We conduct hundreds of product reviews here at Telegraph Recommended, but few tasks are as important as helping you choose your new TV. While it’s exciting to upgrade to a better telly, no-one wants to shell out on the wrong sort of tech. (If you don’t want to shell out at all, read our guide to the best TVs under £500 .
) Every company claims it makes the best 4K TVs, from giants like Samsung, who account for one third of all sales, to the well-established likes of Sony and LG and challengers like Hisense and TCL. But they all use different technologies to do it. So who’s telling the truth? Skip straight to the reviews First, let’s step back and define some terms.
We’re looking at 4K here, which is unusual in small TVs but has become the standard in 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch TVs. But what does it mean? “4K (also known as Ultra High Definition or UHD) gives an indication of a TV’s picture clarity,” says Dylan Squire, purchasing director at Richer Sounds . “4K is the next step up from Full HD, which itself improved upon the original HD TV that came in around the turn of the century.
4K uses over 8 million pixels, which is four times as many as Full HD. More pixels means more detail.” Remember, 4K is not a competitor to LED, OLED and QLED.
Those refer to how the screen is illuminated, rather than the number of pixels that make up the image. You’ll find an explanation of these and other TV terms in the FAQ section at the bottom of this .
