• Users says they've observed LG gaming monitors automatically installing unwanted software on PCs
• LG's terms of service warn that conversations may be "captured and processed" on TV with the latest version of webOS
• The terms say you must now warn guests they may be recorded "in compliance with applicable wiretapping… laws"

How smart should a smart TV be? According to LG's latest TV terms and conditions, the answer is "not quite smart enough to comply with wiretapping laws", because that's now your responsibility if LG captures the voice of a guest in your house through its AI voice services. Though the situation with LG monitors appears to be even more dramatic.

As Gamers Nexus reports, some LG monitors appear to be installing adware on Windows PCs without asking for permission: in addition to the LG Monitor App Installer, they also install McAfee Scam Detector.

LG's own app requires full access to all system resources, which potentially includes all your online activity, logins, hardware, location and more — while McAfee has a long history of being installed on devices as 'bloatware', and people are not reacting positively to suddenly finding it on their PC.

Comment from r/LGOLED

There may be a perfectly innocent explanation for all of this, but when big tech firms keep getting caught doing bad things because they thought they could get away with it, it's no wonder people are assuming the worst.

Comment from r/hardware

The bit that's causing consternation regarding smart TVs is part 6(d) of the new LG Electronics terms of service, headed Voice Recognition and Privacy Compliance.

As Notebookcheck's Hannes Brecher notes, the section states that it's your responsibility "to obtain all necessary consents from any third parties whose voices may be captured by the Product and to notify household members and guests that their voices may be captured and processed, in compliance with applicable wiretapping, eavesdropping, and privacy laws."

There are three ways around that. One, you can turn off all microphone-based features. Some people won't mind that, but they can be useful — especially asking it for settings you don't know how to find.

Two, you can avoid installing the latest software — but that means you won't get any security updates, which are important (to protect your privacy, ironically, among other things).

Or you can disable your TV's connection to the internet so it can't send information back, but that obviously makes it less useful, and will also disable the voice controls anyway.

I think the terms and conditions are an attempt at corporate ass-covering rather than something sinister: the preceding paragraph talks specifically about when "a product with voice recognition functionality is used" and it's possible that "family members, guests, children, and bystanders" might be overheard; if you're choosing to activate AI-based voice features then of course voices are going to be captured and processed in order for those features to work.

At the same time, it does seem broad enough to let LG use people's voices as AI inputs, rather than just accidental capture. And in the context of what LG's doing with PC monitors (not to mention AI training's very, ahem, casual relationship with consent and copyright), that's a worry — and people online increasingly have no tolerance for anything like this, as the responses on Reddit and Gamers Nexus' original YouTube video have shown.

We've approached LG for comment on these claims, and will update the story when we hear back.

Comment from r/hardware

• McIntosh MX124 AV processor launches for a cool $15,000 (about £11,079 / AU$21,423)
• 13.4 audio channels to 7.4.6 or 9.4.4 speaker configurations in Dolby Atmos and DTS:X Pro
• 7x 8K HDMI inputs and extensive additional connectivity, plus Dirac Live

If you're looking for an AV processor so future-proof that your grandkids will want to inherit it, McIntosh Labs may have just the thing. The new MX124 A/V Processor is designed for "today's "most advanced home cinema systems" according to the company, and comes with extensive connectivity options, as you'd expect.

As you'd expect from McIntosh, it's a tough-looking thing, and to my eyes it resembles something from a 1960s recording studio or NASA control center. But while it may look a little retro on the outside, what's inside is bang up to date.

Its 13 surround channels with four inividual subwoofer outputs support speaker configurations of up to 7.4.6 or 9.4.4, and it has superb wired and wireless connectivity for your AV components.

McIntosh MX124 AV processor: key features and pricing

The McIntosh MX124 A/V Processor is designed to sit at the center of a reference-spec home theater system, handling the audio and video sources and routing the audio to the appropriate amplifiers via its balanced or unbalanced outputs.

It has seven HDMI inputs and three outputs, including one with eARC for your TV, and all the HDMI inputs support 8K at 60Hz and 4K at 120Hz. They're compatible with Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HLG and IMAX Enhanced, and they also support HDCP 2.3, Rec.2020, 4:4:4 Color Spacing, Dynamic Lip-sync, 3D Video Passthrough, ALLM, VRR and Quick Frame Transport.

There are four dedicated digital audio inputs, one balanced and eight unbalanced analog stereo inputs, component and composite video inputs, and dual analog stereo outputs to accommodate two additional listening zones.

For streaming, the MX124 supports AirPlay, Bluetooth, Qobuz Connect, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Roon Ready, supporting hi-res audio streaming at up to 32-bit/192kHz.

The MX124 also features Dirac Live Room Correction and Bass Control, with licenses included for both. It can also deliver Audyssey MultEQ XT32 room calibration if that's your preferred option.

As this is a premium AV product, it's been designed with professional installation in mind, and it's certified Connects With Control4 for simple and efficient setup and pre-configuration. It features RS232 for automation control and is suitable for rack mounting.

McIntosh didn't include pricing details in its official announcement but retailers are listing the new MX124 with a price tag of $15,000 (about £11,079 / AU$21,423). And as I mentioned above, that's excluding amplification.

If you're looking for something more affordable, you might prefer to take a look at Denon's two new affordable entry and mid-range AVRs, or Yamaha's two new budget AVR options.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

• Loewe's Antares is a 4K OLED TV with triple tuner, HDMI 2.1 and 144Hz VRR
• Selection of wall mounts, floor stands, rotatable table stands and speakers
• From £2,500 (about $3,350 / AU$4,799)

German luxury brand Loewe has unveiled what it calls its "most individual Smart OLED TV to date," the Loewe Antares. It's a 4K TV with a modular design that enables you to personalize it to suit your particular preferences.

The Antares TV features interchangeable aluminum onlays with a range of fabric colors, and flexible setup options including a universal table stand, multiple floor stands including a motorized stand, and several wall mount options. The table stand can rotate and offers three height positions.

The TV has Loewe's Invisible Sound integrated speaker system, but you can specify it with lots of beefier options. You can add the Loewe Soundbar Antares, which is a front-firing 80W soundbar designed specifically for these TVs, and/or an optional subwoofer.

You can also specify your Antares with other Loewe audio products including the multi.room amp, Klang subwoofer, We.BOOST wireless surround sound system and the we.BOOST center speaker, though the TV itself can be the center speaker in the wireless surround system if you prefer.

Loewe Antaras: key features and pricing

Each Antares TV has a 4K OLED panel that's been "individually calibrated before leaving the factory" according to Loewe. Loewe is one of the few companies that gets raw OLED panels from LG Display and finishes the manufacturing itself, but the company confirmed that this is an OLED EX panel with Double Rate Driving technology, which suggests it's the same panel tech used in the five-star (albeit cheaper) LG C6 OLED TV, plus whatever finishing touches and calibration Loewe has added.

There's support for both Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive when it comes to HDR. There's a dual-channel, triple-tuner setup with USB recording, parallel TV viewing and timeshift functionality, and the OS is a customized version of Vidaa OS, with key streaming apps, Apple AirPlay, Miracast and Matter on board.

For gamers there's HDMI 2.1 support, with 144Hz VRR at 4K, and a dedicated low-latency gaming mode. There are multiple sizes here, from the compact 42-inch to the range-topping 77-inch.

As you'd expect from Loewe these are premium priced TVs. Prices start at £2,500 (about $3,350 / AU$4,799) and rise to £4,000 (about $5,370 / AU$7,675). The Loewe Antares soundbar is £300 (about $400 / AU$575).

At the moment this is a UK-only release, though Loewe told TechRadar that a US launch is being considered, but isn't confirmed yet.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

I'm quite happy with my current Sonos speaker. Still, I've just seen that the manufacturer has once again launched its double upgrade credit campaign, meaning it could be a good time for some new tech, as you can save 30% on your next speaker or soundbar when you buy direct from the manufacturer.

• Claim your 30% Sonos discount

The whole process is very straightforward. Start by logging in to the upgrade page and checking that you own a product that's eligible for the program. If you do, you should see a button to activate your upgrade credit. After that, simply add the new product you want to buy to your basket, and then activate the discount at the checkout.

There's a good selection of products in the promotion, including the excellent Sonos Arc soundbar for $629 / £629, which we awarded four and a half stars out of five in our Sonos Arc review. Or there's the latest Sonos Roam 2 for $125 / £125 that we said was even better than the original version in our Sonos Roam 2 review.

Just a heads up that time is running out on the double credit promotion, as it's scheduled to end on July 17. After that, it reverts to the original 15% off.

Save 30% on Sonos speakers and soundbars

Is the Sonos upgrade program worth it?

The Sonos upgrade program is a no-brainer if you've got an eye on a new speaker or soundbar from the manufacturer.

The list of qualifying products nearly covers the entire catalogue, so chances are that, if you bought one in the last decade, you will have the discount available. Just make sure the product is registered in your account and then head to the upgrade program page to claim your discount.

You will also see that there's an option to print a shipping label to send your current item back. However, you don't actually need to do a trade-in to get the discount. That's only if you want to send it back so it's recycled or if you no longer need it.

Me? I would just hold onto any existing items, as they will continue working as normal, so you can use them in another room or give them away to someone else who will make use of them if you want.

If you're looking to add more 4K Blu-rays to your collection, then Disney's Summer Days, Movie Nights 4K Blu-ray sale has arrived at the perfect time, where it's 2 for £30 on discs including titles from Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and 20th Century Studios. The same 2 for £30 sale is also live at HMV.

I regularly test 4K Blu-ray as part of our monthly Blu-ray Bounty feature, where we test the best new 4K releases. I've picked six discs from the sale that all featured as part of the Blu-ray Bounty, so I know just how good they look and sound.

First up is Alien: Romulus, one of my reference discs for testing contrast and black tones on the best TVs. Its also excellent Dolby Atmos soundtrack is immersive and spine-chilling too.

The Sound of Music is one of the best restorations I've seen, with spectacular colours and detail. Edward Scissorhands is another disc that delivers superb colour reproduction, surpassing my expectations completely.

If you want action-packed titles with brilliant Dolby Atmos soundtracks, Master and Commander delivers pinpoint-accurate sound, while Fantastic Four: First Steps delivers the power you'd want from a superhero flick. Finally, Tombstone looks crisp and offers a fantastic DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack that will show off your surround setup.

For my thoughts on each disc, scroll further down the page.

My picks from Amazon's 2 for £30 4K Blu-ray sale

Alien: Romulus

Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus follows a crew of scavengers who come across a derelict space station called Renaissance, where they encounter hostile aliens.

Alien: Romulus delivers a truly stunning picture in 4K. Its inky black levels and high-contrast scenes look superb on the best OLED TVs, and it's a real showcase for 4K detail. Textures are crisp, with impressive intricate detail in objects and environments that show just how good modern movies can look in 4K. When I want to test a TV's backlight and contrast, this is one of the first discs I reach for.

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack featured is incredible. While the more powerful moments, such as gunfire or the sound of engines igniting, have real impact, it's the detail that impresses. The sound of face-hugger feet is so precisely mapped, it had me looking around our testing lab when I first tested it, as their path came from the rear channels with astonishing accuracy. The movie's more visceral moments, as characters meet their demise, can be particularly realistic.

• Check out the full Amazon 2 for £30 sale

The Sound of Music

One of cinema's most iconic musicals, The Sound of Music follows Maria (Julie Andrews), a nun who is sent to take over as the nanny of the Von Trapp family children, set in pre-WWII Austria.

The Sound of Music is one of the best examples of a 4K restoration I've seen. Textures have been cleaned up beautifully, and the breathtaking cinematography of the Austrian landscape has never looked more detailed. Really though, it's the colours that stand out the most here. Green fields and blue skies have serious pop, and other colours such as red, yellow and orange are delivered with real vibrancy. One of my reference discs, the market scene, in particular, is brilliant.

Never has the movie's legendary soundtrack sounded better than here. The Dolby Atmos mixes are all perfectly balanced between the score and vocals, and speech is crystal clear throughout. Songs like 'Do Re Mi' and 'My Favourite Things' sound clean, with superb depth and clarity.

• Check out the full Amazon 2 for £30 sale

Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands follows the story of Edward (Johnny Depp), an artificial humanoid with scissors for hands, who is taken in by a suburban family, where he falls for the family's daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder).

When I first tested Edward Scissorhands on 4K, I didn't expect to be wowed by the disc's colours as much as I was. The gothic nature of the movie is juxtaposed with the vibrant, often garish, colour scheme of the neighbourhood, and these colours are superb in 4K. The bright, multi-coloured houses are vivid, and if your TV has good colour reproduction, you'll be rewarded. Textures have also been refined here to give everything a lifelike look.

The disc's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is excellent. It shows real depth by accurately capturing subtle effects like the clicking of Edward's scissors. Danny Elfman's unmistakable score, with big horns balanced with delicate bells, is delivered with plenty of gusto and detail.

• Check out the full Amazon 2 for £30 sale

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is the tale of the HMS Surprise, a British ship during the Napoleonic Wars in 1805, as they pursue the French ship Acheron. It stars Russel Crowe as Surprise's Captain Aubrey and Paul Bettany as Maturin, the ship's surgeon.

Where Master and Commander's 4K disc shines is with its Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Naval battles deliver room-shaking power as cannons fire, with intricate details such as splintering wood coming through clear in the mix. In several scenes, as cannonballs flew through the ship, I found myself looking around the room, following its trajectory as it was mapped with incredible accuracy.

The 4K presentation looks amazing, too. Night scenes deliver deep black tones with some strong contrast, as lamps balance with said dark tones. The crew looks lifelike, and the vast ocean looks stunning in 4K. Colour, while sparing, has some nice pop, whether it's the red of blood or the gold details on ships.

• Check out the full Amazon 2 for £30 sale

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Set in a 1960's, futuristic world and based on the Marvel superhero family, The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows the Fantastic Four as they must protect Earth from Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Starring Pedro Pascal (Mr Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (The Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing).

The 4K disc of The Fantastic Four: First Steps has brilliant picture quality, accurately delivering the alt-1960s aesthetic. The bright blues and whites of the team's uniforms pop on screen, but the oranges and yellows of decor and civilian clothing look great too. A big-budget Marvel movie, textures are refined and 3D-like and look top-notch on 4K.

As you'd expect from a Marvel movie with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, this disc sounds fantastic. There are plenty of room-rattling explosions that deliver punchy bass and impact. Anytime the Human Torch flies overhead, height channels are utilised perfectly and will sound great through an Atmos system.

• Check out the full Amazon 2 for £30 sale

Tombstone

Tombstone follows Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russel), a retired lawman who moves to the town of Tombstone and ends up as its de facto sheriff after a gang of outlaws wreaks havoc. The movie also stars Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot, and Bill Paxton.

Tombstone looks stunning in 4K. A fantastic restoration means textures are clean and crisp, demonstrating almost 3D-like levels of depth and detail. Colours are bold and punchy throughout, and black tones are rich, whether it's the night sky or the Earp group's clothes.

The disc's DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack is excellent too. Gunfights deliver precise sound mapping, as bullets fly around and ricochet off buildings. Galloping horses offer plenty of rumble that will let your subwoofer flex its muscles, and even subtle sound effects like spurs on boots as people walk have nice detail.

• Check out the full Amazon 2 for £30 sale

If you'd missed that the big half-price Criterion Collection 4K Blu-ray sale is back on, then don't worry — you still have a bit of time left to catch it! The official sale runs until July 26. As always, the complete Criterion range is discounted at Barnes & Noble, while a more limited set of discounts is available at Amazon.

• View the full Criterion sale at Amazon
• View the full Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble

The Amazon sale also has some options that are on sale, but not at the full half price. I'm mainly included Amazon links because some people just lean towards it for convenience, but the B&N sale is where you can fully indulge in building your collection, and to a dangerous degree — my biggest problem with a Criterion sale is always deciding what to limit myself to if I don't want to hit bankruptcy.

I've highlighted 12 discs below that I think are worth checking out from the sale options, but I imagine most collectors will just want to browse everything, which you can do via the links above.

Criterion 4K Blu-ray sale — quick links

• View the full Criterion sale at Amazon
• View the full Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble

Criterion 4K Blu-ray sale: 12 titles I'd recommend

• View the full Criterion sale at Amazon
• View the full Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble

Manhattan Aero review

The Manhattan Aero might just be the streaming device you’re looking for. Especially if you want live TV without an aerial, as well as must-have streaming apps, 4K playback and user-friendly software.

The Manhattan Aero is a small streaming box packed with just about all of the essentials for UK viewers — more than 450 channels via Freely, as well as Netflix, Prime Video and all that good stuff. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection and a TV, and you're good to go. But is it actually worth buying? Here are my thoughts after a few days testing it out for myself.

Let me start by saying that the initial setup process for the Aero is extremely simple and speedy. Just hook the device up to your TVs HDMI port, plug it into the power, and you’ll be able to get started. From here, I followed some basic setup instructions, connected the box up to my network, and landed right on the home page.

Navigating through various menus is also incredibly easy with the included remote, which — in spite of a fairly plasticky and basic build — is responsive and effective in use. It comes with all the expected buttons, as well as shortcuts to certain streaming apps, and a voice control option too.

Voice controls are very intuitive on TiVo OS (which is what the Aero uses), and if you want some inspiration for what to watch, it’s a great tool. For instance, I tried saying: ‘show me films about cats’ and got an accurate selection of feline-related flicks.

Let’s loop back to the Manhattan Aero’s OS, though, and discuss TiVo for a minute. I’ve used this before on TVs like the Bush 43UT24SB, and I’m a fan. It’s pretty similar to a lot of the competition, and you can quickly find whatever channel or app you need without a hitch. Loading varying apps and channels is quick, and you can easily customize what apps you want to see on the homepage in the settings menu.

Speaking of apps, it’s worth noting that some of the heavy hitters are actually missing on TiVo. For instance, Apple TV+, Paramount+, NOW TV and Sky Go are all absent. These apps are available via devices like the Apple TV 4K set-top box, though.

Anyway, you may be wondering by now: how does the Manhattan Aero perform? Pretty well, actually — although you’ll need broadband speeds of at least 10Mbps to enjoy live TV and streaming at their best (Ethernet connectivity is available if needed). When watching broadcast TV, the Aero did a great job with all kinds of content. For instance, I watched a bit of Wimbledon, and the vivid green of the court jumped out, while finer details on players’ clothing were easy to make out.

News and the usual daytime TV channels also looked just about as good as on my Sky Glass Gen 2 TV, which uses Wi-Fi to show its channels too, rather than a dish or aerial. It’s also worth noting that the Aero supports HLG HDR, as used by BBC iPlayer.

With streaming apps, the Aero remains a strong performer, but there are a couple of sacrifices you’ll have to make. Namely, there’s no Dolby Vision support — no problem for Samsung TV owners, but something I would’ve liked to have seen, since pretty much all other TV brands use it.

There is, however, HDR10+ (and HDR10) compatibility, which is used on services such as Netflix and Prime Video — and the Aero supports AV1 natively for HDR10+ content, which is necessary for Netflix to work in this format. When watching Kung Fu Panda 4 in HDR10+, I thought it looked fantastic — colours looked punchy and accurate, textures were well-defined and sharp, and contrast was solid too.

I did experience a bit of judder while watching the movie, and motion appeared to be choppy at first. But after messing around with my TVs settings and activating the Aero’s Auto Frame Rate option, I was able to solve this, and experience the sort of quality I’d typically expect from Netflix and other streaming apps when built into the set.

When it comes to audio, there’s basic Dolby Audio support, and you can also enjoy Dolby Atmos content if you have a compatible soundbar or speaker system or similar connected up to your TV. You can also use one of the box’s USB-C ports to play stored media files, which is a welcome inclusion and not you'll find on much of the competition.

One question I’ve seen a few people ask about the Aero, is whether it can record TV programs — like you’d be able to do with a Sky Q box, for instance. The answer to this one is no — but that’s not a strike against Manhattan’s streaming box. And that comes down to one key thing: Freely is delivered as an internet stream rather than a broadcast signal, and broadcasters don’t allow such content to be recorded. It’s still worth bearing in mind, however, if recording is a must for you.

Before we wrap up, there are a few other things worth noting. There’s CEC volume control on offer here, which enables you to control the volume of your connected display and audio devices (like soundbars) using the Aero's remote with any extra setup needed, something that is pretty practical.

You can also connect Bluetooth devices, such as headphones, to the Aero, which is great if you don’t want to distract someone else while watching your favorite shows, if your TV doesn't support this option.

You can even connect wireless game controllers and play a few mobile style games — a feature I didn’t expect to see. In fact, Blacknut Cloud Gaming is arriving to the Aero shortly, giving gamers more options. Google Cast is also available if you want to beam content across from your phone.

So, is the Manhattan Aero worth the money? At £89.99, I think it is. There are cheaper options out there, such as the Roku streaming sticks, which can also plug into your TV’s USB port for a more discreet look, but these don’t offer Freely — the big selling point of the Aero.

Alongside its intuitive TiVo platform with handy voice commands, solid array of apps, and impressive picture quality, I’d argue that the Aero offers plenty for the price you pay, and if you have a TV devoid of smart apps or want access to loads of channels without the hassle of an aerial or dish, it’s a very practical device.

Manhattan Aero review: price & release date

• Released in February 2026
• Priced at £89.99

The Manhattan Aero released in February 2026 and is available with a wide range of UK retailers. However, there’s no stock available at Amazon right now — this may change in the future, though, so we’ll update this article accordingly if we see an increase in availability.

