The short answer is price, performance, and usability. Most regular folks who ask me about a new TV are looking for something around $500 or less. Jumping up a few hundred dollars can often get you a lot more performance, but I understand that may not be in the budget, so this list generally aims for TVs at or below that magic number. To get there, we sometimes sacrifice size, often recommending 55-inch models rather than the 65-inch size that’s becoming the industry standard. Not everyone needs a larger screen, and the larger you go, the more you’ll notice performance imperfections.
As TVs get increasingly bigger, it’s also getting harder to find good TVs smaller than 55-inches, especially if you want features like High Dynamic Range and quantum dot colors that make for a much more vibrant and impactful picture. These features often go hand-in-hand with 4K resolution, so while you may not mind getting an HDTV at smaller sizes, all the TVs we’ve recommended offer 4K resolution. Wherever possible, we look for models that offer various size options to cater to all buyers and use cases.
Fans of Godzilla Minus One, it took longer than usual but we have fantastic news. The Oscar-winning monster movie is finally available to pre-order as a region-free physical disc that includes English subtitles, a feature missing from an earlier version.
The disc is available on Godzilla.com and comes with a 4K, a Blu-ray, special features, and so much more. You can read the full description at the site but for now, let’s just marvel at a few of the images.
Godzilla Minus One 4K and Blu-ray – Toho
Godzilla Minus One 4K and Blu-ray – Toho
Godzilla Minus One 4K and Blu-ray – Toho
Godzilla Minus One 4K and Blu-ray – Toho
There’s no specific release date yet but it’s expected to ship in September. Basically, this is the exact same release that was available in Japan earlier this year, but now includes English subtitles and menus.
After Godzilla Minus One broke all sorts of box office records in the U.S., and won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, a few months passed where it was impossible to see the film anywhere, legally. Eventually, Netflix fixed that and put it on its service but collectors out there have been clamoring for an edition to hold in their hands. Now they have it. Again, here’s the preorder link.
These days, you wouldn’t want to buy a TV that doesn’t support HDR unless you’re after a small/cheap HD TV. Even if you’re on a tight budget, you’ll also want to consider an LED TV with quantum dots (aka a QLED or NeoQLED display) for their brighter and more vivid colors.
Gaming Performance
Sony Playstation 5
Photograph: Ryan Waniata
If you’re going to be gaming on your TV, I highly recommend paying attention to two factors: refresh rate and input lag. You can often find these specs on the product listing or the box itself. Most standard TVs have a refresh rate of 60 Hz, which means the display can natively reach 60 frames per second (fps), or 60 images on the screen per second. However, modern consoles and games can support up to 120 frames per second, or 120 images per second. This offers smoother motion on the screen, making your game feel more fluid and responsive. For this reason, the best gaming TVs utilize a 120-Hz panel.
Input lag is the time it takes for your movement on a gamepad or keyboard to register on the screen. The lower the better. Most TVs hover at around 15 milliseconds of input lag (less if the game is running at 1080p and 60 frames per second). LG’s OLED models have shockingly low input lag times, but this is primarily beneficial for fast-paced games that require speedy interactions, like first-person shooter games.
If you’re an avid gamer, you’ll also want to ensure your TV offers advanced gaming features like VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) to sync with a game’s changing refresh rate without “tearing” or feeling sluggish, and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which automatically optimizes the TV’s input lag when turning on a modern console or gaming PC. In order to get those features in high resolution, you’ll need a high-bandwidth HDMI connection, and that means a TV with HDMI 2.1.
The Right Ports
Samsung S95D One Connect Box
Most TVs include an optical output for audio, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet connection, and three or four HDMI ports. As noted above, you should make sure your new TV supports at least one high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 port (or more if you have multiple modern gaming devices), which allows for 4K resolution at up to 120-Hz for the best gaming performance, among other benefits.
All new TVs provide one HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) port, which lets you easily connect modern soundbars, powered bookshelf speakers, and A/V receivers with an HDMI cable—and even control volume and power from the TV remote. Most midrange TVs or higher will support the more advanced version of ARC, HDMI eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel). With higher bandwidth, eARC allows a TV to send uncompressed sound formats to a supported audio device. In essence, it supports better sound quality to raise the performance of the best soundbars and surround sound systems, but you’ll need a great setup to tell the difference.
I recommend buying all-new high-speed cables if you’re getting a new TV for the first time in a while like the affordable Amazon Basics cable linked above. Modern cables support higher data speeds than those from years past, and HDMI cables can wear out over time.
What About TV Software?
