Whenever thinking about how to find the best TV brand, I’m always reminded of Homer Simpson’s trip to the outlet mall to find a new television. There, a salesman introduces him to “high-quality brands” such as Sorny and Panaphornics. Unfortunately, in the real world, the lesser brands of televisions won’t be labeled with such obvious knock-off names, which makes the process of avoiding picking a lemon and ending up with a good television brand a little more challenging. Even so, in this day and age, a quality smart tv is now at the top of the list of essential consumer electronics. But you can buy the best smart TV and still get a deal. This list will help you find the best LED TVs, without being overwhelmed by the TV market. Additionally, our guide to the best TVs will make it easier to find what you are looking for.
The best TVs all share the same attributes that you want to look for, and we can help. Any solid television is going to come from a manufacturer who offers strong image quality and reliability throughout its line of units. You’re going to want to seek out cutting-edge technologies, plenty of choices in screen size, and reasonable prices to answer the question, “What is the best TV brand on the market?”
#1 Pick – LG
While LG continues to offer LED-LCD display technologies in its televisions, it has become the first brand name to put full effort into OLED technology too. While there are still some question marks regarding OLED’s longevity, this type of display technology is receiving strong reviews as the best option for image quality in large-screen televisions, offering deeper blacks than LED-LCD units. And OLED doesn’t have refresh rate concerns, which may cause motion blur problems, as can occur with LCD TVs.
You will have to pay a bit more for LG televisions, especially for OLED units, but the brand ranks well in terms of reliability and image quality. One area where LG televisions tend to outperform the competition is in terms of the viewing angle of its OLED TVs, which is important if you’re placing the television in a room where seating may be on the sides of the unit. Some LG TVs do struggle with sound quality when using built-in speakers, so you’ll want to make sure to consider purchasing a sound bar or speaker system. Check out our LG OLED65CXPUA review to read more about a great LG option. The best TV accessories can improve your viewing experience, so they are usually a good investment.
Read: Best 55 Inch 4k TV
LG has a versatile lineup of screen sizes and display technology options, including large screens with OLED technology, like the one in our OLED77CXPUA review. You’ll have a lot of 4K resolution options from LG, or you can stick with full HD resolution and save a bit of money with this manufacturer’s offerings. Plus, all LG Super UHD TVs boast Dolby Vision for a guaranteed great video. All of these options make LG the best TV brand name currently available. Plus, LG uses
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#2 Pick – Samsung
Samsung televisions carry an above-average price compared to most of the other brands on the market, but the image quality options with this family of TVs justify a slightly higher price point. Samsung units commonly feature the well-regarded Tizen interface, making Samsung one of the best Smart TV brand options. If you’re looking for the best 4K TV brand, Samsung again ranks well in terms of Ultra HD display quality. As far as display technology, Samsung currently is focused on LED-LCD TVs, but it has experimented in the past with OLED — even releasing a few models a few years ago — and it recently discussed quantum dot LED displays. Samsung TVs do tend to rank poorly when it comes to energy efficiency versus the other best TV brand names on our list, but it’s still a reliable brand overall. To read about an option Samsung offers, check out our Q80T review.
#3 Pick – Sony
Sony televisions may rank just behind LG and Samsung in our best TV brand selections, but this manufacturer still offers a host of very strong models under the Bravia brand name. Sony TVs excels in image quality, especially with its Ultra HD models, and you can find a wide range of LED-LCD screen size options from Sony. If you’re looking for the best TV sound quality, Sony branded models offer some of the best performance with built-in speakers. In regards to display technology, Sony recently announced it’s working on an upgrade to the LED backlight in its LCD TVs, called Backlight Master Drive, which creates nearly four times the brightness of current LED backlights while also adjusting the backlight on the fly in areas of the screen where dark colors are present. Sony is hoping this new backlight can allow LCD to rival OLED in image quality. Many Sony TVs are Android TVs as well. If you have an Android phone already, you’ll want to make sure to check if your TV is compatible for a convenient TV-watching experience. Whether you are looking for the best TVs for the bedroom or living room, this brand has a wide selection and a lot to offer.
#4 Pick – Vizio
If you immediately dismiss Vizio as a potential large-screen TV option because of a concern over quality and reliability, you need to reset your thinking.