The streamer is priced fairly affordably, coming in at £89.99 — that's much less than the Apple TV 4K, though is more than the likes of the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max.

Should I buy the Manhattan Aero?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Manhattan Aero review: also consider

How I tested the Manhattan Aero

• Connected to my Hisense 4K mini-LED TV
• I watched broadcast TV as well as content on streaming services
• Used across multiple days at home in everyday life

I spent a few days testing the Manhattan Aero streamer, testing it out at home to enjoy live TV and content via my usual streaming apps. I had it hooked up to a HDMI port on my Hisense U7K TV, which is a 4K mini-LED set.

During the testing period, I made sure to cycle through various channels when watching broadcast TV in order to assess performance for sports, news, movies, and more. However, I also dipped into apps like Netflix, where I watched content in 4K HDR10+, as well as Disney+ and YouTube.

More generally, I’ve spent years testing all kinds of gadgets here at TechRadar, including everything from Dolby Atmos soundbars like the JBL Bar 1300MK2 through to TVs like the Sky Glass Gen 2. I was also familiar with the TiVo interface before commencing this review, having used it extensively while testing the Bush 43UT24SB.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: July 2026

Amazon's line-up of Fire TV streaming sticks, televisions, and soundbars is one of the best options out there when it comes to convenience and affordability. Another plus is that they are regularly on sale. And that's the case right now, with several devices reduced by up to 45%, so I've picked out the 8 best deals.

• Browse all of today's best deals at Amazon

I've stuck with a relatively old Fire TV Stick for a few years now, so it is tempting to upgrade to one of these newer models while they're reduced to gain the benefits of better performance, a more reliable Wi-Fi connection, and improved video and audio quality.

Of course, I would normally suggest waiting for Amazon Prime Day if you're a Prime member and thinking of buying one of these — and that advice still stands, as that's when you can pay the lowest prices. However, as Prime Day was just last month, it'll be a while until similar discounts are back, and these prices aren't too far off in most cases. Best of all, you don't need to be a Prime member, either.

Today's best Fire TV deals at Amazon

Sony's social media team are having a rough week: anything they post is getting piled on by angry gamers who are outraged by Sony's plans to stop the production of game discs.

Many PlayStation owners are vowing to boycott the PlayStation Store, cancel their PlayStation Plus membership and never buy PlayStation products again.

It's a PR nightmare for sure, with pretty much any online PlayStation content becoming a place for gamers to protest, derailing any attempt to talk about anything else.

It reminds me of the response to Sonos' introduction of a new and hugely flawed app, which Sonos now admits was badly done.

Sonos' PR nightmare lasted for around 18 months, there is now optimism and rebuilt trust around the new changes it's bringing to improve the app. Could Sony learn from Sonos' experience and its attempts to rebuild customer trust?

I think the answer is: yes it could, but no it won't.

What Sonos got right and Sony probably won't

Speaking to TechRadar earlier this year, Sonos CEO Tom Conrad set out his views on how to try and make angry customers happy again. "You just have to show up in people's life with some humility and do the hard work of earning their trust back through great execution, great product, great software, great experiences, and never forget what you put people through."

So far, Sony isn't doing that: rather than respond to gamers' concerns, it's battening down the hatches and staying silent about its move to digital-only. And that's a shame, because there are genuine reasons for gamers to worry about Sony's decision.

There are three key concerns about digital-only. The first, and I think the most important, is cost. The PlayStation Store is ludicrously expensive: for example Spider-Man 2, a three-year-old game, is £69.99 digital today in the UK, where I'm based. Competition between retailers means it's around £37 on disc.

The second is second-hand gaming. I buy many games second-hand, and many gamers like to sell their games after they've completed them or got annoyed by them, so that they can spend what they recoup on more new games (a win for the industry overall). So I can buy Returnal for about £20 on eBay. I can't buy the digital edition second-hand, so if I want the digital version it's… you guessed it, £69.99.

To be fair, you can get both games, and others, on PlayStation Plus Extra. But not everyone wants or can sustain yet another subscription, and we know that all subscription services go up in price — often dramatically so, as we saw with Xbox Game Pass last year.

And the third is ownership. Sony's disc announcement came just days after it deleted customers' purchased copies of over 500 movies, making it clear that purchasing doesn't mean owning forever. And those movies cost a lot less than £69.99.

Sony may have to eat humble pie for a while in order to mimic Sonos here, seeking out customer views to talk about those concerns, and maybe thinking about how to address them — so for example it could tell us that digital codes would still be sold through multiple retailers, like Nintendo does with its key cards, or that we'd be able to resell our digital-only games (even if it hasn't developed the mechanism for this yet).

However, the reality is that for a firm the size of Sony, even a significant customer backlash such as 246,586 signatures on a petition represents a microscopic proportion of its 125 million PlayStation Plus subscribers, let alone the many more PlayStation owners — and it can afford to ignore them.

That's something of a gamble. Just ask Microsoft, whose Game Pass price hike scared off far more customers than expected — according to reports, it lost 4 million out of 34 million Game Pass subscribers when it was expecting huge growth instead, forcing a partial reversal.

But Sony's gaming business is far bigger, and that means it can still upset a lot of customers without feeling much pain.

I suspect Sony is going to take a different lesson from the Sonos situation: even at the height of customer anger, Sonos still sold lots of speakers, soundbars and subs.

Then again, maybe Sony is more rattled than it's currently letting on. Two days after the digital-only announcement, with customers raging online, Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki sold more than half of his Sony stock and Sony's chief strategy officer unloaded a bunch of Sony shares too.

• The Nvidia Shield TV (2019) is out of stock pretty much everywhere
• Nvidia says it's down to consumer demand for the streaming device
• It's not yet clear if we'll ever get more stock or a replacement gadget

While there hasn't been any new Nvidia Shield TV hardware for seven years now, the streaming devices continue to be popular — but it looks as though it could finally be the end of the road for the cheapest base model in the series.

As spotted by Android Authority, this $149 / £129 / AU$289.95 model is now out of stock via Nvidia's official channels (there does appear to be some stock at Amazon Australia at the time of writing), and Nvidia has stopped short of promising that those stock levels will be replenished anytime soon.

In a statement to Android Authority, Nvidia said the Shield TV was out of stock "due to demand", and that there was nothing to say "regarding future availability at this time" — so make of that what you will.

Nvidia also took the opportunity to highlight that all Shield TV models continue to get software updates and continue to be supported by Nvidia, even though it's now more than a decade since the first of these gadgets went on sale.

More to come?

Both the base model Shield TV and the more premium Shield TV Pro were given a refresh in 2019, and Nvidia says the Pro version is still on sale. Whether or not Nvidia is planning to let the stock run down on that model too remains to be seen.

I've had several Shield TVs down the years, and have always been impressed with the hardware and the software on offer. They support a wide variety of apps and games, come with local storage, and can be customized in a variety of ways too.

Even something like the recently launched Google TV Streamer only just about catches up to everything that's possible with the Shield TV boxes — and that's saying something considering Nvidia's devices made their debut in 2015.

Nvidia execs are on the record as saying they're open to the idea of new Shield TV hardware in the future, so hopefully this clearing out of stock will be followed by a brand new model in the not too distant future.

Here at TechRadar, I test some of the best 4K Blu-rays each month as part of the Blu-ray Bounty. This is where we look at the latest 4K releases from that month and judge whether they’d be a worthy addition to your collection, focusing solely on the video and audio quality of each disc.

Every so often, a disc wows me so much that I add it to my rotation for testing the best TVs and best soundbars. 4K Blu-ray is my go-to source for AV testing, as it delivers a higher video bit rate, resulting in better picture quality than streaming, and uncompressed soundtracks for the best audio.

Some of the discs from the near-100 discs I’ve tested as part of the Blu-ray Bounty that have joined over the years include Wicked, The Mask, The Sound of Music and Dark City, to name just a few.

As part of the most recent June 2026 Blu-ray Bounty, there’s another disc that will definitely be joining the testing rotation, as it performs at a reference-quality level. And that disc is Speed Racer.

Breathtaking color

My go-to 4K Blu-rays for color testing have been Wicked and The Sound of Music. Wicked features an oversaturated, candy-color style that really generates a lot of pop on the right screen, while The Sound of Music delivers still-vibrant but more authentic and realistic colors.

Speed Racer falls in Wicked’s camp, but takes it to another level. Throughout the movie, there are some seriously vivid colors. Red is a prominent feature throughout the movie, as it's the color of Speed Racer’s ‘M’ logo and the interior of his car, both of which are often front and center on screen. It’s also the color of the Racer garage at home and Papa Racer’s shirt, which he wears throughout the movie.

When I tested the Samsung S95H/S99H and LG G6 side-by-side, both TVs interpreted the red differently: the G6 gave it a much deeper red hue, while the S95H/S99H made it look paler, almost orange in some places. Both of these TVs, likely to be two of the best OLED TVs I’ll test in 2026, captured the visual punch of this red, but it was useful to see how each TV interpreted the color.

There are plenty of scenes where a single color dominates. As the Racer family arrived at Royalton Industries, there were a lot of bold purples, including the airship's color, the walls, and even the transport. On the OLEDs I tested the disc on, these purples had a beautiful richness to them that again was displayed in different ways by the S95H/S99H and the G6, with the latter again adding that bit more depth.

This trend continued throughout the movie, whether it was the neon greens of a grass field in a flashback, the fantastic pink/purple/orange gradients in the sky during sunset or the lush blues of the sky during daytime race sequences (or Speed’s iconic blue and white shirt.) Even the white of the Mach 5 / 6 and Speed’s helmet had a glorious clarity to them, really dazzling on the S95H/S99H and G6.

The use of color is fantastic in Speed Racer, and if you have a TV with Dolby Vision, you’ll be rewarded with the most breathtaking colors, some of the best I’ve ever seen on a 4K Blu-ray. But it’s not just color reproduction where this disc is useful.

A Dolby Atmos showcase

When it comes to testing soundbars and TV audio, my go-to 4K Blu-rays have been The Batman, namely the Batmobile/Penguin car chase scene for its detail and bass, and Top Gun: Maverick, for its all-around expansive Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

Speed Racer has proved to be a far more compelling disc, audibly, than I ever thought. While I anticipated some hefty bass from the car’s engines, I didn’t anticipate the level of detail and sound mapping I would hear.

During the opening race, there are plenty of demonstrations of pinpoint accuracy as cars swerve wildly through the corners of the winding track. The sound of squealing tires demonstrates excellent directionality and is fully connected with the action on screen. As a car moves from side to side on screen, you can be sure to hear it in the front channels.

One moment in this scene, in particular, really grabbed my attention, though. As Speed makes his way around the track, he has to grind the rear axle of the Mach 5 against the edge of the track and as I was watching, I heard the sound of a grind come through crystal clear in the left rear speaker of the Samsung HW-Q990C soundbar I was using (an 11.1.4 channel Dolby Atmos system comprising of a soundbar, subwoofer and two rear speakers). This was the moment that made me realize just how precise and detailed the Dolby Atmos mix of this disc is.

There’s good use of Atmos effects and height channels too. As Speed uses his spring-loaded chassis to jump over a rival racer, a cut to said rival’s cockpit reveals a burst of not only bass but also the sound of the wind from the Mach 5 as Speed flips over. This sounded immersive, clean, and incredibly precise. There are plenty of helicopter sequences too, which are great for showing what Atmos can do.

There were plenty of highlight moments throughout the movie, but it is the race sequences that showcase the clarity and depth of this Dolby Atmos soundtrack. But there’s one final area where this disc is a perfect testing disc.

Always in motion

Motion handling is a key component of any TV. If a TV can’t accurately handle fast-moving images, then action movies and sports won’t look good. While motion interpolation settings, such as judder and blur reduction, can reduce these, they can introduce unwanted side effects, such as the ‘ghosting’ of a ball in a soccer game (where a trail of the ball appears as it travels across the screen).

I anticipate that Speed Racer is going to act as somewhat of a ‘torture test’ for some TVs (like The Batman can be due to its low brightness), as there are not only plenty of fast-paced driving sequences with plenty of quick shifts in direction, but one other real challenge: slow panning shots.

Frequently throughout the movie, commentators from various countries slowly track across the screen from side to side, and even on the S95H/S99H and G6, which have proven to have great motion handling with the right settings, these shots still struggled at times. The commentators sometimes showed judder as the TV’s tried to interpolate the motion, meaning this is something I’ll be using in future tests. With these panning shots, however, there is sometimes natural judder.

Again, though, it’s the fast-paced race sequences that can make or break a TV’s motion. Chaotic driving as cars swerve to avoid debris, smash into one another, or pull a tight turn can look unnatural if a TV’s motion isn’t right. Too much blur and judder reduction, and it’ll look artificial; not enough, and it’ll look like a juddery mess.

Speed Racer really is one of the best Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos 4K Blu-rays I’ve ever tested and is a triple threat disc for color, motion and sound, so if you’re a regular reader of our TV and soundbar reviews and comparisons here at TechRadar, expect to see Speed Racer appear very soon.

• The Google Home Speaker supports wireless connectivity to the Google TV Streamer
• This gives a simple way to curate your own home theater setup
• You can connect your Google Home Speaker through your Google TV device, or via the Google Home app

Google’s new Home Speaker comes with a slew of much-needed upgrades, but its support for wireless connectivity with the Google TV Streamer is a tool users have been pining for since the company started making smart hubs.

As well as its Gemini-powered smarts and 360-degree audio redesign, Google now lets you to wirelessly pair the Home Speaker with your Google TV device, allowing you to ditch your TV’s built-in speakers and set up a home theater system. Pairing just one Google Home Speaker works, but you’ll get the most out of your setup if you have two.

The company announced its initial plans to develop the feature in 2020 when it unveiled the Nest Audio, its first smart speaker, but the functionality never arrived. “Google Home Speaker now works together with your Google TV Streamer. You can pair up to two speakers with a Google TV Streamer to turn your living room into a mini home theater with spatial surround sound,” the company detailed in a blog post.

Surround-sound systems are integral to most entertainment fanatic’s setups, but they don’t always have to feature a multitude of different types of speakers — some people simply rely on the best sound bars to boost their audio. Though the Google Home Speaker isn’t necessarily suited to seasoned audiophiles, it gives novices an inexpensive and hassle-free way to enhance their streaming experience.

It hasn’t been impossible to hook up wireless speakers to the Google TV Streamer, however, as the option to use the best Bluetooth speakers has always been there. However, because the Google Home Speaker’s function relies on Wi-Fi, the bandwidth is much bigger. This means it also supports Dolby Atmos which, for a cost-effective home theater setup, is quite a fair perk.

Audio champions such as Sonos and Bose have offered wireless connectivity with third-party streaming devices for years, so the Google Home Speaker’s functionality is far from new. That said, it’s only recently that TV manufacturers have decided to jump on the bandwagon and sell speakers of their own.

Over the last 18 months or so, brands including Amazon, LG and Samsung have released their own speakers to allow wireless connectivity with their range of TVs — so Google is playing catch-up here.

How to pair your Google Home Speaker with your Google TV Streamer

Once you’ve set up your Google Home Speaker for regular use, you can pair it with your Google TV device right from the home screen.

Using your Google TV Streamer remote, click the home button and head to ‘Quick Settings’ at the top of the screen. From there, select ‘Audio output’ from the options, click ‘Connect another device’, then select ‘Google speakers’ and click ‘Getting started’.

After this stage, you should see a list of Google Home Speakers connected to your account in a separate window, and you’ll want to select the ones you wish to pair with your Google TV Streamer. Once you’ve done this, tap ‘Next’ and it should complete your setup.

You can also do this from the Google Home app, as Google details on its support page.

The Samsung S95F was our pick for the best OLED TV for bright rooms in 2025, thanks to its anti-glare matte screen that eliminates reflections, and its high brightness. These combined to make even dark movies viewable in really bright rooms on it: something most other OLED TVs just couldn’t achieve — even the S95F’s rival, the LG G5.

It remained the king until the LG G6 arrived this year. While the G6 still shows some mirror-like reflections when the screen is turned off, the brightness of these reflections is toned so far back that they don't really distract any more when you're viewing something.

You can now watch movies — even the super-dark The Batman — in Filmmaker Mode in bright conditions without distraction, but with the deep black tones OLED is famed for retained. When I compared the G6 with the S95F, I actually picked the G6 as the new king of bright-room OLEDs.

Fast forward a few months and the Samsung S99H (known as the S95H in the US — it's the same TV with a different name) has arrived in our testing lab. It has the latest version of Samsung's anti-reflection matte layer, so can it reclaim the crown as the best option for bright-room viewing? I've already compared the S95H/S99H with the G6 where I focused on other picture quality elements such as dark-room viewing and colors, and they came out basically even. So let's see how they compare in bright conditions.

Out-and-out reflections

The first area I decided to test was both TVs' reflection handling capabilities. This meant which TV was the outright most effective at eliminating mirror-like reflections caused by lights and objects.

Using the overhead lights in our testing lab, after getting the right angle, it was pretty clear the S95H/S99H was the superior model. Looking at the screen, the light from the overhead light is reduced to haze and the actual shape of the light is illegible: perfect if you’ve got pesky lights or windows in your bright room that you can’t hide, and that your eye is drawn to involuntarily focus on.

On the G6, the shape of the light, and the light itself, was still legible. It was certainly an improvement over its predecessor, the LG G5, as the latter had a pretty reflective screen — but there was no doubt that the overhead light was still visible.

Even looking at the shut-off, blank screen, you could see objects, such as other TVs we store in the same room, on the screen of the G6. The S95H/S99H on the other hand had absolutely nothing on screen, other than the haze of light from overhead. So for pure reflection-killing, the S95H/S99H is best.

Black level performance

Watching a movie is a more complicated story, however. With both TVs set to Filmmaker Mode, and watching the dark-tone torture test that is The Batman, the G6 did a better job maintaining black levels and delivering more impactful contrast than the S95H/S99H.

In a scene where Batman stands in a dark subway platform, having just defeated a gang of thugs, the first thing that was apparent was the S95H/S99H’s Filmmaker Mode was very dim compared to the G6. Due to the low perceived brightness and the raised black tones of the mate screen, large parts of the scene were illegible, with Batman himself partly obscured in black and the detail in the walls at the back of the platform not as clear as they were on the G6. The G6 also has better shadow detail, with more of Batman’s suit and the creases in the thug’s black jackets more legible too.

Switching to Alien: Romulus, it was the same story. As the crew approached the Nostromo, the blackness of space was much inkier and deeper on the G6. The S95H/S99H had a hazy gray sheen over it from the matte screen, which affected the integrity of the black tones. It also meant the rings around the moon didn’t have quite as much punch as the G6.

I found it odd that there was such a perceived brightness difference between the two as when I measured their brightness, the gap wasn’t as big as the real-world viewing suggested. The S95H/S99H clocked in at 2,739 nits of peak HDR brightness (10% window) in Filmmaker Mode, while the G6 clocked in at 3,004 nits. While 250 nits is nothing to sniff at, the pictures on screen suggested a bigger gap.

In fact, fullscreen HDR brightness was about as close as it gets. In the same HDR Filmmaker Mode, the S95H/S99H hit a measured fullscreen brightness of 449 nits, while the G6 hit 451. The human eye can’t perceive that little difference, yet in person, the G6 had the more complete picture.

In fact, watching in a darker room, the S95H/S99H delivers a richer, stronger picture. The same subway scene from The Batman shows deeper blacks and looks more accurate to the movie’s gloomy tone. On the G6, I found that its brightness hampered it slightly. While it did demonstrate good shadow detail, its brightness affected the quality of the darker tones on screen, and the image just wasn’t as satisfying as on the S95H/S99H.

In fairness to both TVs, some settings tweaks can solve some of the issues above. On the G6, dropping contrast from 50 to 49 takes away some of that over-brightness, while switching Tone Mapping from the default Static to Active on the S95H/S99H in Filmmaker Mode adds some brightness, although the image doesn’t feel as accurate then. But for these tests, I kept both TVs in their default settings.

The better TV for bright rooms

Honestly, both these TVs are fantastic for bright-room viewing. They both do a great job of eliminating reflections and delivering excellent picture quality despite being in a bright room. OLED’s nemesis has always been bright rooms and reflections, and it’s great to have two TVs that can handle the light. You can’t go wrong with either of these TVs for bright rooms and they’re both excellent OLED TVs.

If you have a bright room, either of these TVs would work. Your choice may depend on your circumstances. If you know you'll be watching a lot with light flooding in during the day, the S95H/S99H is the better option for keeping reflections to an absolute minimum. If you can control the light in your room more, the G6 is probably the better option.

For me, if I had to pick one TV for bright-room viewing, I’d go for the G6. While the S95H/S99H is seriously good at dealing with pesky reflections, and is an improvement over the superb S95F, I favored the G6’s richer black tones in brighter rooms.

Although the G6 isn’t as complete at removing mirror-like reflections, so there are some present in darker scenes, it’s effective enough to make watching darker movies in a bright room feel less like a chore than it did on its predecessor, the G5 — but with the contrasty feeling you want from an OLED TV.

There's always a trade-off with choosing a bright-room TV of reflection reduction versus preserving the image accuracy. Last year, the balance fell in favor of Samsung's matte display. This year, the G6’s better black level performance combined with drastically lowering the impact of mirror-like reflections is enough to make it my pick for bright rooms — but the Samsung S95H/S99H is a brilliant TV for light rooms still.

