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10 best 4K TVs for a needle-sharp viewing experience, tried and tested

Want unmatched image display? These tellies come tried, tested and approved by our tech critic

David Phelan
Thursday 19 September 2024 10:06 BST
We took into account the TVs’ ease of use, picture quality, dialogue and surround-sound effects
We took into account the TVs’ ease of use, picture quality, dialogue and surround-sound effects (The Independent)

The TV remains the central entertainment of the home (though you’d be mad to not have a radio, right?), so, it’s important to find the right one. Home picture quality has never been better, with 4K, also known as ultra-high definition (UHD) now standard on most large screen sizes. UHD means the picture is remarkably detailed, with 3,840px x 2,160px of resolution. That 3,840px figure, by the way, rounds up to 4,000, hence the 4K title.

You can still find regular HD TVs, mostly confined to smaller screen sizes (32in or smaller). You can choose Full HD (1,920 x 1,080px) or HD ready (1,366 x 768px) models but it’s when you look at 4K that you can really see the detail in all its glory. Although there’s a small number of 8K TVs on the market, their prices are so high that 4K is the Goldilocks resolution.

Resolution is only part of the story, though. Do you want OLED, with immaculate contrast levels, or LED, which is noticeably cheaper? The latest LED type is Mini LED, which is pioneered by Samsung as QLED Neo. You need to keep an eye out for HDR (high dynamic range), which allows you to see detail in bright skies and dark shadows at the same time. Oh, and there are different platforms for HDR. The more compatibility you have, the more HDR content you can see.

With all that in mind, keep scrolling for our pick of the best 4K TVs that will enhance your home cinema setup.

How we tested

Testing began with how easy it was to set up and connect the TV, noting how simply it recognised connection to a Sky box or Amazon Fire stick, for instance. Did it need a lot of tweaking to the picture or sound settings or was it straightforward? We looked into how easy it is to use, and, above all, we used it to see how good the picture quality was, how easily you could hear dialogue in an action movie, and how effective the TV was at any surround sound effects. We checked out extra features and looked at how easy it was to add or remove apps, too.

The best 4K TVs for 2024 are:

Panasonic TV-55Z95A

Best 4K Tv Indybest review Panasonic TV-55Z95A
  • Best: Overall
  • Screen size: 55in (65in also available)
  • Display technology: OLED
  • HDR compatibility: HDR10+ adaptive, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision
  • Why we love it
    • Spectacular image quality
    • Exceptional sound
    • Brighter than most OLEDs
  • Take note
    • Expensive

Panasonic’s OLED TVs have picture quality so rich and detailed it can take your breath away. The Z95A is its very latest flagship. The images are smooth and realistic – from faithful skin tones to detailed shadowy areas – and it’s still good for vibrant colours and deep black levels.

OLED screens are rarely as bright as other technologies but Panasonic has found a way around this with something called ‘micro lens array’, which is better at focusing light outwards, delivering a noticeably brighter image without increasing energy consumption. It also has bespoke heat sinks, which allow brighter results. You no longer need to watch an OLED TV in a darkened room to get the best results. Audio is stronger than on many TVs, thanks to a speaker on the front that acts like a soundbar and upward firing speakers on the back for Dolby Atmos effects.

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Amazon Fire omni QLED QL50F601

Best 4K TV Indybest review Amazon Fire omni QLED QL50F601
  • Best: Budget buy
  • Screen size: 50in (43in, 65in, 55in and 75in also available)
  • Display technology: QLED
  • HDR compatibility: HLG, HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
  • Why we love it
    • Consistently good picture
    • Great operating system
  • Take note
    • Not as bright as some other options

This 50in TV from Amazon is very competitively priced. While it’s no match for the joys of OLED, the QLED picture here is bright and effective with great colour range and a dynamic look. It’s most successful with HD and 4K content. It sounds good, with good clarity for the vocal tracks, though, as with several TVs here, adding a soundbar ups the ante.

Amazon has its own smart TV platform, which includes something called ‘ambient experience’, which displays art or photos when the TV is in standby. It also has a built-in microphone, so you can control some TV actions with your voice, or by pressing the blue button on the remote.

It’s worth noting Amazon changes its prices regularly – at the time of writing, this screen has become even better value for money, with a price drop to ?479.99.

