T3 Awards 2020: The Philips OLED754 is officially the best TV under £1000

(Image credit: Philips)

published 9 June 2020

OLED TVs have been a leading choice for cinematic connoisseurs for years now, thanks to the remarkable nuance they offer for contrast-rich HDR video, but it's always been a premium technology, in more upper-tier sets. But our T3 Awards 2020 winner for the Best TV Under £1000 brings the price down to an area more people can afford, without compromising on image quality.

The 55-inch Philips OLED754 is our winner because it brings the wonderful contrast and colours of OLED for a three-figure price, and without skimping on features such as HDR support – in fact, with both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision on board, you get better dynamic HDR support than many flagship TVs.

On top of that, you've got Philips' unique Ambilight feature, which spreads light matching what's on-screen to the walls behind and around the TV, giving you a more immersive experience.

• Read our full Philips OLED754 review

The advantage of OLED technology is that every pixel emits its own light, which means the colour and brightness of individual pixels can be precisely controlled, so in scenes of moody dark areas, there's a realness to the subtle gradation of light and tone that LED TVs struggle to match. It also means you can have a pixel at full brightness right next to one that black, which again mirrors reality in a way that LED TVs have difficulty with.

The Philips OLED754 gives you that full experience, at a price that really impresses. It does an excellent job of upscaling HD movies and TV too, so even when you're not watching in native 4K, you're still making the most of the panel's detail.

We're also big fans of the minimalist design, which again feels more premium than the price suggests. The simple silver feet reflect what's around them and so just sort of disappear into your living room, while Ambilight helps the screen to melt into the space, too.

This gives you a way to get images that are both striking and delicately real without paying flagship prices, and that's why the Philips OLED 754 is our Best TV Under £1000 award winner.

• Check out more of our T3 Awards 2020 winners!

Matt is T3's former AV and Smart Home Editor (UK), master of all things audiovisual, overseeing our TV, speakers and headphones coverage. He also covered smart home products and large appliances, as well as our toys and games articles. He's can explain both what Dolby Vision IQ is and why the Lego you're building doesn't fit together the way the instructions say, so is truly invaluable. Matt has worked for tech publications for over 10 years, in print and online, including running T3's print magazine and launching its most recent redesign. He's also contributed to a huge number of tech and gaming titles over the years. Say hello if you see him roaming the halls at CES, IFA or Toy Fair. Matt now works for our sister title TechRadar.