Best Smart TV in 2021 - Smart TV Buying Guide

Hello everyone today we’ll take a look at the best smart TVs in the market for 2021. I made this list based on my opinion and I’ll try to help you find the right one for your needs. To see the most up to date prices and find out more information about the smart TV's you can checkout the model below. Before we get started, I have a question for your guys, which smart TV are you using right now and what is your opinion on it? let me know in the comments.

5. Sony A8H Best Premium TV

The Sony Bravia  A8H is a no brain a pick when a flawless picture and sound are what you want. With top-notch color, incredibly crisp detail and the latest and best version of Android TV out there, here is a lot to love about the new Sony OLED.

It’s an incredible TV and it’s worth considering if you’re in the market for something in this size. When it first came out I had high expectations but the Sony  A8H has more than just beautiful 4k picture. It has Sony’s impressive x-motion clarity. Motion smoothing powered by the X1 Ultimate picture processor. The excellent picture is smashed by the return of a acoustic surface audio, which offers better audio than ever right from the screen.

In terms of pure movie watching performance, the Sony Bravia  A8H OLED proved itself the category leader for premium OLED TVs. Definitely worth it if you have a bit of money to spend on a high-end TV. If your heart set on OLED and if you want a picture so lifelike and vibrant, it looks like you’re peering through a window into another world you’ll be hard-pressed to do better than the Sony A8H.

4. TCL 65R635 - Best For The Money

The TCL 6-Series Roku TV R635 offers enormous value for its affordable price. Offering premium picture quality and a great smart TV experience for much less than the competition. The 2020 follow-up to the 2019 TCL six series the R635 ups the ante with mini led backlighting. Besides, QLED result is impressive color and brightness with some of the best HDR performance we’ve seen on anything this side of an OLED display. But TCL keeps delivering more like THX certified game mode which makes the 6-Series one of the best gaming TVs available. Even for newer consoles like the PS5 and the Xbox series X, the TCL 6-Series is a very good overall TV and performs well for most uses. 

It is great for watching movies in dark rooms. Thanks to its outstanding contrast ratio. HDR content looks great as the TV displays a wide color gamut and it gets bright in that mode. It also has great gaming features like a quick response time and low input lag. Sadly, its local dimming feature results in blooming around bright objects. Also it’s not ideal for wide seating arrangements because it has narrow viewing angles.

However, from the design smart touches like cable management and the stand to the always solid Roku TV platform, the TCL  6-Series R635 is the best budget TV of 2021.

3. Vizio QX-H1 - Best value OLED TV

The physio QX-H1 is a great 4k TV that delivers stunning picture quality. It has a VA-Panel with a high contrast ratio which is further enhanced by a full array local dimming feature, allowing it to produce deep blacks. It's high peak brightness fights glare easily and delivers an exceptional HDR experience with bright highlights. It has a fast response time and a black frame insertion feature, resulting in clear images in fast moving scenes. 

Its low input lag should please most gamers and it supports variable refresh rate or VRR to reduce screen tearing. Unfortunately it has pretty narrow viewing angles, so it might not be the best option for wide seating arrangements. Also even though it's smart-cast interface is user-friendly, it doesn’t have as many apps as other platforms, since Vizio doesn’t have an app store. 

The audio quality on this TV is not bad but it’s also not great. It has some decent low end, so it avoids the tinny sound found on many televisions. While the speakers are located near the bottom and the back, the presence of the sound is such that it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from behind the TV or from the bottom. 

Another thing I should mention is that it has an outstanding contrast ratio that’s further enhanced by its full array local dimming. Producing inky blacks for a fantastic dark room viewing experience.

2. Sony X900H - Best Runner-Up

Sony X900H in the us and XH90 in Europe has been referred to as the PlayStation 5 TV. And it also is one of Sony’s ready for PS5 TVs based primarily on its HDMI 2.1 capabilities including support for gaming in 4k 120, That’s 4k at 120 pictures per second.

