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The best TV brands of 2024, according to tech experts

Not sure what TV to buy? These 5 TV brands are a great place to start.
mother and daughter watching tv in living room. See the best TV brands to try in 2021. Shop top TV brands including the Samsung Q90A QLED TV, LG CX OLED TV, TCL Class 5 Series and more.
Top TV brands like Samsung, LG and TCL certainly sell a lot of televisions, but which one is right for you?Maskot / Getty Images

If you’re shopping around for a new TV, it can be hard to know where to start. There’s a medley of displays available for every budget, from small LCD screens to massive 8K panels. To start, It can be helpful to pick a TV brand to narrow down your options.

This is a brief starter guide to the most prominent TV brands out there, packed with advice and guidance from tech experts to help you parse through the differences between each one.

SKIP AHEAD LG TVs | Samsung TVs | Sony TVs | TCL TVs | Vizio TVs

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The best TV for you: How much does brand matter?

According to tech expert Whitson Gordon, senior manager of content marketing at Asus ROG, the brand is not as big a signifier of quality as you might expect. While there are budget-focused brands like Insignia, larger names like Samsung, LG and Sony each have high-end and low-end models to choose from. Even Hisense, usually considered a budget TV brand, offers a range of premium displays, often on par with its competitors.

The most important question to ask yourself is what your ‘quality bar’ is, says tech journalist Henry St Leger. A lower priced TV may be fine if you just want a big screen, but anyone seeking higher resolutions and color-accurate images will need to spend a little more.

We spoke with experts to help find the strengths and weaknesses of each TV brand, learning where they excel or fall short in deciding factors like picture quality, design, value, audio clarity, processing power and smart capabilities.

LG TVs: Best OLED TVs for movies and gaming

LG makes the best quality screens for movies and gaming, says St Leger. Its OLED panels pack a punch — with excellent processing, deep blacks and vivid colors across the board — and the webOS smart platform is possibly the best in the business. Lower-than-average brightness means that [the OLED TVs are] best used for evening movies, though, rather than afternoon sports broadcasts.

Best LG TV: LG C3 Series TV

LG’s C series OLED TVs are widely regarded as some of the best TVs you can buy today, especially for gaming, says Gordan. The C3 series has improved brightness compared to previous models, and has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, so it’s fully compatible with gaming consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. The screen also has deep black levels that make the picture pop off the screen, says Gordon.

This OLED model is an investment, but its detailed picture, Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos compatibility is well worth it, says Gordon. It’s great for living rooms, family rooms and larger bedrooms, according to the brand.

Screen sizes: 42, 48, 55, 65, 77, 83-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: OLED | OS: WebOS

Best budget LG TV: LG B3 Series TV

If the C3 is out of your budget, consider the lower-priced B3 series. It still has a 4K OLED panel, with great black levels, high contrast and vivid colors — just with a cheaper processor, fewer performance-boosting features and dimmer brightness than the C series. You still get the same winning webOS smart platform, excellent app support, good gaming functionality and compatibility with smart home devices as with higher-end LG TVs.

Screen sizes: 55, 65, 77-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: OLED | OS: webOS

Samsung TVs: Best all-around brand with the best built-in audio

Samsung is the best all-around TV brand, partially because of its huge range of models, says St Leger. “You can find Samsung TVs for $300 or $3,000, and all [are] generally good for the price.”

Best Samsung TV: Samsung QN90C Series TV

Samsung is known for its QLED panels, which use Quantum Dots for fantastic color performance, says Gordon. “Its blacks aren’t as deep as its OLED competitors (namely LG and Sony), but it gets much brighter, making it ideal for rooms with a lot of sunlight streaming through.”

This 2023 QN90C model has a 4K display and AI upscaling that helps non-4K content look closer to its high-res counterpart, according to the brand. This high-end TV packs in a Mini LED backlight, utilizing thousands of tiny LEDs to ensure precise and vivid brightness across the screen, all in a sleek exterior, says Gordon.

Screen sizes: 43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: QLED | OS: Tizen OS

Best Samsung TV Design: Samsung The Frame Series TV

Samsung has also made a splash with unique TV designs like in The Frame series, which acts as a TV when it’s on and framed artwork when it’s off. Like other smart art frames, it has a small selection of paintings for free and a library of over 1,400 art pieces from world-renowned institutions for a small monthly fee. You can also upload your own photographs and other image files.

The Frame series has slowly improved over the years. This model has an anti-reflective matte finish, making the artwork look more like a canvas, and an ever-expanding range of metal and wood-like bezels to choose from, helping you customize the TV to better suit your decor. “I love having something other than a black slab to look at on my wall when the TV is off,” says Gordon.

Screen sizes: 43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: QLED | OS: Tizen OS

Sony TVs: Fantastic color accuracy and smooth motion for movies and sports

Sony offers some of the most color-accurate TVs you can buy, with good HDR performance, processing power and smart Google TV interface, says Gordon. St Leger agrees, though he added that Sony TVs can be a bit pricey at times. Another plus is the excellent gaming specifications, which is unsurprising given that Sony also makes the PlayStation 5.

