I've set up and tested a lot of the best TVs throughout this year, so I know what the latest tech can offer, from OLED to Mini-LED and beyond.
Quite often, however, the latest brand-new tellies cost a bit of a fortune. So while patience for price drops and a keen eye – especially during the best Black Friday deals – can pay dividends, sometimes the best advice is to look back one model generation.
But that's precisely why I'm here to act as your TV buying guide. Having seen a bunch of the current best TVs go down in price – check out my flagship OLED versus here, but also my cheaper TVs deal piece here – the signs are positive.
However, while I think all the sets in the above articles are brilliant, here I'm looking to highlight sets for between £300 to under £1100 maximum – including a 75-inch behemoth under a grand, for those seeking a massive screen size.
T3's Top 3
Amazon's own hardware is always keenly priced, but now the brand has revealed forthcoming replacements, the Omni QLED is cheaper than ever before. The 'QLED' part tells you this is an LED-backlit telly, the 'Q' meaning Quantum Dot, which is an added layer in the construction that assists with greater colour saturation. So while you won't get OLED levels of backlight perfection here, you will get plenty of colour and brightness – and for a very fair price indeed. All of Amazon's other size options are also heavily discounted.
LG literally owns the patents for OLED technology, so it's the grand daddy of this type (yes, other makers delivering OLED panels source them from LG). Organic Light Emitting Diode, as it stands for, means each pixel is self-illuminating, which means there's no backlight imperfection. So no halos, no blooming, plus considerable contrast and black levels that are like inky pools – which QLED and Mini-LED cannot achieve. The OLED C5 is the latest 2025 model, but this price cut sees it at its lowest ever asking price.
Hisense is at the forefront of Mini-LED, which, like the QLED option above, is backlit by LEDs. Those sources are, as the name implies, 'miniature' – so much so that they provide greater precision and greater brightness. That bolsters the ability at larger screen sizes, which is precisely what you get with the 75-inch U7Q – and at under £1,000 it's an absolute steal for a 2025 model. There's also built-in Freely for easy channel access without an aerial. Smaller models are available on discount, too, if this one's too large for your living room.
But which is best?
There's the question of 'best' and the question of 'budget' here, not to mention scale.
Of this trio, the LG OLED C5 is clearly the most luxury, high-end option available – with the most precise picture quality. It's also the most expensive.
While the other two can't match it, they surpass expectations for their relative price points. The Amazon, in particular, is incredible value, while the Hisense's massive scale makes that 2025 model a steal too.
Other worthy options
There are, of course, other options available. The best TV of 2025, in my view, is the Samsung S95F. But that costs a pretty penny more than any of the above – so might be outside your budget.
Then there's Panasonic's Z95B – which is similar to LG's top-tier G5 (also worth considering if you love movies), but with improved cooling and an integrated sound system that negates the need to purchase an extra 'bar.
If brightness and affordability, yet with options of scale remain a priority, then Hisense's keenest competition is TCL. The C8K series ranges all the way up to 98-inches, if you live in a mansion.
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