The Best TVs for 2026

• RELATED:
• Best Cheap TVs
• Best TVs for Gaming
• Best 65-Inch TVs
• Best 75-Inch (and up) TVs

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Best OLED TV Overall

Samsung S95H OLED TV

4.5 Outstanding

Pros & Cons

• Incredibly bright OLED panel
• Vibrant, lifelike picture with a wide color range
• Ultra-low input lag is ideal for gaming
• Built-in 4.2.2-channel speaker system produces a detailed spatial audio sound field
• Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, and hands-free Alexa support
• Striking metal frame

• Samsung's smart TV platform still feels clunky
• No ATSC 3.0 or Dolby Vision

Why We Picked It

The S95H is the best-looking and brightest OLED TV I've tested, and a PCMag Lab Award winner for the lowest input lag. It features a built-in 4.2.2-channel spatial audio speaker system that delivers a detailed sound field and supports Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, and hands-free Amazon Alexa.

Who It's For

Home theater enthusiasts: With a fantastic OLED picture and built-in spatial audio system, the S95H makes a great centerpiece for your home theater. Plus, you can take it even further with Samsung's Q-Symphony feature, which lets the TV integrate a compatible Samsung soundbar with its own speakers into a single, powerful audio setup.

Gamers: The S95H is fully equipped for gaming thanks to its 165Hz native refresh rate with VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and Nvidia G-Sync. Plus, it goes a step further than other models with the lowest 4K60 input lag I've measured for class-leading responsiveness.

Specs & Configurations

Panel Type OLED

Screen Size 65 inches

Resolution 3,840 by 2,160

Video Inputs HDMI, RF, USB

HDR HDR10, HDR10+

HDMI Ports 4

Streaming Services Yes

Screen Brightness 1715 nits

Refresh Rate 165 Hz

VRR

Input Lag (1080p120)

Input Lag (4K60)

AMD FreeSync FreeSync Premium Pro

Nvidia G-Sync G-Sync

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$3,299 at Best Buy $3,399 at Samsung $2,197 at Amazon

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Samsung S95H OLED TV Review

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Best LED TV Overall

TCL QM8L

4.5 Outstanding

Pros & Cons

• Incredibly bright picture with wide colors
• Responsive 144Hz panel with VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
• Clever remote with backlight, picture mode button, and brightness rocker
• Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, and hands-free Google Gemini
• Strong off-angle viewing, particularly compared with RGB LED TVs
• ATSC 3.0

• Colors aren't the most accurate out of the box
• Some light bloom can be seen, especially in letterboxing bars

Why We Picked It

The TCL QM8L SQD-Mini LED consistently puts out the most light of any TV I've tested under 100 inches, outshining its predecessor in two out of three luminance metrics and earning our PCMag Lab Award for brightest TV. It also has an incredibly wide color range that rivals RGB LED TVs, and it's packed with features. It's simply an all-around great-looking TV.

Who It's For

Brightly lit rooms: If your living room has a lot of ambient light, whether from overhead lamps or sunny windows, your TV needs to put out enough nits to compete with it, and the QM8L gets brighter than any other mini-LED.

Anyone considering an RGB LED TV: While TCL calls it SQD-Mini LED, the QM8L is technically just a high-end mini-LED QLED TV. That doesn't stop it from showing a wider color gamut than similar TVs, covering as much of the BT.2020 color space as much more expensive RGB LED models, while delivering a better off-angle viewing experience.

