Best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X, Series S for 2022: LG OLED, Samsung QLED, Vizio and More

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If you’ve invest in a PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S console, any TV with an HDMI port will work. However, not all TVs are created equal, and if your TV isn’t up to snuff, it may be unable to take advantage of these new consoles’ best features. The best 4K TVs these days are equipped with HDMI 2.1 ports, which have the power to let you play at 4K with HDR and reach frame rates as high as 120 frames per second. On top of all that, the gameplay stays butter-smooth, with the consoles and TV playing nice via variable refresh rate, which reduces choppy movement and screen tearing.

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Also, you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on an 88-inch 8K behemoth to get these gaming console-friendly features. In fact, as far as screen size goes, you can find most of the features necessary for an excellent gaming experience in 65-inch TVs that are priced below $1,000.

Best TVs for PS5 and Xbox

At the end of the article you’ll find two charts with all of the TVs we know on sale now that support advanced gaming features. We’ve included compatible TVs from the past two years, and you may still be able to find 2020 models on sale. Before those charts, however, here’s a list of our current favorite gaming TV options.

Sarah Tew/CNET

LG’s C1 offers some of the best TV image quality we’ve tested, comes in a variety of sizes and includes the full range of gaming features on every input. We also like this 4K TV’s specialized Game Optimizer settings suite. It’s a great choice for gamers who want excellent picture but with a smaller hit to the wallet.

1080p input lag: 13.1ms

4K HDR input lag: 13.1ms

Sizes: 48-, 55-, 65-, 77-, 83-inch.

Read our LG C1 review.

David Katzmaier/CNET

If OLED isn’t your thing, Samsung’s QN90A offers the best non-OLED picture quality we’ve ever seen. Image quality is incredibly bright, with minimal blooming from the local dimming backlight. This gaming TV option also has the lowest input lag we’ve ever measured on a TV.

1080p input lag: 10ms

4K HDR input lag: 10ms

Sizes: 50-, 55-, 65-, 75-, 85-inch.

Read our Samsung QN90A review.

David Katzmaier/CNET

The Hisense U8G offers tremendous brightness for gamers who want to play during the day and don’t have light control in their chosen gaming space. While there are a couple of TVs that are brighter, all are a lot more expensive. Contrast and color is good too, though HDR is a step behind the competition and this 4K resolution TV’s games mode isn’t as sophisticated as Samsung or LG.

1080p input lag: 15ms

4K HDR input lag: 15ms

Sizes: 55-, 65-inch.

Read our Hisense U8G series review.

David Katzmaier/CNET

With a price generally lower than any of the TVs above, this Vizio’s image quality and gaming features aren’t quite as good, but it’s still a solid step above budget gaming TVs. Local dimming achieves solid contrast and while it lacks 4K/120Hz input capability, this smart TV does offer variable refresh rate — a rarity at this price.

1080p input lag: 16.07ms

4K HDR input lag: 13.73ms

Sizes: 50-, 55-, 58-, 65-, 70-, 75-inch.

Read our Vizio M-7 Series Quantum (2021) review.

Gaming TV FAQs

Below you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions about the best gaming TVs, followed by the charts that show which features are available on which TVs.

What TVs support HDMI 2.1 features?

All the advanced gaming features we’ve mentioned– 120Hz input and VRR, as well as the more common Auto Low Latency Mode, aka Auto Game Mode, and eARC — are roughly grouped under the HDMI 2.1 standard, but not all of the TVs in the charts below include every feature, nor deliver the full video and audio bandwidth that’s possible with HDMI 2.1.

Even more confusing, input capability can vary on the same TV. Behind the physical connection where you plug an HDMI cable is a subsection of the TV’s processing, namely a chip. These chips cost money, like everything else. In order to keep costs down, not every input on the TV is fully capable of all the latest features and frame rates. To put it another way, every road on Earth could be capable of highway speeds, but building them all that way would be expensive and rather pointless.

For example, one HDMI input might be capable of eARC, but not be able to handle 4K at 120Hz. Just something to keep in mind as you peruse the charts below. Also, there are some important brand and model specifics that didn’t fit in the chart; please check the bullet points below for details.

