Movie nights, ball games, the premier of a new season of your favorite show on Netflix—there are a host of reasons to want a big-screen TV with ample features and high-definition image quality. The good news is that you don’t have to break the bank in order to achieve a home cinema level setup if you know where to look. That’s where we come in: Our experts have been testing TVs for decades, measuring critical aspects like black level, peak brightness, input lag, and more.
Not all TVs are made equal and some are better than others for specific use cases; an OLED screen will cost more than an LED, for example, but the darker contrast and higher picture quality is often worth the tradeoff. And don’t forget to compliment your TV with a soundbar to really expand your home cinema setup and really deliver the high octane excitement of watching your favorite teams go head-to-head.
If you’re looking to upgrade, the price difference between a 50-, 55- and 65-inch TV usually isn’t that huge, though prices start to creep upward for 75-inch-and-larger screens. It’s important to fit your screen size to your room: Don’t squeeze a 55-inch set in a bedroom where a 32-inch will do, especially for an hour or two of late-night TV.
For modern resolution, we recommend at minimum a 1080p screen, but most of us probably prefer to take advantage of all the 4K programming on streaming and cable these days. The number of inputs for game consoles and other devices also makes a difference.
Gamers considering a TV for their PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X should look for TVs with the following features:
- 120Hz native refresh rate
- HDMI 2.1 ports for resolutions up to 4K 120Hz
- VRR (variable refresh rate) support
- HDR (high dynamic range) support.
Not all games require 4K 120Hz or VRR, but it may become the standard for most AAA games in the future, because developers love to push the envelope of hardware.