Specs & Configurations

Panel Type LED

Screen Size 75 inches

Resolution 3,840 by 2,160

Video Inputs HDMI, RF, USB

HDR Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+

HDMI Ports 4

Streaming Services Yes

Screen Brightness 3504 nits

Refresh Rate 144 Hz

VRR

Input Lag (1080p120) 5.1 ms

Input Lag (4K60) 9.5 ms

AMD FreeSync FreeSync Premium Pro

Nvidia G-Sync None

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$1,697 at Amazon

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TCL QM8L Review

(Credit Joseph Maldonado)

Best Budget-Friendly TV

Hisense U65QF

4.5 Outstanding

Pros & Cons

• Affordable
• Bright, colorful picture
• 144Hz with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
• Apple AirPlay

• Some light bloom
• No hands-free voice control

Why We Picked It

The Hisense U65QF is the brightest TV I've ever seen in its price range, with wide and accurate color that also swings well above its class. Its Amazon Fire TV smart TV platform lacks some of the niceties of Hisense's higher-end Google TV-powered TVs, like hands-free voice control and Google Cast, but it's still easily the best budget TV currently available.

Who It's For

Budget shoppers: The price of the U65QF is hard to beat, especially for its performance. The 65-inch model can often be found for around $600, making it an ideal budget TV.

Anyone looking for a huge, cheap TV: If you want a really big screen but don't want to spend much, the 85-inch U65QF is just $1,100. That's lower than many higher-end 65-inch models.

People who want a TV for their basement, bedroom, or garage: If you're looking for a secondary TV outside of your living room, like in a bedroom or workspace, the U65QF's low price will hold great appeal.

Specs & Configurations

Panel Type LED

Screen Size 65 inches

Resolution 3,840 by 2,160

Video Inputs HDMI, Composite, RF, USB

HDR Dolby Vision, HDR-10

HDMI Ports 4

Streaming Services Yes

Screen Brightness 1024 nits

Refresh Rate 144 Hz

VRR

Input Lag (1080p120) 4.6 ms

Input Lag (4K60) 13.1 ms

AMD FreeSync FreeSync Premium Pro

Nvidia G-Sync None

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$732 at Amazon $509 at Best Buy

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Hisense U65QF Review

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Best LED TV Value

Hisense U8QG

4.0 Excellent

Pros & Cons

• Incredibly bright picture
• Deep blacks
• Wide, accurate colors
• 4.1.2-channel spatial audio system
• 165Hz VRR with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
• Apple AirPlay and Google Cast
• Side-mounted USB-C port that supports DisplayPort video

• Only three HDMI ports
• Slight light bloom
• More expensive than its predecessor

Why We Picked It

The U8QG is the latest in a long line of high-end Hisense TVs that wow us with their performance and the fantastic value they offer. It's incredibly bright (even more than last year's already blazing U8N), boasts wide and accurate colors, and has a built-in 4.1.2-channel spatial audio speaker system. It also has a conveniently side-mounted USB-C port that accepts DisplayPort signals, so you can easily connect smaller devices to the screen without any wireless lag. It doesn't offer quite the inky, bloom-free blacks of OLED TVs, but for that technology, you'll be paying two to three times as much.

Who It's For

Value-conscious shoppers: If you want a striking, full-featured TV at a reasonable price, the U8QG is one of the best choices. It's simply an excellent all-around value.

Home theater sound fans: Anyone who wants an immersive audio experience without buying a separate soundbar should take a look at the U8QG. Its 4.1.2-channel spatial audio system provides an immersive sound field in front of you with height channels. It can't reproduce the effect of satellites behind your couch, but otherwise it's capable of detailed surround sound.

Google users: If you control your smart home with Google Assistant, the U8QG is a boon for your living room. It provides hands-free access to Google's voice assistant. Don't expect it to get the full Gemini Home setup just yet, though; Google hasn't announced if and when Hisense TVs will get the upgrade.

