From Samsung to Sony, these are best TV brands you can buy
Buying one of the best TVs will make a huge difference to your experience — whether you're engrossed in a box-office hit like Dune 2, hooked on a series like The Traitors or tuning into a long-running soap like EastEnders.
On your hunt for a new telly, there are loads of factors to consider. You'll need to pick a size depending on the room it's going in, decide how much you'd like to spend and figure out whether you want an eye-popping 4K resolution or a simpler HD screen. If you intend to use it for more than watching shows, like gaming, you'll need to be sure it's set up for that. And those who don't own a streaming device may want to buy a TV with extra smarts so you can access the best streaming services. Luckily, every manufacturer has a range of options to suit you.
Here at Digital Spy, we watch a lot of TV. Because of that, we've got strong opinions when it comes to the best TV brands you can buy. This list narrows things down to our top six TV brands, including our favourite models from each one.
Samsung
Samsung dominates the TV market, with statistical wizards showing that it was able to seize almost 30% of the global sales volume in 2023. The brand's TVs are known for bright and crisp picture quality, small bezels and thin designs – with lots of compatibility with gaming consoles and soundbars.
It makes a huge variety of display types, including 4K, 8K, OLED and QLED, plus a couple of quirky lifestyle sets. The Frame is one of our favourites, doubling as a digital photo and frame for art when not in use, while The Serif is a chunkier, bold-looking, option with long detachable legs.
Samsung has TVs at all price points. You can get a 50-inch 4K set (the CU7100) for under £400, but its high-end models (such as the 75-inch QN95C or the vast 98-inch QN90A) reach thousands of pounds. Look at Samsung if you need excellent picture quality, or a stylish head-turning design.
Where to buy Samsung TVs
• Amazon
• Argos
• John Lewis
• Samsung
Samsung TVs we recommend
• 32-inch: QE32Q50AE
• 43-inch: CU7100
• 55-inch: Q80C
• 65-inch or above: QN95C
LG
With research showing LG sits in second place in the battle for TV market share supremacy in 2024 — it’s easy to see why this brand earns a spot. It's one of the best brands for a sharp and colourful picture quality.
LG is known for delivering an excellent user experience. The WebOS software that powers its TV sets gives you lag-free navigation, loads of app support and AI that recommends movies and shows to individual user profiles. It has TVs with a variety of panel tech types, including LED, OLED, NanoCell and QNED MiniLED. And like Samsung, it offers a broad range of price points.
All that TV panel jargon is confusing, but the main difference is how they show you colours, brightness and contrast. LED is the most basic (and most affordable) option. Next is NanoCell, and then QNED MiniLED – both are great but QNED wins overall for picture quality. OLED is the highest-end and priciest of the bunch.
The LED UR78 can be picked up for under £500, while the high-end OLED C3 in 55 inches will cost about three times as much. If you're willing to buy a slightly older model, then LG is a great pick for getting an OLED TV for under £1,000. Its cheaper LED models are more basic and have thicker casings than the premium options, but most still have 4K resolution and voice assistant support. Go for an LG if you want an easy-to-use TV with lots of streaming apps and a great operating system.
Where to buy LG TVs
• Amazon
• Argos
• John Lewis
• LG
LG TVs we recommend
• 32-inch: LQ63
• 43-inch: UR91
• 55-inch: UR78
• 65-inch or above: C3
Sony
Sony doesn't come out on top in terms of market share and its TVs are usually on the expensive side when compared to Samsung and LG, but the brand warrants a mention due to its excellent picture quality and optimisation with the PlayStation 5. These tellys automatically enter into a gaming mode and support 120 frames per second at 120Hz – delivering a smooth user experience whether you're creating a new home in The Sims or venturing on quests in Baldur's Gate 3.
You'll often see its TVs under the name Bravia. Sony has a large selection of TVs with two main panel types – LED and OLED – but its recent high-end models come in a new type of jargon called Quantum Dot OLED (QD-OLED) – which is a fancy way of saying that they have even better contrast, brightness and colour accuracy than its standard OLED panels.
Its "Master" series is the most expensive and feature-rich option, with models such as the upcoming A95L starting at more than £3,000 for a 55-inch screen, but it also has a few small LED models like the KD-32W800 for under £500. Its sets are powered by Android TV so you get Google Assistant for voice control on sets with a microphone, others will work with voice search via the remote.
