations ‘keep up’ with the screen’s surprisingly potent brightness. So instead of bright shots starting to look pale and faded, they actually just keep getting more vibrant the brighter they get. Just as they should.

While a lack of tonal subtlety can leave some bold colours looking a bit cartoonish at times, the RK24HF1 avoids the strange compressed, ‘clumpy’ look to areas of what should be fine colour detail during dark scenes that the Samsung UE24N4300 suffers with.

The RK24HF1 sees off its Samsung rival, too, with its clarity and sharpness. This is arguably the most surprising strength of RCA’s screen given how often budget LCD TVs of all sizes tend to suffer with motion blur or poor colour mapping – but there’s no question that it manages to deliver even tough stuff such as sports events and 24p films without suffering major resolution loss or lag.

The RK24HF1’s sharpness helps pictures enjoy a good sense of depth and three-dimensionality too – a talent that proves particularly useful when using RCA’s screen as a gaming display.

Talking of gaming, the RK24HF1 carries a Game picture preset that gets input lag (the time the TV takes to render images received at its inputs) down to a respectably low 33ms.

Inevitably given its low price and second- rather than main-room focus, the RCA RK24HF1’s pictures aren’t without their limitations. The worst of these is its pretty uninspiring black-level performance. Dark scenes look quite grey or sometimes even a bit blue, especially in the set’s default Standard preset – an issue that can also cause some subtle shading details to go missing in the darkest corners. This is one area where Samsung’s UE24N4300 definitely outguns RCA’s cheaper rival.

The RK24HF1 handles dark scenes much better if you switch to its Movie preset, though, so it’s not a washout for film fans. In any case, though, given the sort of environments the RK24HF1 is likely to find itself in, we’d argue that prioritising brightness over deeper black levels is a pretty valid position. Also, while the Samsung UE24N4300 might deliver much deeper blacks and more shadow detail, the RK24HF1’s much higher brightness means that scenes containing a mix of dark and light content actually enjoy more contrast and punch on the RCA screen.

Despite not suffering with the colour-crushing problem that the Samsung UE24N4300 does, there is a slightly crude feel to the RK24HF1’s colour and sharpness. It’s as if the colour processing can’t render enough shades to reveal every tonal nuance, while the sharpness is being slightly forced – maybe by some background processing trick.

Overall, though, the RK24HF1’s issues amount to much less than we expected from such an affordable TV from a relative unknown quantity of a brand. Especially as the limitations are for the most part in areas where they do relatively little damage in the sort of usage contexts a 24-inch TV is likely to find itself in.

Sound

While it’s not really saying much, RCA’s little Roku TV sounds better than most similarly small TVs do. It manages to get louder than expected given its flimsy bodywork, for starters, and combines that bit of extra volume with more direct impact for sharp sound effects. There’s a reasonably rounded tone to the RK24HF1’s sound, too, that extends to more than just dialogue. So while there’s plenty of detail in the presentation, it doesn’t sound unpleasantly shrill or clipped.

Its midrange even has a little headroom to expand into while playing escalating action scenes in games or movies, and the speakers manage to stage the various elements of dense mix moments surprisingly credibly. 

Despite the plasticky bodywork, there’s surprisingly little evidence of speaker distortions or cabinet buzzes, either. The only thing that sometimes catches it out is deep bass, which can cause a little crackling to sneak in. The depths of the bass the TV can reach are pretty limited too, but we can’t think of any similarly small TV we’ve seen where bass wasn’t in short supply. In fact, the RK24HF1 actually gets a touch deeper than most. 

There is a general slightly coarse feeling to the RCA RK24HF1’s sound – just as there’s a slightly coarse general feel to its pictures. It’s not bad enough to stop the set’s sound from being consistently serviceable, though, which is about as high a compliment as we can usually pay to any tiny TV sound system.

Verdict

While its picture and sound are a touch too rough and ready to earn the RCA RK24HF1 Roku TV an unqualified recommendation, it picks its budget battles intelligently enough, with enough awareness of what most of its likely buyers will most want a 24-inch TV to do well. And this makes it, in the end, a much better bet than we’d expected it to be. 

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 3
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Samsung UE24N4300

Also consider the Toshiba 24WK3C63DB

Read our Amazon QL43F601 review

Best TV: flagship OLEDs and affordable flatscreens tried and tested

There isn’t anything about the Toshiba 24WK3C63DB that instantly jumps out at you (apart from its almost bizarrely forgettable model name).

It’s cheap without being the cheapest 24-inch TV in town. It looks decent and is reasonably well built without being the prettiest or most robustly designed small TV we’ve seen. It’s well-featured without delivering absolutely everything a small TV ideally should.

And yet, we’ve ended up developing rather a soft spot for it. 

Price

The Toshiba 24WK3C63DB isn’t the cheapest 24-inch TV. There are sets around from the likes of Sharp, JVC and Blaupunkt (all of which are, literally, no longer the brands they used to be) that cost quite a bit less than the 24WK3C63DB’s £139 price of entry. 

There are also, though, plenty of 24-inch TVs that cost much more, including Samsung’s recently reviewed UE24N4300. And by the time you’ve added the 24WK3C63DB’s thoughtful picture performance into the equation, £139 starts to look like really good value.

Note that Toshiba TVs aren’t sold in the US, and that while the model was once sold in Australia, it seems as if the UK and Germany are now the only territories where it’s still readily available.

Design

The 24WK3C63DB is better looking than most small TVs. The frame around its screen is quite compact by 24-inch TV standards, and its mildly glossy black finish contrasts neatly with the dark metallic grey of the included plate-style desktop foot. Both the screen and its mount look and feel reasonably well built, too – not as ultra sturdy as the Samsung UE24N4300, but certainly more robust than the featherweight feel of the 24-inch RCA Roku TV, a review of which we will be publishing very soon.

The 24WK3C63DB ships with a single flimsily built remote control. Despite its uninspiring build quality, though, this handset actually turns out to be quite well laid out and easy to use. 

Features

As with the Samsung and RCA 24-inch TVs mentioned, the 24WK3C63DB uses a VA panel with standard (as in, there’s no local dimming) backlighting. It sports a native HD Ready resolution of 1280x720 pixels and, surprisingly, supports high dynamic range playback in the HDR10 and HLG formats. There’s no playback of the premium Dolby Vision or HDR10+ HDR formats – these default to simple HDR10 – but any sort of HDR support on a 24-inch TV must count as a bonus. Provided it doesn’t look like a dog’s dinner, anyway.

Another sign that Toshiba is trying to be quite ambitious with the 24WK3C63DB’s picture quality is the presence of a couple of the brand’s proprietary picture processing systems: Tru Resolution for enhancing sharpness, and Tru Micro Dimming, which analyses the image in small blocks to better optimise the screen’s picture settings frame-by-frame.  

The 24WK3C63DB’s connections only provide two HDMIs rather than the three sported by the RCA Roku TV, but these twin HDMIs are backed up pretty well by a USB port, a VGA PC port that can also be used for component video, an Ethernet network port, a composite video input (these sorts of legacy video connections are still a hit with 24-inch buyers, it seems), a headphone jack and, of course, an RF port to feed the built-in Freeview HD tuner.

The HDMIs don’t support any of today’s advanced gaming features, such as 4K/120Hz or VRR, but nor would we expect them to. At least the 24WK3C63DB does a pretty good job of not ruining your Call Of Duty skills by hitting a pretty reasonable 32.8ms of input lag when set to its Game picture mode.

The 24WK3C63DB’s smart features initially impress. The interface superimposes app links over the bottom of the picture you’re watching rather than the home screen taking over the whole screen, which is a nice throwback to a simpler smart TV time. The menu structure is really clever in how it gives you access to the TV’s features without eating into much screen real estate, too. There are some direct app access buttons on the remote too, and you can easily re-order the apps on the OSD so that your favourites appear first.

There’s also built-in support for Amazon Alexa voice control, as well as Miracast so you can share your smart device’s screen with the TV.

The only pity – and it’s a significant one – is that the roster of apps supported by the 24WK3C63DB doesn’t include Disney+ or Apple TV. There’s Netflix, Prime Video, Freeview Play (complete with the catch-up apps for all the big UK terrestrial TV broadcasters), Britbox, YouTube and plenty more besides. But if you’re one of the large number of households invested in Disney+ or Apple TV subscriptions, you’ll have to rely on an external device to play those on this Toshiba TV.

Picture

Provided you’re able to sit almost directly opposite its screen, the 24WK3C63DB is a very effective picture performer. We mention the 'directly opposite the screen' thing right away, though, because it really is an unusually big deal with Toshiba’s set. Any TV that uses a VA panel will lose colour and contrast if watched from much of an angle, but the angles you can watch the 24WK3C63DB from before the picture quality is affected are really exceptionally limited.

Viewed head-on, though, the 24WK3C63DB has more than a few pleasant surprises up its sleeve. Its contrast performance, for instance, is excellent by small-screen TV standards. Its deepest black levels might not be quite as deep or natural as those of the Samsung UE24N4300, but they’re significantly better than those of the RCA 24-inch Roku TV and seldom cause you to be distracted from what you’re watching. 

At the other end of the light spectrum, while it doesn’t get quite as bright as the RCA Roku model (despite that model not joining this Toshiba in supporting HDR) the 24WK3C63DB is much brighter than the Samsung. So overall it delivers a marriage of good brightness and black levels that helps both SDR and HDR content enjoy a really balanced and eye-catching look that holds up well in both dark and light room settings.

The natural feel to dark scenes is enhanced, too, by the 24WK3C63DB’s ability to pick out lots of shadow detail in dark areas, rather than crushing it out or greying it over as many budget TVs do.

The 24WK3C63DB’s colour handling is its best attribute, though. With small-screen TVs these days, especially at the more affordable end of the market, colours can tend to look either pale or gaudy, without much subtlety and naturalism in between. This Toshiba, though, achieves a colour range wide enough to deliver at least a little extra impact with HDR content while also being subtle enough to ensure that heavily textured areas never look clumpy or soft. 

Skin tones are delivered with enough nuance and clarity to avoid the plasticky look all too many small screen TVs suffer with to some extent when showing flesh, and wider tones are consistently realistic and believable. There are none of the frankly weird hues and ‘black and white’ moments that the Samsung UE24N4300 suffers from when trying to show HDR.

The balance of the 24WK3C63DB’s colours is a credit to such an affordable TV too, with no hues drawing too much attention to themselves.

With a good sense of sharpness and detail to add to its mix of colour subtlety and balance, the 24WK3C63DB also delivers a more effective sense of depth than we’d expected to ever see from such a small TV.

The 24WK3C63DB’s very limited viewing angles aren’t its only picture limitation, though. Very dark scenes can reveal some faint clouding from the backlight, and motion looks slightly softer than it does on the RCA Roku TV (though it also looks much crisper than motion on the Samsung 24N4300).

Its niggles, though, don’t stop the 24WK3C63DB from ultimately producing more immersive and engaging pictures than you may well have thought possible from a TV of such diminutive proportions.

Sound

The 24WK3C63DB’s audio isn’t as impressive as its pictures. Chiefly because it joins many of its small-screen rivals in not being able to get very loud or deliver much in the way of bass. This lack of bass means action scenes sound a bit thin and shrill, while the lack of power denies the sound any significant projection either forward or sideways, compounding the sound’s somewhat ‘trapped in’ feel.

It’s not all bad news, though. The speakers typically sound quite crisp and clean, and they remain free of distortion and dropouts with all but the most truly extreme soundtrack moments. Dialogue is always intelligible too – even if those speaking tend to sound a bit small. 

Verdict

While the Toshiba 24WK3C63DB doesn’t do anything flat-out spectacular and requires you to work around extremely limited effective viewing angles, it also shows more sensitivity towards and appreciation for all-round picture balance, finesse and consistency than any of its small-screen rivals. The result is a TV that’s far more immersive to watch than a TV this small and cheap has really any right to be.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 3
• Features 3

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Also consider the Amazon QL43F601

Best TVs: flagship OLEDs and affordable flatscreens tried and tested

If we cast our minds all the way back to January, you might remember Roku announcing that it'll take a bold step into the realm of premium TVs with its Pro Series TV. This Mini LED equipped model would be the first "premium" offering from the company, presenting a modern design and enhanced feature set compared to its entry-level HD and 4K TVs. Well, the wait is finally over, as Roku has launched the Roku Pro Series TV; but the bad news is that they're exclusive to the US for now.

The Roku Pro Series features a 4K resolution, and HDR support with both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision IQ included. Roku advertises this as a QLED TV, with a Mini LED backlight and, presumably, quantum dots which should make for enhanced colour volume. It also features Roku Smart Picture Max which Roku claims will harness the power of its most powerful processor to date alongside a neural processing unit to adapt colour, sharpness and contrast settings to best suit the content you're watching. 

It's also got a thorough suite of gaming features, with support for 120Hz gaming, VRR and ALLM, as well as AMD Freesync Premium Pro if you plan on hooking a gaming PC up to this TV. There's no explicit mention of HDMI 2.1 on Roku's site, but considering it supports these features, we'd be very surprised if it was absent on this set. 

Roku is also boosting sound performance on these pro-oriented TVs, with a new side-firing speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos. It claims that these speakers will deliver a "wide, cinematic sound", but if you're after a more immersive surround set-up, then you can pair this TV with Roku's Wireless Soundbar, Wireless Speakers and Wireless Bass products. This TV also supports headphone listening over Bluetooth if you prefer a more personal listening experience. 

The remote is also getting a hefty upgrade for the Pro-series TVs. Roku's iconic black and purple controller now features touch-activated backlit buttons (that will also light up when you use the "Hey Roku" voice commands or the "find my remote" function), a microphone for voice operation, live TV navigation controls and a USB-C port to recharge the internal battery. The fancier remote reflects the more premium build of this new TV too, with super slim bezels around the top and sides of the display and a pair of slim blade-style feet at either end of the set. Roku is also selling an additional Slim-profile Wall Mount Kit accessory that allows for a slender, close-to-the-wall finish if you plan on attaching this TV to a wall.

Alongside the launch of the Roku Pro Series, the company has also released a software update dubbed OS 13 to its newer range of TVs and streaming devices. This update isn't totally revolutionary, but it brings a few aesthetic upgrades that will challenge Samsung's The Frame TV. A new feature called Backdrops is launching with this update which will let you use your TV as a digital photo frame. Roku has curated a selection of artwork and photography for you to display, or you can upload your own images if you'd prefer. Roku says that this feature will come to all of its TVs in the coming months, with a rollout to Roku streaming devices expected at a later date. 

Roku City, the popular screensaver that reaches a claimed 40 million users currently, is getting some residents too. You'll see cars on the road of this popular digital metropolis, with a few easter eggs relating to popular movie vehicles to look out for. 

General interface updates are expected with this update as well, with IMDB integration on content pages that will display ratings and reviews. There will also be new ways to search for content, and a slightly simpler version of Roku Smart Picture is also set to trickle down to more Roku devices too. 

Available in three sizes, the Roku Pro Series is available to purchase from Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon in the United States now. The range starts at $999 (around £800 / AU$1400) for the 55-inch model, the 65-inch model costs $1200 (around £950 / AU$1850), and the 75-inch model retails for $1700 (around £1350 / AU$2600). 

The second-generation Roku Voice Remote Pro is included in the box with all Roku Pro Series TVs, but you can purchase it separately for $30 (around £25 / AU$45), while the Slim Wall Mount Kit will cost $100 (around £80 / AU$150). 

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Read our full 65-inch Amazon Omni QLED review

And check out our picks for the best TVs

Popular streaming stick and TV manufacturer Roku appears to have big plans for ramping up the amount of advertising you see on its TVs. According to recent reports, the streaming giant has submitted a patent that will allow it to take over your HDMI feed to show you advertisements even when using external sources such as a console, Blu-ray player or set-top box.

The company has already expanded upon the ways it can deliver sponsored content to its audiences through its popular "Roku City" screensaver. The idle animation that plays when you leave your Roku streaming device idle went somewhat viral within the last year, as many social media users expressed their admiration for the animated city skyline and cosy sunset backdrop. 

Roku quickly picked up on it and began renting out advertisement space within its digital metropolis to the likes of McDonalds and Walmart in the US, as well as promoting recent movie premieres that you could buy and rent on its services, such as Barbie.

This has clearly been a successful venture for Roku, as the company has blocked developers from bypassing its idle screensavers within their apps. For example, the Netflix app often shows content suggestions if you leave it running on other smart streaming devices, but Roku's screensaver will override this if you're using a Roku TV or streamer. 

However, this only works with apps running natively on Roku hardware, meaning any device connected to a Roku TV over HDMI will display its own screensaver; for example, the Xbox's idle state that shows achievement progression, or the Apple TV 4K's stunning selection of world videography. So how can Roku capitalise on devices connected over HDMI? Its latent patent might address this.

According to Janko Roettgers at Lowpass (via Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen), Roku has filed a patent that will supposedly insert its own sponsored content over the idle display featured on your HDMI device. You can view the patent here, which explains how Roku plans on implementing this. 

The obvious concern is that Roku doesn't have the same level of control over HDMI devices as it does over its own integrated smart platforms. If ads suddenly popped up mid-game on a user's Xbox, or mid-movie on an Apple TV 4K, that would be a sure-fire way to displease Roku TV users. 

Roku plans to circumnavigate this by grabbing frames from an HDMI feed to compare differences; if there are none then it's likely that a user has paused their game or film. But what if the film or game has a freeze-frame moment? Roku has supposedly suggested monitoring audio feeds to identify prolonged silences, which will further identify if a user has paused their game or film. This will likely be backed by HDMI CEC, a feature found on many soundbars, AVRs, Blu-ray players and game consoles that allows for smoother integration between HDMI-connected devices and TVs. 

Furthermore, Roku has considered how to make the advertisements relevant to users by identifying what the user is watching or playing. Roku will reportedly use audio and visual content recognition systems (using an industry-standard known as ACR) that will match whatever is on the screen to a database of advertising information. Even if the content isn't related to anything on Roku's database, it will still be valuable knowing that the user is a gamer, for example, as Roku will then be able to show more generalised (but still focused) advertisements for that demographic.

While there is no guarantee that Roku will implement this system into its TVs (after all this patent seems to have first been filed in 2022), we're already apprehensive of Roku's idea for inescapable ads. 

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Read our full Roku Streambar review

Roku accounts hacked: check if yours is one of them

Check out our picks for the best media streamers

More than 15,000 Roku accounts have been hacked. Hackers gained access to 15,363 accounts and their associated credit card information, and in some cases tried to buy subscription services, reports BleepingComputer (via The Verge).

The hackers have been selling these account details for as little as $0.50 online.

