If you're a competitive gamer looking for the best TV for playing video games, you'll want the best performance possible. Manufacturers have been trying to improve their TV gaming performance to compete with monitors in recent years. When evaluating how good a TV is for gaming, there are four main criteria to consider:
Gaming features are important. High-end models tend to have gaming features like variable refresh rate (VRR) support and an Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) that automatically switches the TV into Game Mode when you launch a game from a compatible device. TVs now also support HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, so you can play 4k games up to 120 fps on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, or even 4k @ 144Hz without Display Stream Compression (DSC) on a recent GPU. A fast refresh rate, like 120Hz and 144Hz, doesn't only improve the fluidity of gameplay in games that support it, but it almost always improves the TV's input lag and perceived response time, so it's a big deal. A high refresh rate also goes hand-in-hand with VRR, as VRR lets the TV dynamically adjust its refresh rate to match the game's frame rate, minimizing, if not eliminating, any screen tearing that can result from the game's frame rate not matching the TV's refresh rate. Smart Tv 40 Inch
For more information on gaming features, look up our articles on VRR and supported resolutions of TVs.
Input Lag and Response Time
Input lag and response time are other essential components of a good gaming TV. Input lag is the time it takes for a frame sent by a source (like a gaming console) to display on screen. A low input lag makes the entire experience more responsive, as your inputs on a controller or mouse are reflected more quickly onscreen. The best TVs can have an input lag as low as five milliseconds. Response time is the time it takes for a pixel to change from one color to the next, typically measured from a fully black pixel to a fully white one or from one shade of gray (either dark or bright gray) to the opposite shade of gray. OLEDs are the uncontested best TVs regarding response time, as their pixel transitions are nearly instantaneous. However, the best LED TVs for gaming also have very fast transitions. A slow response time is noticeable, as fast-moving objects on screen leave blurry trails behind them.
You can also check out our articles on input lag and response time if you want to know more.
Contrast and Dark Details in Game Mode
An important factor in how games look on a TV lies in the TV's ability to preserve its contrast in Game Mode. To cut down on processing and thus improve input lag, TVs disable much of their processing features in Game Mode. Thus, it's important for a local dimming feature to be fast and accurate in that mode, like if the TV's dimming zone transitions are more noticeable than they are in other picture modes and if the TV's blooming performance differs from these other modes. The best gaming TVs don't show any apparent reduction in contrast in Game Mode.
You can also read our in-depth article on contrast.
Peak Brightness and Reflection Handling
Finally, a TV's peak brightness is very important. For dark room gaming, contrast is more important overall, but peak brightness is essential in HDR for bright highlights to pop next to a TV's deep blacks. Of course, if you're gaming in a bright room, you want your TV's brightness to be high enough to compensate for any glare from direct or ambient lights. Reflection handling is also important here, as TVs with lower peak brightness, like many OLEDs, can compensate for it by having stellar reflection handling, allowing for bright room gaming. Ultimately, brighter TVs look more vibrant, with more realistic HDR, leading to a more immersive experience.
If you'd like to know more, we have in-depth articles about SDR peak brightness, HDR peak brightness, and reflection handling.
We've bought and tested more than 440 TVs, and below are our recommendations for the best overall gaming TVs you can buy. Also, check our picks for the best TVs for watching movies, the best PS5 TVs, and the best TVs for Xbox Series X, or you can vote on which ones you want us to buy and test. To learn more about the 2024 models, check out our 2024 TV lineup page.
The best TV for gaming we've tested is the Samsung S90C OLED. It's a feature-packed TV that delivers an incredible gaming experience. Its low input lag and nearly instantaneous response time result in crystal-clear, fluid motion with no distracting blur or ghosting behind fast-moving objects. The TV delivers impressive picture quality thanks to its unique QD-OLED panel. It delivers incredibly deep blacks, making this an impressive TV for gaming in a dark room. HDR gaming on the Samsung is amazing, but it doesn't support Dolby Vision, although relatively few games support it anyway. It also looks great in bright rooms, with high peak brightness allowing it to easily overcome glare. Its viewing angle is incredibly wide, so it's a great choice for playing couch co-op or party games with friends sitting around the TV.
All four HDMI inputs support 4k @ 144Hz, so you can take full advantage of a PS5, Xbox Series S|X, and a recent PC GPU without compromising motion performance or input lag. If you have deep pockets and are looking for the best, no matter the cost, consider the higher-tier Samsung S95C OLED, which is even brighter. However, considering how bright and colorful the S90C already is, the S95C is not worth the significant price hike for most people.
The Samsung S90D/S90DD OLED is now available. It has minor upgrades like better HDR brightness and less banding in colors. It also does a better job of smoothing out low-quality content. It's currently a lot more expensive, so unless you really want the small upgrades it offers, you're better off buying the cheaper S90C while it's still available. It's worth mentioning that Samsung's 2024 OLED lineup is confusing, as they're releasing S90Ds with both WOLED and QD-OLED panels, depending on the region and size. You can read more about this here.
