It isn't easy to find the best TV – there are so many options with elaborate screen tech and jargon-filled features – but the good news is that an excellent home cinema experience has never been more affordable.
This guide will help you find the best TV in your budget range, based on our extensive testing experience with these sets. We'll cut the overwhelming number of options down to just the most worthwhile, from cheap options to cutting-edge flagship sets. To make our choices, we're balancing picture quality, 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, best TVs under £1000 or best OLED TVs – but here, you can get an overview of everything.
We're confident you'll find the best TV for you in this list – if you don't see a model you have in mind here, bear in mind we may still have tested it, it's just that we think the TVs in this guide offer better value.
The quick list
Want to cut to the chase and find out which TVs are the best? Below, you’ll find a roundup of our choices. You can also jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with our price comparison tool to help you find the best deals.
The best TV for most people
The Samsung S90C does it all. Excellent picture, brilliant gaming performance, great built-in sound, and provides a more budget way into the world of QD-OLED.
The best budget TV
This is the best image quality you can get at such an affordable price. Its vibrant colors and Dolby Vision support give you all you need for movies.
The best mid-range TV
Samsung's top QLED TV has a mid-range price but its premium-level features and performance make it stand out as a bargain in Samsung's TV lineup.
The best cheaper OLED TV
LG's entry-level OLED TV from 2023 provides stunning picture quality and gaming features that equals more premium models, but it's less bright than pricier TVs.
The best premium OLED TV
An incredibly detailed QD-OLED picture with glare beating anti-reflection tech, excellent gaming features and performance and a glorious design mean this is what a premium OLED TV should look like.
The best TV for versatility
Gaming, picture quality, an intuitive smart TV platform, and a wealth of sizes from a smaller 42-inch to a large 83-inch; the LG C4 covers all the bases in a way that few TVs do.
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The best bright TV for daytime sports
Samsung's QN90C hits far higher brightness levels for watching on sunny days than almost any other set. It also handles motion well, and is great for gaming too.
The best TV for total immersion
This is an excellent OLED TV in its own right, but it also includes Ambilight, which makes the screen feel even bigger than it is by seemingly extending to the wall.
The best TV for sound quality
Looking for a TV that offers genuinely immersive Dolby Atmos sound without a soundbar? The Panasonic MZ2000 offers better audio (and picture) quality than almost anything else.
I've been testing and reporting on TVs since 2017, but my experience writing about and reviewing screen technology stretches back to 2010. I love seeing all the latest TV releases as they come through our testing rooms, and I shape this guide by working with our reviewers and editors, to agree which TVs we think best fit different needs, or represent the best value.
Recent updates
April 12 2024
Added a new 'More TVs to consider section', covering other models not in the list, and explaining why they missed the cut.
The best TVs of 2024
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The best TV for most people
✅ You want QD-OLED for relatively cheap: The Samsung S90C gives you a brighter OLED screen than the LG C3, and fantastic picture quality, for the same price as C3.
✅ You need lots of HDMI 2.1 ports: HDMI 2.1 is available on all four of the S90C's HDMI ports, supporting 4K 120Hz for unbeaten connectivity.
❌ You want the brightest OLED available: Both the Samsung S95C and the LG G3 offer higher brightness levels than the S90C.
❌ You want an 80-inch TV: The 83-inch model uses a different screen type that's far less bright – we wouldn't recommend it. Get the 83-inch LG C3 instead, which has Dolby Vision.
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 colors 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 adds an extra layer, despite these TVs all costing the same. 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, and 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 ALLM and VRR as well as 4K 120Hz. It also has a gaming hub so you can tweak setting 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, you get a complete package with the S90C.
It's not totally perfect (the lack of Dolby Vision support is a shame), and higher-priced OLEDs such as the Samsung S95C (at #5 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
The best budget TV
✅ You like a colourful picture: The Omni QLED, despite its budget price, offers plenty of vibrant colour, particularly through HDR sources.
