Top OLED TVs from Samsung, LG, and Sony
Top 5 Best OLED TV In 2024. The title of greatest OLED TV is an esteemed one. OLED TVs offer the best possible picture quality, exceptional motion processing, and superior upscaling. For not all that much more money than a standard LED-LCD or QLED TV, they provide a cinema-like experience with their unrivaled black levels and flawless contrast.
When it comes to outfitting a home theater, OLED TVs are my first pick. I adore having one as my primary TV, but I don’t have one in every room of my house due to their cost. Every year, a different OLED TV takes the coveted position. Some years, like the LG C3 OLED, it’s an LG OLED; other years, like the new Samsung S95D OLED, it’s a Samsung. It has occasionally been a Sony OLED, and it was formerly a Vizio OLED while those were still in production a few years ago. To put it briefly, I have a lot of experience with OLED technology and have viewed 90% of all OLED TVs available.
As of right now, in my opinion, the best OLED TV on the market is the LG G4 OLED. It makes use of an AI processor and the state-of-the-art META OLED panels from LG Display. This produces a vivid, vibrant image that appears incredibly sharp in 4K. Please understand that, considering its price, the Samsung S95C, our runner-up, is also a fantastic OLED TV; nonetheless, the G4 is as good as I anticipate getting in 2024.
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NO.1 : LG G4 OLED
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Pros
- Outstanding picture quality
- WebOS is simple to use
- Strong gaming features
- Four HDMI 2.1 ports
Cons
- No HDR10+ support
- Built-in audio is average
- No ATSC 3.0 tuner
LG, Samsung, and Sony are often vying for the title of greatest OLED TVs. However, LG has the distinction this year thanks to the LG G4 OLED. With its 2nd-generation Micro Lens Array technology, the LG G4 OLED delivers an improved version of WOLED, while Samsung and Sony are promoting QD-OLED in their flagship models. That may sound like a mouthful, but the main concept is that this new panel can safely provide longer durations of light than any prior LG OLED.
The LG G4 OLED demonstrated a maximum brightness of nearly 1,500 nits and a color accuracy of 1.4041 in our laboratory testing. Compared to other OLED TVs, that is far superior. When you combine that with its 9.2 ms low input latency in game mode, you have the makings of an award-winning OLED that can flawlessly show movies at theater quality and provide gamers with an incredible gaming experience. This is without a doubt the greatest OLED TV on the market right now, based on both our test findings and anecdotal evidence.
NO.2 : Samsung S95C OLED
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Pros
- One Connect box for cable management
- Impressive brightness
- Works as a SmartThings/Matter controller
Cons
- Built-in audio is average
- No Dolby Vision
Samsung OLED TVs are something I can’t stop staring at. The majority of them have large color spectrum coverage and stunning contrast thanks to Samsung Display’s quantum dot OLED panel technology. These TVs will astonish you with their vivid color and startlingly dazzling accents.
There are two reasons it isn’t ranked first: This is Samsung’s 2023 OLED TV, so it’s not brand-new in 2024. LG’s MLA technology, on the other hand, promises a brightness gain comparable to Samsung’s QD-OLED, along with compatibility for Dolby Vision and the more reliable webOS smart platform. To be honest, these are small concerns; only someone with ten years of experience (sorry) might find them problematic.
If you don’t have a 4K Blu-ray player or pay for Netflix’s top tier, you may not be concerned with Dolby Vision. In this case, the Samsung S95C is essentially an LG G4 OLED at a lower price with comparable specs.
NO.3 : LG C3 OLED
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Pros
- Superb picture quality
- Improved smart interface
- Top-notch gaming features, performance
Cons
- Not LG’s brightest OLED TV
- No ATSC 3.0 tuner
- Average-at-best sound
OLEDs’ high sticker costs have made them synonymous with terms like “expensive” for many years. However, OLED TVs of days don’t cost much more than their mid-range Mini-LED equivalents. With prices under $1k for 42- and 48-inch variants and competitive pricing for 55- and 65-inch screen sizes, the LG C3 OLED demonstrates that point.
