Best TV 2017 : which TV should you buy?

The right television for your needs can be an intimidating prospect. You've got all manner of acronyms and new technologies, and every TV manufacturer claims that theirs have the only tech that really matters.


The two hottest pieces of TV tech right now are undoubtedly Ultra HD and HDR, which offers four times the resolution of conventional HD televisions and better contrast, respectively. the best-of-the-best TV out there today without limits or stipulations, this is the place for you.



  • Samsung Q9F QLED
The first brand to introduce a TV capable of showing high dynamic range pictures in 2015, and it built on that achievement this year by delivering us the Q9F, the brightest TV the world has seen to date. It delivers around 1500 nits of brightness on a 10% white HDR window, and manages to reach nearer 1800 nits in smaller areas, making it the single brightest TV we’ve ever tested.


This means it's uniquely qualified to unlock the full potential of HDR, delivering incredibly life-like, dynamic and dramatic pictures that also contain more detail and colour information in bright areas than we've ever seen before.

light around very bright objects and some settings cause striping in HDR colours, which is a shame considering how much the Q9F retails for, but it does a hell of a job of showcasing Samsung’s TV making prowess.



  • Panasonic DX802 Series
The Panasonic DX802 TVs sat just one rung below Panasonic's flagship TVs for 2016, they're strikingly aggressively priced. Especially when you consider that their feature list includes an awesome-sounding 12-speaker external sound bar audio system, native UHD screens, support for high dynamic range playback, and a brilliantly simple smart TV system.

The DX802s' edge LED lighting sometimes means you can see bands and blocks of unwanted light around bright objects. Otherwise, though, provided you use the TVs' adaptive backlight feature on its highest setting, the DX802s produce lovely, refined pictures with HDR and especially SDR content that exude Panasonic's self-proclaimed obsession with making pictures look like their creators intended them to look.


The DX802s also enjoy a unique design that finds their screens hanging within two easel-style silver legs, between which you also rest the external sound bar speaker


  • Sony W805/809C Series
There are still plenty of people who have no interest in forking out for UHD sources, and so would rather get a high quality HD TV for the same money as a relatively low-quality 4K TV. Cue the Sony W805/809C series, which deliver probably the finest picture quality the HD world has ever seen while costing precious little by today's TV standards.

The Android interface would be sleeker and more customisable, and you might want to add an external sound system at some point to replace the rather flimsy built-in speakers. The W805C/W809C TVs' fabulous pictures, though, really are gorgeous enough to overwhelm any flaws elsewhere.


  • LG OLEDE7 Series
The way each OLED pixel produces its own light and colour independent of its neighbours means the OLEDE7 series delivers levels of contrast and light control just not possible with LCD. 


Unprecedentedly deep black colours sit right alongside even the brightest HDR whites without a hint of light 'bleed' - something just not possible with current LCD technologies. This works wonders for high-contrast HDR sources, as well as making today's standard dynamic range sources look better here, too.

That claims Dolby Atmos support, still boasts LG’s excellent webOS smart system, and still, most importantly of all, delivers pretty much identical picture quality to its more expensive sibling. For all those reasons and more, the E7 OLED is a worthwhile addition to any home theater.


  • Samsung KS7000 Series
Their combination of an ultra bright panel and Quantum Dot colour reproduction enables it to deliver levels of dynamism, colour vibrancy and punch with HDR sources that have to be seen to believed considering the range starts at just £1200. The sets are attractive too, featuring slim, metallic frames and minimalist desktop 'feet'. It's also nice to find the airy design kept relatively free of cable spaghetti by an external box that passes on picture and sound via a single cable.


The KS7000s make it easy to find favourite content via a new, improved version of Samsung's Tizen smart interface, too. Bright HDR objects can cause some backlight striping and blocking when they appear against dark backgrounds, and 3D fans will have to look elsewhere as Samsung has abandoned the feature. The bottom line, though, is that no other TV in its price range delivers HDR as successfully.



  • Sony XD9405 Series
Its mammoth 75-inch screen gives you deliciously detailed, colourful, high contrast, clear and natural pictures with high and standard dynamic sources alike, and its enormity also does a great job of underlining the benefits of having a native 4K pixel count to work with. Its pictures aren't the brightest around, and some high-contrast HDR content causes light 'blooming' around bright objects.

Android TV's interface isn't the most helpful around either, and the low-profile buttons on the remote control are tortuous to use. For the vast majority of the time, though, the size and overall quality of the 75XD9405's pictures creates a stunningly immersive experience that could well make the idea going out to watch films a thing of the past.



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