It’s also an Android TV with a new more powerful SOC that has not been used in any previous Sony TV. The bezels enclosing that huge expansive screen are slender and discreet. On the feet on which its stands are similarly skinny flattened V-shape. It seems unlikely that a TV this big will be anything other than wall mounted. But should an owner be in possession of a surface wide enough to stand it on? 

There’s more than enough space below the bottom of the screen for a substantial sound bar. Sony has put a lot of effort into improving the ability of its 4k TVs to upscale sub 4k content. By combining the prodigious power of its X1 4k HDR picture processing chip, with an ever expanding database of 4k relevant images, it intends to offer greater detail texture and will 4kns to 1080p material. And to a very great extent that proves to be the case. 

With a solid basis of black the X900H doesn’t have to get extremely bright to appear vivid. All but the 55-inch model in the XH-90 range features, Sony’s grand sounding acoustic multi-audio system. In practice this equates to 20 watts powering two full range drivers and a couple of tweeters positioned near the top of the back of the screen’s chassis one on either side. It really is one of the best smart TVs in 2021 without a doubt. 

1. LG CX - Best Overall

LG has improved on this OLED beefing up its video processing with the new Alpha 9 Gen 3 processor and it’s touted AI think software. one of its primary functions is to differentiate between different types of on-screen objects, such as faces and graphics for example, to deliver more detailed processing. So the CX is essentially a big piece of glass that’s about a quarter of an inch thick.

The LG CX can be wall mounted using as standard visa 300x200 bracket. However the included wedge-shaped table top stand makes for a very sturdy support. It attaches with a handful of screws but it takes two people to set it up right on a credenza. In setting up the LG CX65 you’ll find a welter of image options to satisfy virtually any taste. Like other sets of its ilk there are several preset picture settings including modes for sports, movies, gaming, vivid pictures, and HDR effects. 

LG has also added several performance features for gaming. There’s a reduced latency game mode, auto low latency mode of course which worked well without Xbox one 4k games. LG also supports NVidia’s G-Sync and the open free sync for those inclined to connect a gaming laptop and looking to get the smoothest images possible. And LG supports HDIG for HDR gaming. If you’re looking for the best 4k picture available, the LG CX OLED will not disappoint. 

The addition of improved sound and some of the best smart TV features including voice control just make this package all the more appealing.

Buying guide:

Screen size:  

Whether you’re looking for a basic or high performance TV the biggest factor in your decision will probably be screen size. Consider how many people in your family typically watch at once and where you’re going to put your new set, then pick the largest screen size that’ll fit comfortably into that space and your budget. 

The sweet spot today considering price performance and the typical living room is between 55 and 65 inches. 

Resolution: 

This refers to the TV’s native resolution. A regular high definition or HD set is also called a 1080p model, because its screen resolution is 1920x1080. That means it has 1920 pixels horizontally and 1080 pixels vertically. 

So it contains roughly 2 million pixels in all. think of pixels short for picture elements as the tiny individual dots that make up the TVs picture. ultra high definition or UHD TVs also called 4k TVs of screen resolutions of 3840 by 2160. so they contain 8 million pixels or 4 times the number of individual pixels as an HD set.

Viewing angles:

Despite many improvements most LCDs still have a fairly significant short coming. Limited viewing angle that means the picture looks its best only from a fairly narrow sweet spot right in front of the screen. 

We recommend checking the viewing angle by watching a TV from off to the side and from above and below the main part of the image. As you move away from the center of the screen the image can dim, loose contrast and color accuracy or look washed out.

Refresh rate: 

The refresh rate expressed in Hertz or Hz describes how many times per second a picture is refreshed on the screen. Standard refresh rate is 60 times per second or 60 hertz. However in scenes with rapidly moving objects, a 60 hertz refresh rate can make things look blurry or jittery. 

Particularly on LCD HD TVs. So to create a more solid picture, manufacturers have doubled the refresh rate to 120 Hertz and in some cases up to 240 Hertz.