If you regularly game in a bright room or want a TV that will impress your friends during a well-lit party, the best 4k TV for gaming in a bright room that we've tested is the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED. It's also the best LED TV we've ever tested. It's incredibly bright, so this TV easily overcomes glare in the brightest rooms, and it can display exceptionally bright highlights in HDR games. Speaking of HDR, the TV supports Dolby Vision gaming at up to 120Hz, which is great for those with an Xbox. Colors are also very vibrant and lifelike due to the TV's wide color gamut and outstanding color volume. One of its main advantages over other LED TVs is its contrast. With local dimming enabled, the TV delivers incredibly deep blacks in a dark room that are approaching the deepness you get from OLED TVs like the Samsung S90C OLED. The local dimming control on the TV is very impressive, so there's barely any noticeable blooming around bright highlights when they're against a dark background.
Not only does the TV offer exceptional picture quality, but it's also loaded with modern gaming features. It has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two of its ports, but one of those ports is also the eARC port, so you're limited if you have both next-gen consoles and a soundbar. The TV supports up to 4k @ 120Hz and VRR for a nearly tear-free gaming experience, meaning it's fully compatible with modern consoles. Fast motion in games has minimal blur behind it due to the TV's excellent response time. You also get a responsive gaming experience due to its very low input lag, but it is a bit higher than competing models from other brands. If you're mostly a competitive gamer playing PVP matches online, you might want to look elsewhere. Unfortunately, the TV has a mediocre viewing angle, so the image degrades when viewed from the sides of the screen. It's not as bad as a lot of other TVs that use a VA panel, but it's still not the best choice if you like to play couch co-op games with a large group of friends.
If the BRAVIA 9 is too expensive but you still want a Sony TV for use in a bright room, you could opt for last year's Sony X93L/X93CL. Its contrast isn't nearly as good as the BRAVIA 9's, but it's still good enough for deep blacks in a dark room. It's not as bright either, but it's still a very bright TV that overcomes glare in well-lit rooms.
If you want an OLED that is not only great at gaming but can also be an excellent home theater TV, consider the upper mid-range LG C3 OLED. The main difference between this TV and the Samsung S90C OLED (minus its 83-inch model) is the specific type of OLED panel used. Both TVs deliver an incredible dark room experience, with no distracting blooming or haloing around bright areas of the screen. But the QD-OLED panel on the Samsung allows for brighter, vibrant, and lifelike colors, resulting in much better color volume overall. The LG partly makes up for it by being more versatile, as it has better image processing, has Dolby Vision gaming at 120Hz, and can passthrough advanced DTS audio formats. As with all OLEDs, it's a sight to behold in a dark room, with bright highlights next to the TV's perfect, inky blacks. It's also bright enough for a pleasant gaming experience in a moderately lit room.
It delivers incredible gaming performance with a nearly instantaneous response time, resulting in crystal-clear motion with no distracting blur behind fast-moving objects. It's also packed with gaming features, including full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth support on all four inputs, which means you can simultaneously take full advantage of the Xbox Series X, PS5, or a recent PC GPU. If you love this TV but wish it were more vibrant, consider the more expensive LG G3 OLED. The G3 is one of the brightest OLEDs on the market and is certainly brighter than the C3, but it's not worth the price difference for most people.
2024's LG C4 OLED is also now available. It has minor upgrades like better HDR brightness and accuracy. It also supports up to 4k @ 144Hz for PC gamers with high-end rigs. It's quite expensive at launch, so unless you're a gamer with a powerful PC, your money is better spent on the cheaper C3 OLED while it's still available and on sale.
If you're looking for a gaming TV in the mid-range price category, consider the LG B3 OLED. It's a truly splendid TV, with only a few drawbacks compared to the more expensive models. The TV has all the features of the more expensive LG C3 OLED, although the B3 is certainly dimmer. It still delivers outstanding picture quality, especially in a dark room, with its near-infinite contrast ratio delivering deep, inky blacks with no distracting blooming. Just make sure to dim the lights when gaming on this TV, as it's not bright enough in HDR to offer a truly immersive gaming experience in bright rooms.
This TV is available in a more narrow range of sizes compared to the more expensive LG: 55, 65, and 77 inches. It's still great for gaming, with its two HDMI 2.1 ports offering up to 4k @ 120Hz support, including Dolby Vision gaming @ 120Hz. If you have multiple HDMI 2.1 devices, you'll have to navigate around having only two HDMI 2.1 ports, but thankfully, HDMI 2.1 switches are now pretty cheap. It is compatible with every VRR technology, has a fantastic response time, and has an extremely low input lag in Game Mode. Like other OLEDs, its viewing angle is truly fantastic, making it a great TV for large gaming parties. Overall, this TV is a great entry point into the OLED market.
The LG B4 OLED is also now available, and it brings some improvements. It gets noticeably brighter overall and has better HDR gradient handling, and LG has upped the number of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports to four to make it more versatile. The B4 is also available in a new 48-inch model, which is great if you need a smaller TV to game in a small room. Unfortunately, the TV is currently very expensive, so unless you want those upgrades, you're better off getting the B3 while it's on sale. If you do need those things, you can currently get the LG C3 OLED for less than the cost of a B4.
