Each year at Digital Trends, there are few things that get us more excited than getting our hands on the new models of TVs that come out. And we're lucky enough to have one of the best set of eyes in the business when it comes to putting those new TV panels to the test. Our editor-at-large Caleb Denison is about as expert as experts get, and if you're into TVs, you should definitely follow him over on our YouTube page.
So what's Caleb been up to lately? The new 2024 TVs have started rolling in, so he's been busy. And if you're in the market for a new TV, whether that's a new QLED TV, an OLED TV, a mini-LED, or a more traditional LED-LCD set, we take a look at all the year's top models to help you get the one that has the best picture and features for your dollar.
As far as the best TV brands go, Samsung, Sony, and LG are always quick to impress, but Hisense and TCL have been delivering some incredible screens as well. As it stands right now, our top pick is still the 2023 Sony A95L QD-OLED, but Denison recently declared the 2024 LG G4 OLED as an early contender to supplant it, saying that it "has the best picture quality I've ever tested in a TV." He's biting his tongue until he puts the two panels head-to-head, so we'll update this list accordingly.
In the meantime, there are still loads of excellent TVs on our list of the best TVs to suit a range of features and budgets. Let's dig in.
Sony A95L QD-OLED
The best TV you can buy right now
- Outstanding color accuracy and brightness
- Excellent contrast and luminance
- Great sound
- Gorgeous game mode picture quality
- Incredibly good upscaling
- Some deep features not available at launch
Our current top pick remains the Sony A95L QD-OLED. When it came out last year, Denison called it the best TV he’s ever reviewed, so you know you’re in for some seriously good picture, sound, and other features. And yeah, Sony’s 2023 flagship is still a killer TV, that just so happens to be equipped with cutting-edge QD-OLED display tech.
For those unaware, “QD-OLED” stands for Quantum Dot-Organic Light Emitting Diode. What we’ve got here is an OLED backbone, complete with a screen that contains self-emissive pixels. But on top of that, there’s also a layer of quantum dots built into the A95L, which does wonders for overall color and peak brightness levels; not to mention the supremely wide color gamut you’ll get to experience. Those are just the fundamentals though, with Sony giving us plenty more to love about this phenomenal TV.
It’s not too often we get to rave about a TV’s audio system, but we couldn’t believe the type of sound quality the A95L is capable of. With powerful representation in the treble, midrange, and bass sectors, you’d think you were using a great soundbar or surround sound-lite, but nope: it’s all in the TV speakers, friends.
Picture-wise, the list of terrific things to say is nearly endless, but highlights include some of the best color purity and saturation levels we’ve ever seen on a TV, or at least one with these max nit figures. The A95L also delivers some tremendous 4K upscaling, which not only brings lower-res content closer to Ultra HD quality, but also reduces picture noise and other onscreen artifacts to give you final frames that look clean and sharp. The A95L is also a fantastic TV for modern gaming, especially for those of us who own a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S.
Price-wise, this is going to be one of the most expensive picks on our list, but we really can’t praise the Sony A95L enough. And if you're on the lookout for a super-great deal on one of last year's flagship sets, now is the time to track down a Sony A95K.
LG G4 evo OLED
The best OLED that LG has ever made
- Outstanding brightness
- Astounding accuracy
- Unprecedented flexibility
- Awesome gaming performance
- Five-year warranty
- Hit-or-miss sound
- Frustrating remote
We’re not easily impressed by just any TV. We expect the latest and greatest models to not only floor us with picture and sound, but also surprise us with features and capabilities that wouldn’t be possible in months and years past. Last year, we were totally gung ho about the amazing LG G3 OLED, a marvel of self-emissive picture that you can still buy -- and you should, as they're likely to go on sale now that the 2024s are here. For now, though, it's the LG G4's time to shine.
And shine it does. In our LG G4 video review (post coming soon), Denison not only says that "the LG G4 has the best picture quality I've ever tested in a TV," but that "it's the brightest TV we've tested to date." This is some high praise, but he does add that getting it there takes a little bit of work in the picture settings. In the end, it has some excellent versatility — it can be the brightest it can be if you're going to use it in a bright room, or it can be dialed down if your viewing setting is a man cave or light-controlled home theater room, for example. The choice is yours.