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Sony bravia 8

Best 4K TV indybest review Sony bravia 8
  • Best: OLED 4K TV
  • Screen size: 55in (65in and 77in also available)
  • Display technology: OLED
  • HDR compatibility: HLG, HDR10, Dolby Vision
  • Why we love it
    • Cool audio system
    • Sounds strong in cinema mode
  • Take note
    • Google TV not to everyone’s taste

The picture quality, performance and overall design of the bravia 8 make Sony’s TV stand out as a great OLED TV. The contrast and strong, deep black colours, which typify OLED, look especially good here, allowing rich brightness as well as subtle shadows.

It’s brighter than some of the Sony OLED TVs it supersedes and it has a clever speaker system, which sees the display vibrate to create the audio, sounding good without distorting either the sound or the picture. It sounds particularly good in the ‘cinema’ sound mode.

Its operating system is Google TV and the overall design is slim and attractive, with a solid and authoritative look.

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Samsung QN90D neo QLED

best 4K TV indybest review Samsung QN90D neo QLED
  • Best: QLED 4K TV
  • Screen size: 55in (43in, 50in, 65in, 75in and 85in also available)
  • Display technology: Neo QLED
  • HDR compatibility: HLG, HDR10+ adaptive
  • Why we love it
    • Bright, punchy colours
    • Mini LEDs deliver great image quality
  • Take note
    • Darker elements can struggle

Samsung’s neo QLED uses an all-new technology called mini LED. As you’d imagine, it uses LEDs that are much tinier than on a regular TV – one fortieth of the size, in fact, so there are thousands of them behind the LCD screen, with much more granular control. The result is an image that’s spectacular when it comes to brighter elements of the picture, though not quite as impressive in darker corners.

Meanwhile, sound features include something called object tracking sound+, which makes the audio seem to come from the appropriate part of the screen, though this is a subtle effect.

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LG B3

Best 4K TV indybest review LG B3
  • Best: For user interface
  • Screen size: 55in (65in and 77in also available)
  • Display technology: OLED
  • HDR compatibility: HLG, HDR10, Dolby Vision
  • Why we love it
    • Strong price for OLED
    • Great webOS interface
  • Take note
    • Average TV design

The B3 is a great option: it’s affordable for OLED, having dropped in price since its original launch last year, and it has a great picture quality. LG uses arguably the best smart TV software (webOS) around. It’s easy to use and simple to navigate, thanks to its home screen layout. It also looks great, with strong customisation, handy quick menus and an attractive overall design, though it’s not outstanding.

A feature called ‘quick cards’ puts apps into relevant categories, for easy discovery. As for the rest of the TV, it has a sleek design and thin bezel, so the picture stands out. It’s brighter than some OLED screens and it looks consistently smooth and slick, whether you’re watching a movie or playing games. The filmmaker mode is suitably detailed, with deep blacks and natural colours.

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Sky Glass

Best 4K TV indybest review Sky Glass
  • Best: For content
  • Screen size: 43in (55in and 65in also available)
  • Display technology: QLED
  • HDR compatibility: HLG, HDR10, Dolby Vision
  • Why we love it
    • Sky without a dish
    • Great interface for content
  • Take note
    • Image quality beaten by others here

Sky Glass is a clever concept: a TV with access to Sky built in. There’s no satellite dish required – instead, it streams Sky content just as it does Disney+, Netflix and so on. It means there’s no need for a separate Sky box with a hard drive, or even a soundbar, given the built-in speaker. It uses an interface different from the Sky Q box and offers easier ways to start a programme from the beginning when you’re joining a broadcast partway through. The picture quality is strong, though not the best here. However, as a one-stop entertainment hub with seamless access to Sky in just one box, it’s hard to beat. You can also choose to pay ?20 followed by monthly instalments of ?14 over two years, instead of the whole cost up front. The TV frame comes in five different colours, too.

