Our expert TV reviews cover more than 45 popular models from LG, Sony, Samsung, TCL, Hisense and more
We rate key factors including picture and audio quality, remote ease of use and whether the settings are suitable for newcomers
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Your new TV is going to take up prime position in your living room and provide countless enjoyable hours of binge watching, sports streaming and moving marathoning. It’s important to pick one that looks and sounds great.
TVs are one of the most popular discounted items come end of financial year sale time. And you’ll likely find plenty of offers outside of regular sales periods too, as retailers try to offload unsold stock to make way for new models.
But our experts urge caution if you’re in the market for a new TV. Retailers don’t just discount the good ones – they’re eager to offload plenty of duds as well.
CHOICE TV experts have their eyes on all the latest TVs.
And no one wants to be stuck with poor picture quality and sub-par sound for years to come.
To help you sort the star performers from the B-grade extras, our TV experts test dozens of models in our lab each year.
We evaluate key factors you want to know about, including picture quality, sound, remote, energy use, user interface and more.
Covering more than 90% of the market, we review popular brands such as LG, Sony, Samsung, TCL and Hisense, along with lesser known ones such as ChiQ, Ffalcon, and Aldi’s house brand Bauhn.
Do you even need a new TV?
Before you get swept up in the sales hype, stop and think about whether you actually need that new TV at all. (We’re not trying to be killjoys, we promise!)
If you’re happy with the picture quality of your existing TV, but feel like it’s just not smart enough, you don’t necessarily need to buy a new one – you can simply smarten up the TV you already own.
CHOICE TV experts explain how to turn a regular TV into a smart TV to breathe new life into your older model. This can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
In our most recent lab tests, our experts found some terrific big-screen TVs alongside some very underwhelming models. Here’s the models that underwhelmed in our reviews.
This TV proves bigger isn’t always better.
ChiQ U65M10F
CHOICEExpert Rating: 66%
Size: 65-inch
Price: $699
Yes, this 65-inch TV seems like an absolute steal at $699, but there’s a reason it’s priced so low.
It might look impressive at first glance, but it underperforms on some of the most important things you want a TV to do: make whatever you’re watching look good and sound good.
Picture quality is ordinary in both standard and high definition and our experts say the sound is dull and lacks presence (it doesn’t feel like the audio is filling the room). Even the 4K picture was a bit flat and pale.
It seems like an absolute steal at $699, but there’s a reason it’s priced so low
Remember, too, that a large TV like this might not be suitable for your space: the larger the TV, the further away you’ll need to sit for the best viewing experience.
Our experts recommend a viewing distance of around 2.48 metres from a 65-inch screen, so if your lounge room isn’t particularly large, you’ll be better off with a smaller TV anyway – which means you might be able to get a better view for around the same or less money.
A $400 step up in price doesn’t translate to a step up in quality. This Hisense might be more expensive than the ChiQ, but it’s barely any better.
The high- and standard-definition picture quality is similarly disappointing and the remote isn’t exactly a joy to use, with our experts rating it as only ‘OK’.
A number of TVs that cost around the same perform far better
It does deliver better sound quality, but it’s still a bit boomy. Sometimes, this makes the rest of the audio pretty hard to hear, including dialogue.
A number of 65-inch TVs we’ve reviewed that cost around the same performed far better, so we suggest looking elsewhere.
We’ve seen a lot of new TVs that look great in 4K but pretty average in all other respects. This TV falls into this exact trap – 4K looks good to very good (depending on the settings) but SD and HD are only OK.
While 4K is readily available on streaming services and discs, the majority of movies and shows are still only available in SD and HD.
That means $2069 will get you a TV that’s only really good at one thing, and you won’t be able to use that thing most of the time.
4K looks good to very good (depending on the settings) but SD and HD are only OK
The price point is a pretty hard sell as well, even when it’s on sale for $1500 or less. It’s not hard to find TVs that match, or outperform, this screen with year-round price tags that are the same as Samsung’s sales discount.