While it’s true that the Vizio brand struggled in its early days with quality, the manufacturer has soared into the list of best TV brands by improving the performance and reliability of its units without giving up its low-price positioning. Plus, VIZIO has google assistant built into its software to make your TV-watching experience even more convenient. Now to be fair, Vizio TVs still don’t quite have the high image or audio quality of the others on this list, but their prices are so much lower than Vizio has earned its position as the best bargain TV brand. Compare this to the TCL 32″ Roku HD LED Smart TV.
#5 Pick – Panasonic
Panasonic has long offered some of the best TVs in the market, dating back to the days of CRT models. And the manufacturer offers a nice collection of large screen televisions today, especially excelling as the most energy efficient TV brand. Panasonic LED-LCD televisions tend to suffer from the motion blur a bit more than the other models on this list, but they are extremely easy to set up and use. Panasonic has done a nice job capitalizing on its strengths from the past to create sets with good 4K image quality. With features like this, you can see why Panasonic is one of the best TV brands on the market.
What to Look for in the Best TV Brands
Image Quality: No matter how inexpensive a certain television is, if it doesn’t give you the image quality you want, you’re going to regret the purchase down the road. While all of the best TV brand names on our list have strong image quality, the way a TV looks can be a matter of personal preference. Although, if you keep wondering, “Why does my TV keep buffering?” there’s a good chance it’s not the TV, but your internet speed.
Display Technology: Do your homework on display technologies before buying to avoid being overwhelmed with jargon. Most TVs use LCD technology in the screen with an LED backlight, so they’re sometimes called LED or LED-LCD TVs. LG offers impressive OLED display technology with impressive brightness and excellent image quality, but you’ll have to pay more. Plasma TV display technology from several years ago is no longer offered in the market.
Other alternatives include VA panel vs IPS TVs, which you can find on the leading 80-inch TVs, 70-inch TVs, and the top-rated 50-inch TVs. Keep in mind that you’ll want to get a large enough TV for seniors, too, if you’re buying one for a grandparent or older parent.
Display Resolution: All of the best TV brand offerings provide either HD or the new Ultra HD display resolution. Ultra HD, also known as 4K, is the future of display resolution, but very little programming is offered in native 4K resolution right now. Most 4K TVs offered by these best TV brands can upscale native HD resolution programming to take advantage of 4K display resolution. If you are a gamer, you will also want to make sure the latest version of HDMI is available to take advantage of newer consoles and advanced gaming features, like variable refresh rates.
Additionally, make sure you go through the top-rated TVs for bright rooms, so you’ll have the best resolution on your TV without worrying about washout from extra light.
Mistakes to Avoid
Refresh Rate Marketing Ploys: Most of these major brand name manufacturers have given their refresh rate technologies sleek-sounding brand names. However, don’t pick a TV based solely on refresh rates, as there’s no real standard for refresh rate technology measurement. Pay attention to a variety of features of each TV, rather than relying on refresh rate alone.
Relying Too Much on Audio Quality: Most large screen TVs, even those from the best brand names that advertise the best-sounding TVs, don’t have good audio quality from the built-in speakers. You should just set your budget with the idea of purchasing a sound bar or a speaker system for your large screen TV to compensate for the built-in speaker if you want strong audio quality. That said, do a comparison of TVs before you buy, as you’ll see in our mashup of the Sony X85G vs Samsung RU8000.
Which Best TV Brands Are Right For You?
The best flat-screen TV brand often will come down to a matter of personal preference. After all, we’ve all had personal experiences — good and bad — with certain electronics brand names, whether it’s in TVs, smartphones, appliances, or other units. Still, when you’re focusing on TVs, whether smart TVs or the best outdoor TV, the five manufacturers listed here provide strong offerings. Take some time to consider what kind of budget you have for your TV purchase, as well as the particular features you want in a model, and then look for the best large screen television brand name that can match your needs while avoiding those tempting Sorny and Panaphornics models, of course. At the end of the day, you don’t have to get a high-end TV, there are plenty of TVs at an affordable price from these manufacturers that should suit your needs. Also, check out our guide on the best place to buy a TV to ensure you get the best brand and the best price.
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