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LG C4

Best 4K TV indybest review LG C4
  • Best: 65in 4K TV
  • Screen size: 65in (42in, 48in, 55in, 77in and 83in also available)
  • Display technology: OLED
  • HDR compatibility: HLG, HDR10, Dolby Vision
  • Why we love it
    • Great image quality
    • Lightweight build
    • Good for games
  • Take note
    • Good price for the size, but still not cheap

There are more expensive OLED screens but this one has so much going for it you may feel you don’t need to spend any more. It features pin-sharp picture and excellent brightness levels that look realistic and persuasive. Sometimes shadows can be a little less detailed than on some other screens but, overall, the picture quality is outstanding. It’s also lightweight for a screen this size: 16.6kg without the stand. That’s handy when you’re setting it up but, unless you’re likely to be lugging it from room to room, makes little difference once it’s installed. The LG C4 is also strong for gaming, not least thanks to a game optimiser menu. Audio, however, is unexceptional and, like many screens, benefits from an added soundbar. Overall, this is a great all-round TV at a strong price, given the screen size.

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Sony A95L

Best 4K TV indybest review Sony A95L
  • Best: Premium TV
  • Screen size: 55in (65in and 77in also available)
  • Display technology: QD-OLED
  • HDR compatibility: HLG, HDR10, Dolby Vision
  • Why we love it
    • Spectacular visuals
    • Advanced image processing chip
  • Take note
    • Stand legs need wide base

This is a spectacular screen, with OLED amplified by quantum dots – those tiny nano particles used to enhance a display with extra brightness and vibrancy. An excellent image processing chip means the TV can reduce noise and minimise blur for smoother images, while sharpening up detail without overdoing it. It adds a dynamism without sacrificing fidelity – in short, it looks magnificent.

Audio is also strong. Like the other Sony sets included here, it vibrates the display to create the audio, and it’s good at giving the impression of directional sound, so, if there’s an explosion at the right of the screen, that’s where it sounds like it’s coming from.

Note that the stand has feet at the extreme edges of the display, so you need furniture just as wide to hold it.

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Panasonic TV-50W90AEB

Best 4K TV IndyBest review Panasonic TV-50W90AEB
  • Best: For picture quality
  • Screen size: 50 in (43in, 55in and 65in also available)
  • Display technology: LED
  • Why we love it
    • Bright, detailed picture
    • Cool operating system
  • Take note
    • Average design

This is a full array LED, which means the LCD display has LED backlights across the whole screen, with local dimming to make the deep black shades and bright colours possible. This TV is great for both contrast and brightness – without the ‘blooming’ effects that make it look like light areas have halos around them.

Part of the success of this TV is down to the processor, which is smart enough to know when you’re watching sport, for instance, and can adjust both the picture and sound accordingly – Panasonic has a gift for making sports events sound immersive and exciting. Because this TV uses Amazon’s Fire TV interface, it means features such as the ambient experience are on board. So, as on the Amazon omni TV included in this list, it can display artwork or useful details when it’s in standby mode. The TV itself looks good, though lacks the wow design of some competitors.

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Hisense 43A6KTUK

Best 4K TV Indybest review Hisense 43A6KYUK
  • Best: Budget small-screen 4K TV
  • Screen size: 43in
  • Display technology: LCD with LED backlight
  • HDR compatibility: HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
  • Why we love it
    • Great price
    • Strong black levels
    • Good colour levels
  • Take note
    • Some motion blur

Though small, this TV is still a decent size, and it is highly affordable. The 43in Hisense lacks the design chops of the more stylish models here, but it looks more expensive than it is. It includes some features, such as Dolby Vision compatibility, which might be surprising at this price point and it has more than decent picture quality. It’s not as bright as some LED models here, and sometimes motion can look blurry, but it has good contrast levels. Sound is good, though it will benefit from the addition of a soundbar. In other words, it’s not outstanding but it delivers a lot more than the price tag suggests.

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4K TV FAQs

How do you clean a 4K TV screen?

Before cleaning your TV screen, we’d recommend unplugging it and using a clean, lint-free, dry cloth to wipe away dust and dirt.

Ensure you are as gentle as possible when cleaning the screen, to avoid any damage

How do I know if my TV is 4K?

The quickest way to find out if your TV is a 4K model is by checking the packaging, if for any reason you do not have it, consult the manual. Under the section on the resolution of the device, if the manual says the TV is 2,160px, UHD or 4K, this means it is a 4K television.

The verdict: 4K TVs

If you want the best picture, it’s very hard to beat OLED, and the Panasonic TV-55Z95A looks stunning. So does the Sony bravia 8, which also has great sound with no visible speakers. Samsung’s QN90D Neo QLED is also outstanding, and it excels with punchy-looking content in even the brightest room.

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