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review

I’m not going to sugar-coat this. I’ve been a big fan of Sony’s soundbars, but its latest generation can feel like a step backward, and that includes the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7.

I genuinely like some of the choices Sony has made: these new speakers are simple and elegant, becoming one with your room. They’ve also got a much smaller footprint, making placement (both in front of a TV and on a wall) much easier.

The included remote has fewer buttons, giving it a friendlier feel than the previous models. And Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping might be the easiest room correction feature ever baked into a soundbar.

You get an HDMI input for passthrough as well as the HDMI eARC connection to the TV, which is a soundbar feature that’s becoming harder to find; it comes with every cable you need, plus a wallmount kit; and you no longer need to spend $1,000 to get up-firing drivers (an essential ingredient for convincing Dolby Atmos sound). They’re included in the $869 / £699 / AU$1,199 Bravia Theater Bar 7.

And yet despite these benefits, the Bravia Theater Bar 7 (AKA model HT-A7100) nixes some of my favorite features from the previous generation.

There’s no built-in subwoofer, no on-screen setup menus, no alphanumeric front display, no hi-res Bluetooth codecs, no ability to connect wireless headphones, no Chromecast support, no Google Assistant/Amazon Alexa compatibility, and no playback via USB storage or UPnP (for streaming music from a networked server).

Of these omissions, the one I noticed most is the lack of a built-in subwoofer. While it’s true that too much low-frequency sound can be, at times, unwanted — for instance, if you’re a condo-dweller with thin walls between units — I believe that’s a good problem to have. You can always dial the bass down if the neighbors complain. But not having enough bass to start with? That’s tough to accept, especially at this price.

It’s not that the Bar 7 has no low-end; it does. It’s just that it doesn’t get low or loud enough to provide what I think of as a truly cinematic experience, even with the available bass adjustment set to ‘max’.

The obvious and easy way to overcome this limitation is to buy the Bar 7 with Sony’s Bravia Theater Sub 7 wireless subwoofer, a combo that only costs $230 / £100 more. If you buy the Theater Sub 7 after the fact, it will cost you $329 / £249 / AU$299. Sony sent me a Sub 7 to test, and it does the trick, restoring the weight and punch that the Bar 7 lacks.

Still, if bass isn’t your thing, the Theater Bar 7 delivers crystal-clear mids and highs, and can do so at volume levels that are shockingly loud. Dialogue is crisp and well separated from the rest of the soundtrack. Sony deserves top marks for this — poor dialogue clarity has become something of an epidemic in the last decade, and the Theater Bar 7 really helps.

With dedicated up-firing drivers for height channels and side-firing units designed to bounce rear channel sound to your listening position, the Theater Bar 7 should deliver a compelling, immersive experience, especially when playing Dolby Atmos or DTS:X content.

I don’t want to be too harsh in my analysis; the Theater Bar 7 definitely creates a soundstage that is taller, wider, and deeper than non-Dolby Atmos speakers, but given its price, I expected more.

I use a number of different test clips when evaluating spatial immersion, such as the Aston Martin chase scene from No Time To Die, the opening of Mad Max: Fury Road, and the first sandworm reveal from Dune.

The Theater Bar 7’s strengths (its clarity and power) created a strong sense of energy and immediacy — both vital elements for enjoying cinematic sound — but these couldn’t overcome the soundbar’s struggles to place key effects like bullet impacts or whispery voices accurately in my space.

Normally, when a soundbar underperforms my expectations, I reach for the settings menus, where you can usually tweak everything from bass and treble to the levels of individual channels.

Unfortunately, Sony doesn’t provide any way to tweak the Bar 7’s tuning. There’s no equalizer, no set of bass/treble adjustments, and no EQ presets. If you find the sound signature too emphatic when it comes to the high frequencies (as I definitely do), there’s not much you can do about it.

All of this adds up to a soundbar that finds itself in the anti-Goldilocks zone. The less expensive Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 may not be expandable, but out of the box it can deliver more cinematic punch thanks to the included wireless sub.

By the same token, if you spend just a little more than the price of the Theater Bar 7, you can get the Bravia Theater Bar 8. With its built-in sub, you get all of the sleek, single-speaker appeal of the Bar 7, with genuinely good low-end bass (and lots of expansion options).

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: Price & release date

• Released April 2026 (US), May 2026 (UK), July 2026 (Australia)
• $869.99 / £699 / AU$1,199

As the name suggests, Sony has priced the Bravia Theater Bar 7 to sit between the existing Theater Bar 6 ($699.99) and the Theater Bar 8 ($999.99).

While the Theater Bar 6 comes with its own subwoofer, it can’t be expanded later with optional surround speakers. If you want that, you’ll have to buy the more expensive Bravia Theater System 6, which comes with a sub and surrounds.

Both the Bravia Theater Bar 7 and Theater Bar 8 can be expanded with subs and/or surrounds, however the Theater Bar 8 has a built-in sub, which may provide enough low-end for some people (especially for those in apartments or other small spaces).

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: Specs

Should I buy Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: Also consider

How I tested Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7

• Used the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 as my main audio system for one week
• Tested in my basement media room
• Sources: Apple TV 4K, Nvidia Shield 2019, and streamed music from various apps

After setting up the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7, I used it as my main audio system for watching movies, TV shows, and music in my basement media room. Over the course of a week, I played a variety of Dolby Atmos test clips from movies such as No Time To Die, Ford v Ferrari, Mad Max: Fury Road, Dune, and Unbroken. I took careful note of details like dialogue clarity, surround sound, and height channel immersion.

I streamed most content from an Apple TV 4K connected via an LG OLED TV, which fed the Theater Bar 7 from its ARC output. However, I also connected an Nvidia Shield TV to the soundbar’s HDMI input to test Dolby Atmos in Dolby TrueHD, and see what, if any video passthrough issues came up.

I evaluated the effect of Sony’s limited sound modes as well as its 360 Spatial Sound Mapping room correction feature.

For music, I used a variety of apps, including Apple Music, Tidal, Qobuz, and Amazon Music, listening to a wide range of genres and formats, like Dolby Atmos Music. Some were played from apps on the Apple TV 4K and Nvidia Shield, while others were streamed wirelessly using AirPlay and Bluetooth.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: July 2026

• People continue to build alternative Sonos apps with features Sonos hasn't offered
• Recent creations include customizable room correction that works with front surrounds
• Most aren't widely available, and are being shown in invite-only betas

In the last few months, Sonos has finally moved on from fixing its app's tech issues to improving it with new navigation and adding some useful new techy features, such as a key new network troubleshooting option.

But many Sonos users are just tired of waiting for long-requested features — such as the ability to add front surround speakers — so they're building their own alternatives instead.

We covered some user-created apps to improve the Sonos ecosystem not too long ago, and the list of available options continues to grow.

More Sonos apps than you can shake a soundbar at

First up there's "the app Sonos should have made" according to its creator: Somos InControl. It's an iOS remote for Sonos home theater products with custom EQ, saveable sound presets, surround height levels and music features too.

The big draws here are that it supports adding front left and right surround speakers, and the ability to save EQ options for different use cases — the example screen shot has slightly tweaked sound for 5.1 surround versus Dolby Atmos versus music listening that you instantly switch between. It's an Apple TestFlight work in progress so availability is limited, but it looks very impressive.

The app Sonos should have made. Try it for free. from r/sonos

Moosic is a self-hosted music server app that offers an alternative to Trueplay's room tuning, with the always-welcome ability to display charts of the room correction, plus more customization options for the tuning.

It also enables you to switch your Sonos configuration — such as switching a pair of Era 300s from working as rear speakers to working as stereo music speakers — but to keep separate room-tuning profiles for each configuration, which again is something Trueplay doesn't offer.

If you're wondering why not just use TruePlay, creator AffectionateFox5907 explains: "Sonos does not provide a way to switch between home theatre and music setup seamlessly. My app does, but as part of that I lose Trueplay. When you unbond and rebond a speaker, each time it will lose its Trueplay configuration. My app basically builds a better Sonos app that adds features I've been wanting for a while without having to have a bunch of different apps. This now works with multiple subs and should work with fronts added as well."

One of the big downsides of using third-party apps that add front surrounds is that it disables Trueplay, so this is a win for people coloring outside the usual Sonos surround lines.

It also looks ideal for anyone who's found using their home theater for music to be a bit of a pain, and there are plenty of people who do: there's a whole Reddit thread asking for a simple switch between movie mode and music mode without having to reconfigure your system every time you do it.

I built my own version of "Trueplay" from r/sonos

Last but not least, MajorAtmosphere has created Kyuu (pronounced "queue"), an iOS Sonos controller that enables you to use UPnP for local files, which the Sonos app doesn't support.

As they explain: "Kyuu runs a lightweight local server that handles speaker discovery via SSDP, polls playback state, and sends commands directly to your speakers. The iOS app talks to that server over your LAN — no cloud, no Sonos account, no external dependencies."

I built a local-first Sonos controller iOS app using the UPnP API — no account required [Beta] from r/sonos

• Dire Straits' keyboardist/producer Guy Fletcher post about mixing their albums in Dolby Atmos
• He says immersive mixing of the original recording sessions is "quite addictive" and often very emotional
• 3D audio can reveal details that were previously buried when engineering for stereo

One of the things I love most about audio technology is how it can reveal things you've never heard before either because they were buried in the mix or because your setup, speakers or headphones weren't delivering all the detail.

And according to Dire Straits' keyboardist and producer Guy Fletcher, Dolby Atmos is delivering revelation after revelation not just to music fans, but to the musicians and producers who made the records in the first place.

The majority of records are made with stereo in mind, and according to Fletcher "stereo remains an extraordinary format". But as he explains on LinkedIn, redoing a stereo record for Atmos enables you to rediscover "the little things that get sacrificed along the way when you're making a stereo record. The tiny details. The decisions nobody notices because they're buried beneath more important decisions."

Fletcher makes an intriguing claim. Taking a stereo record and making it three-dimensional isn't about making it sound the same; "it's more to do with matching the emotional impact" as he says. It's not what you hear. It's what you feel.

What immersive audio delivers – and doesn't quite deliver

I think Fletcher is correct, and I'm going to compare audio to another art form: video games. I've been replaying some very old favorites recently and I'm amused by how terrible the graphics are; in my memories, those games were photorealistic as well as utterly compelling. When those games are remastered to higher visual quality they're effectively enabling me to play what I remember, not what I actually saw.

As Fletcher describes it, taking recordings into spatial audio does much the same. "The moment you begin placing objects or building beds around the listener, the music seems to breathe and expand. Mix or bus compression suddenly seems rather pointless. Sounds are no longer confined to a flat line between two speakers. Instead, they occupy a living, sculptural environment with depth, height and dimension."

It's not perfect by any means, because people listen to Atmos and other spatial audio on all kinds of different hardware that may be suboptimal: headphones, soundbars, and a range of speaker systems that don't deliver the full experience.

"Creating extraordinary Atmos mixes is no longer the obstacle," Fletcher says. "The real challenge is ensuring that the sense of space, scale and emotional impact that makes immersive mixing so exhilarating, can be faithfully experienced by the vast majority of listeners who do not own a dedicated Atmos speaker system.

Fletcher describes spatializing Dire Straits' biggest hit album, Brothers in Arms, whose original multi-tracks took him straight back to the recording studio in 1984. Although the album had previously been remastered for 5.1 audio, the Atmos edition still required extensive detective work as well as painstaking restoration.

"The real challenge lay in respecting an album that has become woven into the lives of millions of listeners," Fletcher recalls. "While 5.1 and Atmos share some similarities, Atmos offers a very different creative canvas. The challenge was never technical — the challenge was emotional."

For Fletcher, "Atmos has a curious ability to reveal not just the details within a recording, but also the memories embedded within it. In that respect, at its best, the spatial audio experience is as much about rediscovery as it is about technology."

Of course Atmos doesn't guarantee a mix is good: the record industry is very good at remastering records as a quick cash grab, and there are plenty of famous records by big artists whose remasters caused howls of outrage. But when an album is approached with care, patience and above all else, a love of the original material, the move to 3D can make songs sing even more beautifully.

Attention 4K Blu-ray fans! Arrow Films has a huge sale on its 4K Blu-rays, with up to 50% off some discs. You can check out the sale at Arrow Films' site, and there are tons of participating retailers, including Amazon in the US and HMV and Amazon UK in the UK. While stock is slim of some discs, between the different retailers, you should be covered.

• Arrow Films US: Browse the full sale
• Arrow Films UK: Browse the full sale
• Amazon US: See all discounted Arrow discs
• Amazon UK: See all discounted Arrow discs
• HMV: See all discounted Arrow discs

While there are loads of options in the sale, I've picked my top discs, all of which I've either personally tested as part of our monthly Blu-ray Bounty column, or some that we even own ourselves at TechRadar.

One of my favorites is Dark City, a disc that looks superb on the best TVs, with rich contrast and black tones. Next is Arrow's version of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which is the best the iconic Western has ever looked, with impressive textures and bold colors.

Speaking of bold colors, Heathers is great for showing off your display's color reproduction, as is The Mask, one of my reference discs for testing color and for testing the best soundbars.

For our full thoughts on these discs, check out below. These are just our top picks of discs we've tested ourselves, but there are tons of discs in the sale to check out.

Our top picks from Arrow Video's 4K Blu-ray sale - US

Our top picks from Arrow Video's 4K Blu-ray sale - UK

Why I've picked these discs

Dark City

Dark City follows the story of John (Rufus Sewell), a man who wakes up with amnesia to find himself under investigation for murder and being hunted by a group of strange beings known as the Strangers.

Dark City looks superb in 4K. Arrow's restoration delivers crisp, realistic textures and inky black levels, plus, there are plenty of high-contrast scenes that really shine on the best OLED TVs. There's a reason this disc has entered my testing rotation.

The disc has both Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtracks. Speech is clear throughout, and while there aren't any scenes that will really test your home theater, the score's deep, rumbling bass will at times get your subwoofer working.

Heathers

Heathers follows the story of Veronica (Wynona Ryder), a high-schooler part of a popular clique of girls called Heather. Veronica begins to date a rebellious, new student called J.D (Christian Slater), who eventually starts to kill students he doesn't like.

The Arrow restoration of Heathers does an excellent job capturing the oft-gaudy aesthetic of the 1980s. Colors are bold and vivid (especially the Heathers' outfits), and there's plenty of refined detail in people's clothing. Textures have been cleaned up nicely, making everything, including people's hair and skin, look lifelike.

This disc comes with three soundtrack options: DTS: HD 5.1 MA; Stereo 2.0 and mono. I used the DTS: HD 5.1 MA in my testing, and it was clean and clear throughout. There aren't many showcase moments, but still, speech is clear, sound is mapped well and there is some impact to effects like gunshots.

Westworld (1973)

Westworld is about an interactive theme park inhabited by androids, where patrons can live out the fantasy of life in the Wild West. Eventually, the androids turn on both the staff and visitors of the park. The movie stars Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin and James Brolin.

Westworld looks excellent in this restoration from Arrow. Intricate details, such as the parts of a gun, are defined and realistic, while skin looks true-to-life. Colors are also big and bold in places, such as the red of the brothel's walls. Cinephiles will be happy with the level of film grain retained, too.

There are multiple soundtrack options available, including 4.0, 2.0, 1.0 and 5.1. Using the 5.1 for testing, there's some nice detail, demonstrated by the ricocheting bullets which are well mapped to the surround channels. There's a nice, wide soundstage to give different sounds room to breathe, and speech is clear too.

The Mask

The Mask tells the story of Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey), a bank-worker who discovers a supernatural mask that turns him into a super-powered being. The movie helped launch Carrey's movie career, and was the big-screen debut for Cameron Diaz.

While this 4K disc does have fantastic picture quality, (more on that in a sec), really it's the Dolby Atmos and DTS: HD 5.1 MA soundtracks that shine. As the Mask tornadoes around Stanley's bedroom, through the right sound system, the ensuing chaos is precise and accurately mapped, with refined detail. This is true throughout, whether the Mask jumps around or uses cartoon-ish violence. A seriously-impressive sounding disc.

Visually, The Mask looks great too. Color reproduction is this Arrow disc's main strength, with the Mask's yellow suit looking bright and vivid throughout. Textures have a 3D-like level of detail and there's plenty of scenes with strong contrast and deep black tones.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

One of the most iconic Westerns ever made, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly follows the Man With No Name (Clint Eastwood), as he, a bandit named Tuco (Eli Wallach), and a mercenary 'Angel Eyes' (Lee Van Cleef) all try to find buried Confederate gold through uneasy alliances and betrayals.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly looks sensational in Arrow's 4K restoration. Detail is organic and lifelike, particularly in close-up shots, that show every scar, bit of stubble and dirt in full clarity. Color really pops on screen when used, and the movie's darker scenes show rich, inky black tones and powerful contrast.

There are DTS: HD 5.1 MA and DTS: HD Mono MA soundtracks on offer. The 5.1 soundtrack is immersive, with precise effects, such as ricocheting bullets, and there's a good hit of bass during scenes with explosions and the rumble of horse's hooves. Speech is clean throughout and the movie's legendary score is balanced and beautiful.

The Warriors

The Warriors, an adaptation of Sol Yurik's novel of the same name, follows the story of a gang in 1970s New York named The Warriors. They find themselves framed for murder, and must make their way back across New York and home to Coney Island, while being hunted by thousands of members from rival gangs.

The Arrow version of The Warriors is excellent. Textures have been uplifted and given a much crisper look, but there's still plenty of film grain, to capture the movie's gritty tone. Colors have plenty of punch, shown best in the opening scene by the different gang's colorful uniforms. Contrast is also strong, and there's plenty of scenes to show this, especially in the gloomy subway platforms.

This Arrow disc contains a Dolby Atmos soundtrack (unlike the Paramount release which only has a 5.1 mix) and it's all the better for it. The soundstage is wide and immersive, effects are clear and there's good impact and accurate sound mapping throughout. The best scene to showcase this is as the Warriors fight the Punks in a subway station bathroom.

Thief

Thief follows the story of Frank (James Caan), a professional safecracker trying to escape his life of crime. It was Michael Mann's (Heat, Collateral) feature film directorial debut.

Another fantastic restoration from Arrow, Thief looks brilliant in 4K. There's plenty of scenes with rich, powerful contrast, and a good amount of film grain present for cinephiles. Detail, such as skin, hair and clothing, all look refined and lifelike.

There are DTS: HD 5.1 MA and stereo 2.0 soundtrack options on offer. I used the DTS: HD 5.1 MA for my testing and there was plenty of nuanced detail, such as the whirring of the sale drill, that were delivered clearly. Tangerine Dream's excellent score is balanced, with big, bold synths and fantastic clarity.

Tremors

Tremors is about a tiny Nevada town being terrorized by a mysterious underground menace, and it's the definition of a cult classic. It's got a really tight script, and ekes all of its production value from being filmed out in beautiful mountains, mixed with some fantastic practical visual effects.

It's a beautiful transfer that uses HDR to deliver nuanced skies, bright highlights in the sun, and the most ridiculously orange blood and monster bits you've ever seen.

The latter is also delivered in gloriously strong detail and texture, as is the dirt of the countryside as it slides around when a Graboid shifts underneath it. There's a nice grainy softness, but this really makes the most of its 4K upgrade. It sounds great too, but it's the visuals I appreciated most, especially when it comes to admiring the monster effects.

We're halfway though 2026, and this year has already delivered some of the best soundbars we've seen — or rather, heard. The standout amongst the models we've tested is the "phenomenal" Samsung HW-Q990H — one of a select group of 5-star products, thanks to its "powerful, engaging and detailed sound profile", straightforward setup and strong connectivity options. Another winner was the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro. If you're yearning for some "phenomenal rumbling bass", this is the soundbar for you.

Those are both premium picks, but we also reviewed a couple of brilliant budget options. The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 comes in at a fraction of the price of that Samsung model, and while its soundscape is understandably less expansive, it still impressed us by delivering clear dialogue, strong bass, and a useful, responsive display.

The rather utilitarian-looking Zvox AccuVoice AV855 also stood out from the pack; this bar is especially designed to make dialogue easier to hear. It's built especially for those with hearing impairments, but will appeal to anyone who's sick of having to turn on the subtitles on just to understand what's happening.

Scroll down to see all my picks. Hit the 'View details' button for a summary of what we thought about each one, plus a link to our full review.

Super soundbars

• ITV is selling its media and entertainment divisions to Sky
• The £1.6 billion deal is a massive shake-up for UK television
• Analysts say viewers could expect Sky and ITV's offerings to merge in future

The UK's TV landscape just changed in a big way, with ITV announcing that it's agreed to sell its media and entertainment business to Sky in a massive £1.6 billion deal.

The agreement makes it one of the biggest deals in UK media history. It'll see Sky take ownership of the ITVX platform and ITV's free-to-air channels, but doesn't include the ITV Studios production arm (which makes the likes of I’m A Celebrity and Mr Bates Vs The Post Office).

So what does this all mean for the average Downton Abbey fan or Sky subscriber? Will ITV's channels remain free-to-air? And what does it mean for current and future shows on both platforms?

Here are some of those big questions answered by media and broadcasting experts...

Will ITV continue to be free-to-air?

Yes, for the foreseeable future at least. ITV has public service broadcasting commitments from its licence that run until 2034. The Sky deal doesn't change that.

