You really do not need to spend a fortune to buy a cutting-edge TV: there are some incredible bargains for television at this time, even if your budget is limited to £ 500 or less. While you may think you are about to sacrifice all the good things to meet this price point, manufacturers have other ideas.
Ultra HD image resolution is now within reach, as TV manufacturers switch most of their production to 4K panels. But there are also some interesting models of Full HD. If you want a new screen that can make the most of a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, or to satiate your habit of watching drunkenness, then you're in luck.
You can even expect to get some level of network functionality, although in many cases what you will find is a small platform that mainly offers the most popular streaming services. Still, Netflix is Netflix, right?
And if the smart platform on your chosen TV is limited, it is not very expensive to add an HDMI transmitting device (such as Amazon Fire TV or Roku dongle). Finding a separate solution can even offer a better long-term connected experience.
Of course, when it comes to design and construction quality, you can not expect too much in the market's budget. To mitigate this, our advice is to look for televisions that make a virtue of its slim bezel and simple pedestal. Minimalism is always your friend (of design).
A more controversial area when buying a budget is HDR (High Dynamic Range). While many sets below £ 500 will support HDR, what they actually offer is basic compatibility. Flat cut price screens simply do not have the ability to show the type of luminous peak brightness that attractive HDR can offer.
Audio quality is also quite common, with low cost drivers and limited amplification. But once again this can be addressed at a later date, with a separate sound bar or audio solution.
Fortunately, you do not have to go through reams of technical specifications to discover the best bargain purchases. TechRadar's guide on the best available televisions for less than £ 500 will guide you in the right direction. If you want to improve your image for less, read on …
What is the best TV for less than £ 500?
If you only have £ 500 to spend on a new television, how should you spend it? [19659011] If you're looking for the best TV for the money, without exception, it's the Toshiba 43U6763DB, a 43-inch Toshiba TV with 4K and Toshiba Smart Portal.
That said, there are some other televisions cracking for less than half a bonus; so here, starting with Toshiba, are the five best televisions with less than £ 500, classified according to their price / performance ratio …
1. Toshiba 43U6763DB
A high-value 4K television that could cause a double shot
Surprising value
Free play Play with smart portal
Not compatible with HDR
Not a Wide Color Gamut panel
] the high-value 4K Toshiba TV may well have you doing a double take. It has a big impact when it comes to features. Part of a wide range of the brand, this 43-incher combines a 2160p resolution panel with Freeview Play tuner and a variety of transmission applications, courtesy of the Toshiba Smart Portal.
The first offers a full range of TV updating services, with BBC iPlayer, ITVHub, Demand 5, All4 and UKPlay, and later contributes with Netflix and YouTube. You can even look at the images from a mobile to the screen.
The image quality is sharp UHD, but does not support HDR. The panel does not have a wide range of colors, but if you're playing, watching Sky Q or streaming 4K from Netflix, this limitation will not make a difference.
The set looks good, albeit a bit plastic, and offers versatile connectivity. There are four HDMI, one scart and three USB. The audio is blunt, with an output of 20 W, but you may want to consider adding a small footprint sound bar just to improve clarity.
2. Philips 43PUS6262 / 05
The first port of call if you want a high-value flat screen
Ambilight room illumination is an explosion
Free play and connected portal
HDR performance is not ultrabright
Philips Series 6 sets are often the first port of call if you want a high-value flat screen with a border. This particular model combines classic lines with a simple pedestal stand and Ambilight with two stereo sides.
We've been fans of Philips Ambilight technology for a long time, and in this range you can enjoy it with 4K HDR and full recovery TDT game.
Ambilight, if you've never used it in the past, lets you wash your walls with the colors of the action on the screen or bathe them in solid tones. When playing music, the TV will emit its Ambilight LED lights with the rhythm, while the games will make your room vibrate positively with the color.
