Best 4K TVs for When You Crave Cinema Experience at Home

Review & Comparison, Last Update November 24, 2024
4K content floods our life at an unimaginable speed and to get the best of it, we search for the best yet affordable tech. Check ...Read more
PROS

Due to the Auto Game mode, your gaming console will automatically optimize the TV settings for the true 4K HDR gaming experience.

CONS

It has no analog video input, so you won’t be able to connect your old DVD player.

OUR VERDICT

If you want to get the maximum realistic viewing experience possible, get this Samsung TV. Thanks to the HDR 10+ technology, you will see movies in a stunning high dynamic range, just as the director intended!

detailed parameters
SIZE

55" (49", 65", 75", 82" also available)

SCREEN

3840 x 2160, VA

REFRESH RATE

60 Hz / 240 Motion Rate

SMART TV

Yes (Built-in Wi-Fi)

3D SUPPORT

No

INTERFACES

2 x USB 2.0

1 x Ethernet port (RJ-45)

4 x HDMI 2.0

1 x Optical out

1 x Ant. in

SOUND

2.1 Sound System (40 W Total)

WARRANTY

1 year

PROS

The TV provides excellent picture quality from side angles without decreasing color saturation and contrast. This is achieved thanks to the IPS panel.

CONS

The stand of this TV set is a bit unstable.

OUR VERDICT

This TV is compatible with the AI ThinQ Smart Hub suite, meaning it’s one of the smartest models on the market today. You can connect all your smart home devices and control them with your voice.

detailed parameters
SIZE

65" (43", 49", 55" also available)

SCREEN

3840 x 2160, IPS

REFRESH RATE

60 Hz / 120 TruMotion

SMART TV

Yes (Built-in Wi-Fi)

3D SUPPORT

No

INTERFACES

2 x USB 2.0

1 x Ethernet port (RJ-45)

3 x HDMI

1 x Component / Composite in

1 x Optical out

1 x Ant. in

SOUND

2 x 10 W, Ultra Surround Sound

WARRANTY

1 year

PROS

Thanks to the new Nano Photon technology, the TV has a wide color gamut and supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10 formats.

CONS

It doesn't support the local dimming feature and can't produce bright highlights.

OUR VERDICT

Although this 5-Series TCL TV compromises in brightness, it's sleek-looking, budget-friendly, and jam-packed with a number of great features such as Roku TV and Dolby Vision HDR.

detailed parameters
SIZE

55" (43", 49", 65" also available)

SCREEN

3840 x 2160, VA

REFRESH RATE

60 Hz / 120 Clear Motion Index (CMI)

SMART TV

Yes (Built-in Wi-Fi)

3D SUPPORT

No

INTERFACES

1 x USB 2.0

1 x Ethernet port (RJ-45)

3 x HDMI

1 x Composite in

1 x Optical out

1 x Headphones Out

1 x Ant. in

SOUND

2 x 8 W

WARRANTY

1 year

PROS

This Samsung TV uses UHD dimming technology that adjusts brightness to ensure deeper darks and brighter whites.

CONS

It has rather narrow viewing angles.

OUR VERDICT

If you would like to get a TV from the top brand but don’t want to overpay for curved display or other extra frills, choose this. It's a decent TV with very sharp, accurate, and vibrant image.

detailed parameters
SIZE

50" (40", 43", 55", 58", 65", 75" also available)

SCREEN

3840 x 2160, VA

REFRESH RATE

60 Hz / 120 Motion Rate

SMART TV

Yes (Built-in Wi-Fi)

3D SUPPORT

No

INTERFACES

2 x USB 2.0

1 x Ethernet port (RJ-45)

3 x HDMI

1 x Component / Composite in

1 x Optical out

1 x Ant. in

SOUND

2 x 10 W

WARRANTY

1 year

PROS

You can download the Roku mobile app to your smartphone so as to turn it into a full-function remote with voice control.

CONS

The upscaling is pretty mediocre.