Tom Harrington, a TV analyst from Enders Analysis, says ITV being free-to-air is also likely one of the main reasons for the potential deal. "ITV remains profitable and the reach that it commands as the major commercial broadcaster is probably the main reason why it would be attractive to Comcast/Sky".

However, Sky's focus could increasingly shift from ITV's broadcast offerings to its online streaming platforms – and may ultimately see ITVX and NOW TV merge.

"Online video advertising remains a key area of growth, as audiences increasingly turn to the convenience of the expansive catalogues available to them via streaming. As such, monetisation of this space is essential for broadcasters’ ongoing strategies," said Peter Ingram, Research Manager at Ampere Analysis.

"A sale of ITV to Sky will likely lead to an acceleration of the development (and possible integration) of streaming propositions such as ITVX and NOW with a focus on expanding online video subscription and advertising revenues," he added.

In other words, expect ITVX and its ITVX Premium subscription to become the primary focus for Sky. Not that traditional broadcast TV will be left by the wayside.

"ITV’s linear operations could be rationalised, but key assets will remain in order to continue monetising the still sizeable audience that is loyal to linear TV", Peter Ingram added.

What might this mean for current TV shows?

Major changes for ITV or Sky viewers are unlikely in the short term due to existing agreements and contracts. But one thing you can expect to see is more ITV shows on Sky, and vice versa.

"An immediate impact of a combination could be an element of integration of Sky and ITV’s programming assets," Peter Ingram from Ampere Analysis predicts.

"The two companies are among the highest content spenders in the UK, with ITV providing a slate of locally resonant shows, news and sports rights. Sky provides local and international first-run and library film and TV series, major sports rights (such as Premier League football) and news. The two operators could utilise some of these programming assets across a combined entertainment ecosystem to greater effect," he added.

However, Tom Harrington from Enders Research told us before the finalisation of the deal that changes could be more of a slow burn. "From a viewer perspective, in the short term there probably wouldn't be many discernible changes: the ITV and Sky offerings would remain similar," he said.

"In time, Comcast/Sky may have differing opinions to current ITV management about how to monetise on free-to-air and there could be channel changes and a differing approach to ITVX," he added.

The nature of the deal – which doesn't include ITV's production arm, ITV Studios – might also eventually affect the kinds of shows you see on its channels. ITV Studios produces shows like Love Island and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here and The Voice. Those could one day find a different home, some analysts predict.

"The biggest customer of ITV Studios is ITV itself, and more than half of all ITV's viewing is from shows it makes itself in Studios," Harrington explained. "So if Comcast/Sky was to acquire ITV broadcast then we would assume it would include a long-term agreement that guaranteed the flow of content from ITV Studios to the channels/ITVX," he noted.

"However, even with some sort of agreement, over time you could foresee that the relationship between these two parts would weaken from current levels," he said.

Is this good or bad news for TV viewers?

It's still too early for definitive conclusions about the deal. However, experts have highlighted three potential impacts that are broadly good, bad, or mixed.

Based on previous mergers, there's reason for some concern about TV quality, according to Tom Harrington from Enders Research. "Generally in a merger/acquisition such as this, the result is less content being produced overall, as savings and efficiencies are immediately sought. So overall there may be less on offer — although this may not necessarily be obvious to the viewer," he said.

Still, on the plus side, the TV shows that do get made might be more widely available. "You would imagine that Sky may want to utilise Sky programming on ITV and vice versa. So certain viewers may get access to shows and some sport that they may not previously have had access to," he added.

Peter Ingram from Ampere Analysis is also a bit more optimistic about the long-term health of TV shows on both ITV and Sky. "The increased scale provided by the group’s presence across TV and streaming would facilitate an even stronger revenue base, allowing for the production of more high-quality original programming for UK consumers," he predicts. Let's certainly hope so.

The Samsung S95F was our TV of the Year last year, thanks to its excellent picture quality, effectiveness in a bright room and superb gaming capabilities. It edged out the LG G5, the S95F’s flagship rival, for the honors — but needless to say, both these models were top-tier performers and contenders for our list of the best TVs. So I've been relishing testing their successors side by side.

I’ve already tested and reviewed the LG G6, the G5’s successor, and it earned five-stars in my LG G6 review. It’s one of the best OLED TVs I’ve tested this year, especially for bright room viewing (more on that later).

Now, the S95F’s successor — which is called the Samsung S95H in the US, and the S99H in the UK (and there is a separate model called the S95H in the UK, which is different to the US' S95H. Clear? Great…) has arrived in our test room, so I put the S95H/S99H and G6 side-by-side to see which flagship OLED comes out on top.

Colors

Color reproduction on both these TV’s predecessors has been superb in the past, so I was keen to see how the two new models would fare. I started with Speed Racer on 4K Blu-ray, which I recently reviewed as part of the June 2026 Blu-ray Bounty, and boy, does it have some impressive colors.

With both TVs set to their respective HDR Movie modes (called Cinema Home on the G6) colors are bold, punchy and vibrant on both TVs, perfectly delivering the hyper-saturated, cartoon-esque look of the movie.

Colors practically exploded on screen on both TVs. Looking closer, the G6 has deeper, richer colors which add a more 3D-like effect to the picture, while the S95H/S99H’s are on the more natural side. Blues, greens, purples and yellows appear more true-to-life on the S95H/S99H, while the G6 opts for dazzle.

One thing I found very interesting however was how each TV rendered red. In some scenes, I noticed that the S95H/S99H made these red details look more orange, while on the G6 they had a much more candy-apple red look that felt more accurate to the movie. This was clear in a scene with the red shelves, walls and floors of the Racer family garage, shown above.

In the close-up shot of Speed Racer during a race shown above, the red of his seat and the M logo on his helmet was deeper and bolder on the G6, looking a little pale on the S95H/S99H. For any red tones, I preferred the G6’s saturation: for this movie at least, in these modes.

For the record, in terms of measurements, the S95H/S99H scored 2.2 SDR color accuracy and 99.97% UHDA-P3 and 89.3% BT.2020 HDR color gamut coverage, to the G6’s 2.3 SDR color accuracy, 99.3% UHDA-P3 and 83% BT.2020 color gamut coverage (measured after its most recent update as of July 3rd 2026). So, these two generally measured about the same in these major areas.

When it came to skin tones, I found myself drawn to the S95H/S99H. The G6 clearly favoured red in Cinema Home, hence the deeper reds in objects. To some, the skin tones of characters on the S95H/S99H may have looked a little washed out, but I found the highlighting red tones in people’s faces, such as their cheeks, during close-up shots to be a little distracting.

Switching to La La Land, with both TVs in Movie mode, the more natural colors worked in the S95H/S99H’s favour. At the spring pool party, Mia’s yellow dress was vibrant on both screens with some gorgeous visual pop, but the yellow looked more authentic on the S95H/S99H. In the background, the green bushes were deeper on the G6, which gave them a nice, rich look, but again I felt the softer green of the S95H/S99H suited the movie better.

Later on, a close-up shot of Mia, the G6 again showed off the red tones in her skin, while on the S95H/S99H, her skin tone was uniform, more lifelike. In the ‘City of Stars’ scene, as Sebastian walks along a pier at sunset, both TVs accurately delivered the gradation of the sky, which goes from purple, to orange, to pink, accurately and while the G6 again had that richer look, the S95H/S99H had a bit more punch in the paler tones.

Contrast and dark room viewing

Moving onto darker movies, I started with The Batman, my reference disc for darker scenes. The Batman is a very dim movie (mastered at a max of around 400 nits) so it can be tricky for any TV to accurately display.

As both TVs have effective reflection handling layers (more on that below), I tried out the movie in Filmmaker Mode in a brightly lit room — and of the two, the G6 better preserved richer black tones with crisper textures and contrast. The S95H/S99H was much dimmer, and although the matte screen blocked mirror-like reflections, the movie was harder to watch.

Switching to Movie mode on both TVs, it then became a much closer call. Watching the subway scene, as Batman stands on a dark subway platform, both TVs delivered strong black levels with good shadow detail. The S95H/S99H had the more uniform picture of the two overall in Movie mode.

Switching to darker viewing conditions, and switching back to Filmmaker Mode, the differences between each TV was much more apparent. While both TVs still delivered strong contrast, shown in scenes with bright lights against dark backgrounds such as the Batcave and the crime scene at Mayor Mitchell’s house, the S95H/S99H actually delivered noticeably deeper blacks.

In some cases they were too deep, as it did exhibit some black crush, which resulted in loss of shadow detail. In the same subway scene from before, the background became mostly ineligible on the S95H/S99H. On the G6, these same details were preserved, but the picture was much brighter and the darker areas on screen weren’t as satisfying. Despite the black crush, I found myself drawn to the S95H/S99H’s more uniform picture.

Next I switched to ‘brighter’ movies with dark scenes, and went back to having brighter conditions in the room. In Fight Club, back in Filmmaker Mode, the G6 had the more impactful contrast and richer black tones.

As Marla and the narrator talk in a dimly-lit shop, the S95H/S99H’s matte screen created a haze effect across the screen, affecting some dark tones and made textures look a little softer. The G6’s glossy screen had crisper textures and deeper blacks with more impactful contrast. But switch to Movie mode and, again, it was a toss up as to which looked better.

Using a scene from space in Alien: Romulus in Movies modes, both TVs delivered rich black tones with a good amount of white stars dotted throughout, something some cheaper TVs I’ve tested can’t reproduce as cleanly. Again, in Filmmaker Mode, the G6 was the more engaging picture with the inky blacks, but the S95H/S99H did a better job handling reflections on this occasion, while still delivering powerful contrast. So let's dig more into reflections and visual punch.

Brightness and reflections

OLED TVs are getting brighter. Once struggling to hit over 1,000 nits HDR peak some years ago, this is easily surpassed now, on both flagship and mid-range models.

I measured the S95H/S99H as hitting 2,739 nits HDR peak brightness (10% window) in Filmmaker Mode, as well as 449 nits of fullscreen HDR (100% window). In HDR movie mode, the S95H/S99H hit 2,751 nits peak and 450 nits fullscreen.

The G6 in the same modes, after a re-test with a new firmware update, hit a staggering 3,004 nits peak (10%) and 451 nits fullscreen brightness in HDR Filmmaker Mode. In HDR Cinema Home, the G6 hit 2,207 nits peak and 365 nits fullscreen brightness.

How did this translate into real-world scenes? Using some snow scenes from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark, both TVs, set to Filmmaker Mode, showed punchy white tones with plenty of vibrancy, but the G6 had that little bit more depth in some areas. Generally, however, the S95H/S99H had the brighter picture in larger white areas, during a shot of a snow-covered ground or a white sky.

In movies, going back to Speed Racer, Speed’s white Mach 5 car and helmet appeared brighter on the S95H/S99H, especially in Movie mode, which makes sense based on the 500 nits peak HDR difference between the S95H/S99H and G6 in that mode.

However, the G6 again had that satisfying glint that drew the eye more. In daytime scenes, the S95H/S99H again showed higher overall brightness, especially in lighter colors like green and yellow. But, the G6’s richer colors sometimes gave it a perceived sense of higher brightness through its boldness.

In another scene from Fight Club, again in Movie mode, as the narrator stands over an overturned car in the day, the clear, blue sky was noticeably brighter on the S95H/S99H. The G6 still showed good brightness, but it wasn’t as impactful as the S95H/S99H.

I’ve touched on bright-room conditions and reflection handling above, and both these TVs are impressive on this front. The S95H/S99H’s anti-glare screen does an excellent job at eliminating mirror-like reflections, turning them to a haze. While it would beat every other OLED TV in brighter rooms, the G6 is more than a match for it.

When I compared the LG G6 to last year's Samsung S95F for their reflection handling, I preferred the G6, as it did a better job delivering inkier, richer black tones while still eliminating most reflections.

The S95H/S99H is brighter than the S95F, and while this does mean its overall picture quality next to the G6 is improved, delivering more powerful contrast, I still prefer the G6 for bright rooms… in Filmmaker Mode.

In Movie mode, however, it again becomes a very tight call, edged by the G6 for me. I just preferred the preservation of contrast over the out-and-out reflection handling.

Which do I prefer?

In these tests, the LG G6 proved to have bolder colors, with better black levels and punchier highlights in brighter conditions (still with great reflection handling). The Samsung S95H/S99H showed better skin-tone accuracy, better contrast balance and black tones in dark room viewing, and higher perceived fullscreen brightness.

Deciding between these two TVs is no easy task. Both deliver outstanding picture quality, with their own strengths, and superb gaming experiences. It's never been a closer contest. So torn am I between the two, I’m saying you can’t really go wrong with either. It will come down to price and what you’re looking for — though while I've only focused on picture here, I do know that a lot of people are put off by the huge frame on the S95H/S99H, and that might make the difference.

If you want Dolby Vision HDR, bolder colors and better contrast with richer black levels in a bright room, go for the G6. If you want HDR10+, a more accurate-feeling picture out-of-the-box in a dark room, and a TV that beats the most challenging reflections, go for the S95H/S99H. Honestly, both TVs can do pretty much everything.

If I had to choose one today, it would be the LG G6. Not only does it have the better black level performance in brighter rooms, but right now, it's cheaper in the UK (where I am) and Australia, with a 55-inch G6 costing $2,299 / £2,099 / AU$3,499, while the S95H/S99H 55-inch costs $2,199 / £2,399 / AU$3,999. If I were in the US, or if the prices switch here, I could easily change my mind: it's that close.

Last month in June 2026 proved to be yet another packed month for 4K Blu-ray releases and July is looking just as busy. Despite the long list of discs on my radar, I’ve narrowed it down to my top four I’m most looking forward to, hopefully, testing.

I’ll be looking to test these discs as part of the Blu-ray Bounty, our monthly column where we test the latest 4K releases on their picture and sound quality, to see whether they’re worth adding to the bursting shelves of a 4K blu-ray collection.

4K Blu-ray is my bread-and-butter source for testing the best TVs and best soundbars, as it offers the best bitrate for picture and uncompressed audio for sound. I’m also a collector myself, so I’m always looking for new discs I can add to my collection!

In my June 2026 most anticipated article, my picks were Speed Racer, Bullet In The Head, EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert and Hoppers. Three out of the four featured in the June 2026 Blu-ray Bounty (Hoppers sadly didn’t arrive, but I’ll hopefully feature that another time) and while they were all great, the real highlight was Speed Racer, which was an audio showcase and an outstanding looking disc (check out the Blu-ray Bounty for my full thoughts).

Hard Boiled (Arrow Video)

Hard Boiled stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector “Tequila” Yeun, a detective in pursuit of a Triad syndicate who gets involved in an operation involving an undercover officer. This is arguably director John Woo’s (Bullet In The Head, The Killer, Mission Impossible 2) most iconic movie.

Having recently reviewed Arrow’s recent restoration of Bullet In The Head, I’m excited to see what it can do with Hard Boiled. Where I’m hoping this disc’s strengths will lie is in its Dolby Atmos mix. Hard Boiled is a gritty, action-thriller with plenty of gunfights and a good Atmos mix should deliver plenty of impact, bass and a real sense of immersion, with ricocheting bullets covering the latter.

The Bullet In The Head restoration had rich colors, crisp textures and strong contrast, so I’m hoping for more of the same here. While I’m expecting it to have the haze that I’ve now clocked in a few early-90s Hong Kong cinema movies, I still think Hard Boiled has the potential to look great, especially as it supports Dolby Vision, which should work wonders for textures, detail and contrast.

• US release date - N/A: (Hong Kong Cinema Classics version released November 4, 2025)
• UK release date - 27th July

Alice in Wonderland (1951) (Disney)

Alice in Wonderland, based on Lewis Carroll’s novels Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass, tells the story of a young girl called Alice who ends up in a strange, fantastical world where meets odd characters such as the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat and the evil Queen of Hearts. (This is a cheeky addition as this disc was actually released on 29th June, but I’m going to hopefully test it as part of the July Blu-ray Bounty!)

4K can do wonders for animation, especially when it comes to detail and colors. Alice in Wonderland has plenty of seriously bright colors and I expect Wonderland to look truly brilliant in 4K. The disc comes with Dolby Vision HDR support, which is only going to make colors pop even more. The 4K restoration will hopefully add more depth and texture to the picture as well.

As for audio, there’s no support for Dolby Atmos which is a bit of a shame as it would’ve been nice to get the full immersive experience as Alice falls down the rabbit hole. Thankfully, there is a DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack included and in recent discs I’ve tested this has proved to be just as good. There’s plenty of moments throughout the weird and wonderful Wonderland that should sound fantastic on 4K.

• US release date - May 6, 2025
• UK release date - 29th June, 2026

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

The sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros Movie, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie follows Mario and his crew — Luigi, Yoshi, Peach and Toad — head to space to save Princess Rosalina from the clutches of Bowser and his son, Bowser Jr.

I’m expecting crisp, slick animation and of course boat-loads of fantastical colors from this disc on 4K. With Dolby Vision support included, I’m anticipating some seriously impressive color reproduction, whether it’s the red of Mario’s iconic suit or the green skin of Bowser and Yoshi, this disc could be a new reference disc for TV testing. As the movie takes the gang to space, there’s also a chance for some strong contrast between the deep blackness of space and any bright stars along the way.

Equipped with a Dolby Atmos track, I’m expecting an immersive soundtrack that will provide some excellent detail during the movie’s more action-packed sequences. Plus, with several flight sequences, as the character’s fly through space, I’m hoping for some real utilization of the height channels to give a wide, full sound. I can imagine this disc is going to deliver an impressive audio experience that I’m looking forward to trying out through our Samsung Dolby Atmos soundbar.

• US release date - June 16, 2026
• UK release date - 20th July, 2026

Hairspray (1988) (Criterion Collection)

Directed by John Waters, Hairspray (the original, 1988 movie) tells the story of teenager Tracy Turnbald, as she aims for fame as a dancer on a local TV show. Set in the 1960s, Tracy also rallies against racial segregation, which gets in her trouble with adults and authority figures.

As this is a release from Criterion, I’m expecting an excellent restoration job. I’ve tested a ton of Criterion’s 4K releases and all of them have looked fantastic. As Hairspray is set in the 1960s, there’s a potential here for some truly bold visuals, especially with color. Decor and outfits should really pop on screen, capturing the sometimes-garish, saturated aesthetic of the time period.

There are two soundtrack options on the 4K disc of Hairspray: DTS-HD 2.0 and 5.1 MA. This isn’t the remake from 2007, which is based on the 2002 stage musical, so I’m not anticipating many showcase audio moments. However, as the movie does involve music and dancing, there could be some nice, clean sound mixes, especially with DTS-HD 5.1 MA supported.

• US release date - June 23, 2026
• UK release date - July 20, 2026

July 2026 highlighted releases

Below, I’ve picked some highlight releases for July 2026. Both US and UK releases are featured here, with release dates noted. These release dates may vary by region, with some titles already available or yet to be released until later this year depending on where you are. 4K Blu-ray is region-free, so you should be able to order from wherever.

July 6/7

• To Live and Die in LA
• The Protector
• Double Impact
• The Magic Faraway Tree (2026)
• The Drama (US - UK July 13)

July 13/14

• Obsession
• Hud
• The Usual Suspects
• Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (US - UK July 27)
• Michael
• The Mummy (2026)
• Red Sun
• The Crying Game
• Full Contact

July 20/21

• Falling Down
• The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
• Pleasantville
• Anyone But You
• Hairspray (UK)
• The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (UK)
• Excalibur (UK)
• Mortal Kombat II (UK - US July 28)

July 27/28

• Hard Boiled (UK)
• Strictly Ballroom (UK)
• Soylent Green
• Stranger Things: Complete Series
• X: The Unknown (UK)
• Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

You've bought one of the best TVs or best projectors. You've invested in one of the best soundbars, or a stunning home theater speaker system. Life is good. So what should you watch to make the most of your system? What are the best Blu-rays to show off your setup?

Our resident disc enthusiast, Senior TV Hardware Writer James Davidson, tests out new Blu-ray releases every month in his Blu-ray Bounty column, to see which ones really impress when it comes to visuals and immersive sound. Now that we're halfway through the year, he's picked out his six favorite discs released in 2026 that most impressed him — and that's against some hot competition.

We're not judging the movies themselves, that's obviously subjective. What we're interested in is how well they'll show off your TV or home theater setup, and how happy these particular presentations make you as a result.

• Criterion has a 50% off sale in the US right now! See the range here

Speed Racer

The Wachowski sisters' dazzling sci-fi adventure Speed Racer is undergoing something of a revival right now, fuelled by positive posts on social media praising its visual extravagance; at the time of release there was disappointment that the sisters had made a sci-fi sports action comedy based on a 1960s manga.

But Speed Racer comes from the same incredibly inventive brains that birthed The Matrix and it's mind-blowing in its first-ever 4K HDR presentation. This has instantly entered our library for testing TVs as a new reference disc for colors and motion handling.

"Speed Racer looks astounding on 4K Blu-ray," James says. "Where it really shines is in its color reproduction. Colors are bold, vibrant and punchy throughout, taking on an almost neon-like level of saturation, which perfectly suits the movie. Whether it’s the pulsing lights of the racetrack or the 1960s-inspired clothing and decor of the neighborhood, the colors seriously pop on screen."

It's particularly good for showing off your OLED TV if you have one thanks to its deep blacks and neon brights, while its Dolby Atmos soundtrack is "ridiculously detailed."

