Whether you’re after a TV that blends in with the furniture, prefer something more cinematic or want to maximise the bang for your relatively meagre buck, there’s a 4K (or 8K) telly out there for you

THE QUALITY QLED

SAMSUNG Q90

QLED once felt like it was sticking its fingers in its ears and singing loudly while the rest of the TV world shouted about OLED – the screen technology spearheaded by its rival, LG.

Now, it seems like a hand well played. With QLED into its third generation, Samsung has honed the technology into something that can really rival OLED in every meaningful respect, while also challenging what you can expect from a top-of-the-range LCD in 2019.

The firm has made a number of big improvements on last year’s Q9R series, including deeper, OLED-bothering blacks, a richer colour palette, much improved off-axis viewing and better backlight control.

Pictures still have the brightness we expect from an LCD set, with Samsung promising more than 2000 nits at its peak. That’s more than double what an OLED screen can offer, which is crucial in getting some extra punch into those HDR images.

Speaking of HDR, Samsung goes against the grain here, supporting the advanced format of HDR10+ (as well as standard HDR10 and HLG) in place of the more heavily backed Dolby Vision. HDR10+ is currently limited to Amazon Prime Video and a handful of 4K Blu-rays, so Samsung is playing the long game and hoping it comes out on top.

You’re always in safe hands when it comes to Samsung’s smart offering, though, with all the smart apps you could want – including Netflix and Amazon (both in 4K), Now TV and all the catch-up services, plus iTunes being added soon – all through an intuitive and easy-to-use interface.

If you thought OLED had QLED beat, Samsung’s latest flagship is pulling out all the stops to show the battle’s still on. from £2799 / samsung.com

WHAT ABOUT 8K?

Samsung Q900R

This is the smallest (65in) and cheapest 8K set you can buy. Until more 8K content arrives the Q900R’s headline feature is its upscaling prowess, thanks to powerful AI. from £4499 / samsung.com

LG OLED Z9

At 88in, you’re going to need a sizeable front room for the world’s first 8K OLED – and we’d guess, a budget to match. LG hasn’t talked numbers yet, but we’re not expecting them to be small… £tba / lg.com

Sony Z9G

Sony’s 8K efforts start from 85in, and come with pricetags to make you run for the hills. But it claims its new tech and X1 Ultimate processor will make the very most of those extra pixels. from £13,999 / sony.co.uk

ALTERNATIVELY

LGO LED E9

After years of ploughing R&D cash into OLED technology, LG is now reaping the rewards by supplying every other manufacturer out there with the panels they need to join the party.