✅ You're on a budget: Packed with plenty of features and performance, the Omni QLED offers more than enough bang for your buck.
❌ You want the best built-in audio: Although respectable enough, the Omni QLED's sound is not the most immersive around.
❌ You want the most responsive smart TV platform: Fire TV offers a lot of recommendations, but navigating it does feel clunky, with no easy way to get around menus.
The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED is a bargain TV with lots to offer. We found that it has a surprisingly vibrant picture, thanks to Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, and good gaming performance, all at an incredible price. In terms of value for money, the Omni QLED is a winner.
Using a QLED panel with local dimming, the Omni QLED's colours are punchy and vibrant, especially with HDR sources. It also has a natural-looking image that gives the set a more premium look in terms of picture quality than many of its affordable rivals. Although its black levels aren't the best and its contrast isn't the richest, the picture you get for the money is great.
As for gaming features, it doesn't have 120Hz support, but the Omni QLED does have Dolby Vision gaming, something not common at this price. It also supports ALLM and VRR. When we measured its input lag time, the Omni QLED yielded a result of 10.4ms, which rivals a lot of TVs that are far more premium.
The Amazon Omni QLED naturally can't match the elite models here, but when it comes to value, the picture, performance and features you get are well beyond its budget price.
Read our full Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED review
The best mid-range TV
✅ You want an excellent picture for the money: Colour, brightness and contrast are all top-notch on the Q80D and better than expected at this price range.
✅ You want a great gaming TV: Offering extensive gaming features across all four HDMI ports and all-around great performance, the Q80D is an excellent gaming TV.
❌ You don't want to tweak any settings: The Q80D has a fantastic picture, but its colour out-of-the-box requires some adjustment.
❌ You want Dolby Vision: Same as with all Samsung TVs, the Q80D does not support Dolby Vision HDR for movies or gaming.
Mid-range TVs can sit in an awkward position – offering lesser performance and features than premium models and costing too much compared to budget models. The all-important value factor of features for money is crucial in the mid-range, and this is where the Samsung Q80D comes in, as it covers pretty much every base.
Picture quality on the Q80D exceeds its price tag. Contrast levels are excellent, with black tones displayed accurately and bright highlights handled well. Colours, once set up correctly, are bold and vibrant, especially when the TV is fed 4K sources, and give it a 3D feel. Some backlight blooming is present, mainly when viewed off-centre, but all-in-all the Q80D's picture is brilliant for the price.
Samsung's top-end QLEDs have always done a great job when it comes to gaming and the Q80D is no exception. Its four HDMI 2.1 ports all support 4K 120Hz, VRR (including AMD FreeSync Premium) and ALLM, and there's also Samsung's Gaming Hub and a low 9.8ms input lag time.
The Q80D has surprisingly good built-in sound, with a large soundstage and good sound effects placement. It also has Samsung's own Tizen smart TV platform, which provides access to plenty of content and gives better-tailored recommendations than previous Tizen iterations.
All is not perfect, as the Q80D suffers from some backlight blooming and more limited viewing angles than higher-priced TVs. There's also no Dolby Vision HDR support, but for its mid-range price, the Samsung Q80D has seriously impressive gaming features and great performance across the board.
Read our full Samsung Q80D review
The best cheaper OLED TV
✅ You want OLED picture quality: With deep blacks and punchy colors, the LG B3 has an outstanding picture despite being LGs' entry-level 2023 OLED.
✅ You want excellent gaming performance: The LG B3 offers 4K 120Hz support, Dolby Vision gaming and VRR and ALLM connectivity and a handy Game Optimizer mode.
❌ You'll watch in a bright room often: This is the least bright OLED in this list, which means it's susceptible to reflections when watching during the day, or with bright lights on. A mini-LED TV for the same price would be better for daytime viewing.
❌ You need the best built-in sound: While its respectable, the B3's sound system is definitely not as punchy as other TVs available, like the Samsung S90C
The LG B3 offers an entry-level OLED option, but doesn't compromise far 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 (#8 in this list) overcomes reflections much more easily.
