Best TV in Australia for 2024: the top screens for every budget

Searching for the best TV in Australia isn't necessarily as easy as you might think. While it is certainly the case that TV technologies continue to innovate and improve the images our eyes are exposed to, there is also the varying factor of how bright (or dark) your room is. In Australia this is especially true, since we experience more sunshine throughout the year compared to our British and American cousins (a generalisation, of course). 

Fortunately, there are plenty of incredible TVs available to buy right now that do well to counteract bright rooms, by cranking their own brightness levels up to 11. And while it could be argued that the more you spend, the better the TV you'll get, the fact is you no longer need to spend the equivalent of a house deposit to get an excellent home cinema experience. 

We make it our job to make finding your perfect TV even easier, based on our extensive testing experience with a huge range of TVs. The list below comprises our absolute top picks, catering to a range of budgets, screen tech and use case scenarios. 

Here, we've focused on the best TVs for all-round excellence, balancing picture quality (measured objectively in some ways, but also from our subjective experience in other ways), features, sound quality, price, and size options. If you're looking for something specific, you might prefer to head straight to our guides to the best gaming TVs or even the best OLED TVs. 

And of course, now that we're well into 2024, we do expect this list to change by the end of the year, as we review the latest models from the biggest brands. The new releases won't make the tellies listed below obsolete however, if anything, it will likely make what are fantastic screens even more affordable. 

The quick list

Below you can find a roundup of our choices for the best TVs in Australia right now along with our summarised opinion. You can jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with a price comparison tool to help ensure you find the best deals. 

The best TVs in Australia 2024:

Below you'll find more in-depth reviews for each of the best TVs in Australia, along with links to the full reviews written by our TechRadar's team of TV experts. 

• Compare Australian prices on the latest TVs on Getprice

The best TV for most people

The Samsung S90C takes the top spot on our best TV list because it does it all; excellent picture quality, sleek design, brilliant gaming performance and it gives you access to QD-OLED technology for the cheapest it's ever been. With prices dropping over time too, this gives you real OLED bang for your buck.

With excellent contrast levels, dynamic and punchy colours and deep, rich blacks that we come to expect from an OLED, we found in our review that the S90C's extra brightness compared to the LG C3 (further down this list) or Sony A80L really does provide a more enjoyable viewing experience. And yet, all these TVs cost about the same amount of money. Its sharpness levels and detail are also a sight to behold. One thing to note, though, is that the 83-inch model uses a regular OLED screen that's much less bright, so if you want to go supersize, we would recommend getting the 83-inch LG C3 instead.

Not just a beautiful TV, the Samsung S90C is also a gamers' paradise. With a refresh rate of 144Hz, it has four 2.1 HDMI ports that all support 4K 120Hz, VRR and ALLM. It also has a gaming hub so you can tweak settings easily to get the most out of your games. Add to this built-in sound quality that beats almost all other TVs, including LG's OLEDs, and you have yourself a complete package.

It's not totally perfect mind you. It's disappointing that it doesn't have Dolby Vision support, for starters, and we have to point out that the higher-priced OLEDs such as the Samsung S95C (at #4 in this list) and LG G3 can beat it for brightness. But in terms of what you get at this budget level, the Samsung S90C is real value for money and is the best TV for most people.

Read the full Samsung S90C review

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The best budget TV

Now, we will preface this entry by stating we here at TechRadar haven't put the TCL C845 through a full and thorough review. However, not only do we have the exceptional performance of its C835 predecessor to go off, but our colleagues at What Hi-Fi? have given it a look, which resulted in a wholly positive review. 

Realistically, it is much of the same with this latest model as with the C835, i.e. a superb picture full of detail and with good levels of brightness, for not a lot of money (in comparison to the big players in the TV space). Even before making your own adjustments to the picture, you should be impressed with the straight-outta-the-box performance, whether you're gaming or watching a movie. 

Dolby Vision is supported, which is a big plus and two of the four HDMI inputs support 4K/120Hz sources (one will go up to 144Hz). An HDMI eARC-enabled port also means connecting the TCL to an external sound system is a doddle. 

The presence of a Google TV operating system also boosts the ease of navigating the user interface on top of offering superior customisation options, allowing for use that is both simple, neat and versatile. The C845 also features a lot for gamers to like with its support up to 120/144Hz and ability to keep input lag down to 6ms, providing smooth and lag-free onscreen visuals. 

Best of all, the TCL C845 is affordable, you can regularly pick up a 65-inch model for under AU$2,000 – and even less during the big sales events. 