There’s been plenty of fanfare about Samsung and Sony’s forays into QD-OLED tech, which has enjoyed the reputation of being brighter than OLED. We're big fans of QLED and QD-OLED panels, but now LG is forcing its two fiercest competitors to take heed.
We’re also pleased to see LG’s latest chip, the a11 AI processor, put to the test. The speedy new tech brings improved processing speed, unparalleled picture upscaling, lag-free streaming, and brilliant audio performance to LG's flagship lineup.
The LG G4 also supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, Filmmaker Mode, and includes four HDMI 2.1 inputs and LG’s all-new webOS 24 for all things smart TV.
Samsung S95C OLED
Samsung's best OLED TV
- Incredibly bright colors
- Perfect black levels
- Pristine overall picture
- Great upscaling
- Awesome for gaming
- Mediocre sound
- No Dolby Vision support
As we wait in anticipation for the 2024 Samsung S95D OLED to land on our review bench (you can check out our first look of the TV, though), we still strand by the S95C as one of the best OLEDs you can spend your money on.
First off, the S95C is excellently bright, has a sleek design, and premium features that are still hard to beat. In fact, Denison called the S95C "the best TV Samsung has ever made." Although it doesn't come with a wall mount, the all-metal stand mount is sturdy, stable, and leaves enough space for a soundbar underneath, but more importantly, it cradles the S95C's One Connect box that was once only found with Samsung's 8K QLED TVs. The One Connect box is a rather ingenious solution for messy and awkward cables at the back of your TV as it puts all those connections in a separate sleek box that connects to the TV with one cable.
As you might expect, picture quality is off the charts. Starting with brightness, peaking at 1,600 nits in our own tests. And that's bananas. True to QLED and QD-OLED panels, this TV will be more than fine in any bright room you want to put it in. Color brightness is also very good and accurate on this TV, with 100% of P3 color space, and 75% of BT.2020, and Denison praised it for having a "super vivid vibe that, when combined with OLED’s perfect blacks, is simply unmatched by any other TV technology." However, there is that matter of Samsung still not supporting Dolby Vision, the dynamic HDR format that's supported by several streaming services. If that's a deal breaker for you, and it shouldn't be, then scroll back up to the LG G3.
Gamers will be delighted by the S95C's Game Mode that supports fast gaming at up to 120Hz, and because it's a Samsung, gamers can also tap into Samsung Gaming Hub for cloud gaming without the console.
One of the other differentiators between the S95C and its closes competitor from last year, the LG G3, is Samsung's array of eight bass transducers on the back of the TV, which, Denison reports, don't really add much to the native sound of the set and you'd still be better off getting a soundbar. Speaking of sound, the S95C does support Dolby Atmos sound, as well as pass through via eARC, but not DTS passthrough, sadly.
LG M3 Wireless OLED
Premium picture meets cutting-edge tech
- Gorgeous OLED picture quality
- Low-latency wireless for gaming
- Solid wireless signal connection
- Easy setup
- Good sound
- Wireless box needs true line of sight
The LG M3 Wireless OLED has arrived to solve a problem that a lot of home theaters struggle with: having too many wires to run. When it comes to power cables, we’ll always be reliant on a lead and power brick (at least for the foreseeable future), but as far as AV connections go (HDMI and digital optical), this is where TVs like the LG M3 are starting to change the game. In terms of picture quality, the M3 is pretty much toe-to-toe with the amazing LG G3, our favorite OLED this year. But the true calling card feature is the M3’s ability to wirelessly receive picture and sound from a broadcasting unit called the Zero Connect Box.
The Zero Connect includes three HDMI ports that can push 4K at up to 120Hz (and the second port is eARC/ARC compatible), digital optical, ethernet, two USB-A, and an output for an IR blaster. And as long as the transmitting device is in range of the M3 TV’s receiver, you’ll be able to enjoy wireless audio and video. Do keep in mind that if you’re planning on using a soundbar, you’ll want to have the Zero Connect located fairly close to the TV, otherwise, you probably won’t have enough cord length to place the soundbar under the M3.