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 a little disappointing 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 doesn't feel the right quality when 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
The best Premium OLED
✅ You want incredible picture detail: The S95D's combination of a QD-OLED display panel and AI processing creates highly realistic details and textures.
✅ You want a beautifully designed TV: The S95D's stand design gives it a 'floating' appearance, and its One Connect Box for cable management results in a trim profile.
❌ You need Dolby Vision: The S95D has excellent picture quality but does not support Dolby Vision for gaming or movies.
❌ You are on a budget: Even though the S95D justifies its cost, it is still a premium OLED TV with a high price tag that will stretch budgets.
The Samsung S95D is the company's flagship OLED TV for 2024. Utilizing QD-OLED like its predecessor, the Samsung S95C, it offers outstanding picture quality and gaming performance plus a new anti-reflection tech that improves viewing in brighter environments.
On the S95D, images take on a realistic depth that creates a lifelike effect. Colors are dynamic but natural, and it has the deep blacks and powerful contrast OLED fans look for. As a bonus, it carries a high peak brightness, measuring 1,868 and 1,688 nits on a 10% HDR window in Standard and Filmmaker Mode respectively, making this one of the brightest OLEDs available.
Samsung introduced its new OLED Glare Free tech with the S95D. This uses a matte screen to reduce reflections from light sources and it works wonders, with pesky reflections filtered to a faint haze on screen, even in the brightest rooms.
Gaming has become a real strong suit for Samsung TVs and the S95D is no different. It has four kitted-out HDMI 2.1 ports that support up to 4K 144 Hz input and VRR including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. With a built-in Gaming Hub to house all gaming apps and settings in one place, the S95D carries all the features a gamer could need.
The S95D is also a beautifully designed TV, with a 'floating' appearance and good built-in audio. It's undoubtedly pricey, but with the new features and improved picture quality, it more than justifies its cost - it's easily the best premium TV on the market.
Read our full Samsung S95D review
The best TV for versatility
✅ You like a wide choice of sizes: Ranging from 42-inch to 83-inch, the LG C4 can fit anywhere in the house, from desk to cinema room.
✅ You want a TV for movies and gaming: The LG C4 has very strong picture quality, and gaming features to cover every avenue.
❌ You want the best built-in audio: The LG C4 has decent enough audio performance, but it's not going to beat the Panasonic MZ2000 (#9 on this list) anytime soon
❌ You need the brightest OLED TV: The LG C4 offers decent brightness levels for a mid-range OLED, but flagship models like the LG G3 and Samsung S95D are brighter still.
The LG C4 is easily one of the most versatile TVs on the market, delivering excellent picture quality, a user-friendly smart TV platform, plenty of features to keep gamers happy and an 'affordable for OLED' price tag - all in a wide range of sizes from 42 to 83-inch.
Picture quality of the LG C4 is superb. It demonstrates excellent contrast levels, even with more challenging black and white TV shows such as Netflix's Ripley series, great detail and improved brightness levels over its predecessor - the LG C3. Unlike some mid-range and even premium OLED TVs, the LG C4 does a great job of handling meddlesome TV reflections as well. The C4 carries this brilliant picture quality not only with movies and TV shows but also gaming as well.
Speaking of gaming, the LG C4 serves as a fantastic gaming TV. 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 features webOS 24 as its smart TV platform, easily one of the best iterations of LG's webOS that there has been thanks to its intuitive nature and tidier home screen, plus its a well-designed TV too.
So, why does the LG C4 not take the spot? Although it is a phenomenal TV, the C4 is bested in most areas by the Samsung S90C, which sits at the top of the list, but also doesn't quite have best-in-class performance in any area. But, what the C4 does do, it does very well.
The best TV for sport
✅ You want a great TV for daytime viewing: With its high brightness and anti-glare screen coating, it looks good even when placed in well-lit rooms.
