The best TVs offer way more than a clear picture and sound. Today's smart TVs offer incredible 4K and even 8K resolution, huge numbers of apps, free streaming content, and even affordable prices that fit your budget. Whether you're after a premium home theater setup, a budget-friendly basic smart TV or that perfect set that does it all, we're here to help you do just that. We've spent hundreds of hours testing and reviewing dozens of TVs, from affordable 4K sets and feature-filled smart TVs to jaw-dropping 8K OLED TVs, to find the best TVs you can buy, at any price.
We're here to help with real-world advice, explanations for all the technical jargon and thorough, test-based reviews that help you know a good TV from bad. We've reviewed small second TVs for the kitchen or garage and premium TVs for your home theater that will knock your socks off when you fire up a movie in 4K. From OLED smart TVs and QLED alternatives to 75-inch LCD sets and even weather-proofed outdoor TVs, Tom's Guide is here to help you find a great TV.
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What are the best TVs?
For our standout favorite, the LG CX OLED is the best TV we've reviewed, delivering impeccable picture quality and a richly featured smart TV experience, all in a sharp-looking design. In addition to the stellar OLED panel, the LG CX boasts HDMI 2.1 connectivity, has dual voice interaction with both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built in, and even a smarter version of HDR with the introduction of Dolby Vision IQ.
The TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) is the ultimate in affordable TVs, giving you the best 4K smart TV we've seen for less than $1,000. In fact, ignoring the budget-friendly price, it's still one of the best TVs on the market, thanks to a quantum-dot enhanced LCD and mini-LED-backed display and feature-rich Roku TV interface. Combine this with superior gaming features and a refined design, and it's got plenty to love.
The best TVs you can buy in September 2020
The LG CX OLED is the best 4K smart TV overall, and the standout TV of 2020, with an amazing display, built-in Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support, and a ton of other smart features. From LG's webOS 5.0 to the addition of smart home control and an intuitive motion-control remote, it's one of the smartest TVs we've ever seen.
LG has improved on its superb OLED with a more powerful processor, the addition of Dolby Vision IQ (which adjusts HDR performance based on the ambient lighting) and beefs up the sound with AI-powered audio tuning. And while the LG CX OLED's premium price might put off some shoppers, it packs in more premium value than more expensive OLED competitors, while still delivering an unparalleled picture. It's the TV to beat.
Read our full LG CX OLED review.
The TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) offers enormous value for it's affordable price, offering premium picture quality and a great smart TV experience for much less than the competition. The 2020 follow up to the 2019 TCL 6-Series, the R635 ups the ante with mini-LED backlighting in addition to QLED. The result is impressive color and brightness, with some of the best HDR performance we've seen on anything this side of an OLED display.
But TCL keeps delivering more, like THX Certified Game Mode, which makes the 6-Series one of the best gaming TVs available, even for yet-to-be-released consoles like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. From the design's smart touches, like cable management in the stand, to the always-solid Roku TV platform, the TCL 6-Series R635 is the best TV value of 2020, and it's not even close.
Read our full TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) review.
The Sony Bravia A8H OLED is our top pick when flawless picture and sound are what you want. With top-notch color, incredibly crisp detail and the latest (and best) version of Android TV we've ever seen, there's a lot to love about the new Sony OLED. We expected great things from the OLED TV, but the Sony A8H has more than just beautiful 4K picture, with Sony's impressive X Motion Clarity motion smoothing powered by the X1 Ultimate Picture Processor. That excellent picture is matched by the return of Acoustic Surface Audio, which offers better audio than ever, right from the screen.
In terms of pure movie-watching performance, the Sony Bravia A8H OLED proved itself the category leader for premium OLED TVs. It's hampered only slightly by the lack of full HDMI 2.1 support and a slightly higher price than the competition.
Read our full Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV review.
Sitting in the sweet spot between expensive, cutting-edge sets and bargain basement models, the TCL 6-Series R625 offers just the right mix of features and picture performance, making it the best TV you can buy for under $1,000. In a year filled with new quantum-dot displays and feature-filled affordable smart TVs, the TCL 6-Series holds strong with better-than-average picture and sound and the best implementation of Roku TV you'll find, including a microphone enabled remote control for voice search.
