There aren’t many things more exciting than deciding to purchase a new television. When you realise how many specs, features, and technologies to consider, excitement can quickly turn to anxiety. Then there are the individual televisions available within every category. You probably want your new TV to last for a few years, so you don’t want to make the wrong decision. This is where we step in.
Every TV of note (and many disappointingly little note) has been thoroughly tested in our dedicated testing labs by our team of expert reviewers. Our reviews are not only thorough, but also comparative, so we know exactly how well each TV performs when compared to the other Televisions in its class. In simple terms, we’ve done all of the work so you don’t have to. We know what we’re talking about, and you can rely on our expertise.
List of the Best Televisions
Our picks for the best TVs on the market are listed below. Every set has been thoroughly tested by our team of product experts to ensure that it provides excellent performance and value, so you can rely on our recommendations.
Best OVerall TV – LG C2 (OLED65C2)
LG’s C-series TVs have been wildly popular for years, and for good reason: they represent the perfect balance of performance, features, and price. That has never been more true than with 2022’s C2, represented here by the 65-inch model. But, before we get into comparisons with other Televisions, let’s take a fresh look at the C2.
This is an OLED TV with LG Display’s OLED EX panel, which was introduced in 2022 and is brighter than previous generations. LG added its own algorithms and processing to this to create what it calls an OLED Evo TV with Brightness Booster.
The C2’s HDMI sockets are 2.1-certified and support all of the most advanced gaming features, including 4K/120Hz, VRR, and ALLM. HDR is supported in the HLG, HDR10, and Dolby Vision formats (no HDR10+ support, but that’s not a big deal). Dolby Vision gaming is supported up to 4K/120Hz, and HDR games that support it have an HGiG mode for more accurate tone mapping.
Best Cheap – Samsung AU7100 (UE43AU7100)
Based on the annual cycle of new Televisions, it’s extremely rare for a model to be still available after a year, let alone remain the best in class during that time. As a result, the Samsung AU7100 is an outlier.
This entry-level LCD TV, first released in 2021, impressed us during testing through its carefully balanced picture quality and processing effectiveness. The AU7100 produces impressively deep blacks for a TV at this price point while avoiding the flicker that is common at this end of the market. When compared to more expensive TVs, there is a slight loss of shadow detail, but not to the extent that it is a problem, and the blacks do not feel forced or unnatural. In fact, they contribute to the lustrous depth and richness in colours.
Few TVs at any price are smarter than the AU7100, which comes with a Tizen operating system and nearly every app you could possibly need. There are three HDMI inputs for external sources, one of which is capable of handling eARC for a soundbar or other sound system. ALLM is also supported, though 4K/120Hz and VRR are not.
Best Small – LG C2 (OLED42C2)
We’ve already covered the larger LG C2 models at the top of this list, so now it’s time to look at the 42-inch and 48-inch models. In general, they are the same as their older siblings, but they are not as bright. This is typical for smaller OLED Televisions, which cannot be driven as hard due to their densely packed pixels. The 42-inch model also has a slightly different design, with desktop-friendly feet instead of the sleek stand found on the other models.
Otherwise, you get the same features, performance, and user experience as the larger models of the C2. Unless you watch TV in a very bright room on a regular basis, the slight brightness reduction isn’t a big deal. In normal or ideal viewing conditions, the smaller C2s are plenty bright, and contrast is truly stunning thanks to OLED’s perfect blacks and pixel-level light control. While many TVs adjust their brightness as the light-to-dark ratio ebbs and flows from shot to shot, the C2 maintains a level of consistency that ensures you’re never distracted from the action by the way the display interprets it.
Best Sound – Panasonic LZ2000 (TX-65LZ2000B)
The picture is only half of the home cinema experience, but while it’s relatively easy to find a TV that looks great, finding one that sounds even decent can be difficult. That’s why we almost always recommend pairing a TV with at least a soundbar, if not an entire home theatre system. Some people, however, find the idea of adding even one more box to their setup unsettling, and it is these people who the Panasonic LZ2000 is aimed at.
We’ll get to the picture quality later, but the LZ2000’s more obvious differentiator is its sound system, which includes a soundbar-like underneath of forward-firing drivers, a pair of side-mounted speakers flanking the screen, and dedicated up-firing speakers at the top of the set’s rear. While most premium TVs claim to deliver Dolby Atmos sound, none have a speaker configuration as well suited for it as this.
Best 8K – Samsung QN900B (QE75QN900B)
Let’s get this out of the way right away: there is currently no 8K content that is truly worth watching. Furthermore, no streaming service has announced plans to begin streaming 8K content, and an 8K disc format appears unlikely to exist in the future. In other words, you don’t have to buy an 8K TV. Having said that, there are plenty of reasons to consider purchasing a Samsung 8K TV. That’s because Samsung has done a better job than its competitors of making its 8K TVs perform well with the content you already watch while also pricing them competitively with their 4K counterparts.
The big deal here is that the QN900B’s upscaling is so good that 4K content appears sharper and more detailed than on native 4K TVs. Furthermore, it has the ability to go extremely bright – brighter than any other TV we’ve tested. Its Quantum Dot-boosted colours are also exceptionally rich and vibrant, and the Mini LED backlight provides excellent contrast, ranging from near-OLED blacks to extremely bright highlights.
Do keep in mind to buy the extended warranty plan from GoWarranty in case you buy a new TV.