✅ You want a TV for gaming: The QN90C’s four HDMI 2.1 ports all support 4K 120Hz and variable refresh rate from a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
❌ You want the best TV and money is no object: The Samsung S95C (#5 in this list) offers even better contrast, and is arguably the ultimate home cinema option.
❌ You want a simple TV: The Samsung's fullscreen menus are more overwhelming than really feels necessary.
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. If you want a more affordable equivalent to this, consider the Hisense U8K – it's not quite as bright, and its processing isn't quite as advanced, but neither is too far off, and it's a lot cheaper. But the QN90C is still the king.
Read our full Samsung QN90C review
The most immersive TV
✅ You like the look of Ambilight: It makes the picture feel even bigger and more immersive. No other TV brand has this tech built in.
✅ You want a powerful, all-round performance: Philips' OLED808 has vibrant, punchy, contrast-rich, exceptionally sharp pictures and excellent gaming performance.
❌ You a comprehensive game mode: Although it does have a game mode, the OLED808 feels bare in comparison to other TVs from LG, Samsung and more.
❌ You have multiple cutting-edge gaming devices: Only two of the OLED808’s HDMI ports support all the latest gaming features.
The Philips OLED808 is one of the few TVs that we can confidently call glamorous. This is Philips' latest OLED TV and it's eye-catching in a whole bunch of ways. It has an incredibly thin screen and high-quality metallic finish offset, which gives a spectacular effect when using Philips’ Ambilight technology.
If you've not heard of Ambilight before, then it's lighting tech that uses rear-mounted LEDs to cast coloured light onto the wall behind the TV that can match the pictures you’re watching. During testing, we found the Ambilight to follow the action on screen perfectly. You can also set the Ambilight to follow audio if you're streaming music through the TV or a solid colour to set the mood.
But the OLED808's picture quality might be even more striking than its design – and that's saying a lot. Lush, vibrant colours and outstanding black levels balance with one another, leading to amazing contrast levels. Through HDR sources, the OLED808 looks remarkable. It may not be the brightest TV out there, both the Samsung S90C and S95C have it beaten, but the OLED808's picture is so beautiful we can forgive it.
Gamers will be happy thanks to support for 4K 120Hz signals, VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming (something that was missing on last year's OLED807), which makes this an excellent choice for gaming. One downside is that HDMI 2.1 is only two of its four HDMI ports and its game mode is bare compared to others from brands such as LG, Samsung, Panasonic and more, but the OLED808 is still a great gaming TV.
Read our full Philips OLED808 review
The best TV for sound
✅ You want an all-in-one home cinema: If you hanker after a home cinema system with immersive audio bells and whistles, you'll get it here.
✅ You want a TV with versatile picture: The MZ2000 looks great in both light and dark rooms, thanks to its brighter OLED panel with MLA and heat-sink tech.
❌ You own a dedicated Dolby Atmos sound system: You’ll be wasting your money if you already have a full-blown Dolby Atmos home cinema system.
❌ You want a full board of 4K 120Hz HDMI inputs: Avid gamers might want to look elsewhere for 4K 120Hz inputs on every port.
While TVs aren't known for their sound quality, the Panasonic MZ2000's 360° Soundscape Pro audio performance is on par with an upper mid-range Dolby Atmos soundbar based on our testing. In terms of built-in sound, no other TV on the market is going to beat the Panasonic MZ2000.
The Panasonic MZ2000 not only offers a meaty, powerful sound with plenty of bass, but also a delicate touch that leads to a perfect balance between treble, mid, bass and speech levels. It also features a 'Space Tune' setting that maps the sound to the viewing environment to add even more immersion, making the most of its Dolby Atmos capabilities, reproducing surround effects to an excellent level.
As part of Panasonic's OLED range, the MZ2000 also offers pixel perfect imagery thanks to its Master OLED Ultimate panel, which utilises OLED, MLA and heat-sink technologies to create an image that is truly breath-taking. Outstanding black levels and contrast, rich, vibrant colours and a natural image all showcase the MZ2000's incredible picture.
