Best of the best
OUR PICKS FOR THE BEST TVS AT A RANGE OF PRICE POINTS.
WHEN MONEY IS NO LIMIT LG OLED65W7T (65-inch) $13,499 | www.lg.com/au
AS THE COMPANY with the most experience building OLED screens, it’s no surprise that the best on the market comes from LG. And its Signature Wallpaper series, to which this wafer-thin model belongs, is a sight to behold. With industry-leading image quality, it’s also the sheer beauty of this TV that makes it our favourite high-end product. At just 4mm deep, it almost looks as if it’s built into the wall when mounted. Incorporating all of the latest technologies, including Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, it also comes with its own Dolby Atmos soundbar, projecting surround sound from a single speaker bar. We love the magic remote, while the user interface is second to none. If you’ve got money to burn and want the absolute best TV on the market, this is the one to go for — we only wish there was an 80-inch model, but could only imagine the price tag on that sucker.
BEST UNDER $5,000 Samsung QA55Q7FAMWXXY (55-inch) $4,499 | www.samsung.com/au
IT MIGHT STILL be using an LCD panel, but Samsung’s latest iteration of its Quantum Dot technology brings the picture quality of this set to levels approaching that of OLED, all at a more reasonable cost. It’s extremely bright, though the blacks aren’t quite as deep as OLED displays. Like the expensive LG model, this set is incredibly thin and light, making it a breeze to mount on your wall, while the One Connect hub does away with all of the hassles of hiding several HDMI and an antenna cable. The voice recognition generally works pretty well, while the TVs integration with your smartphone means you needn’t worry about losing your remote. There is a little bit of an issue with the image fading as viewers sit at extreme angles, but it’s not as bad as the LCD TVs of the past. For under five grand, you’re getting a great TV set that looks gorgeous, has stunning image quality and is excellent value.
BEST UNDER $2,000 Hisense 50M7000UWG (50-inch) $1,499 | hisense.com.au
USING HISENSE’S PROPRIETARY ULED technology, which is a series of refinements to existing LCD technology, this affordable big-screen TV brings image quality to your living room that would have cost over $5,000 just a few short years ago. It’s HDR-compliant (though doesn’t carry either of the two main HDR logos), and comes with all of the smart features you’d expect in much more expensive sets. While it may be backlit, black levels are excellent, though obviously not in the same league as OLED. Surprisingly, even the built-in speakers are of a decent quality, and mimics surround sound even though it only has two speakers. The Opera operating system is easy to use, and we’d go so far as to say that it’s even superior to Samsung’s interface. Like the other sets on this page, it’s impressively thin. To get the very best out of this set, we’d definitely recommend a quick calibration though, as the out of the box, settings aren’t perfect.
BEST UNDER $1,000 Kogan Series 9 MU9500 (55-inch) $799 | www.kogan.com/au
AT THIS PRICE, don’t expect anything but the very basics — forget about any form of smart apps or network connectivity, voice control, motion controlled remotes or HDR support. However, what you do get is 55 inches of curved screen with image quality that is actually extremely viewable. The curve is more of a gimmick than of any real use, though it does help this set to look like it costs a heck of a lot more than the tiny price tag. Based on simple LCD technology, don’t expect the blacks or colour vibrancy of the more expensive competitors, yet that’s not to say it’s anywhere near as bad as the first range of Kogan sets released many years ago; the company has come a long way in a short time. It’s also a true 4K panel, with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160, so you can expect your 4K Blu-Ray movies to look crystal clear. Sadly, you’ll have to buy a media box to enable other goodies like Netflix and the like, but these can be picked up for as little as $50 these days, so for a combined price of $850 or so, you’re getting a 55-inch screen that is incredibly good value.