Best TV 2023: The best affordable and premium sets

With the L2000, Panasonic has produced its best flagship OLED yet. In the words of our reviewer, the TV redefines what is possible from a home cinema TV with superb image quality and impressive Dolby Atmos sound.

It includes the new OLED EX panel from LG Display but is still made to Panasonic’s custom specifications, and though the brightness we measured (966 nits in Standard mode) was not as bright in outright terms as the LG G2 or Samsung S95B, the LZ2000 produces a uniformly more brighter average picture level, making all types of content pop off the screen.

The advantage the LZ2000 holds over most TV brands is that it supports all HDR formats: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive. The image quality is finely-tuned for bright and dark rooms with the help of the TV’s light sensor. We also found colour volume was improved, especially blue colours which has often been an issue with WRGB OLED panels. The low light performance has also been improved, with more detail visible in the darker areas of the image.

Freeview Play adds all mainstream catch-up TV needs, and the breadth of apps available has grown with Disney+ and Apple TV+ added.

The Panasonic LZ2000 isn’t just a TV for home cinema. With a measured input lag of 14.5ms, it’s a commedable performance and the new Game Control board presents the ability to optimise gaming settings. The TV supports HDMI 2.1 technologies such as VRR, ALLM and 4K/120Hz, making it a high calibre set in a gaming sense, though short of the performance the LG C2 and G2 models offer.

Panasonic has once again upgraded the Dolby Atmos speaker system that’s welded to the back of the TV. We found it offered the best performance yet from the 360° Soundscape Pro system, delivering width and height with Atmos soundtracks. If you own an existing home cinema system, then the LZ1500 is more your speed, but for those who want an all-in-one TV, Panasonic has raised its performance again.

The LZ2000 is only available in Europe and the UK, as Panasonic does not sell in North America, nor has it updated its Australian range in some time.

Reviewer: Steve May
Full Review: Panasonic LZ2000

The A95K from Sony was the first QD-OLED TV we tested, a TV that brings the best of OLED and Quantum Dot colour technologies in one TV.

We found the A95K was another minimalist effort from Sony but it’s the stand that causes a few problems for home set-ups with its largesse. It can be placed in two ways, although the rear position ensures you won’t see it from a viewing position.

The inputs feature two HDMI 2.1 inputs and support for eARC, VRR, ALLM, and 4K/120Hz. Compare to the LG C2‘s four HDMI 2.1 inputs and there’s fewer options for plugging in HDMI 2.1 sources. Unique to Sony’s TVs are a pair of binding posts if you want the A95K to serve as the centre channel in a (Sony-centric) surround sound system.

This isn’t necessarily a TV for gaming, with an input lag of 21ms that’s less than the LZ200 and there’s no other VRR support for the likes of AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. If you do intend to game you’ll want a PS5 due to the exclusive features such as Auto Genre Picture mode. For console and PC gaming the S95B QD-OLED offers better value with its faster response time and features.

From a performance perspective, our reviewer observed the A95K delivering superior colour fidelity detail levels especially compared to the brightest OLED screens available. The nature of OLED screens allows for excellent ‘true’ blacks, and the amount of insight in both bright and murky scenes is impressive. Motion is an area where Sony excel and we felt the TV described quick action such as a tennis with absolute authority. With regards to its upscaling, our reviewer was less enthused with how the Sony dealt with lower resolution content, producing soft and edgy images.

The sound quality is impressive; big in size and accurate in terms of where effects and dialogue are placed on screen. This audio quality is good enough that you’ll need to spend a fair bit more to elevate the sound performance.

Reviewer: Simon Lucas
Full Review: Sony XR-55A95K

When we reviewed the G1, we called it the best LG OLED TV we’ve tested, but with the G2 OLED available, that crown falls to LG’s brightest OLED. It’s the same Gallery design with its uniformly flat rear panel for wall-mounting as before, but extra improvements to the panel with the new OLED EX and tweaked OLED Evo technologies have reaped an even brighter performance.

