Guide

The ultimate TV guide: which TV should I buy in 2024?

25/10/2024

Translation: Megan Cornish

Pictures: Christian Walker

Anyone looking to buy a new TV is faced with a maze of functions and technologies. Need a clear overview? And a few recommendations into the bargain? I’ll help you find your way.

«Hi everyone, can you help me? I’m looking for a new TV that will mainly be used for sports and gaming. What technology is currently best for this? I’m starting to get overwhelmed.»

I often read questions like this from the Community – and I’m not surprised. After all, it’s difficult enough to explain how TV technology works in a way that’s easy to understand without drifting into technical jargon. But without precise terms, you quickly end up with empty marketing slogans that are of little help. I often experience this when I talk to manufacturers. They say that people who seek advice from specialist retailers want quick information, not long lectures – but that’s exactly what often leads to the same old – ultimately meaningless – buzzwords.

This is where I want to help. Looking for a new TV and don’t know how to go about your research? I’m here to help with three easy-to-understand, but still in-depth steps. And, at the end, you’ll also find my personal product recommendations.

1: There are two important image technologies

Firstly, the most important thing is how a TV works. Millions of pixels form the image, then colour filters ensure the appropriate colouring. Finally, a background light makes the finished image shine.

Each pixel consists of a red, green and blue subpixel. This creates the classic RGB colour space.
Source: Graphic: Sven Mathis

The fact that the reality is much more complex than the explanation above need not concern you at this point. What’s important is that there are currently two image technologies that you need to take note of:

LCD
OLED

In short, with LCD TVs, pixels create the image and a backlight – the LEDs – makes it glow. That’s why you often read about LED TVs in sales information. These are actually LCD devices with LED backlighting.

OLED TVs work differently: the LEDs themselves work as pixels. They not only produce the light, but also the image, which is why no additional LED layer is needed. This technology was largely made popular by South Korean manufacturer LG.

2: Which is better –LCD or OLED?

The rule of thumb is that LCD TVs are significantly brighter, while OLED TVs deliver a better picture. This is mainly due to the perfect black levels typical of OLED technology. They provide significantly better contrast and therefore richer, more vibrant colours. This gives LCD TVs an advantage in bright rooms. In darkened rooms, however, OLED TVs come into their own because brightness is secondary. OLED pixels also react faster than LCD pixels due to their technology, making them perfect TVs for gaming or watching sports.

«I usually watch TV in the evening when it’s dark anyway. So I’m definitely going to get an OLED TV. Let’s see how much one costs… Oh…»

OLED TVs may be superior in terms of quality, but they’re also generally a bit more expensive. Especially in the mid-range and low-price segments. As a result, sales are still significantly higher for LCD TVs than OLED devices. This in turn means that manufacturers still invest heavily in the research and development of LCD technology.

The best new LCD TVs are in the high-price segment, where they’re often even more expensive than OLED models. If you’re willing to spend more than 2,000 francs on a TV, I’d recommend an OLED – unless you mostly watch TV during the day or in a brightly lit room.

3: Quantum Dot and Mini LED – remember these two terms

I also have to explain two rather exotic pieces of TV jargon:

Quantum Dot
Mini LED

Quantum dot technology was popularised by Samsung, but other manufacturers also use it, calling it Triluminos (Sony) or Nano Cell (LG). Basically, quantum dots absorb the white LED backlight and change its colours (so they don’t lose their luminance, or «radiance»). Basically, imagine that quantum dots improve the contrast values of LCD TVs – and recently also OLED TVs. Ordinary colour filters, on the other hand, tend to weaken the brightness of the colours.

The second technological development concerns the backlight. Conventional LEDs can’t (yet) be made as small as LCD pixels. This means that thousands of pixels are arranged in front of an LED. In the past, this caused a «halo» around bright objects on a dark background. For example, when the moon in the night sky was illuminated by its background LED, the night sky around the moon glowed too.