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The best mid-range TV

With its prices finally dropping, the LG B3 now offers an entry-level option to 2023 OLEDs but doesn't compromise on picture quality or gaming performance. Its features rival plenty of other OLEDs on the market, and you don't have to fork out as much to get sumptuous image quality. 

Superb contrast levels with deep blacks and dynamic colors combine to give the B3 a picture that feels more premium than the price tag it comes with. It offers Dolby Vision HDR support and when used, movies and TV shows look fantastic with it. It doesn't have high brightness levels however, with the LG C3, Samsung S90C and even the Sony A80L beating it. It still handles reflections well despite this in reasonable controlled environments, but for bright room viewing, such as sports during the day, something like the Samsung QN90C (#7 in this list) will be much more visible.

With LGs' Game Optimizer feature included, the LG B3 is a real dark horse for gaming. The ability to tweak so many settings while playing really means you can tailor your gaming experience to whatever game you're playing. It also has 4K 120Hz, VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming support. It's just a shame that this is only on two of its four ports, but that's okay for the more casual among us.

The B3 does have a distinctly average built-in sound system, though, and its stand feels a little cheap compared to its price tag, but there is still plenty on offer here to make the LG B3 a real consideration if you're looking to upgrade your TV and make your way into the world of OLED.

Read our full LG B3 review

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The best premium OLED

The Samsung S95D QD-OLED is what OLED TVs should strive to be. Improving upon what was already (and still is) an incredibly capable screen in the Samsung S95C OLED, the S95D serves up a gloriously detailed picture, helped hugely by the introduction of a anti-glare layer that means you can watch it without issue in bright rooms. 

The S95D can go impressively bright – it's one of the brightest OLED TVs money can currently buy – delivering punchy yet natural colours and because of the OLED technology, blacks are inky deep. 

Gaming is another area Samsung has continued to develop in the S95D, and once again you'll find four HDMI 2.1 ports, all of which support up to 4K 144Hz input and VRR, with additional support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. A built-in Gaming Hub with dedicated, easy-to-view settings, only adds to its gaming credentials. 

And considering it's a piece of tech that you're going to be spending a lot of time looking at, looks are also important and fortunately, the Samsung S95D is drop dead gorgeous, with an attractive 'floating' design. It ain't cheap, but we think its suite of features more than justifies its price tag. 

Read our full Samsung S95D review

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The best 8K TV

We've yet to give the Samsung QN900C the full TechRadar review treatment, but we have been hands-on (or should it be eyes-on?) with it, and first impressions are astoundingly good. 

The headline feature here is all about brightness, which in conjunction with Samsung's anti-glare screen, helps to combat any reflections onto the screen from other lights in your room. The insane brightness levels also allow the screen to extract every possible detail from whatever content you're watching, although it does work best with a minimum of 4K HDR. 

Considering the lack of 8K content, most people will be using the QN900C to upscale, and results are very good indeed. In fact, our reviewer said "when I streamed actual 8K footage from YouTube, it didn’t look as good as upconverted 4K on Samsung’s TV." High praise indeed. 

Our only slight gripe is that it doesn't support Dolby Vision, it is expensive (although we're starting to see discounts on it) and in some scenes some blooming can creep it, but not enough to distract you. 

It really is one of the finest TVs you can buy right now. 

Read our full Samsung QN900C review

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The best TV for versatility

The LG C4 is one of the best all-rounder TVs on the market, as it will comfortably slot into any home environment. Not only is the picture it delivers excellent, but it also offers every feature any hardcore gamer could possibly wish for, LG's easy-to-use webOS platform, and it comes in a wide range of sizes to suit all budgets and preferences. 

Thank to its OLED technology, contrast levels are up there with the best. In fact, contrast has certainly improved compared to its C3 predecessor due to LG being able to eke out more brightness. What did surprise us a little more, however, was just how well the LG C4 fairs against reflections on the screen. Again, calling upon its brightness boost, it's able to better counteract any awkward light fixtures in your home.  

As for gaming, the LG C4 serves as a fantastic option for those with next-gen consoles and even PCs. Stacked with features across four HDMI 2.1 ports including 4K, 144Hz support, VRR (including AMD FreeSync and Nvidia GSync) and its own useful Game Optimizer tool to name just a few, the C4 is sure to make gamers happy - and its 42-inch will suit PC gamers too. 

It also arrives with webOS 24 as its smart TV platform, which is one of our favourites to use. It's simple to navigate (and easy to learn) and on the whole presents as a rather tidy option compared to some other TV OSes. 

What keeps the LG C4 from the top spot is the fact it's bested in most areas by the Samsung S90C (which we expect will, itself, be bested by the S90D). The C4, also, can't confidently lay claim to havig best-in-class performance in any area. But, what it does do, it does very well. 

