ANALYSIS: TV AND AUDIO Home Entertainment


December/January 2026 ertonline.co.uk


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Usability is also high. The set’s Fire TV OS will be familiar to many, and the inclusion of Freely makes setup simple. Like all Panasonic screens, picture presets


are well judged. However Auto AI also does a credible job of recognising sports content and adjusting picture and sound accordingly, while ambient light sensing keeps daytime and evening viewing consistent. It’s worth noting that sonic performance on this bijou gogglebox is better than many might expect, thanks to a 60W speaker system capable of clear dialogue and a surprisingly expansive mid-range spread. Dolby Atmos pass-through via eARC provides a natural upsell route to a soundbar, if required. Consider this 48-incher an ideal sell to customers who want premium quality, without committing to a physically dominant display. Sony’s reputation for motion handling


remains amongst the best in the trade, and the 55-inch Bravia 8 II is a textbook example of how that can benefit sport. Its QD-OLED panel, driven by the brand’s XR Cognitive Processor, prioritises key areas of the image, be it faces, players, or the ball, rather than treating every pixel equally. The effect is a picture that appears to have realistic depth, even during rapid camera action.


What’s more, brightness is the best Sony has yet achieved on OLED, making the Bravia 8 MKII ideal for bright room viewing. Design follows Sony’s Slim One Slate


approach, with a near-borderless look that suits modern living spaces. Acoustic Surface Audio+ turns the screen itself into a speaker, anchoring commentary to the action and widening the soundstage without visible drivers. For buyers who value realism as well as high design, this is a strong midfield general. Then there’s LG’s OLED65C5, which sits comfortably in the sweet spot between price and performance. At 65-inches, it aligns perfectly with current screen buying preferences, offering


enough glass to be genuinely immersive, without dominating the room. Picture quality is predictably strong, with deep blacks, excellent near-black detail and exceptional brightness, courtesy of LG’s latest Alpha 9 Gen 8 processing. Motion handling is assured, which pays dividends during fast play, and HDR support is comprehensive. LG’s updated webOS platform adds AI-driven personal profiles and voice ID switching, which can also be a useful family-friendly talking point. Notably, audio here is serviceable rather than spectacular, so this is a legitimate candidate for soundbar upselling, particularly LG’s own WOW Orchestra models, which integrate to create a wall of sound.


Time to score


A summer of soccer doesn’t change what makes a good TV, but it does open the door to fresh banter. Bigger screens feel justified; motion handling has fresh relevance, and picture modes become more than tweaky tools for film fans. For retailers, the goal is simple: match the right screen to the right buyer, and don’t be afraid to promote scale and picture prowess. When that decisive goal is scored, buyers want to feel like they’ve truly brought the match home.


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