Where most budget TV manufacturers cut corners, TCL manages to hold to a higher standard in manufacturing and quality control, and it shows. The QLED panel looks great, with realistic color, sharp detail and impressive contrast, and the overall design is enhanced with elegant touches and features. If you're wary of spending more than a grand on a new 4K TV, this is definitely the TV to get.
Read our full TCL 6-Series Roku TV R625 review.
The Vizio V-Series (V505-G9) manages to be a pretty great 50-inch smart TV for its low price. For less than $300, you get good color and decent HDR support, with capable built-in audio. It's also a full-featured smart TV, with Vizio's SmartCast software, which includes several apps, immediate access to free content, built-in Chromecast for even more options and compatibility with the best Alexa speakers and best Google Home speakers.
Add a smartphone or tablet to the mix and you'll have a deep bench of streaming apps to enjoy on the TV in addition to the hundreds of free shows and movies you get on the handful of local SmartCast apps and Vizio's WatchFree streaming offerings. The Vizio V-Series (V505-G9) offers pretty great quality for the money, and offers a collection of smart features that feel like a steal.
Read our full Vizio V-Series 50-inch (V505-G9) review.
The Samsung Q90 QLED TV is the best premium 4K LCD TV on the market and a valid alternative to OLED. Samsung's quantum-dot technology continues to close the gap with OLED, offering premium picture quality so good that we had to compare the two side by side to spot the differences. Packed with every technology Samsung has to improve picture quality — ranging from quantum dots and black filters to 400+ dimming zones and an arsenal of processing smarts — the Q90 is the best 4K TV Samsung makes, and it shows.
It also has some unexpectedly smart features that nobody else on our best TV list offers, like AMD's FreeSync for optimized gaming and a polished smart home control dashboard that makes it the brainy hub for all of your connected devices.
Editor's Note: The model we reviewed, the Q90R, is being replaced with the Q90T, which comes in four sizes (55, 65, 75, and 85 inches), has direct full array backlighting and a more powerful processor. Stay tuned for our review.
Read our full Samsung Q90 QLED TV review.
The Hisense H8G Quantum Series might be the best Hisense TV yet, and it's definitely one of the best we've seen to offer this blend of features. With a quantum-dot enhanced LCD panel, support for both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and a generous selection of ports and smart features, it would already be an excellent TV. But the addition of Android TV, which includes the excellent Google Assistant for voice interaction, deep integration with smart home devices and a built-in Google Chromecast for even more flexibility, and the H8G stands out as a solid TV for under $1,000.
In our hands-on time with the TV, we were especially impressed with its clarity and contrast, and the quantum-dot display looks vibrant and sharp. It could have done a little better in handling fast action, but it's plenty good for a TV that's so affordable. The audio is great, too, with beefier sound than many TVs in this price range.
Read our full Hisense H8G Quantum Series (65H8G) review.
The Vizio P-Series Quantum X (PX65-G1) is a solid 4K TV that can contend with some of the best in terms of picture quality, delivering deep, vivid color, crisp detail and rich black levels, making it one of the best TVs for the money.
The affordable price is also nice, but it means you'll need to accept some limitations, such as the limited number of apps on the SmartCast TV, and the wimpy sound offered by the set's 10-watt speakers. But those minor niceties are omitted to shave down the price, and the Vizio P-Series Quantum X PX65-G1 definitely delivers on affordability, making it a great value, as well as our favorite Vizio TV. Pair this TV with a good soundbar and your smartphone, for seamless use with all of your favorite apps, and you've got a killer TV any way you look at it.
Read our full Vizio P-Series Quantum X PX65-G1 review.
TVs are bigger than ever, but they aren't always great. Thankfully, the Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV manages to avoid most of the big-screen pitfalls, delivering great picture quality, wide viewing angles and a feature set that's just as impressive as the 75-inch display. It's the best TV we've seen in this larger class.
Sony has also polished up the smart TV experience, updating its TVs with the sleeker Android TV 8.0 and giving the TV a redesigned remote control. Pair this extra-large TV with a good soundbar or surround sound set, and you'll have a great home theater worth showing off to the neighbors. For an extra-large screen that's just as big on value, the Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV is a smart buy.
Read our full Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV review.