Best Sony TV: Sony A80L Series TV

Sony makes some very sleek OLED TVs, with a great reputation for naturalistic picture processing and smooth motion for fast, action-packed scenes. OLED panels are known for their high-contrast images, as you can turn individual pixels off, meaning that colors (especially white highlights and light sources) pop against the screen. The A80L also uses Sony’s actuator system, which vibrates the panel itself to emit sound — not necessarily a proper substitute for a plug-in TV speakers and soundbars, but still better than a lot of built-in audio out there.

Screen sizes: 55, 65, 77, 83-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: OLED | OS: Google TV

Best Sony Gaming TV: Sony X90L Series TV

Sony makes a lot more than just TVs, and anyone with a PlayStation 5 may want to check out the X90L. This mid-range TV doesn’t have an OLED panel, but does have 4K resolution, HDR, very high brightness and a host of PS5-ready specifications — including variable refresh rate (to reduce screen tearing), low input lag (for responsive gameplay), 120Hz frame rate (for smooth motion), and two HDMI 2.1 inputs (for transferring high-quality video from your console). Those specs work just as well for other gaming consoles too, and should serve you just fine for TV shows and films as well, according to our experts.

Screen sizes: 55, 65, 75, 85, 98-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: LED | OS: Google TV

TCL TVs: Best smart TV platform at unbeatable prices

While LG, Samsung and Sony all make superb high-end sets, their budget and mid-range sets are often outshined by TCL, says Gordon. TCL TVs have great picture quality for the price and smart interfaces from Google or Amazon built-in.

“TCL TVs are generally best for the value, often providing premium specifications at lower-than-average prices,” St Leger says. “That means you can get high-end mini LED displays, or just a good mid-tier screen for everyday TV and games, for a decent amount less than the competition.”

Best TCL TV: TCL Q6 Series TV

TCL has long had a love affair with QLED — the quantum dot filter technology that helps to boost contrast and color. This Q6 series model has a full array backlight, meaning it can precisely control brightness output across the screen, highlighting the parts that matter in each scene. With Dolby Vision HDR, 4K resolution, the premium Atmos audio format, and a host of gaming features for PS5 and Xbox Series X, there’s plenty of high-end specification to enjoy at a mid-range price. It has a slower 60Hz panel (compared to 120Hz on pricier competitors), but is one of the best TVs you can buy for the money, says Gordon.

Screen sizes: 55, 65, 75, 85-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: QLED | OS: Google TV

Best budget TCL TV: TCL S4 Series TV

If you’re not losing sleep over quantum dot technology, the S4 series TV may suit you just fine. With a thoroughly feature-filled and app-heavy Amazon Fire interface alongside a budget price point, it joins a long legacy of entry-level TCL TVs that do away with bells and whistles and just focus on the essentials. You still get 4K and HDR, just without premium HDR formats or local dimming — meaning contrast and brightness control are unlikely to impress. Still, the TCL S4 series offers good value for performance.

Screen sizes: 43, 50, 55, 65, 75-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: LED | OS: Amazon Fire TV

Vizio TVs: Great value for high specs

Vizio sets may not always boast the extra features or high performance of their competitors, but if you’re watching movies on Blu-ray or through a separate streaming box, they’re great for the price, says Gordon. And when they have high-end specifications, they’re often for a surprisingly good value.

Best Vizio TV: Vizio Quantum Pro Series TV

Vizio’s Quantum Pro TV offers a lot for its mid-range price, packing in 4K resolution, QLED-level contrast, and an ultra-bright screen at 50-inch, 65-inch or 75-inch sizes. For scale alone it gets some points, and low input lag at 120Hz means it’s a great choice for gaming. Just don’t expect the level of performance or sleek interface as some other screens in this guide.

Screen sizes: 50, 65, 75-inch | Resolution: 4K | Panel type: QLED | OS: Vizio SmartCast

Best budget Vizio TV: Vizio D-Series TV

Sometimes a small, cheap TV is all you need. This low-cost TV comes in 24, 32 and 40-inch sizing, and can easily fit on a shelf or counter. It is less detailed than other TVs on the list, with a lower resolution full-HD screen. The built-in Vizio SmartCast platform supports Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay, making it easy to cast content from other devices. At the same time, support for voice assistants and Apple HomeKit means it can connect to a host of different smart home or smart speaker devices.

Screen sizes: 24, 32, 40-inch | Resolution: Full HD (1080p) | Panel type: LED | OS: Vizio SmartCast

Meet our experts

At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

  • Whitson Gordon is a senior manager of content marketing at Asus ROG. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of Lifehacker and a freelance tech journalist.
  • Henry St. Leger is a freelance tech journalist. He was previously the home cinema editor at TechRadar and has bylines at T3, MacFormat and Digital Camera World.

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