The finest OLED TVs of 2024, tried and examined at residence with professional recommendation

There’s no getting around it, the best OLED TVs are expensive things. “At between £1,000 and £3,000, they’re costlier than televisions with LCD or QLED screens,” says Kevin Walmsley, TV expert at AO. “But OLEDs have better contrast, deeper blacks and perfectly uniform screens that maintain a high-quality image at all angles. In every way measurable, OLED TVs surpass their QLED and LCD counterparts.”

That’s why we review OLEDs separately from other 4K TVs. They operate on a fundamentally different technology, where each individual pixel (there are 8.3 million of them) emits its own light. This creates true blacks, not compromised by a backlight, for ultra-realistic lighting, shadows and contrast. OLED pixels are also more responsive, for a smoother image. Finally, these screens are incredibly thin, often less than a centimetre from front to back.

OLED screens are difficult to build and only six manufacturers currently sell them in the UK. I have tried and tested those from LG, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and Philips – but not Hisense, because their A85K (the best budget OLED TV) is being replaced very soon. You can read my full reviews below, but you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick look at my top five:

Which are the best OLED TVs in 2024? At a glance

• Best overall Philips OLED+908
• Best value Samsung S95C
• Best OLED TV for picture quality Sony Bravia XR A95L
• Best OLED TV for gaming LG G3
• Best OLED TV for watching films Panasonic MZ2000

What’s new for OLED TVs in 2024?

“The key improvements we’re seeing in the 2024 OLED range are in processing power, use of AI technology, brighter pictures and even more enhancements for gamers,” says Katrina Mills, category lead for TV and audio visual at John Lewis. “Expect better upscaling, faster software for smart features and boost in the brightness levels on these TVs.”

The two key brightness-boosting technologies are MLA (micro lens array) and QD-OLED (quantum dot OLED – see FAQ section for explanations). These were first available in the 2022 generation of OLEDs, but have now been upgraded and wedded to more powerful AI processing.

Which type of TV is best for watching sport?

OLED TVs are unquestionably the best for watching sport thanks to the faster response time of their pixels. They can switch instantly from peak brightness to full black, reducing motion blur on fast-moving objects.

But for daytime watching you also need to consider brightness. There are Euro fixtures at 2pm and Olympic events at 8am and you don’t want to be struggling to make out the action. Older OLEDs struggled with brightness but this generation has changed that. The Philips OLED+908 is about three times as bright as the first OLEDs and was the brightest screen we tested.

Screen reflection also matters. Samsung’s ‘Frame’ TVs actually had a matte screen. They’ve used a modified version of its coating to create the ‘Glare-Free’ screen on their latest OLEDs. It genuinely does cut out most reflections from bright lights and windows.

Finally, if you’re watching with lots of friends you need a wide viewing angle. Here, OLEDs win again because they don’t need a backlight. 

Given all the above, the best TV for watching sport is probably the Samsung S95C, but any of the OLEDs below will give you an exceptional view.

The latest OLEDs don’t come cheap – see our guide to the best TVs under £500 for that – but right now, these are the best TVs you can buy in the UK.

How I tested the best OLED TVs

All these manufacturers make cheaper OLEDs, which I talk you through below, but for this review I chose the best 4K OLED TVs currently available in order to compare the most advanced rival technologies. (I ignored costly 8K OLEDs, because there is no 8K content to watch yet).

After speaking to experts Kevin from AO and Katrina from John Lewis, I tested the 55-inch model of each TV at home for at least four weeks, both in the dark and in full daylight so that I could gauge their brightness, dynamic range and colour fidelity in all light conditions and from all angles. 

I tested them on ultra-high definition, HD and standard definition sources, streamed over broadband and played direct from Blu-ray. I tested them with and without soundbars, using mid-range soundbars from the same manufacturer as each TV, and with a PS5 to test their gaming prowess. I also streamed music to them via Bluetooth.

Apart from a lifelike and detailed picture and sound, I was looking for an easy-to-navigate operating system, a wide range of streaming apps, plenty of high-bandwidth connections and good support for audio, visual and gaming formats such as Dolby Vision and FreeSync (see FAQ section).

Lastly, I took into account how heavy the TVs were and how easy they were to assemble, mount and move around.