In what is known as a credential stuffing attack, hackers used information previously exposed in other data breaches to attempt to log in to other websites and services. Once the threat actors gain access to the account, they can change the associated information like passwords and credit card details, effectively locking the genuine account holder out. The hacker is then free to use the credit card linked to the account without the real owner receiving purchase confirmation emails.

Roku allows users to subscribe to other services through their Roku accounts, including Netflix, Disney+ and Paramount+.

Roku says it secured the affected accounts and forced a password reset. It has also taken steps to investigate fraudulent charges and refund account holders.

If you're worried your account was hacked but haven't heard from Roku, head to my.roku.com and reset your password by clicking the 'Forgot password?' link. You should then review past purchases and stored card details on your dashboard to ensure everything is as it should be.

As good practice, you shouldn't use the same password for multiple services. 

Roku has hit the headlines lately for forcing users to comply with its new dispute resolution terms, otherwise they can't use their Roku devices.

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Check out the best streaming services available

And see our Amazon Fire TV 4K Max review

These are the best video streamers you can buy

For those on a budget, the 50-inch TCL 4-Series 4K TV is worth taking a look at, especially when you can find this set for just $240.

We haven't reviewed this TV yet, but it has just about the specs and features you'd expect from the pricepoint, so it's certainly worth considering.

55-inch TCL 4K 4-Series Google TV deal

TCL has been making value-focused TVs for quite some time, trying to offer up competitive specs for competitive prices. The 4-Series is no different in this respect, and you can get just about all the features you'd expect from a modern set with this line. Thanks to this deal, you can also get it all at a bargain price.

With this TV, you're getting 4K support, HDR, Dolby Atmos support, and an LED panel. All this plus smart functionality via the Google TV operating system that will let you watch all your favorite shows from all your favorite apps and services.

In terms of gaming, you're getting a 4K/60Hz set. You won't get luxury features like VRR, but if you're just looking for a TV you can connect your PS5 to that will handle the occasional gaming session, the 4-Series can get that job done.

All around, this TCL TV has a fine array of modern features and specs without carrying a premium price tag. If you're looking for a value-focused TV that doesn't feel like it came straight out of 2010, the 4-Series is definitely worth a look, especially this 50-inch model on sale for $240.

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Should you buy a TCL TV? Our verdict on TCL, Roku TVs and more

Here are the best TVs we've tested

And the best TV deals we've tracked down

One of the easiest 21st-century recommendations to give anyone whose TV has a dire streaming offering is to either a) get an all-new smart TV, or b) invest in a separate plug-in video streamer. One guess as to which elicits the more favourable response...

Alongside Apple, Amazon and Google, Roku is one of the most popular video streamer brands. It started life as a manufacturer of Roku streaming sticks that connect to the internet, plug into your TV's HDMI port and give it access to video apps such as Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video through a dedicated Roku operating system – great for updating old 'dumb' TVs with streaming. It also produced a Roku Streambar that is essentially a streaming stick and soundbar in one.

Off the back of the success of Roku's hardware and operating system software, the company decided to go beyond the stick part and build its streaming platform directly into TVs – those from other manufacturers like TCL and Hisense, as well as its own branded sets.

So is Roku TV desirable and will it suit your needs? Read on to find out all you need to know about the streaming platform and the best TVs that integrate it.

How good is the Roku TV OS?

Roku hasn't been able to rub shoulders with powerhouses like Amazon and Google, and become the success it is today, with just mediocre software. Indeed the Roku streaming platform is among the best. 

The platform offers access to several subscription services, including but not limited to – deep breath – Amazon Video, Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, as well as region-specific apps such as, in the US, Hulu, Paramount Plus, Sling TV, CBS All Access and WatchESPN. But bear in mind you'll need to subscribe to each service you want to watch content from; the Roku OS is simply a single-access gateway to all these services.

Roku does offer apps with free content, though, such as YouTube, Crackle, PBS Kids and its own The Roku Channel. There is also access to buying and rental services like Vudu and the Google Play Store, too. The choice is truly impressive and the interface comes with an excellent search function to make finding your next favourite film or TV show very easy indeed.

As we said in our latest Roku streamer review, its interface is a "simple, clean, clear" affair with "only a handful of menu options, the homescreen largely being dedicated to a grid of your chosen apps.

"It’s a more objective approach to Amazon’s Fire TV, which pushes its own content throughout its interface. As the Roku is a neutral party, you’ll get the same experience whichever streaming app you subscribe to.

"Menu options are kept brief, so alongside the standard search and settings options, there is also a ‘Channel Store’ and an option for ‘My Feed’. The [Roku] Channel Store is the place to go for more apps, with thousands to choose from."

If you've got this far, you're likely sold. So what is an actual Roku TV, we hear you ask...

What is a Roku TV?

A Roku TV is a physical television that runs the Roku operating system for streaming apps. 

With it directly embedded into a TV experience, you have immediate access to all Roku has to offer. The interface on each brand of Roku TV may differ slightly – usually just with a different colourway – but the content should be present and correct across them.

Roku TVs were initially made and branded by dedicated, mostly budget-orientated TV manufacturers such as TCL, RCA and Hisense, who decided to power their smart TVs with the Roku system. That list has now grown to include JVC, Sharp and Westinghouse, while Roku-branded TVs have also been added to the mix.

Roku's move into the TV market made a lot of sense since Roku has been working on its service for years and offers some of the widest third-party app functionality there is, plus one of the simplest interfaces to navigate, all while keeping processing demands on the hardware to a minimum.

What Roku TVs are available?

Roku's own TVs, called Roku Select, Roku Plus and Roku Pro, are only available in the US, but expect them to be rolled out wider as demand increases. There are 11 options available to pick from at the time of publishing, with the Pro line yet to go on sale.

The Roku Select panels offer HD resolution in 24-inch and 32-inch models or Full HD in the 40-inch panel. Pricing is super low, from $119 (approx. £98 / AU$174).

The Roku Plus series is more premium, offering 4K QLED panels that support HDR10+, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. These come in 55-, 65- and 75-inch sizes, topping out at $999 (approx. £830 / AU$1463).

Roku has also announced its Roku Pro Series TVs, which promise even higher quality from its 4K QLED panels as they use Mini LED technology and AI processing smarts to create what it says is its best images yet. 

We haven't reviewed any Roku-branded TVs yet due to their fledgling availability, but we do have plenty of experience in testing third-party Roku TVs...

What third-party Roku TVs are good?

Of the many (many) other Roku-powered TVs out there, some of the best options that we have tried and tested include TVs from Hisense and TCL.

First up is the Hisense A7200G range. We named its 50-inch model, called the Hisense R50A7200GTUK in the UK, the 'best 48-50in TV' available in the budget market in that year's What Hi-Fi? Awards.

The Hisense A7200G models are all 4K HDR LED TVs available in 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch sizes.

The TCL RP630K range is also worth a look as this is a fantastic example of a Roku TV that offers plenty for your money. It comes recommended by our Australian sister brand Sound+Image, who called the 55-inch model a "triumph" in its TCL 55RP630 4K Roku TV review. Considering we awarded its predecessor, the 55-inch TCL RP620K, a five-star review in 2021, we'd say this range is a winner.

The 4K HDR LED TV series sits firmly in the affordable TV category but is one step closer to mid-range than the Hisense above. It offers a greater bit-depth in terms of colour processing, plus Dolby Vision support too.

This line of Roku TVs is another excellent choice for those after an app-happy and exceedingly user-friendly experience alongside a highly recommendable picture.

Are Roku TVs worth it?

Roku's smart platform is certainly easy to recommend. It's a one-stop shopfront for every subscription service you'd likely sign up for, complemented by free content and a simple, intuitive interface.

The Roku TVs with the streaming platform built-in are all from reputable budget-conscious brands that offer a wide range of TVs at attractive budget prices, and of the many available, we can certainly vouch for the two mentioned above. As for the Roku-branded TVs, we haven't had the chance to go twelve rounds with one yet, so we can't comment on the quality of their picture.

It's worth mentioning that not all Roku TVs will support 4K HDR playback through apps that have such content, like Netflix, so it's always worth checking such details before you buy. While perhaps more obvious, it's also worth noting that budget Roku TVs typically won't offer you the best picture quality offered by higher-priced sets – our best TVs guide will help you on that front.

Still, if big screens, a whole host of streaming options and budget prices satisfy your requirements, you may well wish to welcome a Roku TV into your home with open arms. The Roku TV OS experience is excellent, and excellently performing TVs with it built-in certainly exist.

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Our expert pick of the best TVs you can buy

Roku has announced a slew of updates to help you find what to watch next

Find the best TV shows to watch on Netflix right now

Roku has announced a range of new TV models, partnering with Currys-owned brand Logik. The new models aim to combine great picture quality with Roku's easy-to-use operating system, all at an affordable price.

The new Logik Roku come in two ranges: the '2K HD and Full HD' series (available in 32-inch and 40-inch sizes), and the '4K Ultra HD Series' (available in 43-inch and 50-inch sizes). All models support HDR-10, while the 4K Ultra HD series also supports Dolby Vision.

This news follows last year's partnership between Currys and Roku, and the more recent announcement of the Roku Pro series as the brand introduces new TV sets into both the affordable and premium markets.

Recently, we've lamented how our testers have struggled to find good cheap TVs, with the notable exception being the Amazon Fire TV range. We're looking forward to testing the new Logik Roku TVs to see if they can compete with Amazon's offering and end the trend we've noticed.

Roku TVs are known for their intuitive user interfaces and easy-to-navigate menus. They also offer streamlined access to a wide range of major streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+, YouTube, and many more. 

The TV's OS also includes Roku Search for convenient searching across different streaming apps and offers a range of control options including a simple remote, a free mobile app, and voice controls. 

The '2K HD and Full HD' and '4K Ultra HD' Logik Roku TVs will be available from Currys later this month, with pricing starting from £150.

We've asked about connectivity and refresh rates and will update when we hear back.

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Look out LG, Samsung and Sony, Roku is getting serious about high-end TVs

Read our picks for the best TVs

And our choices of best cheap TVs

Walmart has announced in a press release that it intends to acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion. However, it seems the reason behind this purchase isn't purely down to the hardware...

According to executive vice president and chief revenue officer of Walmart U.S., Seth Dallaire, "We believe VIZIO’s customer-centric operating system provides great viewing experiences at attractive price points. We also believe it enables a profitable advertising business that is rapidly scaling."

Vizio might be best known among consumers for its cheap TVs and soundbars, but the company's smart TV OS SmartCast and device ecosystem has ballooned to having over 18 million active accounts.

As you might be thinking, this platform could prove quite useful to Walmart in terms of advertising, making the company much more competitive with other tech rivals with enormous advertising reach, like Amazon.

Not only does Walmart sell products of its own, but the company has services to advertise, too, like its Walmart+ subscription service. Walmart+ also ties into the world of streaming via the Paramount+ membership which comes with it.

It's unclear what this purchase means for either Vizio or Walmart TVs. If you didn't know, Walmart already has a brand of televisions called Onn. In fact, Walmart sells a variety of tech under the Onn name, including soundbars, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, tablets, accessories, and more. Whether Vizio TVs will eventually be sold under the Onn name remains to be seen.

This purchase comes after Vizio's overhaul of its TV user experience in 2023 as well as Walmart's partnerships with Innovid and Roku both focused on commerce opportunities and expanding advertising reach.

What this means for the future of the cheap TV market, we'll have to wait and see.

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Here's everything you need to know about Walmart+

As well as the streaming service Paramount+

Our pick of the best TVs you can buy right now

Popular digital media streaming service Plex has launched a digital movie and TV rental service set to take on the likes of Apple and Amazon. However, we'd recommend steering clear for now, as it appears to have a handful of compromises.

We'll focus on the positives first though, as the Plex rental user interface looks to be easy to navigate, fully featured and quite slick overall. With key artwork and a short synopsis showing when you hover over a film, you can get a quick idea of what you're about to watch right from the home page. Clicking on a movie gives you a more detailed description as well as both critic and audience scores from Rotten Tomato reviews. You'll even get information about the cast, as well as the ability to add the title to your watchlist for later viewing. 

There also seems to be a decent selection of content on the service, including popular 2023 cinema releases including Barbie and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, as well as very recent releases like Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom. Pricing also seems to be on par with other services, with the aforementioned Mission Impossible title priced at $5.99 on both Plex and Amazon Prime Video. You may notice the pricing in dollars there, as this new service is exclusive to the US currently. 

However, Plex has stumbled at perhaps the most important hurdle by severely limiting picture and sound. For some unknown reason, video maxes out at 1080p HD, while audio is only supported up to 5.1 surround sound. The cherry on top is that Plex only offers rentals in SDR, meaning no HDR support in any of the formats we look out for.

With practically every other service offering 4K HDR rentals and support for immersive audio formats like Dolby Atmos, we're struggling to find a reason why you'd use this service. As mentioned previously, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning is $5.99 on Plex and Amazon Prime, however, the latter option is 4K HDR, making Plex seem like a worse deal in comparison. 

If you are curious and want to check out the new Plex service, then you can download the app on Android TV, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Roku and a selection of Smart TV systems, as well as the Plex website via a browser. Once you rent a movie, you'll have 30 days to begin watching it, and 48 hours to finish it after the initial play.

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best TVs

As well as the best media streamers

Roku is embracing Mini LED with its new Pro series of TVs, with ambitions to build upon its successful line of Roku Select and Roku Plus Series TVs. The streaming stick manufacturer has seriously branched out in recent years with a full suite of affordable TVs and even a streaming soundbar, with the company now turning its interest towards the more premium market.

The Roku Pro series will come to the US first, with no word of a UK release, however, we have our fingers crossed. Roku has prioritised picture, sound and design with this new TV, which we'd agree are the three key pillars that all TVs should aim to nail. There will of course be a heavy focus on streaming, as the Roku operating system will be the main interface, which will include direct access to a selection of free and paid-for streaming apps such as Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video.

Starting with the design, this TV will come in 55-, 65- and 75-inch size options and will feature a premium wall mounting option as, much like the LG G3, this TV will sit flush against the wall. From what we can see in the first image of the Roku Pro Series, the TV seems to feature thin bezels surrounding the screens and squared-off edges that give it a clean and modern aesthetic. 

Moving onto picture, Roku has outfitted this TV with a 4K QLED panel with Mini LED backlighting. It says that the Roku Pro Series will deliver "exceptional picture quality", and will use AI and machine learning for picture processing features. This will include a content recognition system called Roku Smart Picture which will adapt the picture settings to best suit the content you're watching. 

Rounding things off with sound, Roku hasn't given any specific figures relating to the built-in speaker system, however it has hinted that this TV will feature "enhanced audio technology" that will deliver "immersive" and "cinematic" sound; certainly vague, but sounds good to us so far. 

The Roku Pro Series and optional wall mount will be available this Spring, and while no specifics have been given on pricing, Roku says that retail pricing will be "under $1500", which equates to about £1180 / AU$2230. 

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What is a Roku TV? And should you buy one?

Read our full Amazon Omni QLED TV review

And check out our picks for the best TVs under £1000

As well as the best TV deals

This can’t be right, surely? A complete, not to mention high-quality, AV system built around a 65-inch television that comes in comfortably under £2000? Well, it is right. And not only does this system represent uncommonly good value for money, in performance terms it also betters many similar but much more expensive trios of premium equipment from the big names in AV.

The system

• TV: TCL 65C845K (£1049)
• 4K Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB150EB (£139)
• Soundbar: Sonos Arc (£799)
• Total system price: £1987

TV: TCL 65C845K

Most of the credit for this mini economic miracle must go to the television here; TCL’s 65C845K, which is often available for around £950. This would be good value for a modestly specced TV of this size, but TCL hasn’t skimped with the features.

The C845K’s smarts are provided courtesy of Google TV. This means you get bags of content within an attractive and user-friendly interface, although it also means you go without a few UK-specific catch-up TV services. That is why, uniquely, TCL is prepared to provide anyone in the UK who asks for one with a free Roku smart stick that can deliver the services the TV can’t provide itself.

When it comes to panel technology, TCL takes the view that LED – Mini LED in particular – rather than OLED is the future of TV. And if this screen is anything to go by, they may have a point.

The Mini LED format is able to deliver more brightness and greater light control than can be achieved with the larger LEDs, much of the latter being down to local dimming, where multiple ‘zones’ of LEDs can be controlled independently of each other. The TCL also employs Quantum Dot technology to deliver high-volume colours able to capitalise on that extra brightness. It adds support for ‘active’ Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and can adjust its picture output to suit the light conditions in your room.

Yes, it is a bulky affair by modern standards, so not the best for wall-mounting, and the finish lacks the premium feel you might find in pricier sets. But we will live with those (minimal) compromises to get this level of featuring and picture quality.

Talking of picture quality, this TV doesn’t just seem impressive on paper – it actually delivers. Pictures on the 65C845K jump off the screen with an intensity far beyond anything else we have seen around this price. They even leave most other mid-range models – and even a few premium ones – looking dull by comparison. And those local dimming zones ensure, for the most part, that small bright objects retain their intended intensity in the midst of dark backdrops.

Black-level performance, too, is excellent for a screen of this price. There’s plenty of subtlety in dark shading and dark scenes are only minimally affected by any low-contrast greyness.

Add to that a stunningly vibrant and rich colour palette, and an outstanding level of sharpness and clarity – particularly with native 4K sources – and there’s very little here to quibble with.

4K Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB150EB

With so many films available to stream these days, and the price of Blu-ray discs staying stubbornly high, you might wonder if it is really worth investing in a Blu-ray player. But when you can get a fine-quality player for no more than the price of five or six of the discs it is designed to play, the case begins to look a lot stronger. And that is even before you remember those frustrating evenings when you find out that the film you wanted to stream is no longer available on your chosen platform. All of which makes a good case for the Panasonic DP-UB150EB. Or, at least, it would do if the UB150EB hadn’t already made such a compelling case for itself.

In keeping with its £139 price, this player does not provide a wealth of features, and there are no apps or smart features onboard. What it does provide, though – as shown by its ergonomic remote control – is neatly presented and as much as most people will need. You can, for example, play lossless audio files, MP3s and AAC files through its USB 2.0 port, along with standard music CDs and, of course, DVDs.

Dolby Vision isn’t on the menu but HDR10+ and HLG are supported.

Neatly complementing the TCL C845K’s skill with local dimming, the Panasonic is strong on dark detail, as we discover when we watch season one of Game Of Thrones in 4K HDR. Even as the three members of the Night’s Watch head deep into the tunnel, it is still possible to see the rafters and rocks of the tunnel’s sides in the foreground in the growing darkness. And once we’re deep into that tunnel, it really is properly black.