This is how the halo forms – otherwise known as blooming.
Source: Graphic: Sven Mathis

Manufacturers have now managed to develop ever smaller LEDs. The latest generation measures just a few micrometres and has a new name: Mini LED. This means that the brightness per pixel is controlled much more precisely. The halo hasn’t disappeared completely, but it’s barely noticeable. A positive side effect is that Mini LED also improves the contrast values and with them the colour reproduction of LCD TVs. However, Mini LED TVs are among the most expensive models on the market – and I personally still prefer OLED models.

Which TVs do I specifically recommend?

When I talk to our readers, I often find that they prefer a particular manufacturer before they make a purchase. That’s why it makes sense to give recommendations for each manufacturer in the high, medium and low price segments. This gives you a range of options that suits your budget and also allows you to better classify the TVs in terms of quality.

LG: the OLED expert

LG is a South Korean TV manufacturer and a big market player. Its greatest achievement is that it successfully established OLED TVs on the mass market in 2016. Almost all OLED TV manufacturers still source their OLED panels from LG, including well-known brands such as Sony, Philips and Panasonic.

Top-notch

LG OLED G4: Expensive? Yes. But in my test, the G4 turned out to be one of the best TVs I’ve ever seen. I was particularly surprised by the brightness, which is remarkable for an OLED TV. When in comes to peak brightness, even some mid-range LCD TVs seem outdated in comparison. Colour fidelity is outstanding. The processor is powerful and impressively upscales low-quality sources that don’t offer UHD resolution, such as live TV and sports broadcasts. Gamers also get their money’s worth with an impressively short input lag of just 9.8 milliseconds. There’s nothing this TV can’t do.

LG OLED55G49LS

55", G4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED65G49LS

65", G4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED77G48LW

77", G4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED55G49LS

LG OLED65G49LS

LG OLED77G48LW

Mid-range

LG OLED C4: It’s actually an outrage to classify the C series as mid-range. Before the introduction of the G series, LG always presented the C series as its flagship. Now, LG’s integrated the best technology of the previous year into the C series, but is offering it at a much more attractive price. In terms of value for money, the C series almost always comes out on top. And yes, it’s also excellent for watching films and series, as well as for gaming. The big difference compared to the G series is the lack of the new microlens layer (MLA), which ensures very high peak brightness for OLED standards. For the time being, this is only available with the G series.

LG OLED55C47LA

55", C4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED65C47LA

65", C4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED77C47LA

77", C4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED55C47LA

LG OLED65C47LA

LG OLED77C47LA

LG OLED B4: The B series is aimed at people who don’t have the budget for an expensive TV, but still have high demands on picture quality and a preference for OLED. It differs from its big brothers in that it has a slightly less bright panel and a slightly weaker processor. This leads to a slightly higher input lag of 10.6 milliseconds when gaming, for example. In addition, unlike in previous years, the B series now also has a 120-hertz panel, which is particularly important for gamers.

LG OLED55B49LA

55", B4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED65B49LA

65", B4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED77B49LA

77", B4, OLED, 4K, 2024

LG OLED55B49LA

LG OLED65B49LA

LG OLED77B49LA

Basic

LG QNED 86: LG’s QNED series is the perfect choice for those on a tighter budget. These TVs feature quantum dot technology, which means you get a solid, bright TV with good contrast. A mid-range processor also ensures decent upscaling, while the 120-hertz panel makes gaming really fun.

LG 55QNED86T6A

55", QNED86, QNED, 4K, 2024

LG 65QNED86T6A

65", QNED86, QNED, 4K, 2024

LG 75QNED86T6A

75", QNED86, QNED, 4K, 2024

LG 55QNED86T6A

LG 65QNED86T6A

LG 75QNED86T6A

Samsung: a gamechanger with QD-OLED, but also very good Mini LED TVs

Samsung also comes from South Korea and is the undisputed market leader in TV sales – it’s the largest TV manufacturer in the world. Interestingly, Samsung rejected OLED TVs for a long time because it was ~~the only one~~ who thought its technology wasn’t mature enough. However, for the last two years it’s also been heavily involved with QD-OLED, an exciting development in OLED technology.