Fight Club

The 4K edition of Fight Club had a short theater release before arriving on Blu-ray, and it's had a bit of a mixed reception: while as James says it's excellent on 4K — "Textures have been upscaled well, and appear extra crisp. Close-up shots of characters' faces show fine details such as skin marks and hair with real clarity. While colors don’t play a major role in the movie, any that do have nice pop while still looking realistic" — there's been some disappointment that the audio isn't in Atmos, and that there was some fudging to elements in the movie itself.

The soundtrack is a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix. It's a great presentation that sounds fantastic, and while it's a shame it doesn't have the extra native height you'd get with Atmos, it doesn't stop this from being one of the showstoppers of 2026.

Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia is one of cinema's most iconic epics, and the 4K Blu-ray version is simply stunning. "Presented in Dolby Vision, the sheer majesty and scope of the movie’s cinematography is accurately delivered with breathtaking detail," James says. "Epic landscape shots reveal intricate textures, while close-ups of characters show weather-beaten skin and Lawrence’s sand-coated hair down to the finest margin."

The soundtrack is great too, with choices including Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD MA 5.1. We particularly liked the Atmos version, which is spacious and detailed with plenty of gusto. "Ricocheting bullets, the trotting of camel’s feet and even the wind are pinpoint and accurately mapped to the action on screen," James says, praising the "incredibly hefty" bass that delivers "huge rumble from the explosions and machine gun fire."

Ben-Hur

Here's another iconic epic, and like Lawrence of Arabia the 4K version of Ben-Hur is a "staggering 4K Blu-ray," James says. At the time it was the largest-scale movie ever released, and the restoration "upscales textures to an almost modern-day look, with accurate, lifelike skin tones and refined details such as rocks, grass, and buildings throughout. Colors are rich and vibrant: from the reds of the Roman soldiers' capes to the glorious blue sky, every color pops on screen."

He continues: "Soldiers' gold uniforms gleam in the sunlight, and the sand-colored buildings of Jerusalem dazzle without ever over-exerting the brightness. Even the movie’s darker scenes display rich blacks with powerful contrast. As the slaves row the ship, the dark tones of the walls contrast with the light from the torches beautifully."

The audio restoration is as ambitious and impressive as the visuals. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is clean, refined and powerful, with excellent use of the surround channels in the busy market scenes and the famous chariot races. The hooves in the latter are a great workout for your subwoofer, James says.

3:10 to Yuma

3:10 to Yuma was released in 1957 and is today considered a classic Western, following rancher Dan Evans as he escorts an outlaw to his trial in Arizona. Criterion's restoration of the original movie is absolutely superb, James says. "Textures have been beautifully cleaned up — every weather-beaten wrinkle on people’s faces is fully restored — and looking almost modern. The movie is in black and white, and dark tones are deep while white tones are bright, with a full range of gray tones in between. Cinephiles will be happy with the amount of film grain retained, though it’s more obvious in the movie's exterior scenes."

You have two audio choices here: monoaural, as originally released, and DTS-HD MA 5.1. The original mono soundtrack has been cleaned up beautifully, but the real fun is in the 5.1 version. "There’s solid bass from the rumble of galloping horses, good surround details during gunfights with ricocheting bullets, and even a wide soundstage, letting the soundtrack breathe," James says. "Speech is also crystal clear."

Dead Man

Dead Man may look like it's from the same era as 3:10 to Yuma, but it's from 1995: director Jim Jarmusch chose to shoot entirely in monochrome, and the Criterion restoration delivers "dazzling whites, such as highlights in the sun, and inky blacks, such as Blake’s hair and shadowed areas within forests. Contrast is strong, with a perfect balance between light and dark tones." Detail is excellent, especially in close-up scenes, delivering "an exceptional looking disc."

There's no surround sound with this release; the audio is DTS-HD 2.0. However, what it lacks in channels it makes up for in the form of Neil Young's superb score, played solo on electric guitar and delivering "plenty of chugging and twangy Western-sounding riffs that are detailed and clear." Dialog is perfectly clear and effects such as gunfire are accurately positioned.

The vast majority of the best TVs use a dedicated OS, complete with access to the full gamut of video streaming apps. However, if you've found yourself struggling with your TV's native interface — be that due to its age, or because it's from a niche/no-frills TV brand and doesn't have the fastest processor — then a dedicated streaming device can often breathe new life into an old TV.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick range is a perfect example. They couldn’t be simpler to install — just plug one into an HDMI port on your TV — or use. They can speed up navigating through menus by using dedicated processors that often outperform the built-in chips found in cheaper TVs — they’re literally built for one task — while also adding more functionality.

I’ve broken down the benefits of using a dedicated streaming device compared to sticking with your TV’s own operating system.

• Faster navigation: Budget TV manufacturers often prioritise the display technology and tend to skimp on the processor to save on manufacturing costs. In these cases, a dedicated streaming stick with a more powerful chipset allows them to better handle both menu transitions and running apps.
• Longer lifespan - TV manufacturers eventually stop updating the built-in OS as your TV gets older, so a newer streaming device is a great way to bypass the OS altogether. The newest devices from Amazon and Apple also support Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, which both can deliver speeds of up to 9.6Gbps, whereas most TVs over 2 years old only support the slower Wi-Fi 5 (3.5Gbps) standard.
• Smart home integration - While some of the bigger TV brands have built-in smart home support, Amazon, Google and Apple’s dedicated streamers are all designed to serve as central hubs for their respective smart home ecosystems (Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomeKit). That means if you have other smart home devices, you can control them all from the comfort of your sofa.

Of course, Apple and Google's latest dedicated streamers cost around AU$400 and AU$160 respectively, so they're not exactly cheap – which is where Amazon's Fire TV Sticks come in as a better option, with RRPs starting as low as $79.

What’s more, this pre-Prime Day deal on Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Plus (the middle option of the family) sees it hitting an all-time low price, making that value proposition even more apparent — especially if you don’t need all the bells and whistles of the pricier Apple and Google offerings (and don’t mind a bit of integrated advertising).

Still not convinced? Here’s how the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus compares with the Apple TV 4K and the Google TV Streamer:

Long before today's wafer-thin OLED TVs became commonplace on our living room walls, televisions were big, bulky boxes built around cathode ray tubes, known as CRTs. They were heavy, deep and, for decades, they were everywhere.

But then back in the 2010s, manufacturers stopped making them, and now most people would consider CRT TVs to be an outdated technology — a stepping stone in the evolution of television before they were replaced with flatter, lighter and more capable displays took over.

But for a growing number of collectors, enthusiasts and retro gaming fans, these CRT TVs are far more than relics of the past. Browse Reddit, specialist forums or YouTube, and you’ll find people hunting for rare models, restoring decades-old sets, and swapping advice on how to keep their ageing televisions alive.

Some enthusiasts travel hundreds of miles to collect a particular screen. One of my favorite YouTube documentaries about CRT TVs tells the story of an enthusiast who obtained the biggest CRT TV ever made: the Sony PVM-4300, weighing a huge 200kg (440lb), shipped from Japan over to the US.

At a time when almost every piece of consumer technology is designed to become thinner, lighter and packed with smart features, CRT TVs have developed an unusually devoted following.

I think that raises an interesting question. If people still want CRT TVs, and if enthusiasm for them remains strong long after manufacturers stopped making them, why aren’t companies building new ones?

To find out, I spoke to display engineers, industry analysts and a former Sony CRT expert. What I discovered challenged my assumptions about why technologies disappear. The biggest obstacles aren’t a lack of demand or even the technology itself. They’re the factories, materials, regulations and supply chains that disappear around them.

But before we get there, it’s worth understanding what CRT TVs are and why people continue to love them decades after manufacturers stopped making them.

What are CRT TVs/monitors — and why do people still love them?

CRT stands for cathode ray tube. It’s a display technology that creates images by firing streams of electrons at a phosphor-coated screen. The phosphors gain energy from the electrons and generate light, creating the image.

Although the underlying tech dates back to the late 19th century, it’s safe to say that CRTs were the dominant display tech of the 20th century. For decades, if you owned a TV or a computer monitor, it almost certainly used cathode ray tube.

The popularity of CRT TVs peaked around the turn of the millennium. Global CRT PC monitor sales reached around 90 million units in 2000, and CRT TV sales peaked at around 130 million units in 2005.

Then, remarkably quickly, they disappeared. As LCD and other flat panel tech improved throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, most manufacturers began shifting production away from CRTs.

Which is why, within little more than a decade, the TV tech that had once dominated homes and offices for generations had vanished from retailers.

But just because you can’t buy new CRT TVs anymore doesn’t mean enthusiasm for them has completely disappeared.

Part of the appeal for enthusiasts and collectors is nostalgia. These are the same screens many people grew up with. They’re the televisions that sat in your living room, your bedroom, maybe even your classroom.

At a time when tech feels defined by algorithms, smart features, subscriptions and AI, it’s no surprise that some people are drawn to older devices that feel simpler and more tangible. It’s the same reason there’s been a continuous interest in the best record players and vinyl over the years — an interest that's grown over the last decade.

But nostalgia isn’t the whole story. Retro gaming enthusiasts argue that older games look better on CRT TVs because that’s how they were originally designed to be played. The way CRTs display images can soften pixel edges, blend colors together and create visual effects that developers wanted players to see, and actually designed their imagery around.

Others appreciate characteristics that are difficult to fully recreate on modern displays, including their motion handling, deep blacks and analogue look. While today’s OLED and LCD screens are sharper, brighter and more efficient, some enthusiasts argue that older games, films and video formats can feel more natural on the technology they were originally created for.

For some collectors, owning a CRT is as much about preserving an important piece of technological history as it is about using it.

There’s no single reason that people love CRT TVs. But whatever the motivation, communities dedicated to CRT restoration, repair and preservation continue to thrive.

So, if people still care enough to hunt down ageing CRTs, restore them and keep them running long after manufacturers stopped making them, why aren’t companies building new ones?

As someone with a reasonable understanding of modern display tech but very little knowledge of how CRTs were actually made, I became fascinated by that question. And it turns out the answer has surprisingly little to do with whether people still want CRT TVs and far more to do with how technologies actually disappear.

To build a CRT, we’d need to rebuild a whole industry

You might assume the story of why CRT TVs disappeared is fairly straightforward. Something like: flat screen TVs arrived, they were better than what came before them and consumers moved on. But the experts I interviewed painted a much more complicated picture.

I spoke to Hugues Orgitello, an engineer, electronics expert and founder and CEO of electronic design house Aes Techno, who told me that CRTs weren't necessarily replaced because they suddenly became inferior.

"It wasn’t just because flat screens looked better. Late CRTs were excellent," Orgitello says. "In fact, flat screens weren’t as good initially. They improved after new regulations."

That's a surprising thing to hear given how often technological progress is presented as a simple story of old being replaced by new.

So if better picture quality wasn't the whole story, what happened? To answer that, we need to look beyond the screen itself.

When I first began researching why manufacturers don’t start producing CRTs again, I naively imagined they might just need to secure some funding, dust off some old blueprints, and turn the lights back on at an old factory. But the reality is way more daunting.

"CRT production required massive specialized glass fabrication, vacuum tube assembly, phosphor coating, shadow mask or aperture grille alignment, electron gun manufacturing, high-voltage electronics, and precision calibration," explains Mark Vena, the CEO and Principal Analyst at SmartTech Research "Much of that supply chain has disappeared.”

Modern display manufacturing is built around very different technologies. So that means the factories, suppliers and expertise that once supported CRT production have largely all gone.

According to Orgitello, many of the specialist components required to build CRTs are no longer being made at all either. "Leaded CRT-grade glass isn't made anymore. The specialty plants closed or converted. Same for shadow masks, deflection yokes, and electron guns."

And for this reason, even repairs to existing CRT TVs can be difficult. "New deflection yokes are no longer produced; technicians have to salvage them from donor units,” Orgitello tells me. Deflection yokes are the coils that steer the CRT’s electron beam across the screen to create an image.

That means that if a company were to attempt to manufacture CRTs in 2026, they wouldn't simply be launching a new product. "You'd be rebuilding an entire industrial base," Orgitello says.

Considering the environmental regulations

One of the recurring themes that came up in my conversations with display experts was how technologies don’t just compete on performance. It’s just as much about cost, regulation, manufacturing and environmental impact. And that’s where CRT TVs run into serious trouble.

Even if someone managed to rebuild the factories, suppliers and specialist expertise needed to make them, another obstacle would be modern environmental regulations.

"Could it pass today's regulations? In the EU, almost certainly not," Orgitello explains. The problem comes down to the materials that made CRTs possible in the first place.

Those challenges extend far beyond Europe. Mark Vena describes CRTs as "a nightmare by modern product standards."

"They are heavy, fragile, power-hungry, high-voltage devices that often contain leaded glass and other materials that trigger regulatory, shipping, repair, and recycling challenges,” Vena says.

Few people understand display technology better than Gary Mandle. Now a consultant and owner of Outtahand Displays, he previously spent decades at Sony, where he worked as both an engineer and product manager during the CRT era.

"I would say there’s no chance of CRT returning,” he tells me “The reason is that the materials used in manufacturing are not very environmentally friendly. That's what killed CRT."

The materials list does read like a catalogue of substances that modern manufacturers generally try to avoid. "A CRT carries lead in the glass to inhibit X-ray emissions from exiting the glass envelope. The CRT gun uses cadmium, so it would also be a problem to manufacture, and the face uses phosphors, which were also very nasty,” Mandle tells me.

It's difficult to imagine any regulators enthusiastically welcoming the return of products built around materials like these.

But could engineers solve these problems?

Of course, engineering has overcome plenty of seemingly impossible challenges before. So what would happen if a company genuinely wanted to build a CRT TV today and had the time, money and resources to solve some of the biggest problems in making them?

"Could engineers solve this? Partly,” Orgitello tells me. He says that some elements would be relatively straightforward.

"The electronics around the tube are easy to modernize,” he says. But other parts would be much harder. "The know-how for glass and guns could be reconstructed at high cost."

But there are limitations here that have less to do with engineering and more to do with physics. "CRT depth grows with screen size (no flat 50-inch CRT is physically possible),” Orgitello says. And this is one of the reasons CRTs became so bulky. The larger the display, the deeper and heavier the tube needed to be.

Which means there were also safety concerns. "Very large screens require a thick glass face for safety since there is a vacuum inside the CRT. If the CRT were to implode, then the CRT gun could exit out the front of the face and hurt the viewer," Mandle explains.

Even if manufacturers were willing to tackle these challenges, Mandle says that the costs would be substantial. "The most difficult technical problem is building the CRT gun,” he tells me. “The most expensive part would be building the assembly line.”

"The TV industry is now built around flat panel scale economics,” Vena explains on this same point. Today's display supply chains support televisions, but they also support smartphones, laptops, tablets, cars, digital signage and all sorts of other products with a screen. And those enormous production volumes help drive costs down. Whereas CRTs would be operating in the opposite direction.

"CRTs would essentially be a boutique product with high tooling costs, low production volume, difficult shipping economics, and limited retail appeal," Vena says.

So while a surprisingly large audience of enthusiasts and collectors may be passionate about CRT TVs, passion doesn't necessarily translate into a viable manufacturing business. "That math is ugly, even if the enthusiast's passion is real,” Vena says.

The CRT experience isn’t dead

Despite all of this, CRT enthusiasts may not be entirely out of luck. Vena believes the future isn't likely to involve reopening CRT factories. Instead, it’ll be about recreating the experience using modern technology.

"The more realistic market opportunity is better CRT-like experiences through modern displays, FPGA gaming hardware, low-latency scalers, scanline filters, shader engines, and display modes optimized for retro content,” he tells me.

We're already seeing examples of this approach emerge, with specialist hardware, apps and display modes designed specifically to recreate the look and feel of CRT displays — even down to simulating the physics in some cases.

The collector market clearly demonstrates that demand for authenticity still exists. But, at least for now, the industry appears more interested in simulating CRTs than manufacturing them.

What CRT TVs teach us about technological progress

When I started researching this article, I assumed the story of CRT TVs was a fairly simple one. A new technology arrived, it was better than what came before it, people upgraded and the old technology disappeared. But after speaking to engineers and display experts, I realized the reality is far more interesting.

As Mandle explains, CRTs weren't immediately outclassed by the displays that followed them. "At the time, other technologies, such as LCD, were in their infancy, so CRT was always preferred since it didn't have color shifts when you viewed it at an angle, and of course, it had much better black performance,” he tells me.

Of course, modern displays have improved enormously since then. "LCD has improved by leaps and bounds since then. OLED is another technology that outperforms CRT. It has blacks even better than CRT, and no geometry issues since it's a matrix, not a raster. Then you have microLED on the horizon, which has even more improvements,” Mandle says.

So yes, in many ways, today's display technology is better. But that's only part of the story. What fascinated me most about CRT TVs is that they reveal something we often overlook when we talk about technological progress. Because we tend to focus on the products themselves and assume technologies live or die based on whether consumers want them.

But every technology actually sits on top of a much larger ecosystem of factories, materials, regulations, expertise, suppliers and investment. And sometimes that ecosystem starts to fall apart before interest in the technology does.

That's exactly what happened with CRTs. "Technologies don't usually die because consumers move on, they die because the inputs disappear," Orgitello tells me. "Specialty supply chains consolidate and shut down, regulators tilt toward the cleaner substitute, and capital and engineering talent flow elsewhere."

This felt like the real answer to my original question. Why don't we make CRT TVs anymore? Because enthusiasm can outlive an industry. The passion for CRT TVs remains, but the factories, materials, expertise and supply chains that sustained it do not.

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Welcome to the June 2026 edition of the Blu-ray Bounty. This is where we review the latest 4K Blu-ray releases each month, judging each disc on its video and audio quality, to see if they’ll make a worthy addition to your collection. If you’re new to Blu-ray Bounty, you can check out previous editions here.

We’re big fans of 4K Blu-ray here at TechRadar, and some of us are even collectors ourselves. As TechRadar’s TV tester, I use 4K Blu-ray to test the best TVs and the best soundbars, as it offers uncompressed video and audio for the best picture and sound you can get at home.

In last month’s May 2026 edition of the Blu-ray Bounty we looked at five discs, including the highly anticipated Fight Club, as well as Some Like It Hot, Wuthering Heights, Leaving Las Vegas and Point Blank.

This month, we’re looking at seven discs, including one that’s getting a lot of buzz as 'reference-level'. As always on the Blu-ray Bounty, we’re not talking about the movies themselves, just the disc's picture and audio quality.

We’ll be using our usual setup consisting of the LG G5, one of the best OLED TVs of 2025, the Panasonic DP-UB820, the best 4K Blu-ray player on the market, and the Samsung HW-Q990C soundbar system.

As I'm based in the UK, these releases are based on UK release dates, so don't be surprised if any of these titles are already out where you are, or if one of your picks isn't listed — it might just be coming to where you are later.

Speed Racer (Warner Bros.)

Speed Racer tells the story of Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), a young man who becomes a racecar driver, following in his older brother’s footsteps, in order to save his family's business. Based on the manga series of the same name, the movie also stars Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman.

Speed Racer looks astounding on 4K Blu-ray. Where it really shines is in its color reproduction. Colors are bold, vibrant and punchy throughout, taking on an almost neon-like level of saturation, which perfectly suits the movie. Whether it’s the pulsing lights of the racetrack or the 1960s-inspired clothing and decor of the neighborhood, the colors seriously pop on screen. On the LG G5 I used, there was a gorgeous depth and richness to said colors.

Black tones during night races are inky, textures are incredibly crisp, especially in people's skin and hair, and even the cartoon-ish CGI of the crowd and cars on the track is slick and sharp. The disc also really pushes the boundaries on motion, with the swerving cars and constantly changing camera angles serving as a showcase for your display’s motion handling.

Sound-wise, this is a seriously impressive disc. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is lively, engaging and ridiculously detailed. During the opening race, the bass of the Mach 5’s was powerful but tightly controlled, and the hum of passing engines through the wind was crystal clear through the HW-Q990C’s rear speakers.

There’s ample room in the Atmos mix too, giving every element a chance to breathe. The mapping of sound is impressive too. As Speed grinds his car on the edge of the track in the opening race, I heard the movement of this through the left rear channel clear as day, despite all the bass from the subwoofer, and the speech and other effects through the front channels.

EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert (Universal Pictures)

From Baz Luhrmann (director of the 2022 Elvis biopic) comes EPiC Elvis Presley In Concert, which features never-before-seen archival footage of Elvis’ early performances as part of his legendary Las Vegas residency, as well as archive interviews with Elivs telling his own story.

The disc has a DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack that sounds superb. While Elvis’ narration, made of clips from interviews, is clear, as is the audio of the behind-the-scenes studio sessions, it’s the live performances on stage that sound most impressive. The drums are punchy but beautifully intricate, giving the subwoofer a real workout. Elvis’ vocals are powerful, detailed, and delivered with real clarity. The bass is refined and clearly audible, and guitars are bright and clean. This is a perfectly balanced mix that sounds excellent, regardless of the track. Highlights include Polk Salad Annie and Burning Love.

While visuals aren’t the main feature of this disc, the restored footage looks brilliant. Textures are smooth and crisp, with close-up shots of Elvis’ face even picking out his stubble. Colors are bold and bright, perfectly capturing Elvis’ flashy on-stage costumes and his often colorful offstage outfits . There’s a nice punchy brightness to the picture as well, with highlights on bejeweled, sequin-encrusted costumes really glinting on screen. Naturally, there’s some film grain present from the cameras used at the time, but most shots have been cleanly restored.

