Best TVs of 2022

Consumer Reports tests hundreds of televisions each year. These 4K sets rose to the top.

CR's testing team uses a mix of test patterns and TV and movie clips to evaluate TV performance.

By James K. Willcox

This is an exciting time to go shopping for a TV. Retailers’ shelves are stocked with a wide selection of 2022 sets, plus great TVs from previous years that are at their all-time lowest prices.

Below, we list about 20 of the best TVs you can buy right now. We’re spotlighting sets with 65-inch screens, an increasingly popular size. You can also find smaller, less expensive versions of most of these models. And some of them are available in bigger screen sizes, too. (Information on specific models, along with our full TV ratings, are available to CR members.)

The TVs that perform best in CR testing tend to be pricier flagship models. But we’ve also included some great 65-inch 4K sets that cost less than $1,000—in some cases much less—plus a few really jumbo sets larger than 65 inches that are priced below $2,000.

We’ve made a few changes to our TV ratings in recent years. While overall picture quality and other characteristics remain important, we also include data privacy and security scores for all the TVs we test. Now that TVs routinely connect to the internet, data privacy and security have become concerns for consumers.

Consumer Reports evaluates the various ways TV brands collect, use, and share consumer data, how well they protect it, and how transparent they are about their data practices. We’re encouraging TV makers to ship their sets to consumers with the optimal privacy settings turned on by default. You can adjust the settings yourself, but many people find them tricky to locate and use.

As with all the products that Consumer Reports tests and rates, every TV we evaluate is purchased at retail. We don’t accept freebies or handpicked models from manufacturers.

LCD TVs vs. OLED TVs

Before you dive into the individual models, it pays to understand the two basic technologies used in today’s televisions: LCD TVs, which are also called LED TVs for the LED backlights that illuminate the screen, and OLED TVs, where each pixel generates its own light.

There are far fewer OLED TVs on the market, and they tend to be more expensive, though prices have dropped over the past couple of years. OLED sets do a great job of displaying the blackest parts of an image, so the deepest shadows can really look black, as in real life, rather than gray. OLED TVs also have essentially unlimited viewing angles, so the picture still looks great even if you’re not viewing the screen head-on.

There’s a big wrinkle in the technology this year: Samsung and Sony have introduced a new type of OLED TV, called QD-OLED, that promises a brighter overall image. (Read our side-by-side testing of OLED and QD-OLED TVs.)

Most TVs are LCD sets. While they generally can’t deliver OLED-like black levels, they get better every year, especially models that use full-array backlights, where the LEDs are spread across the entire rear panel instead of just along the edges. These models include a feature called local dimming, which divides the backlights into zones that can be dimmed or illuminated separately, depending on the scene. This can help improve black levels.

Some newer sets have Mini LED backlights, which use a large number of even smaller LEDs that can be divided into more zones and locally dimmed.

Typically, only pricier TVs have full-array backlights with local dimming. Other sets are edge-lit, with the LEDs positioned on the sides of the screen. Some of these sets also include local dimming, but it tends to be less effective than in sets with full-array backlights. The best LCD TVs can create very bright, vivid images.

Best TVs Overall

Samsung QN65S95B, Sony XBR-A90J, LG OLED65G2PUA, LG OLED65C2PUA, Sony XBR-65A8H, Samsung QN65QN90B
Given the closeness of their Overall Scores, you can’t go wrong with any of these top-performing TVs. All of them offer top-notch overall picture quality, an enjoyable high dynamic range (HDR) experience, and either very good or excellent sound. Note that the Samsung QN90B is the only LCD-based TV on this list. Some of the models listed here are also available in larger screen sizes, and those tend to perform similarly.

The Samsung QN65S95B, a 2022 set that uses that new QD-OLED TV technology, is the current top-rated model in this screen size. It’s the brightest OLED TV we’ve tested and offers top-notch overall picture quality and a great HDR experience. The LG OLED65G2PUA is LG’s design-focused flagship 4K TV for 2022; it’s just a bit brighter than the LG OLED65C2PUA, earning it, like Samsung, the highest score for HDR performance. In all other areas, the LG C2-series set does just as well at a lower price. The Sony XR-65A90J is a flagship 2021 OLED TV, while the Sony XBR-65A8H is a 65-inch 4K smart OLED TV from 2020 that’s still around at some retailers.

The Samsung QN65QN90B is a top-tier 2022 Neo QLED TV that combines Mini LED backlights with local dimming and quantum dots. It offers top-notch overall picture quality and very effective HDR performance, among the best we’ve seen. Like the Sony A90J, it has an ATSC 3.0 tuner for receiving new Next-Gen over-the-air TV signals when they become available in your area. The TV comes with the company’s solar-powered remote control that can recharge using the basic indoor lights in your home.

Samsung QN65S95B

Sony XR-65A90J

LG OLED65G2PUA

LG OLED65C2PUA

Sony XBR-65A8H

Samsung QN65QN90B

Great TVs That Aren't Quite as Pricey

LG OLED65C1PUB, LG OLED65C1AUB, Samsung QN65Q80B, Samsung QN65Q80A, Sony XR-65X90CJ
Most of the TVs listed in the top group, above, cost $2,000 or more. That’s outside the budget for a lot of people. As alternatives, these five 65-inch sets from LG, Samsung, and Sony are less expensive but still deliver top-notch HD and 4K picture quality, effective HDR performance, and satisfying sound. (For even less expensive models, scroll down to see the best 65-inch TVs under $1,000.)

