Big screen TVs are everywhere at CES 2025, but I doubt they’ll replace projectors anytime soon
At CES 2025 it was all about the big TVs. Several TV brands have confirmed new TVs over 100 inches, including Hisense, Samsung, TCL and LG. While this isn’t Hisense or TCL’s first rodeo into the 100-inch TV world, Samsung has announced a 115-inch version of its Samsung QN90F Neo QLED TV as part of its Neo QLED series for 2025. LG also unveiled a 100-inch model of its QNED85 as part of its 2025 QNED TV series, and threw its hat into the 100-inch ring.
These brands, all responsible for making some of the best TVs on the market, have had previous experience with larger screen sizes, with CES 2024 and 2024 in general seeing a massive increase in 98-inch TVs. But CES 2025 goes one step further and breaks the 100-inch barrier.
Hisense also unveiled a 116-inch RGB mini-LED TV called the 116-inch UXN, joining its already stacked 100-inch TV lineup, including the 110-inch UXN, 100-inch U8K and more. It even announced a 136-inch MicroLED TV that it says will be consumer-ready, launching in 2025, with a 163-inch version to follow.
While demand for big-screen TVs appears to be increasing, the question arises: will these TVs become the go-to big-screen option for home theater fans, replacing projectors? To be honest, I don’t think so. Not yet Anyway.
It’s all about the money
While we don’t yet have confirmation on the prices of most of the announced large-screen models, we can look at other currently available models for an idea. The best example is the Hisense 110-inch UXN. A mini LED that can reach a peak brightness of 10,000 nits (although based on my testing of it, it’s closer to the sustained peak brightness of 3,000 nits when measured on a 10% window), the 110UXN costs around $15,000/£ 20,000, and is therefore highly recommended. premium TV.
For the cream of the crop of larger-screen TVs, like the 97-inch LG G4, you’ll pay $24,999 / £24,999. This is way beyond most people’s budget and means larger TV screens are out of reach.
For this you could easily pick up one of the best 4K projectors, including the ultra-premium JVC DLA-NZ800, which costs $14,999/£14,999, and a large screen, up to 150 inches, to go with it. If you even go back to the still excellent Sony of the premium TVs above.
Even the LG CineBeam Q, one of the best ultra short throw (UST) projectors, can produce a projection of over 100 inches for less than $1,000 / £1,000. So why would you choose anything other than a projector in these 100-inch sizes?
Cheaper big screen TVs – pros and cons
Okay, so above I’ve picked some of the most extreme examples of big screen TVs. The truth is that there are a range of 100-inch mini LED TVs, one of the better panel types for larger screens, for under $5,000 / £5,000 – some for as little as $2,000 / £2,000.
One of the best mini LED TVs of 2023, the Hisense U8K is one of those budget sets, retailing for around $3,999, but we’ve seen it as low as $2,599 before during Black Friday. For a mini LED TV of this quality, which we praised for its detail, brightness and contrast, that’s a bargain at this size.
I even tested a 100-inch Hisense U7K against the Hisense L9H Laser TV (UST projector) to see which was better if you wanted a large home theater screen on a budget, and while I opted for the L9H projector, the U7K mini-LED TV came very close, even beating the projector in some areas (namely during brighter viewing conditions).
There’s also a whole host of cheap QLED and large-screen LED models from Hisense, TCL, Samsung and more, for just $1,299 / £1,299, which is significantly cheaper than what you’d have to spend for a decent projector and screen. Of course, making sure these TVs have the right type of lighting is crucial; edge-lit TVs are best avoided, as I discovered when testing a 75-inch budget Samsung.
However, the general problem with these cheaper big screen TVs is that they can have noticeable flaws. This could be poor backlight control, resulting in backlight blooming and poor black uniformity (the ability to display dark tones evenly across the entire screen), something that similarly priced projectors are unlikely to suffer from.
The other problem is that for how much you’d spend on one of the ‘better’ affordable large-screen TVs, like the Hisense U8K or a more expensive set, you could easily get a very good ultra-short throw. The Hisense PX3-Pro, which costs around $3,499 / £2,499 and earned four and a half out of five in our review, thanks to its excellent HDR image quality and high versatility, is a good example of this.
Final thoughts
While it seems like big screen TVs are indeed here and could be the future of home theater viewing, they ultimately won’t replace projectors anytime soon. To get the very best quality from a large screen TV, you would have to spend more than you would for a very good 4K or UST projector and an even bigger screen (over 130 inches, for example).
Don’t get me wrong: some of the big TVs we’ve seen here at Ny Breaking, including myself, are certainly impressive and rival the most elite projectors. But until big screen TV prices drop, they won’t dethrone the projector for those looking for the best home theater bang for your buck.
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