Best TV 2016
If you’re looking to buy a TV this year you’re faced with quite simply the most complicated and diverse TV market there’s ever been.
You’ve got to take into consideration different panel technologies (direct LED, edge LED, and OLED); different resolutions (HD and UHD); whether or not you want high dynamic range and if you do what level of HDR performance you want; whether you want a curved screen or a flat screen… honestly, there’s pretty much nothing the TV brands aren’t trying in order to win over your hearts and wallets.
To some extent you need to work out for yourself which features matter to you and which don’t, based on your viewing habits and personal tastes. Think in particular about what screen size you can manage, whether your room is usually bright or dark, and what sort of sources you’re likely to be using.
What we certainly can do to make your life easier, though, is look across the whole broad church of 2016 TVs from our perspective of, you know, having actually tested most of them to pick out our five favorites (so far), taking in as wide a range of features and prices as we can.
1. Samsung KS9500 Series
These spectacularly bright TVs do a sensational job of revealing the full majesty of the latest HDR content
55-inch: Samsung UN55KS9500 | 65-inch: Samsung UN65KS9500 | 78-inch: Samsung UN75KS9500
Incredible picture quality
Amazing HDR and sound
Expensive
Curved screen not for all
Samsung was the first brand to introduce a TV capable of showing high dynamic range pictures in 2015, and it builds on that achievement this year by delivering in the KS9500 series the brightnest TV the world has seen to date. 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. The set even carries the best attempt yet at turning standard dynamic range pictures into HDR. The use of direct LED lighting with local dimming (meaning clusters of the lights behind the screen can have their brightness adjusted independently of each other) also means the KS9500 is able to deliver some gorgeously deep black colours alongside that ground-breaking brightness. You occasionally see clouds of extra light around very bright objects and some settings cause striping in HDR colours. There’s no 3D support either. But with some seriously powerful sound joining the mostly barnstorming pictures these are simply the most cutting-edge TV of 2016.
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2. LG OLEDE6 Series
LG’s latest OLED TV combines stunning contrast with an amazing ultra-thin design and exceptional sound
55-inch: LG OLED55E6 65-inch: LG OLED65E6
Amazing black levels
Stunning thin design
Missing details in bright areas
Very expensive
The OLEDE6’s incredibly slim ‘picture on glass’ design technique creates simply the most gorgeous TVs ever made. They’re certainly not just a pretty face, though. Especially since the way each OLED pixel produces its own light and colour independent of its neighbours means the OLEDE6 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 than on any other TV. A sound bar attached to the bottom of the screen, meanwhile, produces sound quality that wouldn’t be out of place on an external audio system. The OLEDE6’s lose some detail in very bright HDR areas, and occasionally suffer fleeting colour noise. They’re not cheap, either. But none of that stops them being utterly brilliant.
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3. Samsung JS8500 Series
The Samsung JS8500 series combines great value with sharp UHD pictures and a slick smart TV system
48-inch: Samsung UN48JS8500 | 55-inch: Samsung UN55JS8500 | 60-inch: Samsung UN65JS8500
Superb color and motion
Great all round picture quality
Some backlight clouding issues
Needs a large table to put it on
It’s hard to find a better value on the market than last year’s JS8500 series. Their combination of an ultra bright panel and Quantum Dot color reproduction enables it to deliver levels of dynamism, color vibrancy and punch with UHD sources. The sets are attractive too, featuring slim bezels, gorgeous brushed metallic frames and minimalist T-shaped stand whose curved column reaches under and behind the TV, where it attaches.. 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 JS8500s make it easy to find your favorite content via a new, improved version of Samsung’s Tizen smart interface, too. Bright objects can cause some backlight striping and blocking when they appear against dark backgrounds and, if you’re a fan of 3D, the JS8500 offers active shutter 3D (though weirdly no 3D specs are included). The bottom line, though, the UE48JS8500’s superb colour, awesome 4K detail and sublime depth make this one special TV and remains a good value way to sample Samsung’s impressive SUHD TVs.
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4. LG OLEDB6 Series
If you like the idea of OLED technology but can’t afford LG’s previously mentioned OLEDE6 series…
55-inch: LG OLED55B6P | 65-inch: LG OLED65B6P
Gorgeous picture quality
Spectacularly thin design
LG’s webOS smart system
Detail clipping in bright areas
Occasional brief color noise
LG’s taken an unusual approach with its 2016 OLED TV range, choosing to base the differences across the series in the range more on design than picture quality concerns. So it is that while the entry level OLEDB6 series isn’t quite as ultra-slim and unfeasibly gorgeous as the premium ‘picture on glass’ OLEDE6 models, they do deliver broadly similar picture quality. Which is handy when you’re talking about the sort of beautifully high contrast, colour-rich, HDR-capable, 4K pictures LG’s OLED TVs are providing this year.
