On the hunt for the best TV in 2017? Here are our top picks.
Buying a TV, especially one that you’re hoping will last you several years, can be a stressful experience.
The process has gotten especially bad recently with the large number of new standards that have been introduced. Ideally your new TV would support all of them, but many sets don’t and it can be difficult to work out what can be safely ignored and what’s a must-have.
Do you need a TV with Dolby Vision, or is HDR10 enough? What’s the deal with 10-bit color? Actually, come to think of it, what even is HDR?
Our guide to the best TVs available is here to help you separate the wheat from the chaff to let you find your next set. Rather than focussing exclusively on massive 4K sets, we’ve included some smaller form-factor TVs if you’re more restricted on space.
If you’re looking for a buying guide that deals with TVs that only support the new Ultra HD resolution, check out our guide to the best 4K TVs .
In the mean time, if you’re looking for the best-of-the-best TV out there today without limits or stipulations then this is the place for you.
Here’s a summary of our list of the best TVs around:
We hear this question a lot. Like most technology, TVs are getting incrementally better all the time, but recently there has been a huge flurry of progress as manufacturers have rushed to embrace new display standards including Ultra HD and HDR.
Thankfully, things seem to have settled down a little in this department, and the majority of TV manufacturers now support these next generation of features, including newer versions of HDR such as Hybrid Log Gamma.
So long as your next TV purchase supports these technologies (looking for an Ultra HD Premium certification is a good way to go) , we reckon you won’t be kicking yourself in six month’s time when the next batch of sets arrive
That said, we’d be remiss if we didn’t let you know about the cool technologies that are just around the corner in TV tech. Chief amongst them is support for the new HDMI 2.1 standard, which as well as allowing support for 8K at 60 frames per second and 4K at 120 will also allow for FreeSync to be supported over HDMI.
It’s cool technology for sure, but unless you’re seriously into your gaming then we reckon you’re safe making a purchase now.
Sony’s 2016 flagship TV set new standards in picture quality
From the moment we laid eyes on the XBR-65Z9D we’ ve been desperate to get our hands on one. It is, hands down, the holy grail of television for 2017: a TV able to combine the extreme, high dynamic range-friendly brightness of LCD technology with a backlight arrangement capable of getting LCD closer than ever before to the stunning light control you get with OLED technology.
This backlight arrangement comprises more than 600 LEDs that sit behind the 65Z9D’s screen that are capable of outputting their own light levels independently of their neighbors. This should enable the TV to produce more of the extremes of light and shade associated with new high dynamic range (HDR) technology while suffering less than other LCD TVs with distracting clouds, stripes or halos of unwanted, extraneous light.
As if this wasn’ t already attraction enough, the 65Z9D also sports Sony’s new ‘X1 Extreme’ video processing system and the latest version of Sony’s reliable Triluminos wide color technology for unlocking the extended color spectrums associated with HDR sources.
LG’s W7 OLED melds into the wall
The LG W7 OLED is truly something special. Not only is it one of the thinnest TVs to ever grace our vision (it’s 2.75mm thin) , but it’s also one of the most gorgeous. When fed the right kind of content – in this case, 4K HDR10 or Dolby Vision video – it truly shines. A super-slim design alone wouldn’ t have been enough to warrant the extra cost to upgrade to LG’s latest panel. But the thin frame on top of a Dolby Atmos soundbar on top of four types of HDR support on top of the magnetic mounting system on top of the new webOS 3.5 operating system surely did the trick. This incredibly gorgeous TV isn’ t without its faults (see: motion handling, its sticker price and soundbar issues) , but in terms of sheer picture performance there’s nothing else like it right now.
Getting the hots for metal Quantum Dots
It looks like someone on Samsung’s TV design team has been watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. The 65-inch Q9 is a ringer for that film’s mysterious black monolith thanks to the way both its front and back sides are completely flat and feature ultra-robust, polished finishes. Ultra HD HDR playback is what the Q9F was created to do and, given Samsung’s potent HDR track record, it’s no surprise to find that it does it supremely well. Even though the Q9F has 4K HDR optimisation in its DNA, it’s capable of looking seriously good with high definition standard dynamic range content too.
Sony’s brand-new TV for 2017 is returning to OLED
If LG’s OLED isn’t your thing, spend some time checking out Sony’s new OLED.
The 55A1 – and the A1 OLED series overall – are crowd pleasers in just about every way. Their ‘picture only’ design has been beautifully realized, managing to be simultaneously subtle and dramatic. Their vibrating screen delivers a far more powerful and effective sound performance than I’ d thought possible, too. The real stars of the show here, though, are the A1’s exquisitely detailed, contrast-rich and colorful pictures. These prove emphatically what we’ ve long suspected: More brands using OLED technology can only lead to good things.
OLED just keeps getting better
This is the HDR flatscreen we’ ve all been waiting for
OK, so you don’t want Sony’s new A1E OLED or the fantastic-but-pricey ZD9. So what should you buy? Check out the X900E series. With superb 4K image clarity, powerful SDR-to-HDR remastering, and a smooth direct LED backlight, Sony is offering something very different with the X900E. We loved the consistency of its images, the eye-popping vibrancy of its wide color gamut panel and its easy-to-watch HDR – you get spectral highlights without accompanying eye fatigue.
Given this set’s high-but-fair price point, any niggles we have are negligible. The X900E is highly recommended and deserved our Best in Class award.
LG’s entry level OLEDs continue to impress
We’ve already recommended a couple of different OLED sets on this list, and the B7 is the most affordable of the bunch.
But rather than compromising on that glorious panel to hit a more wallet-friendly price point, LG has instead compromised on sound.
This puts the LG B7 in a slightly weird situation audio-wise. It technically supports Dolby Atmos, but played through its mediocre downward-firing speakers the technology lacks most of what makes it impressive.
Thankfully you’re of course able to plug in an external sound system, and we’d advise you to do.
If that’s something you’re prepared to do then you’ll find the B7 has every bit the talent of its more expensive siblings at a fraction of the cost.