OUR VERDICT

The TCL 43S425 is very affordable yet functional. It can become a great second TV for your bedroom or dorm room where a cheaper and dimmer screen would be perfect.

detailed parameters
SIZE

43" (50", 65" also available)

SCREEN

3840 x 2160, VA

REFRESH RATE

60 Hz / 120 Clear Motion Index (CMI)

SMART TV

Yes (Built-in Wi-Fi)

3D SUPPORT

No

INTERFACES

1 x USB 2.0

1 x Ethernet port (RJ-45)

3 x HDMI

1 x Composite in

1 x Optical out

1 x Headphones Out

1 x Ant. in

SOUND

2 x 8 W

WARRANTY

1 year

Completely Innovative

This Samsung 55-Inch TV is a premium, feature-rich model from the top Samsung's NU8000 series. It looks quite minimalistic with an extremely thin LED panel and bezel-free design. On the back, it has 4 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports, 1 Ethernet port, antenna/cable connection, an optical audio output, and a 3.5mm connector. Take note that this TV has no analog video inputs, meaning you won’t be able to connect your old DVD player, VCR, or video game system. Other than that, the TV is almost perfect. We dare say it boasts the best picture quality on the big 55-inch screen. It has a stellar upscaling and conversion technology and shows ultimately crisp 4X Full HD content. Thanks to the high native contrast ratio, it produces deep black scenes quite well. And due to the wide color gamut (Dynamic Crystal Color), you’ll get stunning high dynamic range and millions of additional shades.

With the 240 motion rate, the TV ensures incredibly smooth and crisp motion even in the fastest scenes or games. Additionally, it boasts the feature any gamer will definitely like - the Auto Game Mode. Your gaming console will automatically optimize the TV settings for the true 4K HDR gaming experience with super-fast refresh rates and minimal input lag.

Just like other high-end Samsung TVs, this one uses OneRemote and has Bixby (voice assistance). Bixby can help you search the needed content, flip channels, or even inform you about the current weather. So, if you want to get an advanced TV with the best 4K HDR picture quality possible, this Samsung TV is a stellar option.

HDR10+ Technology

Samsung is the leading company that redefines the world of TVs and shapes the future, delivering new ideas and cutting-edge technologies. And no wonder it’s one of the first brands that use the newest HDR10+ technology that ensures the stunning image. The technology optimizes picture quality for the highest 4K Ultra HD resolution by using dynamic tone mapping. This way, it reflects frame to frame variations in contrast, brightness, and color saturation. Rather than just increasing the brightness of the overall picture, the HDR increases contrast in various areas of the picture, creating more contrast with surrounding darker parts and delivering better shadow detail. As a result, you’ll enjoy an enhanced viewing experience that will be as close to the original intent for the content as possible.

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $0.00
Stock May be out of stock
ASIN B079NBMTWY

Best Price/Quality Ratio

The LG Electronics 65UK6300PUE TV deftly combines great picture quality, excellent performance, neat design, and reasonable price. It has a very functional design with nice clean lines and a small bezel frame. It’s worth mentioning that some of the rear-facing inputs ( 3 HDMI, 2 USB, 1 RF, 1 Composite, 1 Ethernet) may be a bit difficult to access when wall mounted. Though, we’re sure that you’ll quickly catch the trick of connecting cables to rear inputs even if your TV is hung on the wall.

The standout feature of this TV is its side angle viewing capability. Although the TV isn’t curved, it provides excellent picture quality from side angles without decreasing color saturation and contrast. This is achieved thanks to the IPS panel. However, it's worth noting that the IPS panel might hurt black levels a bit. So, if you’re a nighttime watcher, this TV might not be the best option for you.

The biggest selling point is that this TV is compatible with the AI ThinQ Smart Hub suite, meaning it’s one of the smartest models on the market today. Yet, we would like to mention that if you want to get the most out of its performance, you'll need to purchase the Magic remote control additionally. With the TV, you get a standard LG remote that has new “hot” buttons for connecting right to Netflix and Amazon. Smart TV options also include YouTube, iHeart Radio, Drama Fever, HSN, Showtime, new DirecTV to name a few. Connecting is very easy and quick. The LG Smart TV system (Web OS3.5) is one of the best in terms of speed and user-friendly interface. And if you want to get a very smooth and enjoyable experience, LG Electronics 65UK6300PUE is a sensible purchase.

98% Certainty

LG engineers have developed an ingenious display that is capable of transferring images with 98% certainty. Colors render more depth and better saturation compared to previous LG TVs. This model also has an expanded color gamut which meets HDR (High Dynamic Range) standards.