The OLEDB6 pictures lack some of the refinement of the more expensive OLEDE6 screens, and there’s slightly more potential for noise in dark areas. There’s also no support for 3D unlike LG’s other 2016 OLED ranges, and audio is noticeably thinner than that of the sound bar-equipped OLEDE6s. All that will likely matter about the OLEDB6 series for many AV fans, though, is that they represent the cheapest way to get your hands on LG’s latest and greatest OLED generation.
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5. Sony XBR-X940D Series
If your tastes are more home cinema than mere TV, this spectacular 75-inch Sony beast could prove hard to resist
75-inch: Sony XBR-75X940D
Home cinema awesomeness
Lovely picture quality
Apps galore
Android TV’s interface is clunky
Some HDR backlight blooming
If you’re into movies and you’ve got plenty of space in your living room, Sony’s 75X940D is our favorite ‘giant TV’ of 2016 to date. Its mammoth 75-inch screen gives you deliciously detailed, colorful, 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 75X940D’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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Buying a new TV – what you need to know
What TV technology is best? Which is the best LCD TV? Which screen size is best for your living room? What’s the difference between LCD and LED TVs?
The answers aren’t always obvious. In fact, buying a new TV can be stressful even for the tech-savvy – there are so many brands, so many features, so many screen sizes, colors, technologies and flavors to choose from.
So which one is right for you, your family and your living space? In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about buying a new TV.
What types of TV are there out there?
There are a lot of different screen types out there, all working in different ways to produce the same results. Each technology has its own unique strengths and weaknesses so here are some basics to consider:
LCD TV: CCFL
Until recently, all LCD TVs were backlit by always-on, CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent) lamps. This ageing technology has been superseded by the superior LED method on more expensive sets, but is still standard on some cheaper models.
LED TV: Direct LED
These displays are backlit by an array of LEDs (light emitting diodes) directly behind the screen. This enables localised dimming – meaning immediately adjacent areas of brightness and darkness can be displayed more effectively – and greatly improves contrast. LED TVs are also more power efficient and capable of a wider colour gamut than CCFL sets. Because of the extreme cost of mounting these arrays of LEDs, Direct LED TVs have largely been out muscled by Edge LED…
LED TV: Edge LED
With these TVs, LEDs of the backlight are mounted along the edges of the panel. This arrangement enables radically slender displays and offers superior contrast levels to CCFL, but can’t achieve the same picture quality as directly lit LED sets. However, they do come in far cheaper which is why most LED TVs out there now use this technology.
OLED TV
The backlighting on OLED (organic light emitting diode) sets is achieved by passing an electric current through an emissive, electroluminescent film. This technique produces far better colours and higher contrast and also enables screens to be extremely thin and flexible. This is the holy grail display technology and only in 2014 did a bigscreen OLED TV go on sale. So it’s new, it’s expensive and the top brands are still struggling to get their heads around it. To date, only LG has been able to release full sized OLED TVs.
Quantum Dot
As yet we’re not quite at the stage where we’re going to get self-emitting quantum dot LEDs, but they’re a-coming. What we do have though is Samsung producing its Nanocrystal filter based on quantum dot technology to produce a seriously improved colour palette and contrast levels that get mighty close to the pinnacle of OLED.
Plasma TV
PDP (plasma display panel) TVs use glass panels containing millions of tiny cells filled with a mixture of inert gases. Electricity excites the gases, causing them to illuminate the pixels across the screen. Plasma, while arguably superior to LCD in terms of contrast and colour accuracy, is only viable on large (42in+) screens and has been dropped by all but a handful of manufacturers. You’ll be lucky to find one on the shelves these days.
Curved TV
Some manufacturers are now making TVs that have slightly curved screens. But unlike old CRT TVs, the curve is inwards rather than outwards. The idea is that this makes every pixel equidistant from your eyes, delivering a more satisfying picture. However, there are drawbacks for this type of screen – the main one being that if you sit far enough to one side – more than 40 degrees or so – the curve clearly starts to affect the image’s geometry, foreshortening content near to you and compressing the image’s centre.
What resolution tech should I go for?
HD
HD TVs come in two resolutions. Sets with the HD ready are required to be able to display a minimum 720p picture, and generally has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Meanwhile, Full HD TVs have a higher resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It’s highly advisable that you don’t go for anything less than full HD in this day and age.
Ultra HD and 4K
The resolution of Ultra HD is exactly four times higher than full HD – 3840 x 2160. It means a far more detailed picture, with content requiring a lot more bandwidth and storage space. 4K TVs tend to be good at upscaling HD video to Ultra HD but there are currently very few options for watching native 4K content. Read more about 4K.
HDR
Potentially the next big thing in TVs, HDR produces astounding levels of visual fidelity and can be found in some of the latest Ultra HD TVs. Arguably the shift to HDR video could make a more dramatic difference to your viewing experience than moving from HD to 4K. Like still HDR images, the moving version expands the range of both the light and dark ends of spectrum, providing more detail for both. HDR needs new filming methods though – at the moment there is no way to backfill HDR into existing video. It also needs new TV tech too, with Samsung the only ones to create specific screens, though LG and Sony are going be able to update some of their existing stock to be compatible.