Best OLED TVs

1. Philips OLED+908

£1,999 for 55-inch model, Richer Sounds

Best buy, 10 out of 10

We like: superb built-in sound and unique Ambilight feature

We don’t like: colours aren’t quite as impressive as Sony’s and Samsung’s 

• Available in 55”, 65” and 75” sizes
• Display: META OLED with 120Hz native refresh rate (see FAQ section for explanation)
• Sound: integrated Bowers & Wilkins 3.1 channels, 80W output
• Supports: Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, IMAX, HDR10+ Adaptive
• Gaming features: VRR (G-Sync and FreeSync Premium), ALLM, Dolby Gaming
• Operating system: Google TV
• 71mm thick, weighs 19kg

Before I get into the detail, I must state the obvious: this is the only OLED you can buy with an ever-changing halo of coloured lights around it. Some people call Philips’ Ambilight an expensive gimmick. I think it’s well worth the extra cash. It makes a feature of the TV – which, after all, is likely to be the most expensive thing in your living room, maybe even the whole house. You want it to be special.

The Ambilights shine above and to the sides of the TV, bathing the walls in colours to match the action on screen and making your room feel like a cinema. The bottom edge of the screen, meanwhile, houses a killer built-in soundbar which is the second reason I’ve made this my top pick. 

The + in the name indicates a 3.1 channel Bowers & Wilkins sound system: a subwoofer, four bass radiators, six midrange speakers and three tweeters, for a total output of 81 Watts. The speakers on Panasonic’s OLED TV (see below) go louder, but this was the highest quality sound of all the OLEDs I tested. Everything sounded natural. Not surround-sound gimmicky, just right.

The screen, made by LG, uses a Micro Lens Array, in which 42 billion tiny lenses sit above the OLEDs to dramatically brighten their output. In bright daylight, the colours and contrast were cinema-quality and reflection-free when I watched Gravity, The Revenant and Planet Earth III – which are my go-to trio to test dynamic range and natural colours. Interestingly, the Ambilights detected the daylight of the room and brightened in response.

I also tested it on games. The OLED+908 knows when you’re gaming and turns on special VRR settings (see FAQ section). I spent hours playing Spider-Man 2 in 4K and the graphics never glitched or stuttered. Staring intently at a bright screen in a dark room – which is practically the definition of gaming – can strain your eyes, due to the high contrast. That’s actually why Philips invented Ambilight. It’s noticeably more comfortable to play for long periods on the OLED+908 than it is on the other TVs here. 

There are other small details to note, both good and bad. On the good side, the slim stand in the middle of the TV, which lets you swivel the screen by 30 degrees, is much more practical than some of the competitor’s fixed, wide-set feet and the remote control is slim, solid, heavy and cool to the touch, a thing of beauty. On the bad side, there is no Freeview Play, leaving My5 hanging around forlornly as the only UK catch-up channel, and there are only two HDMI 2.1 ports, when Samsung and LG are now offering four.

I agonised over whether I could call this a Best Buy, given that the Samsung below offers a slightly more scintillating picture for quite a lot less money. But if you’re buying an OLED TV, you’ve already decided to pay more for a premium product. The Philips OLED+908 is certainly that.

Also in this range

Philips’ Ambilight OLED 8-series (the current one is the OLED808) is around £400 cheaper than this model, but does not have the Bowers & Wilkins sound system or the micro lens array screen. 

A new OLED+909 model is due out in the autumn, replacing the OLED+908 reviewed above.

2. Samsung S95C

£1,199 for 55-inch model, Amazon (newer S95D model currently under test)

Best value, 9/10

We like: remarkable image quality at this price

We don’t like: Tizen operating system is not best in class

• Also available in 65” and 77” sizes
• Display: Quantum dot OLED with 120Hz native refresh rate
• Sound: 4.2.2 channels with Object Tracking, 70W output
• Supports: Dolby Atmos, HDR10+ Adaptive
• Gaming features: 4K 144Hz capable, ALLM, VRR (FreeSync Premium Pro), HGig, XBox app
• Operating system: Samsung Tizen with Bixby voice operation
• 11 mm thick, weighs 14kg alone or 24kg with stand

All this year’s best OLEDs are genetically enhanced with brightness-boosting technology. Where the Philips above uses a micro-lens array, Samsung’s S95C chooses quantum dots, a technology they famously pioneered.

