The TV market has been changing a lot recently, both in terms of technology and price. New types of screens with organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels and ultra high definition (UHD, or 4K) resolutions are popping up everywhere. Big, 50-plus-inch sets that once cost thousands of dollars can be had for around $500. If you want a new television, you now have more options now than ever. But which one should you buy? Here are the main points to consider when shopping for a new set, as well as the 10 best TVs we've tested.
1080p or 4K?
The TV resolution question used to be between the options of 720p and 1080p (and 1080i, but that's moot at this point). Like LED and CCFL backlighting, the choice between 1080p and 720p has become irrelevant thanks to affordable 1080p screens. Even smaller budget TVs are available in 1080p, so you shouldn't settle for the significantly lower resolution of 720p.
4K, or , is another story. A 4K television is one that displays at least 8 million active pixels, with a minimum resolution of 3,840 by 2,160. It's become a much more affordable technology in the last few years, and you can now find a large 4K TV for under $1,500. 4K content is becoming increasingly available, and 4K Blu-ray players, like the Samsung UBD-K8500 and Microsoft Xbox One S, are just starting to hit the market. If you have a very fast Internet connection, you can watch some excellent shows on Amazon and Netflix in 4K, like Black Mirror, Fuller House, and Luke Cage. New films are also coming out digitally in 4K through various on-demand streaming services like Vudu. Thanks to HDMI 2.0 you can be pretty confident a 4K screen you buy now won't suddenly go obsolete. If you've been debating it for a while, rest assured that now is finally the time to get a 4K TV.
LED or OLED?
Plasma TVs were the only flat-panel models available when they were first introduced more than a decade ago. They're now a dead category, and you won't see a major television manufacturer offering a new plasma television any time soon. That means your choices will mostly consist of LED-backlit LCD TVs (also simply called LED TVs), as well as much less common, much more expensive OLED displays.
First, a note: LCD and LED TVs have been separate for a while, despite both using LCD panels. LCD panels themselves aren't lit, so they need to be illuminated. LED TVs simply backlight the LCDs with LEDs, while LCD TVs use CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamps) for backlighting. CCFL-backlit designs have fallen by the wayside, and nearly every LCD television out there right now is lit by LEDs.
There are further differences in the various designs. LED TVs can be either edge-lit or backlit. Edge-lit TVs light up their screens with arrays of LEDs along the edges of the panels, allowing the set to be thin and light. Backlit TVs use a large array of LEDs directly behind the panel, making the screen a little thicker, but allowing it to more evenly illuminate the panel and, for high-end screens, adjust individual LEDs to enhance black levels in scenes. Very good edge-lighting systems can produce excellent pictures, though, and TV manufacturers are making backlit LED arrays smaller and thinner, so the distinction means less than it used to. No matter the technology, an LED TV's thinness and brightness will be roughly proportional to its price range.
OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays are a relatively new and very rare technology for TVs, and despite their name are drastically different from LED-backlit televisions. In fact, they're closer to plasma screens in how they work. Each diode generates both color and light, like in plasma screens, but they can be much smaller and thinner than even LED-lit panels, and can produce some of the best black levels possible. Currently, LG is the only television manufacturer that offers OLED models, and they remain extremely expensive; the LG Signature OLED65G6P is the priciest television we've tested. The performance is compelling, but the price remains a roadblock for most buyers.
High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Aside from UHD, there's a new next-step video technology to consider when shopping. High dynamic range (HDR) content gives much more information to the display than a standard video signal. The resolution remains the same as UHD, but the range of color and amount of light each pixel can produce is significantly broader.
Thanks to new LCD and OLED panel technology, high-end televisions can display wider color gamuts and finer gradients of light and dark than before. Standard video was built around the limitations of older televisions, intentionally using a set range of color and light information in the signal. HDR breaks those limitations and uses expanded ranges with finer values between them. Basically, this means HDR displays can produce more colors and more shades of gray (or, rather, luminance values) than standard dynamic range displays.
