What is the best TV brand? When you are looking for the best TVs, LG, Samsung, and Sony stand out as top brands among the many options you have to choose from. But knowing what makes a TV or a brand better than another can be confusing and difficult. Finding the brand that best suits what you want is a good starting point. Whether you want smart features, image enhancements, or just something that works with the things you already own.
The brand of a new TV can tell you what kind of smart features it offers, what technology is inside, and even how reliable the set will be over time.
The three biggest TV brands
There are lots of TV brands out there, but when it comes to which is the best TV brand, it’s LG vs. Samsung vs. Sony that applies. But each brand offers a unique ecosystem of products and services and focuses on different aspects of the Smart TV experience, making them better suited to specific uses and needs. Given that each TV model will also have its own unique mix of strengths and weaknesses, we will go through some of them in more depth here. First, we’ll give you our top four TVs right now.
LG CX OLED TV
The latest and greatest from LG
| Pros : | Cons : |
| The latest and greatest from LG | Relatively high price |
| Amazing picture | |
| Excellent Smart TV function | |
| Top class features | |
| Ultra-thin design |
The LG CX OLED TV stands out among the TVs 2020 thanks to the fantastic image offered by the OLED panel, its impressive sound, and a fantastic collection of smart features.
Obviously, with an OLED panel that provides rich black levels and pixel-perfect lighting, the contrast and clarity are fantastic, but it is matched by 2.2-channel sound and Dolby Atmos sound support. With built-in Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa features, it offers the best of both voice assistants, right from your couch. In addition, it has the best connection on the market, with HDMI 2.1 ports.
It is also available in sizes from 48 inches up to 75 inches. You should get the OLED screen panel type, regardless of which room you are going to have it in, because it provides unbeatable viewing angles, among other things.
Although more expensive than most LCD TVs we’ve seen, it’s surprisingly affordable for an OLED set and offers the best available display technology with extremely good blackness and color contrast.
Samsung Q70T QLED TV
A fantastic QLED TV from Samsung
| Pros : | Cons : |
| Sharp image and vibrant colors | Some glare at the edges |
| Deep black levels | Weak sound |
| Several voice assistants |
Samsung Q70T is one of the cheaper QLED models you can buy, it has better processing and image quality than the cheaper Samsung Q60T QLED, but it has some problems with the transition to dual-LED backlighting, which is a step down from full-array the backlight is offered on last year’s model. In addition to bright colors and clean details, it also handles action scenes without blur and offers good HDR support, as long as you do not want Dolby Vision.
When Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant join Bixby Voice Assistant, it’s not only a smart TV, but it’s also a great control hub for a device-filled home. And if you get tired of talking with the remote control, it is also equipped with remote field microphones for hands-free voice control. It’s half a step down from last year’s model, but it’s still one of the best smart TVs you can get for under $2000
Samsung Q60T QLED
A QLED find from Samsung
| Pros : | Cons : |
| Rich color and sharp details | Slightly blurred during fast action |
| Alexa and Bixby; works with Google Assistant | Limited viewing angles |
| Lots of apps |
Samsung Q60T gives sharp details and bright colors but provided you do not push it too hard. A QLED screen and Samsung’s new dual-LED backlight will give you a particularly sharp image and very good colors, and even do well with HDR content. It also has Amazon Alexa built-in, a welcome improvement over only the Bixby voice assistant as it was before.
The most affordable member of the QLED family, Samsung’s Q60T, is good but not fantastic, it is without the quality seen on the corresponding model last year. With a limited port selection and lower refresh rate and finally the less powerful Quantum Processor 4K Lite that handles video processing and smart features, the Q60T feels like they lowered the quality to offer a lower price. This is especially evident when looking at fast movements, which are blurred and smeared out, or viewed from an angle, which causes the colors to wash out.
Sony Bravia A8H OLED-TV
Sony’s old OLED
| Pros : | Cons : |
| The OLED screen has excellent black levels and good motion handling | Only two sizes |
| Competitive price according to OLED standards | |
| Google Assistant built-in, plus Alexa and HomeKit support |
The Sony Bravia A8H OLED TV gave us a little shock, not only because of the beautiful 4K picture, impressive motion smoothing, and practical smart home compatibility. But also because they managed to sell an OLED at a more competitive price than previous premium Sony devices. The sound is fantastic thanks to Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio, and it has a smart TV function thanks to Android TV.
