Podcast #1263: 2026 Value Electronics TV Shootout

On this week's show we breakdown the Value Electronics 2026 TV Shootout and see who the new King TV is. We also read your emails and look at the week's news.

News:

• LG is cracking down on smart TV apps that quietly turn your TV into a secret proxy
• Streaming Execs Say Roku Most Important CTV Platform for Home Screen Visibility
• Comcast has Lost Over 600,000 TV Customers So Far This Year & 232,000 Internet Customers

Other:

• LG TVs are better than they've ever been — here's what they're doing right, what they're doing wrong, and what needs to change in 2026

2026 Value Electronics TV Shootout Summary

Value Electronics (Scarsdale, NY) held its annual expert-judged TV Shootout on July 18, 2026. All sets were professionally calibrated and compared side-by-side against reference Sony BVM-HX3110 mastering monitors. Judges scored attributes (contrast/grayscale, color accuracy, processing, shadow detail, motion handling, bright-room performance, etc.) on a 1–5 scale for both SDR and HDR. Combined averages determine the rankings.

OLED Category (65-inch flagships)

• Samsung QN65S95H (QD-OLED) — Combined (SDR + HDR) average 9.3 → King of OLED TV and overall King of TV for 2026. Highest scores in both SDR and HDR; won the majority of categories. Ended Sony's seven-year winning streak. $2500 at Amazon
• Sony K65XR80M2 (Bravia 8 II / QD-OLED) — Combined average 8.0 Close runner-up with strong, consistent performance in both SDR and HDR. $3000 at Amazon
• LG OLED65G6WUA (W-OLED / tandem) — Combined average 7.0 Solid but finished a clear third. $3300 direct from LG

Micro RGB (True RGB Mini/Micro-LED LCD) Category (75-inch flagships)

This was the first year the shootout included a dedicated Micro RGB / true RGB-backlit LCD category.

• Sony K75XR90M2 (Bravia 9 II) — Combined average 7.9 → King of Mini/Micro RGB TV. Dominated most categories in both SDR and HDR. $3400 at Amazon
• Samsung MRN75R95H — Combined average 6.2 Clear second place. $4500 direct from Samsung
• LG 75MRGB95BUA — Combined average 5.2 Finished third. $4500 direct from LG

Key Takeaways

• OLED still generally outperformed the new Mini/Micro RGB LCD technology overall.
• Samsung's S95H QD-OLED was the standout performer of the event by a healthy margin.
• Sony's new true RGB Bravia 9 II proved the Mini RGB approach is highly competitive (it even beat LG's G6 OLED and was competitive with Sony's own OLED in some HDR aspects).
• LG placed third in both categories.
• The event highlighted how close the top flagships have become, while still showing meaningful differences in accuracy, processing, and real-content performance under calibrated conditions.