The LG C5 is the TV most people should buy in 2026. It delivers true blacks thanks to its self-lit OLED pixels, supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos out of the box, and has four HDMI 2.1 ports — a must if you want 120Hz gaming from a PS5 or Xbox Series X. LG’s webOS is the cleanest smart TV interface in the UK market, and the α9 Gen 7 AI processor does a frankly magical job upscaling older Freeview content to 4K. The only downside is peak brightness in sunny rooms — if your living room gets direct afternoon sun, look at the Samsung QN90D instead.

If your TV room has big windows or direct sunlight, OLED glare will ruin daytime viewing. The Samsung QN90D’s Mini-LED backlight hits peak brightness levels OLEDs physically can’t match, so colours stay punchy even in bright rooms. Samsung’s Tizen OS is less polished than LG’s webOS but still perfectly usable, and the Object Tracking Sound speakers are genuinely impressive for a built-in system. No Dolby Vision support is the main compromise — Samsung pushes HDR10+ instead, which has thinner content support on Netflix and Disney+.

Hisense has been the UK’s best-kept TV secret for three years running, and the U8N is why. You get Mini-LED backlighting, 1500-nit peak brightness, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and 144Hz native refresh rate — all for roughly half the price of an equivalent Samsung or LG. The VIDAA smart OS is bare-bones but covers the main apps (Netflix, Prime, Disney+, BBC iPlayer). The only obvious downside is motion handling on fast sports content, which can show slight juddering compared to premium rivals.

The Sony A95L is the absolute picture-quality king, full stop. Its QD-OLED panel combines OLED’s perfect blacks with quantum dot colour volume for genuinely theatre-grade image quality. Sony’s Bravia XR processor is widely considered the best in the industry for motion handling and film grain preservation, which is why professional colourists use Sony TVs as reference monitors. The price is eye-watering though — you’re paying a 40% premium over the LG C5 for a 10% visual upgrade. For cinephiles only; everyone else should save the money.

Looking for a second TV for the bedroom or a kid’s room under £500? The TCL C845K is the best value 43-inch you can buy on Amazon UK. It uses Mini-LED backlight tech (rare at this size and price), supports Dolby Vision, and runs Google TV so you get Chromecast built in. It won’t match the premium picks above for HDR brightness or motion, but for casual viewing, streaming, and occasional gaming it punches massively above its weight.