Bullet In The Head (1991) (Arrow Video)

Bullet In The Head, directed by John Woo, follows Ben, Paul and Frank, three friends who flee Hong Kong after murdering a member of a rival gang. They become smugglers in Saigon, Vietnam, at the height of the Vietnam War in 1967. The movie stars Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee.

Visually, this is a solid restoration from Arrow. While the movie still has the grainy, sometimes hazy look you’d expect of early-90s Hong Kong Cinema, textures have been cleaned up well, especially in skin and faces, with more intricate detail such as hair looking refined. Colors can appear bold, whether it's the red of Ben’s T-shirt or the brightly colored buildings in Saigon. Black levels are deep during night-time scenes, and there's some nice contrast during scenes in the market, or when the trio are at the Bolero club in Saigon.

There are three soundtrack options with this disc: Cantonese Mono and Dolby Atmos, and English Mono. The Atmos soundtrack is a more spacious extension of the mono, but it does add more volume and depth to the audio. Speech is clearer in the Atmos mix, and other sounds, such as punches and crashes during fight scenes, have more impact. Gunshots in shootouts have good clarity, and while they don’t quite utilize the rear channels as well as other movies I’ve watched, there’s still some nice power on display. Bass from explosions is also tightly controlled.

Body Heat (Criterion Collection)

Starring William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, Body Heat follows lawyer Ned (Hurt) and Matty (Turner), the wife of a businessman named Edmund (Richard Crenna) as Ned and Matty begin an affair and plot to murder Edmund in order to get his fortune and run away together. The movie was inspired by the 1944 movie Double Indemnity (which I reviewed for the November 2024 Blu-ray Bounty).

Visually, this is another top-notch restoration job from Criterion. Textures look realistic, particularly in skin and in finer details such as hair. As the movie has such a sweltering setting, sweat features regularly and really shows off the level of detail present. Colors are punchy, with more intricate objects such as a red matchbook on Ned’s desk really popping. There are a number of night scenes showing rich black tones, as well as strong shadows cast by bright lights across the character's bodies and faces.

The disc comes with both DTS-HD Stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround soundtrack options. Opting for the 5.1 surround, speech is clear throughout the movie and there are some nice details present, such as the chirping of crickets, which come through the rear channels during some night sequences. The other main component of the soundtrack is the dramatic, string-led score which does a good job utilizing the full surround channels.

Avatar: Fire & Ash (20th Century Studios)

The third movie in the Avatar franchise, Avatar: Fire & Ash continues to follow Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) on Pandora, who must now face challenges from an aggressive, new Na’vi tribe. The movie also stars Sigourney Weaver, Steven Lang and Kate Winslet, with the former two appearing in all three of the current Avatar movies.

Avatar: Fire & Ash is visually impressive. The animation is slick, with crisp textures and detail such as the Na’vi’s braids and skin looking 3D-like. Colors are bold and vibrant, whether it’s the blue of the Na’vi themselves or the seas of Pandora and the rich reds of the warpaint of the Mangkwan. Environments are striking, with lush, green trees and fields, with textures in cliffs and rocks showing intricate detail. Night-time scenes show inky blacks and when fire is added to the mix, it shows the discs' strong contrast.

The Dolby Atmos mix included here is excellent for showing off a home theater system. Any sequences where creatures such as the Nightwraiths fly overhead delivers impressive height, with their flight paths accurately mapped. Gunshots have real weight to them, especially with automatic weapons, creating a real thud through both the soundbar and the subwoofer. Speech is clear throughout, even in the most chaotic battle scenes. During these battle scenes, whenever an arrow is fired, it’s extremely detailed, coming through the rear channels crystal clear. Like some other modern blockbusters I’ve tested, this is a great Atmos soundtrack.

Five Easy Pieces (Criterion Collection)

Five Easy Pieces tells the story of Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson), a piano prodigy turned oil rig worker who returns home to his rich, estranged family and attempts to reconnect upon hearing about his father’s ailing health. The movie also stars Karen Black as Rayette, Robert’s girlfriend.

Criterion delivers another great restoration here. Colors really pop on screen, shown in people’s brightly-colored clothing. A scene at the bowling alley near the opening of the movie shows this, with almost every patron’s clothing looking vivid. Textures, such as the grime on the oil rigger’s faces and frown lines in Robert’s forehead, look lifelike and detailed. There’s plenty of film grain present and it’s more pronounced in some scenes than others (namely outdoor, daytime scenes), so cinephiles will be happy.

For audio, there’s only a mono soundtrack present. This won’t be an audio showcase for your home theater system, but speech is clear and other effects, such as Robert slamming himself against his car-seat, have some impact. The best part of this audio mix is whenever someone plays the piano, namely the scene where Robert plays Chopin’s ‘Prelude, Op. 28, No.4’, as it sounds bright, clean and detailed. This is a well-restored audio mix.

36 Hours (AKA Terror Street) (Hammer)

36 Hours (released in the US as Terror Street) tells the story of Major Bill Rogers (Dan Duryea), a US pilot who is framed for the murder of his estranged wife Katherine (Elsie Albiin) while he tries to visit her in London. He then has 36 hours to solve her murder so he can return back to the States.

This is a great restoration from Hammer. Textures have been cleaned-up well, making people and their clothing look incredibly lifelike. Contrast is strong throughout, with deep blacks, punchy whites and a full range of gray tones to create a dynamic image. There is the occasional shot where textures can appear fuzzy, but it's rare and considering the age of the movie, it’s surprisingly good-looking throughout. There is grain present, which will please cinephiles, but again there’s been a surprisingly thorough clean-up job here.

There are two options for soundtracks here: mono and DTS-HD 5.1 MA. The mono mix is louder and more direct, but the 5.1 mix has a warmer, cleaner sound that fits the tone of the movie. Dialogue is controlled and clean in all parts of the movie and the melodramatic score is bright and bold, using the rear channels to great effect. Other effects such as gunshots and punches have some solid impact to them as well.

• A new 4K restoration of Hammer's Dracula is coming to theaters and Blu-ray in October 2026
• Uncensored and with new footage believed to have been lost forever
• Pieced together from 'the best original archival materials sourced from around the world'

Here's a tale to really sink your teeth into: Hammer Films has "painstakingly restored" (pun intended, I assume) the original 1958 Dracula, adding "long-lost" footage and delivering an uncensored cut in full 4K. It'll be coming to movie theaters and home entertainment in October 2026.

This isn't a remaster. It's a resurrection. It features footage that was believed to be lost for over six decades, and which was only ever seen by Japanese cinemagoers in the 1950s. The recovered material is "from the best original archival materials sourced from around the world" and has never been released in the US or UK, nor available for home viewing in either country.

Dracula was the second on-screen pairing of Peter Cushing, who plays Dr Van Helsing, and Christopher Lee, who plays… I'm just checking my notes here… Dracula.

Fangs for the memories

There have been many Dracula movies, but the 1958 one delivered the definitive Drac: as Hammer Films says, Lee's portrayal introduced "the bloodshot eyes, predatory fangs and visceral physicality that became the blueprint for modern vampire mythology and whose influence can still be seen across horror cinema today."

It's hard to overstate Dracula's influence. Everything you'd expect from a Dracula movie — the fangs, the heaving bosoms, the wooden stakes, the suggestion that some women might actually enjoy having their necks bitten by a charismatic count — features here, and the film has frequently been included in rankings of the best films and horror films of all time.

As director Terence Fisher explained to our friends at SFX Magazine, this was the movie that made vampires sexy. "My greatest contribution to the Dracula myth was to bring out the underlying sexual element in the story… At the moment he bites it is the culmination of a sexual experience."

As you can see from the still images above, the restored version looks absolutely spectacular. And the film itself is a masterpiece. As Empire wrote in its retrospective review, "It was garish, it was sexy and it was never afraid to be gory. And with its spectacular ending — in which The Count's flesh peels away and crumbles to dust when caught in the first rays of the morning sun — Dracula created one of the classic images of horror cinema."

According to the wonderfully named John Gore, CEO of Hammer Films and executive chairman of John Gore Studios, “Bringing Dracula back to audiences in 4K goes far beyond a piece of film restoration work. This is the recovery of a piece of British film history that audiences believed had been lost forever. Seeing Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing together again in such extraordinary detail is a reminder of just how powerful this film remains nearly seventy years after its original release.”

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• Hundreds of TV episodes and movies will be removed from PlayStation Store accounts on 1 September
• People had bought the movies and shows
• No apologies, let alone compensation, from Sony

One of the best things about Blu-ray discs is that you don't need to worry that Sony will sneak into your home in the middle of the night and take them away.

Unfortunately you can't say the same about digital purchases: Sony is scrubbing hundreds of movies and TV show episodes purchased on the PlayStation Store from people's collections with no compensation. Come September, they're gone.

The list of affected movies and shows is on the Sony website and includes the remastered Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Gomorrah, the Rambo movies and many more. The problem is the end of a licensing agreement between Sony and StudioCanal, a major producer and distributor of movies and shows.

As Sony explains, from September 1, 2026, "you will no longer be able to access your previously purchased content from StudioCanal, and it will be removed from your video library."

To add insult to injury, the notification ends with the PlayStation slogan: "Play has no limits".

As you can imagine, this has gone down very well with movie fans.

Why is Sony removing people's purchases?

Sony's arrangement with the film production company StudioCanal has ended, and that means Sony no longer has the rights to sell those TV shows and movies. The fact that people have bought them is irrelevant to Sony, because in the terms and conditions that absolutely nobody reads it says that you're buying a license to view a show or movie, not to own it.

Since the news broke, my social media has been full of people saying the same thing: Sony's move is a pretty great advert for digital piracy. And it's definitely upset a lot of movie fans, such as Quelonious on r/movies who vowed: "I will never buy streaming movies again", although that poster is sticking with Blu-ray rather than flying a pirate flag.

"If I were you I wouldn't make digital purchases for movies," Rewdyroo writes on the same subreddit, noting that "you aren't buying the movie. It functions more like a lease and if the license for the movie that whatever service you bought it from runs out your digital movie also goes away, no refund. I've had it happen on Amazon and will never purchase a digital movie again."

Mildmichigan spoke for many: "This should be illegal. If I buy something digitally, and the platform loses distribution rights or whatever then I should be grandfathered in."

We've discussed this before, because it's a key reason to keep buying Blu-rays: Blu-rays are yours forever. But it's an issue with all kinds of digital media, going back to the days of Microsoft's PlaysForSure digital music, which sold audio files that died when Microsoft shut down the servers. Whether it's a streaming catalog or GTA 6, if it's not on physical media you can't ever be sure that it's yours forever.

(Is now a good time to mentioned the Criterion's 4K Blu-rays are 50% off at the moment in the US?)

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Samsung's impressive line-up of 2026 TVs arrived early in the year, but as of yet, we've been waiting for big price cuts. Right now, however, the brand's 4th of July sale is offering exceptional deals of up to $500 off the latest Micro RGB, OLED, and Neo QLED displays.

That means it's a great time to consider picking up TVs like the flagship R85H, the S95H OLED, and even the latest 'The Frame'. Just below, you can check out six of today's best price cuts on the most recent Samsung TVs.

- Check out Samsung's summer sale in full

If Samsung's latest flagship TVs are a little beyond your budget, it's worth noting that Samsung's 4th of July sale also includes amazing clearance deals on slightly older models. I've included a range of these deals just below today's discounts on 2026 models.

Note, several of the older TVs have sold out pretty quickly in the past week, so I'd definitely recommend jumping on these deals if you're interested. Stock is disappearing quickly now, and it's very likely these are clearance deals.

2026 Samsung TVs on sale

Older Samsung TVs on sale

Huge Samsung 4th of July sale — quick links

• Appliances: 4th of July sales on ranges, refrigerators, washers
• Phones: $720 trade-in rebates on the Galaxy S26 series
• Tablets: $400 off Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra
• TVs: up to $1,700 off OLED and Neo QLED TVs

There's 50% off a ton of The Criterion Collection's 4K Blu-rays at Barnes & Noble, so I thought I would pick my six favorite discs, all of which I've tested as part of the Blu-ray Bounty. This is our monthly feature where I try the latest 4K releases, judging whether they make a worth addition to your collection.

Criterion is a regular feature in the Blu-ray Bounty because it's superb at 4K restorations. Double Indemnity is still one of my top examples of what 4K can do for a classic movie, while Breakfast Club and Chunking Express are much more colorful, bolder movies that show off Criterion's 4K prowess.

Dead Man is another black and white, contrast-rich move that looks staggering in 4K, and 3:10 To Yuma (1957) is another Western classic that shines in this image quality. Yi Yi is a quietly brilliant 4K restoration that has its moments where it will know you out, but looks great throughout.

My 6 picks from Criterion's 50% off sale

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity tells the story an insurance agent (Fred MacMurray) who conspires with the wife (Barbara Stanwyck) of a wealthy man to capitalize on his life insurance using a particular clause.

Double Indemnity is an excellent-looking 4K disc. The restoration is fantastic, and has not only given textures a 3D-like effect, but contrast looks superb as well. Black tones are inky, whites have a nice, punchy brightness to them, and there's a great range of gray tones to give the picture more depth. There's still film grain present for cinephiles, but new life has been breathed into this movie. If you have one of the best TVs, this contrast-rich disc will look superb.

Despite only having a monaural soundtrack, dialog is clear throughout and sound effects are accurately mapped to the action on screen. The score is delivered with real clarity too.

Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club is John Hughes' classic '80s coming-of-age story about five high school kids from different backgrounds serving a Saturday detention at the same time.

Where The Breakfast Club really thrives in 4K is in its color reproduction. Reds in particular pop on screen, shown in the reds of Bender's plaid shirt and the glossy Coca-Cola cans as the gang eats their lunch. Textures have been upscaled nicely, giving skin a realistic look but there's still film grain retained to keep the movie's iconic look.

The disc's DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack sounds great. While not an audio showcase, it delivers the smaller details with precision, such as the scratching of a pencil, the squeaking of Bender's leather boots or the incessant ticking clock in some scenes.

Dead Man

Dead Man tells the story of William Blake (Johnny Depp), a banker on the run who meets a Native American named Nobody (Gary Farmer) who believes he is the reincarnation of William Blake the poet.

Dead Man looks awesome in 4K. With some of the richest contrast I've seen on a 4K Blu-ray before. Presented in black and white, white tones are stunning and black tones are deep and bold. This is balanced with a big range of gray tones to give the picture real depth. Textures are crisp and and look incredibly lifelike, especially in the marks on people's faces. Those with one of the best OLED TVs will be rewarded here.

Equipped with a DTS-HD 2.0 MA soundtrack, speech is clear throughout and the chugging guitars of Neil Young's excellent soundtrack is refined, powerful and balanced. Other effects such as gunfire are clear too.

Chungking Express

Chungking Express follows the story of two different policemen in Hong Kong, both of whom fall in love. One falls for a mysterious woman, while the other falls for a server at a restaurant he regularly visits.

Chungking Express is a visually engaging movie that's given another dimension on 4K. While there's no HDR included, colors are still punchy and vibrant, whether it's the neon of the Hong Kong markets or Faye's bright yellow top. Textures have been upscaled here too, with details in the wrinkled shirt of the cop or in people's hair, it's a great-looking restoration.

Throughout the movie, the DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack does a great job of capturing the immersive feel of Hong Kong's busy streets. Clinking plates, raised conversations and horns of passing traffic are all accurately placed and well-balanced, allowing each element to come through loud and clear. Through a great surround system, this will sound totally immersive.

3:10 To Yuma (1954)

3:10 To Yuma tells the story of rancher Dan Evans (Van Heflin) who is tasked with guarding and escorting an outlaw named Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) until the train to the town where his trial takes place arrives.

3:10 To Yuma (1957) is another superb Criterion restoration of a classic movie. Contrast is strong, again with punchy white tones, rich black tones and a full range of grays in between. Textures look detailed and realistic, with the deep frown lines on Dan Evans' head or the stubble and sweat on various character's faces showing the brilliance of this 4K disc.

There are two soundtrack options but really it's the DTS-HD 5.1 MA mix that shines. There's deep, rumbling bass from the gallop of horses, precise placement of gunfire and clear speech throughout. The soundstage is wide enough that all these elements are given ample room, delivering an immersive sound overall.

Yi-Yi

Yi Yi follows the story of the Jian family, who are based in Taiwan, focusing on the perspectives of three family members in particular: N.J, the father; Ting-Ting, his teenage daughter and Yang-Yang, his young son.

Yi Yi is a detailed and sometimes visually striking 4K disc. Textures such as hair and skin look realistic and the disc does a great job of showing off the more intricate details in environments. Every so often, the disc then hits you with a reference-level scene, namely the wedding at the start. The bold, punchy of the reds really pop on screen, and yet still manage to look natural. There's still a good amount of film grain retained, too.

While there aren't many sound system-testing scenes, dialog is consistently clear and there is a good sense of space to the mix. One karaoke scene does a great job of utilizing every channel in a sound system, with the singer's voice from the center and the applause of audience from the reae speakers.

• Hisense launches a dedicated remote that connects to the kid-safe Vidaa Kids
• Kids can't access grown-up apps with the Safe Streaming remote
• Included across the 2026 Hisense TV range

If you're a parent, you probably don't want your kids to watch things on TV that aren't age-appropriate or safe for them to stream. But stopping that can be a pain. Hisense may have a better option: the first "Safe Streaming" remote control.

Hisense has teamed up with A Parent Media Co Inc, which owns the Kidoodle TV service, to deliver kid-friendly shows to its Vidaa TV operating system alongside the aforementioned remote. It'll be available across the entire 2026 TV range.

Rather than try to screen out dodgy stuff across your smart TV apps and channels, Hisense's solution removes them altogether. The kids can watch thousands of episodes on Vidaa Kids, and the remote is there to help them find their favorites such as Spongebob Squarepants, PAW Patrol: Pup Tales, Baby Shark and many more. There are over 50,000 episodes in total.

A walled garden that's safer for kids

Like many parents I was anti-screens… until I became a parent. Sometimes parking a toddler in front of PAW Patrol is exactly what you need so you can prepare a meal, put a laundry load on or just get a few minutes' break.

But my kids didn't have access to the streaming and live channels today's smart TVs have; there's no way I'd leave young kids in front of the TV without supervision or a lot of parental controls switched on.

What Hisense is offering here is an easier life for parents of young children: rather than having to block specific apps on your TV or PIN-protect profiles in multiple apps, you can simply give the kids the Safe Streaming remote and let them get on with it.

Because it's all in one app you don't need to spend any time configuring the apps the grown-ups use, and there's no possibility of the kids getting frustrated across multiple streaming services.

The new remote will be included across Hisense's 2026 MiniLED and RGB MiniLED range, including the E8S, U7S, U7S PRO, UR8S and UR9S series, launching this month — but only on sets with the Vidaa operating system, meaning in the UK and Europe, but not in the US.

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Amazon Prime Day is almost over, so don't miss out on the excellent deals on Fire TV devices — including the Fire TV Sticks, and also Amazon's own-brand TVs, which used to be called Fire TVs but are now called the Ember range. This Prime Day has been especially good for this stuff, because you can get the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD for just $17.99 (down from $34.99) or the top-tier Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $34.99 (down from $59.99).

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

The other impressive deal this year is the discount on Amazon's answer to Samsung's The Frame art TV — it's called the Ember Artline, comes with a stylish frame in the box (unlike Samsung's), and you don't need a subscription to access art to display on it.

Most importantly, the 65-inch version is now down to just $899 (from $1,099), while the 55-inch Ember Artline is down to $699 (from $899). Don't miss out and kick yourself later watching your artless TV…

In the UK? Scroll down for the best UK deals

Today's best Fire TV deals in the US

Today's best AirPods deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: up to 25% off SSDs & games
• Grand Theft Auto 6: pre-order now
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

If you've been thinking about upgrading your TV, then today might be a good time to do so. The official Samsung Store is hosting a massive summer sale this week, and it features some of the first real price cuts on the brand's 2026 lineup of TVs.

Highlights include the new 65-inch RH85H Micro RGB for $2,299 (was $2,799), the excellent value 75-inch QN80H Neo-QLED for $1,599 (was $2699), and the 65-inch S95H OLED for $2,999 (was $3,399). That latter pick is a particular highlight for us because it's the update to one of our favorite TVs of 2025.

- Check out Samsung's summer sale in full

If the newest, shiniest Samsung TVs are a little too pricey for your tastes, then we'd highly recommend a few of today's listings on older displays, too. Just below you can see a selection of both 2026 and slightly older models. Take note, however, the older stock is shifting quickly today, and it looks like these are clearance deals, more or less.

It's also worth saying that it's hard to say how much longer the Samsung summer sale will last. This week's deals are similar to those offered over at Amazon's massive Prime Day sale, but that's due to end tonight at Midnight. Fingers crossed these Samsung TV deals stick around for a few days longer!

2026 Samsung TVs on sale

Older Samsung TVs on sale

Huge Samsung sale — quick links

• Appliances: 4th of July sales on ranges, refrigerators, washers
• Phones: record-low price on the Galaxy S26 series
• Tablets: $400 off Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra
• TVs: up to $1,700 off OLED and Neo QLED TVs

Great news, 4K Blu-ray fans and physical media collectors — the huge Criterion Collection half-price sale is back again. This is the month-long sale, which will run until late July — but given how many tempting buys Criterion has, you're going to need that whole month to make your list and then whittle it down.