These light-boosting micro-crystals have a miraculous effect on the colours: everything is compellingly lifelike. Watching Gravity, where one half of George Clooney’s face is in bright sunlight and the other in darkness, the skin tone on both sides looked true, as did the earth reflected in his visor. The colours have been validated by Pantone and are much more realistic than earlier versions of OLED.

Samsung’s previous-generation flagship telly had a Pantone-validated QD-OLED screen as well, but improvements have made the S95C considerably brighter. Its 8.3 million pixels can now project everything from the inky black of deep space to the brilliant white of the sun. It makes a big difference, particularly for watching in daytime. 

It takes a bit of fiddling to bring out the best in the picture, though. I don’t find Samsung’s Tizen operating system very friendly and it took me a while messing around with settings such as Shadow Detail, Noise Reduction and Active Tone Mapping to get it looking the way I wanted, and for it to stay that way. Everyone’s preferences are different, of course.

There is an interesting feature called Smart Calibration, which uses the camera on your phone – it’ll have to be a very good camera – to calibrate the picture to the highest film and TV industry standards. That’s something a professional would charge you £200 for. Unfortunately, it goes through the glitchy Samsung Smart Things app and simply failed to start for me. Downsides like this are fairly easy to forgive on a TV that’s so well priced. 

The 70-Watt sound from the eight built-in speakers is superb for dialogue and provides convincing object-tracking (although it’s outgunned by Sony’s), but it’s fairly hollow, with a vague bottom end. I plugged in Samsung’s S800B soundsystem, which combines with the TV’s speakers to create ‘Q-Symphony’, a genuinely cinematic experience. It turns the S95C into a world-beating piece of kit, but it does cost an extra £650.

Even then, though, you’re still paying less than for the Sony – and you get an Xbox streaming app built into the Samsung, saving you the £250 cost of the console (although you will still need to pay for an Xbox Game Pass). 

The picture is the main thing to know about, though. With the right content, the Samsung is truly amazing. Watching Masters Of The Air I experienced the fire, smoke, clouds, blood, blinding sunshine and dingy bomb bays as if I was right there. Sometimes, this screen is so good it’s scary.

Also in this range

Samsung are known for fairly aggressive price cuts, and not just during the sales. This S95C is down to around half its launch price because its replacement, the S95D, is now out. (We are currently testing it.)

One step down from the flagship is the S90 range. The current S90C is around £1,000 for the 55-inch model. It’s not as bright as the S95C, its speakers aren’t as powerful (and are bunched closer together) and it lacks the nifty One Connect Box for hiding straggly wires, but otherwise the features are the same.

You may also find Samsung S92, S93 and S94 OLEDs around, but those are all variations on the S90, with minor modifications to the design or speakers.

3. Sony Bravia XR A95L

£2,299 for 55-inch model, John Lewis

Best OLED TV for picture quality, 10/10

We like: truly jaw-dropping visuals, impressive sound

We don’t like: very expensive

• Available in 55”, 65” and 77” sizes
• Display: QD-OLED with 100/120Hz native refresh rate
• Sound: Acoustic Surface Audio+ with two 20W actuators and two 10W subwoofers
• Supports: Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, IMAX, HDR10
• Gaming features: VRR (G-Sync and FreeSync Premium), ALLM
• Operating system: Google TV
• 34mm thick, weighs 18kg

This is the first OLED I tested which genuinely knocked me back for the clarity of its picture. Watching an ultra-HD nature programme, I could see every capillary in a tree frog’s eye and every wave in a vast ocean. The colours are as close to life as I’ve ever seen. If you’re upgrading from a standard HD telly, the difference is quite staggering.

Samsung’s S95C above uses the same screen as this (it’s a Samsung screen), but Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR gives the A95L the edge when it comes to picking out the finest details and gradations. Sony’s version of quantum dots, Triluminos, also gives more natural and impressive colours. 