Where to buy Sony TVs
• Amazon
• Argos
• John Lewis
• Sony
Sony TVs we recommend
• 32-inch: KD-32W800
• 43-inch: KD-43X75WL
• 55-inch: A95K
• 65-inch or above: A80L
Sky
If you're a Sky customer or hoping to be soon, there's a TV that takes away all the hassle of a satellite dish and the unsightly wires dangling around your set. Sky Glass is Sky's very own television set with Sky Stream built in. You won't need a dish or a separate Sky Q box. All it needs to work is one power cable and a Wi-Fi connection.
What you get will depend on your Sky package, which ranges from basic Sky catch-up services to Sky Cinema and Sky Sports. However much you opt-in for, you'll get access to over 150 live channels, tonnes of on-demand content and you can install most streaming apps including Disney Plus, Prime Video and Apple TV+. Most packages also have Netflix included.
The device comes in three sizes: 43-inch, 55-inch or 65-inch. It has a Dolby Atmos soundbar integrated into its body and you can control it by voice if you want to. The TV comes in three colours complete with matching remotes, those being Ocean blue, Ceramic white, Racing green, Dusky pink, or Anthracite black. You'll even be able to customise the speaker fascias.
Where to buy Sky Glass
Sky Glass TVs we recommend
Amazon
There are so many streaming platforms these days that it can be hard to keep track, but the Amazon Fire TV sets are a great way of accessing all of your apps directly from the home screen while also benefiting from built-in Alexa to navigate the menus with a quick voice command. They're affordable, and can drop to some surprisingly low prices during Amazon's sale events.
There are three ranges that you'll need to know about. The Fire 2-series is the most basic option and comes in two sizes (32-inch at 720p and a 40-inch at 1080p) and starts at under £250. These lack hands-free Alexa control and adaptive brightness. The next step up is the 4-series, which is available as 43 inches, 50 inches and 55 inches and has 4K resolution – starting at £429.99.
If you want the best experience then go for the Omni-series, which comes as 43 inches, 50 inches, 55 inches and 65 inches. These sets have a QLED panel for the best overall picture quality, plus hands-free Alexa, adaptive brightness and the Fire TV ambient experience that lets you add art or widgets to the home screen when it's not being used to rewatch episodes of The Bear.
Where to buy Amazon TVs
• Amazon
Amazon TVs we recommend
• 32-inch: 2-series
• 43-inch: 4-series
• 55-inch: Omni
• 65-inch or above: Omni
Hisense
A brand that's been among the top market performers since 2019, Hisense is well known for quality TVs at affordable prices – it is one of the best options for value if you need a model with 4K for your living room for gaming and streaming, or a second TV for a bedroom, playroom or kitchen. If you don't need fancy OLED screen technology, you can get a real bargain.
Even the most affordable ranges – such as the E7H – give you thin designs, voice control and modes for gaming and sports, with a wide variety in display sizes, from 43 inches up to 75 inches. Depending on the size, the pricing of these goes from just under £250 to just over £1,000. Hisense's own screen tech is known as ULED, or Ultra LED. It's basically Hisense's version of QLED in that it boosts the colours, contrast and brightness of the picture quality.
The high-end features are still reserved for its OLED and Mini- LED TVs such as the E77KQT and the U7HQT. With these, you're getting the best possible contrast levels (ideal for eye-catching flicks like Inception, Blade Runner 2049 or Dune) and refresh rates for the smoothest performance when gaming. These are generally only available in larger screen sizes (55 inches to 75 inches), and pricing is usually similar to other TV brands – for example, a 65-inch A9H costs £2,049.
Where to buy Hisense TVs
• Amazon
• Argos
• Currys
• Hisense
Hisense TVs we recommend
• 43-inch: E77KQT
• 50-inch: E7H
• 55-inch: U7HQT
• 65-inch or above: A9H
Other TV brands we considered
Take one glimpse at Amazon, Argos and Currys and you'll know that there are other TV brands that we haven't mentioned.
While the five above are our favourites, we find that Philips, TCL and Toshiba are worthy of an honourable mention. Philips TVs give you a neat bit of tech called Amibight that uses LEDs around the rear edges of the display to match up with the action that's happening on screen – delivering an immersive way to enjoy movies and music. The lighting is blasted onto the wall behind the TV, and we think it's particularly cool for sports and games. This tech is not reserved for the high-end OLEDs, either – even the sets under £400 have it.
TCL and Toshiba are good options if you're on a tighter budget. While Hisense sets are better overall in terms of picture quality, specs and features, these two brands have 4K TVs that are ideal for living rooms or bedrooms for £500 or under. The TCL C641K in 55 inches is £389, while Toshiba's 55-inch UF3D is just £299.
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