Another highlight of this TV is the new Color Prime technology that uses phosphor-based LED lighting. Right out-of-the-box, the colors might seem a bit oversaturated. However, this can be easily fixed with calibrating the picture settings. After that, you'll enjoy the perfect color balance.

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $0.00
Stock May be out of stock
ASIN B079V3HQ4X

This Roku TV Really Rocks

Looking for an inexpensive 4K 55-inch TV? While most TVs that cost less than $500 utterly disappoint, the TCL 55S517 TV is the one that would surely impress you. It's by far the best TV for the money. With more apps than competitors, this Roku TV delivers the simplest and most comprehensive smart TV experience on the market.

This model is a great improvement over the cheaper S405 series Roku TVs, which now has Dolby Vision HDR, a wider color gamut, and enhanced remote.

Thanks to the new Nano Band Phosphor (NBP) Photon technology, the 5 series TV has a wider color gamut and supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10 formats. Also, it touts better 120Hz clear motion index, though we think, and many users agree with that, it's on par with a 60Hz native panel. Where TCL 5 series telly undoubtedly outperforms the TCL S405 series is in the color accuracy and uniformity. It boasts an excellent contrast ratio and great black levels. The only thing we disliked is that it's unable to get as bright as premium TVs, especially in HDR. The TV doesn't support a local dimming feature and can't produce bright highlights. That's why it will function best in dim viewing environments.

On the bright side, this TV uses Roku, one of the best Smart TV platforms on the market that rarely stutters. It offers more than 500,000 movies and TV episodes, as well as nearly 1800 apps. The most popular of them are Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Amazon Instant and more. For convenient operation, the TV comes with the "enhanced" Roku TV remote that features a built-in mic for voice functions and can communicate with the TV without a line of sight. Conveniently, it has dedicated buttons for Netflix, Amazon instant, Mgo, and rdio.

Sleek Design

The TCL TV definitely wins on style. It outclasses more expensive screens with its clean, minimalist look. It has a thin metal cabinet with a ribbon-thin frame that looks way nicer and more modern than most TVs out there.

The plastic stand of the TV is relatively wide and provides good stability to the TV. On the rear, the TV has the plastic electronics compartment that looks simple and clean. There are three HDMI ports, a headphone jack, and even an Ethernet port. Take note that there's no slot for a streaming video player because it's already built into this TV.

All in all, although this 5-Series’ TV somewhat lacks in brightness, it more than makes up for it with its sleek-looking design and many great features such as Roku TV and Dolby Vision HDR. It’s the kind of TV that won’t break the bank but will bring so much fun to you and your family.

Additional Info

User Manual     Manufacturer

Last updated price $650.00
Stock In stock
ASIN B07987KQBN

Great Value

If you want to get a TV from the best electronics brand but don’t want to overpay for curved display or other extra frills, we kindly recommend you to take a closer look at the Samsung 50NU7100 Smart TV. It’s a quite decent TV that has a lot to offer. To begin with, you just can’t beat the picture quality for the price point. Depending on what you watch, you can switch between numerous presets for different picture modes. Owing to Samsung's semi-clear coat screen, the ambient light is absorbed and the image gets very sharp, accurate, and vibrant. Another proprietary technology, PurColor, allows TV to reproduce millions of shades of color and fine tune the picture according to the content you’re watching. And although the TV lacks local dimming technology, it uses UHD dimming that adjusts brightness to ensure deeper darks and brighter whites. Speaking about picture quality, the only area that’s worth improvement is narrow viewing angles. When viewing from off center, the color saturation gets worse and contrast does fade.

The refresh rate is mediocre - the native panel refresh rate is 60Hz and the backlight motion rate is 120. Yet, this rate is sufficient for fast-moving content. As for the sound, it’s very good for this TV. The clarity of voices is superb, which is especially important for 'older ears'. Plus, if you wish, you can fit a soundbar in front of the TV as its stand is wide enough to accommodate standard soundbars. The stand is very sturdy, so you can be sure that you won’t experience wobbling.

The heart of this TV, quad-core processor, ensures fast and efficient operation. Compared to previous models, it has a bit faster speed of Smart TV functioning and browsing. It boasts a Universal Guide that brings you the streaming content you want to watch. And not only you…. The “On TV” page allows different members of the family to log in to their own accounts and have different recommendation settings. This is a great advantage for multiple TV users.