As mentioned, the picture quality on this model is right on par with the LG G3, and when we tested the M3 ourselves, we experienced zero troubles with latency or any kind of compression or pixelation. This is definitely the kind of next-gen TV that leans on one awesome feature more than any other, and at $5,000 we do wish the Zero Connect box was a little smaller and completely reliable in the signal-range department. But if you told us a year ago that we’d have the ability to go wireless with our HDMI gear, and the picture and sound would be just as good as running physical cables, we’d scoff and laugh. But the LG M3 Wireless OLED has proved us wrong.
TCL QM8 mini-LED
The TV most people should buy
- Stunning HDR performance
- Class-leading brightness
- Excellent black levels
- Virtually no detectable blooming
- Very good color saturation/brightness
- Some motion artifacts
Sure, the LGs, Sonys, and Samsungs are the cream of the crop so far, but the price tags on those panels can be a jagged pill to swallow. May we present to you, then, a TCL TV that has closed the performance-versus-price gap so thoroughly, that it surprised us: the 2023 TCL QM8.
With appeal to an extremely broad audience, the TCL QM8 sits at the top of TCL's new Q class flagship lineup with this 4K mini-LED QLED TV that runs Google TV. As we mentioned in the intro, 2023 has so far been all about brightness, something that TCL promises with the QM8 with its "High Brightness ULTRA LED Backlight" technology. So ... it's bright then?
You betcha. In fact, in our review of the QM8, Caleb Denison's calibration tool is only rated to accurately read up to 2,000 nits of brightness, which is already insanely powerful. The QM8 blew past that, giving readings of up to 3,500 nits in HDR mode before some tweaking settled things to a more consistent 2,500 (TCL's website lists the peak nits at 2,000 though). The TL;DR here is: schnikies, it's bright.
But how about the black levels? While deep inky blacks is the calling card of OLED technology, this mini-LED gets really close, with excellent contrast and support for Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG. Denison was impressed, stating: "The contrast on this TV is just out-of-this-world impressive, partially because it can get so bright, yes, but also because its blacks are remarkably good." The brightness and black level capabilities make this a great choice for both dark home theater dens and bright rooms.
Color-wise, the TCL QM8 is great, too, covering 97% of DCI-P3 and about 76% of BT.2020 color gamuts, and the TV looks excellent out of the box even without calibration. And while Denison did see some motion judder when viewing some higher-quality shows, there's a de-judder option in the settings that can nip that in the bud. But gamers will be pleased with the QM8's support for VRR, and there's an auto game mode with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.
Sony XR X95L mini-LED
One of the brightest mini-LEDs
- Brilliant contrast
- Excellent color accuracy
- Smooth motion
- Minimal blooming and halo
- Excellent gaming features/picture quality
- Quirks with picture quality with some streaming apps
Sony has plenty of representation in this best TV roundup, but there was no way we were going to pass up the amazing Sony XR X95L mini-LED set. Now, side by side with the also-quite- amazing Sony XR X93L (which is our next featured pick), the X95L really isn’t too different. What really separates both models is not much more than local dimming capabilities and brightness levels, but if you’re a nose-to-the-screen videophile with grand expectations, the X95L is probably the set to go with.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen mini-LED lighting implemented on more and more TVs, and the results never get old. But what starts to grind our gears is picture maladies like haloing and light bloom. Unless you’re dealing with an OLED set, you’re pretty much always going to have to contend with some level of blooming on an LED-driven set, and the X95L is no exception. However, what you’ll get with this Sony flagship is the most minimal amount of haloing and bloom there could possibly be.
Thanks to features like XR Backlight Master Drive and XR Triluminos Pro, the X95L’s picture performance is fine-tuned within an inch of its life, delivering some of the brightest and boldest picture quality we’ve ever seen. And whether you’re watching 4K HDR content, or something relatively low-res, the X95L is going to ensure that your source is as visually rich as possible. That’s on top of features like HDMI 2.1, an immersive gaming dashboard for PS5 and Xbox optimizations, as well as one of our favorite smart TV platforms, Google TV.