Specs & Configurations

Panel Type LED

Screen Size 65 inches

Resolution 3,840 by 2,160

Video Inputs HDMI, USB, RF

HDR Dolby Vision, HDR-10

HDMI Ports 3

Streaming Services Yes

Screen Brightness 3200 nits

Refresh Rate 165 Hz

VRR

Input Lag (1080p120) 4.3 ms

Input Lag (4K60) 10.1 ms

AMD FreeSync FreeSync Premium Pro

Nvidia G-Sync None

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$1,179 at Amazon $829 at Walmart

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Hisense U8QG Review

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Best OLED TV Value

LG Evo C6 OLED TV

4.0 Excellent

Pros & Cons

• Gorgeous, relatively bright picture with accurate colors
• Strong streaming features, with Apple AirPlay and Google Cast
• Hands-free voice control with your choice of Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot for questions and search
• VRR up to 165Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium, Nvidia, and G-Sync for gaming

• Only has Wi-Fi 5
• No ATSC 3.0

Why We Picked It

The LG Evo C6 is a fantastic value for an OLED TV. While it isn't the brightest of its type, it offers a stunning picture with wide colors and a slim design, and it won't cost you too much. Its official retail price is $2,699.99 for the 65-inch model, but it can often be found for less than $2,000.

Who It's For

Anyone curious about OLED TVs: If OLED technology has caught your eye but the price has deterred you, the Evo C6 makes it worth another look. It can be found for well under the steep prices of most other OLED TVs, while still offering the benefits of the panel type, such as pixel-level brightness control. This TV looks terrific, with excellent contrast and color performance, and it doesn't cost much more than a mid- to high-end LED TV.

Specs & Configurations

Panel Type OLED

Screen Size 65 inches

Resolution 3,840 by 2,160

Video Inputs HDMI, RF, USB

HDR Dolby Vision, HDR10

HDMI Ports 4

Streaming Services Yes

Screen Brightness 1015 nits

Refresh Rate 120 Hz

VRR

Input Lag (1080p120) 4.6 ms

Input Lag (4K60) 12.8 ms

AMD FreeSync FreeSync Premium

Nvidia G-Sync G-Sync Compatible

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$1,799 at Amazon $1,799 at Best Buy

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LG Evo C6 OLED TV Review

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Best Roku TV

Roku Pro Series (2025)

4.0 Excellent

Pros & Cons

• Bright, colorful picture
• Simple, easy-to-use interface
• Hands-free voice control
• Remote finder

• No full voice assistant
• Lacks ATSC 3.0

Why We Picked It

I like to recommend Roku devices to less tech-savvy users who want to enjoy streaming, because the Roku OS platform is much simpler, more direct, and media-focused than most other smart TV platforms. It doesn't have a full voice assistant or a huge smart home ecosystem it can manage, but it makes it easy to search for media and jump quickly into whatever service you want. The Roku Pro Series is the best TV I've tested that uses Roku OS, with a great picture and useful features like Apple AirPlay, hands-free voice control, and a remote finder button.

Who It's For

Less tech-savvy users: If you don't want a complicated smart TV interface that inundates you with recommendations, ads, and lots and lots of different icons, the Roku Pro Series is for you. It's easy to use, with big, friendly tiles that put you into your app of choice without swimming through menu layers.

Anyone who keeps losing the remote: If you keep misplacing the remote, the Roku Pro Series' remote finder feature is vital. Press a button on the TV itself and the remote will start chirping, helping you locate it whether it's in the couch cushions or on the counter.

Specs & Configurations

Panel Type LED

Screen Size 65 inches

Resolution 3,840 by 2,160

Video Inputs HDMI, RF, USB

HDR Dolby Vision, HDR-10

HDMI Ports 4

Streaming Services Yes

Screen Brightness 1941 nits

Refresh Rate 120 Hz

VRR

Input Lag (1080p120) 5.2 ms

Input Lag (4K60) 9.4 ms

AMD FreeSync FreeSync Premium Pro

Nvidia G-Sync None

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$899 at Best Buy

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Roku Pro Series (2025) Review

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Best for the Lowest Price Possible

Vizio Mini LED Quantum 4K Smart TV

4.0 Excellent

Pros & Cons

• Excellent color performance
• Satisfyingly bright
• Supports Apple AirPlay and Google Cast
• Inexpensive

• Only three HDMI ports
• Occasionally clipped highlights and muddy shadows
• Limited voice control features

Why We Picked It

The new Mini LED Quantum 4K TV is dirt-cheap while offering a surprisingly good picture. It's the dimmest screen on this list, but it still hits a satisfyingly bright 766 nits, shows impressively accurate colors out of the box, and costs half as much as the second-cheapest TV you'll find here. It's light on features, with no voice controls to speak of, but it does support Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, and Miracast/WiDi for local streaming, and it covers most major streaming services, too.