Good Choice for Gamers

This Samsung TV has exceptionally low input lag and can support most common resolutions. It even supports chroma 4:4:4, which makes it suitable for use as a PC monitor. The TV is incredibly easy set-up, has an intuitive operation, and crispy clear picture. It’s an amazing choice for those who want the decent-quality Samsung TV that does an admirable job as a PC monitor as well.

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $700.49
Stock In stock
ASIN B079NH7LJQ

Great Second TV

If you're looking for a new screen that would wow your guests and friends when they come to your place for a movie night, the TCL 43S425 isn’t the ticket. Still, it's a good entry-level 4K TV that can serve as a second screen in your house.

The overall picture quality is decent, and the TV keeps the low input lag and motion blur, which makes it a good choice for gamers tight on budget. If set in a dark room, the TV reproduces deep blacks very well thanks to the excellent black uniformity. However, the quality suffers in bright lighting.

The TV uses the proprietary 4K Creative Pro upscaling engine which enables you to watch the HD content in near 4K quality. To our mind, the telly delivers not the crispest picture out there - the image is rather dim and isn't as bright compared to other reviewed TVs. Still, for the price, it's quite OK.

The best thing about this 4 Series TV is the built-in Roku platform. It gives you super-quick access to a plethora of streaming apps including YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV, Hulu, Pluto TV, and more. The Roku TV remote with 20 buttons makes the navigation dead-simple. Additionally, you can download the special mobile app to your smartphone and turn it into a full-function remote with voice control. Also, it will give you an opportunity to plug in headphones for private listening, browse and add new channels, as well as cast your videos, music, and photos to the TV.

Interface

Though the borders of this TV have an average thickness, it looks fine overall. It's also quite steady owing to the wide supportive stand. The rear of the TV is neat with a metallic top half and connectivity ports.

The interface includes three HDMI inputs, no component-video inputs, a USB port, and an Ethernet jack for a wired connection to your home network. But it's worth noting that the TV is Wi-Fi capable, so you will be able to connect it wirelessly.

All that said, don't expect that the TCL 43S425 will perform like a champ but do expect that you'll be satisfied for the price. It'll be absolutely fine as a second TV for your bedroom or dorm room, where a cheaper and dimmer screen will do.

Additional Info

User Manual     Manufacturer

Last updated price $360.00
Stock In stock
ASIN B07DK5PZFY

What Is a 4K TV?

4K or UHD/UltraHD, the Ultra-High Definition, is the resolution of TVs and monitors that borders on, well, 4K (4,000) pixels horizontally; specifically, it is 3840x2160 pixels or 8,294,400 pixels on a screen. It is exactly four times the Full HD resolution, meaning you get four pixels in the same space where there was one before. If you are not tech-savvy and this seems confusing, let's just say that the picture you get with a good 4K TV is approximately four times crispier, covers more colors, offers better brightness and contrast, with every part of the image prominent and life-like and the experience overall more immersive. Sounds cool, doesn't it?

Just a year or two ago it sounded (and was) too cool for an average consumer to afford, truth be told. But today, with the widespreadness of 4K content among streaming services and the majority of new TVs offered to the public being 4K, the costs on some older models went down a half. And you can and should buy yourself one if you and your family love watching movies and playing console games.

What Features to Compare

Screen Size

4K is a very large resolution so the TV models offering it are big as well—it does not do any good to try and fit over 8 million pixels on 20-something inches of a display, the details will be lost due to image compression and the result will be not as satisfying as you might expect. However, starting from 40 inches and up to 75, the 4K resolution is a blessing. You will be able to see as close to the TV as you want and the picture won't appear "pixelated".

However, surfing the sea of big-screen UHD TVs, check for the upscaling feature—it will be necessary when you watch lower-resolution content like HD or even SD. Upscaling can be made using the TV's native functionality or, if it is low-quality or non-existent, it is recommended to have the feature in your A/V receiver or Blu-Ray player with 4K support.