It also has the best sound you’ll ever hear out of a flat-screen TV. It literally comes out of it: two midrange and two bass actuators built into the screen use its whole surface to generate soundwaves, which follow the action around the screen with uncanny clarity. It lacks a tiny bit of power at the bottom end but, as long as you don’t sit too far away, it’s as immersive as being at the cinema. You can add speakers, but you’d have to spend a fair whack to improve on the out-of-the-box experience.

The cinematic sound partly relies on a camera (easily removable) that knows where you’re sitting in relation to the screen. The AI optimises the picture in the same way. The camera also enables gesture control, activated by holding a palm in the air. You move your palm up, down, left or right to change volume or channel. Do the same with a raised finger to skip forward or back. Close your fist to power down. I enjoyed setting it up, then never used it again. The remote works fine. 

As you’d expect from the makers of Playstation, the A95L is well set up for gaming, instantly optimising the HDR settings the first time you plug in a PS5 and auto-switching between gaming and movie-watching modes, both in Dolby Vision. 

Annoyingly, though, there are only two HDMI 2.1 ports and one of these will be required for an eARC connection if you use a soundbar. So you won’t get quite the same performance from your second console, such as an X-Box. Doubtless Sony doesn’t think you need one of those. 

Another mark against it is the feet, which can only be attached at the far ends of the TV, meaning you’ll need a cabinet five feet wide to stand it on. Sony say it wasn’t physically possible to put a stand in the middle, but not all living rooms can accommodate a coffin-sized table.

All that aside, the A95L would be our top pick in a heartbeat if it was £500 cheaper. There’s a chance the prices will come down now that Sony’s 2024 range is out (the A95L came out in 2023), but since it still sits at the top of the range there’s no guarantee. Even the preceding A95K from 2022 is still very expensive.

Also in this range

As of June 2024 the second-best Sony OLED – which used to be the excellent A80L (£1,399) – is now the Bravia 8 (£2,199). It has a less advanced processor and Triluminos system than the A95L, but many other features, including the Acoustic Surface Audio+ sound system, are the same.  

4. LG G3

£1,599, AO

Best OLED TV for gaming, 9/10

We like: stunning brightness from LG’s new micro lens array 

We don’t like: pedestrian sound, stand is sold separately

• Available in 55”, 65”, 75” and 83” sizes
• Display: OLED evo with 100Hz native refresh rate
• Sound: 4.2 channel, 60W output
• Supports: Dolby Vision, HDR10, Dolby Atmos
• Gaming features: VRR (G-Sync and FreeSync Premium), ALLM, HGiG
• Operating system: LG Web OS
• 27mm thick, weighs 18kg

Korea’s LG often comes top in charts like this, having bet large on OLED when competitors like Samsung hesitated. They’ve developed it to such a fine art that they now supply OLED base screens to most other TV-makers – including Samsung (who add a layer of quantum magic on top). The LG C3 from 2023 is one of the most searched-for OLEDs online and can be picked up for well under £1,000. But if you want the best they make, you want the G3 – until its replacement the G4 comes out later this year, anyway.

The big news with the G3 is the cutting-edge micro lens array, 70 percent brighter than any previous LG screen. They call it OLED evo. (See the Philips review above for how it works – that’s the same screen under a different name). The increased brightness not only makes for better viewing in daylight, it also increases the dynamic range – the difference between the darkest and lightest parts of the screen – revealing more detail.

Having finally fixed the long-standing criticism of OLEDs – that they weren’t as bright as cheaper LCD sets – the G3 is now pretty much flawless as a piece of engineering. The rest comes down to computing. 

The G3 features LG’s α9 AI Processor 4K Gen6 – a bit of a mouthful that denotes a built-in artificial intelligence which can pull off tricks like rescuing detail from low-grade areas, smoothing out blurs and enhancing depth and colour, even from non-4K content. I noticed it most on skin tones, which previous picture engines tended to overheat. Here, people look much more natural. 

It’s also impressive on reducing colour-banding. That’s the phenomenon where fine gradients of colour (for example, in a sunset) are visibly divided into faint stripes. It’s long been a bugbear of mine. Here, you get something approaching reality. 