Finally, the consoles themselves are in a transition period, too. The hardware of the PS5 console can technically support VRR, but unlike the Xbox Series X and Series S, it’s not enabled yet. Sony’s PlayStation 5 FAQ says VRR will be added via a future software update.

Despite TVs being capable of 120Hz refresh for well over a decade, the ability to input 120Hz is a far more recent development. This is largely due to the fact that other than a fairly beefy gaming PC, there just haven’t been any 120Hz sources. That all changes with the PS5 and Series X. Some of the TVs on our list can accept 4K at 120Hz on all HDMI inputs. Others can only do so on select inputs and one, the TCL 6-Series, can only accept 120Hz at lower-than-4K resolution (1440p).

The Xbox Series S can also output 4K at 120Hz, but internally the game is rendered at a lower resolution (1440p) and upscaled before it’s sent to your TV.

For more info, check out the truth about 4K TV refresh rates — and beware fake 120Hz refresh rates on 4K TVs.

VRR, or variable refresh rate, is a new TV feature that you’d probably be surprised wasn’t already a thing. All modern TVs have a fixed refresh rate. A 60Hz TV is going to refresh, or create, a new image 60 times a second. The problem is a new console might not be ready to send a new image.

Let’s say you’re in the middle of a huge boss battle, with lots of enemies and explosions. The console struggles to render everything in the allotted time. The TV still needs something so the console might send a duplicate of the previous image, creating juddering on screen, or it might send a partially new image, resulting in the image looking like someone tore a page off the top and revealed the new page below.

VRR gives the TV some flexibility to wait for the new frame from the console. This will result in better gaming performance with smoother action and less tearing.

What is ALLM or Game mode?

Game mode turns off most of the image-enhancing features of the TV, reducing input lag. We’ll discuss input lag below, but the specific feature to look for is called either Auto Low Latency Mode or Auto Game Mode. Different manufacturers call it one or the other, but the basic idea is the same. Sensing a signal from the console, the TV switches on game mode automatically. This means you don’t need to find your TV’s remote to enable game mode. Not a huge deal, but convenient. All the TVs listed above have, or will have, one or the other.

Input lag describes how long in milliseconds it takes for the TV to create an image. If this is too high, there’s a delay between when you press a button on the controller and when that action appears on screen. In many games, like shooters or platformers, timing is crucial and a TV with high input lag could hurt your performance.

As a longtime console gamer myself, I can easily notice the difference between high (greater than 100ms) and low input lag (sub-30ms). The good news is, most modern TVs have input lag that’s low enough that most people won’t notice it. Largely gone are the days of 100-plus-millisecond input lags… at least when you enable game mode.

So as long as the TV has a game mode, you’re probably fine, though it’s worth checking CNET’s reviews for the exact numbers to see if it has low input lag. Lower, in this case, is always better.

While not a console feature, eARC is a next-gen TV feature to keep in mind. It’s the evolution of ARC, or Audio Return Channel. This sends audio from a TV’s internal apps (such as Netflix or Vudu), back down the HDMI cable to a receiver or soundbar. With eARC, newer formats like Dolby Atmos can be transmitted as well.

The issue is in many cases, eARC often precludes higher resolutions or frame rates on the same input. So if you’ve connected your PS5 to your receiver and the receiver to the TV, you can have eARC audio back from the TV or 4K120, but usually not both. This is only important if you plan on using the internal apps in a TV (as in, not a Roku or Amazon streaming stick) and you want to use the new audio formats via eARC.