As of right now, the only X95L size that seems to be available is the 85-inch model. When quantities improve, you should also be able to grab this set in 65 and 75-inch sizes, but there was no way we were going to miss the opportunity to dish about it. For now though, if you’re looking for some slightly smaller big-screen options, the Sony XR X93L is just as good as the X95L, save for those extra local dimming zones and higher nit numbers.
Hisense U8N
Our favorite Hisense
- Intense brightness
- Deep blacks/contrast
- Vibrant, accurate color
- Great sound
- Overly bright HDR
- Poor off-angle viewing
It’s getting harder and harder for us to call Hisense a “budget-friendly” brand. That kind of connotation just doesn’t line up with the type of picture and sound performance you’ll get from a Hisense set, especially if you’ve got your sights set on one of its U8 offerings.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve had the continued opportunity to review several Hisense sets, including a handful of its flagship models. The 2024 Hisense U8N is the newest addition to the Hisense family, and we were simply blown away by the picture quality and medley of features this bad boy brings to the table.
The U8N is a powerful TV that delivers a brilliant and colorful image in both SDR and HDR viewing modes. When measuring nit output for these settings, our reviewer measured peak brightness at 1,300 nits in SDR, with around 3,500 for specular highlights in HDR. There’s no doubting the fact that the U8N can get very bright, but it also delivers the kind of incredible contrast numbers that might fool some folks into thinking it’s actually an OLED set.
While it suffers a bit in the viewing angle department, if you can arrange your furniture appropriately, we have no doubt that the Hisense U8N is one of the best bright TVs on the market for 2024.
Sony XR X93L mini-LED
Premium performance without the Sony tax
- Excellent motion resolution
- Stellar color accuracy
- Bright, punchy HDR performance
- Solid black levels
- Some backlight blooming/halo
- Poor off-angle performance
Depending on how nerdy you are in the TV space, you may or may not notice that Sony's 2023 X93L mini-LED TV looks exactly the same as 2022's flagship mini-LED, the X95K. Well, actually, apart from what Sony says is some software improvements, it is exactly the same. And that's not a bad thing, because the X95K was an excellently bright, colorful, and contrast-capable TV backed by Sony's powerful Cognitive Processor XR. So what's the fuss, then? Sony's TVs tend to go for a premium (don't get us started on the "Sony tax"), so the big takeaway here is that the X93L is a great way for you to get in on all the premium performance of the X95K and save your wallet in the process.
For a comparison, the 65-inch X95K was $2,800 at launch. The 65-inch X93L was $2,200 at launch. Boom, you just saved $600 for a sweet TV. But let's talk specs, shall we? In our review, Caleb Denison's assessment of the X93L's picture performance out of the box was "excellent," with how brightness tests revealing an impressive peak of 1,800 nits. Color and contrast are killer, too, and the TV supports HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision. There are also some presets for movie lovers in the form of an IMAX Enhanced mode and a Netflix calibrated mode, too.
Denison praised the X93L's "stellar motion processing and low-resolution content upscaling, excellent tone-mapping, and color accuracy," all calling-cards of Sony. And all that new software stuff we mentioned includes a new Eco Dashboard for managing eco settings, some additional black level adjustments for seeing darker scenes better, and a new gaming dashboard that lets you toggle VRR on and off between 60Hz and 120Hz, which gamers will rejoice over.
One of the only downfalls Denison could find with the X93L is the inclusion of only two HDMI 2.1 inputs, whereas most new TVs have four. The X93L is Available in 65, 75, and 85-inch models.
Sony X90L LED
Best value Sony LCD TV
- Punchy HDR performance
- Oustanding color and grayscale accuracy
- Excellent motion handling
- Solid value
- Minimal blooming/halo
- Unimpressive sound
When it comes to mid-tier TVs, Sony is a little quieter these days than it used to be. But that doesn’t mean the Bravia stalwart is only focusing on flagship sets, because the 2023 X90L is hard proof that Sony always means business, even at lower prices. What we’ve got here is a bold and brilliant full-array LED set that delivers exceptional HDR performance, next-level gaming specs, and the algorithmic king of smart TV platforms, Google TV. Available in 55-, 65-, 75-, 85-, and 98-inch sizes, whatever viewing space you’re working with, there’s an X90L to match the room.