Who It's For

Budget shoppers: At less than $400 for a 65-inch model, the Mini LED Quantum TV is incredibly affordable. If you want a big screen while paying as little as possible, you can count on a great viewing experience for the price.

Secondary rooms: If you can afford to spend more, you should seriously consider any of the other, much brighter and feature-filled TVs on this list for your living room. If you want a big screen for your basement, garage, or another secondary space, this won't break the bank.

Specs & Configurations

Panel Type LED

Screen Size 65 inches

Resolution 3,840 by 2,160

Video Inputs HDMI, RF, USB

HDR Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+

HDMI Ports 3

Streaming Services Yes

Screen Brightness 766 nits

Refresh Rate 60 Hz

VRR

Input Lag (1080p120) 5.3 ms

Input Lag (4K60) 9.5 ms

AMD FreeSync None

Nvidia G-Sync None

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$527 at Amazon $358 at Walmart $398 at Sam's Club

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Vizio Mini LED Quantum 4K Smart TV Review

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Best Hands-Free Fire TV

Amazon Ember Mini-LED

4.0 Excellent

Pros & Cons

• Bright picture with balanced color and strong contrast
• Hands-free Alexa integration
• Supports Apple AirPlay 2
• 120Hz with VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro

• Color gamut isn't as wide as competitors
• Can suffer from light bloom

Why We Picked It

The Ember Mini-LED (formerly Fire TV Omni Mini-LED) is Amazon's best television yet, with more than three times the luminance of the Fire TV Omni QLED. It's packed with features, including a 120Hz native refresh rate with support for 144Hz VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, hands-free Alexa, and Apple AirPlay 2. It's also reasonably priced, in line with higher-end Google TVs from Hisense and TCL.

Who It's For

Amazon and Ring fans: Anyone who swears by Alexa should consider the Fire TV Ember Mini-LED. Hands-free access to Amazon's voice assistant is incredibly useful, especially if you're already used to using Echo speakers to control the lights. The TV can even bring up live feeds of your Ring cameras on request.

iPhone and iPad users: By default, Amazon's Fire TV platform doesn't have much in the way of local wireless streaming features besides WiDi/Miracast. However, the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED has Apple AirPlay built in, so you can stream from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac with a tap or click.

Specs & Configurations

Panel Type LED

Screen Size 65 inches

Resolution 3,840 by 2,160

Video Inputs HDMI, RF, USB

HDR Dolby Vision, HDR-10

HDMI Ports 4

Streaming Services Yes

Screen Brightness 1623 nits

Refresh Rate 120 Hz

VRR

Input Lag (1080p120) 6.4 ms

Input Lag (4K60)

AMD FreeSync FreeSync Premium Pro

Nvidia G-Sync None

GET IT NOW

$919 at Amazon

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Amazon Ember Mini-LED Review

What to Look for in a New TV

Resolution has long been a top consideration in buying a new TV, but the current TV landscape has flattened this trend. The TV resolution question used to be a choice between 720p (1,280 by 720 pixels) and 1080p (1,920 by 1,080 pixels). Then, it moved on to 1080p versus Ultra HD, or 4K (3,840 by 2,160 pixels, or over eight million pixels). Now, it's no longer a question: 4K is the standard for medium-sized and larger televisions from every major manufacturer. Realistically, you'd be hard-pressed to find a TV from a major brand larger than 40 inches that isn't 4K.