Some picture quality concessions need to be made when you’re shopping on a budget. You’re not going to get the best screen in the world and that’s fine – but you can do much better than this budget TV from Toshiba.
Everything falls apart in our HD video assessment. Its borderline HD score of 54% puts it among the worst performers in this part of our test, with SD picture quality only faring slightly better at the lower end of OK (61%).
Its borderline HD score of 54% puts it among the worst performers
There are also issues with build quality and performance. Our experts noticed some light bleed, which is when white blotches appear around the edge of the screen. There are also signs of artefacting, an issue that makes the picture break up and turn blocky, mainly during fast-moving scenes.
Small screens aren’t really designed to compete with the big dogs but they can still look quite good. These ones, however, do not.
This Ffalcon is the cheapest and the worst.
Ffalcon FF32S55
CHOICE Expert Rating: 64%
Size: 32-inch
Price: $199
Ffalcon has earned the esteemed honour of making the cheapest currently available TV in our test. It has also achieved the notable dishonour of being the lowest scoring model.
Compromises in picture and sound quality are normal when you’re shopping on a budget, but try to save a bit more money to avoid this disappointing display. Picture quality is just barely OK, and the built-in speaker is completely absent of bass while sounding harsh and lacking in detail.
It has also achieved the notable dishonour of being the lowest scoring model
The remote control isn’t half bad; it’s actually among the better ones we’ve seen, which includes expensive TVs from major brands. So, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the off button.
This TCL is barely any better than the terrible Ffalcon.
TCL 32S5K
CHOICE Expert Rating: 66%
Size: 32-inch
Price: $399
TCL’s small TV costs $200 more than the Ffalcon above. Is it worth the extra dough? Not really.
Standard-definition picture quality is good and may sound fine if you tend to watch older movies and shows that haven’t been released in high-definition (HD). But high-def quality is very average and sound quality is poor with no bass, limited detail and an overall harsh feel – just like the Ffalcon.
TCL’s small TV costs $200 more than the Ffalcon above. Is it worth the extra dough? Not really
You’re just paying twice as much money for a better standard-def picture. That’s not worth it, not in 2026 when the vast majority of content is available in HD. Skip the TCL and buy a TV that’s built for the modern age.
In life, not everyone will shoot for the moon. Lots of folks are fine being an average sort of person and that’s OK. Philips has applied the same philosophy to this small TV – a far less acceptable approach when it comes to home entertainment.
Standard-definition picture and sound quality are both firmly OK – the kind of OK where you can’t really fix things by adjusting the settings. High-def, meanwhile, really falls apart as it skirts the line across OK and poor quality (57%).
Standard-definition picture and sound quality are both firmly OK – the kind of OK where you can’t really fix things by adjusting the settings
However, its user interface is very good, almost excellent in fact. This is great news for people who love browsing menus.
There are some pretty decent small-screen TVs out there for budget-conscious shoppers. This TV from Toshiba is not one of them. With this performance, it’s probably worth around $399, but there’s no reason this TV should cost more than $500.
SD picture quality is only OK, but HD is somehow worse, with only borderline results in our test. 4K has good colour and detail but it’s still very contrasty and not that nice to look at. It also sounds flat, dull and distorted at times.
Your guests are going to have to get nice and cosy on movie night, because this TV’s viewing angle is very narrow
Your guests are going to have to get nice and cosy on movie night too, because this TV’s viewing angle is very narrow. Move a little bit to the left or right and picture quality goes way down.
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. LinkedIn
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. LinkedIn
Peter Zaluzny is a Content producer in the Digital home team. He covers everything from home entertainment and personal safety devices to tech for your car and mattresses.
Peter enjoys cutting through the nonsense to help people understand the products they’re considering to buy. He helps consumers make educated, informed decisions.
Peter has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wollongong. LinkedIn
Peter Zaluzny is a Content producer in the Digital home team. He covers everything from home entertainment and personal safety devices to tech for your car and mattresses.
Peter enjoys cutting through the nonsense to help people understand the products they’re considering to buy. He helps consumers make educated, informed decisions.
Peter has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wollongong. LinkedIn
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