Our review took a hard look at the Sony X90L, and was more than prepared to start issuing demerits for the TV’s relative lack of dimming zones when compared to the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8K. There’s also the fact that both of the latter are equipped with mini-LED lighting systems, which basically guarantees excellent brightness and colors with minimal light blooming. But even though the Sony X90L uses a less advanced LED setup, the TV still delivers a phenomenal picture. In fact, when it comes to color accuracy, our X90L test results came out on top (with the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8K trailing after).
Now in terms of light blooming and haloing, we’re not totally in the clear. In our testing of the X90L, we noted a bit of both image maladies when viewing certain content; and when it comes to the X90L’s sound, you should definitely be thinking about a soundbar to go with your new TV purchase (re: not great). But these are small grievances that are easy to forgive when observing the bigger picture (TV pun intended). The Sony X90L isn’t a perfect LED TV, but it does an admirable job at handling everything from HDR films to high frame-rate PS5 gaming, and it’s a pretty good price.
Hisense UX ULED
An empire of illumination
- The brightest TV we've reviewed
- Outstanding black levels and contrast
- Piercingly bright colors leap off the screen
- Outstanding sound system
- Motion resolution needs improvement
- Upscaling should be better that this price
Over the last few years, Hisense has been really showing up, especially when it comes to peak brightness levels. We were floored by the chart-topping luminance of the U8K and U7K models, but nothing would prepare us for the powerful punch to the eyeballs that is the Hisense 85-inch UX mini-LED. It’s only available in one size, and it’s a whopping 85 inches, so this recommendation is for all you big-screen savants with the wall space or TV stand to support this monster.
With 5,000 dimming zones and 2,500 nits of peak brightness, Hisense promises some pretty big numbers with the UX, and guess what? It truly delivers. In fact, Digital Trends' TV reviewer Caleb Denison clocked just over 4,000 nits during an HDR picture test, and for those unaware, that’s a near-unbelievable figure. Beyond its almighty backlighting, the UX is also an exceptional TV when it comes to color and contrast.
Do keep in mind, though, that some of the out-of-the-box settings are rather dismal. Denison recommended setting the TV to Theater Day, Theater Night, or Filmmaker Mode for the most accurate saturation and contrast levels. Presets like Standard and Vivid are normal defaults, but they don’t quite make the grade here. We’re also dealing with a 120Hz panel, which is great for traditional movies and shows, but when it comes time to watch 4K HDR content, or fire up some PS5 or Xbox Series X/S titles, the motion clarity can feel just a little draggy.
As far as sound goes, the UX features a built-in sub and up-firing speakers for decent surround virtualization. The TV is also built on the Google TV operating system, giving you access to popular entertainment platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
The Hisense 85-inch UX mini-LED isn’t the TV for everyone, but if you’re all about breathtaking lighting on a big screen, the UX should be at the top of your list.
Samsung QN90C
A killer Samsung QLED
- Class-leading HDR performance
- Excellent black levels, backlight control
- Outstanding color performance
- Powerful processing
- Premium design and build
- Frustrating Smart TV OS
- Lofty price
The Samsung QN90C is a stunning 4K TV, and if you’re looking to get a premium set without dipping your toes into the $3,000-plus flagship pool, Samsung’s latest Neo QLED dazzles for more reasons than one. For starters, it’s hard to beat the kind of punchy HDR performance you’ll get here. Without having to dial in ultra-bright picture settings, we found that the QN90C delivered incredible peak brightness levels when using filmmaker mode. Now although the real peak brightness laurels (the QN90C peaks at around 2,000 nits for SDR and HDR viewing) are reserved for the amazing Samsung S95C, the QN90C is no straggler. In fact, when compared to TCL’s QM8 and Hisense’s U8K, this Samsung has the better overall picture quality.
In our testing of the QN90C, we used a number of low-resolution and low bit-depth content to see just how efficiently the TV could handle 4K upscaling (which is no easy feat). Compared to the aforementioned TCL QM8 and Hisense U8K, we found that the QN90C was better at reducing color banding, pixelization, and posterization; so if you’re looking for the kind of TV that can enhance whatever low quality streams or super-old DVDs you’re tossing at it, the QN90C more than delivers. We’re also glad to report that you’ll have your pick of four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs, each of which supports refresh rates up to 144Hz.
