Best 4K TV 2014
Everyone wants an Ultra HD 4K TV! Yes, okay, we all know there isn't much 4K source material to properly showcase the stunning picture quality, but Netflix has at least started to offer 4K content and there's a 4K Blu-ray format on the way too.
For new TV buyers at the moment, it's all about future-proofing, though there's slightly more to it than that; some of the first batch of Ultra HD TVs pump out best-ever Blu-ray images, thanks to some wonderfully adept upscaling tech.
The birth of 4K could also lead to the re-birth of 3D – it just looks so much better at this higher resolution.
- Christmas special: TV Buying Guide 2014
The big stumbling block – as always – is money, but already there are relative bargains to be had and, better still, some sumptuous designs stuffed with new innovations. The race for 3840x2160 pixels is on.
Here are the best 4K TVs the world has to offer in 2014:
Sony KD-65X9005B
Sony's sensational wedge TV delivers top 4K results
The Sony KD-65X9005B is a thoroughly intoxicating example of leading-edge 4K tech. The UHD image quality with native content exhibits a depth and detail that's beguiling, while its 2160p upscaling talents are top notch. You can be confident that this set will make all your current TV favourites look better than they've ever done before. Active Shutter 3D performance is (literally) outstanding. The provision of HEVC decoding and HDMI 2.0 compatibility ensures a level of future-proofing, important as 4K standards remain in a state of flux. Overall, the KD-65X9005B is a genuine showstopper. Sony is back at the top of its TV game.
Read: Sony KD-65X9005B review
Samsung UE65HU8500
This curved TV sets new benchmarks
Out earlier this year, the sexiest 4K TV currently available has to be the Samsung UE65HU8500. Measuring 65-inches across it's curved panel, it offers stunning visuals unlike any other TV we've tested. It makes a mark right away with its curved screen, immediately standing out from last year's uniformly flat 4K crowd. Its connections are much more up to 4K speed than those of most of last year's Ultra HD sets too, including HDMI 2.0 ports and support for the new H.265 4K video codec that's being used by Netflix (and likely others) for the delivery of 4K content.
Read: Samsung UE65HU8500 review
Samsung UE55HU8500
10 inches smaller but just as awesome...
Although very much a premium priced product the UE55HU8500's screen size will probably have more universal appeal than its acclaimed big brother (above), and it looks well set to take on other 55-inch screens with similar features. It is currently the only curved 55-inch 4K set on the market, but despite aggressive marketing campaigns, it remains to be seen if the TV viewers of the world will be swayed by the curve as much as Samsung seems to expect. Still, with plenty of other enticing features in its armoury including quad core processing and a Smart TV platform that's second to none, there's plenty on offer to tempt today's TV buyers, albeit ones with deep wallets.
Read: Samsung UE55HU8500 review
Panasonic TX-50AX802
It's big, it's smart, it's a brilliant 4K TV
Make no mistake, the Panasonic TX-50AX802 is a stand-out 4K UHD TV in most every sense. It delivers cracking picture quality with Full HD sources and is capable of a stunning native 4K performance. The Freetime roll-back TV programme guide makes catch-up part of the regular linear TV watching experience, and Panasonic's my Home Screen launch page makes it easy to create a bespoke UI, and the curated my Stream content recommendation engine is a fun addition. When it launched it was incompatible with Netflix 4K, but a recent firmware update has fixed that little hiccup!
Read: Panasonic TX-50AX802 review
Samsung UE55HU8200
Samsung's cheaper curved 4K TV is still a high performer
Do you need a curved TV? Of course not. Does it help the picture? Not particularly, but there's no doubting that this 55-inch edge LED-backlit LCD from Samsung is one of the best looking TVs around. Treating Blu-ray and Freeview HD very well with high detail, accurate colour and bags of contrast, the app-packed UE55HU8200 is a great all-rounder that only struggles with its smart interaction voice control, and the odd motion blur. As the most affordable way to get a curved TV, the UE55HU8200 should have wide appeal.
Read: Samsung UE55HU8200 review
Samsung UE55HU7500
One of the best value 4K TVs around
By knocking-off a few quid and retaining both a stunning design and killer picture quality, Samsung has created perhaps the best value 4K TV yet. Drenched in smart TV apps, with two remotes and with a fast-working user interface, the UE55HU7500 is only a built-in camera away from the being ultimate future-proof TV. The UE55HU7500 does present 4K material with a slight (but hardly unexpected) motion blur issue, but perhaps the biggest issue is a lack of 4K material available. It tries to address that by offering HDMI 2.0 slots, being compliant with the HEVC codec that 4K can be streamed in, and adding support for some 4K filetypes via USB. It's future-proof, yet puts most of its effort into being a very good smart TV for the here and now. Oh, and it's not curved!
