Xgimi has announced the Aura 3 series, which it claims is the world’s first 4K/120Hz UST projector lineup.

The series consists of two models: the flagship Aura 3 Max and the step-down Aura 3 Pro.

Both projectors will support 4K/120Hz gaming with VRR and ALLM, and they each boast an RGB Triple Laser light engine, a claimed 8000:1 native contrast ratio, and Dynamic Dual Iris Technology for "unprecedented contrast, depth and detail".

Xgimi claims a 200-inch maximum projection size, with a 120-inch image possible from just eight inches away from the wall.

There's also Google TV built in, as well as support for HDR in the HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats. The projector is IMAX Enhanced certified as well.

Rather surprisingly, two pairs of 3D glasses are included for any remaining 3D fans out there, while audio is supplied by an 80W Harman Kardon speaker system with Dolby Atmos support.

Xgimi claims the Aura 3 Max can deliver brightness of up to 5700 ISO lumens, while the Aura 3 Pro tops out at 4100 ISO lumens. Prices are $2399 (around £1775 / AU$3335) and $2199 (around £1626 / AU$3057), respectively.

UST projectors have generally had to compromise on refresh rates at 4K, so the Aura 3 series will be particularly appealing to gamers looking for a TV replacement.

The AURA 3 Series will launch on Kickstarter on October 20th in the US, with pre-orders now open from Xgimi directly. Customers can unlock an extra $200 off by placing a $50 deposit.

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Hands up; we’re pretty late to this one.

In fact, if Apple does as expected, the iPhone 17 Pro we have before us today will be replaced in just a couple of weeks.

So, why bother reviewing the iPhone 17 Pro at this late stage? There are two main reasons: it will likely be available to buy for a little while yet, and probably at a discount; and it gives us a good benchmark to judge the new model against.

As ever, we’re interested in the iPhone 17 Pro not for its rocket ship power or fancy camera array (though those are interesting), but for its picture and sound quality. We want to know if this is the best phone for taking movies and music with you on the move.

And it is – for the next couple of weeks, at least.

Price

The iPhone 17 Pro launched with a starting price of £1099 / $1099 / AU$1999, but it is now possible to get discounts of around £100 in the UK if you shop around.

That price gets you the entry-level 256GB version (Apple is no longer offering a 128GB Pro model), but 512GB and 1TB versions are also available, at a premium of £200 / $200 / AU$400 and £400 / $400 / AU$800 respectively.

If the 17 Pro’s 6.3-inch display isn’t large enough for you, an upgrade to the 6.9-inch Max will incur an additional premium of £100 / $100 / AU$200.

Design

The iPhone 17 Pro represents Apple's biggest design change to its Pro phones in several years, and it's one that took a little getting used to.

The most obvious change is the enormous new camera plateau, which now stretches almost the entire width of the phone. It looked rather shocking when we first saw it, but after spending time with the phone, we've come to think it gives the 17 Pro a more natural and balanced appearance than the asymmetrically placed square camera bump of its predecessor.

The move from titanium to aluminium also sounds like a step backwards for a phone at this level, but in practice it brings some advantages. The edges are smoother and more rounded than those of the 16 Pro, making the 17 Pro feel more comfortable in the hand, while Apple's new anodised finishes give it a character that's been missing from some of the more sober recent Pro models.

Our Deep Blue review sample is particularly lovely, with a rich, almost pearlescent finish that changes subtly as it catches the light. We're also rather taken with the Cosmic Orange option, although its unapologetically bold appearance inevitably divides opinion.

In fact, while the iPhone 17 Pro's design doesn't necessarily come across as dramatically different in photographs, this is an absolutely beautiful phone in the flesh, and one that feels every bit as premium as its price suggests. It's the most appealing-looking and nicest-feeling iPhone we've used in several years.

The physical controls remain unchanged from the 16 Pro, with volume controls and the Action button on one side, and the power/Siri and Camera Control buttons on the other.

The bottom edge has also been subtly revised, with both speaker grilles now appearing to be the same size rather than one being noticeably smaller than the other on the previous model.

The 17 Pro retains the same IP68 water and dust resistance as its predecessor, too; we even put that to a fairly vigorous test at Bude's Monster Slip And Slide, where it continued recording video while getting thoroughly soaked without any adverse effects.

Apple's new Tech Woven case is a particularly nice companion to the phone. Its woven finish feels more tactile and premium than many conventional cases, while the understated design complements rather than obscures the 17 Pro's new appearance.

The result is a Pro iPhone that feels both familiar and substantially refreshed. The camera plateau may take some getting used to, but the smoother shape, tactile finishes and excellent in-hand feel have made us rather fond of Apple's latest design.

Features

The iPhone 17 Pro's headline display specifications don’t look radically different to those of its predecessor. It's still a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED with a 2622 x 1206 resolution, 460ppi pixel density, ProMotion up to 120Hz and an Always-On display. The big changes are to what's happening on top of that excellent OLED panel.

Apple has introduced a new anti-reflective coating that it claims reduces reflections by 33 per cent, while outdoor peak brightness has increased from 2000 nits on the iPhone 16 Pro to a huge-sounding 3000 nits.

Apple says these two changes combine to deliver up to twice the outdoor contrast of the previous model. We'll examine what that means in practice in the Picture Quality section, but the ability to maintain a convincing picture when you're watching in bright sunlight is particularly relevant to a phone intended to carry your movies everywhere.

For AV consumption, the format support is excellent, too. The iPhone 17 Pro can play HDR content in the HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats, and Dolby Atmos is supported on the audio side.

What’s perhaps most interesting from our point of view is that all of the above also applies to the standard iPhone 17, which boasts the same OLED display with the same specs and the same anti-reflection tech. It will be fascinating to see if this is borne out in our picture testing.

The other major upgrade for the iPhone 17 Pro over the 16 Pro is Apple's A19 Pro chip and new thermal management system. The new chip retains a six-core CPU and 16-core Neural Engine, but the new six-core GPU now has a Neural Accelerator in each core, improving its ability to handle demanding graphics and AI-based tasks.

Just as important, though, is the new thermal management system. The 17 Pro's aluminium unibody is more than 20 times more thermally conductive than the titanium used previously, according to Apple, and it incorporates a vapour chamber that moves heat away from the A19 Pro and into the aluminium chassis. Apple claims this allows up to 40 per cent better sustained performance than the previous generation.

For most content consumers, such as us, this level of power is essentially overkill – the 17 Pro operates with the sort of slickness you'd expect from a flagship phone and can handle graphically intensive games without breaking a sweat.

The more important benefit is the sheer amount of headroom it provides, and the ability to maintain high performance over longer periods without thermal throttling. In practical terms, that means higher frame rates during long gaming sessions and a better chance of the phone still feeling effortlessly quick several years from now. Of course, if you are going to use your phone for content creation as well as consumption, all of this extra power becomes considerably more useful.

Apple has also substantially upgraded the camera system. The 48MP Fusion Main camera remains, but the Ultra Wide and Telephoto cameras are now 48MP Fusion models, too.

The Fusion branding refers to Apple's image-processing architecture as much as the sensors themselves, with computational processing combining multiple sources of image data to produce a final shot.

The camera system is also more flexible when it comes to zoom. Alongside the 0.5x ultra-wide and 1x main views, you can now choose 2x, 4x or 8x optical zoom, giving you more options for getting close to a subject without resorting to the potentially softer digital zoom.

The new 4x Telephoto is particularly useful as a middle ground between the standard camera and the long-range 8x option, while its larger sensor helps it capture more light and detail.

If that’s all Dutch to you, the upshot for casual photographers is brilliantly detailed, dynamic and balanced shots at various levels of zoom. This is a supremely talented camera system that’s a doddle for amateurs to use and an absolute beast in the hands of a professional.

The front-facing camera is an even more obvious upgrade for everyday users. It moves from 12MP to 18MP and, more importantly, introduces a new square sensor that gives you much greater flexibility over framing. You can tap to expand the field of view, switch between portrait and landscape framing without rotating the phone, and automatically widen the shot when other people join a selfie.

Centre Stage can also keep you centred during video calls, while Dual Capture lets you record from the front and rear cameras simultaneously – useful for vloggers, but also for anyone who wants to capture their own reaction alongside whatever they're filming. There's also ultra-stabilised 4K HDR video for smoother handheld footage.

Battery life has improved, too. Apple rates the 17 Pro for up to 31 hours of video playback, compared with 27 hours for the 16 Pro. A sufficiently powerful charger can also take the phone to 50 per cent in just 20 minutes.

Bluetooth has been upgraded from version 5.3 to Bluetooth 6. That doesn't bring any meaningful benefit right now, but Bluetooth 6’s improved efficiency, reliability and potential for lower-latency connections could make it more useful as compatible headphones and other devices catch up.

Picture quality

The iPhone 17 Pro doesn't reinvent Apple's approach to picture quality, and nor does it need to. The iPhone 16 Pro already produces one of the finest pictures we've seen from a phone, combining excellent detail and contrast with Apple's typically impressive commitment to colour accuracy and consistency.

The 17 Pro takes that formula and makes some subtle but worthwhile refinements.

Put the two phones side by side and the colour balance is remarkably similar. There is, however, a smidge more richness to the 17 Pro's presentation, which is particularly evident in skin tones.

Subtle variations have a little more depth and life, but there's no sense that Apple has achieved this by simply turning up the saturation. The overall balance remains remarkably natural, and that combination of richness and restraint is one of the things that is so appealing about the picture.

There's a similarly subtle improvement to black depth. The 17 Pro's blacks are just a little deeper and denser than those of the 16 Pro, and while the difference is small, it lends the whole image a little more solidity and lustre. It's not simply a case of dark areas having been made darker, either: shadow detail remains excellent.

The dark scenes of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey provide a good demonstration. As Bilbo, Fili and Kili track their missing ponies through the darkness, the 17 Pro delivers an excellent combination of insight and solidity, with fine details remaining visible while the deepest parts of the image look impressively dense.

The 16 Pro is also excellent here, but its slightly lighter blacks give the picture a little less depth, while the 17 Pro's richer colours and deeper contrast combine to create a more three-dimensional image.

The same characteristics repeat across everything we watch. The dimly lit opening of Conclave benefits from the 17 Pro's extra depth and richness without sacrificing any shadow detail. The brighter scenes of The Creator, meanwhile, absolutely pop, with the vivid greens of the terraced rice paddies contrasting beautifully with the blue of the police ships and the red of “the weapon's” jumpsuit.

In fact, we find ourselves repeatedly drawn towards the 17 Pro's picture when switching back and forth between the two phones. The differences aren't dramatic, but the newer model has a little more of that lusciousness that makes an image particularly enjoyable to watch.

In normal indoor lighting, there's little to separate the two phones in terms of outright brightness. Both produce wonderfully dynamic pictures with plenty of pop, and neither is crying out for more light. Move into really bright ambient conditions, though, and the 17 Pro's new display technology makes a much more obvious difference.

The new anti-reflective coating significantly reduces glare bouncing back at you from the screen, while the display can automatically unlock its additional outdoor brightness in very bright conditions. The combination makes the picture noticeably easier to see and enjoy when the environment would otherwise be fighting against it.

It's worth stressing that this isn't a matte screen in the manner of Samsung's latest flagship OLED TVs. Those displays are exceptionally resistant to reflections, but their matte finishes can also sap some of the depth and richness from black areas. Apple's approach is closer to the treatment used by LG's G6: reflections are reduced significantly without turning the glossy OLED surface into something visibly matte, so you retain those deep, lush blacks while gaining a useful degree of protection from glare.

Motion, meanwhile, remains very good, as we'd expect from the 120Hz ProMotion OLED. There is, however, still some judder inherent in 24fps movie content, and the sheer responsiveness of an OLED display can make this more obvious than it might be on an LCD screen. It’s far from a major problem, and certainly not unique to iPhones, but it would be nice if in future phones Apple could offer an option for some very gentle motion processing to smooth this out without introducing the artificial, soap-opera-like quality of aggressive interpolation.

Finally, we have to mention the Dynamic Island. In the default letterboxed presentation, it's essentially a non-issue for movie watching because the picture doesn't extend far enough up the display for the Island to overlap it. Zoom the content to fill the entire screen, though, and it's obviously there.

But what's remarkable is how quickly you stop seeing it. Once you're engrossed in a film, your brain seems to erase it from your awareness. We'd still love a phone with a genuinely uninterrupted screen for movie watching, but in practice, the Dynamic Island proves far less distracting than you might expect.

Ultimately, the iPhone 17 Pro doesn't deliver a night-and-day improvement over the 16 Pro. Instead, it takes an already exceptional picture and gives it a little more richness, depth and lustre, while making it more usable in the brightest viewing conditions.

A comparison with the standard iPhone 17 is also revealing. Despite the two phones having the same headline display specifications, the 17 Pro has a little more pop and vibrancy.

In F1: The Movie, for example, the fluorescent tubes lighting the laundromat are a brighter, purer white, while Brad Pitt's race suit is a touch crisper and more detailed in texture. Skin tones are also very slightly more naturally saturated.

The differences are small, but they give the Pro a marginally more dynamic and three-dimensional presentation.

Sound quality

As with the picture, the iPhone 17 Pro doesn't represent a radical change to Apple's already excellent approach to sound.

That said, the built-in speakers are a little fuller and richer than those of the 16 Pro, with more weight and a smoother, more rounded presentation. The difference is subtle, but the older model sounds just a touch thin and hard by comparison.

The standard iPhone 17's speakers are broadly similar, but the Pro has the edge here, too. The 17 sounds a touch more aggressive and less fluidly rounded, and it seems to lean more heavily on its bottom speakers, resulting in a slightly left-sided balance when watching in landscape. The 17 Pro sounds a little richer, smoother and more spatially consistent.

It's with Spatial Audio movies that the iPhone 17 Pro’s tiny speakers really impress. The opening sequence of F1: The Movie is reproduced with a surprisingly wide soundstage, with cars sweeping from deep on the right to far over on the left, while the commentary and fireworks have a reasonable sense of height.

Effects, music and dialogue are also given enough space to breathe that the busy soundtrack remains surprisingly clear. You're certainly not surrounded by sound in the way you would be with a proper home cinema system, but the scale and spatial precision are remarkable for a tiny device such as a phone.

Stereo music is less impressive through the speakers. While they produce a decent amount of bass for their size, depth remains paltry by absolute standards, and tracks sound much thinner than they should. It’s a more congested delivery, too, with Sleep Token's The Summoning, for example, losing much of its spaciousness and scale.

That's hardly surprising given the physical limitations, though, and the 17 Pro is still very capable by the admittedly rather low standards of smartphone speaker audio.

Connect a good pair of headphones, meanwhile, and we no longer need caveats. Using a pair of AirPods Max 2 via USB-C, the 17 Pro delivers superb clarity, rhythmic drive and tonal balance, with enough composure to make complex recordings genuinely engaging.

Tool's Invincible is reproduced with absolute confidence, the steady dynamic build of the percussion gathering momentum without losing its precision, while Maynard James Keenan's vocals remain focused without sacrificing their deliberately airy, ethereal quality.

The differences between the 17 Pro and 16 Pro are smaller through headphones than they are through the built-in speakers, but as we switch between the two with Rosalia's Divinize, the new model sounds just a little tighter, particularly in the fluttering bass notes of the chorus, which have terrific punch and control. Rosalia's vocals are a touch cleaner and smoother, too, especially when listening at high volumes.

The standard iPhone 17 gets unsurprisingly close through headphones, but the Pro still has a small advantage. Playing Architects' Animals, the 17 Pro sounds just a little fuller and smoother without sacrificing any of the track's punch or dynamics. It's an overall meatier, more mature delivery, though the difference is subtle.

Verdict

The iPhone 17 Pro is an outstanding portable movie and music player, with a superb screen, excellent sound and small but meaningful improvements over its predecessor.

The picture is the real star. It retains the beautiful balance and authenticity we’ve come to expect from Apple’s phones, but gains a little extra richness, depth and lustre. At the same time, the improved anti-reflection performance makes it considerably more practical in bright conditions.

Sound is similarly refined, with a small but worthwhile improvement to the built-in speakers and outstanding performance through headphones.

The key thing is that none of these improvements is transformative. If you already own an iPhone 16 Pro, there isn't a compelling AV reason to upgrade, particularly if you mostly watch indoors and listen through headphones.

For someone buying a new phone, though, the equation is different. The standard iPhone 17 gets surprisingly close, but the Pro has a small but discernible advantage for both picture and sound, as well as its much more capable camera system and greater processing headroom.

Admittedly, those advantages are small enough that the standard iPhone 17 remains the most sensible performance-per-pound option if you only care about movie and music performance, but if you also feel like you might take advantage of the more advanced camera system and/or processing power, the extra money for the Pro model becomes easier to justify.

Ultimately, the iPhone 17 Pro is probably the best phone we've tested for taking movies and music on the move. The (presumably) impending iPhone 18 Pro might push things on even further, but that won't change the fact that the 17 Pro is an exceptional AV machine – and one that could become even more tempting with end-of-life discounts.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 5
• Features 5

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Whether you’re after an eye-catchingly designed projector ‘cube', an ultra-short-throw projector you can leave on a sideboard, a serious home theatre projector or a design-led ultra-portable model, Hisense has got you covered.

In fact, as the many strong reviews the brand has received from us in recent years prove, Hisense hasn’t just got most of your potential projector needs covered; it’s got them nailed.

Not surprisingly, then, we have high hopes for the brand’s C2 Ultra model – despite its obvious focus on design and convenience.

Price

Value is usually a strong area for Hisense, and the C2 Ultra is no exception. Its £1799 / $2300 / AU$3495 pricing is aggressively low (particularly in the UK) for a projector that provides such specifications as 4K support, triple laser lighting, an integrated smart system, Dolby Vision support and 3000 lumens of peak brightness to go with its eye-catching lifestyle design.

There is some stiff competition around this projector's price, though, including BenQ’s Award-winning W2720i home theatre projector or, if you want something that maintains the C2 Ultra’s more portable, lifestyle design approach, BenQ’s TK705i or Epson’s significantly cheaper EF-72.

Design

The C2 Ultra’s compact (29 x 25 x 25cm) form employs one of the ‘cradle’ designs that have become all the rage these days, where the projector rests within a pair of support arms that allow the main body to tilt up or down to help you to get images to the right height on your wall/screen.

The projector also rotates around on its circular base to easily adapt to any tricky angles your room might present you with, and that base rather niftily carries a fairly large up-firing speaker on its top edge.

The C2 Ultra is finished in an appealing gunmetal grey colour, and boasts a neat combination of smooth matte, high gloss and grilled finishes over various parts of the main projector body’s ‘slightly squashed cube’ shape.

Unusually for a cradle-style projector, the C2 Ultra can be mounted onto an optional thin pole floorstand or ceiling mount bracket if you’re not happy just sitting it on a coffee table.

The C2 Ultra’s provided remote control features a nice finish, backlit buttons and an ergonomic layout that includes buttons for direct access to some of the world’s most popular integrated streaming apps. There’s also a mic button on offer, indicating that you can control aspects of the projector by talking to it courtesy of Hisense’s own ‘Vidaa Voice’ system or built-in Alexa support.

Features

The C2 Ultra is a 4K-capable DLP projector illuminated by a triple laser lighting system.

We should qualify the 4K claim by saying that, as ever with DLP projectors, it’s not ‘true’ 4K to the extent that it features a full 4096x2160 or 3840x2160 count of digital mirror devices on its image control chip. The combination of pixel shifting and rapid mirror ‘flashing’ created by Texas Instruments’ XPR system, though, creates a 4K effect from DLP projectors such as the C2 Ultra that’s actually been approved as genuine 4K by the influential Consumer Technology Association in the US.

The C2 Ultra’s laser lighting is rated to deliver up to 3000 lumens of brightness – a high number for such a portable projector, and one that raises the possibility of the projector genuinely holding its own against quite high levels of ambient light.

This brightness is also important to Hisense’s claims that the C2 Ultra can support images as big as 300 inches across – though because the larger you go, the more brightness you lose, we argue 100-150 inches will give you more satisfying results from an all-round image impact perspective.