LG are generous with gaming features. There are four high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports here, enough to run three latest-generation consoles and still have one line left over for a super-responsive soundbar. LG’s gaming menu is easier to use than Sony or Samsung’s and shows you what frame rate you’re running and whether VRR, low-latency and black-stabiliser are on: all important to hardcore gamers. Overall, gaming is blur-free, glitch-free, lively and dynamic.

It did take me a while to turn off all the showroom pre-sets, though, and that brought me into conflict with LG’s operating system. Some people love the homepage full of ‘Quick-cards’ for things like Office and Home Hub, and the ‘magic pointer’ remote that sends a cursor flying around the screen. I’m not a fan of either, nor of the intricate settings menus for every tiny aspect of the picture.

For example, there’s an AI Picture Wizard that runs you through a multi-stage, multiple-choice quiz a bit like an eye test. I answered all its questions, it cogitated a bit and served up a garish look that was the polar opposite of what I like. 

Another downside is the so-so sound from its two speakers and two woofers. It’s not bad – dialogue is clear, there’s 60 Watts of power and the AI optimises everything to the shape of your room – but it definitely needs a soundbar to add dynamism. If you choose an LG soundbar, you unlock the WOW Orchestra feature where the TV speakers and soundbar work together for properly impressive surround-sound. 

But if you choose the LG G1 soundbar they recommend for that, you’ll need to shell out an extra £800. If you want to put your G3 on a stand rather than hang it on the wall, that’s another £150. Small niggles like these keep LG’s flagship off the top slot.

Also in this range

LG make four ranges of OLED:  A, B, C and G in ascending order, with prices starting at around £800. The C range is the most popular and costs £1,199 in 55-inch size. It’s less bright than this model, but is otherwise very similarly specced.

The number indicates the year, so the G2 was replaced by the current G3 which will be replaced later this year by the G4. There’s also a Z range with 8K screens at four times the resolution, starting at £18,000. (Yes, you read that right.)

5. Panasonic MZ2000

£1,999 for 55-inch model, Peter Tyson (65-inch model available at John Lewis)

Best OLED TV for watching movies, 9/10

We like: seeing film and TV the way the creators intended

We don’t like: the powerful sound can be slightly overwhelming

• Available in 55”, 65” and 77” sizes
• Display:‘Master OLED Ultimate’ screen with up to 120Hz refresh rate
• Sound: Two 15W upward-firing speakers, two 15W side-firing, one 20W woofer and a 70W forward array for total 150W output, Dolby Atmos
• Supports: Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive, Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode
• Gaming features: VRR (G-Sync and FreeSync Premium), ALLM, True Game Mode
• Operating system: My Home Screen 8.0, works with Google Assistant and Alexa
• 69mm thick without stand, weighs 25kg

You won’t find Panasonic’s flagship screen on Amazon and it’s fairly hard to find on the high street. They don’t sell them at all in America – and yet this is the screen many Hollywood studios and post-production companies use when they’re editing and grading films. Why?

Because Panasonic are all-in on picture purity, to the extent of creating their own processing algorithm with the help of “the Da Vinci of the movies” Stefan Sonnenfeld, who worked on the Star Wars films and Top Gun: Maverick. By applying his colour-tuning skills to the latest MLA-enhanced OLED screen from LG, they’ve created what they say is the most accurate display on the market.

Most OLEDs have FilmMaker Mode – an industry standard that lets you view a film as the director intended  – but the Panasonic is the first I’ve come across that defaults to it. You can select more vivid Sport, Normal, Dynamic or Auto AI modes, but it definitely wants to nudge you in the direction of FilmMaker, True Cinema or the mysterious Professional and Professional 2 – the latter two being intended for those creatives in their Hollywood playback studios.

FilmMaker is not ideal when viewing in sunlight, when the reflection from the window might be brighter than anything on screen, but my late-night screening of Dune, whose climactic fight scene takes place almost entirely in the dark, felt just like being at my local cinema. 

That impression was enhanced by the bassy, built-in Tecnics sound system. It’s physically large, adding 5cm to the thickness of the screen, and twice as powerful as any other OLED. It was almost too powerful for my small, cluttered flat, with the TV wedged at an angle in the corner. I could hear reverberation from the walls and shelves, despite the rather cool Space Tune Adjustment feature. 