Read the full LG C4 OLED review

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The best TV for sport

The QN90C is a 2023 mini-LED (or as Samsung calls it, Neo QLED) TV, which means that it offers higher screen brightness compared to OLEDs by places layers of extra-tiny LEDs behind its pixels. Coupled with an anti-glare screen to reduce light reflections to a minimum, it's our pick for daytime sport viewing, because in a bright room with sunlight streaming in, higher brightness means the images cut through any reflections, so you can actually see what's going on. In our review, we measured the peak brightness at over 1,700 nits – this is higher than any OLED TV we've ever tested, and is well over twice as bright as the LG C3, for comparison.

Not just for sports fans, the TV also comes with a whole host of gaming features including HDMI 2.1 across all four of its HDMI ports and a variety of cloud-based gaming features with support for Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now and more.

Although not the most budget of options and lacking Dolby Vision support, the QN90C's fantastically bright picture certainly gives it the edge over other TVs in well lit rooms. And it's not just about that brightness – in our review, we were impressed with motion handling (which is great for sport), as well as detail and its deep black tones for movies.

Read our full Samsung QN90C review

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The best TV for sound

Sony's A80L is the brand's best mid-range OLED which ticks just about every box imaginable for this price bracket even if not quite matching the impressive value for money offered by the alternatives from TCL listed above. Regardless, the Sony A80l does achieve a lot which allows it to stand out enough as an OLED option for the price. 

Sony’s XR OLED Contrast Pro, XR Triluminos Pro, and Cognitive Processor XR work in concert to provide deep blacks and vibrancy to the screen's colours, with solid although not exceptional brightness. Audio performance for such a slimline TV is one of the big highlights here though, as Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ literally vibrates the screen to make sound and dual subwoofers mounted to the TV's bottom give it some extra legs. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos decoding with 3D surround upscaling elevates the audio enough to make the purchase of an additional soundbar totally unnecessary for a lot of consumers.

The audio performance is so good in fact, that you don't need to immediately head out to get yourself a soundbar. We think you should audition it at home first, and believe you'll be pleasantly surprised by what's possible from such a slim screen.

As you might expect from Sony, this surround sound profile is achieved with the PS5 front of mind, much like the A80L's gaming support elsewhere (there's a new dedicated Game Menu in the L series, that wasn't found on the previous K series). Benefiting from two HDMI 2.1 inputs supporting 4K 120Hz video, variable refresh rates (VRR), and auto low latency mode, the A80K also contributes more specifically to the performance of the PlayStation 5 via Auto HDR Tone Mapping.

While the A80L may not be our pick for the best, it nonetheless does more than enough to earn its place in the conversation about the top TVs money can buy and for those looking for a solid OLED at a price that won't entirely blow their budget, it might very well be a perfect fit.

Read the full Sony A80L review

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The best TV for gaming

It's not cheap, but if you're looking for the best screen to hook up your current-gen gaming consoles, the LG G3 OLED is tough to beat. LG has gone above and beyond for its flagship set, introducing Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology, which dramatically improves brightness levels. MLA sees a layer of microscopic lenses places over the OLED panel, which work to better direct the light being produced by the OLEDs. The result is a picture that, while still not quite on the same level as QD-OLED, closes the gap in a big way. 

The overall picture, then, not only has the inherent contrast capabilities of OLED, i.e. exceptionally good, but finally the brightness to go with it, making the G3 OLED one of the best TVs of this year. But it's the gaming features we particularly love. The G3 OLED supports all the major technologies: VRR, ALLM, HGiG, AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, making it one of the most well-supported screens available right now. 

Better still, its four HDMI 2.1 inputs all support 4K/120Hz, so you can plug both your Xbox Series X and PS5 into it and still have ports leftover for any other 4K media streaming devices. 

All this performance doesn't come cheap, but if you're able to get one, we know you won't be disappointed. Of course, not only is the LG G3 OLED a great gaming TV, but it's a dab hand with movies and TV shows too. Like it's slightly lesser-specced C3 OLED sibling, it's very versatile indeed. 

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What is the best TV?

For us, the best TV is the one that gives you the best overall value. We place particular attention on picture quality, sound quality, how easy it is to use and which connections it has, along with any other noteworthy extra features. 

We've chosen the Samsung S90C as the best TV for most people because of its excellent levels of brightness that allow it to perform well in both bright rooms and dark rooms. This makes it a great option for ideal viewing both during the day and at night, meaning it's a great all-rounder. 

Our reviewer also noted how good of a performer it is when it comes to gaming, and the fact that it offers many of the benefits of QD-OLED technology, without reaching the potentially unobtainable pricing of the S95C. 