Hisense also claims that the C2 Ultra can reproduce more than 100 per cent of the AV world’s most extreme BT.2020 HDR colour spectrum. Experience suggests such claims are optimistic in the real world, but Hisense quoting it at least points to a projector that is likely to deliver most if not all of the narrower DCI-P3 colour spectrum used for most of today’s HDR mastering.

The C2 Ultra’s small shape and cradled design make it a particularly portable projector, easily moved to different rooms or houses. It even ships with a neat cloth carry bag.

It builds on its portability, too, by being just about as easy a projector to set up as we’ve seen. It can rotate through a full 360 degrees on its circular base, for starters, and it supports a generous 135 degrees of vertical tilt to help you get the image in the right place.

Obviously, the sort of angles created by rotating and tilting projectors can cause distortions to the shape of the image on your wall/screen. Here again, though, Hisense has got you covered with its Auto Magic AI Adjusting 2.0 system.

Despite its awkward name, this combination of auto keystone correction, auto focus, auto obstacle avoidance, intelligent wall colour adaptation and intelligent eye protection works remarkably well and extremely consistently, contributing to a genuine plug-and-play experience that seldom needs any manual intervention to improve on its results.

The C2 Ultra even carries a 0.9-1.5:1 optical zoom system to help it adapt to a wide range of room sizes and room layouts. That’s more zoom range than you would typically expect to get with this sort of projector.

Most lifestyle projectors these days provide some sort of AI set-up system, of course. But the C2 Ultra’s system just works out of the box more straightforwardly than most.

The C2 Ultra’s connections comprise two HDMI ports (one with eARC support), an optical audio output, two USB 3.0 ports, a headphone socket, and ethernet, plus Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6e wireless connections.

The wi-fi connectivity feeds the built-in Vidaa smart platform. This isn’t as sophisticated or visually attractive as the popular Google TV system many projectors use, but it’s easy to follow and is strong on native streaming app support.

Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, All 4, My 5, Now TV, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV, Paramount+, and HBO Max apps are all present, and a firmware update has now also added support in the UK for Freely, through which you can live-stream many of the UK’s terrestrial broadcast services rather than having to use a traditional aerial system.

The C2 Ultra supports HDR video, as we’d expect of pretty much any proper home entertainment projector these days, but it doesn’t stop at the usual HDR10 and HLG formats – it also supports both the HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats.

Finding one of these premium HDR formats on a projector at this level is still quite rare, so finding both on the C2 Ultra is excellent. Basically, it means the C2 Ultra will always play the best version of any source you present it with.

The playback flexibility doesn’t end there, either. The C2 Ultra has also earned IMAX Enhanced certification, and carries an IMAX Enhanced picture preset, while Hisense’s other usual punchy HDR Standard and HDR Day picture presets are also joined by a Filmmaker Mode calibrated to try and deliver pictures that get as close as the projector can manage to current mastering standards, for that ‘as the director intended’ feel.

There’s also support for 3D if you sort yourself out with a pair of DLP-Link 3D glasses, and an official ‘Designed For Xbox’ badge in the C2 Ultra’s marketing points to some unusually advanced gaming support. Confirmed features include ALLM switching when gaming sources are detected, 240Hz refresh rate support, and a measured 34.4ms of input lag in Game mode with a 60Hz signal.

You can get this down to 17.6ms if you call in a DLP Turbo Mode option, at the expense of some of the projector’s auto image correction tools.

A dedicated Gaming menu and information screen comes up if you hit the menu button with a game source running into the projector, and hooking up an Xbox Series X confirms 4K/120Hz support with HDR and VRR. Excellent.

One last feature in the C2 Ultra’s impressive feature locker for its money is a JBL-designed/tuned 40W sound system comprising 2 x 10W amplification and a 20W bass speaker cleverly built into the projector’s chunky circular desktop base.

Hisense’s materials on the projector suggest this sound system only supports DTS Virtual:X 3D audio, but Dolby Atmos also plays fine during our tests. Quite a lot better than ‘fine’, actually, but we’ll come back to that later.

Picture quality

As well as being fantastically easy to set up, the Hisense C2 Ultra’s pictures are effortlessly watchable. Hisense appears to have been doing living room projectors for long enough now to have forged a great feel for the sort of picture elements that most immediately warm viewers to a particular model’s cause.

The C2 Ultra’s HDR images are bright, for starters, making full use of the available 3000 lumens to deliver images that look both excellently punchy in a dark environment, and strong enough to hold their own, retaining good colour saturation and solidity, even in fairly bright living room conditions.

The C2 Ultra is even able to deliver bright highlights of HDR images with enough potency to almost have you believing it must be using a local dimming system somehow – even though this is, of course, not something current home projection technology can do.

Pictures are sharp and clean enough to look and feel like real 4K too, and the sharpness holds up well when there’s motion in the frame. Judder levels with 24p movie content feel strikingly natural rather than exaggerated or inconsistent.

Colour tones look nicely balanced and full of subtlety, too, helping 4K images deliver that three-dimensional feel that’s only fully unlocked by displays that are capable of a good combination of colour blending, contrast and clean, natural motion.

Black levels are only respectable rather than great, but for much of the time this relatively average part of the C2 Ultra’s performance is ‘hidden’ by the intensity and brightness of the rest of the images. It’s only uniformly dark scenes that suddenly reveal quite a cloak of greyness hanging over proceedings – especially if you’re using the projector’s Dolby Vision Bright, HDR Day or HDR Standard settings. You can also sometimes see a bit more detail in these elevated black areas than the content creators really intended you to.

The Dolby Vision Dark and HDR10 Filmmaker Modes improve on the excessive detail flaw without taking things so far that subtle details start to be crushed out of the image, but these modes are significantly less punchy than their brighter siblings, and the level of greyness lying over proceedings feels more or less the same. It’s just not offset by as much brightness as you get in the lighter HDR presets.

We also spot moderate levels of DLP projection’s rainbow effect over stand-out bright highlights, and while colours look well balanced, they can start to look slightly pallid in the brightest HDR images when using the projector’s relatively bright settings.

The brightest modes can also reduce the 3D effect that’s such a strong attraction with the Dolby Vision Dark and Filmmaker Mode settings.

Unless, however, you’re particularly susceptible to seeing the DLP projector rainbow effect (which a few people are), there’s nothing wrong enough or limited enough about the C2 Ultra’s pictures to prevent it from being consistently great fun to watch by class standards.

Yes, it sacrifices a little insight in the darkest and brightest scenes in its mostly highly successful quest to deliver as easy an ‘out of the box’ experience as we’ve come across in the projector world. But the overall picture results are still seriously easy on the eye for a projector that also has so many features and so much flexibility to offer.

Sound quality

The C2 Ultra’s clever integration of an unusually powerful three-speaker sound system pays off brilliantly. The volume and depth of bass delivered by that large up-firing woofer built into the projector’s base, for starters, are remarkable for such an affordable projector. It’s able to vary both the frequency response and volume of the bass it puts out better than the vast majority of TVs and pretty much all projectors, too.

The C2 Ultra builds on its strong bass foundations with similarly remarkable amounts of power and expressiveness for its midrange, too. It can get seriously loud without becoming muddy or congested, combining its raw power with strong levels of detail, without anything sounding too bright, clipped, thin or harsh.

The C2 Ultra even manages to deliver a palpable sense of three-dimensionality to its Dolby Atmos presentation, casting a soundstage that has genuine depth, height and width – and into which effects and scores are placed with excellent precision and dynamism.

As the cherry on the cake, the C2 Ultra not only delivers voices with a lovely rounded quality and great sense of context, but also ensures they’re projected, along with much of the rest of the sound, towards your screen, so that dialogue doesn’t sound as disconnected from the onscreen action as projector sound usually does.

The only problem with the C2 Ultra’s sound is that, while its woofer works brilliantly for the vast majority of the time, it can get caught out by the movie world’s most extreme and sustained low-frequency moments, suddenly succumbing to quite distracting amounts of crackling, whooping and phutting. It helps at such moments if you haven’t got the volume set much higher than its 60 level, but there’s no way of completely avoiding the occasional bass kerfuffle.

It’s also worth mentioning that even at its best, the integrated sound system isn’t a patch on the sound you would get from a decent soundbar, let alone a dedicated home cinema set-up, but that’s to be expected.

Verdict

The C2 Ultra isn’t perfect, but no lifestyle projector packed with so much flexibility and so many features at this price was ever going to be.

Even so, its rather grey dark scenes and rainbow effect issues cost it a mark in the context of the improved picture quality you can get from one or two less flexible rivals – especially the BenQ W2720i.

If its flexibility and features – especially its strong gaming support – sound like just what you need, though, you’ll likely be pretty amazed that such a user-friendly projector can also perform so well.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 5
• Features 5

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Read our review of the BenQ W2720i

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The Titan is a clear sign of how ambitious Xgimi is now getting with its projection range, despite the company still being a relative newcomer.

It combines the brand’s established taste for innovation and pushing projector boundaries with features clearly aimed at serious home cinema fans – a combination neatly summed up by Xgimi itself, variously describing the Titan as "Commercial Grade" and capable of delivering “true home theatre in any living room”.

Headline features such as a 5000-Lumen 4K laser optical system, unusually large 0.78 DLP imaging device and proprietary brightness-enhancing lens are certainly promising, but can the Titan really live up to the hype?

Price

The Xgimi Titan costs £3499 in the UK and $3999 in the US at the time of writing. That’s certainly not shockingly expensive for a projector apparently targeted at serious home cinema enthusiasts that boasts, as we’ll see, a pretty extreme set of features and specifications. But it is quite expensive by Xgimi standards, raising a high level of expectation for its performance given how well some more affordable Xgimi projectors have performed in recent years.

In Australia, meanwhile, the Titan costs an even more serious AU$9999.

Rivals in the same price ballpark include the excellent recently reviewed AWOL Vision Aetherion Max UST projector, and the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning, dedicated home theatre Epson EH-LS9000 model.

Design

The Titan is a robustly built and striking-looking projector. Its basic rectangular shape isn’t particularly out there, but it’s reasonably compact for such a highly specified model; boasts an unusual but effective mixture of a slightly rubbery top edge, smooth plastic grilled sides and front felt finishes; and the lens features a striking red highlight running around its outer edge.

Most eye-catchingly of all, the projector ships with four elongated mounting legs that attach diagonally out from each underside corner, making the projector look like it’s sitting in some kind of cradle. We’re a bit torn on both the usefulness and aesthetic appeal of these feet, honestly, but they’re well made and certainly help the Titan stand out from the crowd.

High wall/ceiling and floor mount options (the latter of which essentially adds a long pole to the stand) are also available for an extra £350 each.

The remote control shipped with the Titan combines sleek silver metallic and smooth black plastic design elements with elegant button backlighting and a logical layout to attractive and ergonomic effect.

Features

While the Titan’s design does a good job of establishing it as a premium model, it’s the features that really set our hopes high. Particularly striking are its high claimed peak brightness of 5000 lumens, delivered by a dual laser light engine; a monster claimed dynamic contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1; claimed coverage of a seriously high 150 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour spectrum used in most of today’s HDR mastering; and support for all of the main four HDR formats, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

As a logo under the lens confirms, the Titan has also earned IMAX Enhanced certification, meaning its picture quality has been deemed capable of doing justice to the special IMAX Enhanced video mastering system.

The projector is also sold as 4K capable. As ever with domestic DLP projectors, this 4K resolution isn’t truly native, depending on Texas Instruments’ XPR system of pixel shifting and ‘double flashing’ to achieve a 4K effect. This 4K effect has been deemed a true 4K experience by the independent Consumer Technology Association, however, and we’ve seen many 4K DLP projectors now deliver pictures that really do appear dense and crisp enough to feel like 4K.

The Titan actually claims an extra 4K advantage over other consumer DLP projectors, too, by using a 0.78-inch imaging chip rather than the 0.47- or 0.66-inch chips commonly used in DLP projectors. This should greatly improve the light efficiency and controllability of all the tiny mirrors mounted onto the DLP DMD device, as well as enhance pixel separation, resulting in potentially more native contrast and a generally more stable, detailed and consistent image.

Xgimi has introduced a couple of promising new proprietary features for the Titan, too. First, its complex multi-element lens design has been specially created by Xgimi to enable more of the light the projector is capable of producing to actually arrive on your screen. Second, the Titan carries Xgimi’s first self-developed 4K-grade AI image processor, the Xgimi X1.

The Titan supports full HD 3D playback if you pair it with optional active shutter 3D glasses, while among its picture presets is a Filmmaker Mode to provide a one-button way of getting the projector to produce pictures designed to get as close as the projector can to the image standards and values typically used in the content creation world.

When it comes to gaming, our resident Xbox Series X confirms that the Titan’s HDMI ports can’t handle frame rates higher than 60Hz at 4K resolution, even with the HDMIs set to Enhanced mode. It does at least hold on to HDR in 4K/60Hz mode, though, and can be set to handle 120Hz at 1080p resolution if you activate the high frame rate feature in the projector’s dedicated Game onscreen menus. Choosing this higher frame rate seems to come at the expense of HDR, though, and there’s no support at any frame rate for VRR.

There is support for ALLM, though, where the projector can automatically switch into its best game settings when a game source is detected. This best game set-up reduces input lag to 32.3ms.

While the Titan doesn’t feature one of the sophisticated fully automated picture set-up systems that increasingly many living room projectors do, it does feature auto focus and auto keystone correction, and the motorised lens system features both more extensive and more finely tuned adjustments than most. Optical zoom is available across a 1.2-1.8x range, and the image can be shifted left, right, up or down over a +/- 100 per cent vertical range and +/- 40 per cent horizontal range.

Xgimi claims the Titan’s 5000 lumens of brightness can drive a screen as large as 250 inches, and it has an integrated 2 x 12W sound system. The projector also supports playback of DTS-HD, DTS Virtual X and Dolby Atmos in the Dolby Digital+ format.

The Titan’s connections are decent for a premium projector. It might have been nice if there were more than two HDMI ports, and if those supported HDMI 2.1 bandwidths, but these are backed up by two USB ports (one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0), analogue and optical digital audio outputs, plus Ethernet and RS-232C ports for integrating the projector into a wider home control network.

When it comes to integrated smart TV features, finally, the Titan leans towards the dedicated home theatre room projector market by not actually having any. The only thing it offers that’s remotely along those lines is a built-in media player that can handle AV files played from USB drives.

Picture quality

First impressions of the Xgimi Titan are really spectacular. With native 4K HDR content, you instantly feel the impact of both its extreme 5000 lumens of brightness and the extra detail and clarity that we assume is down to the projector’s use of the new 0.78-inch DLP DMD chip.

The brightness is particularly useful to the side of the Titan’s personality focused on living room use, helping it punch its images through even summertime levels of ambient light with enough colour saturation and contrast to leave them not just watchable but actually enjoyable.

The Titan’s colours don’t push into levels of saturation, vibrancy and volumes that some other recent premium projectors we’ve tested have achieved, but we rarely feel as if the colour on offer is struggling to reach the levels required by even the most vibrant content we feed it.

The Titan’s image really does look 4K. There’s a purity and naturalism to its reproduction of fine details and textures as well as a general sense of immediacy and real-life density to its images that’s a notch above anything we’ve seen from the vast majority of other DLP projectors.

This helps to create a strong sense of depth, and the clarity is delivered so effortlessly that the viewing experience feels incredibly natural and immersive. At least when the source content is playing to the projector’s strengths with images that are bright, colour-rich, clean and detailed.

The naturalism extends to superbly natural management of grain and appealingly natural-looking judder with 24p movies if you call in the lowest setting of the projector’s motion processing options. Perhaps because of the image’s high brightness, judder feels slightly too pronounced in its ‘native’ form with no processing applied.

The Titan adapts itself to HD SDR content very nicely, too, retaining good shading and colour balance/naturalism despite evidently being designed with HDR in mind.

The Titan also adapts its images well in many ways between its key Standard and Filmmaker Mode presets. The Standard mode is your go-to for bright rooms, but is also mostly a solid option for a dark-room film night if you prefer punchier images to the more accurate ones delivered by the Filmmaker Mode.

The Filmmaker Mode, though, while significantly dimmer, flatter and actually quite a bit softer than the Standard mode, does deliver that creative intent ‘feel’ that home cinema fans will be familiar with.

There are a trio of areas, though, where the Titan’s pictures fall short of the generally high standards it sets elsewhere.

First and worst, its black levels are underwhelming for a projector that sells itself as delivering home theatre in all room conditions. This isn’t a big problem in relatively bright rooms, but home cinema fans who like to really black out their rooms for serious movie nights will at least sometimes be distracted by the greyness that creeps into dark scenes. Especially as the greyness is actually most noticeable in the projector’s most ‘cinematic’ picture presets due to these not aggressively using the projector’s Dynamic Black Level feature.

This feature auto-adjusts the projector’s light output based on constant analysis of the source image, and it really can substantially enhance black reproduction. Unfortunately, though, the Low setting for the Dynamic Black Feature causes lots of subtle image detail to disappear into the darkness, leaving the picture looking hollow and flat, while its medium and high settings can cause the image to look a bit unstable during high contrast shots as the projector becomes a bit hyperactive with its workings.

For us, the Titan’s Dolby Vision Dark mode delivers the best out-of-the-box option for dark room viewing – though this still isn’t as perfect for black levels as we’d have hoped. Plus it relies on the projector receiving a Dolby Vision source, of course.

You could improve the black levels by using a low-gain (0.5 or so) screen, and reducing the projector’s brightness setting also helps a bit – though this obviously reduces the impact of the potent HDR effect that’s arguably the Titan’s biggest selling point.

The Titan’s DLP images also reveal a little rainbow effect during shots that contain stand-out bright objects. This issue is, to be fair, less aggressive than we might have expected with such a bright projector, but it’s definitely there – even to people like us who only consider ourselves to be moderately susceptible to seeing it (sensitivity to the rainbow effect varies from person to person).

The third picture issue is that the so-called Performance mode, where performance appears to mean driving every aspect of the picture to the outer extremes of the projector’s capabilities, is one of the weirdest and most unwatchable picture presets we’ve ever seen.

Yes, it’s bright. Arguably the brightest picture we’ve seen from any projector costing under five figures, in fact. But colours look absolutely bizarre in this mode – about as far from natural and balanced as you could imagine in your wildest AV fever dream – while the projector’s Dynamic Tone Mapping seems to lose the plot pretty much entirely, delivering picture extremes with so little thought for balance and consistency that you’d swear different elements of each frame must have been mastered at different times by different people on different mastering monitors.

The Performance mode also suddenly escalates the Titan’s running noise from practically (and brilliantly) non-existent to a level that’ll have you thinking you must have left the fan oven in the kitchen on.

Of course, you don’t have to choose the Performance mode, thankfully. And in its key Standard, Dolby Vision Dark, IMAX Enhanced and Filmmaker Mode modes, the Titan is capable of delivering generally very enjoyable pictures – especially if, contrary to typical ‘home theatre projector’ practice, you leave a little light in your room.

Sound quality

The Titan’s built-in speakers give good TV sound systems a run for their money. The projector can go as loud as a good-sounding TV, for instance, without starting to sound strained. The speakers project their sound well, too, including towards the distant screen, substantially reducing that eternal projector audio problem where the sound doesn’t seem to be attached to the pictures.

The midrange is rich and full, and the speakers are sensitive enough even under quite heavy pressure to retain great levels of detail and clarity. Even when they’re dealing with shrill treble or heavy beats. The midrange is also able to expand very effectively as escalating action or horror scenes grow in density, layering and volume, avoiding that common integrated TV/projector audio system issue of the sound falling away just when it should be entering full-throated mode.

However, while bass is typically convincing, Hollywood’s deepest bass moments can catch the Titan out a little, with prolonged rumbles sometimes sounding rather coarse against the quite hi-fi feel of the rest of the sound. A faint crackling effect can creep into the most extreme bass sounds, too.

More broadly, while the Titan sounds good overall by projector standards, its audio is a long way from a suitable match for the epic scale of the pictures it produces. A dedicated home cinema system really is the only way to go here.

Verdict

The Titan has enough swagger in both its hardware and software to compellingly back up Xgimi’s latest bid to be taken seriously as a potential home theatre rather than simply ‘living room’ projector brand. Much of the DNA required to get home cinephile hearts thumping is present and correct, and its pictures can look incredible at times.

