Best TV 2021: 10 big-screen TVs worth buying in Australia this year
We realise that the best TV isn't always something most people can afford – that's why we've put together a list of the best cheap 4K TV deals in Australia. Whether you're after a small or large telly, you're likely to find a suitable option for your budget.
UPDATE: We've clarified the section discussing Hisense's U80G ULED 8K TV with regards to its full HDMI 2.1 compliance, which you can read below.
There's never a bad time to buy one of the best TVs of 2021. So far, we've seen massive discounts on last year's top models, and in the coming months we expect to see a slew of new TVs from Sony, LG, Samsung, Hisense and TCL. Before long, those same tellies will start progressively cheaper as we lead into the second half of the year.
If you can't wait a few more months until new models arrive, however, there are plenty of amazing TVs from last year that are still well-worth buying – often at significantly reduced prices.
Below you'll find a list of 10 TVs that we can wholeheartedly recommend to Aussies. That includes sets from the likes of Hisense, which offers great performance at a really good price, and high-end options like QLED TVs from Samsung and OLEDs from LG.
Best TV at a glance:
- Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV
- LG C1 OLED Series
- Sony Bravia A8H OLED
- Sony Bravia X90J
- LG Gallery Series OLED Series
- Samsung QN90A Neo QLED 4K TV
- Hisense U80G ULED 8K TV
- Sony Bravia X900H Series
- Hisense 65SX Dual Cell TV
- Samsung Q70T QLED TV
When it goes on sale in May, the Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV will usher in a new era of television technology. Samsung's Mini LED-sporting QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV offers stunning picture quality, exceptional color and brightness, terrific sound and outstanding blacks – all in a package that's unmatched in terms of design.
For the uninitiated, Samsung's 'Quantum' Mini LEDs are 1/40th the thickness of a regular LED, meaning thousands of smaller LEDs can be packed together in a much tighter fashion, allowing for far more accurate dimming zones and black levels that are practically indistinguishable from an OLED.
As the LEDs are far smaller, they're able to achieve far more precision and less blooming, so the act of seeing bright areas of the screen unnaturally bleed over into darker spots should be greatly reduced or not evident at all.
And because it takes advantage of Samsung's Multi-Intelligence AI upscaling, the QN900A is consistently able to produce images that looked better than their source.
Not only does the Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV offer the latest HDMI 2.1 and eARC features, it's also ideal for gamers who've recently invested in a next-gen console or beastly gaming PC thanks to support for 4K/120fps or 8K/60fps gameplay via HDMI 2.1, Game Motion Plus and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.
It's the flagship 8K TV to beat in 2021.
Read the full review: Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV
LG has made a number of small tweaks to last year’s CX model: It’s now using LG’s Alpha a9 Gen. 4 processor for better upscaling and virtual surround sound audio, and with four separate HDMI 2.1 ports, it’s ready for the PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and whatever next-gen consoles can throw at it.
Gamers will also appreciate the new Game Optimiser menu that gives you the option to quickly adjust brightness, contrast and VRR on the fly.
The LG C1 isn’t flawless, as we did encounter issues around how the new Alpha a9 Gen. 4 upscales faces, and how reflective the all-glass screen is in the daylight, but the issues are few and far between.
There are, of course, higher resolution flatscreen TVs out there right now like the Samsung QN900A, which offers 8K resolution, and the new LG G1 Gallery Series that uses the coveted OLED evo panels that offer better brightness. However, we feel that the LG C1 OLED offers a near-unbeatable blend of price and performance and should be high up on your list of the best televisions TVs to buy in 2021 and beyond.
Read the full review: LG C1 OLED
By combining Sony’s premium OLED picture performance with a powerful and direct sound system, the Sony A8H OLED TV manages to be a stunningly compelling TV option for serious home cinema fans.
It carries Sony’s top-line X1 Ultimate processor, Sony’s Pixel Contrast Booster (for more intense image highlights), and a new OLED version of the X-Motion Clarity feature Sony initially developed for its LCD TVs with full array local dimming.