HDR is still a developing technology, and it's easy to be confused by it. There are two major HDR standards out there with commercially available content: HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. HDR 10 is an open platform that uses 10-bit color values. The UHD Alliance certifies televisions that meet the HDR 10 standard, along with minimum brightness and contrast ratios, as UltraHD Premium. Dolby Vision is a closed standard used by Dolby, which supports 12-bit color and determines ranges in the signal it provides to a display on the fly, based on the display itself and the needs of the scene. Televisions that support Dolby Vision will note so on their packaging.
HDR content is even more rare than UHD content, but it's becoming increasingly available. Ultra HD Blu-ray uses HDR 10, and Netflix and Vudu have started offering Dolby Vision films and shows digitally. Whether one standard is better than the other is difficult to determine at this point; HDR 10 uses more concrete values and is easier to technically evaluate, but Dolby Vision is designed to specifically fit the needs and limits of whatever television you use. No matter which you use, HDR-capable televisions can produce a better picture than TVs that don't support the wider color gamuts or increased range of luminance information.
What Screen Size Should I Get?
A big TV that's too close can be just as uncomfortable to watch as a small one that's too far away, so don't assume that the biggest screen available is the best choice. There are a few different rules of thumb regarding TV screen size based on your distance from it. Generally, the distance of your couch to your TV should be between 1.2 and 1.6 times the diagonal measurement of your screen. So if your couch is six feet away from your screen, you can comfortably watch an TV between 42 and 60 inches. If your couch is five feet away, a 37- to 52-inch screen should work well.
Refresh Rate and Contrast Ratio
One of the biggest problems with narrowing your choices to a single TV is the sheer number of specs. To make your job a little easier, two of the biggies, refresh rate, and contrast ratio, are safe to ignore.
Refresh (or response) rate, the speed at which your TV's panel refreshes its image, is expressed in hertz (60Hz, 120Hz, 240Hz, 480Hz, or 600Hz). The theory is that a faster refresh rate results in a smoother image. But in reality, there are several reasons this simply isn't true, and it's not worth paying more for a set with a faster response rate. In many cases, 60Hz will do just fine for films and 120Hz will be plenty for video games and sports (though you should probably turn off those higher refresh rate modes when watching most shows and movies, or else you'll get that jarring soap opera effect).
Contrast ratio, meanwhile, is the difference between the darkest black and the brightest white a panel can display. In theory, the highest contrast ratio possible is desirable since dark blacks and bright whites contribute to a high-quality picture. There isn't a standardized way for manufacturers to measure this spec, though, so Samsung's numbers aren't directly comparable with, say, Panasonic's or Sharp's numbers. And, as you might imagine, vendors are vying to come up with the highest ratios, so they can charge more. Ignore any claims of contrast ratios in the millions or infinity; with the exception of LG's OLEDs (which are the only TVs we've tested to actually produce an "infinite" contrast ratio with a perfect 0 black level), the best TVs tend to have just five-digit contrast ratios.
Apps and Services
Almost all TVs now offer Web apps and built-in Wi-Fi. These features let you connect your television to the Internet and access online services like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV,and YouTube. Many also integrate social network services like Facebook and Twitter, and many manufacturers offer entire downloadable app ecosystems with other programs and games you can use on your TV. Roku has made connected features possible on even very inexpensive TVs, and you can find a big-screen Roku TV (a television with Roku's online services built into the menu system) from companies like Insignia and TCL for a low price.
These apps are also available in most Blu-ray players, all major video game systems, and even on inexpensive media streaming devices, so they're not vital. However, their presence indicates that some effort was put into designing the screen, and can give you a hint about whether your inexpensive TV will be a great deal or a disappointment.
Do I Need 3D?
While less common than a couple of years ago, 3D still commands a premium. It's no longer a centerpiece characteristic, however, and some high-end TVs simply incorporate it as an additional bullet point in a feature list. 3D TVs can feature active 3D, which uses battery-powered shutter glasses, or passive 3D, which uses polarized filters. Passive used to be the more economical choice by far, but now that most active 3D TVs come with a few pairs of glasses—and new pairs are usually available for $20 instead of $50 to $100—the difference is mainly academic. Of course, if you don't plan to watch 3D movies, you can skip 3D entirely and avoid the premium placed on those screens.