Back out in the daylight, we notice that detail is, on the whole, also good. There is plenty of differentiation in the ice and snow and the bark on the trees looks strikingly real.

We drop down to 1080p with the Jack Reacher movie and are pleased with how well this Panasonic can upscale. Colours are still strong as the camera pans the boldly coloured autumn leaves of the Pittsburgh suburbs. All in all, this is a big step up from streaming.

Soundbar: Sonos Arc

Big screens demand big sound. Ordinarily that would mean pairing our 65-inch TCL with a speaker package of some kind, but we are on a budget here so need to think more creatively. Thankfully, Sonos comes to the rescue with its exceptional Arc soundbar. At £799 this long but elegantly designed piece of kit hits a real sweet spot between price and performance. Yes, there are a few full-size speaker packages out there that cost less, but they invariably involve too many sonic and/or practical compromises.

The key weapon in the Arc’s armoury is upfiring drivers, which make its implementation of Dolby Atmos not just convincing but thrilling. They form part of the soundbar’s overall complement of 11 drivers (eight of which are elliptical woofers), each powered by a Class D digital amplifier.

Playing the bombing run scene from Unbroken, we are immediately transported to within the fuselage of the B-24 Liberator. Our listening room is filled with wind noise and the whirr of the plane’s engines, and the incidental creaks and rattles are placed in specific spots, including right in the top corners of the wall we’re sitting against.

Large dynamic shifts are deftly handled too, and there are vast quantities of deep, well-judged (so never overwhelming) bass. The treble, meanwhile, is clean and sparkling without ever veering into harshness, and dialogue is well projected.

Then, should you want it, there is the Arc’s role as an app- or voice-controlled wireless speaker that has access to virtually every music-streaming service and can work in conjunction with other Sonos speakers.

If it’s the full home cinema experience you want in a soundbar, look no further than the Sonos Arc. We have yet to hear a soundbar that compares to it for the money. And, in a budget system such as this one, that is pure gold.

MORE:

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

And these are the best soundbars

Just last week we reported on the latest tvOS 17.2 update that's released on the Apple TV 4K (2022) streamer, bringing a new look to the Apple TV app. Since then, Apple has confirmed that the redesigned app will carry across to many more platforms, including supported TVs, streaming sticks and boxes, and gaming consoles. 

The big changes we can expect across this new app update for third-party devices are the new sidebar navigation menu, profile selection and redesigned home screen. We also expect to see the new Apple movies and TV store be included, which has just replaced iTunes on the Apple TV 4K. This will allow users to purchase or rent content through Apple's service in up to 4K Dolby Vision HDR.

However, we don't expect all of the features seen in the last Apple TV update to be present in this new version of the update. Some of the third-party streaming integration could be limited, as Apple won't have as much control over other companies' smart platforms as it does over its own tvOS platform. We also don't expect to see this update come to the simplified Apple TV+ app, which just includes access to Apple's streaming library and is designed for older hardware. We'll be keeping an eye out for this new update to launch, so expect more specific details in the near future. 

Apple hasn't given any official word as to when we can expect this update to roll out fully, however, it likely depends on the manufacturers being cooperative and will vary depending on the platform. Speaking of platforms, we can expect to see this update come to Amazon, Roku and Google streaming devices, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and TVs from practically all notable manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Hisense and more. 

MORE:

Read our full Apple TV 4K (2022) review

And our full Apple TV+ review

Check out our picks for the best media streamers

Roku TV has announced some user-friendly features in a new ‘What to Watch’ section, including ‘Recommendations’, ‘Save Lists’, and ‘Continue Watching’.

These features are all designed with the aim of assisting users in finding and keeping track of more suitable TV shows and movies than before. 

Roku says that the 'Recommendations' section in its new ‘What to Watch’ feature will offer users a better recommendation experience than currently available directly via streaming apps. Roku aims to provide fewer options with more accuracy. The company says it will be offering personalised suggestions based on what you’ve watched previously, as well as location-based factors, time of day, and which device you are using. 

New ‘Save Lists’ and ‘Continue Watching’ features also look to improve users’ overall experience. As the name suggests, the ‘Save List’ feature will allow users to save shows and movies to be conveniently watched later. 

‘Continue Watching’ will keep track of where you are in a show or a movie, even if you started watching something directly in a streaming service rather than via the Roku TV Home Screen. At present, anything added to your ‘Save List’ must be done via the Roku TV Home Screen and not external apps. 

Of course, the success of a recommendation engine such as this relies on it bringing in content from all the major streaming services.

Roku has confirmed the lineup of compatible streaming services at launch will include Apple TV, Channel 4, Discovery+, Disney, ITVX, My5, Netflix, Plex, Prime Video, STV, The Roku Channel, and UKTV in ‘Recommendations’. 

Discovery+, Disney, Plex, Prime Video, Netflix, and The Roku Channel will be compatible with ‘Continue Watching’ at launch, with more services to follow. 

Roku has announced the new features will be coming to all of its devices that still receive update support, and that the new features will roll out to Roku players in the coming weeks, and to Roku TVs in the coming months.

MORE:

Best music streaming services 2023: free streams to hi-res audio

Best TV 2023: flagship OLEDs and affordable flatscreens tried and tested

With Cyber Monday underway, it can be hard to keep track of all the head-turning discounts, which is why we're here to help round up the very best.

Looking to improve the sound of your TV so you can hear your favourite shows and movies with more clarity, spaciousness, and depth? A soundbar can do an awful lot in helping you achieve that goal – and you don't need to spend a fortune to get a good one.

We've found three soundbars that are currently available for less than £200, and one bar that is slightly over if you're able to stretch your budget a little further. Despite being so cheap, they sound much better than the vast majority of TVs because – to not put too fine a point on it – most TVs speakers leave a lot to be desired. 

Not only is this a soundbar but it also offers streaming smarts and access to major video streaming platforms, so you can upgrade your TV's smarts at the same time as upgrading its sound. 

In our four-star review, we noted that the bar sounds direct and well-projected, supported by a great feature set and the ability to go loud. We said that "it projects voices well and with a decent amount of detail for this money".

We also added that "there’s decent clarity, and a solid balance devoid of any rough or sharp edges allows you to turn the Streambar right up without hurting your ears" 

Read our full Roku Streambar review

We gave this bar a solid four-star review, praising its premium looks, impressive scale and width, and of course, its accessible price point.

During our in-depth testing, we gave this bar a solid four stars, noting that "we are immediately impressed by the improvement from the lifeless sound of our test TV’s built-in speakers."

On top of usual sound prests such as Cinema and Music, there are also settings to enhance dialogue, a night mode to reduce dynamic range and bass, and a Dolby Dynamic Range Control, which compresses audio to make the difference between the quietest and loudest sounds less dramatic. 

Read our full Sony HT-SF150 review

In our four-star review of this package, we commended the spacious, weighty sound as well as well-placed 'surround' effects.

We said that "this is a soundbar capable of delivering big, weighty movie soundtracks with expertly placed and exciting surround effects, while also ensuring crucial elements such as dialogue are clear and well projected".

Like its predecessor, this soundbar comes with a large, wireless subwoofer for extra low-end weight, perfect if a standalone bar doesn't provide enough bass in your living room. 

Read our full Yamaha YAS209 review

The Sonos Ray offers excellent vocal clarity and punchy projection. 

While it lacks the same range of connectivity options seen on other bars, only offering an optical connection, this is remedied by the decent sound quality and the wi-fi streaming abilities you would expect to see on dedicated Sonos speakers. 

Some much-appreciated improvements and updates that came to Sonos Ray meant that we went back and revised our initial review, bumping it up from a three-star rating to a solid four where it sits today.

Read our full Sonos Ray review here

MORE:

Best soundbars 2023: top options for every budget, tried and tested

The best Cyber Monday 2023 UK deals now live: TVs, headphones, speakers and more

Insignia is Best Buy’s in-house electronics brand. It produces all kinds of tech from fridges and driers to phone chargers, shredders and massage chairs (yes, really). But it's best known for its TVs. These are firmly at the budget end of the market, and compete with the likes of TCL, Toshiba, Hisense, and Amazon.

Insignia currently sells three Series: the F20, F30 and F50. Each comes in a range of sizes, with different features and screen panel technologies. But even Insignia's biggest and best TVs come in at well under $1000.

Which prompts the question: are they worth the outlay? What features do they offer, and how do they differ from the models offered by other budget TV brands? While we haven't reviewed these TVs ourselves, we can use our comprehensive industry knowledge to know what's a good deal and what to avoid. So let's see how Insignia's TV series stack up.

• Our pick of the best TV deals
• Shop smart: browse the full Insignia TV range on Best Buy
• Check out every Insignia TV on Amazon

What do Insignia TVs offer?

Insignia's current selection of TVs range from 24 inches all the way up to 85 inches. So whether you want a theater-sized screen for the front room, or a tiny TV for your kitchen counter, one of its models might suffice. They range in price from a little over $100 to $600 (at time of writing its top-of-the-range TV is reduced from its usual price of $800). Because of these low prices, there are some compromises.

Gamers miss out on the ALLM and VRR features, while refresh rates are capped at 60Hz (not the 120Hz or even 144Hz of pricier TVs). While some models do support HDR, this is limited to HDR10 and HLG – there's no Dolby Vision, HDR10+ or HGiG. They also lack Dolby Atmos audio (those Dolby licenses cost a pretty penny), but some models do offer DTS Stereo Sound.

They also use LED panels, instead of the superior OLED. LED is a type of LCD.

It's not all bad news though. Some models come with 4K picture quality, and gamers can plug in multiple next-gen consoles at once using some models' three HDMI 2.1 ports. Even Insignia's smallest and cheapest models come with a full suite of streaming apps too, like Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Max and Peacock.

They also run Amazon's Fire TV platform, which gives them voice control skills courtesy of Amazon's Alexa. For a TV costing a little over $100, that's quite some nice-to-have.

Should you buy an Insignia F20 Series Fire TV?

• Sizes: 24-inch, 32-inch, 42-inch
• Display type: LCD
• Resolution: 720/1080p HD
• Refresh rate: 60Hz
• HDR: None
• Audio: DTS Studio Sound
• HDMI: ARC

The F20 Series is Insignia's cheapest and most basic of its current models. You can choose from 720p or 1080p HD – though it's not a simple case of the more you pay, the more advanced technology you get, as the 32-inch model has actually dropped cheaper than the 24-incher in the past, and has a 720p HD screen to the 24-incher's 1080p HD. Go figure.

Like Insignia's other TVs, these two and the 42-incher run Amazon's Fire OS operating system, and have a 60Hz refresh rate. Apple AirPlay is onboard for wireless connectivity, and there are three HDMI sockets. Bluetooth 5 is also there, adding to its wireless skills.

At time of writing, the 32- and 42-inch models in the F20 Series are discounted by $40. The 24-inch variant is $69, the 32-incher $79 and the 42-incher $129.

Should you buy an Insignia F30 Series Fire TV?

• Sizes: 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 58-inch
• Display type: LCD
• Resolution: 4K
• Refresh rate: 60Hz
• HDR: HDR10
• Audio: DTS Studio Sound
• HDMI: ARC

The F30 Series is the middle child in Insignia's family. Like the F20, TVs in this range have LCD screens with 60Hz refresh rates. But all models take the step up to the 4K resolution and support HDR10.

They do lack fancier features like HDMI eARC, VRR and OLED panel technology. But given the pricing, that's to be expected.

The range starts at 43 inches ($149, reduced from $199), and comprises a 50-inch model ($189, down from $299), 55-incher ($209, down from $349) and a 58-inch model ($259, down from $379).

This combination of features and price is about what you’ll see from other budget manufacturers’ flagship TVs – those from TCL and Hisense and the like offer similarly specced, similarly sized sets for around the same prices.

Should you buy an Insignia F50 Series Fire TV?

• Sizes: 65-inch, 70-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch
• Display type: LCD
• Resolution: 4K
• Refresh rate: 60Hz
• HDR: HDR10, HLG
• Audio: DTS Studio Sound
• HDMI: eARC

Insignia's biggest and best TVs are found in the F50 Series. Screen sizes start at 65 inches, and all models are 4K with 60Hz refresh rates. But these TVs add the Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) format of HDR as well as HDMI eARC (which should result in higher-quality audio from a soundbar or surround sound system).

Screen sizes go up to a massive 85 inches. And with three HDMI 2.1 ports to hand, gamers will be able to plug in multiple next-gen consoles/gaming PCs and a soundbar/AV receiver at the same time without compromising performance.

And the price? Not nearly as high as you might expect. The 65-inch model costs $299, the 70-inch $379, the 75-incher $449 and the 85-incher $629. Considering the 65-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni Series costs $639, the Insignia F50 Series looks very tempting indeed.

So, should you buy an Insignia TV? Are they worth it?

Let's keep our expectations in check: Insignia TVs aren't going to rival the best Sony TVs, best Samsung TVs or best LG TVs for the crown of best TV overall. In terms of performance, they're unlikely to rival even mid-range models like the LG C5. But for the money, they do promise a lot of bang for your buck.

With Insignia's TVs, the more you spend, the bigger screen you get, so the F20 Series spans 24 to 42 inches, the F30 Series 43 to 58 inches, and the F50 Series 65 to 85 inches.

If you have less than $100 to spend, the 24-inch F20 looks like a great option, with streaming apps and a 1080p HD resolution. But just $80 more will get you the entry-level 4K model at 43 inches. And if you can stretch to the F50 Series, you'll see the benefit of better HDR support, better HDMI support, and higher-quality audio through a soundbar or surround system courtesy of HDMI eARC.

Of course, a disclaimer applies. Without having tested these TVs, we can't vouch wholeheartedly for their picture quality. To see which models we definitely recommend, check out the best budget TVs.

But judging from the specs, features list and the many positive reviews from customers online, an Insignia TV looks to be a solid, cost-effective way to bring a smart TV into your home. So long as you don’t mind the Amazon OS.

Best Insignia TV deals

Frequently asked questions

MORE:

Check out more of the best cheap TV deals

Should you buy a TCL TV? Our verdict on TCL Roku TVs

Should you buy a Hisense TV?

Find out how to choose the right TV

It’s easy – instinctive, even – to think that music streaming, something so instrumental in the world’s consumption of music today, kicked off when Spotify gained global traction around 15 years ago. Streaming certainly kicked on as the pioneering green giant found its way into over 15 million homes in its formative years through its free (around 75 per cent) and paying (the rest) users, as if Lionel Messi had given the technology his biggest welly. But wireless streaming in a home audio environment had indeed been around for some time by then, albeit in a form largely unfamiliar today.

The formative years

Hints of a forthcoming streaming revolution were writ large in the early noughties. As early as 2003, Roku had released its first SoundBridge music streamers, the miniature M1000 (pictured top) and larger M2000, capable of transmitting music stored on your computer, as well as internet radio, to a system in any room of your house that had a network connection. Direct playback from iTunes and Windows Media Connect was supported, as were online music services Rhapsody and Napster. 

In a 2005 What Hi-Fi? Group Test of such fledgling wireless devices – headlined ‘MP3 your hi-fi’ (not today, thank you!) – we called the then-£180 (about £350 today) SoundBridge M1000 “a class-leading network player”. “Streaming internet radio is an exciting feature,” we said, “sound quality is excellent and we found little, if anything, to complain about”. The pricier Sonneteer Bard USB – a two-piece transmitter and receiver – was an early sign of a wireless world simplified.

In 2004, Apple released the AirPort Express wi-fi station, which could be used as an audio streaming device thanks to its line-level and optical outputs and the debut of AirPlay (then ’AirTunes’). And by the time Spotify launched a few years later, Sonos had won three consecutive What Hi-Fi? Awards for its BU130 'Digital Music System’, with us labelling it ‘the hottest thing to hit hi-fi in years'. The Zone Player at the system’s core was an amplifier and wireless connector that plugged into a computer and pair of speakers to make up one full system, with the ability to beam music wirelessly to another (this time receiving-only) Zone Player in the bundle to make up a second system. Soon came Napster integration, eradicating the need for a PC.

High-end hi-fi brand Linn in 2007 launched the Klimax DS music player (‘DS’ stood for ‘Digital Streaming’), the (self-described) ‘first authentic hi-fi product to stream digital music over a standard home network'. Indeed it could play back 24-bit/192kHz studio master-quality recordings as a digital stream over a home network, with the company’s Linn Records website offering such 24-bit Studio Master downloads for online purchase. By 2009, Linn had four DS streamers, the sales of which by then had "dramatically surpassed" those of its CD players, which it would consequently soon cease production of. And by 2012, just as Spotify hit 20 million users globally, Linn had ten streamers in its arsenal… and even a streaming sideboard.

In 2009, Naim – another early adopter in the hi-fi realm – won the first What Hi-Fi? Award given to an audio streaming product, for its Naim Uniti – a 'CD receiver with DAC, iPod-connectivity, internet/DAB/FM radio and wireless music streamer thingy' as we initially called it… before deciding on ‘CD/Wi-Fi receiver’.

Logitech's new Squeezebox Radio from that same year became the first internet-only radio we'd class as a serious rival to same-priced DAB alternatives, with access to Deezer, Last.fm and Napster too. 

All milestones for the wireless streaming era; milestones that now seem to belong to a bygone era.

Feature progression – and subsequent parity

In those days, before the heyday of the streaming service apps we use today, streamed music predominantly came from a connected (physically or wi-fi’d) computer, from servers like Apple’s iTunes, a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, or a plug-in built into the streamer (the early Linns, for example, offered radio plug-ins from the BBC and others). Of course, fast forward 15 or so years, and today’s music streamers offer direct access to umpteen music service apps, from Spotify to Soundcloud, Apple Music to Amazon Music, Tidal to TuneIn, and everything in between. Often via one control app that is heaps more intuitive and reliable than what you got back then, at the convenient touch of your phone screen. 

There are a lot of boxes to tick, and with in-app control options courtesy of technologies like Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, plus voice control integration everywhere, it’s hard to imagine how much more convenient music streaming could get. Unless the ecosystem was boiled to one single service and platform that all streaming hardware played ball with, no Big Tech politics involved – but let’s be realistic!

It’s actually reached a point now whereby there is more or less feature parity across the price spectrum of budget streamers, with all these boxes being increasingly ticked by hardware. There are discrepancies, of course – mostly when it comes to hit-or-miss support of MQA, Chromecast, Bluetooth and DSD, we find – but you’re almost always getting UPnP playback, access to The Big 4 (Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal and Qobuz), hi-res audio support up to at least 24-bit/192kHz, compatibility with AirPlay, Spotify Connect and internet radio platforms, and perhaps most universally the choice between Ethernet and wi-fi.