On the audio side, Sony’s customary Acoustic Surface Audio system (where the TV’s screen is actually ‘excited’ into producing sound) is joined by a two-subwoofer bass system, and an Acoustic Auto Calibration system that can optimize the TV’s sound to your room with just a couple of quick test pulses.
The results are nothing short of gorgeous.
Read the full review: Sony A8H OLED TV
There's little doubt in our mind that, for gamers, the new Sony X90J is one of the best televisions out there.
It has excellent image quality, thanks in part to a new Cognitive XR processor rolled out to Sony's top 2021 sets, making for excellent upscaling and contrast control. The X90J also sports the new Google TV smart platform, for easy setup and broad app support as well as the perks of Google Cast from Android devices. There's Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio packed in too.
When it comes to gaming, the X90J has a 120Hz panel with 4K resolution and two full-spec HDMI 2.1 ports for your Xbox Series X and PS5, with VRR (variable refresh rate) and ALLM (auto low latency mode, for sub-10ms lag) to really up your gaming experience. Just be sure to head into the picture settings and switch on 'Enhanced format' for your selected HDMI port, otherwise you won't get the benefit of its 2.1 specification.
There are still a few lingering issues, including middling off-axis viewing and struggles with direct daylight – and the X90J will no doubt be beaten by the capabilities of its step-up X95J model for a small uptick in cost. Still, the Sony X90J succeeds in delivering stellar performance for a reasonable price.
Read the full review: Sony X90J 4K TV
After a flatscreen TV that's a bit more stylish? The LG G1 OLED is a knockout television that builds on the sleek design of last year's Gallery Series OLED and somehow makes it better.
The real hero here is LG's new OLED evo technology, which updates the panel structure to eke out even more brightness – without increasing blooming effects or, we're told, the chance of burn-in. The LG G1 looks to be a real revolution for the OLED TV maker, then, and certainly offers an upgrade over the cheaper LG C1 OLED – unlike last year, when the CX and GX models were worlds apart in price but effectively offered the same picture performance.
It's an expensive set, and the Dolby Atmos sound system isn't the best for bass – something that will effect all the other LG OLEDs in this guide. But the breathtakingly slim design makes it a real centerpiece television, with the contrast and color benefits of OLED pushed to new, lighting-enhanced heights. The new a9 Gen 4 AI processor is even more capable of smartly upscaling and processing onscreen objects, too, with motion processing in particular getting an upgrade.
Watch out though: the G1 is really designed to be wall-mounted, and it won't come with a TV stand or feet out of the box. You can buy a floorstanding Gallery Stand alongside, or find a third-party solution for placing on a counter, though.
Read more: LG G1 OLED TV review
The Samsung QN90A is one of the first 4K screens in 2021 to use the company’s hyped-up Neo QLED panels that sport a higher count of light emitting diodes per square inch than previous generations. The result is a brighter TV than before, if that’s even possible with Samsung, and one that can display a deeply satisfying array of colors.
All Neo QLED TVs sport the higher-end Neo Quantum Processor 4K that uses a neural network to analyze images for better HD upscaling and Motion Xcelerator Turbo+ for better motion handling – all of which has really paid off for Samsung’s flagship screen.
That said, there are a few looming issues this year that we can’t ignore, like the slight wobble of the pedestal stand, or the surprisingly lackluster sound quality that doesn’t befit a flagship 4K TV. There’s also no support for Dolby Vision still, which means you’re stuck with HDR10 on Netflix and HDR10+ elsewhere.
That's not a deal-breaker, but it does lower Samsung's 2021 flagship QLED TV to the number seven spot on our best TV list.
Read the full review: Samsung QN90A Neo QLED TV
After a few image scrambling problems on previous televisions, Hisense's flagship U80G ULED 8K TV delivers exceptionally smooth motion and picture quality without any processing woes.
Hisense's 75-inch U80G ULED is the Chinese company's first 8K television, and what a great debut it is. The television offers everything you would expect from a high-end model in 2021, including HDMI 2.1 and eARC support, built-in voice assistant functionality and excellent upscaling.