And if you’re really on the fence about this Neo QLED, we’ll happily push you over with some other good news: Samsung’s switchover to ADS panels proved to be a solid move for off-angle viewing, and thanks to mini-LED backlighting, the black levels on this bad boy are awesome, too. Sure, it may not be on par with an LG OLED (or the S95C), but the QN90C still screams “premium,” but without getting into absolutely-need-to-finance-this territory.
LG C3 OLED evo
Another great LG OLED
- Delightful contrast
- Excellent color performance
- Very good processing
- Killer gaming features
- Five-year warranty
- Low-level color shift
- Too-frequent updates
What is there to say about the LG C3 OLED that hasn’t already been said? While the C series isn't the brand's flagship (that honor goes to the aforementioned G Series), the C3 OLED still packs quite the punch in the picture department. Not to mention that you can save a tidy pile of cash, especially since it's last year's model and the 2024s are trickling in.
There are a few key differences between the 2023 C3 and G3 models that could make or break a C3 purchase for some folks, though. One is that the G3 is designed for a completely flush wall-mounting job, and comes with a proprietary LG mount. If you’re planning on tabletop placement though, the G3’s stand is sold separately, whereas the C3 comes with a pedestal.
Another difference is that the C3 gets a little less bright than the G3. This is because the latter is equipped with LG’s Micro Lens Array technology, which allows the G3 to get up to 150% brighter than the G2 lineup. Along with bigger brightness, MLA also brings wider viewing angles. But we digress!
With the exception of the flush design and MLA brightness, the LG C3 has all the guts and ports of the flagship G3, including LG’s a9 AI Processor Gen6, four HDMI 2.1 ports, and some added luminance via LG’s Brightness Booster.
Frequently Asked Questions
The answer to that depends on many factors, including your stylistic preferences, the size of the room, and how far away you'll be sitting. Take a look at our guide to choosing the perfect TV size for you.
If you want to enjoy your TV from a variety of viewing positions, you'll need a TV with wide viewing angles. Of the two main LCD panel types (IPS and VA), IPS panels offer the greatest viewing angles. However, this can sometimes come at the cost of worse contrast. OLED TVs offer both excellent contrast and viewing angles, compared to their QLED counterparts, which are best watched from the center position.
QLED stands for quantum dot LED TV, and it uses a layer of tiny particles to enhance an LED TV's color accuracy without diminishing brightness. QLED TVs still don't deliver the perfect blacks of OLED TVs, but the newest ones come very, very close. Because QLED TVs often have powerful backlights that use hundred (or in the case of mini-LED, thousands) of LEDs, they can get brighter than the brightest OLED TVs.
You may want to check out our article that covers QLED vs. OLED TV: What’s the difference, and why does it matter?
OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode, and these TVs are notable for their ability to produce perfect blacks and what is sometimes referred to as "infinite" contrast. These TVs achieve this through their ability to completely shut down the light they emit on a pixel-by-pixel basis, something QLED TVs can't do because they rely on a separate backlight to create brightness. You can block a lot of the light produced by a backlight, but not 100%.
These are the best Roku TVs. Roku has also started manufacturing its own "Roku-made" TVs, which are on store shelves now.
That depends on the TV, but as a general rule of thumb, the better (and more expensive) the TV, the better the upscaling.
Almost all new TVs are 4K, so there are plenty of fantastic options to choose from at the lower end of the pricing scale. Don't expect a standard LED TV to rival an OLED or QLED, though — set your expectations accordingly. We recommend looking for a quantum dot LED TV (QLED) model, as these will offer the best picture quality at lower prices.
Yes, so long as your computer has an HDMI output. Adapters can be used for other output types but frequently do not pass along audio.
Most modern TVs can be paired with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant through either an Amazon Echo, Fire TV, or Google Home device. Some televisions even have them built-in, eliminating the need for a smart speaker.