In the end, though, the Titan perhaps pushes its ‘True Home Cinema anywhere’ bid a bit too far, leaning slightly too hard into the sort of picture abilities required for the ‘storefront displays or digital signage’ applications Xgimi also claims the Titan can support, rather than dedicating itself hook, line and sinker to the home cinema world.

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

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Best projectors: the best options tested by our home cinema experts

If you try to book Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in glorious IMAX 70mm as a last-minute trip to the pictures, you'll most likely be disappointed. Take a look at the BFI IMAX's booking page for the film, and you will see that showings are fully booked until the end of September.

There are other ways to watch it in the cinema (including Dolby Vision or standard IMAX), but our TV and AV editor, Tom Parsons, rated his experience with IMAX 70mm highly, going so far as to report:

“Perhaps surprisingly, I’m not usually one to make the effort for IMAX, but with The Odyssey being the first movie to be shot entirely in 65mm, I felt a trip to the Science Museum’s IMAX screen was justified [...] I wasn’t wrong: while the movie itself sits in around 7/10 territory for me, as a cinematic experience, it was a clear 10/10.”

So if you want the best experience possible, IMAX 70mm is the way to go, and you are currently out of luck.

But as a silver lining, if you have been holding out to watch the film from the comfort of your own home, there is some good news. The Odyssey will be released on 4K Blu-ray and digital on the same day: the 17th of November.

That date is just for US viewers, so those of us in the UK and Australia will have to hang on a little longer to find out when we can watch the epic at home.

It’s rare for a film to be released on physical media at the same time as digital, and I’m pleased to see Nolan and his team take this approach. Increasingly, movies are pushed onto streaming platforms quickly after their cinema release or skip theatre showings entirely. Hopefully it's the start of a new trend.

The only minor downside is that Universal has not confirmed what aspect ratio it will be released in for either format. The only inkling we got came from Flatpanels HD, which reported that it will be available in 1.78.1 for the 4K Blu-ray. That’s a little shorter than the IMAX 70mm ratio, so you are not quite getting the full picture.

In terms of sound, Flatpanels also states that early reports hint that DTS-HD 5.1 surround sound is on the cards. That makes sense considering Nolan tends to avoid Dolby Atmos, with the 4K Blu-ray releases of Oppenheimer and Tenet both featuring DTS-HD 5.1.

You can sign up to be notified about pre-order of The Odyssey for the 4K Blu-ray, although the design is yet to be unveiled.

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The are the best TVs we recommend

Choosing between the best projectors isn’t always as simple as picking the model with the highest star rating. Your room, viewing habits and preferred content can all determine which projector will ultimately give you the better experience. We mention all this, because it’s particularly true of the Sony VPL-XW5000ES and Optoma UHZ78LV – two fine projectors worthy of your attention.

The Sony is a native 4K projector built primarily for serious movie watching in a darkened home cinema, while the Optoma combines much greater claimed brightness with broader HDR support, 4K/120Hz gaming and more accommodating installation features.

We’ve thoroughly reviewed both projectors in our dedicated testing rooms, assessing their design, features and picture performance using our established testing process. As a result, you can rest assured that by the time you’ve read everything below, you’ll know precisely which one deserves that coveted spot at the heart of your home entertainment setup.

Sony VPL-XW5000ES vs Optoma UHZ78LV tech specs comparison

Sony VPL-XW5000ES vs Optoma UHZ78LV: price

The Sony VPL-XW5000ES launched in 2022 at £5999 / $5998 / AU$9990, while the newer Optoma UHZ78LV landed in the UK at the same £5999 price (it’s not due to be sold in the US and hasn’t yet made it to Australia).

The Sony has, at the time of writing, reached a price as low as £4249 in the UK. The Optoma, in contrast, currently costs full price. That gives the Sony a clear value advantage at the time of writing – though it’s only one part of the puzzle…

** Winner: Sony VPL-XW5000ES **

Sony VPL-XW5000ES vs Optoma UHZ78LV: design

Neither projector is compact, but the Optoma packages its considerable brightness into a surprisingly manageable chassis. It’s lower and shallower than the Sony, although it’s also a little wider. The Optoma weighs 11.5kg, so is lighter than the Sony too, which should make handling it during installation somewhat easier.

Its design is functional rather than beautiful. The blocky black chassis looks serious and suitably premium, but lacks the Sony’s more distinctive sculpting. That might not matter once the projector has been ceiling-mounted or otherwise placed out of sight, but a little more ambition in the design would still be great to see.

As if to prove that point, the Sony has a much more characterful design, with a pronounced, angled, roof-like top and a choice of black or white finishes. It also runs impressively quietly, even when working hard with HDR material, thanks to its effective cooling system.

The Optoma is similarly unintrusive in operation. Optoma claims a maximum noise level of 28dB, and we found that it remained impressively quiet even in its brightest modes.

Overall, both feel like substantial, purpose-built home cinema projectors. For us, the Sony is more visually distinctive, but design is subjective, and far from the most important factor of a projector to consider…

** Winner: Draw **

Sony VPL-XW5000ES vs Optoma UHZ78LV: features

The Optoma’s headline feature is its claimed peak brightness of 5000 lumens. That comfortably trounces the Sony’s 2000-lumen rating and helps the UHZ78LV produce a punchy, colourful picture even when there is a significant amount of ambient light in the room.

Its triple RGB laser system is also claimed to cover 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour space and 96 per cent of BT.2020 without requiring a brightness-reducing colour filter. Sony’s Triluminos Pro colour engine, meanwhile, is claimed to cover 95 per cent of DCI-P3.

The Sony counters with its native 3840 x 2160 SXRD imaging chips. The Optoma uses pixel shifting to produce the 8.3 million pixels required for a 4K image and meets the Consumer Technology Association’s definition of 4K, but it can’t match the innate crispness and solidity of a genuine native 4K system.

Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor, meanwhile, further strengthens its picture credentials. Its features include Reality Creation, object-based resolution enhancement, object-based HDR remastering and the Dynamic HDR Enhancer, which identifies bright highlights and boosts their intensity without adversely affecting other elements of the picture.

Having said that, the Optoma offers substantially broader format support. It handles HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, while the Sony is limited to HDR10 and HLG. Dolby Vision is still rare among projectors and proves to be a meaningful advantage for the Optoma, rather than merely another logo on its specification sheet.

Optoma’s projector is also better equipped for gaming. Its three HDMI inputs comprise two HDMI 2.0 sockets and one HDMI 2.1 connection, with the latter supporting 4K signals at 120Hz. We measured input lag at 34.9ms in Low Latency mode and 18.1ms in Ultra Low Latency mode using a 60Hz signal.

The Sony’s two 18Gbps HDMI 2.0 inputs top out at 4K/60Hz, although it can accept 1080p at 120Hz. Its input lag was measured at 21ms with a 4K/60Hz signal and 13ms at 1080p/120Hz with its fast-response feature engaged.

Installation is another significant advantage for the Optoma. It offers motorised focus, zoom and lens shift, alongside a 1.6x zoom and a throw ratio of 1.25:1 to 2:1. The Sony’s zoom, focus and lens-shift controls are all manual, and we found its lens-shift wheels particularly loose and imprecise. Its lack of motorisation also means there is no lens-memory function.

Overall, Sony’s native 4K system and exceptional processing are hugely important, but the Optoma is brighter, supports more HDR formats, is easier to install, and offers 4K/120Hz gaming. Unsurprisingly, it wins this round fairly convincingly.

** Winner: Optoma UHZ78LV **

Sony VPL-XW5000ES vs Optoma UHZ78LV: picture quality

The Optoma’s brightness isn’t merely impressive on paper. In rooms with ambient light, it produces a bold, vibrant picture that retains far more colour and impact than most dedicated home cinema projectors.

Bright highlights have terrific intensity, while the combination of strong colours and deep shadows gives large-scale images a tangible sense of depth. During the battle for Washington DC in Civil War, blazing light sources and darker areas combine to create an arresting, cinematic image. It’s impressively crisp, too. Fine facial textures, environmental details and subtle lighting effects are reproduced cleanly, without the picture immediately appearing over-sharpened.

The Optoma also offers HDR, Filmmaker Mode and IMAX Enhanced presets for standard HDR material. We prefer IMAX Enhanced for viewing in a dark room, despite its initially darker and softer appearance, but the projector never entirely abandons its taste for spectacle.

Colours can look slightly more saturated and skin tones warmer than they should, while the overall picture sometimes feels as though it is pushing for impact rather than settling into complete neutrality.

Dolby Vision improves matters considerably. Dolby Vision Dark introduces a more restrained balance, while Dolby Vision Bright combines extra punch with impressive control and is our preferred mode overall, even in a darkened room. Dolby Vision Cinema works well in ambient light, although we recommend disabling its default motion processing.

The Optoma’s compromises become more apparent with SDR. Its Cinema mode is too bright and vivid for authentic dark-room viewing, while Reference looks somewhat cool and green. Careful adjustment produces a much better picture, but there remains a slight sheen and vivaciousness that doesn’t always suit the material.

Its single-chip DLP design can also produce occasional rainbow artefacts, particularly when bright objects appear against dark backgrounds. Motion is generally handled well, but there are rare traces of unwanted smoothing even with motion processing disabled.

In contrast, Sony’s offering delivers a fundamentally different kind of picture. It lacks the Optoma’s searing brightness, but in a dark room, its images are more natural, nuanced and authentically cinematic.

Black levels are excellent, with dark scenes appearing deep and neutrally toned. Sony’s Dynamic HDR Enhancer also gives bright highlights impressive impact without compromising the rest of the image, although its High setting can clip detail and is best avoided. We found the Middle setting offered the most satisfying balance.

Native 4K material looks exceptionally detailed, dense and three-dimensional as well. The combination of Sony’s SXRD panels, Reality Creation processing and Digital Focus Optimiser produces a solidity and natural crispness that the pixel-shifting Optoma can’t quite match. Upscaled HD material is excellent, too.

Motion is another major strength. Sony’s True Cinema setting gently reduces the distracting judder associated with 24fps content without introducing the excessively smooth appearance or processing artefacts found on many rivals.

Colours are beautifully balanced, controlled and nuanced, too, giving the Sony a sense of authenticity that the Optoma achieves only intermittently. There are rare occasions when the Sony struggles with very dark scenes containing extremely bright highlights, but these moments are uncommon and don’t significantly undermine its performance.

Overall, the Optoma is the stronger performer in a room with ambient light and can look superb with Dolby Vision material. For critical movie viewing in a dark room, however, the Sony offers superior sharpness, motion, colour accuracy and overall authenticity.

** Winner: Sony VPL-XW5000ES **

Sony VPL-XW5000ES vs Optoma UHZ78LV: verdict

This comparison is closer and more nuanced than the projectors’ respective five-star and four-star ratings might initially suggest.

The Optoma UHZ78LV has some significant advantages. It is vastly brighter, supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, accepts 4K/120Hz signals and is considerably easier to install thanks to its motorised lens controls. In a room that can’t be fully darkened, it’s likely to be the more satisfying projector.

It’s also a hugely entertaining performer. Its pictures are bold, vibrant and packed with impact, while Dolby Vision helps it achieve a more controlled and authentic balance than it generally manages with HDR10 or SDR.

For a traditional dedicated home cinema setup, though, the Sony VPL-XW5000ES remains the better projector. Its native 4K system produces sharper and more solid images, while its superior motion handling, balanced colours and greater subtlety create a more convincing representation of the filmmaker’s intent.

At the time of this comparison, the Sony is also significantly cheaper in the UK. It’s officially available in the US, where the Optoma isn’t due to be sold, while Australian pricing for the Optoma has yet to be confirmed. Yes, Sony’s manual lens controls, limited HDR support and lack of 4K/120Hz are frustrating, but once it is installed and a film begins, its picture quality outweighs those shortcomings.

So choose the Optoma if you regularly watch with bright ambient light, need Dolby Vision, or want 4K/120Hz gaming. For the most authentic and accomplished movie performance in a dark room, though, the Sony retains its well-deserved crown.

** Overall winner: Sony VPL-XW5000ES **

I recently wrote about problems I’m having with my Sony system since the latest software update, and I’ve been inundated with emails and messages from fellow sufferers ever since.

The offending software is 114.602.080.1, which was released to various Sony TV models towards the end of June.

The issues reported range from audio dropout (which is what I’m experiencing) and lip-sync issues to Dolby Vision content refusing to play, and it appears to be related to the way the TVs handle HDMI sources and passthrough.

Needless to say, affected owners are pretty frustrated, but I do have some good news – at least for some of them.

Sony has just released a new update, 114.602.170.1, and, according to some owners, including reader David Simmonds, who alerted me to the release of the new software, the Dolby Vision issue, which caused some users to see a black screen instead of their content, has seemingly been fixed.

[Edit to add: I've since been informed that a secondary Dolby Vision issue, which involves scan lines being visible in content, has not been resolved]

I wasn’t experiencing this problem, so I only have the reports of others to go on regarding the fix.

However, having now installed and done some testing of the new software, I can confirm that it unfortunately doesn’t fix the audio dropout issues for me, and David has confirmed it’s the same for him.

In fairness, this latest software update specifically mentions that it “resolves an issue where a black screen could be observed when starting playback of specific content from external HDMI devices”, but makes no mention of fixing any audio issues – it seems it was always intended to fix one problem but not the other.

I have contacted Sony with these findings and a request for information on a fix for the audio issues, and will report back with any information I get.

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Dolby Vision 2 has started rolling out to its first TVs, and now it could be coming to a 4K Blu-ray player near you. Possibly. Because while the tech can be enabled to work on disc players via a firmware update, it's up to each individual manufacturer to enact it. And some have already said they won't.

This emerged from an interview that TechRadar conducted with top bods from Dolby Laboratories.

Once Dolby revealed that its next-gen HDR tech can work on existing players, TechRadar contacted some manufacturers to see if they would be bringing the tech to their players. So far only Sony responded, and that was to say that it wouldn't play ball.

A statement from the company reads: "We do not plan to provide a software/firmware update to support Dolby Vision 2 on the current Blu-ray player lineup."

Given that Sony hasn't put out a bona fide new Blu-ray player in years (bar a minor update to an existing model last year), and that it's all but confirmed that the PS6 will lack a 4K Blu-ray drive, effectively killing the 4K Blu-ray format, this doesn't bode well.

Panasonic and Magnetar hadn't responded to TechRadar's questions.

Dolby Vision 2 only runs on select TVs because it requires certain processors only found in more recent models. But given that a 4K Blu-ray player just has to pass on the encoded data to the TV (which then does the heavy lifting), most players can be made compatible via a firmware update that tells them how to pass the data on. But that's only if the player's maker works with Dolby to release said firmware update.

The Dolby Vision 2 data would also have to be encoded on the 4K Blu-ray disc itself, so would only come on new releases. So even if all 4K Blu-ray player manufacturers released firmware updates today, your existing discs wouldn't suddenly feel the full benefit.

However, providing you're watching on a Dolby Vision 2-compatible TV, you should still see some improvements from the newer HDR tech, even if your Blu-ray player doesn't have a firmware update. So Dolby says, anyway.

Dolby Vision 2 brings a new image engine which promises to enhance visual content, a new content recognition system that promises a more authentic image closer to the creator's intent, and an intensity slider which compensates for contrast lost to viewing angles and reflections.

At the moment, only select Hisense TVs are compatible with the tech, but we would expect it to become more widespread soon. Samsung's rival tech, HDR10+ Advanced, is also set to land this month, but only through select Samsung TVs streaming Amazon Prime Video.

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Let's face it, 2026 has been a bit of an underwhelming year for TVs so far. The good news is that might be about to change.

We don't want to sound too down, as we've tested a few truly impressive 2026 TVs. Take the Samsung S99H and LG C6 as examples. Both delivered stunning picture performances during our testing. But the two TVs are refinements on their five-star predecessors, so that isn't a huge surprise.

Elsewhere, the hot new panel technology of 2026, RGB Mini LED – and all its accompanying names from various manufacturers – has shown promise, but it hasn't blown our socks off quite yet.

Sony's duo of True RGB TVs, the Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II, impressed us in many ways but fell short in some crucial aspects of picture performance. Then Hisense's flagship UR9 produced impressive local dimming results, but at the expense of viewing angles.

However, all is not lost, and RGB Mini LED can certainly make a comeback, which is where the Samsung R95H steps in. It's the latest TV to be hauled out of its box and onto our testing benches, with testing commencing first thing next week.

Samsung's approach differs slightly from Sony's and Hisense's, as the Korean tech titan has created its own version called Micro RGB.

Not to be confused with the company's self-emissive Micro LED display technology, Micro RGB follows the same principles as RGB Mini LED, in that it trades a white backlight and colour filter for dedicated red, blue and green LEDs, but Samsung's managed to shrink said LEDs down even further.

Samsung's Micro LEDs, once again, not to be confused with Micro LED technology – blame Samsung's confusing naming convention for that one – reportedly measure in at under 100 microns. For reference, that's the size of a typical grain of table salt.

This has allowed the company to pack even more LEDs in, with the increased density expected to deliver enhanced contrast and light control.

Samsung could be the saving grace of the RGB Mini LED TV tech, and it really impressed us when we saw it during a Samsung hands-on event earlier this year. You can read our early Samsung R95H impressions here.

However, one of Samsung's biggest adversaries also shared some news this week, and we have an inbound TV that is special for a different reason.

Hisense, in partnership with Dolby, announced that its range of 2026 TVs will be the first to support Dolby Vision 2, with the higher-tier Dolby Vision 2 Max version being supported on all four of the premium models announced.

This includes the new UR8, the step-down model to the UR9 that we reviewed recently. It's also an RGB Mini LED, but unlike the Samsung we're about to review, it will support Dolby Vision 2 Max.

This technically makes it the first Dolby Vision 2-enabled TV to enter our AV testing room, which is certainly a milestone.

There is, however, one issue. Dolby Vision 2 content is, at the time of writing, slim to non-existent, especially here in the UK. Out of the three services announced – those being Canal+, Peacock, and iQIYI (a streaming service dedicated to Asian TV and movies) – only the last member of that trio is accessible here in the UK.

However, Dolby claims that "Hisense TV owners will immediately notice a difference across all Dolby Vision content", which means we should see the benefit of the new format even with existing Dolby Vision content. We'll be testing Dolby Vision streams and 4K Blu-rays to thoroughly test Dolby's claims.

With RGB LED panel technology and Dolby Vision 2 being the two headlining TV features of 2026, we're excited for the week of testing ahead, as we're hoping to put both to the test in the coming weeks.

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After almost a year of anticipation and uncertainty, Dolby Vision 2 is finally launching, although you'll need one of the supported TVs to use it.

Dolby surprised home cinema fans with the announcement of Dolby Vision 2, the latest iteration of its dynamic HDR format, just before IFA 2025. With it came a buzz of excitement, but also many questions, most of which have been periodically answered throughout the year.

Now, Dolby has officially announced which TVs will be the first to access the new HDR format, and they all come from launch partner Hisense. We've also seen Dolby Vision 2 running on TVs from TCL and Philips at past press demos, although this launch is strictly Hisense for now.

Supported models include the UX, UR9 and UR8 RGB Mini LED TVs, and U7 Pro (also known as the U7 in the US) Mini LED TV. Interestingly, these models all support the higher-tier Dolby Vision 2 Max format.

The update is only coming to the Vidaa and Google TV versions of these models. Neither Hisense nor Dolby have confirmed if Dolby Vision 2 will come to older TVs yet.

At its core, Dolby Vision 2 brings three perks. First, "a powerful new image engine" which is set to enhance new and existing content.

Second, a new content recognition system that leverages metadata to deliver a more authentic image closer to the creator's intent.

Third, an intensity slider which allows you to "depth and richness of their Dolby Vision 2 experience" by compensating for contrast lost to viewing angles and reflections.

Dolby Vision 2 Max is reserved for TVs towards the premium end of the spectrum, and it adds an extra layer of picture enhancements aimed at home cinema enthusiasts.

These include the Authentic Motion feature, which aims for a "more cinematic feel while eliminating unwanted judder and soap opera effects", alongside Light Sense 2, which utilises your TV's ambient light sensor to optimise the picture settings based on your viewing conditions.

