With screen sizes, panel technologies and prices ranging from under €150 to nearly €900, choosing a TV today mostly comes down to figuring out which tier you fall into and what you’re willing to trade off. We compared five models that represent as many market tiers well — the Xiaomi TV F 32, Samsung Crystal UHD U8090F, Hisense 65E7S PRO, TCL 50Q6C and Samsung OLED S94F — looking at what actually matters day to day: picture quality, gaming, audio and the smart platform, using the same criteria we cover in depth in our full guide on how to choose a TV.
Xiaomi TV F 32: the cheapest
At under €140, the Xiaomi TV F 32 is a full Fire TV with built-in Alexa and Apple AirPlay compatibility, built for those looking for a second screen at home or a genuinely tight budget. Let’s be clear about what you give up at this price: resolution stays at HD Ready (1366×768), far from 4K, and there’s no declared HDR support, meaning HDR10 or Dolby Vision-compatible streaming content will still play, just without the wider dynamic range those formats promise. That said, for undemanding use — streaming, linear TV, occasional viewing in a kitchen or bedroom — it remains one of the most affordable Fire TVs on the market, with an interface Amazon users will instantly recognize and a full app catalog despite the modest hardware. Audio, predictably at this tier, leans on Dolby Audio and DTS Virtual:X more for format compatibility than genuinely immersive sound: if you’ll also use it for music, plan on a budget soundbar from day one.
Samsung Crystal UHD U8090F: the balanced 4K pick
The Samsung U8090F brings the jump to 4K at a still-affordable price, thanks to the Crystal 4K Processor, which handles upscaling from Full HD sources well — a capability that shows up especially when watching non-native-4K terrestrial channels, where the processor reconstructs detail and reduces video noise convincingly for the price tier. OTS Lite audio with a surround effect simulates spatiality beyond classic front-facing speakers, while the Smart Hub gathers streaming apps, cloud gaming and on-demand services into one coherent interface — the typical strength of the Samsung ecosystem even on cheaper models. Native refresh rate stays at 50Hz, in line with the European broadcast standard but far from the 120Hz you’d need to fully exploit a PS5 or Xbox Series X: if gaming is a priority, look instead at the Hisense 65E7S PRO or the TCL 50Q6C in this same roundup. For watching movies, shows and streaming, though, it remains one of the most balanced options in the €300-400 range, backed by an HDMI and USB port selection sufficient for the most common household uses.
Hisense 65E7S PRO: affordable gaming
On a generous 65-inch screen — already past the 65” threshold that, per 4K viewing-distance tables, calls for roughly 1.6-2.5 meters from the sofa for an optimal experience — the Hisense 65E7S PRO offers native 144Hz and 2 HDMI 2.1 ports, plus Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+, at a price far below an equivalent OLED of the same size. It’s the smartest pick for those wanting a large, gaming-oriented screen without stretching into premium-panel budget territory: with VRR enabled on both HDMI 2.1 ports, both the PS5 and Xbox Series X can run at full refresh without screen tearing, and Game Mode PRO noticeably cuts input lag compared to the standard picture mode. The QLED panel with Quantum Dot reaches enough brightness for moderately lit rooms, though it remains a step behind newer Mini-LEDs in local contrast control. Built-in audio (2x10W) remains the most obvious weak point: on such a large screen, the lack of a soundbar shows especially in action scenes, where the front-facing soundstage can’t quite “fill” the space the way the picture does.
TCL 50Q6C: the most convincing Mini-LED
The TCL 50Q6C sports a QD-Mini LED panel, with hundreds of local-dimming zones that allow much more precise contrast control than a traditional QLED: scenes with very bright elements against a dark background (end credits, night signage, reflections) show less of the typical “blooming” halo seen on panels with fewer zones. The result is peak brightness that, for this panel category, typically exceeds 1,000 nits — well above the 800-1,200 nit range of a comparable OLED — a real advantage in living rooms with large windows or direct light hitting the screen. Paired with this is native 144Hz and a generous 4 HDMI ports, 2 of them version 2.1: a gaming spec sheet that in practice holds up against much pricier TVs. Dolby Vision IQ (which adjusts tone mapping based on ambient brightness detected by a sensor) and Dolby Atmos round out a package built for both cinema and gaming, in a price bracket — around €400 — where the competition almost always offers only traditional QLED without advanced local dimming.
Samsung OLED S94F: the best overall
For those unwilling to compromise, the Samsung OLED S94F remains the group’s reference point: a QD-OLED panel, the OLED variant developed by Samsung Display that starts from a blue light source converted via Quantum Dot instead of a filtered white source (as in LG’s WOLED panels). The practical result is true blacks — every pixel switches off individually — and extremely saturated colors even at high brightness, the hallmark of QD-OLED panels versus traditional WOLED. Add to that native 144Hz and 4 HDMI 2.1 ports, the most complete gaming spec sheet in this roundup: that means you can connect a console and a gaming PC at the same time without having to pick which one loses out on full-bandwidth HDMI. The NQ4 AI Gen3 processor handles advanced 4K upscaling that shows especially on non-native content, while Dolby Atmos audio with OTS Lite delivers one of the best built-in sound experiences in the group, though adding a soundbar is still advisable for a genuine home theater setup. The lack of Dolby Vision (a long-standing Samsung limitation, as it backs HDR10 and HDR10+ by business choice, not a technical panel limitation) is the only real downside, alongside the highest price in the comparison — and a peak brightness that, while excellent by OLED standards, still trails a good Mini-LED like the TCL 50Q6C in very bright environments.
Conclusion
There’s no single winner for everyone: those wanting just the essentials should look at the Xiaomi TV F 32, those wanting 4K without overspending at the Samsung U8090F, frequent gamers at the Hisense 65E7S PRO or the TCL 50Q6C depending on whether they prefer the bigger screen or the more advanced Mini-LED technology, and those unwilling to compromise on picture quality — and willing to pay for a QD-OLED panel — should go straight for the Samsung OLED S94F. If you’re unsure which panel technology or screen size fits your living room, our full guide on how to choose a TV covers every criterion with concrete numbers.