I’ve tested plenty of TVs in 2024, but these are my personal top 5 models
In 2024 we’ve seen great TVs covering a range of technologies and budgets. We have witnessed incredible innovations in the high end, as well as budget models that significantly outperform their price.
As Ny Breaking’s TV reviewer, I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on some of the best TVs I’ve ever seen over the past year – and that includes the time I’ve spent selling TVs in the AV retail!
The sets I’ve chosen here aren’t quite the same as the TVs selected for this year’s Ny Breaking Choice Awards, but are the ones I’ve personally tested and reviewed. I’ve been lucky enough not to encounter any really bad TV this year, but the below are my personal favorites.
1.Samsung S95D
What better place to start than with Ny Breaking’s, and my personal, pick 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 won it much praise.
Screen reflections are an enemy of OLED TVs, especially due to their limited brightness. To combat this, the Samsung S95D uses OLED Glare Free anti-glare technology, which is essentially 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 impressed by the lifelike image details made possible by the Real Depth Enhancer AI feature. What’s more, it delivered spectacular contrast, breathtaking colors and excellent black levels. The S95D also asserts itself as one of the best gaming TVs with an ultra-low input lag time of 8.9ms for ultra-responsive gameplay plus a stack of gaming features including 4K 144Hz, VRR, ALLM and four HDMI 2.1 ports.
Top that off with very good built-in TV sound and a stunning, wafer-thin design that gives a futuristic and sleek ‘floating’ look, and the S95D presents itself as ‘the standard bearer in 2024’, as I said in my review. .
2.Samsung QN90D
Another Samsung device, but this time a flagship mini-LED TV: the Samsung QN90D. While that wasn’t the case rather I’m as impressed as the Samsung S95D, it did a lot of things really well, especially when watching sports.
Sports are difficult for some TVs to display accurately. Use too much processing and the image may appear smooth, but there will be clipping or ‘ghosting’ of the ball (where it disappears). If you go too light with the smoothing, the image will exhibit judder and blur, especially during back-and-forth shots on a field, such as football.
However, neither is a problem for the Samsung QN90D. The incredible motion handling earned serious praise in my Samsung QN90D review, where I found that “intense sequences and fast panning shots were handled expertly.” Even when watching in Filmmaker mode, where no blur processing or judder reduction is applied, the QN90D made short work of fast movies. It’s no wonder it tops our list of the best sports TVs.
The QN90D’s high brightness and excellent reflection processing also make sports easy to watch during the day, delivering lifelike textures, bright colors and impressive contrast. The 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 one of the most surprising TVs of 2024 for me. For the money, you can’t go wrong. I was generally impressed with the C855 when I tested it, but some areas particularly stood out.
Mini LED TVs often suffer from ‘backlight blooming’ (a ‘halo’ effect around brighter objects on a dark background). Although the C855 suffered from this when viewed off-center when I tested it, local dimming and contrast were incredible when viewed head-on at the black levels. In some scenes, the blacks even rivaled OLED TVs! It also showed vibrant colors and details that looked lifelike.
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, “No matter how chaotic the sequence I played, the C855 made easy work of it.” It even has decent built-in sound!
But the real highlight of the TCL C855 is its value. For the 65-inch model I tested, you’d want to pay £1,299, which is a bargain for a TV with its features and performance. I went in with preconceptions 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 is also four- and-a-half earned. -half a star in our review.
4. Hisense U7N
The Hisense U7N is another mini LED TV that makes 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 aforementioned Samsung QN90D and TCL C855, there were also great TVs at the budget end of the aughts ninety. price spectrum. And no TV in 2024 performed better with budget mini-LED than the Hisense U7N.
The U7N impressed me with its details, vibrant colors and effective local dimming performance. It may not have the same picture quality as the more premium sets, but when you look at it it’s easy to forget how affordable this TV is.
Value is the U7N’s biggest highlight, and it also has a host of gaming features like 4K 144Hz, Dolby Vision gaming, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync), and ALLM. In my testing, it performed at a level during gameplay that you wouldn’t expect at this price.
Over Black Friday, I saw the 65-inch model of the Hisense U7N, the same size I tested, drop to a staggeringly low $680, which is a staggering price. It’s not as well priced in the UK, but you can still get it for around £999 – again very good value.
The U7N isn’t the best in its class by any measure, 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 best TVs of the year and one of the best mini LED TVs of 2024.
5. Philips OLED809
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Ambilight. I dare say I felt like a child 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 once again impressed.
Ambilight is a love-hate technology, but for me it enhances the movie experience with its colorful lights projecting across the screen.
But the OLED809 does so much more than Ambilight. During my testing, I was impressed with the detail, bold, vibrant colors, refined contrast, and stunning black levels. As I said in my Philips OLED809 review: “Paired with Ambilight, it’s a stunning TV for those looking for a unique movie experience.”
The OLED809 also delivers performance for gaming, with 4K 144Hz, VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming all supported, and it has excellent built-in sound, with precise placement and surprisingly powerful bass. It is truly a fantastic all-rounder and easily one of the best mid-range OLED TVs of 2024.
The OLED809, like all 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.