There is also a selection of pro settings which will allow experienced AV enthusiasts to dig deeper into the experience and customise as needed.

As for Dolby Vision 2 content, Dolby says that "Hisense TV owners will immediately notice a difference across all Dolby Vision content" for everything from TV and movies to gaming and sport. That said, the only current content partners that will support Dolby Vision 2 content specifically are Canal+, Peacock, and iQIYI.

These aren't household streaming names on the same level as Netflix, Disney+ or Apple TV, and two of the three services don't actually operate in the UK yet. That said, we presume that more services will support the new HDR format once it has found its footing.

Likewise, we expect more TV manufacturers to adopt Dolby Vision 2 over time. Sony and LG have yet to confirm whether their next batches of TVs will support the format, and Samsung has already developed its own answer to Dolby Vision 2 in the form of HDR10+ Advanced.

The software update to enable Dolby Vision 2 on the previously mentioned 2026 Hisense TVs is set to roll out in the coming weeks across Europe, America and Asia-Pacific.

We'll be testing out Dolby Vision 2 soon to see if it's the generational step up from the original Dolby Vision that we know and love.

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Read our full Hisense UR9 review

I saw the future of HDR at CES, and things are looking bright and smooth for 2026

Home Cinema Week is almost at an end, and what a time it has been. From our review of the five-star AWOL Vision Aetherion Max projector to a behind-the-scenes look at our AV testing facility, it’s been a treat to dig into all things home cinema-related.

Our monthly Now Showing hasn’t gone anywhere, though, as we have still been beavering away in our test room to review the latest AV products. Each month, we take a look at the best movies and TV shows we have been using to test, as well as new releases that we cannot wait to use.

This can range from a film that puts your sound system’s Dolby Atmos presentation through its paces or challenges a projector screen’s black depth. Let’s take a look at the team’s top picks!

Ponies (2026-)

Words by Joe Svetlik

Cold War thrillers tend to be more po-faced than a Kremlin spokesman, so Ponies is a welcome addition to the genre. Ponies stands for Persons Of No Interest – CIA-speak for the wives of two Moscow-based US spies who die in mysterious circumstances. The men, of course, are Persons Of Interest, but their better halves? Given that neither Russia nor the US used female operatives at the time (in the series, at least), this gives the Ponies scope to fly under the radar and investigate their husbands’ deaths.

If that all sounds a bit gritty, trust me, it isn’t. The pairing of Emilia Clarke (Game Of Thrones) and Haley Lu Richardson (The White Lotus) lends the show plenty of humour – the former uptight and controlling, the latter a bohemian with an exaggeratedly carefree sashay. And they’re ably supported by Adrian Lester (Hustle) and Artjom Gilz (Das Boot).

The production is dripping with period charm, even down to being filmed in the 3:2 aspect ratio to mimic the feel of a pre-widescreen broadcast – that means vertical black bars either side of the picture, but it’s worth it to add to the vintage aesthetic.

The Russian accents are thick, the tension even thicker. And any series in which a touring Elton John accidentally disrupts a KGB murder plot has to be worth a look.

House Of The Dragon (Season 3)

Words by Lewis Empson

Game Of Thrones has had its ups and downs. While I still resent the ending of the main show over eight years later, the franchise as a whole has been steadily rebuilding since.

House Of The Dragon, a prequel series set roughly 200 years before the main show, has been fundamental in the franchise’s revival, and its explosive third season is broadcasting weekly right now.

After a somewhat weak ending to season two, I was immediately sucked into the third series' action-packed, bloody and emotional first two episodes. And while the pace has since slowed, the show has also tapped into the political-thriller elements of the original to great effect.

As ever with Game Of Thrones, this series also looks and sounds fantastic. Establishing shots of stunning natural vistas and sprawling naval battles are both dazzling in 4K, and with many sequences in dingy and dark castle corridors and chambers, this also happens to be a fairly thorough TV stress test. Shadow detail will be put to the test, and having watched all of this season so far on an OLED TV, I’ve certainly reaped the contrast and black depth benefits.

Your TV’s motion and sound capabilities will also be put to the test by swooping dragons as they launch screeching fire-breathing attacks on warring factions.

I also have an expert tip for watching House Of The Dragon in its best picture and sound quality. My advice is to skip Sky and Now and instead use HBO Max. If your budget allows, the top subscription tier unlocks 4K Dolby Vision streaming and Dolby Atmos audio, which makes the viewing experience a whole lot better.

If you’re already a Sky or Now subscriber, chances are that you already have access to HBO Max and can upgrade your account to access these features.

F1 The Movie (2025)

Words by Robyn Quick

Fast cars, roaring engines and juicy drama: that’s what you expect from a film about Formula 1. Joseph Kosinski’s F1 The Movie delivers on all of this, and it has quickly become a go-to in our test room since the 4K Blu-ray was released in November last year.

It’s one of my current favourites for testing both sound and picture quality and, when using the right system, the film makes for tense viewing.

During fast-paced racing scenes when the vehicles zoom around the course, you should be able to feel the cars move around the soundfield with a good Dolby Atmos audio system. This also calls for an excellent sense of precision, as the crowd calls out and announcements boom from off-screen.

On top of that, the myriad of races in the film are a great way to challenge your system’s motion handling. They must move naturally without looking too juddery or too smooth, which can be a tough balance to strike for premium and budget systems alike.

Widow's Bay (2026-)

Words by Tom Parsons

I came to Widow’s Bay late, mostly because in the remorseless tidal wave of new content, it simply didn’t stand out. The other evening, though, I decided to give it a go, and it’s actually well up there as one of my favourite shows of the year.

The story, about a small, somewhat backwards island community that badly needs an influx of tourists but also might – or might not – be cursed, is brilliantly paced. Fairly gentle but consistently gripping, it's an easy watch that's somehow impossible to stop watching.

The comedy-horror combo is really hard to get right, but creator Katie Dippold and director Hiro Murai (he of Atlanta fame) have absolutely nailed it, with most of the humour coming from the Fargo-like characters, dialogue and setting, and the horror elements used sparingly and effectively.

Apple TV shows tend to have higher production values (and have higher bitrates) than those of rival streaming services, and while that’s not super-evident in the intentionally grainy, Twin Peaks-style aesthetic, it’s abundantly clear in the sound design, which is excellent.

This isn’t a show with loads of jump scares; it’s one where subtle sound effects (often footsteps) are used to create tension and creepiness, and if you’ve got a good Dolby Atmos system, they’re placed brilliantly effectively.

Even if you’re not a horror fan, Widow’s Bay is an absolute must-watch.

In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

Words by Tom Parsons

When the sad news of Sam Neill’s passing was announced, I could have chosen to watch in his memory Jurassic Park, Hunt For The Wilderpeople or Event Horizon, all of which I know and love. Instead, I decided to try In The Mouth Of Madness, which The Guardian boldly proclaimed to be the legendary actor’s best role.

Well, I’m not quite sure about that assessment, but he does play the role of an insurance investigator driven mad by a horror author’s writings with fabulous gusto.

The film is utterly bonkers, exactly as you'd expect from an early-'90s John Carpenter horror steeped in H.P. Lovecraft, but it's schlocky, gleeful fun. There are some great, gory, practical effects, too – one sequence weirdly reminded me of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, but The Thing is, less surprisingly, visible in there.

Not a movie to watch if you’re looking for fancy production values or a serious home cinema demonstration, but a lot of fun if weird horror from the last millennium is up your street.

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Hisense has clearly decided that it’s time to capitalise on its huge success in the lifestyle projector world by launching a shiny, new no-holds-barred flagship model.

Boasting 6000 lumens of brightness, a triple laser lighting system, liquid cooling, a built-in Devialet sound system, an all-glass lens and support for every HDR format in town, the XR10 certainly makes all the right flagship noises.

But can Hisense marshal all these expensive pieces into a class-leading performance?

Price

With Hisense usually found successfully plying its trade in the mid-range lifestyle projector arena, the £5999 / $6000 / AU$9995 price of the XR10 really is a major step up for the brand.

In fact, it will doubtless be a step too far for many home cinema-loving households, and even raises the question of whether a projector that seems from the outside at least to have been designed more as a ‘lifestyle’ model than a serious home theatre machine really makes sense at such a price.

As we’re about to explain, though, we think the XR10 makes all kinds of sense, even at its very high price.

Design

The XR10’s design is nuts in all the best ways. For starters, it ships in a beautifully designed, built-to-measure real leather carry case complete with wheels and an extendable handle that looks like Hisense thinks you’re going to love the projector so much you’ll want to take it on holiday with you.

The projector’s spectacular bodywork, meanwhile, is actually transparent in some places, so that you can marvel at some of the cool things going on under the projector’s hood.

A huge lens aperture sits within a bold bronze-coloured metallic square on one side of the projector’s front, while the left side houses two vertical stripes, one recessed, one not, housing sensors that the projector can use to help it deliver a more effective automatic set-up system.

The projector’s left, right and top edges are finished in the same bronzy colour as the area around the lens housing, while the projector’s shape resembles a larger (and much heavier) version of the sort of roughly cubic designs we’ve started to see dominating the living room projector market in recent times.

The top plate sports a beautifully designed round dial-style volume adjustment, as well as a large ambient light sensor the projector can use to optimise its picture performance to different room conditions.

That volume control, along with the grilles built into the XR10’s left and right edges, reflects the fact that the XR10 carries a built-in sound system deemed powerful enough to enable the projector to be used as a standalone wireless speaker if you so desire.

The various finishes to different sides and even within the front edge of the XR10 ought, by all rights, to make its design look a bit of a mess. Actually, though, it all comes together remarkably well in a vaguely cyberpunk kind of way.

Features

The XR10 is mostly specced to kill.

Its 6000 claimed lumens of laser-delivered peak brightness is huge by serious projector standards, for starters. That’s easily enough to punch through quite a bit of ambient light if that’s what you want it to do; drive a particularly big screen (Hisense claims 300 inches); and/or potentially handle HDR sources better than most projectors can.

Brightness alone can actually be anything but a friend to projector picture quality, though, so it’s impressive to see Hisense backing this brightness up with a healthy claimed native contrast performance of 6000:1. This jumps, too, to a very impressive claimed 60,000:1 courtesy of the projector’s premium lens iris system. As ever, though, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Hisense has gone the extra mile, too, to avoid the sort of rowdy cooling-fan noise you might normally expect to hear from a 6000-lumen projector by integrating liquid (water) cooling into the XR10’s chassis. This is the first time, we believe, that such cooling has been used in an albeit premium living room projector.

Another big justification for the XR10’s price is its use of an all-glass, 16-element lens system that Hisense claims will deliver better light transmission and temperature stability than a plastic system could, resulting in more brightness/contrast and more consistent 4K sharpness.

The colour coverage claimed for the XR10’s laser lighting/DLP optical system is huge too: up to 110 per cent of the massive BT2020 colour space. That’s well beyond the DCI-P3 colour system used for most HDR mastering.

Talking of HDR, the XR10 is one of a very rare breed in the projector world that’s capable of playing all four of the AV world’s main HDR formats: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. It’s even received IMAX Enhanced certification, meaning it has been deemed capable of doing justice to the special IMAX mastering system (which focuses on creating a noiseless look to the image). Basically, the XR10 will take in the best version of any content you feed it.

For all their advantages, setting up premium projectors can often be a pain. Hisense couldn’t have worked harder to simplify the physical aspect of set-up, though. The XR10 carries an industry-first four-8MP-camera and dual Time-of-flight (TOF) intelligent sensing set-up that it can use to correct image size, keystone and focus without you having to lift a finger. Plus, that ambient sensor we mentioned earlier can tie its readings into the calculations of a ‘Smart AI’ auto-adjustment system so that images can auto-adjust to compensate for changing room conditions.

As well as all its sensors and AI brainpower, the XR10 carries an exceptionally wide-ranging 0.84-2.0x optical zoom and bags of vertical and horizontal image shifting. It’s therefore able to (auto) adapt itself to a seriously wide range of different room sizes and layouts – and is also capable of delivering a 100-inch image from a throw distance of just 1.86m.

As we’ve come to expect from today’s lifestyle projectors, the XR10 carries a built-in smart system so that you can stream video without the need for any external sources. Rather than the Google TV system found in most projectors, though, the XR10 turns to Hisense’s own VIDAA system. This is good news, as it’s straightforward and stable to use, and it carries all of the streaming services the vast majority of households will need, including the BBC iPlayer app that’s almost always absent from Google TV systems.

The XR10 is, of course, a 4K projector. It doesn’t have a full 3840x2160 count of digital mirror devices (DMDs) that would be needed for a ‘true’ 4K experience, though. Instead, it features Texas Instruments’ XPR technology to create a 4K image from a lower DMD count using pixel-shifting. The Consumer Technology Association in the US deems the resulting images to be true 4K, though, and as we’ll see, it’s hard to disagree with that stance based on the XR10’s real-life 4K performance.

The XR10’s connections impressively comprise three HDMI ports (one 2.0, two 2.1), three USBs, an optical digital audio output, a headphone jack, an Ethernet port, and the now-expected wi-fi and Bluetooth wireless options. Apple AirPlay 2 is included in the projector’s wireless content sharing options, too.

There is one connection disappointment, though, as we couldn’t manage to get even the two HDMI 2.1 ports to handle 4K content at 120Hz from our Xbox Series X. 120Hz is possible at 1440p resolutions with the HDMI ports set to Enhance Mode Pro, but there’s no VRR support in this set-up, and nor can the projector sustain HDR gaming at any refresh rate above 60Hz.

One last premium aspect of the XR10 is its audio. Not only does it carry a 2.1 speaker system that includes a dedicated bass driver and supports DTS: Virtual X playback, but this speaker system has been tuned by acclaimed audio brand Devialet, picking up on a relationship Hisense previously forged for the speaker systems of its high-end TVs.

Picture

We’ve consistently referred to the XR10 so far as a ‘lifestyle’ or 'living room' projector, based chiefly on its appearance and convenient set-up features. It’s worth reflecting before we get into its performance, though, on the fact that Hisense describes the XR10 as being “built for cinephiles who want the big-screen theatre experience without sacrificing design, flexibility or fidelity”.

In other words, Hisense is backing the XR10 to be good enough to satisfy proper home cinema enthusiasts as well as the more casual projection market. And we’re happy to report that it’s absolutely right.

Particularly spectacular and key to its success is its ability to deliver both extreme levels of brightness and some of the deepest, most convincing blacks the HDR projection world has to offer.

Using any of the XR10’s relatively aggressive picture presets, bright HDR images are absolutely radiant, punching through even high levels of ambient light if you’re watching the projector in a regular daytime living room environment. In a dark room, meanwhile, this brightness can be used to deliver HDR with levels of intensity that we’ve only witnessed a handful of times before – mostly on ultra-high-end laser theatre projectors costing way more than the XR10.

Dark room viewing makes it obvious just how good the XR10 is with dark scenes and, even more impressively, scenes that contain a mix of light and dark elements. Provided you’re careful with the settings you use (more on this later), the XR10 can not only deliver dark imagery with much less greyness around than most, if not all, very bright, HDR-friendly projectors, but it also manages to retain all the faint shadow details you want to see if dark scenes are to feel consistent in depth with bright scenes. There’s little if any ‘black crush’ to worry about here.

Even better, the XR10 doesn’t just retain detail in the darkest image areas; it also retains excellent colour tones and saturations in such light-limited areas, avoiding the widespread tendency in both the projector and TV worlds for dark images to become desaturated.

The XR10’s colour performance is more obviously spectacular, of course, with very bright HDR images. Rather than the brightest highlights of HDR pictures starting to look thin or washed out, the XR10’s colour volume just keeps expanding as it’s fed more light.

Colour volumes push into places, in fact, that we haven’t seen before, beyond, perhaps, a couple of Xgimi models. Crucially, though, the XR10 does a substantially better job than those admittedly more affordable Xgimi rivals of making even the most vibrant colours across almost all of its picture presets look balanced and surprisingly natural. Or, at least, extremely believable.

To put it another way, while the XR10 is proud to show off what it can do, it only does so on a foundation of immersive consistency and a constant connection to the source material.

Despite the extreme vibrancy, brightness and contrast of which the XR10 is capable, as you’d hope of such an expensive and ambitious projector, it also cares about the little things in AV life. Its 4K pictures look fanatically detailed and densely textured, for instance – and this is down as much to the almost infinite subtlety of its colour rendition as it is to raw sharpness. The sharpness feels natural rather than forced or processed even in the projector’s most aggressive settings, and motion is handled without smearing or resolution loss.

If you find judder a touch obvious with 24p content, especially during bright scenes, the projector’s Film motion processing option does a pretty smart job of reducing judder without the results devolving into the dreaded soap opera effect.

While many will find it hard to resist the fantastic dynamism and richness of the XR10’s relatively aggressive image presets, film fans who want to see images that look as their creators wanted them to look can rest assured that their needs are catered for brilliantly, too, by the projector’s Filmmaker Mode preset.

This removes a big chunk of the brightness that is one of the XR10’s strengths. But the resulting images look natural, beautifully balanced, full of subtlety and still just excellently watchable despite Filmmaker Mode turning off many of its picture enhancement technologies.

If there’s an issue with the default Filmmaker Mode, it’s that black levels look a bit grey without any of the projector’s contrast enhancement tools in play. Simply setting the projector’s manual iris setting to its ‘One’ level, though, immediately improves black levels, at the expense of a just slightly cooler look to the image.

Aside from some DLP rainbow striping with very extreme contrast content, this set-up suggestion leads us to arguably the XR10’s one major image flaw. Namely, you need to be prepared to tinker with a few of the projector’s settings to get the best from it. It’s not quite the simple 'unbox, switch on and instantly relax deal' you might have been hoping for.

For instance, while the Dolby Vision Bright preset the XR10 defaults to with Dolby Vision content delivers great contrast for such a bright projector, it pushes some colours too strongly. Greens are over-dominant and skin tones look too ripe. The core colour temperature can also fluctuate within a shot if there are significant light level variations to cope with, and you can sometimes see the projector’s dynamic iris system doing its work too obviously.

Setting the manual iris setting to level 1 helps balance colours and eliminates the fluctuating colour tone, but suddenly sees green tones taking on a strangely brownish hue. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to this one that simply involves switching to the Dolby Vision Dark preset. This instantly fixes colour balance/consistency issues, delivers natural blacks and skin tones and, if you set the iris feature to ‘0’, leaves the image looking totally stable.

The XR10’s complex iris options include a few presets alongside the multi-step Manual mode. Cinema 1 delivers a nicely judged combination of brightness and contrast, but leaves you having to hit the colour calibration tools to try and stop skin tones and red colours looking too pink, and can also cause some noticeable fluctuations in brightness from the dynamic iris. Cinema 2 delivers some of the best black levels we’ve seen from any projector, but at the expense of huge amounts of the brightness that’s so enjoyable a part of the XR10’s usual picture make-up. Only in a fully blacked-out room is this setting even worth considering, and even then, maybe only the most die-hard accuracy enthusiasts will find the dimness tolerable.

In the end, even where the XR10 offers pre-programmed attempts to provide helpful out-of-the-box feature presets, we ultimately end up reverting to manual intervention via the all-important manual iris setting. A setting which, for better or worse, is kept outside of the picture settings encompassed by the projector’s defined picture presets, so that whatever lens setting you choose applies across every preset for every source until you go back in and change it again.

There are other bits of tinkering we’d recommend too, including turning the sharpness setting to zero but leaving a separate Super Resolution feature active, and braving the projector’s more in-depth colour and white-balance controls, too, if you dare.

The bottom line, though, is that for the most part, making the effort to spend just a few minutes fine-tuning images when you first get the XR10 rewards you with what can be absolutely spectacular but also thoughtful and subtle results. Results capable of adapting, moreover, to pretty much any room shape or ambient light condition.

It’s important to add, too, that the projector responds excellently without manual intervention to the extra picture information provided by the HDR10+ format, making us wish more projectors would adopt this alternative/rival to the Dolby Vision system.

Maybe even more importantly, the XR10’s out-of-the-box dynamic tone mapping system with basic HDR10 content is outstanding. The way it maps the available image data of core HDR10 sources to the projector’s capabilities so that they look dynamic and punchy without succumbing to clipping, unevenness, black crush or colour imbalances is superb, and actually requires less manual intervention than you’d usually expect with most HDR projectors.