It's worth nothing that while Hisense's messaging around the 4K U8G has recently been updated due to its half-hearted HDMI 2.1 'partial compliance', the 8K U80G discussed here does offer full HDMI 2.1 support for two of its inputs (HDMI 3 and HDMI 4, to be precise).
Although the U80G ULED can't quite deliver the astonishing black levels of Hisense's own Dual Cell TV, or of the latest OLED and Mini LED panels, it does still achieve impressively deep blacks thanks to a full array local dimming system.
Another thing we love about the U80G is Hisense chose to use a more universal smart TV interface in Google's Android TV platform, rather than its own VIDAA OS, meaning users no longer have to miss out on any popular streaming apps, such as Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus.
Android TV also brings full support for Google Assistant, allowing you to simply ask your television for information which is then read back to you and also displayed on-screen.
If there's one downside to the U80G, it's that its speakers are just okay, not quite living up to the high standard set by Hisense's recent Dual Cell TV, which boasted a built-in soundbar and additional wireless subwoofer. That said, the U80G ULED marks a terrific 8K TV debut for Hisense – one which is quite reasonably priced for its category.
Read the full review: Hisense U80G ULED 8K TV
Sony's X900H Series does everything it sets out to do, and in some style. Its picture quality is quite startling in the right circumstances, its sound is more than adequate by prevailing standards, it’s simple to use and it doesn’t turn its nose up at content of inferior resolution.
The panel itself is a VA-type LCD, which in broad terms has to be considered an upgrade on the IPS edge-lit panel Sony deployed on last year’s equivalent model. The higher brightness, greater color volume and improved screen uniformity promised by a full array VA panel ought to more than make up for the rather more restricted viewing angle when compared to IPS. It’s noting, too, the X900H doesn’t feature the X-Wide viewing angle technology Sony’s flagship X950H range is toting.
In short, there’s more than enough going on here to make you overlook the lack of HDR10+ and forgive Android TV its overconfidence. If you’ve this sort of money to spend on a TV of this sort of size, you absolutely have to audition it.
Read the full review: Sony X900H Series
Realising that OLED is notoriously expensive, Hisense has pivoted towards new Dual Cell TV technology, which employs traditional local dimming along with two precision-bonded LCD layers (one cell for colour and a grayscale cell for luminance) in order to reach previously unobtainable black levels on a non-OLED display.
In other words, that means that Hisense's 65SX is able to achieve deep blacks that are remarkably close to that of an OLED television without the negatives that can sometimes come with it, such as burn-in and lack of brightness.
Additionally, the 65SX is capable of excellent sound for a television, with front-facing speakers that offer Dolby Atmos audio, and an included wireless subwoofer that can be placed anywhere in your room or connected to the TV's stand, bringing exceptional bass to the telly – no tinny built-in audio here.
While we did notice some image scrambling and artifacting during our review period, it's worth noting that those slight negatives mostly pale in comparison to the visual uptick the Hisense 65SX provides.
The all-new Samsung Q70T QLED TV boasts much of the feature armory found in Samsung’s more expensive QLED 4K screens, but doesn’t come with such a punishing price tag – making it a great buy for folks who can't reasonably spend a couple thousand on the flagship Samsung Q95T 8K TV.
The reason it doesn't score higher on our list is that it's an edge-lit TV and doesn't produce the same contrast of comparable full array models, especially in light-controlled rooms like downstairs home cinemas.
Still, Samsung’s Q70T is a darn good 4K TV all the same. Ideal for light room viewing, it offers superb detail and color performance, has a comprehensive connected platform and boasts excellent image interpolation.
For gamers, the Q70T is a formidable proposition. Not only is image lag low, both with and without processing, there’s a 4K 120fps HDMI just waiting for your next games console. It also confounds when it comes to black level performance and screen uniformity... provided you keep the lights on.
Read the full review: Samsung Q70T QLED TV
Continue on to page two to read about what to look for when buying a TV!
If you've just bought a new 4K or 8K telly for a hefty four-figure price tag, you might be wondering how best to keep that investment safe from damage or theft. You can protect against those scenarios with good contents insurance – to compare contents insurance in Australia, head to our sister site Mozo.com.au.