Space Tune (a series of zaps that acoustically map the room) was very easy to do, though – as was everything else about the set-up. Out of the box it’s basically just a case of screwing in the base and turning it on. 

Panasonic’s own-brand operating system is nicely uncluttered, with just a row of rectangles for the Freeview channels and a row of circles for the apps. YouTube, Prime, Netflix, Disney and Rakuten TV are all built in and you’re not pestered by ads or suggestions. The remote is long, but far easier to use than Samsung’s or LG’s. 

On some other TVs, when you watch anything broadcast in Dolby Vision the telly automatically turns on motion-smoothing (which I hate). The Panasonic doesn’t do that. I could watch Shogun on the Apple TV app and enjoy the gorgeous visuals without fiddling with settings.

Gaming is similar. When I play on the Samsung, the default picture is so vivid I need sunglasses. Here, it’s a lot more naturalistic. Panasonic developed their True Game Mode in partnership with the makers of the famously dark and painterly Diablo IV. There’s also a Game Mode Extreme setting, for hardcore gamers who want the fastest frame rate and lowest latency.

Overall, this is the OLED to pick for anyone that takes cinema seriously. The QD-OLED screens from Samsung and Sony may offer more pizzazz, but this MLA screen demonstrates a zen-like dedication to the visual arts. It’s also refreshingly self-contained, with no need for a soundbar (it would hang off either side of the swivelling base, anyway). 

Now all you have to do is find one in the shops.

Also in this range

Until the new Z95 comes out in the autumn, this MZ2000 is the top of the range. For £400 less you can get the MZ1500, which doesn’t feature the micro lens array or the top-end sound system, but does use the same AI picture processor.

Further down is the MZ980, available in smaller sizes (down to 42”) but otherwise quite similar to the MZ1500, if not quite as bright. It sells for around £1,300.

Panasonic’s entry-level OLED is the MZ700, now down below £1,000 at many retailers. It has a previous-generation processor and lacks Filmmaker and True Game modes. It uses the Android operating system, rather than Panasonic’s own – which some people prefer. An MZ800 is an MZ700 with a better soundsystem.

All the current generation of Panasonic OLEDs all begin with MZ. The previous generation was LZ.

OLED FAQs

What is an OLED TV?

“OLED TVs operate on fundamentally different technology to QLED or LCD TVs,” says AO’s television expert Kevin Walmsley. “Rather than requiring a backlight, organic light-emitting diodes produce their own light when activated – this is known as ‘emissive’ display technology.

“Because of this, OLEDs have better contrast, truer black levels and perfectly uniform screens that maintain a high-quality image at all angles.”

Is OLED better than 4K?

They refer to two different things. OLED is a type of display, whereas 4K is a measure of its resolution. Formed by over eight million pixels, 4K is the highest resolution available. (8K content exists, but is vanishingly rare.)

All OLED screens are 4K, but so are lots of non-OLED screens. The difference comes in the dynamic range and other measures of picture quality.

“OLEDs create sensational colour contrast, sharp edges, true blacks and smooth motions that better support fast moving scenes,” says Katrina Mills at John Lewis. “OLED TVs are also lighter and thinner than other 4K TVs, use less energy and offer better viewing angles. 

“There are some disadvantages of OLEDs, however. In brighter rooms with direct sunlight, some darker scenes on OLED TVs can seem dim, due to the lack of the backlight. That said, this is becoming less of an issue as brands are constantly improving the brightness of OLED panels.”

What is MLA?

Developed by LG Display (who provide screens to Philips and Panasonic), a micro lens array boosts the brightness and colour richness of an OLED screen by focusing the light through tiny lenses – over 5,000 of them per OLED pixel. That’s a mind-boggling 40 billion per screen. 

LG developed an algorithm to go with it, called META Booster, so these screens are sometimes called META-OLED. The first generation of MLA screens came out in 2022. We are now seeing a brighter, more precise second generation.

What is QD-OLED?

Quantum dots, pioneered by Samsung, are semiconducting nanocrystals that turn the light that hits them into very pure, strong primary colours. They were first used to improve the brightness and colour of LED screens. They are the ‘Q’ in QLED TVs.