Performance growth in both directions

Streaming performance has evolved with features (and user experience, at that), and arguably not as much as it has in the past few years. I remember some years ago when the What Hi-Fi? reviews team sat around a particular budget music streamer when the category had become more established, feeling disappointed at the seeming quality ceiling at that end of the market. Bluesound and Cambridge Audio had the best early stabs, but the better budget CD players sounded superior.

Recently, there have been more than a few examples of great headway being made where sound quality is concerned – and at both ends of the market. It isn’t surprising that Linn is behind one at the higher end, considering its unprecedented streaming heritage in hi-fi; nor is it particularly shocking that Cambridge Audio is one at the other, given its commitment to, and consistency of, streaming performance over the past decade in particular.

Cambridge Audio’s new MXN10 represents the biggest leap in performance at the budget end of the market in years, while the even newer Wiim Pro Plus (pictured below) is the first streamer as affordable as £219 / $219 / AU$339 that we’ve felt we can wholeheartedly recommend.

At the other end, Linn’s Klimax DSM (now iterations on from the 2007 original!) “sets new standards for high-end streamers” with “second to none” insight, clarity and dynamic expression, while the dCS Lina network DAC is another benchmark product that flies the flag for streamers being a choice modern-day source. In both respects, streaming chips and platforms, and the effectiveness with which hi-fi manufacturers can implement them in their designs, have come on leaps and bounds in recent years.

In the blink of an eye in the hi-fi world, streaming has evolved from majoring mainly in convenience to having the potential to be the highest-quality music solution in history. Where will it go next? Some say AI will improve user experiences and influence music creation, others say immersive 3D audio will get a stranglehold on music consumption. Whatever streaming’s future, it’s hard to imagine it’ll progress as much in the next 20 years as it has in the last, because it’s been one heck of a ride.

MORE:

Our expert pick of the best music streamers you can buy

How to add a music streamer to your hi-fi system

This superb streaming system has modern smarts and a surprisingly affordable price

If you’re looking for a discount 4K TV that can stream thousands of the best movies and shows, then you might want to check this deal out!

The TCL 50RP620K Roku TV is now down to just £259, thanks to a fresh discount over at Currys.

This 50-inch 4K UHD TV has had its price slashed by a total of £140 since launching two years ago when it hit shelves at £399.

We reviewed the 55-inch version of this TV back in 2021, which launched at £449. We were impressed with this model, noting that it had a grown-up and natural approach which is rare at this price point. 

A lot of sets at this level attempt to dazzle but end up falling short or simply looking garish; however we gave the 55RP620K a five-star review, praising its colours, contrast control, and its excellent smart platform, and we have every reason to believe that this 50-inch version will be just as good.

TCL’s Roku TVs come with Roku’s operating system built-in, which grants access to the best video streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the other usual favourites. 

In terms of connectivity, the TCL’s 50RP620K features four HDMI 2.0 ports, with one of those handling ARC duties. 

There is also an optical audio output, handy if you are connecting to a soundbar or other audio device that lacks HDMI connectivity. 

TCL’s Roku TV supports the HDR10 and HLG HDR formats, although there is no motion processing, and it's a bit short on dark detail. However, we felt those were acceptable compromises at full price, let alone this massively discounted one. 

The TV also features built-in wi-fi allowing for a wireless online connection, though there is also an ethernet port if you want to keep things wired up. 

The 50RP620K packs a host of handy features that improve functionality, such as compatibility with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri allowing users to control their TV using voice commands.

AirPlay 2, along with other screen mirroring tools from Android or Windows devices, are also compatible with the 50RP620K TV. There’s also the Roku App which allows users to control the TV with their phone or voice. 

Interested? Head over to Currys to check out this latest discount

MORE: 

Read our TCL RP620K (55RP620K) review

Best TV 2023: the latest and greatest TVs, rated and ranked

Dear Hisense, TCL, Sony, and Samsung, please stop making 100-inch TVs

Are you looking for a big TV that won't come with OLED prices? Well, the good news is that you can pick up a 58-inch Hisense set for $298 at Walmart.

We haven't had a chance the review the R6 just yet, but this TV comes with competitive specs and features for the price, and at just $298, you won't find a ton of TVs out there that can beat this R6's value. Make sure to give this Walmart deal a look if you're in the market for a new set. 

58-inch Hisense R6 4K TV Walmart deal

Hisense has been making value-focused TVs for a long time, competing with other budget brands like TCL and Insignia, and on paper the R6 set looks competitive indeed at this discounted price. For a 58-inch screen with a built-in smart interface and support for HDR and 4K, a price tag under $300 is relatively unusual.

More specifically, you're getting a 4K LED panel with HDR in the form of Dolby Vision and HDR10. You're also getting audio tech by way of DTS Studio Sound, Roku's smart TV OS for access to the popular streaming services, virtual assistant support, and an overall sleek, bezel-less design that'll look good in any living room.

Gamers get a dedicated gaming mode that reduces input lag, but that's about it. While this set doesn't support nice-to-have gaming features like VRR or ALLM, and is stuck at just 4K/60fps, this set will be able to handle casual next-gen gaming on a PS5 or Series X. Just don't expect the moon here. 

That probably goes for picture quality, too – don't expect a premium OLED or QLED quality of experience from a budget LED TV. But for what it is – a big-screen, budget telly – it looks just the ticket. If you're looking for a cheap set, you've found one.

MORE:

Check out our guide to Hisense TVs in 2023

As well as our list of the best TVs money can buy

And our list of all the best TV deals live right now

The Roku Express 4K TV streamer is now down to just £19.99 on Amazon, an absolute bargain for anyone looking to enjoy 4K and HDR streaming throughout the house. We’ve yet to test this one out for ourselves but we liked the Roku Streambar and for under £20, the Express 4K could be the cheapest way to enjoy 4K picture on your HD TV.

The streaming unit is about half the size of the remote, making it one of the smallest, most convenient ways to enjoy 4K streaming on multiple devices. It’s incredibly easy to set up, with everything included in the box meaning you can start watching in minutes. The Express 4K allows you to access a wide range of premium, live, and free content including Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and YouTube.

In terms of connectivity, the Express 4K features HDMI and Micro-USB outputs, along with dual-band Wi-Fi for smooth streaming across multiple devices. It’s also compatible with Apple AirPlay, Google Home, and Alexa. 

The Roku mobile app allows for even more accessibility. The app turns your mobile phone into a handy second remote, allowing you to search with your voice or the mobile keyboard. You can even enjoy private listening with your headphones connected, this is a nice feature if you want to turn up the volume without disturbing the rest of the house. 

Updates on the Roku Express 4K are automatic which is great for those of us who want the latest software and features without even having to think about manually hitting download.

For just £19.99, we reckon this is worth a punt. 

It could be a great option for anyone looking to get into 4K streaming, or those looking for a secondary setup. 

MORE:

Read our full Roku Streambar review

Read up on Apple TV vs Roku: which is the best TV streaming device?

See our guide on Amazon Fire TV vs Roku: which is better?

If you're on the hunt for a budget soundbar, look no further. The Roku Streambar is currently only £60 thanks to a 53 per cent discount.

The better-than-half-price deal is available at Argos, Currys and Amazon until 25th June, and sees Roku's soundbar-cum-streamer drop to a record-new low. For the record, its previous best and Black Friday price was £99.

The Streambar is actually more than a soundbar; it also gifts the TV it is plugged into access to streaming apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. Essentially it's a streaming stick and soundbar combined, then. And while we thought it a "great value" proposition when we reviewed it last year at its £130 RRP, awarding it four stars for its loud, well-projected sound and vast features, it's positively stonking value now.

Got a bigger budget? The Sony HT-G700 Dolby Atmos soundbar is 40 per cent off at Amazon, while the current Sonos Beam (Gen 2) deal and Sonos Arc deal are too good to miss.

You can read our Roku Streambar review for all of the highs and lows of this clever little device, but in a nutshell, it's a decent (and pretty unique) two-in-one entertainment upgrade that adds 4K HDR streaming and an audio boost to TVs.

"For an out-of-the-box boost to TV audio and older sets’ smart features, the Roku Streambar is extremely low risk for this price" – that's what we said of the Streambar when it was £130, so you can see why we're highlighting this deal to anyone who may be interested in a such a device.

The Streambar is only 35cm long and 6cm high, so small enough to fit under most TVs. You simply plug it into your TV's HDMI socket and away you go. It comes with a voice remote too, and Bluetooth, meaning you can also stream music from your phone or tablet to it.

The Roku TV platform it is a gateway to offers access to several streaming services including, but not limited to, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, Spotify and Now TV. (Note that you'll need a subscription to any of use them.) There's also free access to over 10,000 films and TV episodes courtesy of its the Roku Channel.

Don't expect its modest 1.9-inch full-range quad driver setup to transform movie nights with rumbles of bass and surround sound – you'll have to spend four or five times as much for that – but it projects voices well and with a decent amount of detail. To reiterate our review, "there’s decent clarity, and a solid balance devoid of any rough or sharp edges allows you to turn the Streambar right up without hurting your ears. Perfect, in that sense, if someone in the family needs things louder than others."

At £60, the Roku Streambar is an absolute steal.

Got a bigger budget? The Sony HT-G700 Dolby Atmos soundbar is 40 per cent off at Amazon, while the current Sonos Beam (Gen 2) deal and Sonos Arc deal are too good to miss.

MORE: 

Read our full Roku Streambar review

Read up on Apple TV vs Roku: which is the best TV streaming device?

See our guide on Amazon Fire TV vs Roku: which is better?

Everything should be big with the movies – a big screen via TV or projector, and a big sound to match. Stepping up from stereo to multichannel audio is your ticket to mega-movie performance in the home. 

These are the products that have wowed us over the last 12 months of our magazines Sound+Image, Australian Hi-Fi, Best Buys Audio & AV, and Audio Esoterica, and which represent our recommendations of the very best audio-visual kit available in Australia today.

For the full details on each and every winner, check out the Special Awards Issue of Sound+Image magazine, on sale now in print and digital editions. Print subscriptions here; digital issues here!

Now let's meet the winners!

Televisions

TELEVISION OF THE YEAR UNDER AU$2000
TCL RP630 Roku TV
AU$699/AU$899
Judges Comment: TCL brings a Roku TV to Australia, and we love it, from the smart interface to the marvellous compatibility. For the money, this is a brilliant bargain.
Click for our full review
'

TELEVISION OF THE YEAR OVER AU$2000
Samsung QN95B Neo QLED
AU$3695 (65-inch)
Judges Comment: Samsung’s Neo QLED TVs can deliver bonkers brightness, but their best trick is handling all manner of content without requiring adjustment.
Click for full review (note, this is the UK review)

Projectors

AV PROJECTOR OF THE YEAR UNDER AU$2500
Epson EH-TW6250
AU$2099
Judges Comment: Epson’s little projector comes with Android TV smarts inside and some key benefits of 4K, delivering great images at an attractive price.
'

AV PROJECTOR OF THE YEAR AU$2500-AU$5000
BenQ X3000i
AU$3299
Judges Comment: This is a smart projector with good gaming credentials but also great TV and movie performance, with Android TV smarts plus detail, colour and brightness beyond the X3000i’s price level.
Click to read our full review
'

AV PROJECTOR OF THE YEAR OVER AU$5000
Epson EH-LS12000B
AU$8999
Judges Comment: This is a magnificent home cinema projector, notably in bringing laser UHD delivery at a thrilling price, and a stunner in performance terms.   
Click to read our full review

Surround System

SURROUND SYSTEM OF THE YEAR
Sony HT-A9
AU$$2499 (+ ~$900 for the subwoofer)
Judges Comment: We can hardly begin to tell you how much we like this system. We’ve been recommending it like crazy, because it solves so many problems, and it sounds bloody brilliant. We recommend adding Sony's SA-SW5 for the full effect.
Click to read UK review; Australian review in S+I #349

Receivers & Processors

AV RECEIVER OF THE YEAR
Marantz Cinema 60
AU$2600
Judges Comment: Versatile, powerful and helpful, the seven-channel Cinema 60 delivers the complexities of a modern AV receiver in a user-friendly and musical package.
'

AV PROCESSOR OF THE YEAR
Anthem AVM 90
AU12,499
Judges Comment: Anthem’s top AV preamp and processor delivers up to 15 channels plus four differentiated subwoofer outputs, along with a brilliantly versatile virtual input system and our favourite flavour of room correction.

Soundbars

SOUNDBAR OF THE YEAR UNDER AU$500
Yamaha SR-C30A
AU$399
Judges Comment: Yamaha’s SR-C30A combo produces competent subwoofer-supported TV sound at what is a nearly-miraculous price.
Click to read our full review
'

SOUNDBAR OF THE YEAR AU$500-AU$1000
Polk MagniFi Mini AX
AU$799
Judges Comment: Polk offers an impressive subwoofer with a little lozenge rather than a wide bar, and the combo proved itself across both movies and music.
Click to read our full review
'

SOUNDBAR OF THE YEAR AU$1000-AU$2000
Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3
AU$1599
Judges Comment: This powerful bar-only solution from Bowers & Wilkins loads up on tech yet remains wonderfully simple to set up and use.
'

SOUNDBAR OF THE YEAR OVER AU$2000
Sennheiser AMBEO Max
AU$3199 currently
Judges Comment: Sennheiser’s original Ambeo soundbar has new abilities and a reduced price, beating all newcomers to regain our top soundbar award.
'

SOUNDBAR SYSTEM OF THE YEAR
JBL Bar 1300
Price: AU$1999
Judges Comment: Pull off the ends of JBL’s Bar 1300 and they become battery-powered wireless rears, or even standalone Bluetooth speakers. Put it all together with a generous subwoofer and enjoy true Atmos surround.
'

SOUNDBAR TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Samsung HW-S800B S Series
Price: AU$999
Judges Comment: Samsung has had great soundbars ever since opening its Californian audio lab. But this one achieves an extra- ordinary slimdown of the bar without much compromising on either facilities or performance.
Click to read our full review

It’s no secret that HDMIs are precious commodities, and as someone who is slowly accumulating more and more things to occupy these ports, I’m always willing to hear smart suggestions for a streamlined setup. I am also someone who is conscious of cable clutter; in fact, I owe my sanity to a bumper pack of Velcro strips I bought on Amazon about five years ago that have ensured that my wires don’t resemble Spaghetti Junction.

Either way, I’m a fan of combining two separate devices into one package for the sake of convenience and neatness, which is why 2020's Roku Streambar has recently caught my eye. No, it's not perfect – there are obviously better streamers and soundbars out there as separate entities – but the concept just makes sense to me even if the performance here doesn't. And yet, rather than usher in a new wave of similar devices, we haven't really seen anything else like it since. Or have we?

Did you know that Fire TV Edition soundbars exist? I didn’t until now, and that’s probably because they have been a bit of a flop so far. Anker’s attempt has already been discontinued after a CES 2020 debut, and TCL’s offering has gained very little traction as far as I can see. In an ideal world, I want a Fire TV-equipped Echo soundbar, directly from Amazon, and here’s why.

Amazon’s current lineup of Echo speakers is basically begging to be utilised in a home cinema surround format. The Echo Studio is a Dolby Atmos speaker that faired well in our review, and just so happens to cost about half the price of the new Sonos Era 300. It’s already compatible with the Fire TV Sticks and Cube, so the groundwork is there – just imagine it as the rear surround speakers. Now if that wasn’t enough, there’s the Echo Sub, which comes in at around a quarter of the price of the Sonos Sub Mini. What we’re looking at here is a smart surround system that could undercut a Sonos home cinema setup by hundreds of pounds/dollars. Now I just need Amazon to produce something to compete with the Beam Gen 2.

Amazon doesn’t even need to beat the Sonos Beam for sound quality. More important is that it's priced aggressively but includes Dolby Atmos support and has the features of a Fire TV Stick 4K built-in.

Theoretically, Amazon could offer a fully unified Fire TV and Alexa-powered home cinema surround system for the same or less than the cost of the Beam – and who wouldn’t want that? Even if that doesn’t appeal to those who want the best and most expensive home cinema speaker system, you can’t deny that it sounds like an interesting proposition.

The best part is that this isn’t a total pipe dream. As mentioned, Fire TV Edition soundbars are on the market, and Amazon is already expanding its first-party Fire TV hardware with the new 2-Series, 4-Series and Omni QLED TVs, so a new take on the Fire formula isn’t out of the question. The same can be said of Amazon’s Echo lineup, with the Show now coming in more screen sizes than ever and the Dot remaining a popular micro-sized smart speaker, it’s the perfect time to add a new member to the Echo family.

However, all of this Amazon talk has kindled a new tangent, that echoes my initial statement; I want more soundbars with built-in streaming devices, and it's not just Amazon that makes those. If only there was another big brand that has just updated its streaming device and launched a new speaker that can be used to play movies in spatial audio... oh, wait a second...

It’s true that the Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and that’s who I’m setting my sights on next. The Apple TV 4K and a pair of HomePod 2s make for an excellent movie-watching combo, so let's apply the same principle. Imagine a HomePod soundbar, complete with the spatial audio prowess of the latest smart speaker, with a built-in Apple TV 4K for a convenient all-in-one home cinema setup, complete with the usual Apple seal of quality. The fabled Apple ecosystem is already in full swing when it comes to the outstanding synergy between the iPhone, HomePod, Apple TV and Apple’s iTunes and TV+ services – so why not take it up a notch with a soundbar?

But why stop there? After a discussion with my fellow AV enthusiast Tom Parsons, he suggested a soundbar with the new Sky Stream box built in. This sounds like the ultimate all-in-one system for live content, online streaming and upgraded sound, and it could even be a path of retribution for Sky after the slightly misguided Devialet-powered Soundbox from 2019. Instead of an expensive soundbar with no streaming smarts of its own, a more budget-oriented 'bar with the features of the Stream puck built-in makes far more sense.

While some of these concepts are perhaps more realistic than others, the bottom line is that I think Roku is onto something with the Streambar, and I want to see more brands take their own spin on the idea. Amazon, Apple and Sky all seem to have the fundamentals for streaming soundbars lined up, they just need to take the plunge.

MORE:

Read our full Roku Streambar review

Check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

And check out the best soundbar deals

Beware playing with this television, even trying it out. It will spoil all other televisions for you, because of one simple but defining trait – it’s so fast. 

If you’ve ever fumbled with your remote to get the big game or your favourite show on screen ASAP, only to wait through some start-up animation, then a home screen, and you’re still waiting for it…

There’s none of that here. TCL’s Roku TV turns on like a phone. Press ‘on’ and it’s on. 

This might seem like a small thing, and perhaps it is... until you use it. When we called TCL to confirm the product’s arrival, they didn’t say “Isn’t Roku great?” or “Isn’t it a great-value TV?”. They said, “we all can’t believe how fast it is.”