The XR10’s automated hardware image correction features work brilliantly, too. So while some of its presets could be better, it’s also actually more helpful than most rivals in other areas of usability and set-up.

One last strength of the XR10 to mention is how incredibly quietly it runs for such a monumentally bright projector. The liquid cooling system Hisense has taken considerable trouble to integrate into the projector proves well worth the effort.

Sound

The XR10’s speakers are capable of pumping out levels of volume and dynamic range that shame many premium TVs. Even at just 50 per cent of its maximum volume, it’s loud enough to satisfy even a quite large room.

Trebles reach high peaks without sounding brittle or warbly, even at high volumes, while at the other end, bass reaches remarkably deep without falling prey to dropouts or crackles, or causing the projector’s metal bodywork to start buzzing. This helps low frequencies avoid sounding overly dominant or distracting, despite how present and deep they are. Similarly, the XR10’s ability to produce high levels of detail in a film or TV mix doesn’t leave busy soundtracks sounding too forensic or ambient effects too bright.

Voices are clean and well-rounded too. The only issue is that they sound a bit trapped inside the projector’s bodywork compared with the rest of the sound mix, which means they also sound rather dislocated from the onscreen action on the other side of the room, and sometimes rather decontextualised from the rest of the soundstage.

Verdict

While it might be the XR10’s startling, beautifully built design that first catches your eye, Hisense’s new showcase projector ultimately justifies its premium price tag with its combination of a startlingly powerful sound system and the best picture quality we’ve seen from any lifestyle or, more accurately, lifestyle/home theatre crossover projector before.

As statements of intent go, it’s hard to see how the XR10 could have served Hisense much better.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

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You can’t have a conversation about the best TVs without mentioning Sony. In fact, if you’re reading these words, it’s likely because you want to know all about Sony’s new 2026 TV range. If so, hello – you’re in the right place.

This year, Sony’s lineup isn't built around brighter OLED panels or another incremental Mini LED upgrade. Instead, Sony is introducing its first True RGB televisions – a new type of Mini LED TV that replaces traditional white backlighting with individually controlled red, green and blue LEDs.

The company believes that this allows it to reproduce colours more accurately, while also delivering dramatically higher brightness than today's OLED TVs can achieve.

The exciting new display tech headlines the new Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II, but they're far from the only new TVs in Sony's range. More affordable Bravia 3 II and Bravia 2 II models also join the lineup (with some country-specific caveats), while several existing OLED and LED models continue alongside them.

The Sony tech headlines for 2026

Before we dive into the 2026 Sony TV models proper, here are the headlines across the range:

Embracing the RGB Mini LED revolution

For years, OLED has been regarded as the pinnacle of TV picture quality, but 2026 is shaping up to be the year RGB Mini LED goes mainstream.

Sony joins rivals including Samsung, Hisense, LG, Philips, and TCL in adopting the tech, though the company refers to its implementation as True RGB.

Instead of using conventional white or blue Mini LEDs behind a coloured panel, Sony's new system uses independently controlled red, green and blue LEDs.

The result, in theory at least, is a TV capable of producing richer colours at much higher brightness levels, while also improving colour accuracy and reducing some of the compromises traditionally associated with LCD panels.

Sony is chasing studio monitor picture quality

Sony has long claimed its TVs are designed to reproduce films and TV shows as their creators intended, and that philosophy remains central to its latest 2026 TV range.

The Bravia 9 II, for example, has been developed with Sony's professional BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor firmly in mind, with the company claiming its new True RGB technology delivers colours and brightness that more closely match the displays used by filmmakers during production.

During our early hands-on testing, our TV and AV Editor Tom Parsons found the Bravia 9 II tracked the mastering monitor remarkably closely in many scenes, particularly when it came to colour accuracy and HDR highlights. It’s worth noting that he also stated that OLED still retained certain advantages in perceived depth and overall image solidity.

Super-sized screens

Sony has also expanded its range of truly enormous TVs, with the flagship Bravia 9 II now stretching all the way up to a massive 115 inches, while the Bravia 7 II introduces a new 98-inch option.

Even the more affordable Bravia 3 II gains a 100-inch version for the first time, giving buyers who want a cinema-sized screen more options than ever before without necessarily stepping up to Sony's flagship models.

Sony has finally added four HDMI 2.1 sockets – but only on one TV

After years of criticism, Sony has finally introduced a TV with four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports. The rather bonkers catch? It's the Bravia 3 II, rather than one of the premium True RGB models.

That's right; both the flagship Bravia 9 II and step-down Bravia 7 II continue to offer just two HDMI 2.1 sockets, one of which doubles as the eARC connection for a soundbar or AV receiver.

Frankly, this seems an odd decision. Buyers investing in premium home cinema systems might not all be gamers, but certainly a sizeable chunk of them are. And even if they aren’t, it seems odd to have a superior connectivity feature on a model lower in the lineup. Right?

Welcome additions

While True RGB understandably grabs most of the attention, Sony has refreshed much of the wider user experience, too.

Across the new range, you'll find a redesigned remote control with automatic backlighting, USB-C charging and a construction that uses 80 per cent recycled plastic.

Sony has also introduced a new My Cinema interface that makes picture and sound settings easier to personalise, while Direct Connect allows compatible Sony rear speakers and subwoofers to connect wirelessly to supported TVs without the need for a soundbar.

Elsewhere, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Sony Pictures Core, Google TV and Wi-Fi 6 all remain key parts of the experience across much of the lineup.

Sony 2026 TV range breakdown

So, we've covered the key highlights, but what about the individual models themselves?

Fear not, for it's all broken down below – leading with the newest models, before covering all of Sony's existing TVs that are sticking around for 2026.

Sony Bravia 9 II

The Bravia 9 II replaces the original Bravia 9 as Sony's flagship TV, and also marks the company's first commercial RGB Mini LED (or 'True RGB') TV.

Available in 65-, 75-, 85- and colossal 115-inch sizes, it's designed to bring professional mastering-monitor levels of brightness and colour accuracy into the home.

Unlike conventional Mini LED TVs, which use blue or white LEDs behind an LCD layer, the Bravia 9 II uses independently controlled red, green and blue LEDs.

Sony claims that this setup delivers twice the colour volume of the original Bravia 9 and four times that of the Bravia 8 II OLED.

Elsewhere, gamers may be less enthusiastic. Despite being Sony's flagship TV for 2026, the Bravia 9 II still includes only two HDMI 2.1 sockets supporting 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM. It's an increasingly frustrating limitation when many rivals (including Sony’s own Bravia 3 II) now offer four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports.

Audio is another focus area, with Sony's 2.2.2-channel Acoustic Multi-Audio+ system including upward-firing speakers for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

That all sounds very exciting indeed, but we have now reviewed the Bravia 9 II, and while it's exceptionally accomplished for a backlit TV, it struggles somewhat to justify itself against the very best OLEDs, most notably Sony's own Bravia 8 II.

Read our Sony Bravia 9 II review

Sony Bravia 9 II specs:

• Sizes: 65, 75, 85 and 115 inches
• Display type: True RGB Mini LED
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: XR Processor
• Sound: 2.2.2-channel (80W Acoustic Multi-Audio+)
• HDMI 2.1: Yes (x2)
• Gaming features: 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM

Sony Bravia 9 II launch pricing:

• Sony Bravia 9 II 65-inch: £3499 / $3600 / AU$5999
• Sony Bravia 9 II 75-inch: £4299 / $4600 / AU$7499
• Sony Bravia 9 II 85-inch: £5499 / $6500 / AU$9999
• Sony Bravia 9 II 115-inch: £22,999 / $31,000 / AU$44,999

Sony Bravia 7 II

The Bravia 9 II may grab most of the headlines, but the Bravia 7 II could end up being the more important TV for most people.

Like its flagship sibling, it adopts Sony's new True RGB backlighting technology, bringing the same fundamental advantages of wider colour reproduction and higher brightness to a considerably lower price point. It also comes in a much broader range of sizes, stretching from 50 inches all the way up to a huge 98-inch version.

Naturally, there are compromises.

Sony positions the Bravia 7 II below the Bravia 9 II by reducing the number of local dimming zones, lowering peak brightness and fitting a simpler 2.2-channel Acoustic Multi-Audio speaker system that omits the flagship's upward-firing Atmos drivers.

The gaming front is also unchanged. Like the 9 II, the Bravia 7 II still relies on Sony's Pentonic 1000 platform, meaning buyers again have just two HDMI 2.1 ports despite support for features such as 4K/120Hz gaming, VRR and ALLM.

On paper, the Bravia 7 II looks like a very tempting performance-per-pound proposition, but like the Bravia 9 II, we feel most buyers will be better served by a similarly priced OLED.

Read our Sony Bravia 7 II review

Sony Bravia 7 II specs:

• Sizes: 50, 55, 65, 75, 85 and 98 inches
• Display type: True RGB Mini LED
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: XR Processor
• Sound: 2.2-channel (40W Acoustic Multi-Audio)
• HDMI 2.1: Yes (x2)
• Gaming features: 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM

Sony Bravia 7 II launch pricing:

• Sony Bravia 7 II 50-inch: £1899 / $1600 / AU$2299
• Sony Bravia 7 II 55-inch: £1999 / $2100 / AU$2499
• Sony Bravia 7 II 65-inch: £2299 / $2600 / AU$3299
• Sony Bravia 7 II 75-inch: £2999 / $3100 / AU$4499
• Sony Bravia 7 II 85-inch: £3999 / $4000 / AU$5999
• Sony Bravia 7 II 98-inch: £6999 / $9000 / AU$12999

Sony Bravia 3 II

Not everyone needs a flagship TV, and Sony clearly hasn't forgotten that.

The Bravia 3 II sits much further down the company's 2026 range, swapping the cutting-edge True RGB backlight found in the Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II for a more conventional LED panel.

That naturally means it won't deliver the same dazzling brightness, colour volume or local dimming performance as its premium siblings, but it still benefits from many of Sony's broader software and smart TV improvements.

Google TV remains at the heart of the experience, providing access to all of the major streaming services alongside built-in Google Cast support, voice control and Sony's familiar smart TV interface.

One particularly notable addition for 2026 is the availability of a huge 100-inch version – the first time Sony has offered the Bravia 3 range in such a large screen size. That could make it an appealing option for buyers wanting an enormous display without paying flagship prices.

As mentioned a few times already (you’ve probably guessed by now that there are a few gamers in the What Hi-Fi? office), the Bravia 3 II actually outdoes its more expensive siblings in one important area – it offers four HDMI 2.1 ports. For users with multiple current-generation consoles, gaming PCs and soundbars, that could prove more than a little useful.

Of course, you shouldn't interpret that as meaning the Bravia 3 II is somehow a better gaming TV than the flagship models overall. Picture quality remains the priority higher up the range, and the lack of Mini LED or True RGB technology means HDR performance won't be in the same league.

But if connectivity is high on your wishlist, it's an unusual advantage that shouldn't be overlooked.

Rather bizarrely, though, the Bravia 3 II is not currently scheduled for launch in the UK.

Sony Bravia 3 II specs:

• Sizes: 43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85 and 100 inches
• Display type: Direct LED LCD
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: XR Processor
• Sound: 2.0-channel (X-Balanced Speaker)
• HDMI 2.1: Yes (x4)
• Gaming features: 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM

Sony Bravia 3 II launch pricing:

• Sony Bravia 3 II 43-inch: £n/a / $600 / AU$1299
• Sony Bravia 3 II 50-inch: £n/a / $700 / AU$1399
• Sony Bravia 3 II 55-inch: £n/a / $800 / AU$1499
• Sony Bravia 3 II 65-inch: £n/a / $900 / AU$1899
• Sony Bravia 3 II 75-inch: £n/a / $1200 / AU$2399
• Sony Bravia 3 II 85-inch: £n/a / $1600 / AU$3499
• Sony Bravia 3 II 100-inch: £n/a / $3100 / AU$5499

Sony Bravia 2 II

The Bravia 2 II completes Sony's 2026 range as its most affordable new television.

Like the Bravia 3 II, it uses a conventional LED backlight rather than Mini LED, making it the entry point into Sony's latest lineup. Buyers still get Google TV, built-in Google Cast, access to all the major streaming platforms and Sony's familiar smart TV experience, but the focus here is very much on value rather than cutting-edge picture technology.

Available in a wide range of sizes from compact 43-inch models up to larger living room-friendly options, the Bravia 2 II is aimed at people who simply want a dependable Sony TV without paying for premium display hardware they'll rarely use. It's likely to prove particularly attractive for bedrooms, guest rooms and more budget-conscious buyers who still appreciate Sony's picture processing and straightforward interface.

While it will naturally lack the spectacular brightness and colour performance of the True RGB models, Sony hasn't stripped away the essentials. Google TV, voice control and support for today's most popular streaming services remain intact, making it an accessible entry point into the Bravia family.

Sony Bravia 2 II specs:

• Sizes: 43, 50, 55, 65 and 75 inches
• Display type: Direct LED LCD
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: X1 Processor
• Sound: 2.0-channel
• HDMI 2.1: No (HDMI 2.0b x3)
• Gaming features: ALLM

Sony Bravia 2 II launch pricing:

• Sony Bravia 2 II 43-inch: £629 / $400 / AU$1099
• Sony Bravia 2 II 50-inch: £749 / $500 / AU$1199
• Sony Bravia 2 II 55-inch: £899 / $600 / AU$1299
• Sony Bravia 2 II 65-inch: £1199 / $700 / AU$1699
• Sony Bravia 2 II 75-inch: £1399 / $900 / AU$2199

Older Sony TVs continuing in the lineup

Sony's 2026 range isn't made up entirely of new models. Alongside the latest Bravia launches, Sony is continuing to sell several existing OLED and Mini LED models.

Sony Bravia 8 II

While the Bravia 9 II is Sony's flagship LCD TV, the Bravia 8 II sits at the top of the company's OLED range. Despite its name, it isn't a replacement for the Bravia 8. Instead, it succeeds the A95L, with the Bravia 8 continuing lower down the lineup.

It uses Sony's latest QD-OLED panel, paired with the XR Processor and Acoustic Surface Audio+ sound system. Like the Bravia 9 II, gaming support includes 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM, though there are still only two HDMI 2.1 sockets.

If you're deciding between Sony's two flagship TV technologies, the choice is fairly straightforward. The Bravia 9 II prioritises brightness and very large screen sizes, while the Bravia 8 II focuses on OLED's pixel-level contrast, and perfect blacks.

Read our Sony Bravia 8 II review

Sony Bravia 8 II specs:

• Sizes: 55 and 65 inches
• Display type: QD-OLED
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: XR Processor
• Sound: Acoustic Surface Audio+
• HDMI 2.1: Yes (x2)
• Gaming features: 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM

Sony Bravia 8 II prices:

• Sony Bravia 8 II 55-inch: £1799 / $3300 / AU$3999
• Sony Bravia 8 II 65-inch: £2299 / $2600 / AU$3299

Sony Bravia 8

The Bravia 8 remains one of Sony's core OLED TVs and continues in the lineup alongside the newer Bravia 8 II. Originally launched as the successor to the award-winning A80L, it combines a 4K WOLED panel with Sony's XR Processor and Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology.

Like the Bravia 8 II, it supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, 4K/120Hz gaming, VRR and ALLM, though only two HDMI inputs are HDMI 2.1.

Available in 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch sizes, it continues to offer a premium OLED option for buyers who don't need Sony's flagship QD-OLED model.

Read our Sony Bravia 8 review

Sony Bravia 8 specs:

• Sizes: 55, 65 and 77 inches
• Display type: OLED
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: XR Processor
• Sound: Acoustic Surface Audio+
• HDMI 2.1: Yes (x2)
• Gaming features: 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM

Sony Bravia 8 prices:

• Sony Bravia 8 55-inch: £1399 / $1600 / AU$2499
• Sony Bravia 8 65-inch: £1799 / $2000 / AU$2999
• Sony Bravia 8 77-inch: £2699 / $3000 / AU$4499

Sony Bravia 8A

The Bravia 8A is a variant of the Bravia 8, rather than an all-new TV. Sony says that it delivers identical picture and sound performance, with the only differences being a non-backlit remote control and fewer Sony Pictures Core streaming credits.

Available in the same three sizes as the Bravia 8, the Bravia 8A gives buyers another option if pricing differs between the two models. If it's noticeably cheaper, it could prove the better buy, given that Sony says performance is otherwise unchanged.

Sony Bravia 8A specs:

• Sizes: 55, 65 and 77 inches
• Display type: OLED
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: XR Processor
• Sound: Acoustic Surface Audio+
• HDMI 2.1: Yes (x2)
• Gaming features: 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM

Sony Bravia 8A prices:

• Sony Bravia 8A 55-inch: £1199 / $N/A / AU$N/A
• Sony Bravia 8A 65-inch: £1499 / $N/A / AU$N/A
• Sony Bravia 8A 77-inch: £2399 / $N/A / AU$N/A

Sony Bravia 5

The Bravia 5 continues as Sony's most affordable Mini LED TV, offering a step up from conventional LED sets without the price of the company's flagship models.

Combining Mini LED backlighting with Sony's XR Processor, it brings many of the company's premium picture-processing features to a wider audience.

Available in sizes from 55 inches up to a huge 98 inches, the Bravia 5 also supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, 4K/120Hz gaming, VRR and ALLM. As with many Sony TVs, only two HDMI inputs support the full HDMI 2.1 specification.

If you're looking for a Sony Mini LED TV without stretching to one of the company's flagship models, the Bravia 5 remains a compelling option.

Read our Sony Bravia 5 review

Sony Bravia 5 specs:

• Sizes: 55, 65, 75, 85 and 98 inches
• Display type: Mini LED LCD
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: XR Processor
• Sound: Acoustic Multi-Audio (40W)
• HDMI 2.1: Yes (x2)
• Gaming features: 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM

Sony Bravia 5 prices:

• Sony Bravia 5 55-inch: £1099 / $1400 / AU$1699
• Sony Bravia 5 65-inch: £1299 / $1500 / AU$1999
• Sony Bravia 5 75-inch: £1599 / $2000 / AU$2499
• Sony Bravia 5 85-inch: £1999 / $2400 / AU$2999
• Sony Bravia 5 98-inch: £4499 / $5000 / AU$5999

Sony A90K

The A90K remains Sony's premium small-screen OLED, offering buyers a high-end option in 42-inch and 48-inch sizes. Powered by the Cognitive Processor XR, it combines a 4K OLED panel with Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio+ sound system and Google TV.

Gaming features include 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM, with two HDMI 2.1 inputs available. While Sony's newer OLEDs deliver improvements in brightness and overall performance, the A90K remains a premium OLED choice for anyone who wants a more compact TV.

Sony Bravia A90K specs:

• Sizes: 42 and 48 inches
• Display type: OLED
• Resolution: 4K
• Processor: Cognitive Processor XR
• Sound: Acoustic Surface Audio+
• HDMI 2.1: Yes (x2)
• Gaming features: 4K/120Hz, VRR, ALLM

Sony Bravia A90K prices:

• Sony A90K 42-inch: £1399 / $1300 / AU$n/a
• Sony A90K 48-inch: £1499 / $1400 / AU$n/a

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Decisions, decisions... Sony Bravia 3 vs Sony Bravia 5: which is the best value Sony TV?

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When Sony officially unveiled its 2026 TV range, there was plenty of disappointment that it didn’t include a new OLED model – much of it from me.

These days, Sony tends to work on two-year lifecycles for its TVs, so I wasn’t expecting a successor to last year’s Bravia 8 II; but a replacement for 2024’s Bravia 8 seemed a fairly safe bet – as did a successor to the A90K, which is now an incredible four years old.

The omission prompted some (again, mostly me) to theorise that Sony had in fact turned its back on OLED entirely, and that the Bravia 8 II could be the brand’s last OLED model.

Last month, though, we reported on rumours that Sony was bracing to launch a brand-new OLED TV. And now, those rumours have been all but confirmed by the appearance of this new OLED set on several of Sony’s own websites.

The listings, first spotted by High Def News (thanks, The Walkman Blog), confirm that the new OLED is indeed the Bravia 6. And, if the name wasn’t a big enough hint, the TV’s tagline – “OLED essentials, now within reach” – also confirms that this is indeed an entry-level OLED TV.