Sony’s powerful processing software provides consistent and clear image quality, even when scaled up from lower resolutions, and the smart features are excellent. Google Assistant is built-in, along with Google Chromecast for easy mobile sharing, but you also get optional Amazon Alexa support and support for Apple HomeKit and AirPlay, making it an easy addition to any smart home ecosystem. All in all, it is one of the best TVs of the year.
Is Samsung the best TV brand for you?
Fantastic QLED, mostly good smart features
| Pros : | Cons : |
| Best-in-class QLED monitors with quantum dot enhancement | However, Bixby Voice Assistant is less polished than Alexa or Google Assistant |
| Very good smart TV platform | Sets do not have Dolby Vision due to Samsung pressing their own HDR10 + (read all about HDR here) |
| Market-leading smart home integration | |
| Full smart TV experience even on cheaper models |
Samsung is a major player in the TV world, as its LED screens with quantum dot enhancement offer fantastic picture quality at no cost to OLED. And with brighter backlighting and wide viewing angles, Samsung’s QLED TV also surpasses OLED in some ways.
Samsung’s smart TV experience is rich and full-fledged, with some of the best smart home integrations we’ve seen, even on the cheaper models. While Samsung TVs have their problems, such as the Bixby Smart Assistant and the lack of Dolby Vision support in favor of Samsung’s proprietary HDR10 + format, it’s still easy to see why Samsung is one of the best TV brands to choose from. between.
Here are some of our favorite Samsung TVs:
Samsung 65-tums Q90 QLED-TV
The best Samsung TV overall
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Fantastic image quality with bright colors and deep blacks | – Bixby’s voice assistant is not so good |
| + Ren design med Samsung One Connect Box | – Standard HDMI 2.0-port |
| + Rich, smart TV platform with an exclusive Apple TV app | – No love for Dolby Vision |
Samsung 55-tums Q60 QLED-TV
The most affordable Samsung TV
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Fantastic color performance and motion management | – The sound quality could have been better |
| + Plenty of HDMI ports ( except HDMI 2.1 ) | – Poor backlight and HDR performance |
| + Fantastic game support | – Limited viewing angles |
| + Excellent smart TV features |
Samsung 55-tums LED NU6900 Smart 4K TV
The best budget Samsung TV
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Attractive design | – Only two HDMI ports |
| + Great contrast and decent black levels | – Limited color scale makes the image look dull |
| + Nice smart TV experience | – No voice interaction |
Facts about Samsung
Samsung is the biggest name in the TV world, a particularly big reason for this is Samsung’s fantastic QLED range that offers the best version of the LCD screen you can get, with picture quality that competes with OLED and even surpasses it in some aspects.
Samsungs QLED
Enhanced with a layer of quantum dots, which provide better color and brightness than what you find on traditional LCD screens, for example, in addition, Samsung’s QLED panels also come with a number of further improvements. These include a wide-angle display and last but not least a fantastic backlight that provides brighter highlights and more vibrant colors, even in brightly lit environments.
Samsungs LCD
While cheaper models do not offer the quantum dot enhancements seen on the QLED line, Samsung’s standard LCD models still offer strong performance with decent brightness and HDR performance, as well as strong color reproduction.
Samsung Appearance
Samsung also delivers excellent aesthetics with designs that look good even from behind. And if the standard QLED line is not good enough for you, you can also check out the design-focused Frame and Serif TVs for a more artistic alternative. The artistic vein is not as pronounced on cheaper models, such as the Samsung 65-inch LED NU6900, but even the cheaper models tend toward the elegant.
Samsung’s smart TVs
But the other area where Samsung really stands out is its smart TV experience. The Samsung Smart TV platform, which is available on all Samsung smart TVs, from expensive to affordable, offers a wide range of apps and also many customization options. It gives a lot and it also does this in a very easy-to-navigate way. Samsung’s smart home integration is also unmatched, it provides easy compatibility with all Samsung SmartThings and many third-party devices. Finally, it’s our favorite smart TV option for home-based enthusiasts.
Samsung’s 8K
It can be added that if you are one of the few people in the market for an 8K TV, the Samsung Q90 QLED line offers the widest range of sizes, from a relatively reasonable 55-inch model to finally a giant 98-inch model.
Samsung’s cons and summary
Is Samsung with their excellent TVs finally the best TV brand for you? However, we have found some disadvantages. The biggest ones are self-imposed by Samsung, for example, most of their smart TVs are dependent on Bixby, Samsung’s own voice assistant. Without the accuracy and speed of Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, it certainly feels good to use Bixby when it works. But when it does not, it is very frustrating and you will shout commands into your remote control over and over again, hoping that this time you will be understood.