How to choose the best TV

When shopping for a new TV, there are as many things to consider as there are terms and abbreviations to try and get your head around. This can range from screen technologies (eg. OLED, QLED, Mini-LED, etc) to assets like HDR, VRR and Dolby Atmos, each of which are features worth considering when shopping for a TV but can be challenging to understand.

With this in mind, we’ve collected some of the key terms and technologies below to help you understand what they’re about and why they should matter to you:

Quantum Dot (QLED): QLED, which stands for quantum dot light-emitting diode, is a panel technology for TVs which sees a quantum dot filter layered over an LED panel to enhance visual quality. This quantum dot filter is a film of small crystal semiconductor particles which can be more precisely controlled to elevate the overall appearance of colours and contrast. When compared to the one-time norm of an LCD-LED screen, QLED overall offers superior brightness, colours and contrasts. Typically, QLED panels are also far brighter than OLED displays.

OLED: OLED, an abbreviation for Organic Light Emitting Diode, is a panel technology where each pixel emits its own light and therefore offers superior control for contrasts, colour and general picture. This differs from the LCD-LED displays that were once the norm which rely upon an external light source (backlighting). Similar to QLED, this allows OLED panels superior control when it comes to colours, contrast and overall picture quality to regular LCD-LED screens.

Read more on the differences between QLED and OLED TVs

Mini-LED: A more recent panel technology introduced to big-screen TVs, Mini-LED takes traditional LCD screens and drastically shrinks the size of the LED in the backlight behind it – oftentimes while including a quantum dot filter, too. Again, much like with QLED and OLED this allows for superior control of the backlighting, resulting in boosted colours and more accurate contrast. Mini-LED TVs may not quite match the perfect contrast levels seen in OLED TVs, but they do come reasonably close – all without the sacrifice to brightness or risk of burn-in.

Read more on the differences between Mini-LED and OLED TVs

High Dynamic Range (HDR): HDR is a technology which allows televisions to display a much wider spectrum of colours. Believe it or not, modern HDR televisions are able to display roughly 1.7 billion colours – a significant leap from Standard Dynamic Range (SDR), which is capable of a little under 17 million colours. HDR is therefore simply an indication that a TV boasts the ability to display clearer, more dynamic colours with more realistic transitions between shades, as well as deeper shadows which have the capacity to show more detail in the darkness.

The two most common HDR formats are either HDR10 or HDR10+, with HDR10+ considered to be the superior of the two as its name would suggest.The ‘10’ in the name refers to HDR’s 10-bit colour depth (SDR, by comparison, has an 8-bit colour depth).

HDR10+ is similar to Dolby Vision (see below), in that it uses dynamic metadata to adjust colours and brightness on a scene-by-scene basis. However it is available at an open standard which means content makers can take advantage of what it offers their content without having to pay the kinds of licensing fees they would with Dolby Vision.

Read more on HDR10+ and what it means for you

Dolby Vision: While Dolby Vision is similar to HDR10+ in a number of ways, it’s still considered a superior format, in that it can be mastered at up to 12-bit colour depth. 

The latest update to Dolby Vision known as Dolby Vision IQ takes advantage of Dolby Vision’s existing picture and processing prowess while working with a light sensor to respond to various conditions that may otherwise impact the picture. This ranges from its ability to detect when you are watching in a particularly bright room and therefore adjust accordingly, to its ability to detect the different types of content you are engaging with on your TV such as movies, games, sports, etc.

Read more on Dolby Vision and what it means for you

What about gaming? If your primary concern while shopping for a new TV is what it can offer for gaming performance, various terms and features will emerge as relevant for you. To help you understand what these are, we have included a helpful guide in our list of the best gaming TVs to offer some assistance.

How we test the best TVs

The best TVs are chosen by our writers and editors based on a few main criteria: their overall picture performance including contrast, colour saturation and motion handling, as well as their feature set, design and the operating system they run on. We're looking for TVs that are well-built and have the technology to last for the next few years. 

Obviously, there is some subjectivity that goes into the review process, however we strive to maintain fairness across brands by testing the same type of content on each screen (HD/SDR, 4K/HDR, games, movies and music) and reporting what we've found the experience to be like.

We test the brightness and colour range using a colorimeter, and we ensure that we test 'out-of-the-box' as well as after calibrating the screens ourselves, so that we can tell you what you'll get if you don't tweak at all, as well as what the TVs are capable of in the right hands.

Like our readers, our writer's and editor's room layouts differ and may cause slight disparities in testing, however we make every attempt to question our assumptions and troubleshoot our issues with performance in every review.

FAQs

Next steps

• 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.