The LG OLED65C1PUB, a 2021 model sold via electronics retailers and mass merchants, and the LG OLED65C1AUB, a similar model that’s sold through warehouse clubs, are both step-up 4K OLED TVs. They have top-notch picture quality and effective HDR performance that’s better than what we’ve found with the less expensive A- and B-series LG OLED TVs. The Samsung QN65Q80B, in the company’s top regular QLED series for 2022, and the Samsung QN65Q80A, the 2021 model it replaces, both deliver very good overall picture quality and satisfying HDR performance. (Last year’s model actually did a bit better with HDR, and it’s a few hundred dollars cheaper.) Both have wider-than-average viewing angles for an LCD TV and very good sound. But they lack the Mini LED backlights found in the pricier Neo QLED sets.

The Sony XR-65X90CJ, a 2021 model sold via warehouse clubs, does a bit better than the two Samsungs in delivering HD and 4K picture quality, with similar HDR performance. Its viewing angle and sound aren’t as good, though.

All the sets are smart TVs. The LG and Samsung sets use their respective companies’ smart TV systems, while the Sony uses the Android TV system.

LG OLED65C1PUB

LG OLED65C1AUB

Samsung QN65Q80B

Samsung QN65Q80A

Sony XR-65X90CJ

Best Supersized TVs That Cost $2,000 or Less

Samsung QN75Q80B, Sony XR-75X90J, TCL 75R635, LG 75NANO90UPA, Samsung QN75Q70A, Hisense 75U6G
We’ve seen all of these 75-inch TVs selling for between $1,000 and just under $2,000, though prices can fluctuate. All of them have an overall picture quality that earns a Very Good or better rating, but the HDR performance is mixed.

The Samsung QN75QN80B, a midrange QLED set for 2022, delivers very satisfying overall picture quality and top-notch HDR performance; it also has great sound. It has a full-array LED backlight with local dimming, but not the Mini LEDs found in Neo QLED sets. The Sony XR-75X90J is a 2021 model that’s currently selling for about $2,000, though we’ve seen it for as low as $1,600 at times. It has great overall picture quality and very good HDR. It also does a nice job with sound.

The TCL 75R635, which uses Mini LED backlights, does very well for overall picture quality; in this group, it’s the only model other than the Samsung set above to earn top marks for HDR effectiveness. The LG 75NANO90UPA and the Hisense 75U6G, both with very good picture quality, along with the Samsung QN75Q70A, with great overall picture quality, are all fine choices, though their HDR isn’t as good as the other sets in this grouping.

The top Samsung, Sony, LG, and TCL sets offer better-than-average sound. All of the sets support the HDR10 and HLG HDR formats, and all except the Samsung support Dolby Vision. The Samsung supports HDR10+ instead. (You can read about those formats in our explainer on HDR technology.)

These sets use several different smart TV platforms. Sony has the newer Google TV system, while the Hisense uses Google’s older Android TV system. LG (webOS) and Samsung (Tizen) have their own proprietary smart TV platforms, while the TCL set is a Roku TV.

Samsung QN75Q80B

Sony XR-75X90J

TCL 75R635

LG 75NANO90UPA

Samsung QN75Q70A

Hisense 75U6G

Best 65-Inch TVs for Under $1,000

LG 65NANO90UPA, Hisense 65U8G, Samsung QN65Q7DA, TCL 65R635, Sony KD65X85J, Hisense 65U7G, TCL 65R646
The best TVs tend to be pricey, but there are some really good performers that cost less than $1,000. The top four picks below offer a very good or great HDR experience, something many lower-priced sets can’t do. Remember that if you want the same models in sizes smaller than 65 inches, the prices tend to be lower.

To start, the LG 65NANO90UPA offers both satisfying picture quality and HDR performance. It also has better-than-average sound. The Hisense 65U8G, a 4K Android TV situated just below the company’s flagship TV series for 2021, and the TCL 65R635, a 2020 model that was carried over into 2021, deliver impressive performance for the price, with satisfying overall picture quality plus top-notch HDR. Both sets also have above-average sound. The Samsung QN65Q7DA is a midline series of regular QLED TVs for 2021 sold mainly via warehouse clubs.

The Sony KD65X85J, in a lower-priced 4K series for 2021, the TCL 65R646, a 2022 Google TV with a Mini LED backlight, and Hisense 65U6G, a low-priced 2021 Android TV model, have very good overall picture quality, while the Hisense 65U7G does even better. None, however, can match the HDR performance of the Hisense or TCL models above. The Sony has an ATSC 3.0 tuner for receiving Next-Gen TV signals when they become available.

All of these are smart TVs. LG and Samsung have their own smart systems, the 8- and 6-series Hisense sets are Android TVs, while the other Hisense and the TCL 65R635 are Roku TVs. The other TCL and the Sony use the Google TV platform.

LG 65NANO90UPA

Hisense 65U8G

Samsung QN65Q7DA

TCL 65R635

Sony KD65X85J

Hisense 65U7G

TCL 65R646

TV Buying Guide and TV Terminology

TV terminology can be confusing, and that makes shopping tougher. From 4K to OLED, Consumer Reports TV expert James K. Willcox explains the jargon to “Consumer 101” TV show host Jack Rico.

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