In 2024, we’ve seen the release of amazing TVs covering a range of technologies and budgets. We’ve witnessed incredible innovations at the high end, and also budget models that seriously outperform their price.
As TechRadar’s staff TV reviewer, I’ve been fortunate over the past year to get my hands on some of the best TVs I’ve ever seen – and that includes my time selling TVs in AV retail!
Now, these sets I’ve chosen here aren’t completely the same ones as the TVs selected for this year’s TechRadar Choice Awards, but are ones I have personally tested and reviewed. I’ve been lucky that I haven’t really come across a bad TV this year, but the ones below are my personal favorites.
1. Samsung S95D
What better place to start than with TechRadar’s, and my personal, choice for TV of the year: the Samsung S95D OLED TV. While it impressed in all the ways you’d expect from one of the best OLED TVs, it was its relatively simple innovations that earned it high praise.
Screen reflections have been an enemy of OLED TVs, mainly due to their limited brightness. To combat this, the Samsung S95D uses OLED Glare Free anti-reflection tech, which is in fact a matte screen. While this may seem simple, it blew me away during testing, with reflections “all but eliminated” as I said in my Samsung S95D review.
It wasn’t just there that the S95D impressed. I was also blown away by the lifelike picture details made possible by the Real Depth Enhancer AI feature. Plus it delivered spectacular contrast, breath-taking color and superb black levels., The S95D also asserts itself as one of the best gaming TVs with an ultra-low 8.9ms input lag time for ultra-responsive gameplay plus a stack of gaming features including 4K 144Hz, VRR, ALLM and four HDMI 2.1 ports.
Round that off with very good built-in TV sound and a stunning, razor-thin design that gives a futuristic and sleek “floating” appearance, and the S95D presents itself as “the standard bearer in 2024”, as I said in my review.
2. Samsung QN90D
Another Samsung set, but this time a flagship mini-LED TV: the Samsung QN90D. While it didn’t quite wow me as much as the Samsung S95D, it did a lot of things very well, especially when watching sports.
Sport is a hard thing for some TVs to show accurately. Use too much processing and the image may appear smooth, but there will be clipping or ‘ghosting’ of the ball (where it disappears). Go too light on smoothing and the image will display judder and blur, especially during back-and-forth shots up a field in say, soccer.
Neither are an issue for the Samsung QN90D, though. Its incredible motion handling earned serious plaudits in my Samsung QN90D review, where I found that “intense sequences and fast panning shots were expertly handled.” Even when watching in Filmmaker Mode where there’s no blur or judder reduction processing applied, the QN90D made short work of fast motion pictures. It’s no wonder it sits atop our list of the best TVs for sport.
The QN90D’s high brightness and excellent reflection handling also make sports easy to watch during the day, and it delivers lifelike textures, bold colors and impressive contrast. Its built-in sound is great and it’s well-stocked with gaming features, again with four HDMI 2.1 ports and 4K 144Hz, VRR, and ALLM all covered.
3. TCL C855
The TCL C855, a mid-range mini-LED model, was for me one of 2024’s most surprising TVs. For the money, you can’t go wrong. I was generally wowed by the C855 when I reviewed it, but some areas in particular stood out.
Mini-LED TVs often suffer from backlight blooming (a ‘halo’ effect around brighter objects on dark backgrounds). While the C855 did suffer from this when viewed off-center when I tested it, when viewed straight on its black levels, local dimming and contrast were incredible. In some scenes, its blacks even rivaled OLED TVs! It also displayed vibrant colors and details that looked true to life.
The C855 has brilliant gaming features, with 4K 144Hz, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, no less), ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming all on offer. As I said in my TCL C855 review, “Regardless of how chaotic the sequence I played, the C855 made light work of it.” It even has decent built-in sound!
But, the TCL C855’s real high point is its value. For the 65-inch model I tested, you’d be looking to pay £1,299, which is a steal for a TV with its features and performance. I went in with pre-conceptions about the C855 and what it could do and was very happy to be proven wrong.
It’s worth noting that this TV is only available in the UK, but if you’re looking for something with a similar price and even better performance in the US, you can get the C855’s cousin, the TCL QM851G, which also earned four-and-a-half stars in our review.
4. Hisense U7N
The Hisense U7N is another mini-LED TV that made the list. 2024 was a big year for mini-LED, and while it can be easy to focus on more premium models like the mesmerizing Sony Bravia 9, or the Samsung QN90D and TCL C855 mentioned above, there were also great TVs at the budget end of the price spectrum. And no TV in 2024 did budget mini-LED better than the Hisense U7N.
The U7N impressed me with its detail, vivid color and effective local dimming performance. It may not have the same picture quality as more premium sets, but it was easy to forget just how affordable this TV is when looking at it.
Value is the U7N’s biggest highlight, and it also has a great stock of gaming features such as 4K 144Hz, Dolby Vision gaming, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync) and ALLM. In my testing, it performed at a level you wouldn’t expect at this price during gameplay.
Over Black Friday, I saw the Hisense U7N’s 65-inch model, the same size I tested, drop to a staggeringly low $680, which is a jaw-dropping price. In the UK, it’s not as well priced, but you can still get it for roughly £999 – again very good value.
The U7N isn’t the best-in-class in any area, but I still described it as an “overall great performer” in my Hisense U7N review. For its performance versus price alone, it has to be considered one of my top TVs of the year and one of 2024’s best mini-LED TVs.
5. Philips OLED809
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Ambilight, going as far as to say that I felt like a kid at Christmas when I tested the Philips OLED808 last year. So, it’s no surprise that when I got my hands on its successor, the Philips OLED809, I was blown away once again.
Ambilight is a love/hate technology, but for me, it enhances the cinematic experience with its colorful lights that project around the screen.
But, the OLED809 does so much more than Ambilight. During my testing, I was impressed by its detail, bold, vibrant colors, refined contrast and stunning black levels. As I said in my Philips OLED809 review, “Working in tandem with Ambilight, it’s a stunning TV for those seeking a unique movie experience”.
The OLED809 also delivers for gaming, with 4K 144Hz, VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming all supported, and it has excellent built-in sound, with accurate placement and surprisingly punchy bass. It really is a fantastic all-rounder and easily one of the best mid-range OLED TVs of 2024.
The OLED809, like all of Philips’ TVs, isn’t available in the US, so if you’re looking for an alternative, you can’t go wrong with the LG C4.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