The higher resolution no longer commands a price premium, and you can find an excellent 65-inch 4K TV for under $1,000. You can even dig lower and build an entire home theater for $1,000 if you're willing to make some compromises.

Almost all TVs now offer web apps and built-in Wi-Fi via a smart TV platform. Some manufacturers, like LG, Samsung, and Vizio, develop first-party platforms, while others, like Hisense, Sony, and TCL, use third-party platforms, such as Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, and Roku TV, to provide their TVs with apps and online services. These platforms generally offer access to most major streaming services, such as Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, and YouTube, along with features like voice assistants, local media streaming, and downloadable apps and games. If you can't find the apps or services you want on your TV, you can connect a separate media streamer to an HDMI 2.0 port to fill that gap.

Apple AirPlay 2 is now available on new TVs from Hisense, LG, Roku, Samsung, Sony, TCL, and Vizio, as well as on all Roku media streamers. This feature lets you stream content from your iPhone or iPad to your TV using iTunes. Apple also has the Apple TV app with its Apple TV+ service on all major smart TV platforms, so you can watch Apple video content on nearly any TV without an Apple TV 4K box, which was previously necessary.

TV Tips For New TV Buyers

4K content is now freely available on many streaming services and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, even if it hasn't been widely adopted by broadcast or cable TV services yet (read more about the ATSC 3.0 standard for more details). If you have a fast internet connection, you can watch some excellent shows on Amazon and Netflix in 4K (and most new original programming on the services is produced at that resolution). New films are also coming out digitally in 4K through various on-demand streaming services.

Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are a physical media format that can store 4K HDR content and are readily available. Don't expect to play them on your current Blu-ray player, though; it's a separate format from Blu-ray, so you need a dedicated Ultra HD Blu-ray player, a Microsoft Xbox Series X (or an Xbox One S/X if you can find one), or a Sony PlayStation 5 to handle it. The good news is that Ultra UD Blu-ray stores 4K video with HDR (explained below), and it can even handle advanced surround sound audio if your speaker system supports it. It has a long-term edge over streaming since it's a piece of media you can physically own, and it doesn't require an internet connection or a service subscription. Ultra HD Blu-ray releases are relatively paltry outside of major new movies, though, so if you want to watch your favorite obscure film, you might have to downgrade to 1080p or even 480p with a Blu-ray or DVD.

In terms of audio, the built-in TV speakers are good enough for hearing dialogue, but beyond that, they're typically pretty underwhelming. With few exceptions, you can greatly improve your movie and gaming experience by adding a speaker system, such as a soundbar or a dedicated multi-channel home theater system.

Should You Wait for 8K?

That one's easy: No.

Don't worry about 8K for now; despite what you might have heard, the HDMI 2.1 standard doesn't support it. 8K is 7,680 by 4,320 pixels, or four times the number of pixels of 4K. 8K TVs are currently available as premium models for significantly more money than their 4K equivalents (including OLED TVs, which are already pricey), but they aren't going to be meaningful for consumers for a few more years, and there's little reason to consider buying one yet unless you have lots of cash to burn.

Moreover, there's no consumer-ready 8K media available, and no major studios or distributors have even talked about releasing 8K movies or shows so far. There aren't yet physical or streaming media standards that could support 8K commercial releases either. Even if you can find an 8K TV, you might be able to watch upconverted 4K video on it at best. So, for the time being, don't worry about 8K suddenly replacing 4K. It won't happen anytime soon.

Is a 4K HDR TV Worth It?

4K is a no-brainer, but there's a next-step video technology to consider when you shop for a TV. High dynamic range (HDR) content pushes much more information to the display than a standard video signal. The resolution remains the same, but the range of colors and the amount of light each pixel can produce are significantly broader.

Because of improving 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 cathode-ray tube televisions, intentionally using a limited 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.

