Best TV Buying Guide: Settle in for TechRadar’s round-up of the best TV sets you can get your hands on in 2018.

Picking a new TV isn’t easy. Whether you’re using it to watch blockbuster movies in 4K, or just tune into the news each night, you’re likely to clock in a lot of hours over a TV’s lifespan – and the last thing you want is to invest in something that doesn’t suit your needs.

With so many features to consider, with new TV technologies being introduced all the time, making a decision is getting harder all the time. A brand new top-of-the-line TV can offer such a wide range of different technologies and features that it can be hard to know what you’re looking for. And with all the major manufacturers in a yearly arms race to outdo rivals, keeping up with the latest developments can feel impossible.

You could get the TV that promises to pack in every new technology out there, but it’s not all essential. Sky Q may support HDR10, but it doesn’t bother with the more advanced Dolby Vision. Neither does the 4K Xbox One X.

Or if you’re a Sky Q and Xbox One X user, you probably won’t want to bother forking out the extra money for a TV that supports Dolby Vision. 

 

• Confused about high dynamic range? Don’t miss our guide to HDR

But if you’re feeling flummoxed, our guide to the best TVs available will help you separate the cheap panels from the best 4K screens. We’ll help you find an awesome flatscreen without wasting hours of research comparing spec sheets – that’s our job. 

If you’re looking for a buying guide that deals with TVs that only support the new Ultra HD resolution, check out our page on the best 4K TVs. Or if getting a flatscreen on the cheap is your main concern, check out the best 4K TV deals.

But, if you’re looking for the best-of-the-best TV out there today without limits or stipulations, this is the place for you. 

“So, should I buy a TV now or wait it out?”

We hear this question a lot. Like most technology, TVs are getting incrementally better all the time – which means, yes, if you wait a year there will probably be a bigger, flashier TV out there for less money. 

But, that said, there has recently been a huge flurry of progress as manufacturers have rushed to embrace new display standards including Ultra HD, Wide Colour Gamut and HDR. 

The majority of TV manufacturers now support these next generation of features, but you’ll have to check the small print in a few cases. 

So long as your next TV purchase supports these technologies (looking for an Ultra HD Premium certification is a good way to go), we reckon you won’t be kicking yourself in six month’s time when the next batch of sets arrive 

OK, but let’s say you do want to know what’s coming next for TVs. If that’s the case we’d be remiss if we didn’t let you know about the new HDMI 2.1 standard, which as well as allowing support for 8K at 60 frames per second and 4K at 120 will also allow for a range of new gaming features to be supported over HDMI. 

It’s cool technology for sure, but unless you’re seriously into your gaming then we reckon you’re safe making a purchase now. 

 For more, watch our TV buying guide video below:

1. Samsung QLED Q9FN (2018)

75-inch: QE75Q9FN | 65-inch: QE65Q9FN | 55-inch: QE55Q9FN