Which was exactly what we were already thinking. 

So we repeat: beware. After using TCL’s Roku TV, all other TVs feel frustratingly slow. 

Roku at last

However, the real headline here is simply Roku becoming officially available in Australia. 

Roku is massive in the States: the no.1 TV streaming platform by hours streamed in the US, Canada, and Mexico, its streaming boxes and sticks are wildly prevalent there, even having its own Roku Channel, with ‘Roku Originals’ and hundreds of free linear channels. 

Roku has benefitted also from its close ties with the rise of Netflix: Roku’s founder Anthony Wood became a Netflix vice president after Netflix decided not to get into the hardware itself, and until recently Roku’s offices were still sub-let from Netflix.

It seems crazy that a TV operating system so prevalent in the US has never been launched here in Australia. Our different standards, apps and content must have made our market seem too small to justify the effort required, so hitherto Roku here has been limited to grey imports of Roku sticks for those willing to access the world through a VPN. 

However the nuts and bolts of Roku have, in fact, been hiding here inside TelstraTV media boxes since 2015, the platform tweaked and rebadged for the Australian market. Hisense has had Roku TVs, but never over here. Philips has also marketed TVs with Roku interfaces internationally, but not, we believe, in Australia. 

Instead Australian consumers have been warming to Android TV, Google’s TV operating system, as well as the OS variants developed by TV companies themselves. 

So TCL must have put in some yards getting Roku to launch here officially. And it is official, with all Roku.com pages now redirecting to roku.com/en-au, which has a big ‘G’Day Australia!’ splash page announcing ‘Roku streaming is now in Australia’, followed by information pages strewn with pics of TCL’s new TVs.

It’s not yet clear whether Roku sticks will also begin to work here officially; the Australian Roku site doesn’t mention them at all, although its initial links through to TCL were softened into relative anonymity during our review period. The recent news that Roku will be making its own Roku-branded TV sets may also have a bearing on the platform’s appearance here at last.

Design & features

In a way then, it’s surprising to find Roku limited initially to just one TCL model, the RP630, available in two sizes. 

Also that these are by no means premium TVs, with the 55-inch priced at just AU$699 and the 65-inch at AU$899. (International readers: we can't say whether this model is directly equivalent to those available outside Australia, so we're quoting AU pricing only.)

This bargain price is notable in such things as weight – the very first thing we noted on the arrival of the 55RP630 was how remarkably light it was, around half the weight of, say, TCL’s Mini LED C935 flagship. As such it makes an easy one-person install, requiring only a couple of screws into each plastic foot before an easy hoick into position, followed by the ritual pulling off of the endless plastic strips which protect it in transit. 

One of these is a sticker advertising an impressive 8-star energy rating, indicating lower power use and so a handy reduction in electricity costs. Although from a different viewpoint, higher energy use and a heavier TV often indicate superior technologies and higher performance.

So is the RP630 a relative lightweight in performance areas? In some respects, yes; this is a relatively budget TV. It uses direct LED backlighting, conventional enough, though generally superior in evenness of lighting to side LEDs, but without the eye-popping contrast of TVs pushing 1000 nits and beyond. Indeed the RP630 55-inch and 65-inch 4K panels are quoted at only 260 and 270 nits respectively, with contrast ratios of 5000 and 6000.

Nevertheless, they support high dynamic range right up to Dolby Vision, and in other areas too the specs are solid enough: a response rate of 6.5ms and a wide viewing angle. 

Physical connectivity is just a bit limited: a slightly meagre three HDMI inputs rather than four, some being 1.4b and some 2.1 spec (so suitable for new-gen games consoles), and one with HDMI eARC. There’s a composite AV minijack input with an adapter cable provided, a single USB-A slot, also an optical digital audio output and analogue minijack headphone output. All socketry is situated to the right rear. 

Roku helps ensure that digital connectivity is rather better, as the operating system allows AirPlay streaming of content, and offers the Roku streaming app as a virtual remote control, a keyboard for typing, and a microphone for voice commands.

The app can rather cleverly receive audio from the TV so that you can use headphones connected to your phone or tablet for private TV listening, though only for streaming and live TV channels, not for connected devices.

Set up

As noted, our 55-inch review model of the RP630 was so light that set-up was a breeze, especially with just two small plastic feet to screw on. 

It may not be wafer-thin like an OLED, and it has a black bezel of several millimetres all round, but it’s still an attractive TV. 

While plugging up we found the three HDMI inputs limiting, especially once we were using the one with HDMI eARC to play to a series of soundbars we were testing at the same time. With only two HDMI inputs remaining, we were regularly hot-plugging (don’t do this at home, kids) to switch between our remaining sources. 

However, this revealed another level of Roku smarts – it is blindingly brilliant at identifying attached devices. We plugged in a Sony soundbar, and it not only realised this was an ARC-connected bar, it populated a square of its home screen with the soundbar’s exact model number. When we yanked out an AppleTV 4K to plug in a UHD Blu-ray player, it wasn’t confused at all, it simply updated the Home screen to show the arrival of the Blu-ray player. 

This will thrill anyone living with a rather stupider ‘smart’ TV which is dim at identifying new devices, even the ones you told them about yesterday.

It’s helpful, too, the Roku interface popping up with useful messages like “Computer: No signal (is it on?)”. When processes like updating channel information were going on, it flashed up chucklesome messages: ‘Releasing gravity locks…’ and other such nuggets. We enjoyed this, and the rest of the disarmingly simple Roku interface.  

Indeed the Roku interface is so simple as to be almost unremarkable – there’s just nothing to explain here. All your inputs are listed (including a neat preview image and audio if an input is active), all your apps, or whatever you’ve selected from what is called the ‘Roku Channel Store’, which had nearly everything except ABC, SBS and 10 catch-up (there is currently only 7plus and 9now), while among subscription streaming services only Kayo and Binge were absent – and TCL Australia tells us that all these “will also be available soon”. 

And it has a ‘cross-service’ search far better than Android TV: check a movie and it tells you whether you can watch the film for free or for a fee, and at what quality.

Performance

In terms of picture quality, the 55RP630 is not going to outshine significantly higher-level TVs. During our review we visited a JB Hi-Fi store where we noted the TCL Roku TV on a bottom shelf, dominated by nearby OLED and MiniLED TVs cranked in ‘display’ modes to sear your eyeballs. Alongside these, the image on the 55RP630 (priced there at just $545) looked decidedly flat and dull. 

But if you brought those OLEDs and MiniLED TVs home, put them in a decent filmmaker mode and tamed their extremes for real-world use, you’d find the comparison far less extreme. The 55RP630 achieved perfectly enjoyable viewing in the home, with brightness high enough to deliver strong colours generally clear of banding, and contrast which will serve all but videophiles seeking the brain-bending brightness of the newest technologies. A full black screen was just a little grey with illumination but uniform other than greying at the sides, while a full white screen displays just a little mottling towards the corners.

Ultimately there isn’t the dynamic range or control to display fully the HDR implementation here, which is generous at the price by including both HDR10 and Dolby Vision. There just aren’t enough stops of brightness in the panel to support true HDR contrasts to any great level. 

So in AppleTV+’s Macbeth, some darker shadow areas that reveal detail on a higher-brightness TV were pretty much just black on the TCL; similarly cloud detail tended to crush into full white in the brightest areas. 

But there’s plenty it gets right. We checked the post-credit scene in Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive S4E01, where Christian Horner jogs through the English countryside. This often suffers judder when TVs or projectors can’t handle a 50Hz stream, but the Roku TCL kept the motion immaculately smooth, assisted by its 100Hz Clear Motion Rate. The show’s interview headshots popped out of the dark backgrounds quite brilliantly, and the magnificent F1 action scenes hit home with nearly the full thrill of greater panels.

We plugged in UHD movies, and revelled in the colour and detail of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis; no limitation of the RP630 got in the way of this magnificent production. It’s a reminder that while expensive panels are amazing, even today’s relatively budget panels have the processing and power to deliver fine images that thereby represent astounding value.

What about its built-in sound quality? We spent most time listening to the Roku through a larger audio system, and advise you to do the same. The built-in sound will do fine for casual listening to daytime TV, and has a fuller sound than most built-in speakers. But for big TV and big movies, or for the music sources available via app or streaming, use a sound system to match.

Screen mirroring proved an effective and useful tool; we used the Roku’s AirPlay abilities to put our MacBook up screen, and though this proved not the best way to send video (and indeed Netflix seemed to block playing video this way), it was very handy for static screen images such as Powerpoint or sharing of photos. 

There’s also compatibility with Apple HomeKit, Google Home and Amazon Alexa devices, with multiple ways to use voice commands from those devices, though not by speaking direct into the remote control. 

There were a few operational oddities: the TV’s central power light is on when it’s off, and off when it’s on, so that we regularly powered it down when it was merely waiting for a signal. But on the whole, easy-peasy, and we say again: Roku rules.

Verdict

The Roku interface is brilliant; just those missing streaming services to be added and it’ll be ready to win Australian hearts en masse. Its simplicity is deceptive; full settings are available from the Roku menu, while input-specific settings can be called up with the ‘*’ button on the remote.

Even better, you don’t need to mess with settings much to get a picture which is excellent for the price, while the facilities seem to be significantly above as well. 

Sound the bargain siren: the TCL-Roku combination is a triumph. 

MORE:

Best TV in Australia and best soundbars in Australia – all tried and tested by the expert What Hi-Fi? team

Which Roku TV should you buy?

Should you buy a TCL TV? Our verdict on TCL, Roku TVs and more

Watch Formula E live streams 2024/25

The 2024/25 heads into its second round this weekend (January 10-11) in Mexico City, so here's our guide to where to watch Formula E live streams. Races are shown live on free-to-air ITVX (UK), VM Play (Ireland), Servus (Austria), RTBF (Belgium) and L’Equipe (France). Full details on how to watch Formula E on TV and online where you are, just below.

Mexico City ePrix schedule 2024

• Practice 1 – Friday 10th January | 11pm GMT / 5pm ET
• Practice 2 – Saturday 11th January | 1.30m GMT / 8.30am ET
• Qualifying – Saturday 11th January | 3.40pm GMT / 10.30am ET
• Mexico City ePrix – Saturday 11th January | 8.05pm GMT / 3.05pm ET

Formula E 2024/25 season preview

The Gen3 Evo era gets underway this weekend at the Sao Paulo Street Circuit, the scene of one of last season's standout tussles. Sam Bird picked Mitch Evans' pocket on the penultimate corner of the final lap, and with six different drivers setting the pace in pre-season testing, we're expecting the 2024/25 campaign to be as fiercely competitive as ever.

Reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein remains with Tag Heuer Porsche, but there were a few notable changes in the off-season. 21/22 champion Stoffel Vandoorne has left DS Penske for Maserati MSG Racing, with Maximilian Günther going the other way.

In Sao Paolo, Jaguar TCS Racing's Mitch Evans took the win, reversing his last-minute loss in Brazil last season.

With 22 drivers set to go head-to-head across 16 events, including the inaugural Monaco ePrix, read on as we explain how to watch Formula E races online and on TV.

Watch Formula E free live streams

Formula E races are free to watch on Servus TV in Austria, which you can also watch F1 live streams. You can also find Formula E and F1 races free on RTBF in Belgium.

Lucky Formula E fans in the UK, Ireland, Austria, Belgium and France can pick up a free live Formula E stream of every single race.

UK
ITVX will show every 2024/25 Formula 1 ePrix and Qualifying session.

Ireland
VM Play is airing all 16 races in Ireland.

Austria
Servus TV is showing the Formula E for free in Austria.

Belgium
RTBF will serve up a free Formula E live stream of each race in Belgium.

France
L'Equipe is the Formula E rights holder in France.

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

Watch a Formula E live stream from anywhere

Most Formula E live streams are location-sensitive. So, you won't be able to access your usual stream when travelling away from home. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a small but powerful app that lets you select your preferred location and quickly unblock and watch your usual Formula E live stream safely and securely from almost any location.

NordVPN is our pick of the best VPN services. It's affordable, fast, stable and easy to use. Try it risk-free for 30 days and see for yourself.

How to use a VPN 

1. Sign up to the VPN of your choice. NordVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open the VPN app and choose the location of the service you usually access (e.g. UK, Ireland, US, etc).

3. Then head over to your home streaming service on your browser and enjoy your usual Formula E live stream as if you were back home.

Watch Formula E live streams in the UK

Free-to-air ITVX will show every Formula E ePrix and Qualifying session on ITVX, with select races and sessions being shown on ITV4 too.

For comprehensive coverage, including practice sessions, you'll need to subscribe to TNT Sports.

You can subscribe to TNT Sports to your Sky package for £25 a month or your BT broadband package for £20 a month (it's a rolling one-month contract).

Finally, you can stream TNT Sports live on the DiscoveryPlus.com website. Premium (inc. TNT Sports) costs £30.99 a month.

Watch Formula E live streams in the USA

11 Formula E races will be shown on The Roku Channel, which is included with all Roku devices.

The other five races will be available to stream on Paramount Plus, a streaming service that starts at $7.99 per month after a 7-day free trial.

At the time of writing, however, neither of the service has revealed the full split of events.

This weekend's Mexico City ePrix will be on The Roku Channel.

Watch Formula E live streams in Australia

Stan Sport will show every Formula E ePrix in Australia. You'll need a Stan subscription plus the Stan Sport addon to tune in. Total cost? AU$25 per month.

How to watch Formula E live streams in Canada

All Formula E races and Qualifying sessions will air live on TSN Plus, with select events also being shown on one of the network's TV channels.

If you don't have cable, a subscription to the TSN Plus streaming service costs CA$8 per month or CA$80 each year.

Formula E calendar 2024/25

• Browse today's best TV deals to bag a cheap 4K, OLED or QLED TV
• How to watch F1 live streams for free
• What are the best TV settings for F1?

That's it, folks. The world's biggest annual consumer technology show has come to a satisfying end, having welcomed back thousands of exhibitors and media (including us!) to Las Vegas, following an unusually quiet and pandemic-impacted CES 2022.

CES 2023 hosted around 2,400 exhibitors – including many of the big hitters such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Qualcomm, LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and JBL – and took place across three days in early January. The show was also a digital affair, as it was too in 2022, with press conferences, keynotes and tech talks available to live stream. 

CES is typically where many of these technology brands pull back the curtain on their latest innovations and reveal the best of their products coming that year. We saw showcases and demos of next-gen flagship 2023 TVs from LG, Panasonic and Samsung, as well as brand-spanking-new sets from the likes of TCL, Hisense and even Roku. We also saw plenty in the way of new audio announcements too, with JBL and Naim launching stunning new hi-fi electronics, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X-equipped soundbars from Nakamichi and JBL, and brand-new turntables with wireless streaming. And talking of wireless, there were a couple of 'wireless TVs' raising eyebrows too...

What Hi-Fi? has been on the ground to bring you all the latest news and first impressions of what we see, hear and experience. Future – What Hi-Fi?'s publisher – has also officially recognised the very best products and technologies at the show with its 'Best Of CES 2023' Awards, as chosen by tech experts from What Hi-Fi?, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, T3 and more. 

All the news and highlights from the show are rounded up for easy access below and include announcements from LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Naim and JBL as well as hands-on reviews of some exciting new products...

Hands-on reviews

Hands-on: LG M3 wireless OLED TV review
One of the most exciting, innovative TVs we've seen so far at CES 2023 is LG's "wireless" OLED TV. The 97-inch LG M3 is a nearly entirely wireless TV that claims to receive up to 4K 120Hz video wirelessly and, most importantly, without interruption. We got a first-hand look at this TV to see how the clever wireless technology works and how well it performs.
Read the full LG M3 wireless OLED TV hands-on review

Hands on: Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV review
Just hours after we published our five-star review of Panasonic’s flagship 2022 OLED TV, calling the LZ2000 “as cinematic as they come”, we found ourselves standing in front of its 2023 successor – the MZ2000 – which builds on last year’s model with a new OLED panel that benefits from Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology...
Read the full Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV hands-on review

Hands on: LG G3 / C3 OLED TV review
It’s fair to say that LG’s C3 and G3 OLED TV ranges have a lot to live up to in 2023. The C2 hoovered up five-star ratings across multiple screen sizes in 2022 and it also dominated the TV category at the end-of-year What Hi-Fi? Awards. So, it’s only natural that all eyes will be on C3 and whether or not it’s deemed the sweet spot of LG’s new line-up in terms of performance and price...
Read the full LG G3 / C3 OLED TV hands-on review

I heard the 21-channel Nakamichi Dragon soundbar unleashed – and it really is quite something
We imagine Nakamichi fans of old, not to mention today’s Nakamichi team itself, would probably be quite precious over the Dragon brand, so in a way it is nice to hear that the company spent five years developing the soundbar in order to get it right.
Read our full first impressions of the Nakamichi Dragon soundbar

Hands on: JBL SA550 review
JBL unveiled an exciting new range of hi-fi kit (Classic Series), and we had a first look at and listened to the new SA550 amplifier, which takes design inspiration from the 1960s but packs in modern technology. Classic in name, potential classic in nature?
Read our first impressions of the JBL SA550 amplifier

CES 2023 news highlights

New LG M3 OLED is a stunning, 97-inch 'wireless' TV
LG has unveiled a "world first": a giant 97-inch 4K TV that receives all of its video and audio wirelessly. The high-quality panel has speakers and a power cable, but all 4K 120Hz content is wirelessly transmitted from the Zero Connect HDMI streaming box (to which you can connect all your sources) that can be positioned up to 30ft away.
Read the full LG M3 OLED TV story

LG's new G3 OLED TV apparently uses Micro Lens Array tech to hit a super-bright 2000 nits
LG has announced its OLED TV range for 2023, with new A3, B3, C3, G3 and Z3 models to replace 2022's models. The G3 is poised to be a pretty massive step forward for OLED TVs, with LG claiming the new screen is capable of going 70% brighter than "traditional" OLEDs.
Read the full LG G3 OLED TV story

Samsung unveils two QD-OLED TV ranges for 2023, 77-inch screen size also confirmed
The new premium S95C and more affordable S90C QD-OLED TV ranges have been announced, with Samsung claiming this second-generation QD-OLED panel will be even brighter than its predecessor. Both ranges will feature 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes, along with a mammoth 77-inch version.
Read the full Samsung QD-OLED TV ranges story

Panasonic promises best HDR picture yet from 2023 flagship MZ2000 OLED TV Available in 55- and 65-inch sizes, Panasonic's new flagship MZ2000 OLED TV claims to deliver its “best and brightest picture” yet with a combination of new technologies that improve peak brightness (by a substantial 150 per cent) and average brightness compared to 2022's OLED models. The TVs also feature a Technics-tuned, Dolby Atmos system comprising multiple built-in speakers.
Read the full Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV story