There are three major HDR standards with commercially available content: Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+. HDR10 is an open platform that uses 10-bit color values. The UHD Alliance certifies televisions that meet the HDR10 standard, along with minimum brightness and contrast ratios, as UltraHD Premium. Dolby Vision is a closed standard from Dolby; it supports 12-bit color and dynamically determines signal ranges for a display on the fly based on the display itself and the needs of the scene. Televisions that support Dolby Vision note so on their packaging.

Some other HDR standards and variants are also available, but they've yet to see the broad acceptance of HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) is a standard from the BBC and the Japanese broadcaster NHK that is backward-compatible with standard dynamic range TVs.

Meanwhile, Samsung has HDR10+, which adds variable metadata to brightness, changing the range of bright and dark that video can display from scene to scene. It's basically Samsung's answer to Dolby Vision, which the company perplexingly refuses to put on its TVs in favor of its own standard.

HDR content is generally rarer than SDR UHD content, but it's still widely available, especially for new shows and films on major streaming services. Ultra HD Blu-rays, along with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Max, and other streaming apps, all support HDR in HDR10 and/or Dolby Vision. Whether one standard is better than the other is difficult to determine at this point; HDR10 uses more concrete values and is easier to evaluate technically, but Dolby Vision is designed to fit the needs and limitations of whatever television you use. Whether it's HDR10 or Dolby Vision, HDR-capable televisions can produce a better picture than TVs that don't support the wider color gamuts or increased range of luminance information.

Is OLED or QLED Better?

Generally speaking, QLED TVs (or LCD-based LED TVs) are brighter and usually more affordable than organic light-emitting diode (OLED) models, but they lack the shadow detail of OLED models. OLED TVs offer incredible color and perfect black level,s but aren't as bright as QLED panels.

Consider your budget and the lighting in the room where you plan to put your TV. An OLED will do best in a home theater where you can block out most outside light, while a QLED will have the edge in a room with plenty of windows and sun. That said, as OLED TVs get brighter and more affordable, and QLED TVs use smaller, more numerous mini-LEDs for their backlights, the distinctions between the two will become less significant.

Which TV Brand Is the Best?

This is a pretty common question, and the short answer is: Don't shop for a TV based on the brand. Every TV manufacturer makes a full range of models in a variety of tiers based on price and performance. Different brands of TVs in the same tier are much more comparable than the same TV brand in different tiers, and you should keep that in mind. For example, just because it's a Samsung TV doesn't mean it's a good or bad Samsung TV; there's a wide spread of performance among Samsung TVs in the first place.

When Is the Best Time to Buy a TV?

Keep an eye out for sales around big sporting events like the Super Bowl or when football season is just starting to find price cuts of a few hundred dollars or more. Also, expect huge price slashes on budget and midrange televisions during Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. Note that manufacturers typically announce new TVs in January and mark down the previous year's models around that time. Regardless of when you shop, pay attention to which models are on sale; different tiers and series of TVs can perform wildly differently, and some budget and midrange lines aren't nearly as good as higher-end models. Check the model numbers carefully against reviews to get a sense of whether the discount you see is worthwhile.

Are Cheap TVs Worth the Price?

Performance among budget TVs priced below $1,000 varies wildly. Some TVs in this price range offer excellent picture quality, like the Hisense U6N, but there's also a sea of cheap models that don't measure up in one way or another. Although big names like LG, Samsung, and Sony make some incredible flagship TVs, their inexpensive models generally aren't any better than baseline models from more budget-centric brands like Hisense and TCL—and they're usually a bit more expensive. Specs don't tell the whole story either; even if it says 4K HDR, it could be a steal or a disappointment. As always, our reviews (and the picture quality tests we perform) can help you find a screen that doesn't trade quality for the price.

What Size TV Should You 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 between your couch and 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 a TV between 42 and 60 inches. If your couch is five feet away, a 37- to 52-inch screen should work well.

For more, see our stories on how to choose the right TV screen size, the best 65-inch TVs, and the best 75-inch (and up) TVs.