Naturally, I’m disappointed that Sony isn’t launching a new flagship OLED at this stage, but if the Bravia 6 is indeed Sony’s most affordable OLED TV yet, as the tagline suggests, that’s rather exciting news in its own right.

Full tech specs are currently absent from the live pages (another suggestion that they have gone live earlier than planned), but there are some nuggets of information to be gleaned.

First, the TV is listed in sizes ranging from 48 inches to 83 inches. That’s a broader range than Sony typically offers for its OLED TVs, but it’s also highly suggestive of the Bravia 6 using LG Display’s new OLED SE panel, which is available in exactly those sizes and notably not in 42 inches.

While it’s not confirmed, we believe this is the panel that is already found in the LG B6, a set we will be reviewing very soon.

Another encouraging detail is that the Bravia 6 sports four HDMI 2.1 sockets. Gamers (myself included) have long lamented Sony’s models being limited to just two HDMI 2.1 sockets, with that limitation even being true of the new flagship Bravia 9 II, so this is very good news.

The listing also confirms that Dolby Vision is supported on the video side, and that Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are present on the audio side.

Unsurprisingly, like every other modern Bravia TV, the Bravia 6 also features the Google TV platform, which can be operated via voice control (though it’s not clear whether this is via a microphone built into the remote control or the TV itself).

We do know the TV includes ambient sensors, with the listing promising automatic picture adjustments based on room conditions.

None of the leaked listings includes pricing, so we don’t yet have any indication of where the Bravia 6 will sit in Sony’s range.

We don’t even know, in fact, whether the Bravia 6 will even come to the UK. Sony has a recent habit of releasing some models in certain regions but not others.

If it does launch the new model in the UK, there’s no guarantee that it will do so in all sizes: I note that Sony Hong Kong is listing the Bravia 6 in 48-, 55- and 65-inch sizes, while Sony Gabon is listing the 55-, 65-, 77- and 83-inch sizes.

We have approached Sony UK for comment. We don’t expect the company to confirm the Bravia 6 ahead of an official announcement, but with multiple regional Sony websites now listing the TV, that announcement surely can’t be far away.

Stay tuned for more on the Sony Bravia 6 as we get it.

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Will the Bravia 6 be good enough and cheap enough to hit our list of the best cheap TVs?

LG has launched its latest moveable screen display to deliver “a more flexible and enjoyable entertainment experience”.

That comes in the form of the rather clunkily named StanbyME 2 Max (does anyone else have Ben E. King stuck in their head now?), which expands on the first iteration five years after it came out.

The idea is to take the screen with you from room to room, as it features a detachable display that can be mounted on a wheeled stand. You can use it in either portrait or landscape mode, and you can use the screen-mirroring function with your phone.

The previous model was available in 27 inches; the new version bumps that up a little to 32 inches. This display supports up to 4K resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and Dolby Vision HDR.

There is also a built-in battery that offers up to 4.5 hours of use before needing to be plugged into the mains, so it should last for at least the runtime of Oppenheimer (and then the start of Barbie).

In terms of audio, there is Dolby Atmos support to provide “an enveloping soundscape with richer detail”. The system is also powered by LG’s Alpha 8 AI Processor Gen3, which uses AI to deliver a virtual 11.1.2-channel surround sound.

When not in use, it can display artwork from the LG Gallery+, which will possibly make it less of an eyesore.

We are still waiting on UK or Australian pricing, but it costs $1299 in the US (around £970 / AU$1870). That seems pretty steep for a 32-inch display, even if it can be wheeled around the house.

Whether it will be a practical portable addition to your home or just a bigger screen to doom scroll on remains to be seen, but we are certainly curious to find out.

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Here is our LG C6 OLED TV review

If you want a satisfyingly cinematic or sporting experience at home, there really is no substitute for screen size.

The good news is that a big TV needn't cost big money. These days, 65-inch TVs go for much less money than you might imagine, and if you wait for a big sales event, your cash can go even further.

And it just so happens that we're right in the middle of a big sales event – Amazon Prime Day – and I've sifted through all of the deals to find three super-cheap 65-inch TVs that I can recommend as great buys.

• View all the Prime Day deals on Amazon

What do I know about it? I'm so glad you asked!

I've been testing TVs for almost 20 years now, so I know the good from the bad (and the ugly, for that matter). I've also been personally involved in every What Hi-Fi? TV review in probably the last 10 years – and that includes the reviews of the three models I'm recommending here.

Happy with those credentials? Excellent! Here are my three picks, ranked in order of quality.

1. TCL Q6C

Deal price UK: £529 at Amazon
Deal price US: n/a

If you're looking for the best-value 65-inch TV in the Prime Day sales, this is the one I'd buy.

The TCL Q6C impressed us so much in testing that we awarded it five stars and described it as "an absolute steal". That's high praise for any TV, but it's especially impressive when you're talking about a 65-inch set that's currently selling for well under £600.

What makes the Q6C stand out is that it brings technologies normally associated with much more expensive TVs down into the budget category. It uses a Mini LED backlight with local dimming, alongside Quantum Dot colour technology, and the result is a picture that's far more sophisticated than the price suggests.

In our review, we were particularly impressed by the TV's contrast and black-level performance. Dark scenes look surprisingly deep and convincing, while bright HDR highlights have real punch.

Colours are another strong point, delivering plenty of vibrancy and richness without tipping into the sort of exaggerated look that often plagues cheaper TVs.

It's also an excellent option for sport and gaming. Motion is handled confidently, helping fast-moving action stay clear and composed, while gamers get features such as 4K/144Hz support, VRR and low input lag.

No TV at this price is perfect, of course. The sound is merely decent rather than exceptional (something that can be rectified with one of the best budget soundbars), and you'll get the best results by spending a little time tweaking the picture settings. But those are minor caveats when the overall performance is this strong.

Simply put, if your budget stretches to the TCL Q6C, it's the best cheap 65-inch TV I've seen in the Prime Day sales.

2. Amazon Ember QLED

Deal price UK: £600 at Amazon
Deal price US: $710 at Amazon

The TCL Q6C is my top pick, but the Amazon Ember QLED isn't far behind, given its current Prime Day price.

In fact, one of my colleagues recently described the deal on this TV as "impossible to ignore", and it's easy to see why. Amazon has cut the price dramatically, turning what was already a solid mid-range TV into one of the most tempting bargains in the sales.

The Ember QLED is a significant step forward from Amazon's previous QLED efforts. It features a full-array backlight with 160 dimming zones and a panel that's considerably brighter than its predecessor, resulting in a picture that's sharper, punchier and more three-dimensional than you might expect at this sort of money.

During testing, we were particularly impressed by its detail levels and colour performance. Images look crisp and vibrant, while upscaling of lower-quality content is handled well enough that everyday broadcast TV remains enjoyable.

The TV also supports every major HDR format, including Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, so you're covered regardless of which streaming service you use.

Another advantage over many budget rivals is the sound. Built-in TV audio is rarely worth talking about, but the Ember QLED produces a fuller, clearer and more spacious presentation than most affordable sets manage.

Why isn't it above the TCL? Primarily because the Q6C's Mini LED backlight delivers superior black levels, contrast and gaming performance. The Amazon also tops out at 60Hz, making it less appealing to serious gamers.

Still, if you're heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem or simply want a big, capable and easy-to-use 65-inch TV for as little money as possible, the Ember QLED is an excellent Prime Day buy.

3. Samsung U8000F

Deal price UK: £367 at Amazon
Deal price US: $400 at Samsung

The Samsung U8000F is the TV I recommend if your budget is as tight as possible.

At £367/$400 during Prime Day, it's substantially cheaper than both the TCL Q6C and Amazon Ember QLED, and that price difference is impossible to ignore. In fact, it's one of the least expensive big-brand 65-inch models you can buy.

Of course, some compromises are inevitable at this sort of money. Unlike the TCL and Amazon models above, the U8000F doesn't have a Mini LED or full-array backlight, and its picture isn't as bright or as impactful when displaying HDR content. Black levels are also less convincing, meaning movie nights won't have quite the same cinematic punch.

That said, Samsung has done a commendable job with the fundamentals. In our testing, we found the U8000F delivered a balanced, natural picture that avoids many of the exaggerated traits often seen on budget TVs. Colours are pleasingly authentic, detail levels are respectable, and standard-definition and HD content are handled particularly well.

Samsung's excellent Tizen smart platform is another big plus. It's packed with streaming apps, easy to navigate and generally feels more polished than many rival smart TV systems.

The biggest reason to choose the U8000F over the TVs above is simple: value. While the TCL Q6C is undoubtedly the better performer and the Ember QLED offers a more advanced specification, both cost considerably more. If spending £500-£600 on a TV still feels like a stretch, the Samsung gives you a huge screen from a trusted brand for comfortably under £400.

No, it's not the best TV in this list. But when price becomes the priority, the U8000F makes a very strong case for itself.

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On Monday, I wrote about how tempted I was to buy the 42-inch LG C5, which had dropped to a record-low £649.

I already own what I consider to be the best OLED TV available – the awesome Sony Bravia 8 II – but, at that price, the C5 was well worth buying for use in my spare room, where it could perform gaming and work monitor duties, as well as the odd streaming binge.

But yesterday, I updated that story to point out that the price for the 42-inch had dropped to £623. The previous price that I had thought was unbeatable had been beaten.

And now, would you believe, it's been beaten again: the 42-inch LG C5 is down to just £611 at Amazon.

That's a nuts price for a TV this good.

At £611 from Amazon, the 42-inch LG C5 is one of those deals that feels almost too good to be true.

In our five-star review, we praised its wonderfully balanced OLED picture, excellent motion handling, natural colours and superb contrast, all of which combine to deliver a brilliantly engaging and authentic viewing experience.

It's also among the most comprehensively specified gaming TVs available, with four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets supporting 4K/144Hz, VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming.

The sound is fairly ordinary, but that's a common weakness among TVs at any price and one that's easily fixed with one of the best budget soundbars.

Everything else about the C5 feels premium, making this deal particularly impressive. At £611, you're getting a TV that performs like a flagship for little more than the price of many mid-range rivals.

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And here are all of the best Amazon Prime Day TV deals

I am a very lucky guy: the best TV I've ever tested (and I've been reviewing TVs for 19 years) is also now the TV I use at home.

That TV is the Sony Bravia 8 II, and it really is as awesome to live with as I had expected.

• View all the Prime Day deals

Why, then, am I eyeing up another TV in the Amazon Prime Day sales?

Two reasons: I'd love to add an OLED to my spare room for gaming, and this deal is just too exceptional to pass up.

£623 at Amazon is just unbelievable for a TV this good, and it takes it from a super-premium option that would have to be your main TV, to a good price to pay for a second room TV.

My plan for this 42-inch OLED is to use it as a gaming TV and a monitor for work.

Its gaming specs are impeccable: four HDMI 2.1 sockets that all fully support 4K/144Hz, 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM; a superbly implemented HGIG mode for super-accurate HDR in games; and a Dolby Vision gaming mode.

It's great as a monitor, too, with neat, user-created software available that enables monitor-style features such as auto-wake.

Even if you've no interest in gaming or productivity, though, the 42-inch C5 is awesome for TV shows and movies, with a really balanced and authentic performance that makes full use of OLED's perfect blacks and pixel-level contrast control.

Other than the limp sound (which I recommend solving with one of the best budget soundbars), this TV is great at everything it does, and I think it's just irresistible at this price.

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Can you believe that there was a time when Samsung didn’t feature a single OLED TV in its range? That all changed in 2022, when it put its spin on OLED by adding a layer of Quantum Dots and launched the excellent S95B QD-OLED TV.

Five years later, the brand is now reaping the benefits of the self-emissive panel technology. It now makes some of the finest OLED TVs around – take the five-star S95F and S90F duo from last year – and its 2026 lineup features more OLED TVs than ever before.

Of course, Samsung was never going to celebrate half a decade of OLED success without taking things up a notch, which is why it has introduced a new, rather unusual flagship model that takes inspiration from one of the brand's other most successful models.

That new flagship OLED is the S99H, a premium QD-OLED TV that oozes style and sophistication, thanks at least in part to its aesthetic similarities to the wildly successful, design-led The Frame LCD range.

Here, though, those smart good looks have been blended with the core abilities of the excellent S95F – with a generous helping of performance upgrades for good measure.

The result? A showstopping OLED TV that blends style and substance, and one that we think could dethrone the current reigning champion of our best OLED TV list: the Sony Bravia 8 II.

Price

We have the 55-inch Samsung S99H before us today, and it’s officially priced at £2499, though in true Samsung fashion, that launch pricing hasn’t stuck around for long. We’re already seeing a £100 decrease across all sizes, which puts the 65-inch version at £3199, the 77-inch model at £4199, and the 83-inch size at £5999.

Now, we need to clear something up regarding model numbers for different regions.

In the US and Australia, Samsung is calling this model the S95H. Despite the different name, it is an identical TV. In these regions, you’ll find the 55-inch S95H for $2500 / AU$3999, the 65-inch S95H for $3400 / AU$5299, the 77-inch S95H for $4500 / AU$7999, and the 83-inch S95H for $6500 / AU$9995.

That's not the end of the story, though. To confuse things even more, Samsung is selling a model under the S95H name here in the UK, too, but it’s a different TV. From what we gather, it is the same TV as the S99H, but without the metal frame-style design. In fact, it looks identical to last year’s S95F.

So, to reiterate, the S99H we're testing here is known as the S95H in the US and Australia, but that is not the same as the UK's S95H TV. Yes, we have given some constructive feedback to Samsung on all of this.

Got all that? Then let's consider the S99H's competition, which primarily comes in the form of Sony’s awesome, Award-winning Bravia 8 II, the 55-inch version of which, after around a year on sale, now costs around £1799 / $2600 / AU$3995. That makes it significantly cheaper than the S99H in the UK, but there's rough pricing parity between the two TVs in the US and Australia.

There’s also the 55-inch LG G6 to consider, which appears to be widely discounted to £1840 here in the UK, but is so far sticking to its $2500 / AU$3995 launch price in the US and Australia, respectively.

Design

We’re confident in saying that this is one of the most unusual-looking TVs to enter our AV testing room.

Samsung clearly took inspiration from its hugely popular The Frame TV when it came to designing the S99H, and while this television’s looks won’t be to everyone’s taste, we’re just pleased to see a TV company that’s willing to push the boat out when it comes to design.

The S99H features a two-layer design, with an OLED screen section mounted onto a slightly larger metal backplate, with a roughly 2cm gap between. Samsung calls this its “FloatLayer” design.

It’s hard to describe, but the effect it gives is essentially a floating OLED panel surrounded by a premium metal frame. Much like LG’s G-series, this TV is designed to be wall-mounted, and while we can’t do that in our testing room, we have seen it wall-mounted at various hands-on events leading up to launch.

In short, the S99H looks like a work of art when it's fixed to a wall, as the floating design becomes really quite striking and effective. Despite the two-layer design, the overall depth is just 2.8cm, which also helps to sell the futuristic look that Samsung is going for.

Unfortunately, the TV doesn’t look quite as suave when it’s set up in its tabletop configuration. Samsung includes two quite cheap-feeling plastic feet with the TV that feel somewhat at odds with the rest of the premium design, and the metal bezel and floating design look less convincing when it's not attached to a wall.

Samsung also includes two remotes in the box: a “traditional” button-heavy number, and a sleeker “smart” remote. The latter includes both a USB-C socket and a small solar panel on the back for easy recharging, though it’s frustratingly not backlit. Then again, neither are the remotes included with the aforementioned Sony or LG TVs, so we can’t knock Samsung too much here.

Features

Samsung’s penchant for cramming (almost) every imaginable feature into its TVs is, once again, evident with the S99H.

We’ll start with the QD-OLED display, which Samsung has managed to squeeze even more brightness out of since we last saw it on the S95F. It can now reportedly reach a whopping 2700 nits in the Movie picture mode, and as you’ll come to find out in the picture section of this review, there are plenty of instances in which we find ourselves being taken aback by how bright this TV can get.

Samsung has also improved its Glare Free coating this year, making it more effective at combating reflections and glare from ambient light. The matte display also makes artwork from Samsung’s Art Mode feature look more realistic for those who want a TV that blends into its surroundings.

In usual Samsung fashion, HDR support comes in the form of HDR10+ (including the Adaptive and Gaming versions), HDR10 and HLG, but not Dolby Vision.

Samsung's answer to Dolby Vision 2, HDR10+ Advanced, is also supported by the S99H. Unfortunately, no content is available in the new format yet, and we don't have a date for its arrival. Amazon is said to be working on adding it to Prime Video in the not too distant future, though.

Hardcore PC gamers will be pleased to learn that the S99H can handle signals right up to 4K/165Hz, as well as the console-friendly 4K/120Hz format, across all four of its HDMI 2.1 sockets. VRR, ALLM and HDR10+ Gaming are also all supported.

All of the connections are built into a side-facing nook in the rear of the TV, which is a departure from the One Connect box that has come with Samsung’s previous flagship OLED TVs.

One Connect does live on, though, and in a quite remarkable way: Samsung is offering an optional Wireless One Connect accessory, which is set to launch in July for £299 / $350 (AU price TBC).

This features four HDMI sockets, and because it connects to the S99H wirelessly, it takes the total HDMI 2.1 socket count to a staggering eight. That’s enough to support all three of the current-generation consoles, a gaming PC, a 4K Blu-ray player, a soundbar or AVR, and a streaming device, and you’d still have one spare.

The S99H also supports Dolby Atmos, both via HDMI eARC and through its built-in 4.2.2-channel 70W sound system.

Samsung offers two simplistic sound modes, Standard and Amplify, but there is also a range of Samsung-specific sound processing features based on its Vision AI platform, including Object Tracking Sound Plus, Active Voice Amplifier Pro, Adaptive Sound Pro, and AI Sound Controller Pro; all of which are fairly self-explanatory.

Q Symphony also returns. This allows you to use the TV’s speakers in unison with those of a connected Samsung soundbar, but it should be approached with caution – we generally find that a good soundbar performs best when the less capable speakers of a TV don't get involved.

AI also steps in to help with picture processing, as Samsung has implemented its 4K AI Upscaling Pro, AI Motion Enhancer Pro and Auto HDR Remastering Pro features, alongside a Real Depth Enhancer contrast enhancement system and Colour Booster Pro.

On the subject of AI, Samsung has applied its “AI for All” mantra in swathes here, as the S99H is positively dripping in artificial intelligence, right down to the AI button on the remote.

A click of this button brings up Samsung’s Vision AI interface, which can recognise on-screen content and provide extra contextual information. This includes related content, cast information and prompts to find out more detailed information about the show or movie.

Scrolling from this page brings us to a more generalised AI interface, from which Samsung allows you to pick your preferred system. Here you can ask for recipes, generate AI wallpapers, or ask general questions. The sky is, hypothetically, the limit.

This is all made possible by the same NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor found in last year’s S95F, as well as Samsung’s Tizen OS platform. The operating system has had a fairly comprehensive refresh for 2026, with a new content bar at the top that splits your apps into categories including entertainment, gaming and art, and the operation feels generally slicker.

App coverage is mostly excellent, with a wide range of international and domestic streaming applications. Samsung has added BBC iPlayer support since launch, and it joins the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, ITVX and Amazon Prime Video.

Samsung TV Plus, which features hundreds of free over-the-internet streaming channels, is also included, and gamers are well looked after thanks to the presence of apps for services such as Xbox, Amazon Luna, and Nvidia GeForce Now.

Picture quality

It’s clear that Samsung has been working to tweak and adjust its picture processing over the years in the pursuit of achieving that final pinch of picture quality excellence, and the S99H is evidence that its work has paid off. This is Samsung’s most mature TV yet, and it’s all the better for that.

We opt for Filmmaker Mode as our preferred picture preset, albeit with a couple of tweaks to get the best performance possible: we switch Colour Temperature from its Warm 2 default to Warm 1, and turn the judder and blur reduction settings up to 1.

The resulting picture is extraordinary, and it makes any content we throw at it – from Blade Runner 2049, Civil War, Pan and Drive, to No Time To Die and The Batman – shine. We have the S99H set up next to the Award-winning Sony Bravia 8 II, and despite the tough competition, the Samsung delivers an unflinching visual feast.