If you'd like the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED or LG B3 OLED but are tight on money, you can step down to the best lower mid-range gaming TV we've tested, the Hisense U7N. Despite its price, the TV is packed with gaming features. It has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two of its ports, both capable of up to 4k @ 144Hz. It also has VRR support and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), so you're fully covered if you own either an Xbox Series X|S or a PS5. Motion in fast-paced games has minimal blur behind it thanks to the TV's excellent response time, and its incredibly low input lag means there's no noticeable delay between the inputs on your controller and the action on screen.
The TV isn't as bright as the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED, but it's still very bright, and it has amazing reflection handling, so it overcomes glare when gaming in a bright room. If you also game in a dark room, the TV's excellent contrast delivers deep blacks, although there's noticeable blooming around bright highlights when they're against a dark background. Highlights in HDR games really stand out, and colors are vibrant due to the TV's excellent HDR brightness and wide color gamut, delivering an impactful HDR experience. It also supports Dolby Vision gaming for those with an Xbox. Unfortunately, its viewing angle is very narrow, so it's not the best choice to play party games with a big group of friends or family. The Hisense U7K is still available at some retailers and you can currently get it for cheaper than the U7N. It's not as bright as the U7N, but it's still bright enough for use in most well-lit rooms, so it's a great option if you're looking to save some money.
The best budget 4k TV for gaming we've tested is the Best Buy exclusive TCL Q5/Q550G QLED. It's a decent TV that delivers an impressive gaming experience thanks to its low input lag and good response time, ensuring a smooth gaming experience with some but not excessive blur. It has HDMI 2.0 bandwidth on all its ports, but what sets this budget model apart is 1080p @ 120Hz and 1440p @ 120Hz support on the 55-inch and 65-inch models with resolution halving with a wide VRR range. It's hard to notice the drop in picture quality from resolution halving unless you really look for it, so it's a great feature, making it one of the cheapest TVs on the market with a 120Hz refresh rate. It also supports Dolby Vision at 60Hz, another great feature for a budget model.
Still, it has worse picture quality than the more expensive models on this list, with worse contrast due to the lack of a local dimming feature. It gets bright overall and is quite colorful, but without local dimming, it can't truly emphasize bright highlights. And like the other models from TCL, it has a disappointing viewing angle, so it's again not great for a wide seating arrangement. Nevertheless, it's an impressive TV for gaming thanks to its low input lag and decent response time. It's a great bang-for-the-buck option for gamers, but if you'd like a slightly brighter TV, consider the TCL Q6/Q650G QLED, though it is a bit more expensive. Still, they're very similar, so the Q5 is the better value overall.
If you want something affordable, the Roku Select Series is the best TV for gaming that's viable for small budgets. It's a decent TV that's a small step down from the TCL Q5/Q550G QLED, as it can't do 120Hz like that TV can. Its contrast is okay, especially for a TV at this price point, so it looks adequate in a dark room, even without local dimming. That's a good thing since the TV doesn't get bright enough in HDR for rooms with lots of lights, even with its decent reflection handling. It's bright enough for moderately lit rooms, though, especially when playing SDR titles since its SDR brightness is very good. A great feature of this TV is the sheer amount of models available, from a small 24-inch to a big 75. Remember that the 24- and 32-inch models are limited to a 720p resolution, and the 40-inch model is limited to 1080p. The bigger sizes are 4k TVs.
The Roku is light on features; it doesn't have VRR, is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, and doesn't support a 1440p resolution. Still, its spectacular input lag and great response time make it a good TV for gamers. However, like many other LED TVs, there's a noticeable black smear in shadow details due to the TV's slower dark state transitions, but you won't have any issues with slower and brighter titles. If you're a Costco member, you'll instead want to get the slightly better and more colorful Hisense A6/A65K.
Jun 21, 2024: We replaced the Sony X93L/X93CL with the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED in the 'Best Bright Room Gaming TV' category and replaced the Hisense U7K with the Hisense U7N in the 'Best Lower Mid-Range Gaming TV' category. We also added the Hisense U8/U8N as a Notable Mention and refreshed the text in that section.
May 23, 2024: Refreshed text throughout the article for clarity and accuracy.
Apr 24, 2024: Added mention of the 2024 Hisense U7N in the 'Best Lower Mid-Range Gaming TV' category, added the newly released LG G4 OLED as a Notable Mention and refreshed some text throughout for clarity.
Mar 27, 2024: Mentioned the newly available LG B4 OLED, LG C4 OLED, and Samsung S90D/S90DD OLED in the 'Best Mid-Range Gaming TV,' the 'Best Upper Mid-Range Gaming TV,' and the 'Best Gaming TV' categories.
Mar 01, 2024: Confirmed the accuracy and availability of our picks and refreshed the text on the LG C3 OLED and the LG B3 OLED for clarity.
Our recommendations are based on what we think are the best TVs for playing games currently available. They are adapted to be valid for most people in each price range. Rating is based on our review, factoring in price and feedback from our visitors.
4k Flat Screen Tv If you would prefer to make your own decision, here is the list of all of our TV reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. Most TVs are good enough to please most people, and the things we fault TVs on are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.