The average TV isn't made to handle rain, snow, dust or heat. But the SunBriteTV Veranda Series 55-inch outdoor TV is built for those conditions, with a rugged design that can withstand the elements. Whether it's in a cold garage or out on an enclosed porch, the weather-sealed chassis fends of precipitation, dirt and bugs, and even has a sealed compartment for HDMI hookups. The screen is made to be viewed in shady conditions where even ambient sunlight would trip up a normal TV.
With basic HDR capability and strong overall performance, the SunBrite is a great TV for any outdoor setting. And thanks to some excellent built-in speakers, there's no need to get a soundbar. If you want a great set for your yard, this is the best TV to get for outdoor viewing.
Read our full SunBriteTV Veranda Series 55-inch review.
If you're ready to make the jump to 8K, there's no beating the LG Signature Z9 88-inch 8K OLED TV (OLED88Z9). We personally tested the 88-inch OLED behemoth late last year, and the quality of this enormous 8K TV is undeniable. The resolution is obviously a full order of magnitude beyond anything the best 4K sets can produce, but thanks to the OLED panel, it also offers near perfection in pixel-level brightness and contrast. The entire 88-inch TV sits on an included floor stand, which also hides the speakers that produce the Z9's top notch audio. The whole thing is an impressive feat of sights and sounds, and the best 8K set we've gotten to test so far.
The LG Z9 also has one of the best versions of LG's webOS we've seen, from the polished interface to the premium construction of the remote control. But it also comes with all of the caveats around 8K TV, such as the lack of 8K content, the enormous expense of the set and the slippery issues of 8K formats and codecs that are still being finalized. But if you're ready to take on the problems that come with embracing bleeding edge technology, there's only one 8K TV we recommend, and that's the LG Signature Z9 88-inch 8K OLED TV (OLED88Z9).
Read our full LG Signature Z9 88-inch 8K OLED TV (OLED88Z9) review.
How to choose the best TV for you
If you're trying to find the right TV for you, there are several factors to consider, from the basics of screen size and resolution, to the specific smart features and ports offered on a given model. We recommend most homes opt for a 55- or 65-inch TV with 4K resolution. We're also big fans of smart TVs, which let you stream all of your favorite shows and use dozens of apps without a second device.
We have extensive shopping advice, like our TV buying guide and figuring out what size TV you should buy. And if you still have questions about smart TV features and capabilities, check out Smart TVs: Everything you need to know.
Some of the TVs are among the best Alexa compatible devices and best Google Home compatible devices you can own, so pay attention to which smart home platform the sets offer before choosing.
Our TV reviews also look at how well each TV performs in key areas, like picture quality and sound, so don't forget to look up the model you're interested in to see our TV reviews.
You can find smaller 4K TVs that sell for less than $500, which will spare you some cash for some of the best soundbars or best streaming devices to go with your set. However, you'll want to pay more for features like HDR support and a decent number of HDMI ports.
Generally speaking, you'll pay around $500 for a lower-price, 55-inch, 4K TV and at least $900 for a 65-inch model. Premium 4K TVs can sell for thousands of dollars, but we find that the sweet spot for superior performance and value is right around the $2,000 mark.
8K TVs, on the other hand, run from pricey to mortgage-your-house levels of expense, with new smaller models selling for as little as $3,000, but running up to the tens of thousands. Case in point: The LG Signature Z9 88-inch 8K OLED TV (OLED88Z9) sells for $29,999.
How we test TVs
Evaluating TVs is about more than just kicking back to watch a movie. We lab test every TV, measuring color gamut, color accuracy and brightness to objectively see which sets are the best for these key indicators. We also test for lag time – a key detail for gaming – measuring to the millisecond how long it takes for content to travel from the original source to the screen. We use these results to make numbers-based comparisons about color and display quality.
We also spend time with each set for real-world evaluation and see how our lab results translate into more subjective performance. We also compare sets side by side and view samples from the latest movies, specialized test patterns that highlight strengths and weaknesses of each display, and a range of content across several sources. With that information, we can tell you which TVs look best, sound best and offer the best viewing experience.
Finally, we evaluate the smart TV functions and apps for each TV, looking at everything from the remote control design to the voice interaction
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