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What Is a Good TV 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 is just fine for films and TV, and 120Hz is plenty for video games and sports (though you should probably turn off those higher-refresh-rate modes when watching most shows and movies to avoid the jarring soap-opera effect). Also, keep in mind that numbers above 120Hz (except for a few Samsung TVs with gaming monitor-like 144Hz refresh rates), tend not to indicate a panel's native refresh rate; they're usually numbers produced through various backlight flickering and other image processing tricks.

Contrast ratio, meanwhile, is the difference between the darkest black and the brightest white a panel can display. In theory, the highest possible contrast ratio is desirable, as dark blacks and bright whites contribute to a high-quality picture. There isn't really a standard way for manufacturers to measure this spec, though, and vendors are all vying to achieve the highest ratios so their TVs seem more appealing. Previously, OLED TVs were the only models we've tested to actually produce an "infinite" contrast ratio with a perfect 0 black level, but recently, mini-LED backlight systems have enabled some TVs, like Samsung's flagship LED models, to also offer perfect black levels with no noticeable light bloom. We measure contrast ratios consistently across all TVs, so you can trust our numbers.

What Are the Different TV Connections?

Ideally, a TV should provide enough video connections for now and the foreseeable future. The most important input is HDMI, which supports all major digital video sources, including Blu-ray players, game consoles, set-top boxes, and PCs, via a single cable. Most TVs have three or four HDMI ports, but some might only have two. If you want a 4K screen, make sure the HDMI ports are at least HDMI 2.0. It's the current standard and supports 4K video at 60 frames per second; at best, older HDMI ports can only handle 4K up to 30 frames per second. HDMI 2.1, meanwhile, supports higher resolutions and faster refresh rates, though it isn't vital for most content currently available.

How PCMag Tests 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 ones and found that they all carry digital signals similarly. More expensive cables might have better build quality, but you won't see any performance benefits. Don't shop for HDMI cables at retail stores, and ignore any clerks who warn you of "dirty electricity" or "viruses" that can come with cheap cables (both claims I've witnessed). Hop online, find the least expensive cable in the size you need, and snap it up.

Just ensure the cables are labeled HDMI 2.1, "Premium High Speed," or "Ultra High Speed." For more, see our story on what you need to know about HDMI cables.

HDMI also supports the highest-end home theater audio standards, though you'll generally have to give up a video input port to use it. Most TVs have an HDMI port with an audio return channel (ARC) clearly labeled on the back. ARC enables sound to be sent downstream to a connected soundbar or speaker system from the TV over HDMI and supports compressed 5.1-channel surround sound, as optical connections do. However, recent TVs have enhanced ARC (eARC), which offers even higher-quality audio and more features than optical or ARC. eARC supports uncompressed multi-channel sound, including spatial audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. In fact, if you want to use those much more precise surround systems instead of discrete channel feeds, you need to use eARC.

If you have legacy devices from before the days of HDTVs, some new TVs might still support them. While they're not standard, many TVs have composite or component video inputs you can use to hook up VCRs and older game systems. Groups of full-size RCA ports might be available, but you're more likely to find 3.5mm ports with included dongles that convert the 3.5mm connection to three RCA ports for composite video or five RCA ports for component video.

Should You Calibrate Your TV?

Most modern TVs are accurate enough out of the box that calibration isn't needed. Just follow our five simple tweaks to get the best picture settings for your TV, and you should be good to go.

Still, if you spent a lot on your new TV, you might want to calibrate it to obtain the best picture possible. Professional calibrations can cost hundreds of dollars, but if you have a high-end home theater (the kind you hired someone to build), it can be a worthwhile added expense. And if you don't, you can get a calibration Blu-ray and make some tweaks yourself. You can also use the Apple TV's Color Balance feature, though it doesn't come close to a professional calibration and only affects the Apple TV device's output (not the Apple TV app).

And, of course, don't forget to turn off motion smoothing (the effect that makes everything look like a soap opera) unless you're watching sports.