We measured the HDR performance on a 10% window to be just over 1000 nits, which is one of the brightest OLEDs we’ve tested. That’s better than the C2 but not quite as good as the Samsung S95B. Nevertheless, the extra brightness results in brighter, more intense highlights for greater contrast and depth in the image.

Detail levels are high, with images fed a good deal of sharpness and colours rendered in a lush manner, especially with Dolby Vision IQ. Upscaling of lower than 4K images is strong and motion has been improved – perhaps not quite up to the standard of Sony’s A95K or the Panasonic LZ2000, but it is much smoother and less distracting.

For gaming the G2 is superior to almost every other non-LG TV on the market. HDMI 2.1 is supported across all the HDMI inputs, with ALLM, VRR and 4K/120Hz available, making it easier to plug your sources in without having to pick and choose. LG has also beefed up its clouding options with Nvidia GeForce NOW.

We measured input lag to be 12.9ms – better than the Panasonic LZ2000 though it doesn’t beat the Samsung S95B. With VRR in play that figure can be brought down to lower figures for more responsive gameplay.

The sound remains the weakest aspect of the G2’s performance, sounding restrained in its Dolby Atmos mode and lacking the kind of impact the Sony A95K delivers. We found it actually sounded better with non-Atmos soundtracks offering more detail and dynamism. We’d recommend purchasing a soundbar to go with it, though note that the G2 cannot pass through DTS soundtracks, which is disappointing for home cinema enthusiasts.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: LG OLED65G2

The QE75QN900B is the successor to the 2021 QE75QN900A and it manages to repeat the same trick of bringing out the best from LCD technology and Samsung’s processing skills.

Just like previous 8K models, the QN900B is a spectacular looking effort from every angle. Our reviewer was particularly impressed by how slim the bezel frame was around the TV, its monolithic design helps ensure that the focus is what’s being displayed on the screen rather than any design embellishments.

In terms of features the Samsung supports HDR in the form of HLG, HDR10 and HDR10+ Adaptive (once again there’s no interest in adopting Dolby Vision), while gamers will take pleasure in the high level of features that the QN900B supports with all four of its HDMI inputs supporting 4K/120Hz frame rates, auto low latency mode and variable refresh rates. The Game Bar setting offers different presets to help tune the TV’s performance to whichever game you’re playing, while for PC users the Ultra Wide GameView feature extends the scope of the screen to 21:9 and 32:9 widescreen ratios. Xbox Game Pass is currently an exclusive cloud gaming app on Samsung’s Tizen smart TVs.

The picture performance is one we found to be outstanding, the 8K resolution and Mini-LED backlight combining to create spectacular looking images. With a HDR performance that can reach up to 4000 nits in its Dynamic mode, well beyond the LG Z2 OLED’s 959 nits, this level of brightness helps to create tremendously bright and varied colours, our reviewer noting that reds and blues were especially vibrant.

While it’s a common refrain that 8K content is thin on the ground, the QN900B’s upscaling excels in transforming 4K content to near 8K quality. Our reviewer found that sharpness, detail and clarity were all well judged, producing fantastic levels of depth and texture that makes the image look better than it would do on a 4K TV. The TV has also improved on how it manages small bright objects over the QN900A in that they aren’t as aggressively dimmed against a dark background, but there is still a slight issue in how it controls the brightness of small objects.

The 6.2.4 speaker set-up is better than you might expect for a flatscreen TV, the OTS sound engine places effects across the screen with precision, dialogue is clear and bass is effective if not particularly emphatic in its delivery. Our reviewer did note that it didn’t manage to push sound into a room, making for a soundstage that is a flat one, even with Samsung adopting Dolby Atmos for its 2022 TVs.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN900B

Samsung kicked off its 2022 range in the same manner it did its 2021 range, with this Mini LED an improvement over the 2021 model. The naming conventions differ around the world, with closest equivalent to the QN95B in the US being the QN90B.