If you’re hesitant to spend a lot of money on an OLED, the C3 is a smart option because of its wide range of screen sizes and pricing ranges. To see what you think before replacing the 65-inch TV in your living room, you might test the waters with a smaller model. The good news is that all of the models have comparable characteristics, with the exception of a few little variations in peak brightness. They all include four full-spec HDMI 2.1 connections and a native refresh rate of 120 Hz. The LG C3 tested at a maximum brightness of about 820 nits, covering 98.98% of the UHDA-P3 Color Gamut. While it’s not as good as the LG G4 previously said, it’s still fairly good.
Though it can’t compete with the best in the class, such as the Samsung S95C or LG G4, the LG C3 OLED is an excellent screen that’s far more affordable than you may expect.
NO.4 : Samsung S95D OLED
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Pros
- Amazing color and contrast
- Improved Tizen OS
- Easy-to-customize picture mode
- Amplified audio is easy to hear
- Four HDMI 2.1 ports
Cons
- AI overprocessing is an issue
- No Dolby Vision
- Downloading apps requires Samsung account
OLED TVs have been dogged by glare for years, which frequently forces them into areas with no light. But the Samsung S95D OLED is here to make that different. Place this TV in a well-lit area, close to a window, and it will still provide a vivid image, perfect for viewing events like the big game or a dragon turning a would-be rider into a roasted marshmallow.
In other words, this TV is among the first that we have seen that virtually totally eliminates glare without sacrificing brightness or color richness in the process.
The interior hardware of the Samsung S95D is just as well-designed as its screen. This TV is designed for people who enjoy adjusting settings repeatedly, as well as for those who detest doing so. Although that seems conflicting and perplexing, the S95D offers a plethora of customization options. It’s simple to overlook the fact that Samsung’s integrated NQ4 AI Gen2 processor can handle everything for you. With a few noteworthy exceptions that I hope will be fixed in a later firmware update, the results are quite astounding.
NO.5 : LG C4 OLED
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Pros
- Superb picture quality
- Svelte webOS smart platform
- Strong gaming feature set
- Four HDMI 2.1 ports
Cons
- Pricey for the performance
- Average sound quality
- No ATSC 3.0 tuner or HDR10+ support
It might be difficult to tell which OLED TVs are new and which have been on store shelves for the past year if you don’t monitor them closely. The newest model for 2024 is the LG C4 OLED, which was only released in April of this year.
It costs more than the C3 OLED from last year because it’s so new, but according to our lab testing, it has a higher peak brightness (1,049 nits on the C4 vs. 820 nits on the C3). It’s worth spending the extra money if you want to watch primarily HDR video from sites like Max, Disney Plus, Netflix, and Amazon. If you continue to watch HD/SDR programming on your cable box, you can get the LG C3 OLED for less money.
Movie buffs will appreciate the C4, but gamers will get the most out of this screen because it incorporates all of the top gaming features from the flagship G4 OLED onto a more reasonably priced TV. There are numerous HDMI 2.1 connectors, 144Hz frame rates, compatibility for AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, and an LG Game Bar. One of our employees uses it as his gaming PC monitor since it’s that excellent.
How to choose the best OLED TV
How to choose the best OLED TVs for you
TV buyers have an overwhelming array of options from which to pick thanks to the above variety of OLED TVs, which range in price from premium designs to cutting-edge smart features and basic functionality.
Price is typically the primary determinant in consumer decisions, but there are other distinctions as well, such as in terms of actual designs.
Ingenious features can also set one apart. Thanks to the webOS platform, LG sets provide a fairly consistent experience across all of its models, although Samsung’s Tizen and Sony’s Google TV each have advantages and disadvantages of their own.