Why is the Panasonic MZ2000 not higher up the list? Quite simply, its price. Although it is an incredible TV, the MZ2000 is noticeably pricier than a lot of its competition such as the LG G3 and Samsung S95C. With the difference in price, you could get one of the best soundbars to add extra depth to those two other brilliant TVs. But, if you want a picture-perfect TV and you have the money, the MZ2000 is a showstopper.
If you're looking for a more affordable option, the Sony A80L is the best mid-range OLED TV for sound, and the Samsung QN85C is also strong for audio quality.
Read our full Panasonic MZ2000 review
More TVs to consider
If you're looking for an elite TV for wall-mounting, the LG G3 is one to strongly consider. Its overall performance is close to the Samsung S95C, and it comes with a special 'Zero Gap' wall bracket in the box that means it sits… well, flush to the wall. Very slick, and a great looking TV. However, the S95C edges it out of this list overall, because we love the One Connect box (also a huge boon if you're wall-mounting) and it's a slightly better performer overall. But definitely read our full LG G3 review if you know you'll wall-mount and you want a high-end TV.
For bright TVs suitable for daytime sport viewing, we recommended the Samsung QN90C and Samsung Q80C in this list, but it's also well worth looking at the Hisense U8K and Samsung QN85C as TVs that split the gap between those two options. Cheaper than the QN90C but not as bright; brighter than the Q80C, but not as cheap – and two great TVs we rated highly. The Hisense U8K is a little brighter, so should maybe be your choice if beating reflections is the priority, while the Samsung QN85C is perhaps better for gamers thanks to its four HDMI 2.1 ports. The QN85C also has better sound. Here's our full Samsung QN85C review and Hisense U8K review to read more about them.
Sony has a selection of TVs that are worth consideration, but have really just been kept out of this list by better-value options. However, Sony's image processing and built-in audio are both excellent, so they're a real connoisseur's choice. The Sony X90L is a superb gaming TV if you have a PS5, because it has some custom features to make the console look its best. The Sony A80L is a beautiful-looking mid-range OLED with better sound than any of its rivals, though it's less bright and notably more expensive than the LG C3 or Samsung S90C usually. And the Sony X95L is a high-end mini-LED TV with very impressive contrast and excellent colours and detail, but it's not as bright as the competition from Samsung, and is very premium priced. Anyone looking for a bright PS5 gaming TV should read our Sony X90L review, anyone wanting a great OLED that doesn't need a soundbar should read our Sony A80L review, and our Sony X95L review will be of interest to anyone looking for an alternative to Samsung's high-end LCD TVs.
At the small and super-cheap end, we recently reviewed the Amazon Fire TV 2-Series, which didn't blow us away, but still offers strong value. It has better sound than a lot of small and cheap TVs, which we really appreciate, and the Amazon Fire TV software is nicer to use than a lot of low-price rivals – but the picture quality was frustrating inconsistent. However, a very cheap TV that you can hear clearly, and makes it easy to find what you want, will definitely be tempting for plenty of people. Here's our full Amazon Fire TV 2-Series review.
How to choose the best TV for you
How we choose the best TVs
There are plenty of reasons why you might want a TV built specifically for one purpose. Maybe you'd like to find the best TV for sport or the best gaming TV. But if you want to simply find the best TV on the market right now—and don't mind paying for it—there are plenty of excellent displays to choose from.
In our guide above, we've selected the best TVs you can buy right now. We picked these TVs based on a few key criteria. The first is picture quality, we wanted to be sure images were clear and sharp, no matter whether you're watching 4K content or upscaled content.
We also wanted to see impressive brightness. Bright images aren't the be all and end all of a great TV, but you need to know your new display will perform well in a variety of lighting environments.