Starting with the opening scene of Blade Runner 2049, we find that the S99H serves up oodles of contrast, which results in a deeply three-dimensional picture with superb highlights.

The overhead shot of the solar farm instantly draws us in, thanks to the superb detail levels mixed with the excellent sense of depth. We also approve of how the S99H handles the gloomy, bluish-grey sky, as well as the skin tones of Officer K and Sapper Morton.

In fact, the S99H makes the Sony Bravia 8 II look a bit green in our head-to-head comparison, and skin tones start to look a bit pasty, too. Sony TVs have traditionally leaned towards the cooler side when it comes to colour reproduction, even in Filmmaker Mode, but it’s interesting to see these TVs take a different approach, particularly as they use the same panel technology.

This is most evident in the scene from Pan in which the floating pirate ship enters a cavern; the Samsung runs rings around the Sony when it comes to maintaining low-light colour volume. Skin tones are noticeably warmer and more vibrant on the Samsung in this instance. That being said, the Sony is evidently better at maintaining shadow detail.

In fact, some shadow detail is lost entirely on the S99H, especially during dark sequences in moodier flicks such as Drive and The Batman. In both films, we find facial features and clothing textures occasionally succumb to darkness, while the Sony has no trouble keeping them visible.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Samsung takes the crown when it comes to delivering dazzlingly bright highlights; in fact, we’re adding the S99H to the list of TVs that we’ve had to shield our eyes from physically.

Reverting to the exceptionally bright (and critically dismal) Pan, we find the mix of punchy, concentrated highlights and rich colours stealing our attention away from the Sony entirely.

However, the more conventional-looking Civil War is the perfect test disc to highlight exactly what this TV does well. Everything from the night-time forest fire sequence to a helicopter gliding over a lake and the Charlottesville military camp looks fantastic.

There’s a real sense of nuance here that previous Samsung TVs haven’t always been able to capture. Foliage, for example, is wonderfully textured and detailed without looking over-etched, and while the colours do seem a smidge over-saturated compared with those from the Bravia 8 II, it's not to an extent that looks instinctively wrong.

The sequence that shows the journalists driving through a forest fire seals the deal here. The mix of detail, depth and contrast served up by the S99H is remarkable – the striking, bright flames contrast wonderfully with the dark background, and there is a real sense of intensity and warmth derived from how Samsung's OLED handles highlights.

We fire up the standard Blu-ray of Logan to assess the S99H’s upscaling capabilities, and it's a similar story here, too. Detail levels are superb, and if we weren’t so eagle-eyed, the S99H could almost have fooled us into thinking we were watching a 4K disc.

Colours are also nicely balanced, and motion remains solid, too. This TV excels regardless of what you throw at it.

Sound

It’s not just the picture performance that Samsung has improved. Sound has also been upgraded, which is a good sign after the S95F’s middling delivery.

We stick with Civil War, which highlights everything from dialogue to explosions, and even Dolby Atmos height effects. The rhythmic swooping of helicopter blades is delivered with a strong leading edge, underpinned by a pleasingly controlled dose of bass.

Moving on to the scene in which Lee and Jessie have a heart-to-heart conversation in a wooded area, we approve of how the S99H captures the subtle characteristics of their voices well, and overall, the dialogue is crisp and well-defined. The atmospheric effects, including birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind, sound pleasingly spacious, too.

There is plenty of height and width to the sound, which is also evident in Blade Runner 2049. The sequence in which Officer K returns to his home from the police precinct is another example of how the S99H captures atmospheric sounds to great effect.

The booming audio adverts are placed with impressive precision and plenty of height, while the S99H somehow manages to beam the sound of the bustling street in a way that creates a fairly convincing sense of immersion.

While we’re on the subject of Blade Runner, we put the S99H through our usual chapter two stress test and find that Samsung has changed its approach. Where many of the brand's previous models have been quite bassy but a little prone to distortion, the S99H digs less deep but proves to be almost entirely distortion-free.

Sony takes a similar approach with the Bravia 8 II (and many other of its TVs), and we ultimately find it to be a sensible compromise. We would of course like more bass weight, but if that has to be sacrificed somewhat to reduce distracting distortion, then so be it.

It’s not all good news on the sonic front, though: like the S95F, the S99H simply doesn't go very loud. Even close to its maximum volume levels, this is an easy TV to talk over. The Amplify setting helps to negate this somewhat, but it does result in some dynamic compression.

The Sony Bravia 8 II also does a better job of organising the sound during scenes with lots of competing effects. The ending battle of Civil War is a perfect example, as the Sony balances dialogue, explosions, and vehicle sounds with care to create a more impactful and immersive soundscape.

With all that said, the S99H is still a big improvement over the S95F where sound is concerned, and it's ultimately a very usable (and even enjoyable) built-in sound system.

Verdict

There’s no other way of putting it; Samsung has knocked it out of the park with the S99H.

With a refined approach to picture tuning, a feature set that (with one key caveat) many TVs can only dream of, and a greatly improved sound system compared with last year’s model, the company’s latest flagship OLED TV takes the title from the S95F as the best TV the company has made to date.

The bold new design might not suit all tastes, and die-hard Dolby Vision fans may be disappointed, but we’re struggling to find reasons not to recommend the Samsung S99H to anyone considering splashing some serious cash on a flagship OLED TV.

SCORES

• Picture 5
• Sound 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony Bravia 8 II

Also consider the LG G6

Read our Philips OLED910 review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: price

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

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

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

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

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

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: design

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: features

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WINNER: Hisense UR9

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: picture quality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: sound quality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

Hisense UR9 vs Sony Bravia 8 II: verdict

The Hisense UR9 is a hugely important TV.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OVERALL WINNER: Sony Bravia 8 II

There’s a new HDR format in town to challenge Dolby Vision and HDR10+’s dominance; but there’s a catch that TV fans should be mindful of.

The HDR10+ Alliance – which, as the name suggests, is responsible for the HDR10+ format we see on countless TVs, projectors and smartphones – has announced Eclipsa Video, with support from two of the biggest technology companies, and one of the biggest media corporations, in the world.

The open-source video format is based on SMPTE 2094-50, a video specification recently developed by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. Experts from Apple, Google and NBCUniversal are working to bring this new HDR standard into the mainstream.

Apple has been a keen advocate for Dolby’s picture and audio formats for quite some time, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is the first service to support Dolby Vision 2. So seeing these companies working on an alternative format is something of a surprise. Opposing HDR formats have, nevertheless, lived in harmony on Philips, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL TVs in the past.

And if that “Eclipsa” name sounds familiar, you may already be aware of Eclipsa Audio. This immersive sound technology is based on the Immersive Audio Model and Format (IAMF) standard developed by Google and Samsung.

Details on exactly what Eclipsa Video will bring to the table are slim as yet, but the HDR10+ Alliance claims that it will ensure “highest-quality video on compatible smartphones and next-generation devices”.

And there is the catch we mentioned earlier: this new video format will be hitting smartphones first, with the first supported devices expected to launch later this year. Other device categories are expected to follow, but there is no specific information as to if and when Eclipsa Video will make its way to TVs.

The good news is that Eclipsa Video doesn’t seem to be replacing HDR10+, and the statement released by the HDR10+ Alliance seems to suggest it will even work alongside it.

It says that “Eclipsa Video seamlessly integrates with the broadly supported HDR10+ standard” and that devices that support it can carry the “Eclipsa Video powered by HDR10+” branding.

With that in mind, it seems as though Dolby Vision and HDR10+ can both breathe a sigh of relief for now, although we’re keeping a close eye on Eclipsa Video to see where it goes next.

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After months of teasers and snippets of information, Sony’s first line of RGB Mini LED TVs is finally here.

The Sony Bravia 9 II and the step-down Sony Bravia 7 II use ‘True RGB’ technology, which the company claims can offer “up to four times the colour volume of OLED” – and outdo the brightness of Mini LED.

Sony follows a host of other brands that have thrown their hat into the RGB Mini LED ring, with Hisense, Samsung and TCL all delivering their own take on the technology.

Some brands use two-diode LEDs for their RGB models. These employ green and blue diodes that shine light through a phosphor layer to generate colours.

But Sony is using independently controlled red, green and blue diodes, which the brand claims will deliver a more accurate image.

The TVs are also powered by Sony’s proprietary RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro, which the company says, “drives each LED with high precision, improving brightness, reducing blooming, and producing purer colour than conventional Mini LED displays”.

The Sony Bravia 9 II is the brand’s flagship ‘True RGB’ model.

It claims to reach the same peak brightness levels as the BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor, which goes up to 4000 nits. No official figure has been given for either new TV model, but if it goes as high as the monitor, we could be in for a very bright picture.

The flagship model is also powered by "RGB Triluminos Max and Luminance Booster Pro", which Sony claims delivers "smoother gradation, and accurate hues at higher brightness levels".

You can see the pricing of both the Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II below.

The TVs should launch in late spring with pre-orders available now. And we should have US and Australian pricing soon.

Both TVs offer Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, which gives a comprehensive set of surround sound options.

While Sony says both models offer a three-dimensional audio experience, the Bravia 9 II has the edge with the inclusion of up-firing beam tweeters. The company says this delivers more cinematic surround sound with "powerful depth and true immersion".

You will find Dolby Vision support with both models but, like all Sony TVs, there is no HDR10+ on the cards.

They both also employ X-Wide Angle Pro technology, which Sony says means “colours stay consistent even at wide viewing angles”.

Only available with the Bravia 9 II is the Immersive Black Screen Pro feature, which aims to reduce screen reflections.

Both TVs have a central ‘mirage stand’ which uses a layer of clever transparent material to conceal wires under the base of your screen. This isn't available with the biggest screen sizes, however.

RGB LED TVs have already been dubbed as a possible “OLED killer” by many because of the higher colour volume and brightness claims.

We’ll have to wait until we get both models into our test room to see if the proof is in the pudding – but you can read our first impressions in our Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II hands-on reviews.

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High-end German AV brand Loewe is applying its premium touch to some pint-sized 4K TVs, launching two new models designed to offer a top-notch picture, without taking up too much space.

The We. SEE LCD dc (the dc stands for dual channel) comes in two sizes: 32- and 43-inches. As the name suggests, both sizes feature direct-lit LCD displays with full-array local dimming and 4K resolutions.

Loewe tells us that the 32-inch model features 260 dimming zones. Alongside it, the 43-inch version has 390 zones.

Small, 32-inch, 4K TVs are very rare. Loewe claims the atypically high-resolution panel will let the set deliver picture quality traditionally reserved for larger sets.

The We. SEE LCD is slated to deliver "deep blacks, vivid colours and finely tuned brightness control" according to Loewe. HDR support is also comprehensive, with HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision IQ listed as included formats.

Below the dinky displays, you'll find an integrated 60W soundbar, which also supports Dolby Atmos.

The We. SEE LCD is also compatible with Loewe's Klang wireless subwoofers for those seeking extra bass, or you can bypass the built-in speakers entirely by connecting an external audio device via HDMI eARC.

The TVs are also surprisingly well-equipped for gamers, with two HDMI 2.1 sockets (alongside two HDMI 2.0 ports), which both support VRR and ALLM. The 43-inch model specifically includes 4K/120Hz support. Sadly, the 32-inch model appears to be capped at 60Hz.

Streaming is handled by Loewe's os9 platform, which is underpinned by the VIDAA app store (as seen on Hisense TVs too). App support includes Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and more.

Loewe has also included its dual-channel technology, which takes advantage of the company's SL832 chassis and twin triple-tuner, to let users watch a show while recording another in the background.

You can also expect Loewe's usual combination of premium materials and craftsmanship. The We. SEE sports an aluminium chassis and a solid metal base for a high-quality and robust build throughout.

There are also various options to mount this TV, including tabletop, floor-standing and wall-mounted orientations. Loewe sells a range of stands to accommodate each setup option.

As these new models bear all of the expected markings of a Loewe TV, it should come as no surprise that they carry an equally Loewe-like price tag. At £1145 for the 32-inch model and £1335 for the 43-inch version, the prices put the range in the same ballpark as a 55-inch LG C6 OLED TV.

That price can be a tough pill to swallow for what is essentially a small backlit TV. Nevertheless, the We. SEE LCD dc is available now for any premium buyer who is short on space.

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Here are our picks for the best 43-inch TVs

Read our Loewe Stellar hands-on review

Here are our picks for the best OLED TVs

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

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

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

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

Price

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

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

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

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

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

Design

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

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

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

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

Hisense has made some nice, practical decisions, though.

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

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

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

Features and specs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Picture quality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sound quality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verdict

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SCORES

• Picture 4
• Sound 4
• Features 4

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Yamaha has announced two affordable new AV receivers, both featuring Dolby Atmos and an anti-resonance feature from the brand's high-end models.

The 7.2-channel RX500A and 5.2-channel RX300A should please gamers – while each model has just four HDMI inputs (a relatively small number by AVR standards), they all support 4K/120Hz (and 8K/60Hz), VRR and ALLM.

Passthrough of Dolby Vision and HDR10+ signals is also supported.

We're promised "exceptionally stable and reliable high-quality playback", garnered from Yamaha's years in AV receiver development.

You also get Yamaha's Anti-Resonance Technology (A.R.T.) Wedge, which is usually only found on Yamaha's high-end models.

This centre-mounted fifth foot works with the four outer feet to disperse vibrations – Yamaha says this creates "exceptional stability, with focused, accurate sound."

Room correction comes as standard, so you can get decent sound no matter how oddly shaped your room is. There are also buttons for Quick Guide (which walks you through setup) and Scene (i.e. custom presets).

The RX500A is network compatible, giving you access to all the big streaming services – Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect and Qobuz Connect – as well as AirPlay 2 and Google Cast wireless tech. It can also unlock digital music stored locally within your home.

The Atmos delivery will be interesting to test, particularly in the case of the 5.2-channel RX300A, which can be switched to a 3.1.2-channel configuration to deliver the 3D audio format. In other words, the surround channels are sacrificed in the name of height channels.

The RX500A can be configured in a 5.1.2-channel arrangement, which is much more common for entry-level Atmos setups.

A heatsink above the HDMI circuitry keeps the heat under control, and HDMI eARC functionality brings audio and video from your TV to the receiver in one cable.

There are Sound Modes to tailor the sound to what you're listening to. Musical purist? You'll want Pure Direct and Stereo modes. Cinephile? Movie mode is for you, as it gives you "maximum cinematic impact". Watching at night? Night mode reduces volume while maintaining the balance, so it won't wake the kids or ruin your enjoyment.

The Yamaha RX300A is out in August for £349 (around $475 / AU$650), and the RX500A is out in September, price TBC.

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The Hisense PL2 delivers a 150-inch screen experience without the need to sacrifice your entire living room to a TV that size. Sounds good, right?

Thanks to a limited-time Amazon deal, you could be the proud owner of the PL2 for a discounted price of $1800. The $200 price cut doesn't make the projector 'cheap', but it's certainly more tempting, especially if you were in the market for one anyway.

We gave the PL2 five stars after having it in our testing room and crowned it one of the winners in our What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025. Snap it up while it's reduced.

But what makes this model worth your consideration? First off, it offers a balanced picture performance, especially when it comes to portraying natural-looking colours and solid dark detail levels.

We say in our review while watching Dune: Part Two: "The additional brightness gives explosions and the desert sand noticeably more impact and vibrancy compared with [its predecessor] the PL1, which was best in class at this price less than a year ago."

The Hisense PL2's Dolby Atmos sound performance isn't quite as impressive as its picture, but the eARC socket makes it a prime candidate to be paired with a separate sound system.

The ultra-short-throw model offers an up to 150-inch image via a laser light system that's capable of reaching 2700 lumens. This makes it an ideal TV replacement, as using the PL2 shouldn't be troubled by the intrusion of ambient light.

Furthermore, it includes the Google TV operating system, meaning support for a wide range of international and domestic streaming apps, including the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ is built in.

You'll also find HDR support in the form of HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

If you're aiming for a cinematic experience at a scale that exceeds any of the currently available best TVs, then the Hisense PL2 is worth considering, especially at this low price.

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Here's our review of the Hisense PL2

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Ultra-short throw projector vs big-screen TV: which should you buy?

LG’s C-series OLED TVs have long been among the easiest recommendations when it comes to the best OLED TVs.

They combine excellent picture quality, comprehensive gaming support and a slick smart platform, all while costing much less than flagship OLED models.

The LG C5 was already a benchmark at this level, delivering outstanding picture performance and a feature set that many rivals struggle to match. Now, the newer LG C6 has arrived, promising improved processing, higher brightness and better sound.

Both TVs earned five stars in their respective reviews, and you’re likely wondering if it’s worth spending more on the newer C6 or saving some cash and sticking with its predecessor.

Below, we break down the differences across all areas to help make your decision easier.

LG C6 vs LG C5: price

The 65-inch C6 launched with a price tag of £2500 / $2699 / AU$3999, making it cheaper in the UK and Australia than the equivalent C5 was at launch (£2700 / $2699 / AU$4299), and the same price in the US.

But that's not the whole story. Because (at the time of writing) the C6 is still brand-new, you will still have to pay that launch price. But because the C5 has now been available for over a year, it's available for vastly less.

The C6 will come down in price, too, but for now, this round simply has to go to the super-discounted C5.

** Winner: LG C5 **

LG C6 vs LG C5: design

If you were hoping for a dramatic redesign between generations, you might be disappointed. The C6 looks extremely similar to the C5, and it’s hard to distinguish the two at a glance.

Both sets feature LG’s familiar C-series design – a very thin OLED panel across most of the screen, with a thicker rectangular housing at the lower rear that contains the electronics, connections and speakers. This allows the edges of the display to remain strikingly slim, making for a more minimalist, immersive setup.

The effect is particularly appealing when wall-mounted, where the thin panel appears to hover slightly away from the wall thanks to the deeper central housing behind it.

Screen size options are also the same across both models, ranging from 42 inches to 83 inches. Their stand design is the same, too, with the central pedestal making soundbar placement a little awkward due to its forward angle.

In other words, if you liked the look of the C5, you’ll feel right at home with the C6. It remains one of the most attractive OLED TVs around – even if the design is now very familiar.

** Winner: Draw **

LG C6 vs LG C5: features

Both TVs offer a comprehensive feature set, but the C6 introduces a few upgrades under the hood.

The biggest change is the new Alpha 11 Gen 3 processor inside the C6, replacing the Alpha 9 Gen 8 chip used in the C5. LG says the newer processor enables a 12-bit processing pipeline for more precise tone and colour management.

It also enables Dual AI Super Resolution, which performs two separate AI passes when upscaling lower-resolution content – one focusing on sharpening edges and the other on refining textures and detail.

Another addition is AI HDR Remastering, which analyses each frame to enhance contrast, sharpness and colour. It can also attempt to make SDR material appear more HDR-like, though results can vary.

At 55- and 65-inch sizes, both TVs use LG Display’s established WOLED panel technology, though the larger 77- and 83-inch versions of the C6 switch to LG Display’s newer Primary RGB Tandem OLED panels.

The smart platform has also been updated. The C5 runs webOS 25, while the C6 moves to webOS 26 with tweaks including the Home Hub shortcut, a personalised My Page area and a Continue Watching row.

Gaming features are excellent on both models. Each TV offers four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports that support VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming.

The C6 gains a slight edge for PC gamers with support for refresh rates up to 4K/165Hz, while the C5 tops out at 4K/144Hz. Console players using a PS5 or Xbox Series X will effectively see the same 4K/120Hz experience on either model.

HDR support is identical across both TVs – Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG are supported, while HDR10+ remains absent.

** Winner: LG C6 **

LG C6 vs LG C5: picture

The LG C5 already impressed us with its rich colours, strong contrast and cinematic presentation. In our testing, it proved to be a consistently engaging performer, with punchy yet natural colours and particularly strong low-light colour volume.

Watching Blade Runner 2049, for instance, the C5 delivers atmospherically rich images, with convincing shadow detail and impressively nuanced colour in darker scenes. Skin tones are warm and lifelike, and there’s a pleasing sense of depth, with subjects standing out clearly against the background.

Brightness is also a strength for the C5 by traditional OLED standards. Scenes from Pan show strong highlight intensity, with sunlight shimmering through sails and vivid colours throughout the image, even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights of more advanced OLED panel types.