Are you looking for a particular TV brand, range of prices, or screen size? View our selections of the top TVs in each.
How we test the best OLED TVs
Every OLED TV we examine undergoes a rigorous testing and evaluation procedure, which begins with exacting lab testing and ends with an in-person assessment by our reviewers. It’s not as simple as plugging in a game console or turning on a few 4K Blu-ray movies.
We subject each TV to a battery of laboratory tests in our TV test room, utilizing industry-standard tools like a calibrated spectrophotometer, calibration software, and a specialized test pattern generator. We assess a number of picture quality measures, but these are the primary ones we utilize in every review:
The color gamut of a TV refers to its ability to produce a particular amount of color. The majority of OLED TVs meet or surpass 100% of the Rec709 color space when expressed as a percentage rating.
Higher numbers denote less accurate color. Color accuracy is defined as the average variation from perfect accuracy, represented as a number (Delta-E).
Contrast is the ratio that represents the difference between the darkest darks and brightest brights that a television is capable of producing.
Brightness is the measurement of a panel or display’s maximum luminance. The unit of measurement used for this measurement is nits, which stands for candela per square meter (cd/m2).
The delay that occurs between a signal, like pressing a button on a game console, and the change that appears on screen is known as lag time. This is a useful indicator of how well a TV is suited to contemporary gaming and is tested in milliseconds using a Leo Bodnar Video Signal Input Lag Tester.
In order to see how these figures translate into actual performance, we combine this lab testing with practical time spent watching movies and video clips. We can use that information to recommend TVs that have the greatest visual, audio, and watching experiences.
In order to obtain a sense of each TV’s navigation and features, we also assess the smart TV software and menus at the end. We consider every aspect of a smart TV’s design, including voice control and remote control functionality, so that we can discuss its smart features and general usability in a relevant way.
OLED TV FAQs
Q. How much do OLED TVs cost?
Most 55- and 65-inch OLED TVs retail for about $1,500 and $2,000, however more expensive models frequently cost more, and higher screen sizes frequently fetch prices of $3,000 or more.
Q. What is OLED?
OLED, or Organic Light Emitting Diode, is a type of display technology in which the individual pixels of a television are made up of clusters of red, green, blue, and white points of light created by organic chemicals. That translates to 8.29 million pixels on a single OLED panel on a 4K TV with a resolution of 3840 x 2160. Furthermore, every pixel in that LCD screen, in contrast to conventional LCD TVs, generates its own light and can be independently turned on, off, brightened, or muted.
With adjacent pixels producing everything from intense brightness to true black and every color imaginable, OLED offers the highest contrast of any display technology thanks to its pixel-level brightness control.
Consequently, OLED TVs routinely beat most LED-lit LCD TVs, regardless of whether they employ conventional LCD panels or improve the image quality with features like discrete dimming zones or quantum dots, also referred to as QLED.
OLED is still the most popular option available, but there are other display types with comparable performance (microLED is another type that uses tiny light-emitting diodes for ideal contrast).
Q. Are OLED TVs worth buying?
OLED is definitely something to think about if you’re looking for a genuinely great TV. It provides greater picture quality than regular LCD TVs can match, and as prices are declining annually, they are also no longer unaffordable. OLED TVs have continuously provided some of the greatest picture quality available, according to tests and reviews.
LCDs perform better in some areas than other displays. OLED TVs are not as bright as LED TVs due to the higher intensity that an LED backlight can provide, and OLED TVs are more likely to burn in or experience color drift over time than LCD sets. However, in almost every other regard, including viewing angles and color accuracy, OLED TVs are on par with or superior than those based on LCD.
However, there is some debate as to whether the higher cost justifies the better quality. Why spend $1,000 or more on an OLED set when 4K ones can be had for under $500? There is undoubtedly an argument to be made for paying less for roughly the same, if not identical, quality.
However, OLED is the greatest option if you’re looking for the best color, contrast, and overall quality available in a TV these days.