Value for money is another key consideration. Sure many of the TVs in this list are pricey, but there's a difference between an expensive TV and one that really lives up to that price. Several of the TVs above might be eye-wateringly expensive, but if you have the money to spend, we promise they're worth it.
Extra features are a bonus, like the Philips OLED808's Ambilight technology. This isn't a must-have, but it does upgrade your watching experience considerably, so we were sure to highlight the added features that we believe you'll genuinely value.
There's so much to considering when you're choosing the best TV for you, but these are a few of the top considerations we had in mind during our reviews and our selection process for this guide.
What TVs are coming in 2024?
We've already heard about a lot of exciting new TVs coming in 2024 from LG, Samsung and more and we'll be sure to update this guide when we've had a chance to test them.
Samsung has lifted the lid on its entire new TV range including the flagship Samsung S95D, which features new anti-glare tech and as well as the Samsung S90D, follow-up to our TV of the year, the Samsung S90C. The S90D introduces two new sizes in 42 and 48-inch (although admittedly not QD-OLED). There's also the mini-LED Samsung QN90D. The Samsung S95D now sits on our list as the 'best premium TV'.
LG has also announced its 2024 lineup including the LG G4, which again promises even higher brightness than the LG G3 and the LG C4, LG's mid-range OLED that delivers on its brightness boost promise, hitting over 1,000 nits and now sits on our list. There's also the LG M4, its wireless OLED.
Of course, it's not all about LG and Samsung. Philips announced its 2024 TV lineup, including the OLED+959, the first to promise 3,000 nits. Panasonic also unveiled its 2024 TV range, including the flagship Panasonic Z95A, which have its smart TV platform updated to Fire TV.
There have been no announcements from Sony just yet as they tend to come later in the year, but as soon as we get news we'll be sure to update you. As with all these TVs, once we get our hands-on testing we'll update this guide with our impressions.
How to pick the best TV for you
Looking for the best TV? There are plenty of things to consider before you take the leap. We recommend kicking off with the basics and deciding on your budget.
Yes, you might be able to bump up your budget a little if you find the perfect TV—or find a great deal in the Black Friday sales—but it's a good idea to set a limit to begin with so you don't fall in love with the unrivalled images and features of a TV that's well above your price range.
At this stage, also consider size. We recommend that you literally measure the space you have in your living room. And remember, just because you can squeeze a huge TV into your available space doesn't mean it'll be well-suited. You'll want to think about viewing angels, brightness and whether you'll be able to put a bit of distance between you and the screen so you can enjoy it properly. If you're thinking of wall-mounting the TV using one of the best TV wall mounts, you may want to consider the amount of the space the TV will take up, the depth of the TV, how you want it to move and so on aswell.
What next? Well, it's a good idea to check out the HDR capabilities of any new TV—we've detailed these under each of the best TVs in our guide—and the smart TV platform each offers. It's also worth considering sound. If you're willing to spend extra cash on a soundbar, you don't need to agonise about audio. However, if you'd like an all-in-one cinema system, consider an OLED TV that delivers great audio as well as a fantastic picture.
What can smart TVs do?
Smart TVs are internet-connected televisions. That means you can use them to browse through your favorite streaming apps as well as do a few other things such as control smart home devices or browse the internet. A TV that does not have smart capabilities is often referred to as a ‘dumb’ TV because it requires a set-top box or streaming stick to use streaming apps – but there aren't many of these for sale now!
Which brand is best for TVs?
There's no one brand that does TVs better than the others, but there are definitely some TV makes that excel in certain areas more than their rivals.
As you can probably tell from our list above, LG, Samsung, Sony and Philips tend to be the top-performing brands at the premium end, though all bring out a wide range of models each year.
There are plenty of LG TVs on our guide right now, with a consistently outstanding picture and plenty of features. This brand certainly makes excellent OLED TVs – in fact, LG Display makes the OLED panels for most other brands. We like that LG offers a wide range of TVs, including different budgets and sizes – the C4 goes from 42 inches all the way up to 83-inches. LG's webOS is one of our favorites, an easy to use operating system that feels intuitive.
