We realise that the best TV isn't always something most people can afford – that's why we've put together a list of the best cheap 4K TV deals in Australia. Whether you're after a small or large telly, you're likely to find a suitable option for your budget.
While all of the big manufacturers have now unveiled their new models for the year, it's worth noting that many of last year's models should still be considered the best TVs of 2022. Before long, those still-great tellies will get progressively cheaper now that we're into the second half of the year.
Below you'll find a list of TVs that we can wholeheartedly recommend to Aussies, featuring the best TVs from this year and the last. That includes sets from the likes of Hisense, which offers great performance at a really good price, and high-end options like QLED TVs from Samsung and OLEDs from LG. So without further ado, here are TechRadar's top 9 big-screen TVs worth buying in Australia this year.
Best TV at a glance:
- LG C2 Series OLED TV
- LG G2 Gallery Series OLED
- Samsung QN900B Neo QLED 8K TV
- Sony Bravia A90J
- Sony Bravia X90J
- Samsung The Frame (2021)
- Hisense U80G ULED 8K TV
- Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV
- Samsung QN90A Neo QLED
After dropping a few spots in 2021, the LG C2 OLED reclaims the top spot on our list of the best TVs in 2022. That's due to a number of improvements LG has made to this year's model compared to the LG C1 OLED.
Improvements for 2022 include the new Alpha a9 Gen 5 processor, which is designed to offer better object enhancement and dynamic tone mapping than its predecessor. As well as that, you’re getting ‘virtual surround sound’, with the TV upscaling stereo content into 7.1.2-channel sound. While we weren’t convinced by the claims of virtual surround sound, the audio performance is good for a flatscreen TV, and a number of different sound modes means you should be able to find an audio profile that suits your needs.
In addition to those improvements, the C2 OLED carries forward the four separate HDMI 2.1 ports that it inherited from the C1 OLED, meaning it's the perfect companion for the PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
The LG C2 isn’t flawless, however. Off-axis colour saturation does diminish a bit when you move to the left or right of the screen when compared to the new QD-OLED models and LG doesn't support either the IMAX Enhanced or HDR10+ format.
There are, of course, higher resolution flatscreen TVs out there right now like the Samsung QN900B, which offers 8K resolution, and the new upgraded LG G2 OLED that has a slightly higher peak brightness, but for the price, this is the absolute best TV you're able to buy in 2022.
Read the full LG C2 OLED review
If price isn't a concern for you and you simply want the best TV you can buy at any price point – well, then you want the LG G2 OLED. The OLED65G2 uses its extra brightness to make pretty much every frame of any source you care to mention look even more sublime than it has on any LG OLED before.
Although the G2 OLED shares the same ‘Gallery’ design name as its GX and G1 predecessors, it actually looks completely different: gone is the dark frame and chamfered edges, in is a nifty two-layer effect where a thin black rear ‘slab’ sits proud of and slightly narrower than a chunkier front tier housing the screen that’s encased in a very fetching and opulent-looking silver metal coat.
The quality of the G2 OLED’s connections is beyond reproach. In particular, all four of its HDMI ports are capable of handling the maximum 48Gbps of data supported by the HDMI 2.1 standard. This means that hardcore video gamers could simultaneously attach an Xbox Series X, PS5 and cutting-edge PC graphics rig to enjoy full-fat 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rates and automatic low latency mode switching from all of them. That, plus you'll still have one HDMI left for adding a 4K Blu-ray player or streaming box.
To anyone familiar with LG’s OLED TVs over the years, the impact made by the extra brightness the heat sink unlocks is instantly obvious: the extra brightness gives colors more volume and punch, regardless of whether you’re talking about a very vibrant, rich tone, or a subtle, mild one.
The end result is an OLED TV so supreme that it just barely misses the mark of our number one spot – only because its price puts it a bit far out of reach for the average TV watcher. Cinephiles, however, should certainly invest.
Read the full LG G2 OLED TV review
8K might feel a bit like overkill to some, but there's no doubt in our mind that the Samsung QN900B Neo QLED 8K TV is on another level of performance. Samsung's Mini LED-sporting QN900B Neo QLED 8K TV offers stunning picture quality, exceptional color and brightness, terrific sound and outstanding blacks – all in a package that's unmatched in terms of design.
For the uninitiated, Samsung's 'Quantum' Mini LEDs are 1/40th the thickness of a regular LED, meaning thousands of smaller LEDs can be packed together in a much tighter fashion, allowing for far more accurate dimming zones and black levels that are practically indistinguishable from an OLED.