Since 2022, quantum dots have started to be used on the very best OLED screens as well. Like META-OLED (see above), QD-OLED screens are brighter and better than standard OLED screens.

What is Dolby Vision?

Film and television that has been mastered in Dolby Vision has a higher dynamic range, giving brighter whites, darker blacks and more detail in between. Colours will be truer and contrasts will be clearer. Unlike older HDR formats, Dolby Vision optimises the picture frame-by-frame and the latest version, Dolby Vision IQ, can optimise for the ambient light in the room.

Most OLED TVs are compatible with Dolby Vision, but Samsung use their own version called HDR10+. 

What is Dolby Atmos?

This is a surround-sound format, used to create the impression that sounds are coming from above, beneath or beside you. A TV or soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos will include upward-firing speakers that bounce sound off the ceiling and walls. Even better is a separates system, with speakers mounted in the ceiling and behind you.

What is screen refresh rate?

Analogue film is recorded and projected at 24 frames per second (24Hz), which is fast enough for our brains not to register any flicker. But when television was invented, a faster screen-refresh rate of 60Hz was adopted, since it was easier to transmit over long distances.

It’s thought that the human brain can’t detect any improvements past 60Hz, so why are most OLED screens now capable of 100 or 120Hz? Because it gives the processor more opportunities to insert frames to smooth out motion and reduce judder (which you sometimes notice when a film shot in 24Hz plays on a 60Hz television).

High refresh rates are also valued by serious gamers because they make games look smoother and help them react more quickly. For this reason, some TVs are even capable of 144Hz.

What is VRR?

Variable refresh rate matches the output of the graphics processor in your console to the refresh rate of your screen. When these are mismatched, you can get stuttering or ‘torn’ visuals (see the video below). There are two main standards. FreeSync was developed by graphics chip-maker AMD and G-Sync was developed by NVidia, but they do largely the same thing.

What is HGiG?

A bit like FilmMaker mode, but for gaming. This allows the console or PC to learn the HDR characteristics of your television so that it can display the game as the creators intended, without the TV trying to optimise it.

What is HDMI 2.1?

The latest version of HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) can carry 48 gigabits of data per second over a cable, compared to 18 gigabits with the preceding version, HDMI 2.0. Think of it as a wider pipe for bigger data flows.

This means you can hook a latest-generation console up to your TV and play in high resolution and high refresh-rates. You need an HDMI 2.1 port on your TV as well as on your console. Most OLED TVs have at least one HDMI 2.1 port. Some have up to four.

What is the best size for an OLED TV?

“The smallest OLED TV available is 42 inches,” says John Lewis’s Katrina Mills, “and even this isn’t available in every range. The common sizes are 55, 65 and 77 inches. So if you are looking for a smaller screen, OLED TVs might not be for you.”

If unsure, use the same rule of thumb as with any television: if you sit about 10-11 feet away from your television, go for a 55-inch model. If you sit closer, go smaller and if you sit further away, go larger. Remember you’ll need a big table to fit the Sony, which has feet at each end rather than a stand in the middle.

How to clean an OLED TV

First, gently dust the screen with a microfibre or soft cloth (such as a glasses cleaner) to remove any particles that could scratch it. To remove grease and residue, such as fingerprints, the best way is to use an alcohol-free electronics wipe, followed by a dry paper towel to remove any streaks. OLED screens are delicate and should not be attacked with harsh chemicals or vigorous scrubbing.

What is the best time to buy an OLED TV?

“If you’re looking for the very latest technology, as a general rule, most brands will refresh their range from April onwards,” says Katrina Mills. “On the other hand, if you’re keen to get a great deal, this is also when previous years’ models are more likely to go on offer, as shops make way for this latest range.”

It’s wise to be skeptical of Black Friday offers – it’s not uncommon for prices to go up in October so they can be “slashed” in November – but retailers definitely do compete on price around the end of the year, so this is not a bad time to buy. If you can hang on until just after Christmas when they’re clearing their winter stocks, that can be even better.

Use the consumer website Pricerunner to see how the price of any OLED has changed over the last three months. Camel Camel Camel does the same thing specifically for Amazon. These are useful tools to make sure you’re not paying over the odds.

View the latest John Lewis & Partners and AO.com deals