• View the full Criterion sale at Amazon
• View the full Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble

As usual for Criterion, Barnes & Noble is the main host of the sale, but Amazon has discs at half price too. The sale at Amazon is a lot more limited than at Barnes & Noble — several titles are half price, but some are most like 35% off when they're fully 50% off at B&N. And Amazon's range is more limited than B&N's. But I've included Amazon since many people are already buying things there for Amazon Prime Day (while it lasts — it ends tonight), so I thought maybe you just want to slip that disc you've been eyeing up into your basket…

• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Below, I've picked out 12 discs I think are especially tempting from the sale, but obviously there are no duds in the Criterion Closet, so you'll probably want to have a look through the whole sale using these links.

Criterion 4K Blu-ray sale — quick links

• View the full Criterion sale at Amazon
• View the full Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble

Criterion 4K Blu-ray sale: 12 titles I'd recommend

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
• Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

Prime Day is coming to a close — it ends at midnight tonight PT and BST — so if you're looking a deal on a new TV, you don't have long left. As TechRadar's TV expert, I've trawled through every TV deal I can find, and picked the best offers on TVs we've tested here at TechRadar, so I can vouch for their quality and value.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale US
• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale UK

In the US, my top deal is the 65-inch LG C5 for $1,099.99 (was $1,399.99) at Amazon US. This is the cheapest this model been over all of Prime Day, and a record-low price.

I you're looking for small-screen bargain, the 50-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED (2023) is down to a record-low $249.99 (was $469.99) at Amazon US. My other top Us pick is the TCL QM6K 75-inch for $747.99 (was $799.99) at Amazon US. This isn't a record-low price, but if you want a big screen for the World Cup, you can't go wrong with this one.

For the UK, my top pick is the LG B5 48-inch for £579 (was £799) at Amazon UK. It's been cheaper before, but this is still an awesome price.

Next is the TCL 65-inch Q6C for £529 (was £618.99) at Amazon UK, perfect for those who want an affordable, good, larger screen TV. And finally, the 42-inch LG C5 is down to £623 (was £849) at Amazon UK. An excellent smaller screen, this again isn't the cheapest it's been, but it's an incredible price.

Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals on some of the best TVs we've tested at TechRadar below.

Today's best TV deals in the US

Today's best TV deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

If you're looking for an affordable OLED, there's no better than the LG B5. Right now, the 48-inch is down to £579 (was £799) at Amazon UK. While it was £567 the other day, this is still an excellent price and the cheapest you'll find it anywhere today.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale US
• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale UK

If you're in the US, the deal's aren't as good, but you can still get the 48-inch B5 for $599.99 (was $649.99) at Best Buy. It's been down to $529.99 in the past, but this Amazon Prime Day is the first time its been back to that $599.99 price for a while.

I truly believe this may be one of the last chances you'll get to grab the B5 for this low a price. Looking at various retailers, I'm starting to see low-stock or no stock for the B5 in various sized models, with said retailers making way for the new LG B6, the B5's successor. This is the best value the B5 is likely ever to be. For my full thoughts on why I love the B5, check out below.

Today's best LG B5 deal

The best budget OLED

I've written about the LG B5 countless times, as to me it is the best value OLED you can get. I gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 in my LG B5 review because it covers all the bases like its more premium siblings, the C5 and G5, but at a more affordable level.

The B5 is one of the best gaming TVs you can get. Its four HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K 120Hz, FreeSync and G-Sync, HGiG, Dolby Vision gaming and ALLM, and it has a measured 9.1ms input lag time (in Boost mode). When playing Battlefield V, performance felt very smooth with excellent response times. As I tore around the map, dodging bullets and explosions, the B5 never struggled.

For movies, you're still getting the rich, OLED-level picture quality you could want. As I watched the broody, opening scenes of The Batman, the B5 demonstrated strong contrast with inky black tones that perfectly captured the tone of the movie.

Watching brighter, colorful scenes in movies like Wicked, colors really popped, showcasing some nice depth and vibrancy. As I watched the 'Wizard and I' scene, I was impressed both by the punchiness of the pink flowers of the tree and the true-to-life greens of the trees and Elphaba's skin. The B5 also showcases crisp textures, with it rendering every mark or features in close-ups of people's faces.

If you're a sports fan, the B5 also delivers sleek motion. Watching some soccer, I was impressed by how the B5 accurately followed the fast-paced action and delivered it with no signs of judder.

The B5 may not have the brightness of other OLEDs, but really that's its only picture downside. The B5 is a superb TV and at this price, their aren't many that can top it.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Prime Day is nearly over, ending midnight tonight, so today is your last chance to get Amazon's own TVs for a great price. There's no better model than the Ember Mini-LED and right now, you can get the 55-inch Ember Mini-LED for $499 (was $819.99) at Amazon US.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

In the UK, the same 55-inch Ember Mini-LED is £599 (was £849.99) at Amazon UK. While it is a very good TV, Amazon Prime Day is the only time to buy this TV. Any other time, it's overpriced and faces tough competition from other budget mini-LEDs form TCL and Hisense. But, during Prime Day, this TV is great value.

I've got my full thoughts on this TV below, but really, its strength is in how good for sports it is out-of-the-box. So, if you're still on the hunt for a TV for the World Cup (with over three weeks of the tournament still to go), this could the TV for you.

Today's best Amazon Ember Mini-LED TV deals

A World Cup companion

I've tested the majority of Amazon's own TVs, and the Ember Mini-LED (formally known as Fire TV Omni Mini-LED) is easily the best in the lineup. I awarded it four stars in my review, but one its highlights was not what I expected.

When I test sport on TVs, I often find I have to do lot of motion settings tweaks, unless its one of the very best TVs (and even then there's still some work to be done). So I was surprised, and impressed, by just how accurate the Ember Mini-LED's motion was out-of-the-box.

I often avoid the Sports picture mode on a TV as its motion can be heavy-handed and the picture can look artificial, with over-sharp textures and too-bright colors, but the Ember Mini-LED's mode was ready to go and as I watched a soccer game on Prime Video, the action looked smooth with no signs of artifacts and the picture was solid throughout. A pleasant surprise for a mid-range mini-LED.

For other content, the Ember Mini-LED produces natural, but punchy colors that looked great in movies like La La Land. For darker movies, its contrast was solid and while black tones weren't perfect, they were decent enough. Textures on the other hand were very good, balancing a lifelike and crisp look.

The Ember Mini-LED has a suite of features that competes with the best gaming TVs. It supports 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, Dolby Vision gaming and ALLM. It has a measured 13.4ms input lag time and while playing Battlefield V, I found snapping between targets and moving around to be smooth with pretty quick response times.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

• The Sopranos: The Complete Series is a limited edition 4K Blu-ray release
• 86 episodes over 28 discs including 2 bonus Blu-rays
• December 2026 (US), $149.99

One of the greatest TV dramas of all time is coming to 4K Blu-ray. The Sopranos: The Complete Series box set is available for pre-order in the US and Canada, and will be released at the end of 2026.

This far from the first Sopranos box set: in addition to the DVD box set I've got on the shelf, there was a Blu-ray box in 2014, plus a 25th anniversary Blu-ray box set in 2024, which included The Many Saints of Newark as well. So this is the first time it's all available in 4K.

This edition delivers a brand new and currently untitled featurette with Sopranos creator and writer David Chase. That featurette is on one of the two bonus discs that also include hours of extra material including a two-part documentary, seven behind-the-scenes featurettes, and all of the bonus content previously released on The Sopranos: Complete Series Blu-ray release. And it's all delivered in hardcover lay-flat book packaging.

For fans of the show, this looks like the ultimate release: the best-looking, most pristine way to see one of the most influential TV shows ever.

Why The Sopranos in 4K is a must-have mafia drama

The Sopranos tells the story of depressed mob boss Tony Soprano, who's going to therapy in secret because he knows that if word gets out about his "weakness", he's a dead man walking. It's as much about family as it is about mafia families, and it features stellar performances throughout.

During its run the show amassed multiple well-deserved awards including 111 Primetime Emmy nominations and 21 wins, 5 Golden Globe awards, and Emmys for cast members James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Drea de Matteo, and Joe Pantoliano.

I'm not being hyperbolic when I tell you that The Sopranos began a golden age of TV drama. Without The Sopranos, there would be no Breaking Bad, Mad Men or any of the other premium shows we love so much.

It was pivotal in shifting the view that TV was inferior to cinema, and that our relatable protagonists couldn't be awful people. And it was really, really, really good: the writing, the performances and the cinematography were all superb.

While much of the praise for The Sopranos centers on the cast, and rightly so, the work of cinematographer Alik Sakharov was crucial too. The cinematography was groundbreaking in how it contributed to the story, and there's a fascinating article about it on No Film School. And if that's the kind of thing you find interesting, then this new 4K box set was made for you.

The Sopranos 4K Blu-ray box set has a release date of 8 December 2026 in the US and a recommended price of $149.99.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

Been on the lookout over Prime Day for some 4K Blu-ray deals? I've been searching through them and have picked offers on discs I've tested as part of our Blu-ray Bounty feature, so I know these discs are worth your time.

• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Amazon Prime Day can be a great time for 4K Blu-ray sales and this time is no different. Some highlight discs I've found include Sinners, which is both a picture and audio showcase, especially for Dolby Atmos. There's also Se7en, a fantastic-looking movie with plenty of richly detailed scenes that show off 4K's clarity, which look great on the best OLED TVs.

Sunset Boulevard looks excellent on 4K and shows what new life it can bring to older movies. My final highlight here is F1. If you're looking for a disc to show off your sound system, be that one of the best soundbars or a full surround setup, this is an awesome disc.

Prime Day deals for 6 4K Blu-rays I've tested - US

Prime Day deals for 6 4K Blu-rays I've tested - UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
• Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Fans: from £20
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

It's Amazon Prime Day (well, week), and it's great news for physical media fans: there are tons of great deals on 4K Blu-rays, regular Blu-rays and DVDs. It includes big box sets and individual movies — there's way more there than I could hope to summarize here.

• Amazon US: See all 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Prime Day deals
• Amazon UK: See all 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Prime Day deals

So on this page, I've specifically picked out movies that I know to be excellent home theater showcases, either through spectacular visuals, super-immersive soundtracks, or both.

And I've limited the price to options under $15 in the US, and £17 in the UK, since that seems to be the sweet spot right now, though there are some excellent movies cheaper than that. You'll find the US options just below, or click here to jump to the UK options.

Options include modern showpieces such as Sinners, beautifully restored classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, and not reference-quality discs including Blade Runner 2049.

If you want more Prime Day options beyond movies, you can look at our on-going Prime Day live blogs, constantly updated with new deals and price changes — here's our US Prime Day live round-up, and here's our UK Prime Day UK live round-up.

• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Amazon's 4K Blu-ray sale — see all options

• Amazon US: See all 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Prime Day deals
• Amazon UK: See all 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Prime Day deals

US 4K Blu-ray deals

UK 4K Blu-ray deals

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
• Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Fans: from £20
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

If you're still deciding on a big screen TV for the World Cup, I've been searching through the Amazon Prime Day TV deals and have found a few solid 75-inch offers.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

In the US, if you're looking for a budget big screen, the best bet is the TCL QM6K 75-inch for $747.99 (was $799.99) at Amazon US. Not an earth-shattering discount, but it all helps. I'd also highlight the Samsung QN90F 75-inch for $1,499.99 (was $1,999.99) at Best Buy. This is our pick for the best TV for sports for a reason, and this is a great price for a 75-inch at this level. Finally, for OLED fans, your best choice is the LG B5 77-inch for $1,399.99 (was $1799.99) at Best Buy. Not its lowest price, but great value nonetheless.

In the UK, the TCL Q6C 75-inch is £699 (was £1,099) at JoyBuy, for those looking for a good budget option. Taking advantage of Prime Day, the Amazon Ember Mini-LED 75-inch is down to £999 (was £1,999) at Amazon UK. This proved to be a good TV for sports when I tested it, and this is the best time to buy. Finally, for OLED, the Samsung S85F 77-inch is available for £1,199 (was £1,999) at JoyBuy. That's an excellent price for an OLED of that size.

Today's best 75-inch TV deals in the US

Today's best 75-inch TV deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

It's 'Global Beatles Day' today, June 25th, which is the perfect excuse to go on a magical mystery tour of the Fab Four's finest output. Consider it a gift from me to you: I've collected essential vinyl albums, great turntables to play them on, fun accessories, the ultimate version of their best movie, and some other great gifts from across the universe (well, Amazon).

There's obviously the option of getting the whole Beatles Anthology vinyl collection, but that's a lot of money to spend — though I want to tell you that it's also excellent value overall. There are also smaller collections, so you can pick up the LPs that look especially great when displayed, such as Abbey Road, Revolver and The White Album.

I've got a feeling you'll also love the special Criterion Collection Blu-ray of A Hard Day's Night, because it's easily the best way to watch the film, with a beautiful visual presentation and hours of features and documentaries from the era.

I've also highlighted a Sony turntable that's basically the best beginner option on the market right now if you're just getting into vinyl, plus some Beatles playing cards and a couple of other cool desktop gifts. Don't wait on these — because tomorrow never knows if they'll still be available.

UK Beatles picks

US Beatles picks

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Back-to-school tech: 48% off laptops, headphones & tablets
• Cheap TVs: Samsung, Sony & LG from $89.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Smartwatches: up to $250 off Garmin & Apple
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Fans: from £20
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

• 'The Closet' is a faithful recreation of the famous Criterion Closet
• Browse in full 3D (the correct option) or in list view (boo)
• Connects to the Criterion Channel for easy streaming

If you've always wanted to browse the Criterion Closet but haven't been able to because (a) it's in New York and (b) you're not a famous actor, then Redditor olievans has just the thing for you: the entire Criterion Closet in virtual 3D form, explorable right in your web browser.

You can can take a look at The Closet right in that link. It features 1,327 Criterion editions, all shelved in the order of their spine numbers, and you can pull each disc box out from the shelf to inspect the design more closely. You can also filter the collection by decade, director, country, language and more — the physical version can't do that.

If you're not familiar with the Criterion Closet, it's a library of the special-edition disc sets released the film distributor Criterion, which been releasing much-coveted discs with beautiful art, great extra features, and often unique high-quality restorations since the age of Laserdisc.

Since 2010, the real Closet has been a place where directors, actors and other well-known faces — from Martin Scorcese to Charli XCX — are filmed picking their must-see movies from the range.

Why it's fun to be in the Closet

The Closet is available in two flavors: a full 3D reproduction of the iconic closet, and in list form. The list is more functional but a lot less fun because you don't get the surprise of finding This Is Spinal Tap immediately next to The Seventh Seal.

The website is a really fun way to browse one of the world's best movie collections, and while there are a few issues — it's not really obvious how to get your mouse cursor back, so on my Mac I had to press Esc twice to return to the home page and escape the closet — it's beautifully done and the closest thing you'll get to the real thing without first getting some IMDb credits under your belt.

What I really like about this is the discovery element. The Criterion Collection is very wide-ranging, and that means you never know what's going to be next on the shelf: Paris, Texas (number 501) is followed by the Australian thriller Revanche (502) and the historical German romance Lola Montès (503).

That makes it feel very much like the Blu-Ray equivalent of crate digging for exotic vinyl records: the Criterion Closet is full of surprises.

A note from the Editor

Hello! Matt Bolton, Managing Editor for TechRadar's home theater coverage here. As a Blu-ray collector, I've decided to take the opportunity I'll never have in real life and give you my Criterion picks — as in, these are ones I actually own. I'm not going to give you a whole spiel about each one, don't worry — but I'll highlight why

• Anora — a chunky collector's edition, and the best way get a 4K version
• Blow Out — essential for the DTS-HD Master sound, and the 4K restoration
• I Know Where I'm Going — the first 4K restoration of a B&W cinematography classic
• In The Mood For Love — one of my favorite movies, in the highest quality
• Lost Highway — the only way to get it in 4K Dolby Vision with a new DTS-HD sound restoration
• Moonage Daydream — the only way to get this in both Dolby Atmos and uncompressed sound, shockingly
• The Power of the Dog — the only way to get it in the higher bit rate of Blu-ray
• The Red Shoes — one of the most incredible-looking movies of all time, in its best-ever restoration
• Thief — the best-looking version of Michael Mann's grittiest movie

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

Prime Day has arrived, running from June 23-26, and while LG’s 2026 OLEDs are now available, and there may be some offers around on those, there’s no better time to check out its 2025 lineup. All three of the mainstream 2025 models — the LG G5, LG C5 and LG B5 — featured among the best TVs of 2025, and now that their successors have arrived it’s only a matter of time before these TVs disappear. And with GTA 6 pre-orders live at midnight on June 25, there's no better time for an upgrade.

When it comes to picking which 2025 LG OLED is right for you, the first thing you’ll want to consider is your budget. With these TVs nearing the end of their lifespan, and Prime Day bringing around some excellent offers, this is your best chance to get a step-up model for less. LG’s OLEDs are among the best OLED TVs on the market, and while they’re good value at launch, events like Prime Day are where they shine.

You can read my thoughts below but for me, the highlight deal is the LG C5. The 65-inch C5 is available for $1,199 (was $1,399) at Amazon US, while the 55-inch is available for a record-low £899 (was £1,099) at Amazon UK. There's also the 42-inch C5 for £599 (was £849) at Amazon UK, the perfect bedroom-sized TV.

But, which LG OLED is the best option? While the C5 has the best deal, the B5 or G5 may be what you're looking for. I’ve tested and used all three models throughout the past year, as they serve as our reference screens for 4K Blu-ray testing as part of the Blu-ray Bounty, and as a benchmark for comparisons. Here are my thoughts on each TV below.

LG G5

LG’s 2025 flagship is the LG G5. The most feature-packed model of the lineup, the G5 covers all the bases, delivering on all fronts with some of the best gaming features on the market — 4K 165Hz, full VRR support, HGiG, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming — with the performance to match. With the Alpha 11 Gen 2 AI Processor, general performance is smooth, with excellent response times that mean scrolling through menus is never a chore.

The G5’s picture quality is superb. It delivers rich, accurate colors regardless of what’s on screen. Whether it’s the staggeringly bright and vivid Wicked, or the more natural colors of The Wild Robot, its color reproduction is truly excellent. As an OLED, it delivers powerful contrast with deep, inky blacks and punchy highlights thanks to its new-found brightness, clocking in at 2,268 nits peak HDR brightness in Filmmaker Mode. It’s much brighter than the C5 and B5, so those who watch TV in bright rooms may want to take note. Textures are crisp and after turning on TruMotion, motion is smooth for sports and fast paced movies. This is easily one of the best-looking TVs you can get.

The G5’s built-in audio is solid, and while it still won’t beat a soundbar, it’s got the best built-in sound of the three LG OLEDs. As it is the flagship model, it comes at a price and while there are some good deals around, it's the priciest of the three.

LG C5

The LG C5 serves as the mid-range model in the 2025 lineup, and strikes a nice middle ground between the flagship G5 and the budget B5. It houses the Alpha 9 Gen 8 AI processor, which delivers smooth performance and has plenty of settings options and picture tools should you want to adjust them, although I found it’s pretty accurate out of the box.

Gamers are well covered here, with 4K 144Hz, full VRR, HGiG, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming all supported. The C5 delivers razor-sharp performance, and sessions playing Battlefield V were not only smooth, but a ton of fun. Arguably just as good performance-wise as the G5, the C5 still holds the title for best gaming TV.

The C5’s picture quality is excellent. It delivers the deep, accurate black tones you want from an OLED, and with a new peak brightness (it hit a measured 1,180 nits HDR peak brightness in Filmmaker Mode) it delivers punchy highlights to create strong contrast that’s great for movies like The Batman. It also delivers dynamic, vibrant colors that pop on screen, making movies such as The Sound of Music look excellent, and textures are crisp and detail is refined with whatever’s on screen. It doesn’t have the brightness of the step-up G5, but it’s brighter than the B5, again hitting a nice midway point between the two, though it does have a somewhat reflective screen, as you’d expect from a glossy OLED.

While the C5’s built-in speakers are decent enough, it does benefit from a soundbar. Really though, this is the C5’s only downside. It ticks enough of the same boxes as the G5 to please OLED fans, and at a fraction of the price.

LG B5

The LG B5 is the most entry-level OLED in LG’s 2025 lineup, and while it may not have all the premium features and performance of the step-up G5 and C5, it still offers everything an OLED should, and is stacked with features.

In terms of picture quality, the B5 still delivers. It has the strong contrast you would want from an OLED, with deep blacks and solid highlights creating a dynamic range that looks fantastic for high-contrast movies like Alien: Romulus and Dark City. Its colors, while not as bold as its step-up siblings, are still rich and deep, meaning colorful movies like Wicked have plenty of pop on screen. Its motion is also excellent, making it a great TV for fast-paced action and sports. The B5 isn’t the brightest (clocking in at 668 nits peak HDR in Filmmaker), so people with bright rooms may want to take note, but really this is the B5’s only picture-related flaw.

The B5 also makes for an excellent gaming display. It doesn’t support higher refresh rates for PC gaming (144Hz, 165Hz and so on) but it does support 4K 120Hz across four HDMI 2.1 ports. There’s also full VRR support, and Dolby Vision gaming, HGiG and ALLM all feature. It has the same super-low 9.2ms input lag time as the more premium LG OLEDs, with performance feeling razor-sharp even when I was playing intense battle sequences in Battlefield V.

