I'm a certified TV calibrator, and I rate these 3 models as the best-value buys you can get for a World Cup upgrade, all based on our real-world testing | Tech Radar
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I'm a certified TV calibrator, and I rate these 3 models as the best-value buys you can get for a World Cup upgrade, all based on our real-world testing
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The World Cup is here, with the tournament kicking off on June 11, and if you're thinking of getting a last-minute TV upgrade but don't want to break the bank, I've found three models I think will fit the bill.
While there aren't a ton of deals out there right now, with Prime Day only a matter of weeks away (running from June 23-26), there are still some discounts to be had. In the US, today's best deal is the TCL QM6K 65-inch for $599 at Amazon. This isn't the cheapest it's been, but for a 65-inch mini-LED, it's a great price.
In the UK, the highlight deal is actually for one of 2025's best OLED TVs: the LG B5. The 55-inch B5 is available for £663.20 at Currys: 20% off its full price of £829! While we do tend to recommend mini-LED over OLED, this deal is too good to miss.
The TCL QM6K delivers mini-LED picture quality with smooth performance at a very affordable price. Its brightness will work well for the World Cup and at $599 for a 65-inch TV, this TV is a no-brainer.
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The TCL C6K offers mini-LED at an affordable price, as well as solid performance that make it an excellent value option for the World Cup. This deal at Argos takes the 65-inch model down to £611.10, a great budget choice if you're looking for a bigger screen.
A good mini-LED doesn't have to be expensive, as proven by the TCL QM6K (known as the TCL C6K in the UK). It has a great set of gaming features, solid brightness, and effective local dimming: all for a nice, affordable price.
The QM6K/C6K's strengths lie in its picture quality. It can deliver bold colors, which will be perfect for rendering players' uniforms and the field during the World Cup. It also has great detail, making on-screen images look crisp.
It's also got great full-screen brightness for a TV in this price range, with the QM6K hitting 595 nits and the C6K hitting 706 nits. Fullscreen brightness is important for showing daytime sports in bright rooms, which is when a lot of World Cup games will be taking place. For a TV at this price, these are great numbers.
It also has responsive motion handling, meaning fast-paced sports will be well handled. I found during my testing of the C6K that setting judder reduction to 3-4 resulted in smooth motion that also looked accurate.
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The LG B5 is a more affordable way into OLED, delivering deep contrast, rich colors and excellent motion handling that will be useful the World Cup. There's no deals available at the moment, but at $1,199 for a 65-inch, it's the cheapest way to get an OLED this size.
The LG B5 is a budget OLED that delivers in a lot of key areas, including picture quality, performance and gaming. For the World Cup, you can expect rich detail and colors throughout thanks to the B5, with smooth motion to match. This 20% off detail is too good to miss, taking the 55-inch down to £633.20.
The LG B5 is an excellent value OLED TV, and while mini-LED is the primary choice for sports due to its higher brightness, the B5 will more than deliver on other picture elements, such as color and detail, and deliver smooth motion as well.
The B5 may be an entry-level OLED, but it delivers superb picture quality. I was impressed by its vibrant, accurate colors throughout my testing, which will be ideal for delivering the colorful players' uniforms and green fields.
Its motion handling is also excellent. Even with no motion settings activated, the B5's performance is razor-sharp, expertly handling fast-paced sequences in both sports and movies.
One elephant in the room: the B5 is not very bright. It can struggle in brighter rooms, so if your World Cup space is bright, you might want to look elsewhere. If you've got ways of managing any light, however, the B5 will make for a great World Cup companion.
The Hisense U8Q is a super-bright mini-LED with great picture quality and sharp performance. While there aren't many deals on offer, the 75-inch model is down to
The Hisense U8Q delivers flagship mini-LED performance and features for a mid-range price. It's high brightness and motion handling will be perfect for the World Cup. The 55-inch has dropped to £899 at Currys, which is an excellent deal for this TV.
The Hisense U8Q is a flagship-level mini-LED TV that costs less than rivals. It delivers some serious brightness, as well as brilliant picture quality and, with some tweaking, smooth motion handling.
Where the U8Q shines (literally) is in its staggering brightness. It clocked in at 2,888 nits peak HDR and 744 nits full-screen HDR brightness in Standard mode (our recommended mode for sports viewing). It also clocked in at 600 nits SDR fullscreen brightness: a huge number for SDR. Pairing this with its anti-reflection layer gives you a solid TV for daytime viewing, which will be especially useful in bright rooms when watching earlier games during the World Cup.
Elsewhere, the U8Q impressed us with its colors, which, during our testing, worked great when watching an NBA game. The colors of the U8Q player's uniforms are just, so you can expect the same during the World Cup.
Motion handling is just average out-of-the-box, but an easy adjustment, setting blur and judder reduction to 3-4, smooths out motion without creating an artificial 'soap opera effect'.
Looking for some other options? 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.
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James is the TV Hardware Staff Writer at Tech Radar. Before joining the team, he worked at a major UK based AV retailer selling TV and audio equipment, where he was either telling customers the difference between OLED and QLED or being wowed by watching a PS5 run on the LG 65G2. When not writing about the latest TV tech, James can be found gaming, reading, watching rugby or coming up with another idea for a novel.
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