- Want better audio? Check out our guide to the best soundbars available.
- Once you've decided on a panel, make sure you read our guide on how to set up your TV to make sure you're getting the most out of it.
- Are you looking for the best universal remote for your new home theater setup?
- Need something to watch on your new TV? check out our list of best TV streaming services.
What TV technology is best? Which is the best LCD TV? Which screen size is best for your living room? What's the difference between LCD and LED TVs?
The answers aren't always obvious. In fact, buying a new TV can be stressful even for the tech-savvy - there are so many brands, so many features, so many screen sizes, colors, technologies and flavors to choose from.
So which one is right for you, your family and your living space? In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about buying a new TV.
What types of TV are there out there?
There are a lot of different screen types out there, all working in different ways to produce the same results. Each technology has its own unique strengths and weaknesses so here are some basics to consider:
LCD TV: CCFL
A few years back, all LCD TVs were backlit by always-on, CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent) lamps. This ageing technology has been superseded by the superior LED method on more expensive sets, but is still standard on some cheaper models.
LED TV: Direct LED
These displays are backlit by an array of LEDs (light emitting diodes) directly behind the screen. This enables localised dimming – meaning immediately adjacent areas of brightness and darkness can be displayed more effectively – and greatly improves contrast. LED TVs are also more power efficient and capable of a wider colour gamut than CCFL sets. Because of the extreme cost of mounting these arrays of LEDs, cheaper TVs usually use Edge-Lit LED screens over Direct or Full-Array LED screens.
LED TV: Edge LED
With these TVs, LEDs of the backlight are mounted along the edges of the panel. This arrangement enables radically slender displays and offers superior contrast levels to CCFL, but can't achieve the same picture quality as directly lit LED sets. However, they do come in far cheaper which is why most LED TVs out there now use this technology.
OLED TV
The backlighting on OLED (organic light emitting diode) sets is achieved by passing an electric current through an emissive, electroluminescent film. This technique produces far better colours and higher contrast and also enables screens to be extremely thin and flexible. This is the holy grail display technology and LG, Sony, Philips and Panasonic have all adopted it in their flagship sets.
Quantum Dot
Quantum Dot is Samsung's big play in the LED TV space. With it, the brand claims that it's able to produce more colorful pictures than LG and Sony while offering even brighter panels. LG's Super UHD TVs all use a variation of Quantum Dot called Nano Cell, and Hisense makes a number of Quantum Dot TVs for the US and China.
Plasma TV
Plasma has almost entirely been phased out at this point, but PDP (plasma display panel) TVs use glass panels containing millions of tiny cells filled with a mixture of inert gases. Electricity excites the gases, causing them to illuminate the pixels across the screen. Plasma, while arguably superior to LCD in terms of contrast and colour accuracy, is only viable on large (42in+) screens and has been dropped by all but a handful of manufacturers. You'll be lucky to find one on the shelves these days.
Curved TV
Some manufacturers are now making TVs that have slightly curved screens. But unlike old CRT TVs, the curve is inwards rather than outwards. The idea is that this makes every pixel equidistant from your eyes, delivering a more satisfying picture. However, there are drawbacks for this type of screen - the main one being that if you sit far enough to one side – more than 40 degrees or so – the curve clearly starts to affect the image's geometry, foreshortening content near to you and compressing the image's centre.
What resolution tech should I go for?
HD
HD TVs come in two resolutions. Sets with the HD ready are required to be able to display a minimum 720p picture, and generally has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Meanwhile, Full HD TVs have a higher resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It's highly advisable that you don't go for anything less than full HD in this day and age, and really you should be looking almost exclusively at 4K sets.
Ultra HD and 4K
The resolution of Ultra HD is exactly four times higher than full HD - 3840 x 2160. It means a far more detailed picture, with content requiring a lot more bandwidth and storage space. 4K TVs tend to be good at upscaling HD video to Ultra HD but there are currently a few options for watching native 4K content, but terrestrial broadcasters in the US have yet to adopt it as the new standard. Read more about 4K.
