All about Technology: Buying Guide: 6 best UHD 4K TVs of 2015

Thursday 3 September 2015

Buying Guide: 6 best UHD 4K TVs of 2015

6 best UHD 4K TVs of 2015

If you're buying a new television this year then chances are you're after an Ultra HD TV. It's the new buzzword in TV tech and it can deliver sharper, crisper, high-fidelity visuals than possible at a measly 1080p.

Every manufacturer is now lining up to offer you a 4K TV. But where it was once almost a content-less gimmick, limited to showfloor showreels, there is starting to become more and more UHD movies and TV shows on offer from all over.

Ultra HD Blu-rays will be on sale by the holidays this year, Samsung offers a UHD content pack with its TVs and Netflix is now setup to deliver 4K content online to its premium subscribers.

There are also a host of broadcasters testing out live UHD content too. They're even working on 8K broadcasts for the Women's World Cup this year!

Ultra HD is not just about that 3840 x 2160 resolution any more either.

With technologies such as Quantum Dot, OLED and HDR able to deliver your 4K movies with frankly stunning levels of picture quality there's a whole lot more to UHD than just 8.3 million pixels.

And it doesn't have to cost the earth to get on the Ultra HD rollercoaster either.

Here is our choice for the best 4K TVs in the world today, from the wallet-busting 65-inch beasts to the best 48-inch TV we've ever seen.

Samsung UE65JS9500

1. Samsung UE65JS9500

"Nothing short of a milestone in TV picture quality"

Ground breaking picture quality

Feature-rich smart TV platform

Super expensive

Curved screen is divisive

Samsung's 2015 flagship TV leverages new brightness and colour technologies to take LCD picture quality to a whole new level - especially once true HDR content starts to roll into town. The difference its HDR technology makes to picture quality is immense - more impactful by far, in fact, than the step up from HD to UHD.

What's more, while you need native HDR content to see the TV at its absolute cinematic best it still delivers superb results with current sources.

It's much easier to use than previous Samsung smart TVs too. We just wish more people would be able to afford it.

Read the full review: Samsung UE65JS9500

LG 65EC970V

2. LG 65EC970V

"The first 4K OLED TV is finally here."

Jaw-dropping design

webOS works brilliantly

Limited HDR options

Needs accurate set up

For many home cinema fans the LG 65EC970V is a dream come true. There are many, many occasions where its combination of a native 4K UHD resolution and OLED screen technology delivers pictures more beautiful and natural than any we've ever seen before on any television.

Its webOS operating system, moreover, ensures that the 65EC970V is still easy to use despite its cutting edge nature, and its design is gorgeous.

If you're lucky enough to have six grand to spare you're faced with a stark TV choice between the LG 65EC970V and the Samsung UE65JS9500. The bottom line though is that it's another ground-breaking moment for TV picture quality.

Read the full review: LG 65EC970V

Sony KD-75X9405C

3. Sony KD-75X9405C

"This Sony delivers arguably the most 4K picture I've ever seen on a 4K TV"

Sensational picture quality

Equally sensational sound quality

Space-consuming chassis design

Upscaling can cause noise

The 75X9405C certainly isn't shy about coming forward.

Its already vast 75-inch screen is further expanded by two chunky side panels and an unusually deep rear end. But there's a good excuse for this bulk, as it enables Sony's set to deliver the best speakers I've ever heard on a TV.

The 75X9405C also carries the new Android TV smart platform - even though this hasn't convinced us it's the future of TV - and best of all it combines a 4K resolution with a direct LED panel design and Sony's latest picture processing to produce pictures that are, for the most part, deliriously good.

Read the full review: Sony KD-75X9405C

Panasonic TX-50CX802B

4. Panasonic TX-50CX802B

"Far and away Panasonic's best LCD TV to date."

Superbly detailed, natural pictures

Exceptional colour rendition

Slight motion blur

Calibrated pictures lack brightness

While there's room for improvement with its backlight and motion handling, the 50CX802 is far and away Panasonic's best LCD TV to date.

Its pictures benefit from a unique focus on colour and greyscale nuances that give it a genuine USP, and it backs this up with an appealingly friendly new Firefox smart TV interface and - following imminent firmware updates - both HDR and Freeview Play functionality.

All at what is, all things considered, an attractive price.

Read the full review: Panasonic TX-50CX802B

Samsung UE48JU7000T

5. Samsung UE48JU7000T

"The bottom line is the set is capable of being brilliant."

Affordable for high-end UHD

Outstanding contrast

Needs careful setup otherwise…

…there's significant motion blur

Samsung's 48-inch affordable 4K TV was almost on a hiding to nothing. When we first checked it out the image quality was blighted by terrible motion blur at its out-of-the-box settings.

With a bit fiddling around though you're left with a beautiful UHD panel.

The UE48JU7000T produces one of the best contrast performances we've ever seen from a non-HDR TV, which in turn helps it produce some of the most vivid and effective colour performances we've seen from an LCD TV. Its Tizen Smart TV system is well populated and easy to use, too.

Read the full review: Samsung UE48JU7000T

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Panasonic TX-40CX680B

6. Panasonic TX-40CX680B

"The TX-40CX680B could turn out to be one of the bargains of year"

4K detail

Customisable Firefox OS

Soft standard def

Only 3 HDMI

Is the TX-40CX680B too small to show-off its 4K panel at just 40-inches? Though the 4K resolution is the headline-grabber, the emphasis from Panasonic on this 40-incher is on better pixels rather than more pixels. This highly talented and great value TV swerves that elephant in the room with some pin-sharp pictures to add to its impressive smart TV OS.

With Firefox OS it really makes use of its eight million pixels by boosting black levels, colour and upscaling prowess to make everything save for standard definition look sumptuous. With Freeview Play incoming, it's an early front-runner for the best value 4K screen around.

Read the full review: Panasonic TX-40CX680B