Read: Samsung UE55HU7500 review
Toshiba 58L9363
The 4k TV that changed everything
4k will catch-on when it becomes affordable, and that era started with the release of the Toshiba 58L9363. The undisputed cheapest Ultra HD TV out there in the UK, it's three-inches wider than the 55-inchers from LG, Samsung and Sony – and its announcement actually caused the prices of those three to be hugely slashed. Using the Active Shutter 3D system, the 58L9363 is Toshiba's second-generation 4k TV after 2012's 55ZL2 glasses-free telly than also sported a 3840x2160 resolution. Its smart TV options – called Cloud TV – aren't as slick as on the pricer brands, but its CEVO 4k engine upscales HD-to-4k, and this remains the cheapest way to get eight million pixels into your life.
Read: Toshiba 58L9363 review
LG 55UB950V
LG's 4K TV is the smartest ever and powered by webOS
LG's spirit of design and feature innovation is fully on show with the 55UB950V, and fits handsomely with the futuristic feel of the set's UHD technology. The set looks lovely, is aggressively priced and features the most user-friendly operating system to date thanks to webOS. UHD pictures look ultra-sharp and richly coloured, too. Its potential market is ultimately limited, though, by problems matching rival screens in the key picture performance area of contrast and input lag levels too high for gamers.
Read: LG 55UB950V review
Samsung UE55F9000
4k works its magic with Active Shutter 3D, too
Having eight million pixels instead of two million helps 'passive' or Cinema 3D systems immeasurably, but what about the Active Shutter 3DTVs from Samsung? It's a company that's stubbornly stuck to this increasingly unpopular technology, but UE55F9000 proves that it's not misplaced loyalty; we're talking a cracking visual density and – compared to passive 3D TVs – a startling level of extra resolution and detail. Meanwhile, native 4K content looks so good it's silly, while upscaled HD looks crisp and clean. Although it uses a now standard edge LED lighting system, the UE55F9000 also boasts local dimming tech for better contrast. One of the slimmest Ultra HDTVs around, the UE55F9000 also has the best smart TV platform.
Read: Samsung UE55F9000 review
Sony KD-55X9005A
Booming sound system almost steals 4k's thunder
By creating this widest-ever 55-inch TV Sony may have inadvertently blotted-out the very reason for the the penchant for small (ish) 4k TVs, but the KD-55X9000A is nevertheless a timely reminder of how crucial sound is to higher-res movies. Native 4k looks pin-sharp and upscaled Blu-rays – both 2D and 3D – have never looked better, but it's those built-in side-mounted Magnetic Fluid speakers, complete with two subwoofers, than are the biggest delight. With only slightly less wow factor than its big sister, the far pricier KD-65X9005A, the KD-55X9005A, which uses passive 3D specs, is one of the best value Ultra HD tellies around. The catch is that there's no HDMI 2.0 compatibility and now HEVC either, meaning it's not a future-proofed option.
Read: Sony KD-55X9000A review
Philips 65PFL9708
Is this the best value 65-incher?
Philips TVs and always all about detail – and the 65-incher, in that sense, is no mould-breaker. However, in every other regard the 65PFL9708 is a one-off. The smallest in Philips' flagship 9000 Series, the 65PFL9708 comes armed with a HEXCore processor that feeds Philips' own Ultra Pixel HD Engine, which is built around an ULTRA Resolution upscaler. It cleverly splits each pixel in HD source material into four, then intensifies them to find additional colour and detail. Also featuring an ambient light sensor that noticeably deepens blacks are purifies whites in high ambient light levels, the 65PFL9708 also includes Ambilight. Philips promises us that a small converter box will be available soon to upgrade the 65PFL9708 to HDMI 2.0.