The B5’s main advantage, though, is giving access to OLED for a very affordable price. While it didn’t launch for much cheaper than the C5, the B5 has dropped to some seriously low prices, making it excellent value overall.

And the winner is…

All three of LG’s 2025 OLEDs are great in their own way, and while it does come down to budget, my top pick of these three is the LG C5. It hits the sweet spot between the G5 and B5 in terms of picture quality, features and performance, and will tick the boxes for most people. The G5 may be brighter with bolder picture quality, but comes at a higher cost, while the B5 is on the dimmer side, so the C5 naturally slots itself in the middle.

In terms of Prime Day deals, the C5 also has the best offers, dropping to the most competitive prices of the three. While there are some great deals on the other two models to be had, the C5 is the star of Prime Day. If you’re torn between LG’s 2026 and 2025 TVs for Prime Day, I’d recommend the 2025 models all day, because you can get them for a seriously good price.

If you're looking for the ultimate gaming TV, you can't do much better than the LG C5. Right now, the 42-inch model is available for £599 (was £849) at Amazon UK. This is the first time the 42-inch has dropped below £600.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Of all the Amazon Prime Day TV deals, the C5 is easily the star. The 42-inch isn't the only size on offer, either. The 48-inch is down to a record-low £699 (was £999) at Amazon UK, and the 55-inch is down to £899 (was £1,099), also at Amazon UK, the cheapest it's ever been.

To get these deals, you obviously need to be a Prime member, which you can sign up for a free 30-day trial here. Check out why I think the LG C5 is the ultimate all-around TV, and perfect for GTA 6, below.

Today's best LG C5 42-inch deal

Simply the best

This isn't the first time I've written about the LG C5 this Prime Day, and for good reason. It's not only one of the best TVs available, it's also the best deal of the event so far. Anytime this five-star OLED gets a discount, it's worth writing about.

With GTA 6 pre-orders going live at midnight on June 25, you could be looking to upgrade your TV, and the C5 is the perfect candidate. It has a full range of features for gaming, including 4K 144Hz, full VRR with FreeSync, G-Sync, and HGiG included, ALLM, and Dolby Vision gaming (if you own an Xbox).

It also boasts an ultra-low measured 9.2ms input lag time, that mean gaming feels smooth and responsive. I can attest to this, as Battlefield V's often intense battles and vehicle sequences were expertly handled, meaning gaming was a lot of fun. This is one of the best gaming TVs around.

But what about its picture quality? Again, it's superb. When I watched movies such as Elemental and Wicked, colors dazzled on screen, showing a real vibrancy but also, importantly, good accuracy. Its black levels and contrast, as you'd expect for an OLED, are excellent. I was blown away by its rendering of challenging dark scenes from movies like The Batman and Alien: Romulus.

It also showcases crisp, lifelike textures and detail with whatever it displays, solid upscaling of lower resolution sources (maybe if you want to play some retro games), and delivers excellent motion handling.

For GTA 6, I expect the neon-soaked streets of Vice City will look stunning on the C5, and I reckon when you're trying to shake that five-star wanted level with some chaotic driving, the C5 is more than up to the challenge.

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders are live, and now we’re finally within touching distance of the release of 2026’s most anticipated game — if not, one of the most anticipated games of all time.

Of course, to play the game you’ll need a modern console, and one of the best TVs or best monitors can’t hurt either. But there’s one more thing I think you need to enjoy the experience at its very best: a strong audio setup.

That’s right, most TVs have pretty shoddy built-in speakers, and even if they support immersive formats like Dolby Atmos, typically struggle to whip up expansive, punchy, and clean sound. As a result, I’d strongly suggest investing in a soundbar, which will help you truly immerse yourself in the world of GTA 6, and enjoy movies and series like never before.

So, I’ve curated a list of five soundbars I’d recommend grabbing right now, with everything from affordable all-in-one options through to spectacular surround sound systems — there really is something for all kinds of budgets and living spaces here. Ready to discover my top picks?

1. Sonos Beam Gen 2

It may be almost half a decade old, but the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is still one of the best compact soundbars I’ve ever tested. I found that it delivers the kind of hard-hitting bass you’d expect from a larger, pricier soundbar, it’s easy to customize in the Sonos companion app, and it even conjures up a pretty wide soundstage, in part thanks to its Dolby Atmos support.

On top of this, I love how the Beam Gen 2 is incredibly easy to set up. Just connect it to your display’s HDMI eARC port, plug it into the power, and you’re good to go. Its small size also makes slotting it into your setup super seamless, and its modern look helps it to stand out as a stylish centerpiece in any living room or bedroom.

When you’re done with a GTA 6 play session, this soundbar can also double up as a neat companion for music too. It has Wi-Fi streaming, enabling you to stream your favorite tunes with high quality playback, and there’s even AirPlay 2 support for iOS devices. If you have other Sonos products, you can also link the Beam 2 with them and enjoy the beauty of multi-room audio, meaning this model really is a great all-rounder.

2. Marshall Heston 60

For me, the hottest competition the Sonos Beam Gen 2 has in the small soundbar category, is the Marshall Heston 60. This 2025-issued model really wowed me when I got my hands on it, and for two key reasons: its spacious sound, and its luxurious looks.

Let’s start with how this thing performs. Despite its limited 28.7-inch / 730mm width, it creates a surprisingly convincing sense of width, and whether I was playing video games or spinning some 4K UHD Blu-rays, I found it delivered delicious depth and excellent tracking of any on-screen action. With Atmos content, it really felt as if I could hear some elements playing in the corners of our TV testing space, which is something that a lot of mini models fail to do.

It also gets the basics spot on, with clear dialogue, controlled yet relatively powerful low-end sound, and impressive musicality. Although I have to say, this soundbar arguably looks even better than it sounds. Its amp-inspired aesthetic, golden details, striking frets, and classy control panel really make it stand out. As a result, you won’t only get a soundbar that’s great for engrossing audio in GTA 6, but you’ll get a product that you’re proud to put at the front and center of your living space.

3. Samsung HW-Q800F

Right, let’s take things up a gear, should we? If you want truly absorbing bass as well as expansive sound from a main soundbar, then the Samsung HW-Q800F has got you covered.

I tested this 5.1.2 channel model at the end of last year, and awarded it a rare five star rating, praising its deep, almost room-swallowing bass, its exceptional dialogue clarity, and its convincing Dolby Atmos effects. This bar can even muster up an impressive sense of height, providing an almost tangible feel to sound effects in video games as well as movies.

The Q800F brought a new sub into play which is a lot more compact, but still hits hard, meaning it's easy to fit into your living space without requiring a sacrifice in terms of quality. It’s also rammed with countless features, such as an effective calibration tool, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, a range of sound modes (including a Gaming setting), and Q-Symphony, which adds audio from compatible Samsung TVs into your system.

4. Samsung HW-Q990F

OK, now we’re getting into the really spacious-sounding stuff, and where better to start than with the Samsung HW-Q990F, the step-up options from the aforementioned Q800F.

Although the newer Samsung HW-Q990H is available in 2026, I’d still suggest getting the Q990F right now, as it offers a very similar level of quality at a typically smaller cost. It comes with a soundbar, sub, and two surround speakers, giving you true surround sound for the most enveloping experience imaginable. And when I heard the Q990F for myself, I was really struck by how well all of these speakers work in harmony — with games and movies alike, I found that audio sounded incredibly cohesive and well-balanced.

More generally, the Q990F delivers awesome all-round sound, with seriously weighty yet regimented bass, ultra-clean mids, and expressive highs. It also serves up impressive dynamics, a nuanced soundstage for gaming, movies and music alike, and fantastic features within Samsung’s SmartThings app. Another highlight is its two HDMI 2.1 inputs, which you can connect a games console like the PS5 Pro to for 4K 120Hz gameplay — ideal if you’re running out of slots on your TV or monitor.

5. JBL Bar 1300MK2

Last but not least, we have the magnificent JBL Bar 1300MK2 (or JBL Bar 1300XMK2 in the US), which is one of the most mind-blowing surround sound systems I’ve ever had the joy of testing here at TechRadar.

The most attention-grabbing thing about the Bar 1300MK 2 is its immense power. It has a maximum power output of almost 2,500W across its 29 drivers, which — as I said in my review — is ludicrously high. This means that you can access room-shaking volumes, and if you’ve got a large living space, you’ll be able to feel the might of its sound in every inch of the room.

But the 1300MK2 doesn’t just have power for the sake of power, it really does sound mesmerizing. The highlight is the low-end, which I found to be seismic and full-sounding, while still remaining controlled and never getting in the way of sounds elsewhere in the frequency range. Dolby Atmos is also spectacularly strong on the 1300MK2 with almost mind-boggling width on offer and solid height effects, making you feel at the center of the action when gaming or watching videos.

The flexibility of the 1300MK2 is another one of its highlights. It comes with battery powered surround speakers, which you can easily place wherever you want without having to mess around with wires — something a lot of rivals force you to do. And these can even be used as standalone Bluetooth speakers if you’re on the go, or be used standalone for night mode — ideal for a 2am gaming sesh.

If you're looking for a new TV for GTA 6, which has its pre-orders going live at midnight tonight (June 25), then listen up.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

I've been scouring through the Amazon Prime Day deals on offer to see if there are any on the best gaming TVs available. Thankfully, there are.

In the US, my number one deal is the LG C5 65-inch for $1,199 at Amazon US. A record-low price for the best gaming TV around. Next is the 65-inch TCL QM7K for a record-low $749.99 (was $799.99) at Amazon US, an affordable, feature-packed mini-LED with good gaming chops. And finally, the LG B5 48-inch is available for $599.99 at Best Buy. Not a record-low, but an ideal-sized display for smaller rooms and bedroom gaming.

If you're in the UK, the top deal is the LG C5 55-inch for £899 (was £1,099) at Amazon UK, a ridiculous record-low price for the ultimate gaming OLED. Next up, for a cheaper option, the TCL Q6C 65-inch is £527 (was £618.99) at Amazon UK. Finally, the 48-inch LG B5 is down to £549 (was £799) at Amazon UK, the lowest ever price for this TV perfect for smaller rooms.

Today's best gaming TVs deals in the US

Today's best gaming TV deals in the UK

If you want more information about the GTA VI launch announcement, you can check out the stories and our TikTok below with all the latest news from Rockstar about this hotly anticipated release.

• GTA VI pre-orders live coverage
• The GTA 6 editions aren't what we expected — here's what's included in the Standard and Ultimate
• I made a big error when buying Red Dead Redemption 2 — here's how to avoid the same trap with GTA 6
• We finally know the official GTA 6 price ahead of pre-orders — it's expensive, but not as bad as some expected
• GTA 6 fans say locking content behind the Ultimate Edition is 'scummy', but it looks like an upgrade will be available post-launch

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

In case you hadn’t heard, GTA6 pre-orders are live tonight (June 25) at midnight. Due for general release on November 19, it’s been 13 years (!) since GTA 5 first launched two console generations ago. While you’re pre-ordering your copy, now might be the time to upgrade your TV to experience Vice City looking its best.

I test TVs for a living, and that includes the best gaming TVs. For GTA 6, you’re going to want excellent picture quality with vibrant colors, excellent motion handling for the fast-paced action, and a suite of gaming features to cover the bases. Below, I’ve picked five of the top gaming TVs to suit all budgets that will be perfect for tearing through Vice City.

You may notice that all of these TVs are from last year. While we’ve been testing the best TVs this year and a lot of them are great, last year’s TVs will be a much better value and still more than capable of doing justice to GTA 6. That’s why, for me, they’re the better option right now.

LG C5

The best place to start is with the top recommendation. Sitting at the top of our best gaming TV guide, as well as our best OLED TV guide, is the LG C5, a five-star OLED that can literally do it all. It has a full suite of features and superb picture quality that will be perfect for GTA 6.

The C5 delivers rich, bold colors with whatever it’s given, and this is going to be important for the neon-soaked streets of Vice City in GTA 6. Watching colorful movies like Elemental on the C5, colors really pop on screen, with oranges, reds, and blues all shimmering. It also delivers rich contrast with deep black tones, important again for that nightlife vibe in Vice City. With excellent motion handling, car chases will be a breeze for the C5.

Packed with a full suite of gaming features, the C5 is a top-notch gaming TV. Four HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K 144Hz, full VRR, HGiG, ALLM, and Dolby Vision gaming, and with a 9.2ms input lag time, expect super-responsive gameplay as you’re fleeing from the cops in GTA 6. It handled Battlefield V at 120fps with ease when I played it.

Price-wise, you’ll want to pay about $1,199 / £1,399 (stock is looking thin in Australia) for a 65-inch model. This will be a great size for seeing GTA 6 in all its glory, but the C5 is available in sizes 42 to 83 inches to cover every situation.

TCL QM6K/C6K

If you’re looking for a TV upgrade but don’t want to break the bank, the TCL QM6K (known as the TCL C6K/Q6C depending on region and retailer) is a fantastic choice. It still has great picture quality and an impressive stock of gaming features for a very affordable price.

I tested the C6K as I’m based in the UK, and it has great overall picture quality. Its main highlight is its color reproduction. It produces vivid, natural colors that made movies like Wicked look great during my testing, accurately capturing the vibrant pink of flowers in trees. Expect the same for GTA 6. The C6K also demonstrated impressive backlight control and black tones for a mini-LED at this price range, working well for movies like The Batman. Again, Vice City nightlife should look great.

The C6K supports a lot for gaming, which is rare at this level. It supports 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM, and Dolby Vision gaming. It has a measured 13.6ms input lag, which is still above the 15ms threshold we look for. Gaming on it, I had a great time while playing Battlefield V, as it did a great job handling chaotic battle sequences, so it should be prepared for GTA 6.

Its real highlight is its price. A 65-inch QM6K has dropped as low as $529 and the C6K 65-inch will cost around £679/ AU$1,099. These are excellent prices for a TV this size and a great option for an affordable upgrade for GTA 6.

Samsung QN90F

Now, if you’re someone who’s planning to take some time off to play GTA 6, you’ll need a TV that works well in a bright room for daytime gaming sessions. Enter the Samsung QN90F, a brilliant gaming TV that also doubles as our best TV for sports.

The QN90F is the perfect TV for bright rooms for several reasons. It has solid brightness (exceeding 2,500 nits HDR peak and over 600 nits full screen) and an effective, anti-glare screen that does a great job reducing mirror-like reflections to a minimum. So, even if you have big windows, the QN90F can handle them. It also has great picture quality to go with it, producing punchy, accurate colors and strong contrast with surprisingly rich black tones. Expect GTA 6 to look great on this one.

The QN90F is equipped with a full list of gaming features, too. It supports 4K 165Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, ALLM and HDR10+ gaming across four HDMI 2.1 ports. Its 9.5ms input lag time is up there with the very best, so you can expect it to handle the chaos of GTA 6 with no problems.

While the QN90F is a flagship model, its prices have dropped significantly. A 65-inch will cost you roughly $1,399 / £1,299 (stock in Australia is low again), which is again phenomenal pricing for a TV at this level.

LG B5

If you want an OLED but can’t quite stretch to the LG C5, the LG B5 is your next best option. It’s one of the best budget OLED TVs I’ve tested and delivers a lot of the same great performance and features as its step-up sibling.

With accurate, rich colors that suited the vibrant aesthetic of Wicked and Elemental, the B5 is sure to make GTA 6’s sun-soaked, colorful streets look fantastic. It also produces the powerful contrast with inky blacks you’d want from an OLED TV, despite its cheaper price range. While the B5 doesn’t have the brightness of other step-up OLEDs, it still has punchy highlights that will make the neon of Vice City pop.

The B5 is kitted out with a full list of gaming features, including 4K 120Hz, full VRR including FreeSync and G-Sync, HGiG, Dolby Vision gaming, and ALLM, all built into the four HDMI 2.1 ports. A measured 9.1ms input lag time is at the top of the gaming TV list, so expect all the action of GTA 6 to look superb.

The B5’s prices can fall to a deceptively affordable place for an OLED. You can get the 48-inch model, a perfect size for bedroom gaming, for as low as $549 / £569 / AU$1,169, meaning you don’t have to spend a fortune for OLED.

LG G5

The flagship OLED for LG in 2025, the LG G5, is like the C5 taken up a notch. It has a similar feature set but turns up the picture quality by another level with higher brightness, bolder colors, and more impactful contrast.

Testing the G5, its colors were its most impressive aspect. Vibrant, rich, and bright all at once, any colorful scene dazzled on screen, and I think it’s going to do the Miami-inspired Vice City serious justice in GTA 6. It also produces powerful contrast, expertly balancing deep black levels and bright highlights. Vice City nightlife will look stunning on this TV. It also produces extremely impressive textures that are 3D-like, along with refined detail.

This is another TV with an impressive list of gaming features. 4K 165Hz, full VRR including FreeSync and G-Sync, Dolby Vision gaming, HGiG, and ALLM are on all four HDMI 2.1 ports. Its measured 9.2ms input lag time again did wonders for Battlefield V’s fast-paced gunfights at 120fps when I played it, so it should do the same for GTA 6.

The G5 is at the more premium end of the TV market, with a 65-inch model costing $2,299 / £1,999 / AU$2,699, but if you are looking for the premium way to play GTA 6, this will be the TV to do it on.

We're nearing the end of the World Cup 2026 group stages, and things are hotting up — both metaphorically and literally. A temperatures in my living room soar, I've decided it's time to take my game viewing outside, where I can enjoy the action with the cool evening breeze on my face.

For that, I need a projector — and now's a really good time to buy one. We're in the middle of the Amazon Prime Day sale (with retailers like Currys, AO and Very running rival deals events), so there are plenty of discounts to be had if you know where to look.

• View the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Below, I've rounded up the best projector deals I've spotted, including the ones I'm deciding between for my own al fresco watch parties. I've stuck to sub-£450 buys here, which means they're more basic options, and most are compact and portable, too. If you're looking for something higher-end that will be more of a permanent fixture, head to our best projector guide for our top picks.

Xgimi's range is worth checking out in particular, as are Anker's Nebula projectors. We haven't reviewed these specific models, but we have tested similar products from those brands, and been impressed. Our Anker Nebula Mars 3 is the larger and higher-specced sibling of the Mars 3 Air Mini featured below, for instance, and scored four stars in our review. We called the Xgimi Mogo 3 "a strong contender for the portable projector crown", too — and its successor is included in my deals roundup.

Scroll down for more excellent deals, and happy watching...

World-class projectors

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Fans: from £20
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Prime Day is here, and one of the most popular products is, as always, TVs. I lead TechRadar's TV and home theater team, and I've worked with our dedicated deals editors and TV hardware writers to pick the best Prime Day TV deals this year.

• Browse the full Amazon US Prime Day sale
• Browse the full Amazon UK Prime Day sale

There haven't been as many really good Prime Day TV deals this year as I expected, but when they're good, they're often really good. I'm talking a five-star Samsung S90F OLED TV for just $1,199 (was $2397.99) in the US, or a 55-inch Samsung S84F OLED TV for just £683(was £899) in the UK.

We've got cheaper models than that, smaller models, and larger models — much larger in some cases. Here are the deals, presented in size order and price order. If you're in the UK, you can skip to those deals here.

Today's best TV deals in the US

Today's best TV deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

The art TV market is more crowded than ever before, and even though Samsung started it with the Frame TV and later expanded with the Frame Pro, there’s been Hisense’s Canvas TV for a while, and the most recent addition is from Amazon.

Amazon’s Ember Artline Fire TV might only come in two sizes, but it packs a punch in two key areas compared to Samsung’s Frame TV: it comes with a frame that completes the effect of looking like a true piece of art out of the box, and you don’t need to pay for a subscription for art to show off.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Best of all, though, it’s down to its lowest price for Prime Day 2026, with Amazon dropping the 55-inch to just $699.99 (originally $899.99) and the 65-inch to $899.99 (originally $1,099.99) — that’s a 22% and 18% discount, respectively. You also get to pick between 10 frame options, but here's the thing – Prime Day is over in just a few hours, and there's no telling if this deal will stick around.

And at these prices, if you've been eyeing the Ember Artline or simply want an art TV, this is an incredible deal.

Today's best Amazon Ember Artline Fire TV deal

It’s a pretty stellar Prime Day deal for an art or lifestyle TV. The Ember Artline, in either the 55-inch or 65-inch size, is a 4K QLED TV finished with a matte coating. And yes, the latter is pretty similar to how the Frame TV is finished, helping make whatever art you’re displaying look more like actual artwork.

Amazon also supports the HDR10+ standard here, along with Dolby Vision, and it runs Fire TV out of the box.

The latter means you’ll have access to all the major streaming services such as Disney+, Netflix, and Apple TV, assuming you have the logins, and you can control it all with Alexa+.

It’s also a thin TV that won’t protrude from the wall all that much if you decide to hang it, as the Ember Artline is just 1.5 inches thick. Out of the box, you get access to over 2,000 pieces of artwork to display for free, and you can upload your own photos.

At $200 off for both the 55-inch and 65-inch models, there hasn’t been a better time to score the Ember Artline than Prime Day 2026. Of course, Samsung’s The Frame models are seeing discounts of their own this Prime Day.

Right now, you can get the standard 55-inch The Frame for $697.99 at Amazon — or you can get the 55-inch Samsung The Frame Pro for 15% off at $1,267.99. Remember, though, you’ll need to buy your own Frame Bezel.

The Frame Pro also boasts a QLED Mini LED display, and has a wireless One Connect Box for a cleaner look when fully set up.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34