We found the QN95B built on the already solid foundations laid by the QN95A, with its new Shape Adaptive Light Control feature minimising blooming and increasing the screen’s ability to show highlights without reducing brightness.

The peak brightness measured was higher than the brightest OLED we’ve tested in the Panasonic LZ2000 – the QN95B’s Mini LED backlight produces OLED-esque black levels for greater contrast between the darkest and brightest parts in an image. Add in the set’s wide colour performance and it dazzles with HDR content.

The new refreshed Tizen smart system is a comparative disappointment as we found it contained too much advertising and content suggestions. Samsung has traded the simplicity for a system that is counter-intuitive to use.

From our input lag measurements, the QN95B’s 10.4ms is one of quickest TVs on the market in 2023, better than either the LG C2, G2 or 8K Z2.. The game dashboard allows settings adjustment on the fly and there’s FreeSync Premium Pro for improved performance with PC titles. With Variable Refresh Rate and Auto Low Latency support, there’s freedom to plug a console into any of the HDMI ports.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full Review: Samsung QE65QN95B

With the C2 replacing the terrific C1, it is an OLED that’s pretty much its superior in every regard. The design has changed with the plinth the TV stands on smaller, which will help positioning the TV on smaller furniture. It also has the added benefit of making it easier to to trail cables in a less messy manner, especially helpful when adding a soundbar. The TV weighs much less than previous generations, making it easier to assemble.

Like previous LG TVs, it bears a comprehensive roster of gaming features with ALLM, VRR and 4K/120Hz HFR across all HDMI inputs, making it a better specc’d TV for gaming than the Samsung QN95B. Latency isn’t as fast as the Samsung model but with Game Boost and VRR engaged, latency falls to very low levels. Nvidia’s GeForce Now add its cloud streaming capabilities.

The C2 gets the brighter OLED evo panel that first arrived with the 2021 G1. Picture quality, as we’ve come to expect from LG, is fantastic. We found it expressive when describing contrast, the added brightness helps sell the difference between OLED’s inky blacks and bright objects on screen.

The Dolby Vision IQ with Precision Detail feature extracts some more detail out the darkest parts of an image, upscaling of HD sources can look stunning and motion is improved over the C1, though we still wouldn’t say it’s as capable as Sony’s A95K. This is the best C-series OLED yet for picture.

Audio is once again so-so, its Dolby Atmos performance is spacious, as well as being crisp and clear, but we found it lacked impact and heft, which is quite common for TVs. A soundbar would certainly help with in boosting the TV’s sound.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: LG OLED65C2

Philips TVs have arrived on the scene a little later than expected, but the performance was worth the wait with the 55OLED807 another great representation of what Philips brings to the table with its TVs.

It replaces the OLED806 and our reviewer found it was an upgrade over that model, striking an excellent balance between performance and price. It’s brighter than Philips’ previous 8-series OLEDs thanks to the new OLED EX panel, and along with Philips’ P5 Engine handling the processing, contrasts are hugely impressively with black levels deep and distinct and white tones supplied with an intensity that makes for a very attractive looking HDR image. The support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ also means the screen gets the best it can out any type of HDR content sent its way.

Colours are punchy and vivid without being overstated, while skin tones are represented in a natural fashion. We also found that the set’s motion handling was improved over previous years, maintaining a stable look without getting smeary or noisy in the process.

It’s a very capable screen for gaming too, boasting many of the same features as LG’s comparable C-series models with Dolby Vision Game mode, AMD/Nvidia VRR solutions and 4K/120Hz support. It doesn’t support ALLM/VRR/HFR across all of its HDMI inputs though, and latency isn’t quite as fast at around 15ms.

But what it does have that no other TV does is Ambilight that looks spectacular when enabled, using strips of LEDs on its rear panel to cast light onto the surface behind it. Our reviewer felt that it added great immersion to what was on screen and is a brilliantly worthwhile feature to have. According to Philips it also reduces eye strain, so it has health benefits too.