Utilising QD-OLED technology to full effect, Samsung sits at the top of our list with the fantastic Samsung S90C. Samsung uses quantum dot technology to bring you brightness and excellent contrast. Like LG, Samsung offers a huge variety of TV sizes and prices. Samsung's smart TV software is Tizen, which we think is good overall. The brand also offers some extras, like its One Connect box with some TVs, and styles that are a little unique – take a look at the various iterations of Samsung's The Frame TVs.
Sony is another major player in the TV space. Its screens boast stunning picture quality and build quality. Although, like other brands in this list, there's a wide range across the board. One interesting difference about Sony is its really pushed its Cognitive XR processor, a processing chip added to its TVs from 2021 that boosts vision and audio performance.
Philips TVs don't top our list, but they always feature strongly. Their screens are reliable and bright with some notable cool additions, including Ambilight, a system that projects lights onto the wall behind a TV display. Premium Philips TVs also have a considerable audio boost thanks to a partnership with Bowers & Wilkins.
Of course you shouldn't feel hemmed in by these four brands – Panasonic offers excellent premium TVs with a focus on image quality in particular, and Hisense and TCL offer great value in the mid-range and affordable end of the market.
Which brand of TV is most reliable?
Again, there's no one answer to this question, particularly in terms of which brand to go for. But one thing worth considering in regards to longevity is the kind of TV tech that's being used.
For example, OLED TVs do have the possibility of image retention, also known as 'burn-in'. It's where a ghost of a still image stays on the screen – such as a clock or logo from 24-hour news channels. However, these days burn-in is much less of an issue than it used to be. Then again, LED TVs are probably still the better choice for anyone concerned about long-term reliability, since there's no chance of it at all.
Which is better, OLED or QLED?
This is one of the biggest and more contentious TV tech questions of the moment. Luckily we've covered all of the details in our OLED vs QLED guide.
However, if you're looking for a summary we'd say that QLED is a great option for brightness if you'll watch in bright, sunlit conditions; whereas OLED TVs offer better viewing angles and superior contrast for gorgeous movie-like images, as long as you can control the lighting.
Is LG better than Samsung?
Both LG and Samsung are excellent TV brands and you can't really go wrong with either. However, there are some areas where one TV maker could be a better option than the other.
An LG TV tops our best TVs guide, but Samsung is the market leader for sales overall. If you're looking for the most impressive picture quality out there, regardless of price, nothing currently beats LG's OLED panels for color and contrast.
But Samsung TV's are incredibly bright, particularly in more affordable models. We also love Samsung's lifestyle sets, like The Frame QLED 4K TV (2022), for combining performance with style. And its cheaper TVs, like the Samsung CU8000, are good value for money.
Is OLED better than 4K?
Luckily, you don't need to decide whether to go with OLED or 4K – you can have both! 4K refers to the resolution (ie, the number of pixels on the screen), while OLED refers to the panel technology (ie, what the pixels are made from).
So you can have 4K screens that are OLED (almost all of them are, apart from some pricey 8K OLED TVs), and you can have 4K screens that are QLED, mini-LED or other tech.
How we test the best TVs
When it comes to reviewing the best TVs, we base our scores on the following criteria that you’ll find in our reviews: picture quality, audio quality, gaming features, smart TV features and ease of use, design, and value for money. We reach these conclusions using both objective measurements and our subjective opinion from viewing the TV. You can read in-depth how we test TVs at TechRadar at that link, or read on for an overview.
Testing picture quality, we start by cycling through the TVs picture presets – Standard, Movie, Sports and so on – to establish where they have strengths and weaknesses, and which is the most accurate. We test these picture modes through several sources including 4K Blu-ray and streaming, HD Blu-ray and streaming, and lower-resolution sources such as DVD and broadcast TV to test a TV’s upscaling effectiveness.