As the LEDs are far smaller, they're able to achieve far more precision and less blooming, so the act of seeing bright areas of the screen unnaturally bleed over into darker spots should be greatly reduced or not evident at all. And because it takes advantage of Samsung's Multi-Intelligence AI upscaling, the QN900A is consistently able to produce images that looked better than their source.
So why is it all the way in a number three position? Samsung's 2022 TV range sees the introduction of its new Smart Hub UI across its top models. It's a totally revamped interface that's anchored by a Google TV-inspired home screen populated by content recommendations from your various streaming subscriptions and apps.
Unfortunately, the change to a full-screen, content-packed home menu brings about some frustration. No longer can you easily adjust settings and change viewing modes on the fly – you now have to completely leave what you're watching or playing when bringing up said home screen, navigate to a sidebar menu, and then scroll down to a separate settings menu to perform actions that were just a few button presses away before.
It's a minor issue, sure, but having a good smart TV platform is absolutely essential if you want to win the top spot on our list of the best TVs.
Read the full Samsung QN900B Neo QLED 8K TV review
Sony hasn’t held back in pricing the new A90J 4K HDR OLED TV, but we believe the performance does justify the hefty price tag.
Picture quality, from any source, is about as good as it currently gets from any 4K screen. In every meaningful department – motion control, contrast, edge definition, detail levels, you name it. For those moments when you’re reduced to watching sub-4K content, it’s great at upscaling, too.
The Sony A90J OLED is more than a few steps ahead when it comes to sound quality. Using the entire surface of the screen as a speaker is still novel and effective, and backing it up with two conventional bass drivers means the A90J sounds fuller, more direct and just, well, better than any alternative that doesn’t feature an off-board sound system.
That combination of high-end picture quality and sound smarts – with the option to use the screen as the centre speaker in a larger sound system – makes it shoe-in for a home cinema centrepiece. You can also adjust the A90J's feet to accommodate a soundbar, while the remote is fantastically designed too.
Read the full review: Sony A90J OLED TV review
There's little doubt in our mind that, for gamers, the new Sony X90J is one of the best televisions out there.
It has excellent image quality, thanks in part to a new Cognitive XR processor rolled out to Sony's top sets last year, making for excellent upscaling and contrast control. The X90J also sports the new Google TV smart platform, for easy setup and broad app support as well as the perks of Google Cast from Android devices. There's Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio packed in too.
When it comes to gaming, the X90J has a 120Hz panel with 4K resolution and two full-spec HDMI 2.1 ports for your Xbox Series X and PS5, with VRR (variable refresh rate) and ALLM (auto low latency mode, for sub-10ms lag) to really up your gaming experience. Just be sure to head into the picture settings and switch on 'Enhanced format' for your selected HDMI port, otherwise you won't get the benefit of its 2.1 specification.
There are still a few lingering issues, including middling off-axis viewing and struggles with direct daylight – and the X90J will no doubt be beaten by the capabilities of its step-up X95J model for a small uptick in cost. Still, the Sony X90J succeeds in delivering stellar performance for a reasonable price.
Read the full review: Sony X90J 4K TV
With TVs growing ever bigger, it’s increasingly important that our television sets blend into their surroundings. Samsung has been leading the charge with its The Frame TV sets for several years now, but its 2021 edition finally sees the range measuring up to the best that Samsung has to offer.
Displaying works of art in standby mode and with a customizable frame that makes it ideal for wall hanging, The Frame TV for 2021 is functionally as good to watch at as it is fashionable to have around your home.
As we’ve come to expect from QLED technology, you can expect wonderfully rich colours from The Frame TV, with Samsung making use of a Dual LED backlight system, bringing together two colour temperatures to eke the best possible image out of its Quantum Dot filter array. While it won’t trouble OLED screens, black levels are deep and believable, with good performance from the backlight ensuring no one spot on the display appears washed out with light leak.
Though it’s available in large sizes of a similar calibre, The Frame TV is the perfect second-room TV thanks to its combination of great picture quality and ability to blend in with its surroundings where a large TV screen might otherwise be unsightly. Of course, a new and improved version of The Frame is on the way, sporting a brilliant matte screen that makes displayed art look even more like the real thing, however, from a technical standpoint the 2021 version is just as good.