However, the LG C6 manages to squeeze noticeably more performance from a similar panel thanks to its new processing platform.

The most obvious improvement is brightness. Highlights appear more intense, colours carry slightly greater richness, and the overall image has a stronger sense of depth and dimensionality.

In scenes from Pan, reflections on water appear brighter and more vivid on the C6, while sunsets display smoother colour gradations and richer tones in the surrounding clouds.

Colour reproduction also sees subtle refinement. Reds and oranges appear slightly richer and more lifelike, helping skin tones look warmer and more convincing without drifting into artificial territory.

Upscaling is improved, too. Lower-resolution sources such as standard-definition content appear slightly smoother and cleaner, while HD material benefits from more refined detail handling. While the difference is subtle with higher-quality sources, it is noticeable with lower-resolution content.

The C5 remains a superb performer and still earns a five-star picture rating. But the C6 pushes things further with greater brightness, richer colours and more refined processing.

** Winner: LG C6 **

LG C6 vs LG C5: sound

Built-in audio has never been the C-series’ strongest suit, but this is another area where the C6 improves on its predecessor.

Both TVs use the same speaker hardware, but LG appears to have refined the processing and tuning on the newer model.

As a result, the C6 sounds cleaner and more controlled than the C5. Bass isn’t dramatically deeper, but it is tighter and less prone to distortion at higher volumes.

Dialogue also comes through with more warmth and character, and the soundstage feels slightly more spacious. Dolby Atmos effects project further away from the screen when required, giving the presentation a greater sense of scale.

The C5’s audio is perfectly serviceable for everyday viewing, but it lacks low-end weight and overall scale. That difference is reflected in the review scores – the C6 earns four stars for sound, while the C5 managed just three.

Neither TV replaces a proper sound system, of course, and pairing either model with one of the best soundbars remains highly recommended.

** Winner: LG C6 **

LG C6 vs LG C5: verdict

The LG C5 was already one of the best TVs for most people, delivering superb picture quality, excellent gaming features and a polished smart platform.

The LG C6 builds on that foundation with brighter images, richer colours, improved processing and better sound. It’s not a radical reinvention, but it is a clear step forward – enough to make it the new benchmark in this class.

That said, the C5 still makes a compelling case for itself. With discounts now widely available, it’s likely to remain the better value option for buyers who want a premium OLED experience without paying for the newest model.

Given our performance-per-pound (or bang-for-buck, if you prefer) mantra, we're therefore giving the C5 the win here – at least for now.

Once the C6's price has dropped to within about 20 per cent of the C5's, our buying advice will likely change – it is undoubtedly the better TV, after all – but at this moment, the value offered by the heavily discounted C5 simply can't be ignored.

** Overall winner: LG C5 **

Isn't it frustrating when things don't just work?

I'm used to my fair share of software gremlins in the products I test every day, which makes troubleshooting my system at home a bit easier. The usual answer is to turn something off and turn it back on again, but that solution doesn't solve every issue.

The problem I've been having relates to playing Dolby Vision content to my Sony OLED TV via my Sky Stream box, which results in some odd visual artefacts: little white spots flashing up randomly when streaming content in the dynamic HDR format.

Most people, including my housemates, would gladly ignore these, but not me. Instead, I began trawling through the settings of my TV and Sky Box, and swapping between the HDMI sockets to negate the issue.

Nothing seemed to work, and if I used the passthrough HDMI socket on my soundbar, then the picture would cut out entirely.

This is when it dawned on me: is my HDMI cable not up to the task? Scrolling through the Sky forums, I found many users claiming that the Stream puck comes with a high-speed cable, and one post even claimed that it's a better idea to use the cable that comes in the box.

However, being the rulebreaker that I am, I disregarded this advice. One perk of being surrounded by AV and home cinema gear 24/7 is that I am never short of an HDMI cable, and I quickly found a 4K-rated high-speed cable.

I switched the cables around, played the latest episode of the once excellent, now extremely disappointing Euphoria on HBO Max in 4K Dolby Vision, and like magic, the issues were resolved.

It sounds simple and obvious, but I think many of us, myself included, just presume that the cables supplied with our home cinema products should do the job, but that's not the case.

Now, I know that discussing digital cables is a contentious subject. Many of our readers have expressed disdain towards the pricey "snake oil" HDMI cables that make all sorts of claims and can run you hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pounds, and to be honest, I'd recommend steering clear of those too, unless you are the most die-hard home cinema enthusiast with money to burn.

But your run-of-the-mill certified high-speed HDMI cable is the real deal, and one of those doesn't have to cost all that much. I've spotted plenty on Amazon for anywhere between £5 and £10, and they can be a quick, cheap and effective way to solve issues in your home cinema set-up.

And for troubleshooting needs, it's surprising how often a picture-related issue can be fixed by double-checking that you're using the correct HDMI cable and socket.

While I'm at it, some TVs require you to select the correct setting for your HDMI sockets; for instance, my previous Philips OLED907 and current Sony A80L TVs required me to go into the input settings and select "enhanced format" to unlock some HDMI 2.1 features, including VRR and 120Hz gaming.

These are simple fixes that often get overlooked, so if you're dealing with picture problems of your own, do yourself a favour and check your cables before you start spiralling in the settings menus.

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best OLED TVs

As well as the best streaming devices

And read our full Sky Stream review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MORE:

Read our full Hisense Canvas review

Check out our picks for the best Mini LED TVs

And read our full TCL C7K review

On the hunt for one of the best OLED TVs? Then models such as the LG C6 and Sony Bravia 8 should be on your shortlist.

The LG C6 is the latest evolution of LG’s hugely popular C-series – a step-down OLED that promises improved brightness, better processing and stronger sound than its predecessor.

The Sony Bravia 8, meanwhile, is a What Hi-Fi? Award winner that builds on the legacy of the superb Sony A80L, focusing on natural colour reproduction, excellent motion handling, and a more refined audio experience.

We’ve fully reviewed both TVs and compared them in detail below to help make your choice that little bit easier.

LG C6 vs Sony Bravia 8: price

The 65-inch LG C6's launch price is £2500 / $2699/ AU$3999, and because (at the time of writing) it's brand-new, you'll be lucky to get any kind of discount on it.

The Sony Bravia 8 launched at £2699 / $2800 / AU$4495 for the 65-inch version, but that was over a year ago, and you can now get it with some massive discounts.

For now, then this round goes to the Sony model, but do keep an eye on prices – LG tends to go pretty early and pretty big on the discounts, and it might not be too long before the two TVs cost similar money.

** Winner: Sony Bravia 8 **

LG C6 vs Sony Bravia 8: design

The LG C6 sticks with a familiar formula. It features an ultra-thin OLED panel across most of its surface, paired with a central rear housing that contains the electronics and connections.

It’s lightweight, easy to manoeuvre, and works well both on a stand or mounted on a wall.

The Sony Bravia 8 takes a slightly different approach. It uses a twin-foot stand design rather than a central pedestal, with adjustable positions that make it easier to accommodate a soundbar. It can also sit very low to the surface or be raised for extra clearance.

The main practical advantage for Sony is its stand flexibility, while the LG arguably looks more striking thanks to its extremely thin panel.

** Winner: Draw **

LG C6 vs Sony Bravia 8: features

Both TVs are well equipped, but the LG C6 has a clear edge when it comes to gaming and connectivity.

It features four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, for a start, all supporting 4K/165Hz (and 4K/120Hz), VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming. This makes it one of the most versatile OLED TVs available for gamers.

In contrast, the Sony Bravia 8 offers four HDMI ports, but only two of those HDMI 2.1 spec, and one of those doubles as the eARC connection.

That can be limiting if you’re connecting multiple current-generation consoles alongside a soundbar – a surprising omission given Sony’s PlayStation heritage.

The Bravia 8 also caps out at 4K/120Hz rather than the higher refresh rates supported by the LG, though this is only likely to matter for PC gamers with powerful rigs capable of pushing higher framerates.

Elsewhere, LG uses webOS 26 on the C6, while Sony runs Google TV. Both platforms are strong on app support, though Discovery+ is absent on the LG, and BBC iPlayer failed to launch on our early review sample.

As for HDR support, it’s identical – both TVs support Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG, while HDR10+ is absent.

Under the hood, the C6 uses LG’s Alpha 11 Gen 3 processor with a 12-bit processing pipeline and AI-driven upscaling improvements. The Bravia 8, meanwhile, uses Sony’s Bravia XR processor, which focuses on delivering a more natural, cinematic image.

This is a fairly close round overall, but thanks to its additional gaming chops (most notably the extra HDMI 2.1 sockets) and slicker smart platform, we're giving the win to the C6.

** Winner: LG C6 **

LG C6 vs Sony Bravia 8: picture quality

The LG C6 delivers a brighter, richer image than previous C-series models. Highlights are more intense, colours are more vibrant, and the overall image has a stronger sense of depth and dimensionality.

Watching Pan, for example, the C6 shows clear improvements in highlight intensity and colour gradation. Reflections on water appear brighter and more vivid, while sunsets display smoother tonal transitions and richer hues in the surrounding clouds. The result is a more dynamic and three-dimensional image without sacrificing naturalism.

Upscaling is improved too, particularly with lower-resolution sources, which appear slightly cleaner and more refined, with subtle gains in edge definition and texture compared with previous C-series models.

The Sony Bravia 8, however, takes a slightly different approach. Rather than chasing maximum impact, it focuses on accuracy and naturalism.

Skin tones are a particular strength. Watching Dune Part Two, characters’ complexions appear warm and lifelike, with more realistic colour balance than many rivals. Subtle tonal shifts in skin and clothing are handled with care, helping the image feel more authentic.

Motion handling is another standout area. In Blade Runner 2049, fast-moving shots of vehicles crossing dusty landscapes are handled beautifully, with no obvious artefacts and excellent clarity throughout.

The Bravia 8 also delivers impressive contrast and depth. In darker scenes from Blade Runner 2049, fine details – such as textures in furniture and shadowy backgrounds – remain clearly visible, contributing to a strong sense of three-dimensionality.

Brightness is strong for a standard WOLED panel, and in challenging material such as Pan, the Bravia 8 produces punchy highlights with good detail retention, though it doesn’t quite match the added intensity and punch delivered by the LG C6.

Ultimately, though, while the Bravia 8 is a lovely, cinematically consistent performer in its own right, the newer C6 offers an extra bit of sparkle without deviating meaningfully from creative intent, and that's why it takes this round.

** Winner: LG C6 **

LG C6 vs Sony Bravia 8: sound quality

The LG C6 improves on previous C-series models with cleaner, more controlled audio, tighter bass and clearer dialogue. It’s a solid performance by TV standards, but it will still be comfortably beaten by a dedicated sound system, such as one of the best soundbars.

The Sony Bravia 8, however, is one of the best-sounding OLED TVs we’ve tested – and the clear leader in this step-down OLED class.

Its Acoustic Surface Audio+ system uses actuators behind the screen to produce sound, which helps audio feel more directly tied to the on-screen action. Dialogue is well placed, effects track movement convincingly, and the overall presentation feels more spacious and precise.

It does lack some low-end weight, but its control and cohesion are excellent, and it avoids the distortion that can affect many TV speaker systems.

While we still recommend a soundbar for the best experience, the Bravia 8 clearly offers a more capable and immersive built-in audio experience.

** Winner: Sony Bravia 8 **

LG C6 vs Sony Bravia 8: verdict

The LG C6 and Sony Bravia 8 are both excellent OLED TVs, but they cater to slightly different priorities.

The LG C6 is the more versatile all-rounder. It offers stronger brightness, more impactful visuals and class-leading gaming features, making it a great choice for a wide range of users.

The Sony Bravia 8, meanwhile, is the option for purists. It delivers a wonderfully natural and cinematic picture, exceptional motion handling, and some of the best built-in sound you’ll find on a TV.

All of that said, if the two TVs were the same price, we would confidently point you towards the newer LG C6.

The thing is, they're not the same price, and the fact that you can currently get the Sony for hundreds of pounds/dollars less than the LG rather complicates things.

For that reason, we're calling this one a draw for now, but should the C6 be discounted to similar levels as the Bravia 8, that's the model we recommend.

** Overall winner: Draw **

It’s early days for 2026 TVs, with some brands (Sony, for one) yet to reveal their full ranges – but I’ve already spotted a front-runner for TV of the year, and it’s probably not the model you’re expecting.

The model I’m talking about is the Philips OLED951.

In picture terms, this is Philips’ flagship TV for 2026, and while many brands seem to be taking a fairly evolutionary approach to their OLEDs this year, Philips is really pushing the boat out.

On paper, it ticks almost every box: picture performance, gaming features, spectacular flourishes and future-proofing.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the on-paper promise will translate to real-world perfection, and we’ll have to conduct a full review before we can deliver our verdict on that.

But, having now briefly seen it in action, I think there’s a good chance the OLED951 can really deliver.

Here, then, are seven reasons I think this Philips flagship OLED could end up being the TV of 2026.

It’s an OLED

An obvious one this, but the Philips OLED951 is… well… an OLED.

That’s a good thing in my book. The RGB Mini LED invasion is upon us, and there are some very good RGB Mini LEDs already out and on the way (including one from Philips), but I’m yet to see any evidence that the technology’s various strengths are a match for the pixel-level contrast control of OLED.

Perfect black pixels next to bright white or coloured ones make for unbeatable contrast, which has benefits right across the picture, particularly in terms of solidity and perceived three-dimensionality.

An OLED-beating RGB Mini LED TV might one day materialise – I’m open to that – but I predict that in 2026, at least, the best TV will be an OLED.

Brighter than the LG G6

We’ve written plenty of times about how brightness is a long way from the most important thing for a TV to deliver.

Still, lots of brightness headroom can be useful for a TV to deliver the goods in a brightly lit room. It also adds a degree of future-proofing, just in case Hollywood suddenly starts mastering lots of movies to 4000 nits (something I see very little evidence of, for what it’s worth).

Brightness isn’t going to be an issue for the OLED951, though, because Philips claims it can hit a peak brightness figure of 4500 nits, and a full-screen brightness of 400 nits.

Those are improvements over last year’s already very bright OLED950 of 800 and 50 nits, respectively.

Those figures, if achieved, will also make the OLED951 a good deal brighter than the LG G6, which shares a ‘Meta 4.0’ Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel with it – something that Philips says is down to its unique picture engine.

But will those figures be achieved? Having seen the OLED951 running against the OLED950 (see the photo above), it certainly looks like it. The OLED951 looked so much brighter that the figures given actually seem conservative.

And this isn’t just brightness for the sake of brightness, either, because, as we’ve seen in our own testing, when increased brightness is combined with OLED’s perfect black and pixel-level light control, the result is even greater contrast, which, as mentioned above, tends to make images look more solid and three-dimensional.

That was certainly the case in the side-by-side demo – the OLED951 really popped.

Four HDMI 2.1 sockets and custom settings for every game

Finally, Philips’ flagship OLEDs (and most of its other models, in fact) will have four HDMI 2.1 sockets.

These will all be able to accept gaming signals of up to 4K/165Hz, complete with VRR and HDR, including in the Dolby Vision format.

Sure, LG and Samsung have been offering OLEDs with four HDMI 2.1 sockets for years, but when combined with everything else the OLED951 offers (more of which I’ll get to), that still makes it a tantalising proposition for gamers.

Another feature that will appeal to gamers like me is the ability to customise settings for individual titles.

These settings can be designed to improve the picture (extra brightness and vibrancy for Rocket League, perhaps, and a darker, broodier presentation for Alan Wake II), give you an advantage over online rivals (through an onscreen crosshair or enhanced shadow detail, for instance), or deliver geeky gaming info such as the current frame rate.

If you’re a gaming picture quality obsessive, that’s very neat.

Ambilight and AmbiScape

Look, I know it’s not to everyone’s taste, and I certainly don’t think it makes sense for all content, but Ambilight – which extends the onscreen action onto the wall around the TV in the form of coloured light – remains a spectacular feature.

And now your room lights can be synchronised with what you’re watching more easily, too. This isn’t an entirely new feature, but previously, you needed Hue bulbs.

Now, thanks to the new AmbiScape feature, lights that conform to the Matter standard will be supported – and there are loads of those. That will make it far more affordable and flexible to get your lounge lights in on the Ambilight action.

Again, this won’t be an upgrade for all content, but play the aforementioned Rocket League, and it’s impossible not to get an extra thrill when a goal creates a flash of brilliant colour right across your room. It works brilliantly for colourful animated movies, too, such as the Spider-Verse series.

Dolby Vision 2

Will Dolby Vision 2 be a big deal in 2026? There’s a strong possibility it won’t be, as we’ve still had no news on actual content in the format.

It is coming at some point, though, and our first looks at it in action have been very impressive, so if you’re buying a TV this year, it’s well worth considering going for a model that supports the format.

That makes Philips’ new OLED951, OLED911 and OLED811 particularly appealing, because they will be the first OLED TVs to support Dolby Vision 2. In fact, they will also support the even more advanced Dolby Vision 2 Max, which adds, among other things, the very interesting Authentic Motion feature.

The Dolby Vision 2 and 2 Max support will be added via a post-launch software update (October is the current ETA), but don’t go thinking that 2026 OLEDs from other brands will follow suit: Dolby Vision 2 also needs to be baked into the hardware, and based on what we’ve been told so far, this hasn’t been done in the case of, for example, LG’s new models.

Excellent anti-reflection tech

Fighting reflections is a key theme in current TV development.

It’s probably fair to say that Samsung is best at it: its top OLEDs suppress reflections incredibly effectively.

But it does this by using a matte panel, and that tends to make blacks look quite grey in a well-lit room.

The new Meta 4.0 OLED panel from LG Display, though, suppresses more reflections than the previous version while still retaining the glossy finish that allows it to produce almost perfect blacks, even in strong ambient light.

According to official figures, the reflectance has been reduced from 0.6 per cent to 0.3 per cent. That doesn’t sound like a huge change, but in reality, it makes a clear difference.

We first saw this new anti-reflection tech in the G6, which massively impressed us with its combination of reflection suppression and deep blacks, and it looked equally excellent in the demo of the OLED951 against last year’s OLED950.

This is one of those things that really comes down to taste, with some people being perfectly happy with the matte look of the Samsung models. I personally prefer the glossy look, though, and the new panel in the LG G6 and Philips OLED951 strikes the best balance of anti-reflectivity and black performance that I’ve so far seen.

Dual Engine picture processing

Those already in the know about Philips’ 2026 TV lineup might be wondering why I’m getting all excited about the OLED951 rather than the OLED911.

After all, everything I’ve written so far also applies to the OLED911, and the OLED911 also has a Bowers & Wilkins sound system that, if form is to be believed, will make it one of, if not the, best-sounding TV in its class.

The reason is that the OLED951 has the Dual Engine version of Philips’ new 10th Gen P5 AI processor, whereas the OLED911 has the single-chip version. This unlocks some extra picture processing features that should further improve certain things, such as bright details and banding suppression.

The difference perhaps won’t be huge – we’ll need to fully test both models to find out – but as someone who subscribes to the ‘all TVs should be partnered with a dedicated sound system’ philosophy, I’ll always choose the potential for better picture quality over a better sound system.

You may feel differently, of course, and that’s fine. If that’s the case, I strongly recommend you read Lewis Empson’s Philips OLED911 hands-on.

That also looks like an excellent TV – but on paper (and from what I’ve seen of it so far), the OLED951 is the one that ticks every box for me.

MORE:

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

Could Sony's True RGB be the RGB Mini LED tech to beat OLED?

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

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

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

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

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

1. Philips OLED911

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read our Philips OLED911 hands on review

2. TCL C7L

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

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

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

Read our TCL C7L hands on review

3. Samsung S99H/S95H

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

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

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

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

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

Read our Samsung S95H hands on review

4. Hisense UR8

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read our Hisense UR8 hands on review

5. Panasonic Z86C/Z85C

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

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

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

Read our Panasonic Z86C hands on review

Bonus: Sony Bravia 3 II

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

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

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

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

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

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

Find out more about the Sony Bravia 3 II here

MORE:

Read our full LG C6 65-inch review

Check out our picks for the best OLED TV

As well as the best Mini LED TV