Getting the Right Connections
Your ideal TV should provide enough video connections not only for <spannow, but for the foreseeable future as well. The most important input is HDMI, which supports all major forms of digital video sources including Blu-ray players, game consoles, set-top boxes, cameras, camcorders, phones, tablets, and PCs through a single cable. Most TVs have three or four HDMI ports, but some might only have two. It's the best way to send 1080p video from your devices to your screen with one cable, and will be the main way you connect your main sources of entertainment to your TV. If you want a 4K screen, make sure at least one of the HDMI ports is HDMI 2.0. It's the latest standard that supports 4K video at 60 frames per second; older HDMI ports can only handle 4K up to 30 frames per second, at best.
See How We Test TVs
As for cables, unless you have a huge home theater system and plan to run cables between devices at distances longer than 25 feet (and that's being generous), brands and prices don't matter. We've compared the performance of high-end cables and inexpensive <spanones, and found that they all carry digital signals similarly. More expensive cables might have a better build quality, but you won't see any performance advantages from them. Don't shop for HDMI cables at retail stores, and ignore and clerks who warn you of "dirty electricity" or "viruses" that can come with cheap cables (both claims I've witnessed). Hop online and find the least expensive cable at the size you need and snap it up.
Calibration
Once it's all hooked up, you might want to get it calibrated. We can guide you through some of the adjustments yourself, and some TVs have a built-in calibration wizard you can access in the menu. If you have a high-end TV and want the absolute best picture possible, you can spend a few hundred dollars to have your screen professionally calibrated, but for most viewers, it's an unnecessary expense.
Adding a Sound System
TVs have built-in speakers that function well enough in the sense that you can understand <spandialogue, but beyond that they're typically pretty underwhelming. With few exceptions, you can improve your movie and gaming experience greatly by getting an add-on speaker system, like a soundbar or a dedicated multi-channel home theater system.
If space is at a premium or your budget is limited, a soundbar is your best bet. Soundbars are long, thin, self-contained speakers that sit under or over your TV. Small and simple to set up, they're less expensive than multi-speaker systems. Soundbars generally don't separate the channels enough to accurately place sound effects, but they've become quite good at producing a large sound field around you. Here are some of our favorite sound bars.
Need more specific TV shopping advice? See our TV Product Guide for the latest reviews.
Featured in This Roundup
LG OLED65B6P
$2999.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% The OLEDB6P is LG's most affordable 4K HDR OLED TV series yet, and offers the superlative performance you can only get with an OLED panel. Read the full review-
LG 65UH8500
$1699.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% The LG UH8500 line of 4K televisions combine a gorgeous, HDR-capable picture with stylish design elements and an intuitive, feature-rich interface for a very compelling package. Read the full review -
SunBriteTV Pro Series Direct-Sun Outdoor TV SB-4217HD
$3895.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% The SunBrite SB-17HD Pro Series is an outdoor HDTV line built to endure harsh weather conditions. It's rather pricey and short on features, but it offers outstanding direct daylight viewing performance and accurate colors. Read the full review -
Vizio D65u-D2
$1199.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Vizio's Du series offers surprisingly good performance at a reasonable price, making it a good option if you're in the market for your first 4K television. Read the full review -
LeEco Super4 X55
$899.00 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% LeEco is a newcomer to the TV space, but its Super4 X 4K line offers impressive colors and Android TV connected features at a reasonable price. Read the full review -
Sony XBR-55X930D
$1999.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Sony's X930D 4K television line brings native HDR video support to a reasonable price range, and really shows off just how good the new video format can look. Read the full review -
TCL 50UP130
$549.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% The TCL UP130 television line offers accurate colors and an enhanced Roku TV remote that make it a top choice for users with limited budgets looking to make the jump to 4K. Read the full review -
Vizio P50-C1
$999.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Vizio's P-series of HDR-compatible 4K televisions delivers solid image quality and includes an Android tablet to serve as a remote. Read the full review -
Hisense 50H8C
$499.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% The Hisense 50H8C is an under-$500 50-inch 4K television that offers excellent color accuracy, but is held back by a sluggish interface. Read the full review -
Vizio M65-D0
$1499.99 MSRP
%displayPrice% at %seller% Vizio's M-series of 4K TVs offer fantastic contrast and deep blacks, but for HDR televisions their color gamut could be wider. Read the full review