The IPL is getting played in the UAE this year which is extremely exciting for cricket fans. Due to the ongoing pandaemic, you can't really go to the stadium to watch the matches live but there is no reason why you can't bring the stadium home.
We've picked the best TVs that we think would be amazing to watch the matches on. But you might wonder- what do we even mean by suggesting one smart TV is better than another for watching sport? After all, a good TV is a good TV – isn’t it?
Well, yes and no. There are many aspects of picture performance at which a TV must excel if it’s going to be an authentically good TV. But being a TV that’s great for sport is a slightly more specific science.
Televised sport, of course, is overwhelmingly concerned with on-screen motion. It doesn’t matter if your sport of choice is football, or cricket, or WWF – the on-screen images will be constantly on the go. Slow camera pans will follow faster movement, there will be abrupt changes of direction, there will often be movement in the opposite direction the way the camera is moving, there will be great big swathes of uniform color with smaller elements of different color in constant motion… you get the idea. It’s all about the way a screen handles motion.
There are some TVs that are much more accomplished at this particular discipline than others. So here’s our list of TVs that are great at handling motion, and have all the other great picture-making talents to go along with it.
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Best TVs for watching IPL, at a glance:
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- LG OLED 65 INCH 65CX
- Samsung QA75Q80
- Sony 55A8G
- Panasonic TH65GX655M
- TCL L55P8US
If you’re a sports fan then you should have the LG OLED CX series on top of your list. The LG is a great TV for watching IPL – once you have a delve into the LG’s extensive set-up menus.
Weirdly enough, it’s not the ‘Sports’ picture preset which makes sport look its best. Instead, get down into the depths of the set-up menus and select ‘TruMotion’, and then have a fiddle with the ‘de-judder’ and ‘de-blur’ adjusters.
It’s fairly straightforward to get a balance that makes the LG’s motion-handling as smooth as freshly polished silk, while retaining all the detail and lovely color balance that the screen is capable of.
Read more: LG CX OLED review
Offering a superior 4K UHD picture performance, with excellent black levels and rich colour, Samsung’s mid-range QLED is a tempting alternative to the brand’s more expensive range-topping screens.
Yes, you're looking at an older model here, but that's besides the point - it's still an immensely capable TV set with some fantastic picture quality. Audio commentary will come through loud and clear, so it's an excellent TV to choose if you're looking to be as close to the action as possible.
Read more: Samsung Q80R review
When it comes to OLED TVs, you probably think of LG - basically the only company in the world that produces enough panels at scale to supply the entire industry. But the TV manufacturers buying those panels (namely Sony and Panasonic) are taking the technology and making it their own with custom processors, in-house designed bezels and stands, as well as installing their own smart TV platforms - or in Sony’s case, a licensed partner’s.
That leads us to the Sony A8G OLED that takes an LG OLED panel and infuses it with Sony’s X1 Extreme Processor and Android TV Oreo with Google Assistant built into the TV itself.
Sure, it’s slightly more expensive than the lower-cost LG B9 OLED and LG C9 OLED, but if you want the best upscaling, motion processing and picture customization options, look no further than the Sony A8G/AG8 OLED.
Read more: Sony A8G/AG8 review
With the TH65GX655M, Panasonic has taken the 4K HDR market by the scruff of the neck and given it a vigorous shake. It ushers in Dolby Vision HDR, once the preserve of high-end premium screens, into the mainstream, and doesn’t discriminate against rival dynamic metadata standard HDR10+ either.
This magnanimous stance makes the GX800 the hottest 4K ticket in the highly competitive mid-range market right now.
Panasonic’s slick looking TH65GX655M ticks all the boxes when it comes to HDR support, making it a difficult proposition to ignore if you want a 4K set that won’t leave you feeling left out when competing standards divide your streaming TV favourites. Plus it's great for watching any kind of sport on, so why not take the plunge?
Read more: Panasonic TH65GX655M review
For the truly budget-conscious, the TCL L55P8US is a perfect pick. This 4K UHD panel is powered by Android, which gives it seamless Chromecast support and access to a wealth of apps in the Google Play store.
At AED 1,299 it's certainly a bargain set with HDR support and Google Assistant, though you'll make some tradeoffs when it comes to the overall panel quality.
Still, it's a hard bargain to beat, and is a great choice for anyone wanting to enjoy the cricketing action on the big screen without breaking the bank.
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