(June 25, 2026) One of the home theater industry's most anticipated annual events is returning next month. Value Electronics has announced that its 2026 TV Shootout will take place on Saturday, July 18, once again transforming the company's Scarsdale, New York, showroom into a controlled evaluation lab where some of the industry's most respected video experts will determine which premium television delivers the best overall picture quality.
Now in its 22nd year, the TV Shootout has become one of the industry's most closely watched evaluation events. Unlike traditional product reviews, each television is professionally calibrated to reference standards and compared against a Sony BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor. An expert panel of reviewers, video engineers, film finishers, and colorists then evaluates each TV using both test patterns and real-world movie content, scoring categories such as contrast, color fidelity, color saturation, and motion resolution.
This year's competition introduces an intriguing new wrinkle. For the first time, flagship OLED televisions will face off directly against the latest generation of Micro RGB MiniLED displays. OLED contenders include LG's OLED65G6WUA, Samsung's QN65S95H, and Sony's K65XR80M2, while the emerging Micro RGB category will feature LG's 75MRGB95BUA, Samsung's MRN75R95H, and Sony's K75XR90M2.
The addition of Micro RGB displays makes this year's event especially compelling. Last year's Shootout was an all-OLED affair after MiniLED LCD televisions stepped aside, allowing Sony, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic to battle for display supremacy. Sony ultimately claimed the overall "King of TV" crown thanks to its exceptional Standard Dynamic Range performance, while Panasonic narrowly edged Samsung in High Dynamic Range scoring. LG, despite introducing its new Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel, struggled in several key evaluation categories.
This year's field promises a very different conversation. Rather than comparing variations of the same self-emissive OLED technology, judges will have a say in the overall state of Micro RGB performance and whether or not it's capable of challenging OLED's long-held dominance in black levels, contrast, color accuracy, and overall image quality. With manufacturers investing heavily in both technologies, the results will provide enthusiasts with an early glimpse at where premium television design is headed over the next several years.
As in previous years, owner Robert Zohn will host the event, with judges guided through each scoring category using standardized evaluation procedures. AVPro Global will provide switching, distribution, and testing equipment, while Kaleidescape's new Strato K movie player and Magnetar's UDP-900MKII universal disc player will serve as reference playback sources.
For those unable to attend in person, the event's opening remarks and manufacturer presentations will be streamed live, with edited coverage from several YouTube channels expected to follow after the competition concludes.
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