Picking the right TV for your home theater can be extremely tricky as there are so many variables that need to be accounted for. Also, the sheer amount of TVs on the market can make it even more difficult for someone who’s just looking to make a good quick decision.
No need to worry, we’ve compiled a list of the best televisions for your home theater setup, and we’ve taken key specifications into consideration such as (Resolution, Refresh Rate, Screen Size). You’ll be able to find the right television that fits your budget as the list has TVs ranging from 4K to 8K.
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Factors To Consider Before Buying A TV
You can’t just pick up any TV and have it go well with your home theater. There are a few things you must take into consideration or you risk having a lackluster experience. Here we will explain how you can choose the best screen size for your home theater.
It’s worth noting, ensure that your room is dark enough as you’ll have a better viewing experience as the picture on the screen will look richer with fewer reflections. We have a TV home theater buying guide that goes into more detail but we will cover the basics right now.
Image Technology
There are different types of technologies TVs use to produce an image, and they have varying effects. OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, and they don’t use LED backlights to produce an image.
QLED according to Samsung stands for Quantum Dot LED, and they use microscopic dots to emit colors when hit with light. QLED is very similar to LCD displays as they use LCD panels that are lit by LEDs. QLED panels are able to produce more pure and saturated colors because of the quantum dot layer filters which are placed between the LCD layer and the backlight
QLED TVs are brighter compared to OLED TVs, and OLED TVs have better contrast and produce deeper darks. So QLED TVs are better in brighter conditions, this is great if you cannot get your room dark enough. OLED TVs will produce better looking images in darker conditions.
Size And Viewing Distance Of The TV
Your viewing distance dictates the size of your TV. The size of the TV is essentially meant to cover up your field of vision so you’re optimally immersed. So the further you are from the TV, the larger the screen must be, if you don’t want a larger screen, you’ll have to move the couch closer to the TV.
For 16:9 screens, the optimal viewing angle is 30 degrees according to SMPTE if you’re sitting right in the middle of the screen. What this essentially does is fill 30 degrees of your field of vision. Sitting closer to the screen directly changes the viewing angle.
Calculating the viewing distance is pretty easy, all you need to do is calculate the diagonal length of the screen in inches and multiply it by 1.6, and you’ll get the optimal distance in inches.
Screen Resolution
The screen’s resolution describes how many pixels are on the screen which directly influences the screen’s image quality. So higher resolution screens are able to produce better looking images. The most popular resolutions among televisions are 4K and 8K.
Larger screens do better with higher resolutions as it keeps the pixel density high enough to produce an image of decent fidelity. So typically, 8K screens tend to be much larger than 4K screens and they produce sharper images as it has 4 times as many pixels as 4K screens.
4K screens are definitely cheaper and you’re more likely to find 4K content compared to 8K content. It just happens that 4K screens are the sweet spot with televisions and the move to 8K isn’t necessary unless you want the best experience possible.
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| Product | Name | Specs | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 | SAMSUNG QLED QN900A 8K |
| Check Price |
 | LG C1 4K |
| Check Price |
 | TCL 5-Series 4K |
| Check Price |
 | SONY A90J 4K |
| Check Price |
1. SAMSUNG QLED QN900A 8K
The SAMSUNG QLED QN900A is an amazing high-end television that can produce high-quality images with a resolution of 8K. The SAMSUNG QLED QN900A 8K is brighter than most televisions, this is an important feature if your room where your home theater is based produces a lot of ambient light.
As 8K isn’t fully embraced, 8K content, as a result, is fairly limited; Samsung’s AI upscaling aims to address the limited number of 8K content by upscaling lower resolution content for better quality.
| Screen Sizes | 65, 75, 85 |
| Resolution | 8K |
| Display Type | QLED |
| Sub Type | N/A |
The design is crisp and sleek which is evident by its slim profile and near nonexistent bezels with a thickness of (0.9mm). Samsung calls this their infinity one design, and it’s perfect for a home theater due to its modern-looking design.
Features & Experience
Familiar owners of Samsung TVs will recognize the Tizen OS which is one of the most popular smart tv operating systems among displays. You don’t even need a remote to control the TV, you can choose between three voice assistants (Bixby, Google Assistance, Alexa).
While using the product, it’s quite easy to notice that the QN900A is proficient at finding the correct brightness which is important for displaying depth and details. This will definitely create an immersive home theater experience as realistic details in movies are able to capture viewers’ attention more.
For a more immersive & realistic experience, the Samsung QN900A supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) which allows the television to process much more data contained within the image. Essentially, images and films look more realistic as the tv is able to describe very bright and dark objects better and show more shades of gray in between. It improves upon TV contrast which is the difference between how dark and bright it can get.
2. SONY A90J 4K
The Sony A90J is one of the best 4K televisions when it comes to movies/home theaters. It’s obvious through its amazing picture quality and fantastic HDR capabilities. It’s able to produce amazing blacks, and the brightness is decent.