Samsung’s HDR problem
Samsung’s attempt to compete in the HDR format war with the HDR10 + means that the company’s TVs do not support Dolby Vision, which in short is the best version of HDR out there. And with HDR10 + content that can only be found on select Blu-ray discs and players, and only streamed on Amazon Prime Video, it is finally a problem in the TV experience that for those who are very interested in the good pictures can be a dealbreaker.
Is LG the best TV brand for you?
Fantastic OLED screens with lots of smart features
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Fantastic performance from OLED and also NanoCell TV | – However, the OLED brightness may be less appealing in brightly lit rooms |
| + Also contains a very good smart TV platform | – However, NanoCell LCD screens do not always offer uniform brightness or fantastic HDR performance |
| + Google and Amazon voice assistants are also built into many devices | |
| + Premium devices also have advanced connections (HDMI 2.1) |
Whether it’s a great OLED TV or one of the cheaper NanoCell models, LG’s TVs are first class. As the leading OLED brand, however, there is no doubt that LG is a brand to keep an eye on, all LG’s smart TVs get the excellent webOS platform, and many of the devices have Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built-in.
In addition to being the smartest TVs you can find, they are also the best connected, as LG has integrated the HDMI 2.1 standard ahead of all the competition. Admittedly, OLEDs are sometimes weaker when it comes to brightness than comparable LCD-based TVs, and LG’s own NanoCell TVs have some shortcomings, but LG is easily the best TV brand for OLEDs and is an excellent choice for all smart TVs.
Finally, here are some of our favorite TVs from LG:
LG 65-tums C9 OLED
The best LG TV overall
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Wonderful OLED screen | – Premium prize which, however, will stop most people |
| + Advanced HDMI 2.1 connection | |
| + Best performance in the class | |
| + Fantastic sound | |
| + Solid smart TV features | |
| + Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built-in |
LG 65-tums UM7300
The most affordable LG TV
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Strong brightness levels | – No local dimming |
| + Wide viewing angles | – Limited HDR support |
| + Excellent smart TV features | – Not impressive black levels |
| + Motion control remote control | Poor motion control |
LG 43-tums UK6300 4K TV
The best budget LG TV
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Affordable 4K Smart TV | – The color accuracy is like that |
| + Good connection possibilities | – Remote control is not impressive |
| + Wide color range | – No microphone for voice interaction |
| + HDR support |
Facts about LG
LG’s TV series includes everything from cheap full-HD TVs to premium home cinema screens, but if there is one thing associated with the LG name, it is OLED. The Korean manufacturer has finally led the industry in organic LED technology since the first LG OLED TV in 2013.
LG’s OLED
OLED’s performance is undeniable, offering a superior mix of color reproduction, first-class accuracy, and lighting that surpasses anything an LCD can offer (even if Samsung’s QLED is close). What really makes OLED TVs stand out from the crowd, however, is their per-pixel lighting. This also allows the screen to deliver perfect black areas and brighter brightnesses with HDR content (High-Dynamic Range) without the light spreading to other parts of the screen.
LG’s NanoCell
Even without OLED, LG offers competitive screen quality in the company’s mid-range models, thanks to what LG calls NanoCell technology. Unlike the quantum dots that provide a more accurate image on Samsung QLED TVs, LG’s NanoCell technology is about maximizing color quality by removing unwanted colors from the screen’s 8 million pixels, resulting in a truer, brighter color. The nanoscale filtering also provides deep black and wide viewing angles, providing an excellent level of quality for a standard LCD.
LG’s connections
LG is also the only TV manufacturer currently offering HDMI 2.1 connectivity on its devices. The higher bandwidth of the 2.1 standards enables high frame rate content, variable refresh rate ( VRR ) for games, and finally Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) with lossless audio.
LG’s smart TV
But LG has also put a lot of pressure on the smart aspects of smart TVs, refining its webOS, with enhanced smart home features and one of the best Google Assistant commands and best Alexa skills available. And while LG’s midrange models may have LCD screens instead of the finer OLED, they still have the smart web platform webOS.
LG’s Image Quality
The sets also offer something special to anyone who is picky about image quality. With screen quality that is also good enough for use by Hollywood editors, the current LG TVs have many technical features, such as a built-in pattern generator for display calibration. And with dedicated high-performance image modes such as Technicolor and the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF), the options for fine-tuned image quality are fantastic!