HDR
The next big thing in TVs, HDR produces astounding levels of visual fidelity and can be found in some of the latest Ultra HD TVs. HDR is a technology and a standard. Content needs to be mastered in HDR and you need an HDR TV to see it. What HDR offers however, is worth the extra steps to get it - you'll see increased contrast and more realistic colors, enhancing the image to a more cinematic level.
What else should I consider?
Buying a flatscreen television is a major investment and one that you can't afford to take lightly. Just popping into the closest store and grabbing the first plasma or LCD you see won't get you the best deal, the screen that suits your needs, or the gear you require to make the most of your new purchase.
Size matters
People tend to pick the size of their flat TV based on the amount of space they have for it, this isn't necessarily wise. Flat TVs take up much less space than you might think, so your new TV may end up a foot or two further away from your viewing position, making the picture appear smaller.
Also, with hi-def, you can have a bigger screen and the same viewing distance without worrying about seeing blemishes inherent to the source. A 4K TV's lack of noise means that the ideal distance to sit from the screen is three to four times the height of the TV.
How to calculate the right size HD TV:
The trick here is to ensure that your TV is big enough to fill your line of vision, but small enough to be sharp and clear. Remember, if you intend to only watch standard-definition sources, the bigger the screen gets, the worse the image will look.
The ideal screen size can be calculated by multiplying the distance that you intend to sit away from it by 0.535 and then rounding this up to the nearest size.
So, if you sit 80in away from your TV, the ideal size is 42-inch (80 x 0.535= 42.8).
What features should I look out for?
Features are too numerous to go into here, but here are some things you should consider.
Photo viewing: If you have a digital camera, a TV that has a slot for memory cards or a USB socket for a card reader will let you view your photos onscreen.
Here are some of the things we look for when we review a screen, so you should, too...
Contrast: Bright whites shouldn't have any signs of green, pink or blue in them, while blacks should look solid and not washed out, grey, green or blue.
Colours: Look at how bright and solid they are; how noiseless their edges are; how 'dotty' richly saturated areas are and how natural skin looks, especially in dim scenes.
Fine detail: How much texture does the screen give? Does a tree look like a green lump, or can you see the individual leaves
Edges: Check for ghosting, bright halos and jaggedness, especially around curves.
Motion: Check moving objects and quick camera pans for smearing or blurring, trailing, jerkiness and fizzing dotty noise.
Image artefacts: Look for blockiness, colour bands, grain, smearing, dot crawl: anything that looks like it's added by the TV picture processing or a weak TV tuner. Tinker with a TV's picture settings before making a final decision. Factory settings are rarely good for everyday viewing.
What about sound?
To provide the best audio to complement the pictures, your TV should be hooked up to a surround sound system, but this isn't always an option. So, here's what we listen for when testing a TV's speakers:
Bass: Deep, rounded rumbles that don't cause the set to rattle or speakers to distort, cramp or overwhelm the rest of the sound; but that expand when needed.
Vocals: Voices should sound open, rich and clear, not boxed in, nasal or thin.
Trebles: Treble effects should sound clean, rounded and smooth in loud scenes and shouldn't dominate the soundstage.
Soundstage width/depth: A good TV should throw the sound away from the TV, to the sides, forward and back, to give an extra dimension to what's on screen, without losing any coherence.
How many HDMI sockets do I need?
For a living room TV you should be looking for a minimum of 3 HDMI inputs. If you want to attach a set-top box as well as games consoles etc, those HDMI ports will fill up fast.
Do I want to hang my TV on the wall?
First off, you'll need to consult a construction expert to check that the wall in question is strong enough to support a flatscreen. Then find out if the set you want is designed to be wall-mounted and, if so, ask if the relevant bracket is included in the basic package or as an optional extra.
Will I be connecting it to a home cinema?
If the answer is no, you might want to think more carefully about your set's audio performance. Look for a screen that can go as loud as you'll need without distortion or cabinet rattle. Consider how dialogue sounds and how much low-end rumble the bass is capable of.
Conversely, it's pointless paying out more cash for exceptional built-in speakers if you already have a decent home cinema system.
Happy shopping!
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