Thanks to its amazing range of colors, the HDR capabilities are fantastic, and it can create vibrant images which are important for movie settings. The Sony A90J is able to produce near-perfect blacks which create a more immersive image compared to greyish blacks.
| Screen Sizes | 55, 65, 83 |
| Resolution | 4K |
| Display Type | OLED |
| Sub Type | N/A |
The design is minimalistic with the thin seamless edge bezels, it resembles other high-end SONY televisions which is a good sign of a high-quality product. Its minimalistic design will be able to fit in with any home theater environment.
Features & Experience
The Sony A90J runs on Google TV(Android TV), and it has been more user-friendly than ever which is perfect if all you’re trying to do is watch movies.
As for connectivity, the SONY A90J features a load of HDMI ports which is helpful if you’re connecting say a game console. It also features 2 USB ports, one being Gen 3, and an ethernet port for fast and reliable internet speeds.
The Sony A90J also features AI intelligence which they call Cognitive Intelligence which aims to emulate how humans see and hear. What this does is create beautiful images and realistic images which is important for movies as realism is one of the key ingredients for an immersive experience.
3. TCL 5-Series 4K
The TCL 5-Series is more of an affordable option for watching movies in 4K. It has a wide color gamut allowing for quality HDR content to deliver a truly high definition experience. It is quite capable of producing deep blacks for a more memorable experience.
Another fantastic ability this television has is the ability to upscale content. What this does is increase the perceived quality of a lower resolution image. This TV will upscale 1080P content so it looks even better on this TV.
| Screen Sizes | 50, 55, 65, 75 |
| Resolution | 4K |
| Display Type | QLED |
| Sub Type | VA |
Even though the television is more mid-tier than anything, its appearance has features that are common with high-quality TVs. For example, the bezel is pretty invisible, and it has a metallic frame, this makes for a sleek, and quality-looking television that’ll go well with your home theater setup.
Features & Experience
Its operating system is fairly extensive allowing for a powerful search feature, most importantly, you can access streaming applications such as Netflix and Amazon Prime for your home theater.
Although the HDR capabilities are great with the wide color gamut, the screen doesn’t get bright enough, this is the TCL 5 Series biggest setback. The TV won’t bring out the highlights enough compared to other televisions, therefore this could be an issue when watching movies.
On a good note, the contrast differences on this TV are great with the Full-Array Local Dimming capabilities which allow the screen to enhance any dark areas on the image.
4. LG C1 4K
The LG C1 4K is a top tier 4K Television released in 2022. It is meant to replace the previous LG CX OLED which is also proficient at creating awesome experiences for home theaters.
As for its HDR support, it is quite extensive being that is supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision. It is able to deliver amazing content in HDR because it has an extremely large contrast ratio, this will help deliver realistic looking images.
| Screen Sizes (In) | 48, 55, 65, 77, 83 |
| Resolution | 4K |
| Display Type | OLED |
| Sub Type | N/A |
The design of the LG C1 4K is sleek and minimalistic, if you look to the side of the screen, you’ll see exactly how thin the OLED display is. The screen would look amazing mounted for your home theater, but the stand is still sufficient enough to keep keep the screen minimalistic although it’s thick.
Features & Experience
The operating system being used is WebOS which is common among LG televisions and it offers a large selection of channels and streaming applications. You can find almost all streaming services such as (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV, Paramount Plus).
For the best home theater experience, the 83-inch option offers a stunningly immersive experience that is perfect for large rooms and audiences. It is recommended that you pick the correct screen size that goes with your room. A massive 83-inch screen may be too much if your room is too small.
One experience with the television which can be harmful depending on your situation is the reflectiveness of the glass surface. If you’re in a well-lit environment, then you’ll suffer the issue of reflections which can harm your viewing experience.
Conclusion
We’ve reviewed TVs that should cover almost any situation, you should be able to find a tv in this list that fits your needs. We’ve covered Top-Tier 8K televisions that produce the best experiences possible, and affordable but still good 4K televisions which is perfect if you’re not looking to build an overkill home theater setup just yet.
Highest Performing Option – SAMSUNG QLED QN900A 8K
The SAMSUNG QLED QN900A provides an unmated 8K experience and it is able to upscale 4K content to look much better than it was originally meant to be. This television offers the best possible experience you can get as of today, its contrast ratio is insanely good, as it’s able to produce deep blacks and get fairly bright. For home theater enthusiasts, purchasing the QLED QN900A won’t disappoint, the only downside is its price.
Budget Option – TCL 5-Series 4K
For a budget television, the TCL 5-Series 4K offers a decent bang for your buck delivering a large color gamut and producing deep blacks. This allows for quality HDR content which can deliver a more memorable experience. On top of that, it can upscale lower-resolution content, 1080P to 4K, which can enhance the quality of older content. For budget seekers or someone that has been newly introduced to home theaters, this is the option I’d recommend.
Best 4K Option – LG C1 4K
The LG C1 4K is a more flexible and more competent option if you’re looking for a 4K option. Specification-wise, it supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision so there’s already large HDR support for HDR content. Additionally, the screen can produce deep blacks and it can get fairly bright so HDR content is almost guaranteed to look amazing on this screen. And if you happened to need a massive screen, there is an 83 inch option for large rooms.