JBL launches Classic Series of hi-fi electronics, including its first-ever turntable
Featuring a modern-retro design inspired by the JBL SA600 amplifier from the 1960s, JBL's new Classic Series consists of the CD350 CD player, the SA550 integrated amplifier, an MP350 hi-res music streamer and JBL's first-ever turntable, the TT350 Classic – all featuring the latest audio technologies.
Read the full JBL Classic Series story

Naim celebrates 50 years with new Classic series for streamers and record spinners alike
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in style, the British brand has revealed a new Classic range of components: the NSC 222 streaming pre-amplifier, a new (sixth) iteration of the iconic NAP 250 power amplifier, and the NPX 300 power supply upgrade. Naim says of the trio: "We've combined our 50 years of experience with the very latest technology to redefine home hi-fi."
Read the full Naim Classic range story

JBL 4329P Studio Monitor is a premium all-in-one speaker system to rival the KEF LS50 Wireless
The 4329P Studio Monitor is pair of active loudspeakers with "extensive wired and wireless connectivity options", built-in Digital Signal Processing, hi-res audio support and the US brand's iconic horn-loaded compression drivers.
Read the full JBL 4329P Studio Monitor story

JBL's first Bluetooth turntable offers aptX HD wireless streaming at an affordable price
Not content with launching just one turntable, JBL has also announced the Spinner BT deck, which has a built-in phono stage and aptX HD Bluetooth streaming. This lets you stream your vinyl to compatible wireless speakers/headphones/sounders in 24-bit hi-res "without sacrificing audio quality" says JBL.
Read the full JBL Spinner BT story

Meet JBL Bar 1300, the Dolby Atmos soundbar with 15 audio channels
JBL's new soundbar can transform from a single soundbar (with wireless subwoofer) that fits neatly under a TV to a fully-fledged surround system with detachable rear speakers that can deliver up to 15 channels of sound. It also features Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D technologies, voice control, wi-fi, AirPlay 2 and Chromecast.
Read the full JBL Bar 1300 soundbar story

LG's new soundbars are designed to look and sound great with its OLED TVs
LG's new SC9 and SE6 soundbars are designed to work seamlessly with the brand's 2023 OLED TVs. They're able to use every audio channel in the TV and soundbars in unison to create an expanded soundstage with more height, depth and power. The soundbars also feature Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced powered by DTS:X, Tidal Connect and VRR, ALLM and 4K 120Hz support.
Read the full LG 2023 soundbars story

Gamers, rejoice! BenQ unveils 120Hz 4K OLED monitor and portable gaming projectors
BenQ has announced a slew of monitors and projectors. The highlights are the 48-inch EX480UZ OLED gaming monitor with 4K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and a response time of just 0.1ms. While the HT2060 gaming projector is for those that want an even bigger experience, thanks to its 100-inch picture from just 8.2 feet away. Two home cinema projectors with HDR are also announced, pricing TBC.
Read the full BenQ gaming monitors and projectors story

JBL's new Quantum gaming headsets are designed for Xbox and PlayStation
JBL is adding to its Quantum range of gaming headsets with the 910 and 360 models, both of which are specifically designed to work with Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Both models feature JBL's own spatial audio solution, QuantumSPATIAL 360, but can also be used with Dolby Atmos and Sony 3D Audio.
Read the full JBL Quantum gaming headsets story

Philips Hue lighting is coming to Samsung TVs - but it'll cost you
You'll soon be able to sync your Philips Hue lights to your 2022 Samsung TV thanks to a new partnership announced at CES 2023. There's no need for any extra hardware, but the Philips Hue Sync TV app that makes it all work is rather pricey at £115 / $130 / AU$200.
Read the full Philips Hue and Samsung TVs story

Roku is now making its own TVs, and they start at just $119
Known for its TV OS and streaming sticks, Roku is now producing its own TVs. There will be 11 models ranging from 24-inch to 75-inch screen sizes, but the highlight is the budget pricing: the Roku TVs will start at $119 (around £98 / AU$174) for the 24-inch model and go up to $999 (around £830 / AU$1463) for the 75-inch model. Details are light but the TVs are expected to go on sale in Spring 2023.
Read the full Roku TVs story

Hisense announces new Mini LED TVs, ULED X display tech, Laser TVs at CES
Next-gen ULED X technology that boasts higher peak brightness and contrast, three core ranges of Mini LED 4K TVs that are "affordable", and new Laser TVs and UST projectors – Hisense has had a busy CES 2023.
Read the full Hisense TVs story

TCL CES 2023: QD-OLED, Mini-LED, and QLEDs TVs are on the way
TCL has announced its first QD-OLED TV (on sale in late 2023) and while details are scarce, we suspect the brand's value-led approach means we might be looking at more affordable prices than the current QD-OLED TVs. There will also be new Mini LED and QLED TV ranges from TCL, with screen sizes varying from 50-inch to 98-inch.
Read the full TCL TVs story

Focal's Vestia speaker range is designed for stereo and home cinema systems
Featuring five models – one bookshelf, three floorstanders and one centre speaker – the new Focal Vestia line offers refined design, multiple finishes and new tweeter technology developed from its in-car expertise, all for relatively affordable prices.
Read the full Focal Vestia speakers story

Samsung says it will launch a 50-inch Micro LED TV this year
Micro LED is getting closer to becoming a reality, with Samsung saying its 2023 Micro LED range will span from 50- to 140-inch screen sizes. 50-inch is the smallest Micro LED set proposed yet, and a great step forward for the next-gen TV technology.
Read the full Samsung Mirco LED TV story

Nakamichi's 21-channel Dragon soundbar is the first to support DTS:X Pro
This 11.4.6-channel soundbar system measures a gargantuan 58 inches across (which is even bigger than Sennheiser's Ambeo Max) and is the first to offer DTS:X Pro, which supports up to 32 speakers. There are 31 drivers inside the Dragon soundbar, which also supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and aptX HD Bluetooth. Read the full Nakamichi Dragon soundbar story

Want to add a record player to your Sonos system? Check out the Victrola Stream Onyx
The Onyx is a more affordable version of last year's Stream Carbon deck and is certified by the Works with Sonos programme, so you can stream music from your records to any Sonos-equipped multi-room zone in your home.
Read the full Victrola Stream Onyx story

Sennheiser IE 200 earbuds offer high-end DNA at a more affordable price
Sennheiser's latest wired earbuds aim to bring audiophile-grade design and sound to the mainstream, with driver technology trickled down from the pricier IE 300 and premium five-star IE 900 models. There are more flexible options to get the best fit, too, which is very welcome indeed at this accessible price point.
Read the full Sennheiser IE 200 story

Razer's new soundbar features THX Spatial Audio and dynamic head-tracking
Razer has joined forces with Audioscenic to deliver a feature-packed gaming soundbar that combines THX Spatial Audio, 3D beamforming and dynamic head-tracking with the aim of delivering personalised immersive sound. Available for PCs in February 2023.
Read the full Razer Leviathan V2 Pro story

FiiO M11S portable music player boasts dual DACs, hi-res MQA support and is cheaper than Astell & Kern rival
The new M11S is a supercharged portable music player that supports playback of 32-bit hi-res files (including MQA and DSD) and your favourite music streaming apps. It has a DAC for left and right channel each, a new and improved headphone amplifier circuit and 32GB onboard storage (with the option to expand up to 2TB). All this for under £500 / $500.
Read the full FiiO M11S player story

Dirac Live Active Room Treatment uses the whole AV system to eliminate boomy bass
Dirac's latest room optimisation feature uses all the speakers in your home cinema system to reduce bass decay, promising to eliminate boomy bass and deliver cleaner, tighter audio. It's basically ANC for your speakers: the system's speakers cooperate to actively cancel out other speakers' unwanted wavelengths.
Read the full Dirac Live Active Room Treatment story

These Sony LinkBuds rivals are safety-first open-ear wireless earbuds
Cleer Audio ARC II earbuds promise longer battery life (35 hours total), along with IPX4 sweat and water resistance, Bluetooth 5.3 and aptX codec support. The open design means they sit on your ears and let you hear and be aware of your surroundings – ideal for runners and cyclists.
Read the full Cleer Audio ARC II earbuds story

JBL announces Endurance, Tune and Vibe wireless earbuds at CES 2023
It wouldn't be CES without a slew of new headphones from JBL and sure enough, the brand announced seven new wireless earbuds, all with different designs and specs, all for very affordable under $100 prices.
Read the full JBL earbuds story

CES 2023 dates: when is CES?

CES officially takes place between Thursday 5th and Sunday 8th January 2023, though the 'Media Days' – when most product news announcements break – are being held two days prior on Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th. These are the two days you'll want to keep whathifi.com in your browser window!

The CES 2023 schedule can be viewed here

CES 2023 news: what will be announced?

As CES is a world stage for news announcements, not many let slip before the show. Some press releases and teasers do tend to land in late December, so we can get some sort of idea as to what we can expect to see at the show, and we shall share what we are allowed to on this page when they do. But even without so much as an official whisper from companies ahead of CES, we can have a good guess at which big brands are going to wow audiences at CES 2023...

LG at CES 2023

As is the way, the CES Innovation Awards (which recognise 'outstanding design and engineering' and tease what is to come the following January) have already been dished out to a number of products for 2023. LG has already received 10 2023 CES Innovation Award recognitions for its OLED TVs alone, with the company sharing that its 88-inch LG Signature OLED 8K TV was recognised in three categories while its 97-inch OLED and LG OLED Flex were double honourees. As for other sets recognised by these Awards, well, we will have to wait until CES to find out.

It is expected that the annually updated LG OLED series will be revealed, however, to replace the multiple What Hi-Fi? Award-winning C2 series, as well as the A2, B2 and G2 ranges. Will they be named A3, B3, C3 and G3? It very much appears so, as the National Radio Research Agency (NRRA) of South Korea appears to have already certified a 55-inch B3 TV and 65-inch C3 TV. We can only speculate about the rest for now, but considering the success of LG OLEDs in recent years, any 2023 OLED TV announcement will be a big deal regardless.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 8am PT
Livestream: https://www.lg.com/uk/ces2023-teaser

Samsung at CES 2023

Samsung's theme for CES 2023 is ‘Bringing Calm to Our Connected World’ and its press conference will be hosted by Jong-Hee Han, vice chairman, CEO and head of Samsung’s DX (Device eXperience) Division, suggesting that much of the company's focus will be on products and technologies within its smart home ecosystem. But it will undoubtedly pull a cloth from some sort of brand-new TV, and if previous CES reveals are anything to go by, it will likely be most of the models in its 2023 range, if not all of them.

Samsung's current TVs span Micro LED, Neo QLED, QD-OLED and 'lifestyle' models, so we should be prepared for a broad spectrum of new TVs – and, fingers crossed, more in the way of QD-OLED sets and more affordable Micro LED. Like LG, Samsung isn't usually shy when it comes to displaying out-there TV concepts at CES too.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 2pm PT
Livestream: https://news.samsung.com/global/

Sony at CES 2023

While Sony is another brand that usually goes all-in at CES, the brand has confirmed that it will not reveal any new TVs at CES this year. Sony will instead be giving the spotlight to its new PlayStation VR2 (with dual 120Hz 4K OLED displays).

As for its TVs and audio line-up for 2023, those will be announced at an event later in the Spring. Will its 2023 flagship 4K TV be another QD-OLED? We wouldn't be surprised considering the acclaim that its 2022 Master Series A95K QD-OLED has received in recent months, though Micro LED will surely be on the Sony TV horizon – if not this year, then in 2024. Will we get a new Sony Dolby Atmos soundbar or a new pair of Sony LinkBuds? Is Sony lining up a new Walkman, or will it have updates on its Bravia Core video streaming service or 360 Reality Audio technology? All will be revealed later this year.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 5pm PT
Livestream: www.youtube.com/Sony

Panasonic (and Technics) at CES 2023

Now here are two brands that are bound to have big news to share. Year in and year out, Panasonic reveals its all-singing-all-dancing reference TV at CES, so CES 2023 should follow that pattern. Both of the 2022 Panasonic OLEDs we have tested this year, the 48-inch TX-48JZ980 and 55-inch TX-55LZ980B, have garnered five-star reviews from us, with the larger size also winning a What Hi-Fi? Award, so we are betting the company sticks with high-performing OLEDs for 2023.

Technics is also in very fine form, having recently impressed with its Award-winning SA-C600 streaming system and EAH-A800 wireless headphones, so we are just as hopeful that the brand has something new to show off in January – new true wireless earbuds and, better yet, new hi-fi components perhaps.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 10am PT
Livestream: https://na.panasonic.com/us/ces-2023 

JBL at CES 2023

We can't remember JBL ever having had a quiet CES, so there is no reason to believe it will start to at CES 2023. That said, the company will be entering this year's show after a very prolific previous 24 months during which it launched a bunch of hi-fi and audio products in celebration of its 75th birthday, including the L100 Classic 75 speakers and SA750 streaming amplifier. 

JBL is bound to launch at least one pair of true wireless earbuds (though our money is on at least three pairs, including these smart Tour Pro 2) and we can cross our fingers that more JBL hi-fi lands too.

Press conference: tbc
Livestream: tbc

TCL at CES 2023

TCL has won two 2023 CES Innovation Awards. The first is for the TCL 75C935, the brand's latest generation 74-inch Mini LED 4K TV, which combines Mini LED and QLED panel technologies as well as 1920 full array local dimming zones and 144Hz refresh rate support in a bid to become the premium TV of choice for next year. And the second is for the TCL 75C835, also a Mini LED 4K TV, with support for Dolby Vision IQ and a 144Hz refresh rate in addition to 360 panel control zones and a choice of Roku or Google TV operating systems.

Press conference: Wednesday 4th January, 1pm PT
Livestream: https://www.tcl.com/us/en/ces

CES 2023 news: the best of the rest

While the attendance from most of the biggest names in technology elevates CES to 'the world's best show' status in the industry, it just as importantly gives smaller brands and startups public exposure and a chance to show off their own creations to the world's media. As a result, it is a launchpad for some of the most innovative and creative products we are confronted with every year – even if some of it is at the concept stage and may never appear on shelves.

CES 2023 is bound to flaunt the latest and greatest ideas from all around the world. Indeed, the show kicks off with its CES Unveiled event, which sees a huge event space packed with stalls and booths showing off these very things. We already know that one of them will be occupied by Displace, a US startup home entertainment company that claims to have developed "the world's first truly wireless TV". The Displace 55-inch 4K OLED TV sure does look wild, and we cannot wait to see it in the flesh during the week. And a bright spotlight often shines on in-car audio technology as well - stay tuned!

CES 2022 highlights: what wowed last time?

Yes, CES 2022 ended up being a much more muted affair than normal after many big companies were forced to pull out citing COVID 19-related travel and health issues. But while physical attendance wasn't what it usually is, product launches didn't seem to suffer. Not only that but they contained plenty of success stories...

In the TV sector – arguably the most consistently dominant of the show in the home entertainment field – Samsung announced its first hybrid QD-OLED TV, which went on to win lofty praise from us as represented in our Samsung QE65S95B review (as did the Sony XR-55A95K QD-OLED that we also saw this year). While QD-OLED and Micro LED technologies stole the CES 2022 headlines, LG determinedly doubled down on its OLED Evo panels – and now has multiple 2022 What Hi-Fi? Awards to show for it.

And little did we know at the time of its CES 2022 reveal that the Technics SA-C600 streaming amplifier would go on to win a 2022 What Hi-Fi? Award too. The same goes for the Mark Levinson No.5909, which raised eyebrows in January for their unprecedented price tag in the wireless headphones space, only to then receive a five-star review from us when we got our ears under them. And then there was the quirky Samsung Freestyle projector, which also impressed us when it entered our test rooms in the months following its CES reveal.

Naturally (it is CES, after all), there were plenty of wacky products and inventions that made our the best of CES 2022 roundup too, so we can hope for more of that same outlandish creativity come January.

• See all the CES 2022 news and highlights
• And our full best of CES 2022 list, featuring QD-OLED TVs, 'invisible headphones', and projectors for lightbulb sockets

The UK's first Roku-powered QLED TVs are now in shops (well, Currys). TCL has partnered with Roku to create the RC630K series of 4K smart TVs, with sizes ranging from 43 to 65 inches, and prices starting at just £319. 

For your money you can expect a 4K resolution on all screen sizes, HDR via HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision and HLG, and Dolby Audio including Dolby Atmos. The headlining feature here is the Quantum Dot technology, which should make for a punchier, more vibrant picture performance than is offered by the standard LCD sets more common at this sort of money.

With Roku on board, you'll have access to a wide range of streaming apps including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus for movies and TV, as well as Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and Amazon Music for music streaming. The benefit here is that you won't have to shell out any more money for a streaming stick, and you'll have an extra HDMI port free to connect a Blu-ray player or gaming console.  

Official pricing is as follows:

• 43-inch TCL RC630K (43RC630K) – £319
• 50-inch TCL RC630K (50RC630K) – £369
• 55-inch TCL RC630K (55RC630K) – £419
• 65-inch TCL RC630K (65RC630K) – £700

The TCL RC630K series are available to buy now at Curry's.

MORE:

Best TVs: brilliant budget to premium 4K UHD

Best TV deals

Read our review of the Hisense Roku R50A7200GTUK

In Europe, TCL is introducing a new QLED series of TVs, the CF630K Fire TVs, that come packed with 4K/HDR, ALLM, Alexa, Dolby Atmos, and more. On top of all that, you can pick up the 50-inch model for just £340 and the 55-inch for £390 until November 11th when prices will increase to £379 and £429.

We haven't got our hands on these TCL sets just yet, but we have reviewed other TCL TVs, routinely finding them to offer up solid performance for the money and even awarding some TCL TVs, like the 55RP620K, five-stars in our official review.

While you'll have to hang tight for an official review, these new TCL QLED sets are worth a look if you're in the market for a new TV.

New TCL QLED Fire TV Amazon deals

TCL is best known for its budget Roku TVs, some of which are excellent for the money, but the brand is moving beyond that, now offering up QLED Fire TVs for customers in Europe. While you may like one smart TV platform more than another, a QLED display is almost always a strict upgrade over traditional LED.

Outside of the panel tech in TCL's new CF630K TVs, these TVs are coming packed with features. You're getting 4K support and a robust HDR implementation that includes HDR, HLG, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision, but you're also getting ALLM for gamers and all the familiar smarts of a Fire TV.

On top of all that, you'll get Alexa support for hands-free voice control, and these Fire TVs come preinstalled with a variety of apps like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and more. You'll also get 4 HDMI ports alongside HDMI eARC, too.