Read: Philips 65PFL9708 review
Sony KD-65X9005A
The ultimate all-in-one home cinema
Just like the early flat TVs – and the smaller, far more affordable 55-inch version, the KD-55X9000 – this 65-inch stunner from Sony uses forward facing stereo speakers either side of the 4k display, though the glossy design sees a single sheet of edge-to-edge glass across the front. Native 4k has absolute fidelity and image depth on the KD-65X9005, and Blu-ray is upscaled so well, but it's those Magnetic Fluid speakers that we're really taken by. Adding immense depth and stereo imaging as pin-sharp as the onscreen antics, the KD-65X9005A becomes so much more than just another large screen telly – it's perhaps the ultimate all-in-one home cinema product. It's another watershed moment, though at this price it will remain out of reach of most of us.
Read: Sony KD-65X9005A review
Best 4K TV 2015
If you ever get a chance to go to CES, don't turn it down. You'll find the future of every technology within its halls and you'll get to see things far ahead of everyone else. As you'd expect, we were on the show floor and managed to take a peek at the amazing, HDR-ready panels coming down the road in 2015.
The tellies that follow come from very different design aesthetics and manufacturing processes, but all pack a premium 4K resolution. You'll find everything from Quantum Dot to OLED and LCD to whatever-the-heck SUHD is in the 2015 roster. The only thing you can be sure of? Price. These are going to be expensive when they hit store shelves.
Without further ado, here are our picks for the five coolest TVs coming in 2015.
LG 77EG9900 4K Flexible OLED TV
Quantum Dot may make for more saturated picture, but nothing beats OLED
When we first heard about OLED at CES 2014, we were skeptical. Sure, the ability for each light-emitting diode (LED) to turn on and off on their own sounded pretty cool, but it also sounded too expensive for the average consumer. CES 2015 proved to us that OK, it is going to be expensive, but people are willing to pay a premium for what was almost definitely the picture we've ever seen. Special on the EG9900 is the ability to change between curved and flat at the press of a button.
Read: LG 77EG9900 hands on review
LG 65-inch UF9400 4K Quantum Dot TV
Not quite OLED, but one of LG's "better" options
If there were two buzz words at this year's show that the home entertainment crowd couldn't get enough of, they were Quantum Dot. TV manufacturers who we'd never expect to be into the hi-res game came out with their own take on the technology, boasting a 30% increase in the color spectrum over regular UHD screens. This 30% boost comes from a thin layer of nano-crystal elements 2-10nm in length packed in between the backlight and LCD panel. We noticed a fair bit of oversaturation occurring in LG's UF9400 model, but were told that it could be fixed before it launches in Q2.
Read: LG 65-inch UF9400 4K Quantum Dot TV
Sharp Aquos Beyond-4K Ultra-HD TV
The first of the 4K upscalers has arrived
The world isn't ready for 8K TVs. There, I said it. What it might be ready for, though, is Beyond-4K from Sharp that takes a standard 4K signal and displays it on a Quattron+ panel that uses a fourth sub-pixel (yellow) to create even more intricate colors. But all this techno-wizardry depends on a 4K signal, which can be kind of hard to come by. Sharp is banking on more services to offer 4K in 2015 and so long as they follow through, we could see a return of Sharp's dominance in the TV landscape.
Read: Sharp Aquos Beyond-4K Ultra-HD TV hands on review
Samsung SUHD Curved TV
Move over Galaxy Note 3, SUHD is Samsung's next big thing
The first question I always get when talking about the SUHD from Samsung is "what does the 'S' stand for? Super? Slim? Super Ultra High Definition sounds ridiculous." Yep. It does. But the S is the seal of approval Samsung puts on all its flagship products, from the Galaxy Tab S to the Galaxy S5 Mini. It's Samsung's way of saying "hey, look at this! It's cool and new and we totally built it with you in mind." What makes the Samsung SUHD so special in the home entertainment world is its evolution of Quantum Dot technology into a proprietary panel that not only gives improved color, but contrast as well.
Read: Samsung SUHD Curved TV hands on review
Sony XBR-X900C Series 4K TV
Sony's slimmest TV ever. Period.
It's hard to imagine a .2-inch thick display until you actually see it first-hand. To try and paint a visual picture, imagine the depth of a Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone. Now shave off a few tenths of an inch. What you're left with is the thinnest point on the XBR-X900C, the flagship 4K UHD screen coming from Sony in 2015. It's not only the slimmest TV Sony's ever released but it'll be the first in Sony's line-up to pack Android TV. The X900C series is one of four 4K series Sony plans to put out in 2015, leaving only one series in the dust at regular ol' 1080p. It'll come in 55, 65 and a 75-inch versions, the latter of which is dubbed the XBR-X910C.
Read: Sony XBR-X900C Series 4K TV hands on review
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