Read the full review: Samsung The Frame (2021)
After a few image scrambling problems on previous televisions, Hisense's flagship U80G ULED 8K TV delivers exceptionally smooth motion and picture quality without any processing woes.
Hisense's 75-inch U80G ULED is the Chinese company's first 8K television, and what a great debut it is. The television offers everything you would expect from a high-end model in 2021, including HDMI 2.1 and eARC support, built-in voice assistant functionality and excellent upscaling.
It's worth nothing that while Hisense's messaging around the 4K U8G has recently been updated (opens in new tab) due to its half-hearted HDMI 2.1 'partial compliance', the 8K U80G discussed here does offer full HDMI 2.1 support for two of its inputs (HDMI 3 and HDMI 4, to be precise).
Although the U80G ULED can't quite deliver the astonishing black levels of Hisense's own Dual Cell TV, or of the latest OLED and Mini LED panels, it does still achieve impressively deep blacks thanks to a full array local dimming system.
Another thing we love about the U80G is Hisense chose to use a more universal smart TV interface in Google's Android TV platform, rather than its own VIDAA OS, meaning users no longer have to miss out on any popular streaming apps, such as Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus.
Android TV also brings full support for Google Assistant, allowing you to simply ask your television for information which is then read back to you and also displayed on-screen.
If there's one downside to the U80G, it's that its speakers are just okay, not quite living up to the high standard set by Hisense's recent Dual Cell TV, which boasted a built-in soundbar and additional wireless subwoofer. That said, the U80G ULED marks a terrific 8K TV debut for Hisense – one which is quite reasonably priced for its category.
Read the full review: Hisense U80G ULED 8K TV
When it goes on sale in May, the Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV will usher in a new era of television technology. Samsung's Mini LED-sporting QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV offers stunning picture quality, exceptional color and brightness, terrific sound and outstanding blacks – all in a package that's unmatched in terms of design.
For the uninitiated, Samsung's 'Quantum' Mini LEDs are 1/40th the thickness of a regular LED, meaning thousands of smaller LEDs can be packed together in a much tighter fashion, allowing for far more accurate dimming zones and black levels that are practically indistinguishable from an OLED.
As the LEDs are far smaller, they're able to achieve far more precision and less blooming, so the act of seeing bright areas of the screen unnaturally bleed over into darker spots should be greatly reduced or not evident at all.
And because it takes advantage of Samsung's Multi-Intelligence AI upscaling, the QN900A is consistently able to produce images that looked better than their source.
Not only does the Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV offer the latest HDMI 2.1 and eARC features, it's also ideal for gamers who've recently invested in a next-gen console or beastly gaming PC thanks to support for 4K/120fps or 8K/60fps gameplay via HDMI 2.1, Game Motion Plus and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.
In 2021 it was the flagship 8K TV to beat, and we expect it will hold up well in 2022.
Read the full review: Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV
The Samsung QN90A is one of the first 4K screens in 2021 to use the company’s hyped-up Neo QLED panels that sport a higher count of light emitting diodes per square inch than previous generations. The result is a brighter TV than before, if that’s even possible with Samsung, and one that can display a deeply satisfying array of colors.
All Neo QLED TVs sport the higher-end Neo Quantum Processor 4K that uses a neural network to analyze images for better HD upscaling and Motion Xcelerator Turbo+ for better motion handling – all of which has really paid off for Samsung’s flagship screen.
That said, there are a few looming issues this year that we can’t ignore, like the slight wobble of the pedestal stand, or the surprisingly lackluster sound quality that doesn’t befit a flagship 4K TV. There’s also no support for Dolby Vision still, which means you’re stuck with HDR10 on Netflix and HDR10+ elsewhere.
That's not a deal-breaker, but it does lower Samsung's 2021 4K flagship QLED TV to the number seven spot on our best TV list.
Read the full review: Samsung QN90A Neo QLED TV
Continue on to page two to read about what to look for when buying a TV!
If you've just bought a new 4K or 8K telly for a hefty four-figure price tag, you might be wondering how best to keep that investment safe from damage or theft. You can protect against those scenarios with good contents insurance – to compare contents insurance (opens in new tab) in Australia, head to our sister site Mozo.com.au (opens in new tab).
- Want better audio? Check out our guide to the best soundbars available.
- Once you've decided on a panel, make sure you read our guide on how to set up your TV to make sure you're getting the most out of it.
- Are you looking for the best universal remote for your new home theater setup?
- Need something to watch on your new TV? check out our list of best TV streaming services.