While testing, we’re looking to see how the TV’s processing handles various elements of the pictures. How is motion handled in 24fps movies compared to sports, for example, or how natural the details look when upscaled from lower-quality to higher quality. We’ll test to see whether digital noise reduction processing ruins the look of film grain, and how well a TV handles the digital artefacts and color banding that are common on streaming services.
We’re also looking for how well a movie handles dark tones, especially if it’s an LCD model, and this includes and backlight blooming from light to dark areas, and any unevenness in the backlight.
When it comes to objective measurements, we use specialized equipment, including a test pattern generator to create measurable signals, a colorimeter to read them, and Portrait Display’s Calman Calibration software to record our results.
The first area we’ll usually test is brightness. We’ll measure a TV’s brightness over different sized, white window patterns, such as 10% (for HDR highlights) and 100% or fullscreen brightness. The 10% window tells us the maximum brightness we can realistically expect a set to achieve in real use, while the 100% window tells us how bright it can go in something like sports where brightness is even for a long time, and is important for understanding how well a TV will beat reflections. We do this to test not only how effective a TVs backlight will be, but also to measure against claimed brightness from manufacturers. When we test brightness, we make sure to do it in a light-controlled room to prevent any interference from other light sources which could affect results.
We also test the color reproduction of TVs, in both SDR and HDR, to test their accuracy to the source material, and how much of the maximum possible color gamut they can show. We’ll also test accuracy not only for color but grayscale tones, to see how accurate a TV’s contrast is, looking in particular at just how true its representation of black tones are.
For gaming, we use a Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester to see what kind of latency is added to games by the TVs processing, and we always test this in the Game Mode equivalent. We’ll test other gaming features, such as 4K 120Hz and Variable Refresh Rate support, using a games console for real resting.
It’s worth noting that although we strive to test every TV in matching conditions and with the same equipment, some of our writers have different setups. We only use writers with equipment that is at the same level of accuracy as ours, and they will run the same tests.
The latest updates to this best TVs guide
July 10 2024
Replaced the Samsung Q80C with the Samsung Q80D for 'best mid-range'.
June 13 2024
Replaced the LG C3 with the LG C4 as 'best for versatility' as the C4 carries a lot of the same features, but improves on brightness, processing and gaming features.
April 12 2024
Added a new 'More TVs to consider section', covering other models not in the list, and explaining why they missed the cut.
Read more updates
March 19 2024
Added benchmark charts for every TV, to make it easy to compare performance.
February 26 2024
Expanded on our How we Test section to include more detailed breakdown of what we tests we conduct on the TVs in this guide.
January 23 2024
Updated FAQ's section with 'What new TVs are coming in 2024?' looking at the latest models that are arriving in 2024.
December 12, 2023
Replaced LG B3 with Samsung Q80C as 'Best mid-range'. LG B3 became 'Best cheaper OLED TV'.
November 14, 2023
Replaced the Samsung BU8500 with the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED for 'Best budget TV'. Replaced the Philips OLED807 and Panasonic LZ2000 with their 2023 equivalents, the Philips OLED808 and Panasonic MZ2000, respectively.
October 12, 2023
Updated several products in this list to reflect our latest reviews, and following price cuts and lack of stock of older TVs. Added the Samsung S90C at #1, the LG B3 at #3, moved the Samsung S95C to #4, added the Samsung QN900C at #5, and added LG C3 at #6.
September 5, 2023
Added more buying advice for each TV in the list, detailing pros and cons for each TV. We removed some alternative recommendation TVs, to keep our suggestions clear.
August 3, 2023
Swapped Samsung QN85B for Samsung QN90C as 'Best TV for sport', based on availability and performance. Checked all other products against our latest reviews.
June 26, 2023
Added this new 'Latest updates' section to help readers know how we've changed the guide recently. Checked all products against our latest reviews.
May 31, 2023
Checked list of products against our latest reviews. Rewrote introduction.
April 14, 2023
Reordered products to reflect latest recommendations. Added new easier navigation features.