What’s the best smart TV platform around today?
What else should I consider?
Buying a flatscreen television is a major investment and one that you can’t afford to take lightly. Just popping into the closest store and grabbing the first plasma or LCD you see won’t get you the best deal, the screen that suits your needs, or the gear you require to make the most of your new purchase.
Size matters
People tend to pick the size of their flat TV based on the amount of space they have for it, this isn’t necessarily wise. Flat TVs take up much less space than you might think, so your new TV may end up a foot or two further away from your viewing position, making the picture appear smaller.
Also, with hi-def, you can have a bigger screen and the same viewing distance without worrying about seeing blemishes inherent to the source. HDTV’s lack of noise means that the ideal distance to sit from the screen is three to four times the height of the TV.
How to calculate the right size HD TV:
The trick here is to ensure that your TV is big enough to fill your line of vision, but small enough to be sharp and clear. Remember, if you intend to only watch standard-definition sources, the bigger the screen gets, the worse the image will look.
The ideal screen size can be calculated by multiplying the distance that you intend to sit away from it by 0.535 and then rounding this up to the nearest size.
So, if you sit 80in away from your TV, the ideal size is 42-inch (80 x 0.535= 42.8).
What features should I look out for?
Features are too numerous to go into here, but here are some things you should consider.
Photo viewing: If you have a digital camera, a TV that has a slot for memory cards or a USB socket for a card reader will let you view your photos onscreen.
Here are some of the things we look for when we review a screen, so you should, too…
Contrast: Bright whites shouldn’t have any signs of green, pink or blue in them, while blacks should look solid and not washed out, grey, green or blue.
Colours: Look at how bright and solid they are; how noiseless their edges are; how ‘dotty’ richly saturated areas are and how natural skin looks, especially in dim scenes.
Fine detail: How much texture does the screen give? Does a tree look like a green lump, or can you see the individual leaves
Edges: Check for ghosting, bright halos and jaggedness, especially around curves.
Motion: Check moving objects and quick camera pans for smearing or blurring, trailing, jerkiness and fizzing dotty noise.
Image artefacts: Look for blockiness, colour bands, grain, smearing, dot crawl: anything that looks like it’s added by the TV picture processing or a weak TV tuner. Tinker with a TV’s picture settings before making a final decision. Factory settings are rarely good for everyday viewing.
What about sound?
To provide the best audio to complement the pictures, your TV should be hooked up to a surround sound system, but this isn’t always an option. So, here’s what we listen for when testing a TV’s speakers:
Bass: Deep, rounded rumbles that don’t cause the set to rattle or speakers to distort, cramp or overwhelm the rest of the sound; but that expand when needed.
Vocals: Voices should sound open, rich and clear, not boxed in, nasal or thin.
Trebles: Treble effects should sound clean, rounded and smooth in loud scenes and shouldn’t dominate the soundstage.
Soundstage width/depth: A good TV should throw the sound away from the TV, to the sides, forward and back, to give an extra dimension to what’s on screen, without losing any coherence.
Questions to ask before you buy
Taking the time to consider these questions will make choosing the best TV easier…
HD or 4K?
4K TVs are stunning and even though there is currently little native 4K content to enjoy, the good ones are able to upscale HD to 4K very well. That being said, unless you’re buying a very large TV – we’re talking 65-inches plus – full HD should be adequate.
What size do I need?
This is dictated by the dimensions of the room where the TV is going and the amount of cash you’re prepared to spend. As a general rule of thumb, work out how far from the set you’ll be sitting (in inches), multiply that distance by 0.535 and then round up the result to the nearest screen size. Bear in mind that a decent smaller telly is often a more sensible investment than a larger, less accomplished one. And if you’re going to buy a 4K TV, you can sit much closer because of the higher resolution.
How many HDMI sockets do I need?
For a living room TV you should be looking for a minimum of 3 HDMI inputs. If you want to attach a set-top box as well as games consoles etc, those HDMI ports will fill up fast.
Can I connect my older, analogue kit?
Most new sets carry no more than two composite connections, while S-video is fast approaching obsolescence. Check that your new TV can hook up to older digiboxes, VCRs or DVD decks that you might want to plug into it.
Do I want to hang my TV on the wall?
First off, you’ll need to consult a construction expert to check that the wall in question is strong enough to support a flatscreen. Then find out if the set you want is designed to be wall-mounted and, if so, ask if the relevant bracket is included in the basic package or as an optional extra.
Will I be connecting it to a home cinema?
If the answer is no, you might want to think more carefully about your set’s audio performance. Look for a screen that can go as loud as you’ll need without distortion or cabinet rattle. Consider how dialogue sounds and how much low-end rumble the bass is capable of.
Conversely, it’s pointless paying out more cash for exceptional built-in speakers if you already have a decent home cinema system.
Happy shopping!
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