The sound quality is better than expected with decent low frequency expression, a distinct and detailed midrange and a performance that sounds bigger than its stereo origins would have you think they would. The top-end is only area we encountered issues with, sounding a little problematic in terms of its tone.

Reviewer: Simon Lucas
Full Review: Philips 55OLED807

For those in the market for a small-screen OLED, the market is beginning to stack up with a number of options, though arguably the LG OLED42C2 stands just ahead of the other options.

LG’s smallest OLED features its OLED evo technology for better brightness, although it doesn’t feature the Brightness Booster found in bigger C2 models such as the 65-inch OLED. The design is smart and solid rather than eye-catching, and the size of the screen feels best suited to be seated on a desktop/flat surface rather than being wall-mounted. All the connections are side-facing though, which helps with plugging sources in.

The 42-inch C2 is great size for bedroom gaming, and it packs an enviable roster of features that outdoes its closest rival in the Panasonic LZ980. ALLM, VRR and 4K/120Hz are available across all the HDMI inputs whereas they are only available on two of the LZ980’s HDMI inputs. This offers more freedom in terms of where you can plug in your console and PC, and also means you won’t have to make decision between whether to plug a console or soundbar in as one of the LZ980’s inputs is shared with the eARC port.

HDMI VRR along with Nvidia and AMD’s VRR solutions are supported, with latency measured at 12.9ms. That’s not as fast as Samsung’s TVs but we found that to be a swift enough response, and with VRR in play that can fall to almost zero in terms of lag. The Game Optimiser helps tweak settings to optimise the TV’s performance for specific games.

The picture quality is arguably not as good as the Sony A90K, but we found that the LG delivered impressively natural looking images with a wide colour range, along with excellent levels of sharpness and detail for a 4K TV of its size. We measured brightness at around 700-750 nits, which is more than enough to bring out a sense of HDR colours and brightness. With Dolby Vision content this TV looks spectacular. It’s a pretty good upscale of lower quality content, its pixel density helps to cover some of the jagged edges and blurriness with 480p content in particular.

It’s also a decent-sounding TV too, delivering punchy bass and good levels of clarity, detail and sharpness. AI Sound Pro helps make Dolby Atmos content sounds bigger, but we wouldn’t suggest using it with non-Atmos content as we found it made audio sound shrill and sibilant.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: LG OLED42C2

Roku TVs are hugely popular in the US but this model is exclusive to the UK market. We didn’t find the Hisense R50A7200GTUK to be a huge upgrade over its B7120UK predecessor – in fact, it probably sounds a little worse than the now discontinued model.

However, it bests the likes of the Toshiba UL20 with its wide-ranging feature set that includes, AirPlay 2, HomeKit, alongside wider voice assistant compatibility, cementing its position as one of the best value TVs.

The quantity of apps available is great, with the likes of Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, BT Sport, Tidal and Prime Video; while Freeview Play adds the likes of BBC iPlayer, ITVX and All4. The Roku OS is as accessible to navigate as they come, as we found content easy to find, especially with the Roku app.

It doesn’t support advanced gaming features for Xbox Series and PS5 like the discontinued Samsung AU9000, but we measured input lag at 11.8ms, which is great for fast-twitch games that require a quick response.

We observed the picture performance to be of similar quality to the B7120UK, with very good upscaling of Full HD content and an inconsistent performance with SD content.

Brightness is less than the Philips 58PUS8506, measuring around 330 nits, so it can’t depict HDR content at its vibrant best, but that’s a familiar story with all budget HDR TVs. We saw with 4K content that it could produce a natural, detailed, and colourful looking image, delivering one of the best picture performances at its price.

Sound quality is a weakness. For undemanding daytime TV it’s fine, but with films it lacks bass to give it impact but with music it sounds messy. We’d recommend budgeting for a soundbar to go with this TV.

While this TV isn’t looking to be replaced any time soon, it does have competition from the aggressively priced Metz Roku and RCA Roku models. We’ll be looking to review those new Roku models in 2023.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Hisense R50A7200GTUK Roku TV