Refresh Rate

The refresh rate is the speed at which the TV can change the image frames. The higher it is the less blur you see in action scenes. The bottom line refresh rate for TVs, in general, is 60Hz but many manufacturers of 4K models try to increase it using a variety of technologies like Samsung's Motion Rate and LG's TruMotion. These technologies most often use either interpolation (inserting an additional "hybrid" frame between adjacent frames) or so-called black frame insertion (turning off the TV's backlight between frames), sometimes a combination of both. Thanks to these manipulations unnoticeable to the human eye, the refresh rate kinda goes up, or so it looks like. Today, the maximum native refresh rate for a 4K TV is still 120Hz, anything above that is the use of extra technologies.

Interfaces

Any modern TV is equipped with an HDMI port, this is the main port you use to connect the TV to external content sources. When it comes to a good 4K TV, you will need not just any HDMI but HDMI 2.0 or 2.1. Preferably, several. HDMI 2.0 means better speed and quality needed to transmit 4K content.

USB ports will be necessary to display content from flash and external drives, and if you're looking for a Smart TV and Internet connection, then you will need an Ethernet port and/or a Wi-Fi connectivity. If you use analog video sources like VCR or older models of DVD players, you will need the Composite and Component interfaces which often come combined as of lately. An optical out can deliver 7.1 sound and is sometimes used to connect soundbars. And, of course, to connect cable TV, you'll need an Antenna port.

Extras

You might want to check your future purchase for an HDR support, the technology that offers deeper blacks and brighter whites for richer colors; you might know it from your smartphone's new camera features but here in 4K TVs, it is upgraded and brings more results.

Finally, there are several options for the operating system when it comes to Smart TV functionality, each with its own perks. The big "pro" of the Android TV, for example, is the ability to access apps, though not just any but those that support TV resolutions; there are not too many but not too little either. LG's WebOS, on the other hand, is fast and filled with support for content providers but might be a bit of a challenge when it comes to customization. Samsung has their own Smart TV OS, and there is a highly praised Roku TV platform. The choice is all yours.

Did you know?

The Two Types of HDR

This is the way of evolution—nothing would ever be improved if it weren't for competition. Or, well, it would, probably, but certainly not as fast as things are upgraded today in the tech world. This happened to the HDR technology as well. You might or might not know this already but HDR, or High Dynamic Range, is the technology used in all the best 4K TVs to boost the brightness/contrast and offer the potential buyers the top-notch picture possible on the screen. What you most probably do not know if you're not a tech geek is that there are two types of HDR: the HDR10 and the Dolby Vision. How are they different and which one is better?

Well, to cut the long story short and omit the most nitty-gritty details you might not be interested in (like static or dynamic metadata), HDR10 was here first but Dolby Vision is probably the future. The main selling point of Dolby Vision is that it supports 12-bit color whereas HDR10 only goes as far as 10-bit; that's all about color depth and picture richness. However, not all streaming services and certainly not all TVs support this tech right now, and even those that do can work differently with it, meaning the availability of either HDR10 or Dolby Vision should not be the only parameter you consider when choosing a good 4K TV.

Where to Get the 4K Content?

Although the 4K video has been existent theoretically for 15 years already and been available for the public for at least 5 of them, it is only now that the content has become abundant. If you own or plan on owning a large, say, 65-inch 4K TV with good sound and wish to use it plenty, there are several sources to choose from. The first that probably comes to your mind is the 4K Blu-Ray discs but you'll need a 4K supporting player to watch those and all things considered, it gets expensive pretty fast. But there are alternatives. Netflix has the most extensive list of its original content in 4K and has been pushing the idea itself the hardest among streaming services. You can find content to watch on YouTube as well, quite a bit of it, too. Vudu, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Hulu also offer 4K content but the list is nowhere near Netflix and YouTube. No cable supports 4K right now, though. At the same time, with the growing popularity, this might change in the future, this chase has just begun.

You Can Already Create Your Own Movies in 4K

It hasn't been all that long since good 4K TVs came to be available for your average consumer and there are already 4K-enabled video cameras, yes. Which is hardly a surprise, in this world and age every company that wants to stay afloat needs to keep track of new tech and implement it as soon as possible. GoPro, Panasonic, and Sony dominate this market for now but competitors already are snapping on their heels. The software designers also do not just sit around idle, more and more of them implement the 4K video editing into their feature lists. So yes, the age of young and talented is already here, all tools are available and nothing stops you from becoming popular.

How to:

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