Best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X, Series S in 2022

2021 TVs for PS5 and Xbox

Brand

Model

65-inch price

4K 120Hz Input

VRR

ALLM/AUTO

eARC

$2,500

HDMI 1-4

Yes

HDMI 2

Nano 90

$1,300

HDMI 3, 4

Yes

HDMI 3

QNED 90

$2,000

HDMI 3, 4

Yes

HDMI 3

$2,100

HDMI 1-4

Yes

HDMI 2

$1,800

HDMI 3

Nano 75

$900

Yes

HDMI 2

70 series

$700 (70 in)

Yes

HDMI 2

Samsung

QN900A

$4,000

Yes

QN800A

$3,000

Yes

QN90A

$2,100

Yes (55 in and up)

Yes (not 43 in)

Yes

QN85A

$1,900

Yes

Frame

$1,700

Yes

Yes (55 in and up)

Yes

Q80A

$1,400

Yes (55 in and up)

Yes (not 50 in)

Yes

Q60A

$1,000

Yes

Sony

A90J

$3,800

Yes

Yes*

Yes

X80J

$1,000

Yes

A80J

$2,200

Yes

Yes*

Yes

X95J

$2,000

Yes

Yes*

Yes

X90J

$1,350

Yes

Yes*

Yes

X85J

$1,100

Yes

Yes*

Yes

TCL

$2,000

6 8K

$2,200

HDMI 1,2

Yes

HDMI 4

6 4K

$950

Yes (x2)

Yes

Vizio

OLED

1900

HDMI 2, 3

Yes

HDMI 1

P series

1300

HDMI 3, 4

Yes

HDMI 1

M series

900

Yes

HDMI 1

Hisense

$3500 (75″)

$1,250

HDMI 3, 4

VRR

HDMI 3

$1,000

Freesync

Yes

*Available via a firmware update at a later date (just like Sony’s 2020 models).

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2020 TVs

You might still be able to find some of 2020’s TVs on sale. Many had 120 Hz inputs, eARC and more, though not quite to the extent of the newer models. Here’s a look at the TVs from 2020 and what they could do.

2020 TVs for PS5 and Xbox

Brand

Model

65-inch price

Max input Hz

VRR

ALLM/AUTO

eARC

UN85

$765

120Hz (HDMI 3,4)

Yes

HDMI 3

Nano85

$1,000

120Hz (HDMI 3,4)

Yes

HDMI 3

Nano90

$1,200

120Hz (HDMI 3,4)

Yes

HDMI 3

Nano91

$1,000

120Hz (HDMI 3,4)

Yes

HDMI 3

$2,200

120Hz (All)

Yes

HDMI 2

$2,500

120Hz (All)

Yes

HDMI 2

$2,000

120Hz (HDMI 3,4)

Yes

HDMI 3

Samsung

Q70T

$1,200

120Hz

Yes

Q80T

$1,700

120Hz (HDMI 4)

Yes

HDMI 3

Q90T

$2,000

120Hz

Yes

Q800T (8K)

$2,700

120Hz

Yes

Sony

X900H

$1,400

120Hz (HDMI 3,4)

Yes

HDMI 3

TCL

6-Series

$950

4K60/1440p120

Yes

HDMI 4

Vizio

OLED

$1,500

120Hz (HDMI 2,3)

Yes

HDMI 1

$950

120Hz (HDMI 3,4)

Yes

HDMI 1

$1,500

120Hz (HDMI 3,4)

Yes

HDMI 1

M-Series

$600

60Hz

Yes

HDMI 1

Notes and specifics

Prices are current as of press time but may fluctuate.
There are some TVs that fit the criteria but weren’t included because they’re so expensive, namely 8K TVs like LG’s ZX series and Samsung’s Q950TS and Q900TS series.
The PS5 and Series X can also output 8K resolution to compatible TVs, but we consider 4K/120Hz, VRR and other enhancements like ray tracing and even HDR more important than 8K for gaming.
Samsung doesn’t specify which inputs can handle 4K120 or eARC. It is unlikely that all do, but when we asked, the company didn’t clarify. We did review the Q80T, however, and can confirm that Input 3 is compatible with eARC and Input 4 with 4K120.
Sony says the software update(s) that enables VRR and ALLM on the X900H is coming “at a later date.” It’s been saying that for over a year now.
The Vizio 2020 M-Series is only 60Hz but has VRR.
The TCL 2020 6-Series can only accept 4K at 60Hz, but can accept 1440p at 120Hz.

As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, airplane graveyards and more.

You can follow his exploits on Instagram and YouTube, and on his travel blog, BaldNomad. He also wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel.

Source by www.cnet.com