Photograph: Google
All major TV brands have a baseline smart interface with support for a large number of streaming services, including Vizio’s Home Screen, Samsung’s Tizen OS, and LG’s webOS. New Sony TVs, as well as most new Hisense and TCL models, come with Google TV, while Roku TVs come with Roku OS, the streaming brand’s simplified, tile-based interface.
Roku and Google TV are our current favorite smart TV interfaces, but if you’re not keen on your TV’s built-in operating system, worry not—you can easily add your desired streaming platform for very little money with one simple purchase. Just grab one of our favorite streaming devices, plug it in, and let your preferred smart interface do the heavy lifting.
How Much Should You Expect to Pay?
Hisense U8H
Photograph: Hisense
You’ll see quite a range of prices when shopping for a new TV. A lot of it comes down to the features you want. Here’s a basic price guide on what you can expect for the money. Be sure to check out our list of the Best TVs for specific model information.
Under $500
If you just want a TV with a large screen that can stream your favorite shows, this is a good starting place, especially if you’re on a budget. I highly suggest you avoid TVs that aren’t made by the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, or Roku. Also, avoid spending less than $300 on anything, unless it’s smaller than 55 inches.
Between $500 and $1,000
If you watch TV often and want something between 40 and 65 inches, this is a great price category to shop in. Stick to the major brands above—especially our favorite value-oriented brands like TCL, Hisense, and Roku—and you can hardly go wrong. If you want the best from more premium brands like Samsung, LG, and Sony you’ll likely need to spend up.
More Than $1,000
This price range is for TVs 65 inches or larger, and/or those with advanced panel technologies, like OLED, and QLED/mini-LED. You’ll also typically get higher-end processing for improved upscaling, and better hardware like a 120Hz panel for video games and sports. Get into the $2,000 range and you’ll find top-rated 4K TVs from Samsung, LG, and Sony. Spend more than a few thousand, and you can begin to expect 8K resolution—not that there is currently much 8K content to watch.
Get a Soundbar or Bookshelf Speakers
Photograph: Ryan Waniata
TV speakers suck. Companies have tried to improve them, but even the best models still sound tinny. Just buy a soundbar already. Many modern soundbars come with built-in smart assistants like Google Assistant or Alexa, connect to streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify Connect, and offer advanced sound formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X to immerse you in sound. Our Best Soundbars guide has several recommendations at multiple price ranges.
If you’re more music-oriented and don’t care as much about surround sound formats, we recommend considering a pair of bookshelf speakers as a soundbar alternative. Many options in our Best Bookshelf Speakers guide come with built-in amplification and advancements like wireless streaming and HDMI ARC, so you don’t need a separate amplifier—just plug and play. If you’ve been listening to TV speakers up to now, you won’t believe what you’ve been missing.
Saving up for a new screen? Even if a giant TV is no longer the third-most-expensive thing some Americans own after their house and car, it’s still a big decision. Whether you’re a videophile or a normie looking for your first foray into Ultra HD, the best TVs available right now are bigger, brighter, and cheaper than ever before.
To help you navigate the dozens of seemingly identical TV models from Samsung, LG, TCL, Hisense, Sony, and other manufacturers, we’ve watched hundreds of hours of content to pick out the favorites from our recent reviews. We’ve listed everything from the very best TV we’ve tested to the best sets you can buy on a tight budget—with a few excellent choices in between.
All of these models have at least 4K Ultra HD pixel resolution (one has 8K), because there’s no reason to buy a standard HDTV anymore. TVs now come with wonderful displays, but they’re usually terrible at audio and can have lackluster interfaces, so you should consider investing in a good soundbar or pair of bookshelf speakers and a TV streaming stick. If you’re unfamiliar with much of the lingo TV manufacturers use, our How to Buy a TV guide can help.
Updated June 2024: We’ve added the Hisense U8N, the TCL QM8, the Samsung S95D, and the Samsung QN900C. We also added the Sony Bravia 7 to Honorable Mentions, and the Roku Pro Series as an upgrade to the Roku Plus Series.
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You probably stream most, if not all, of your content. A good streaming device makes that process easier. If you’ve purchased a new TV recently, it likely has its own streaming interface. Some of these are fine, but a stand-alone streaming device can offer a better experience. We’ve tried them all—from Roku, Apple, Google, Amazon, and even a cheap Walmart-owned brand—so you don’t have to, and we’ve separated each of our favorites by what they do best.
Updated March 2024: We’ve added Walmart’s 4K Onn device and replaced the Roku Streaming Stick with the latest version.
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