LG’s 8K
For all the 8K shoppers out there, we were very impressed with the LG 88-inch Z9 8K OLED TV, which is not only the first 8K OLED to hit the market, it is also one of the best screens on the planet (though it costs a lot).
Summary by LG
Is LG finally the best TV brand for you? LG is the best TV brand for anyone who wants both high-quality performance and also solid value for money.
Related: LED vs LCD TV: Understanding the Pros and Cons
Is Sony the best TV brand for you?
Industry-leading image and sound, at a real price
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Fantastic video processing provides smooth action and excellent scaling | – Prices are high compared to competitors |
| + Sound varies from good to fantastic | – Older models have a clumsy remote control design |
| + Android TV offers a full-featured smart experience with a large app selection | – Complex settings can be confusing |
| + Built-in Chromecast and Google Assistant | |
| + Netflix -specific calibration mode that looks great |
Sony’s TVs deliver some of the best pictures and sound available, with both impeccable OLEDs and fantastic LCD TVs. The smart TV experience is also very good, with the much improved Android TV Oreo and Pie platforms, which come with built-in Google Assistant and Chromecast. And for the best Netflix experience you can get, Sony’s Netflix calibrated mode is also exclusive to the brand.
However, Sony TVs are usually the most expensive on the market, they have clumsy remote controls and complex menus are less than perfect, although Sony is the best TV brand when it comes to pictures and sound.
Here are some of our favorite Sony TVs:
Sony Master Series A9G OLED
The best Sony TV overall
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Fantastic performance with excellent picture and sound | However, very expensive |
| + Elegant design | – But some features are disabled by default |
| + Improved remote control | |
| + Best version of Android TV available |
Sony 55-tums Bravia XG95
The most affordable Sony TV
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Stylish design with built-in cable management | – Backlight shows prominent light spillage |
| + Very good features | – Volume and bass are on the weak side |
| + Built-in Chromecast | |
| + Android TV 8.0 is amazing | |
| + Improved remote control |
Sony Bravia X800G 4K Smart TV
The best budget Sony TV
| Pros : | Cons : |
| + Good design | – No local dimming and medium HDR performance |
| + Fantastic connection with plenty of ports | – Medium contrast makes black parts of the screen look gray |
| + Android TV has Google Chromecast and Google Assistant built-in |
Facts about Sony
Last but not least, we have Sony. Once the reigning champion of all things A / V, Sony’s presence is still big in the TV world. And this is rightly so, given that it’s also the Sony name that adorns it as the undeniably very sexy TV Sony Master Series A9G OLED TV. Even on standard LCD screens, such as the Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV, viewers can expect rich, lifelike colors thanks to Sony’s excellent video processing and support for 10-bit color and multiple HDR formats. Finally, if you want the best TV brand for picture quality and great sound, there is no doubt that it is Sony.
Sony sound
The A9G is one of many Sony TVs that provide impeccable picture quality, great sound and finally impressive overall performance. And with features like Acoustic Surface Audio +, which uses the OLED screen’s glass panel as the sound source, not only is the sound quality good, it’s more immersive than anything offered with traditional built-in speakers. Even on Sony’s LCD TVs, such as the Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV, the effect is replicated with a special set of speakers above and behind the screen.
Sony smart tv
Android TV is the Smart TV platform chosen by Sony, and the Android experience has gone from good to better over the past year, with an upgrade that provides faster response, a cleaner interface, and also a rich ecosystem of apps and services via Google Play Shop. The new platform also comes with full built-in Google Assistant functionality, optional Amazon Alexa support via an upcoming app and a built-in Chromecast for easy content sharing from mobile devices.
Sony 8K
On the 8K front, Sony also offers some of the largest and most stylish models available, with the Sony Master Series Z9G 8K TV coming in 85- to 98-inch models. Although it is hardly budget-friendly.
Sony disadvantages
But some stubborn problems haunt Sony’s excellent equipment. Sony’s settings menus tend to be labyrinthine in their complexity, making it even more frustrating that some features are turned off by default. However, if you want to connect a 4K-ready game console, you have to dig through three or four layers of menus to find the option to enable 10-bit color support. Sony TVs also regularly lock basic functionality behind settings that you, unfortunately, need to change manually.
Summary by Sony
Finally, which is the best TV brand for you? Although Sony TVs are usually very good, they also tend to be more expensive than competitors. This is especially true of Sony’s OLED models, which regularly cost several thousand kronor more than corresponding models from LG. Sony’s products may be good, but not everyone is willing to pay a few extra bucks for similar levels of quality and performance.