But this set is more than a few cheap saloon tricks: the image quality is leader in its class. Philips Pixel Plus UHD image processing ensures clarity and a decent contrast level. The pixel density screen of the TV provides a pleasant softness to Full HD and UHD sources. The TV is HDR10 compatible and has the brand's own HDR Plus processing on top, but it is not too bright. We measured white peak luminance by a little over 350 nits (cd / m2), which is comparable to an economical SDR model.
Despite the low price, there is an effective smart portal here, with 4K Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Video available, among others.
Considering all this, this is a 4K budget purchase that pleases the crowd.
3. Sony KDL-40RE453
1080p never looked so good
Compatible with HDR
Excellent HD image quality
No resolution 4K
Two HDMI are a bit stingy
This 40-inch Bravia It has HDR, but surprisingly it is not 4K. Instead, Sony has grafted HDR support in a regular 1080p set, with a view to courting HDR players (all PS4s offer HDR games). Sony has two models in this hybrid range, the 32-inch RE40 (KDL-32RE403) and the 40-inch RE45 (KDL-40RE453), presented here.
It is not a bad strategy, especially because at 40 inches or less, the UHD resolution is quite difficult to appreciate at a normal viewing distance. The small UHD pixels are also less bright than the big HD ones.
Cosmetically, the KDL-40RE453 looks completely presentable. The thin bezel frame has an aluminum edge, coupled to a very stable central pedestal (which guarantees that this set ends in a children's room). However, there are only two HDMI inputs, which could limit the system options. Other connections include two USB (one for the change of time on an external USB hard disk) and a digital optical audio output.
The quality of the image is higher than the average. The detail is driven by Sony's X-Reality PRO image processing. Since this is a regular 50Hz panel, it only offers basic motion handling (with Sony's Motionflow XR 400 Hz rating). Nor is there a smart platform.
We think it's worth pre-selecting the RE45, especially if you want a 1080p panel with a higher than average budget for games.
4. Hisense H50N5300
A 4-inch 4K screen for less than 500 smackers
Freeview Play and smart platform
Sharp, vibrant images
Build quality
Without HDR support
Size matters when it comes to 4K, so a 50-inch screen for less than 500 smackers is extremely tempting.
That said, Hisense has a reputation for value, which is characterized by this economic rhythm: a Freeview tuner ensures a large number of updating services, including UK Play, while Vidaa Lite's own intelligent portal Hisense offers Netflix 4K, Amazon Video, YouTube and Wuaki TV.
The build quality and design are much better than you might expect at this price point, and the connections include three HDMI with an option for components for legacy equipment.
Does not support HDR or support wide colors, but native 4K images are undeniably sharp, and the set also does a reasonable job with high-definition sources
The audio performance of the system is predictably routine, although it has processing dbx-tv technology, which includes a fake virtual surround sound mode. Of course, there is an optical digital output for a sound bar, if that is more its jam.
In general, this large set of N5300 should be considered of great value.
5. LG 43UJ670V
Embrace this warm and bright TV Ambilight
Swanky webOS Platform
Free Playback
Support HDR HLG
Small screen size
Hero sub- £ 500 LG is the 4K of 43 43UJ670V inches, which offers a high level of HDR support and a DTT playback tuner, in addition to the leading webOS smart platform in its class. Now, in its v3.5 version, webOS offers many great features, including a Gallery mode and 360-degree video playback. Netflix 4K, Amazon Video, YouTube and now TV are all integrated.
The UJ670V can be quite cookie-cutter in the design, just an ultra-thin bezel and a curved pedestal, but the connectivity is also good, with four HDMI inputs, a legacy A
V connection and an optical digital audio output.
The benefits of 4K resolution will be limited to this size (you'll need to buy a larger, higher-ranked model to really enjoy UHD clarity) but the color intensity is high. The set supports both HDR10 and broadcast HLG. LG also employs Ultra Luminance, a local attenuation technique, to maximize maximum highlights. A contrast amplifier provides a visual elevation to the SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) content.
Off-axis viewing is excellent, thanks to the use of an IPS panel. The color and contrast do not disappear when it does not occupy the best seat in the house.
The integrated audio is complemented by DSP surround effects. In general, this is a 4K proposition of superior budget.