If you're in the market for a new TV and you don't want to break the bank but you also don't want a barebones set without modern features, these new TCL TVs are worth a look, especially if you're in Europe and ready to buy now, as you'll be able to take advantage of this sale now through 11th November.

MORE:

Check out our list of the best 4K TVs around

As well as if you should buy a TCL TV

And the best TV deals we've found

You might be perfectly happy with your TV's picture performance, but find the sound quality is a little lacking. If that's the case, then investing in a soundbar is a great option.

After all, they are compact enough to fit under your TV screen, and offer plenty of different models to suit a variety of needs. We are yet to test a model that matches a multi-speaker setup, but many soundbars out there can still deliver an immersive yet detailed audio performance.

But which soundbar is right for you? If you find yourself asking this question, then you have come to the right place. In this guide, you will find the very best soundbars we have tested over the years, from budget bars to high-end systems.

You can read more about how we test soundbars, or simply scroll down to find the best model for your needs. If you are looking for models that are more wallet-friendly, we also have a guide to the best budget soundbars available at the moment.

We also have a guide for the best soundbar deals, so you can find out which models are at a discount.

1. Best soundbar overall

Replacing the original Sonos Arc can't have been a simple task (it's in the What Hi-Fi? Hall of Fame for very good reason) but, after literal years of rumours, said replacement is finally here – and it's exceptionally good.

The Arc Ultra looks very similar to its predecessor, but it's slightly less thick, which means it's even less likely to obstruct the bottom of your TV's image, and the new 'ledge', which houses most of the touch controls, is a stylish new touch.

As has always been the case with Sonos soundbars, simplicity is key. There's no remote or display – you just connect it to your TV via HDMI eARC and it takes over from your TV's speakers. For many people, that's ideal, but for others, the Arc Ultra will seem limited – particularly in its lack of dedicated HDMI inputs.

The lack of DTS:X support will bother some people, too, and it's fair to say that the Sonos app, while better than it has been, is still a little bit buggy.

Those flaws are worth overlooking if you're able to, though, because the sound quality is superb. The delivery is so crisp, clean and precise that it makes the original Arc sound a bit vague in comparison.

It's also vastly superior in terms of how much it fills the room and how accurately it places and tracks effects in three-dimensional space. A soundbar system that includes wireless surrounds and a sub, such as the Samsung HW-Q990D, will be even better in this regard, but the Atmos effect that the Arc Ultra delivers is deeply impressive by the standards of a solo soundbar – and you can always add surrounds and a dedicated subwoofer to the Arc Ultra at a later date if you have the appetite (and deep pockets).

The Arc Ultra also features a unique 'Sound Motion' woofer, which is markedly different to a typical speaker driver and which Sonos claims allows the new soundbar to produce 'double the bass' of its predecessor. In truth, the Arc Ultra doesn't sound vastly weightier than the previous model, but its bass is significantly punchier and more tuneful, even when really challenged. This is a real strength of the new soundbar.

These core audio qualities make the Arc Ultra almost as well-suited to music as it is to movies, which is very well indeed, making this a terrific all-rounder of a soundbar. If you can live with the lack of HDMI inputs, there's no better performance-per-pound soundbar around.

Read the full Sonos Arc Ultra review

2. Best cheap soundbar

If you're looking for a simple, constructive step up in sound from your TV's in-built speakers, Sony's HT-SF150 (known as the HT-S100F in the US) offers a significant sonic enhancement for little outlay.

Indeed there's almost no other competition worth considering for under £100 / $100 / AU$200. We have recently had a few contenders passing through the test rooms at a slightly higher price, namely the Sharp HT-SB700 and the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar, but the SF150 still comes out on top.

While the SF150 is very affordable indeed, it doesn't look or feel cheap and it won't look out of place nestled below a much more premium TV. Alongside HDMI ARC, it has an optical input supporting Dolby Digital, Dolby Dual mono and LPCM 2ch. There's also a USB port and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity for music playback from an external source too.

The SF150 also features Sony's S-Force Front Surround technology, which applies processing to give the acoustic impression of a more encompassing soundstage. While there is no replacement for surround sound, it adds a dramatic sense of weight and separation.

Of course, you're not going to get sonic perfection for this sort of money, and the SF150's delivery of dialogue can be a smidge muffled at times. A little more impact to effects would be welcome, too. Still, the broad-strokes approach to sound taken here is probably a sensible one that means the 'bar gets the basics right and never offends. Anyone wanting a musical, finely detailed speaker should aim for a more sophisticated model. Still, this budget bar is ideal for those looking for a quick and easy improvement to their TV.

Read our full Sony HT-SF150 review

3. Best compact soundbar

The usual brands that jump out when you first think of a soundbar tend to be big-hitting brands such as Sonos, Sony and Samsung. But that doesn't mean lesser-known companies cannot be deserving of success. Take, for instance, the Creative Stage Pro, a small soundbar that comes from a brand best known for its computer accessories.

Consisting of a main soundbar that measures 8 x 55 x 11cm (hwd) and a slender subwoofer that comes in at 42 x 12 x 27cm, the Creative model is incredibly compact. This makes it ideal for small rooms, and it can be tucked neatly under a desk if you plan on pairing the system with a PC.

But how does it sound? The Stage Pro delivers a surprisingly cinematic audio performance despite its small footprint. We find when watching Blade Runner 2049, "Voices [...] are presented with impressive detail and emotion thanks to the bar’s solid handling of low-level dynamics."

The soundbar shines brightly when it comes to music as well, producing an enjoyable experience that’s underpinned by a pin-sharp sense of timing and impressively clean vocals.

We do find that the sound is pretty localised to the bar, and it struggles to push the sound out to deliver a truly immersive sound experience. But, considering its low price tag, the Stage Pro is a great choice if you are short on space and still want good audio quality.

Read our full Creative Stage Pro review

4. Best step-up soundbar

The HT-S2000 is a soundbar that’s centred on improving the sound that comes from your TV while keeping the cost as low as possible. There are few frills to find with this bar, with Sony opting for a straightforward design and feature set; but we think it's nailed it.

The S2000 is a fairly small unit, measuring just 6.4 x 80 x 12cm. It features Bluetooth 5.2 and HDMI eARC – something comparable bars such as the Sonos Ray do not offer. It also offers an Optical audio connection, in case your TV lacks eARC capabilities.

The S2000 uses a 3.1-channel arrangement with a built-in subwoofer and a total power output of 250W. There are no upfiring drivers which means that the height channels for the supported spatial audio formats, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, are achieved through Sony’s Vertical Sound Engine psychoacoustic sound processing system.

If you want to improve the audio of your favourite shows and movies at a price that won’t put you off, then the Sony is worthy of attention. It provides clearer, more dynamic and more direct sound than your TV will be capable of mustering. Sure, you can spend more on meatier-sounding soundbars, but at this price, the S2000 offers plenty of quality.

Read our full Sony HT-S2000 review

5. Best entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar

While it's undeniably diminutive in stature, everything else about the Beam Gen 2 is deeply impressive. Sonos essentially took its original Beam and added genuinely convincing Dolby Atmos without changing the overall design or adding dedicated upward-firing drivers.

It's all done through clever processing: the Beam Gen 2 uses psychoacoustic HRTF (head-related transfer function) technology to deliver a sense of height using two of the unit's five front-facing drivers.

The effect, while not quite as immersive as that offered by soundbars with dedicated up-firing speakers, is still very impressive, particularly considering the size and price of the Beam. All told, it provides an enveloping presentation that's rich, three-dimensional and full of detail.

During testing, we paired the Beam Gen 2 with TVs ranging from 43 inches to 65 inches in size, and in each case found that it "enhanced the cinematic scale and viewing experience". So don't discount this little soundbar if you've got a big TV.

Of course, with this being a Sonos soundbar, movie and TV sound is only one of its features. On top of that, you can use it as a full Sonos wireless speaker and even integrate it into a Sonos multi-room system. Control can be done via the Sonos S2 app, or you can simply send music to the 'bar using AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect or Tidal Connect. It even now supports hi-res 24-bit/48kHz 'Ultra HD' tracks from Amazon Music.

To cut a long story short, if you want a small, affordable soundbar that can deliver convincing Dolby Atmos, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is the 'bar for you.

Read the full Sonos Beam Gen 2 review

6. Best mid-range soundbar

Soundbars for TV aren't new territory for Sonos, but the former What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Arc is the only soundbar from the brand, along with its Ultra sequel of course, to deliver Dolby Atmos with upfiring speakers. It sits above the Beam (Gen 2) in terms of pricing and is suited to 55-inch TVs and above, with optional wall mounting fixings available for £79 / $79 / AU$99.

There are touch-sensitive play/pause and volume controls on the bar with LEDs that indicate status and when you're talking to the built-in Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Connectivity includes AirPlay 2, ethernet and eARC for Dolby Atmos from compatible TVs.

The Sonos Arc uses 11 drivers to create your soundfield, several of which are upfiring and angled into your room to bounce sound off your walls and ceiling. “It’s so much more than just pointing a couple of speakers upwards,” said Sonos’s product manager Scott Fink when the Arc launched. “We focused on the playback precision of all the channels, including the height channels.” And that effort certainly paid off: the Arc offers one of the most convincing Atmos performances you can get from a single-chassis soundbar. Height junkies can turn up the volume of the Arc's upward-firing drivers using a separate control, but during our testing we don't find it necessary to overly boost the upfiring channels to enjoy the Arc's immersive delivery.

You're transported to the heart of the action. Surround effects are expertly placed, and there's great dynamism and good weight to the sound too. Tonally, it's nicely balanced if you just want to listen to music, although it could sound a tiny bit more direct. But make no mistake, this is a hugely impressive TV soundbar for the money.

Read our full Sonos Arc review

7. Best soundbar with HDMI 2.1

While the Sonos Arc Ultra is our top soundbar pick for most people, there are those for whom its lack of HDMI 2.1 inputs will be a deal-breaker. That's because most TVs have just two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one of which (the eARC port) will be taken up by the soundbar, which means there will be just one left for a current-gen console or gaming PC. That's fine if you have just one such device, but if you have two (or more!), only the one connected to the remaining HDMI 2.1 socket will be able to run with all of its fancy features – most notably 4K/120Hz – intact.

If that sounds familiar (and you want a solo soundbar rather than a system such as the Samsung HW-Q990D, below), you should check out the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9, which has a dedicated HDMI 2.1 input and support for 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM.

That HDMI input certainly isn't the only reason to consider this Sony soundbar, though. For sound quality, it's almost as good as the Sonos Arc Ultra – indeed, it won a What Hi-Fi? Award just before its new Sonos rival was launched.

The Sony sounds exceptionally crisp and precise, and the Atmos-ness of its delivery is hugely impressive for a standalone bar – though you can also add wireless surrounds (and a sub) at a later date if you so wish. It's really dynamic, too, delivering big shifts and low-level subtleties with ease. It can deliver deep bass by soundbar standards, too, although just occasionally a particular bass note can stick out a little more than it perhaps should.

Other than that, the only flaw of note is a slightly clinical character – the Arc Ultra is that little bit warmer in tone but still plenty precise.

In terms of design, the Theatre Bar 9 is a big improvement on the HT-A7000 it replaces, with a much softer and more subtle appearance. There are some handy feet in the box that can be attached to the bar so it can straddle a TV stand, too.

All-in-all, this is an excellent soundbar that should be considered alongside the Sonos Arc Ultra – and if you need the additional input, it's an easy decision in favour of the Sony.

Read the full Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 9 review

8. Best soundbar package

For many, buying a full surround system simply isn't feasible when it comes to both space and cost. On the other hand, a lone soundbar might not quite cut it. This is where a soundbar package such as the Q990F steps in.

The system is made up of a soundbar, a subwoofer, and two surround speakers. The step up from the five-star Q990D to the Q990F isn’t huge, but it has kept what we liked about the previous model and only improved on it.

It's an 11.1.4-channel system, with 23 drivers in total. With support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, we were impressed by the soundbar's ability to create that all-important dome of sound as well as ensuring the sound moves organically between the channels.

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

In terms of connectivity, there are HDMI eARC and optical ports to handle audio transmission from your TV, while the additional two HDMI sockets serve as passthrough ports. Both are rated to the HDMI 2.1 standard, with support for up to 4K/120Hz signals, plus HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

Despite it launching at the fairly eye-watering price of £1699 / $1999 / AU$1999, we have also spotted regular discounts that drop the system to under a grand in the UK. That combined with its exceptional audio performance makes it an easy recommendation for serious cinephiles.

Read our full Samsung HW-Q990F review

9. Best budget soundbar package

It's pretty rare to find a soundbar system that performs as well as the Hisense AX5125H, especially at such a low price. We tested it at £249 / $350 and, as if that wasn't enough of a bargain, we have already seen it drop to as low as £199 in the UK.

That's all well and good, but how does it actually sound? During testing, we were pleasantly surprised to find that this Dolby Atmos soundbar system is an incredibly cohesive and immersive performer at this price.

In our review, while watching Civil War, for example, we say: “Explosions and deep gunfire have good impact and solidity, and there’s just about enough tonal expression for bassy soundtrack elements to sound reasonably musical.”

Vocals are clear and sound relatively emotive too, although the subwoofer can get a little overzealous and cause them to become muffled in the busiest sections.

Many owners will simply connect their TV to the Hisense AX5125H via HDMI eARC/ARC and be done with it. Those with external sources, however, will be pleased to hear that the soundbar also has a dedicated HDMI input – though, for gaming, it's limited to 60Hz.

The included soundbar, subwoofer, and two surround speakers are simple to set up as well, although there's nothing too interesting being done when it comes to their basic design.

If your budget can't stretch to the more pricey Samsung HW-Q990F model, this more affordable Hisense system would be a great option for you to upgrade your TV's sound.

Read the full Hisense AX5125H review

10. Best premium soundbar

KEF took its time releasing its first soundbar considering how long it has been in the hi-fi and home cinema business, but the XIO was worth the wait. It's quite the proposition – a premium soundbar crammed full of features including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, a comprehensive app and plenty of streaming options available.

On top of that, it is packed with some of KEF's signature technology including six Uni-Q MX drivers. Rather than having two separate drive units, a tweeter and mid/bass, that fit into a single assembly like we are used to seeing in KEF products, this new MX driver has a dual diaphragm arrangement that features a clever mechanical crossover to allow the high-frequency central section to operate separately.

Through the app, you can calibrate the soundbar to the room and choose from a variety of sound profiles. While the soundbar's design is relatively flat and mature, there are not as many HDMI connections as we would like with only one HDMI eARC input.

But how does it actually sound? In our in-depth review, we state: "Despite the XIO’s slim and relatively compact dimensions, it still manages to produce an impressively wide and immersive soundstage." Its ability to spread sound around the space is admirable, too, as it manages to keep each frequency clear yet integrated.

When compared with the rival Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max, we find that while the Sennheiser produces a bassier and more impactful sound, "KEF counters with more clarity, greater precision in the way sounds are rendered and notably more finesse in the way low-level dynamics are delivered."

The XIO's performance with music is incredibly pleasing and we add that the soundbar "can easily serve as a standalone music system, which is more than we can say for the vast majority of soundbars that come our way."

For those who want a balanced overall sonic performance for music and movies at a premium price tag, the XIO is the best we have heard.

Read the full KEF XIO review

11. Best high-end soundbar

The cream of the soundbar crop comes in the form of the Focal Mu-so Hekla. The all-in-one system can act as a soundbar and a hi-fi system, making it a rare proposition.

The bar is one metre long, almost 30cm deep and weighs 15.5kg. This makes it less easy to accommodate than other premium soundbar rivals, as it needs a relatively large piece of furniture to support it. There is a stylish illuminated dial on the top of the bar, which lets you control volume with a twist to the side, and also acts as a touch screen to adjust input and power.

This all means you need to consider where you will place the system, as it only just fits under our TV screen and the light from the dial is reflected off the screen from certain angles.

But how does it actually sound? In short, absolutely brilliant. It produces a rich, detailed sound that outdoes other premium soundbar rivals with both music and movies.

Bass is composed yet impactful, adding an extra punch that never stands out too much from the other frequencies.

This impressive performance with films continues with music. We say in our review when listening to 500 Miles by Peter, Paul and Mary: "As the vocals get louder near the end of the piece then grow quieter to almost a whisper, it handles this change in dynamics with subtlety to compound the emotive finale."

It's by far the most expensive model on this list, but if you have limited space (and unlimited funds), then this is the top pick.

Read the full Focal Mu-so Hekla review

Also consider

The best alternative soundbars we have tested:

JBL Bar 300MK2
While it does not quite reach the same heights as the Sonos Beam Gen 2 in the entry-level Dolby Atmos category, the five-star JBL Bar 300MK2 produces a bombastic yet detailed sound for movies.

Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S
Another alternative to the Sonos Beam Gen 2 comes with the Theatre Bar 7 + S combination, which features a soundbar and subwoofer. It's a beautifully balanced soundbar package that is hard to fault, making it a top performer at this money.

Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 6
Although it did not trump the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) in the best entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar category, the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 6 provides excellent room-filling sound that will suit many people. It might lack the subtlety and detail to be the cream of the crop, but you get a lot of kit for your money.

Majority Bowfell Halo Atmos
This is the cheapest Dolby Atmos soundbar system we have had in our test room, but it well outperforms its low price tag. Don't go in expecting fully immersive surround sound, but the Majority system delivers a cinematic sound considering its size and price.

Sony HT-A3000
In terms of pricing and features, the Sony HT-A3000 is just like the Sonos Beam Gen 2. It doesn't deliver Dolby Atmos sound anything like as effectively as the Beam, but its detail and dynamics make it a big upgrade on TV sound.

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max
This Award-winning soundbar is quite the beast, measuring 127cm wide and 14cm tall. It sounds amazing, though, with oodles of bass and an immersive overall experience.

Sony Bravia Theatre System 6
We gave this Sony system five stars for its superbly punchy bass performance as well as its enveloping surround sound. It was just pipped by the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) for the top spot, but its oddball design gets you more kit for your money than the Award-winner.

How to choose a soundbar

Before you buy, there are some things to bear in mind. Consider the dimensions of your TV to work out just how big your new soundbar needs to be. You don't want it to be dwarfed by the screen, but then again, it could look strange partnering a massive bar with a small TV – like a tiny head perched atop overly broad shoulders. Look up the dimensions and compare the bar's width with that of your TV. Also, check the height – if you need to place the soundbar in front of your TV, you don't want it obscuring half the picture, and if it has upward-firing drivers, they need a clear line of sight to your ceiling to be effective.

Generally, soundbars are a single long speaker with several drivers inside but some come with external subwoofers for extra low-end extension and rear speakers for surround sound effects whereas others are compatible with other speakers from within the manufacturer's brand. If floor-shaking bass is high on your priority list then these are models you'll want to consider.

