OUR PICK OF THE BEST SMART TVs

There’s plenty of choice when it comes to buying your new television. Here’s our selection of the best, with a variety of sets designed to suit every need and every pocket

BEST FOR A BIGSCREEN BARGAIN

RRP £1,300 SONY KD-55XE8596,

This is that rarest of things – an affordable big-screen 4K TV that handles HDR well. Two things in particular help it stand out from the pack. First, it controls its LCD lighting well enough to deliver dark scenes with far more authority than most similarly priced big-screen rivals. Second, it uses Sony’s acclaimed Triluminos technology to produce a much better-balanced and wide-ranging colour performance – even with HDR content – than you usually find for this sort of price.

BEST FOR THE KIDS’ ROOM

RRP £350 SONY KDL-32RE403,

If you want to make yourself popular with the kids this Christmas (and get more control over the living room TV!), treat them to a Sony 32RE403.

This 32-inch TV is big enough to be effective for both watching videos and playing games, and the picture quality is unusually good by modern 32-inch standards. In fact, as well as handling high-definition TV and games with impressive sharpness and clarity, it even copes perfectly well with HDR pictures of the sort you can now get from PS4 and Xbox One S or X gaming consoles.

Once your kids have seen what the 32RE403 can do, you might find you never have to watch a children’s TV show on your main set ever again.

BEST FOR LONG VIEWING SESSIONS

RRP £1,999 PHILIPS 55POS9002,

Watching TV for a long time, especially in a dark room, can be tough on your eyes. The stark difference between the bright screen and darker surroundings isn’t easy to process.

Philips has a unique solution to this problem in the form of their Ambilight technology. It uses rows of LEDs built into this 55-inch TV’s back edges to cast out coloured lights around the screen, making long-term viewing much less fatiguing. The latest Ambilight engine can change the colours of the light it’s emitting to match the colours of the pictures you’re watching. Coupled with the mesmerising quality of the TV’s 4K HDR OLED pictures, it will take your sense of immersion to another level.

BEST FOR SMALL LIVING ROOMS

RRP £580 SONY KDL-40WE663,

If you’re really not bothered about all those extra pixels you get with 4K technology, or you can’t accommodate a screen big enough to do 4K justice, Sony’s 40WE663 is the perfect full-HD option. Its 40-inch screen is ideal for a smallish living room. Plus, it’s remarkably hi-tech for an HD-only TV. It can deliver HDR’s extra brightness range, despite its lack of 4K resolution – something you won’t get with any other brand of HD-only TV. It offers a decent selection of smart features, and also benefits from one of the TV world’s best video enhancement systems: Sony’s X-Reality PRO engine. This improves colour, resolution and the appearance of movement.

BEST FOR GAMING

RRP £2,199 SAMSUNG QE55Q7C,

If you’re a serious computer games player, the 4K QE55Q7C is the ultimate monitor. Its curved screen is perfectly suited to up-close-and-personal play, arcing round your peripheral vision for total immersion in your gaming world. Plus, its dedicated Game Mode renders pictures incredibly quickly, meaning you don’t have to worry about an online rival getting the jump on you before your TV has even shown you they’re there! On top of all this, the QE55Q7C is a QLED TV, so it enjoys just the sort of extreme brightness and colour the latest games thrive on.