Right now, there are no TVs that have Siri built-in. Those that support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, however, can be controlled using Siri on an iOS device, such as an iPad, iPhone, HomePod, or HomePod Mini, as well as a Mac.
OLED TVs are the only type of 4K TVs that have the potential to suffer from burn-in, though it's incredibly uncommon. Unless you like to leave the same news channel playing for eight hours a day, seven days a week for weeks on end, you probably don't need to worry about it.
TVs are a big priority for us at Digital Trends, and our resident TV expert, Caleb Denison, puts all the best TVs from every TV manufacturerr through their paces. Check out our detailed rundown of how we test TVs in our reviews.
Glossary of terms
Here’s a rundown of some of the most common terms associated with today’s TV technology.
4K Ultra HD
This refers to a display resolution that is four times that of 1080p HD. A 4K Ultra HD TV’s pixel resolution is a 3,840 x 2,160 grid in a 16:9 aspect ratio, resulting in nearly 8.3 million pixels. This increase in density adds striking detail and realism to an image and allows larger screens to be viewed from closer distances without individual pixels becoming visible.
High dynamic range (HDR)
High dynamic range is probably most familiar to people through the HDR mode on their digital cameras. It’s designed to deliver a picture that has greater details in the shadows and highlights, plus a wider range of colors. HDR in televisions pursues the same goal. The color palette is wider, blacks are deeper, and whites are brighter.
Presently, there are two major HDR formats: HDR10 and Dolby Vision, with a third — HDR10+ — beginning to show up on new models, particularly those from Samsung. The first is the HDR standard, but Dolby Vision offers a premium experience. Consider a TV that supports both. HLG (hybrid log gamma) is another recent addition to the HDR collection, which supports over-the-air (OTA) broadcast content with HDR.
Full-array local dimming (FALD)
This refers to an LED TV’s backlighting system. A FALD display contains an array of LEDs spread out in a grid behind an LCD panel, rather than just at the edges of the TV. This LED array is broken up into zones that can be dimmed when necessary to achieve better black levels. Another benefit is more uniform brightness across the screen.
Wide color gamut (WCG)
These are the expanded color reproduction abilities of a 4K Ultra HD TV, which are closer than ever to what we see in a digital cinema. By approaching (or sometimes exceeding) the Digital Cinema Initiative’s (DCI) P3 color specification, a 4K UHD TV can produce billions of more colors than a 1080p HD TV.
Quantum dots
A layer of film loaded with tiny nanocrystal semiconductors is placed in a TV’s display panel to help produce a more accurate array of colors. Quantum dots work by producing a purer form of white light from a TV’s backlighting system, which helps the TV’s color filter perform more accurately.
Phosphor-coated LED
An alternative to Quantum Dots, phosphor-coated LEDs have a chemical coating to alter the light’s output. When used in a TV, this results in a purer backlight that’s more easily manipulated by a TV’s color filter, resulting in a wide color gamut and increased color accuracy.
HDMI 2.1
The latest version of the HDMI spec. It offers new enhancements for video games like variable refresh rate (VRR) and automatic low-latency mode (ALLM) and the ability to pass 4K signals to the TV at up to 120Hz, for ultra-smooth motion. HDMI 2.1 is a requirement for 8K video sources like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. For most non-gamers, HDMI 2.1 is a nice way to future-proof yourself but it's nowhere near a necessity yet.
HDCP 2.3
The latest version of the High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection technology, which provides copy prevention specifically of 4K Ultra HD and 8K content. Any source device that requires HDCP 2.3 will require a TV with an HDCP 2.3-compliant HDMI port for a compatible connection.
HEVC (H.265)
Stands for “High-Efficiency Video Coding.” A compression technology developed to make large 4K UHD video files smaller and, therefore, easier to stream over broadband Internet connections. HEVC is said to double the data compression ratio over H.264, the predominant encoding technology used today for 1080p videos while retaining the same video quality. A smart TV or streaming set-top box must be able to decode HEVC to playback 4K Ultra HD video from sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
VP9
An alternative to HEVC developed by Google and used predominantly for encoding 4K Ultra HD YouTube videos. For a smart TV or streaming set-top box to play 4K Ultra HD YouTube videos, it must be able to decode VP9 videos.
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