Next, features and connectivity. Many modern TV soundbars boast ARC and eARC-enabled HDMI ports, which can handle high bandwidth multichannel audio formats as well as optical inputs for older TVs. If your TV has ARC/eARC, you'll be able to control the volume of your soundbar with your existing remote control. It's worth considering if having a separate physical remote for the soundbar is important to you or if you're comfortable with controlling settings from a smartphone app.

Most modern soundbars have some options for wireless music playback with wi-fi streaming via services such as Airplay 2, Spotify Connect and Chromecast, as well as Bluetooth connectivity. Some also have microphones with voice assistant functionality or compatibility. If you have external devices such as games consoles or a 4K Blu-ray player, keep an eye out for additional HDMI passthrough ports that could make your set-up more flexible.

Should you be looking beyond just a simple improvement of your TV sound and want to purchase a soundbar that produces an immersive home cinema experience, you'll want to pay attention to models that can handle Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio. Some soundbars do this virtually with processing, and some include up-firing speakers for height effects. If you're interested in the latter, it's important to remember that the result will be more successful if you have low ceilings to bounce the sound off and that the top of the soundbar needs to be uncovered and placed clear of the TV screen.

If high-quality 3D sound is important to you, then you'll want to make sure both your TV and potential soundbar support Dolby TrueHD and eARC. The ARC standard can handle Dolby Atmos, but only in its Dolby Digital Plus form, which is lossy, whereas Dolby TrueHD can deliver full-fat Dolby Atmos in all its lossless glory.

Have a think about the content you'll be viewing and the sources you'll be plugging in. If you are just watching Freeview, many of these technologies will be redundant. But if you're streaming the likes of Netflix, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video in 4K HDR, you'll want to squeeze out the best possible audio quality to make sure your content sounds as good as it looks. For a complete overview, check out our in-depth guide on how to choose and set up a soundbar.

If you're specifically looking for an affordable model, check out our best budget soundbars page, or if a Dolby Atmos soundbar is more your thing, we have a page dedicated to that too. Whether you spend a little or a lot, we think that all the models recommended will up your audio game with a fuss-free set-up.

How we test soundbars

We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in London and Reading, where our team of experienced, in-house reviewers test the majority of hi-fi and AV kit that passes through our door. We allow for plenty of listening time as well as running them in before we begin reviewing.

Each soundbar we test is paired with an appropriate reference TV and is directly compared to the best in its price and features class – whether that's the current What Hi-Fi? Award winner or a few of the latest models we've been impressed by in recent reviews. What Hi-Fi? is all about comparative testing, and we keep class-leading products in our stockrooms so we can easily compare new products to ones we know and love.

We always try to be impartial and do our best to make sure we're hearing every product at its very best, so we'll try plenty of different styles of films and TV shows that show what each soundbar is capable of with both advanced and standard audio formats. For example, if it's a Dolby Atmos soundbar, we'll use Blu-ray discs to hear its Dolby True HD performance, but we'll also check its performance with streaming services that use Dolby Digital Plus too.

Although soundbars are typically designed with film and TV in mind, we also put them through their paces with music too, testing out a range of streaming options with a variety of genres, both classic and modern, enduring that we listen in the highest quality that the soundbar is capable of.

Our reviews are broken into three sections: design, features and sound and all verdicts are agreed upon by the team rather than just an individual reviewer to eliminate any personal preference and to make sure we're being as thorough as possible, too. There's no input from PR companies or our sales team when it comes to the verdict, with What Hi-Fi? proud of having delivered honest, unbiased reviews for decades.

Recent updates

19 June 2026

Added Focal Mu-so Hekla as best high-end soundbar.

30 March 2026
Added Majority Bowfell Halo Atmos to also consider.

19th February 2026
Added Sony Bravia Theatre System 6 to also consider.

5th February 2026
Added Creative Stage Pro as 'best compact', and added JBL Bar 300MK2 as an 'also consider' entry.

25th November 2025
All entries checked and updated to reflect our latest buying advice, today's best deals and a fresh FAQ added.

22 October 2025
Added Hisense AX5125H as best budget soundbar package, and Samsung HW-Q990F as best soundbar package.

18 September 2025
Expanded FAQ section with more entries.

20 August 2025
Yamaha True X Surround 90A added to list of upcoming soundbars.

14 July 2025
KEF XIO replaces Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max as best high-end soundbar.

Soundbar FAQ

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Looking for a bargain? Here are the best budget soundbars

Best Dolby Atmos soundbars: surround sound systems without the hassle

Check out the latest and cheapest Sonos deals available now

With the least amount of fanfare possible, Apple has announced an all-new Apple TV 4K (2022), the successor to the Apple TV 4K (2021).

Apple TV is the company's line of media streamers that give you access to all your favourite content from all your favourite services. It's not to be confused with Apple TV+, Apple's video streaming service, though unsurprisingly that is one of the services available on Apple TV streamers.

We at What Hi-Fi? loved last year's Apple TV, giving it five stars in our official review. We went as far as saying that it was the best video streamer out there, for those that could afford the premium price over the Amazon, Roku and Google competition.

So, how does the recently announced Apple TV 4K 2022 compare with the 2021 model, and is it worth upgrading to? While we haven’t gotten our hands on the newcomer just yet, Apple hasn’t been shy about revealing details about the latest addition to the Apple TV line.

There's a lot we already know about it, so here's how the two stack up...

New Apple TV 4K vs Apple TV 4K (2021): price

The new Apple TV 4K, releasing on 4th November, retails at £149 / $129 / AU$219 for the base 64GB model and £169 / $149 / AU$249 for the 128GB model.

Last year’s Apple TV 4K, which launched in May 2021, cost £169 / $179 / AU$249 for the base 32GB model and £189 / $199 / $279 for the 64GB model. 

Yep, you read that right, the new Apple TV 4K is less expensive than its predecessor at launch. We wouldn't have expected that having seen the increased price of Apple's new iPhone 14 and new 2022 iPads this year, but hey, we aren't complaining.

In the wider context of the video streaming market, Apple TV 4K is still very much a premium product compared to the competition. If you aren't an Apple loyal and you simply want up-to-date 4K streaming functionality added to your 4K TV, you can get a Roku Streaming Stick 4K or Fire TV Stick 4K for around $50 – or even less, typically, if you buy over the Black Friday sales period.

New Apple TV 4K vs Apple TV 4K (2021): design

In terms of aesthetics, the new Apple TV 4K doesn't appear to look much different from last year’s model. There are a few minor changes, sure, but you'd be hard-pressed to spot a difference between the two with a quick glance.

The new Apple TV is actually a bit shorter than the old model, and because it's supposedly more efficient, there’s no longer an internal fan, which will likely eliminate the airflow grating on the bottom of the device. If you were ever bothered by the sound of the fan spinning up on Apple TV, you won’t have to worry about that anymore on Apple TV 4K (2022).

Lastly, you’re essentially getting the same Siri remote you got with Apple TV 4K (2021) – a good thing considering that we felt this remote was much improved over the original – but this time it will have a USB-C charging port instead of Lightning. That's great for owners of Macs, iPads or any other USB-C devices in terms of cable sharing, though Apple isn't including a USB-C charging cable in the box.

New Apple TV 4K vs Apple TV 4K (2021): features

Perhaps the single biggest upgrade coming to Apple TV 4K (2022) is a new processor. The new Apple TV is getting the mighty A15 Bionic chip, which was introduced last year with the iPhone 13 and is at the heart of the new iPhone 14, too.

This is no small upgrade, as Apple TV 4K (2021) was outfitted with Apple’s A12 Bionic chip that launched way back with 2018’s iPhone X. Each generation of Bionic chip tends to see somewhere between a 5 per cent and 20 per cent uplift in performance in terms of CPU power, so when you skip a couple of generations that amounts to a big increase.

According to Apple, this change in processor is to give way to “greater responsiveness, faster navigation, and snappier UI animations” while the A15’s meaty GPU is reported to come with a 30 per cent increase in performance that will likely be good news for gamers.

Apple also notes that the new Apple TV consumes 30 per cent less power than the previous generation, and it is this increased efficiency that helped facilitate the removal of the internal fan.

While we’ll have to get our hands on an Apple TV 4K (2022) to actually see what performance is like, better hardware almost always means better performance in games, and a faster, more efficient chip sounds like a win – especially considering what is being replaced.

Lastly, while Apple TV 4K (2021) has an ethernet port on both the 32GB and 64GB models, that connection is now exclusive to the more premium 128GB model, meaning that the new 64GB base model disappointingly misses out.

New Apple TV 4K vs Apple TV 4K (2021): HDR

The list of new hardware features on Apple TV 4K (2022) may be relatively short, but a big part of that comes down to how robust last year’s Apple TV was. Like last year's model, the new Apple TV 4K also supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, Dolby Atmos, Apple-specific features like Color Balance, and, of course, 4K/60Hz and HDR.

The big new feature of Apple TV 4K (2022) outside of hardware upgrades relates to HDR support. While the 2021 model supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG, the Apple TV 4K (2022) extends that list to also include HDR10+.

HDR10+ is, like Dolby Vision, a 'dynamic' HDR format that adjusts colours and brightness on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis, whereas a 'static' HDR format like HDR10 makes adjustments at less precise and regular moments.

There’s generally more content and hardware support for Dolby Vision, but HDR10+ is getting more prominent and is the HDR format of choice for Prime Video, so subscribers to Prime should at the very least be pleased about this addition.

New Apple TV 4K vs Apple TV 4K (2021): initial verdict

Is the new Apple TV a huge upgrade over last year’s model? On paper, probably not. However, with both a price cut and some key upgrades like a more powerful chip and HDR10+ support, there doesn’t seem to be much reason for shoppers to choose the 2021 model over the new one – unless a crazy discount on the older version arises.

Of course, we’ll have to get our hands on an Apple TV (2022) to give you our final verdict on Apple’s new streamer, but if you’re in the market for an Apple TV, this year’s new one seems like the purchase of choice going forward.

If, however, you can't stretch the budget to either model, or you simply don’t much care for the Apple ecosystem (in which case, we are surprised you have read this far), the Apple TV 4K (2022) isn’t likely to change your mind. And this is where we would point you to our list of the best media streamers for more five-star alternatives.

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Here's what you need to know about the new iPad (2022)

And what you need to know about iPad Pro (2022)

As well as our list of the best media streamers

Hellraiser (2022) is available to stream now exclusively on Hulu in the US but that doesn't mean that you can't watch it from wherever you happen to be. What's more the original Hellraiser film from 1987 is also online and free to watch to anyone. What better time to brush up on your brutal horror before dipping into the reimagined Clive Barker classic? With David Bruckner in the director’s chair, Hellraiser (2022) takes up the essence of the original but in an interesting twist, casts a female Cenobite as the iconic villain Pinhead. Intrigued? You know where that gets you. Here's how to watch Hellraiser (2022) from anywhere in the world, and Hellraiser (1987) too.

Hellraiser (2022) reimagines Clive Barker’s original movie, based on his novel, The Hellbound Heart, in which a man buys a puzzle box in Morocco and accidentally unleashes the Cenobites, a group of sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension, who then go on to wreak havoc and terror on everyone who is unlucky enough to meet them.

Leading the fresh cast in charge of delivering the deliciously dangerous gore is Jamie Clayton (Sense8 and The L Word: Generation Q’s) in the role of the Hell Priest and Odessa A'zion (Fam, Nashville and Grand Army) as Riley, a young woman struggling with addiction who comes into possession of the ancient puzzle box.

Hellraiser (2002) is a Hulu original and it premiered on 7th October on as part of their annual Huluween celebration. Horror fans in the US can watch free with Hulu's 30-day free trial. Follow our guide for how to watch the new Hellraiser free from anywhere in the world.

• Today's best VPN deals for Netflix, BBC iPlayer and more

Watch Hellraiser (2022) free online with Hulu

The new Hellraiser movie arrived on Hulu at at 12am PT/ 3am ET / 8am BST on Friday, 7th October in the US.

US subscribers currently away from home should use a VPN to watch Hellraiser (2022) on Hulu from abroad.

Subscription to Hulu costs from $6.99 a month but new users get a FREE 1-month trial to catch Hellraiser plus content like Under the Banner of Heaven, The Kardashians, or Only Murders in the Building.

Or, for even more value for money, you can pick up Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ for just $13.99 a month with the Disney Plus bundle subscription, offering you tons of extra film and TV content in addition to live sports.

You can watch Hulu on nearly anything, with the Hulu app available for: Android and iOS devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Echo Show and Fire TV devices, select smart TVs and Android TVs, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, Mac, PC and Roku streamers. So, whatever your platform, you can take advantage of that Hulu free trial today.

Watch Hellraiser (1987) for free

In related good news, those in the US and UK can also watch the original film for free. Hellraiser (1987) is available to stream free online on Pluto.TV (US) and Freevee (UK). You don't even need to sign up to anything. Just head on over and get watching!

Watch Hellraiser (2022) from abroad with a VPN

Even if you have subscribed to Hulu, you won't be able to watch Hellraiser (2022) if you're outside the US. The service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, and can fool streaming services into thinking that you're located somewhere else in the world.

There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service such as ExpressVPN which we feel is the best VPN. It offers a 100 percent risk-free money back guarantee. If you're not happy with the service any time within the first 30-days, then you can cancel with no penalties at all.

How to use a VPN for Hellraiser (2022)

Using a VPN to watch Hellraiser (2022) is straightforward.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For The Handmaid's Tale S5, you may wish to choose 'Australia' to access SBS.

3. Then head over to Hulu on your browser or device and enjoy Hellraiser (2022).

If, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, then do remember that you have the comfort of a 30-day money back guarantee with ExpressVPN. You could also try NordVPN, which also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, and Surfshark which offers 24 hour assistance.

Hellraiser (2022) official trailer

Can I watch Hellraiser (2022) in the UK?

Sadly, there have been no announcements about the premiere of the new Hellraiser movie in the UK.

However, if you're a Hulu subscriber and find yourself away from home and unable to access Hulu due to geo-blocking restrictions in the UK, you can purchase a VPN you to watch this and all your favourite movies and TV shows online, no matter where in the world you are.

Watch Hellraiser (2022) in Australia

Good news for Australians: on Wednesday, 26th October the Hellraiser (2022) arrives on Paramount Plus!

A monthly subscription to Paramount Plus costs AUD$8.99, and offers up TV series like NCIS: Hawaii, horror-thriller Yellowjackets, and Dexter: New Blood, in addition to live sports, Paramount Originals and ViacomCBS content, plus films fresh from cinemas. Even better, new subscribers can enjoy a 7-day FREE trial before paying a single Aussie dollar.

If you're travelling away from Australia at that time, you’ll be relieved to know that a VPN will let you watch Hellraiser online from anywhere in the world.

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• Or save money with these unmissable cheap TV deals

Roku has unveiled a few new devices soon to be released in the US, including the Roku Wireless Bass, a new compact subwoofer which can be paired with existing Roku speakers and which costs less than a third of the price of the recently announced Sonos Sub Mini.

The Roku Wireless Bass is compatible with the Roku Streambar, Roku Streambar Pro, Roku Smart Soundbar and Roku Wireless Speakers, connecting via 802.11ac dual-band wi-fi at distances of up to 30 feet and requiring only a cable for power.

With a small, cuboid design measuring 35cm tall, 17cm wide and 32cm deep, the ported Roku Wireless Bass houses one 13cm front-firing woofer and has a claimed frequency response of 50–200 Hz.

The Bass is now available for pre-order in the US ahead of a 7th November launch. Priced at $130 (around £113, AU$193), it should appeal to price-conscious shoppers hoping to add some cinematic weight to their TV sound; and it is significantly more affordable than some of the recent subwoofer releases we have seen, such as the Sonos Sub Mini, which costs £429 / $429 / AU$699 and the klang sub1 from Loewe – £400 (around $464, AU$680). 

The Roku Wireless Bass can also be purchased as part of a bundled package with the Roku Streambar for $250 (around £216, AU$371), for a saving of $10.

Roku already has a wireless subwoofer in its range. The Wireless Bass Pro costs $50 more and has a bigger cabinet, housing a 25cm driver that delivers 125 watts RMS power compared with the new sub's 60 watts.

Elsewhere, Roku also announced an updated version of the Roku Express with some new features, including dual-band wi-fi connectivity, an upgraded processor and increased internal storage. Priced at $30, the 2022 Roku Express is available to pre-order, with shipping starting on October 13th.

MORE

Our pick of the best budget soundbars

Looking for a discount? Check out the best soundbar deals

Amazon Fire TV vs Roku: which is better?

At a time when everything seems to be getting more and more expensive, bargains stand out more than ever – and that's what we appear to have before us today. Historic German tech brand Metz has just announced its first TVs for the UK, and there are two things you need to know right off the bat: these are super-smart Roku TVs, and the 4K models start at just £229.

That eye-openingly low price will get you a fairly slick-looking 43-inch set, but the range (known as MRD6000) also includes 50-inch (£279), 55-inch (£329) and 65-inch (£449) models. As well as boasting a 4K resolution, the MRD6000 TVs also support HDR10 and HLG, and Dolby and DTS audio (though unsurprisingly not Dolby Atmos or DTS:X) can be output by the TV's two-channel sound system.

Processing comes from Metz’s own Trochilus Extreme picture engine, and the IPS-type LCD panel has a direct LED backlight with apparently lower blue light than other backlit TVs, with the intention of reducing eye strain, particularly when watching at night.

Of course, the decision to go with the Roku smart platform is an important and sensible one, in that it immediately grants access to every major app and streaming service and makes everything very user-friendly. There are slicker, more exciting platforms out there, but none are as straightforward as Roku. The Freeview Play service is built-in too, so access to live and on-demand TV is equally simple.

The MRD6000 also supports Apple AirPlay for streaming from a phone, and the set ‘works with’ Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home. Hopefully ensuring that all of this streaming works snappily is super-fast Wi-Fi 5.

Should you want to bolster all of the streaming smarts with separate sources such as games consoles, set-top boxes or a Blu-ray player, the MRD6000 has three HDMI sockets, one of which also supports eARC for lossless output of sound to a compatible soundbar or AV amp. Predictably these aren't HDMI 2.1 sockets, so hardcore gamers will likely want to look elsewhere.

If the 43-inch model isn't small enough or cheap enough for you, Metz is also launching Full HD 32-inch and 40-inch MTD6000 models as well, priced at £159 and £199 respectively. These TVs have just two HDMI sockets each and use VA-type panels, but they otherwise appear to be similarly specced to the larger MRD6000 TVs.

All models in the new Metz Roku TV range are expected to go on sale in October.

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