2024 has been another wonderful year if you love TV. QLED and mini-LED QLED TVs have continued to grow rapidly, while OLED continues to dominate our selection of the best TVs thanks to the brightness-enhancing excellence of quantum dot and MLA technologies. There’s never been a more wonderful time to have a quality TV.
Over the past 12 months, Samsung’s stellar production has inspired us more than any other manufacturer, while we’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the resurgence of the most productive 4K projectors. But not everything has been sun and roses. With 365 days remaining, 8K has yet to have an effect on the market.
Fortunately, the biggest TV winners of 2024 outnumber the losers of the following year.
The dominance that Samsung has developed over the high-end TV sector in recent years is quite remarkable. The South Korean company didn’t just produce the most productive mini-LED TVs, oh no. Instead, it stole the crown in the OLED market with its QD-OLED panel technology.
A third of our top 9 best TV list is currently dominated by Samsung – more than any other manufacturer. Not only does the Big S continue to body the opposition with QLEDs, but it’s amazingly stolen the mantle from LG in the OLED space – quite the shocker, seeing as LG is wholly responsible for putting the premium TV tech on the map.There’s simply no denying the dominance of Samsung. From the unbeatable value of the Samsung S90C to the high-end dream performance of the Samsung S95D (our TV of the Year), the current king of TV manufacturing is the iconic South Korean brand. Over to you, LG.
The most productive projectors of 2024 were no longer reserved for obsessive moviegoers with gigantic walls. With greater affordability and less intimidating form factors, projectors seem to be a genuinely viable option for high-end TVs for the first time in years.
New high-end models from Epson, Sony and Samsung dominated the TechRadar Best of CEDIA Expo 2024 awards, with the Epson QL7000, a model with a brightness of 10,000 ANSI lumens, offering a projector option for larger TVs and micro projectors one hundred inches. LED video walls for those who don’t need to watch in a dark movie theater.
On the portable side of the spectrum, new projectors like the LG CineBeam Q featured a complicated design and a 4K solution in a sub-$1,000 model, while the Anker Nebula Mars 3 combined maximum brightness and long battery life. 2. 5 hours in a sturdy, portable case. Case in smart working order.
Companies are also taking note. A recent beta version of tvOS was included for the excellent Apple TV 4K for a wider variety of projector-compatible aspect ratios, adding 21:9 and 32:9.
Projectors are having a moment. Here’s hoping it lasts through 2025 and beyond.
Traditional W-OLEDs have long been our favorite type of TV, and the gap between LCD TVs and more productive OLED TVs has grown deeper in the past year with increased bureaucracy of “organic light-emitting diode” technology.
The sensational Samsung S95D shows that quantum dot tech is now firmly established as the OLED technology to beat. Thanks to its effective anti-glare coating and a hugely impressive peak HDR brightness of 1,868 nits, it’s capable of showcasing pictures that are almost as bright as the best mini-LED TVs while also delivering better contrast through its perfect black levels.
Not that QD-OLEDs don’t still face stiff competition. The LG G4 surprised us with its dazzlingly bright photos, incredibly bright thanks to the device’s second-generation MLA (Micro Lens Array) technology. The Panasonic Z95A with its “Master OLED Ultimate” MLA panel is also an amazing product.
This trio of sets leaves us in no doubt about OLED’s vice-like grip on the high-end TV market, though Sony’s new flagship Bravia 9 with its innovative XR Backlight Master Drive with High Peak Luminance tech gave a strong indication that mini-LED tech is making inroads in the premium TV space.
You don’t necessarily have to blow your life savings to own a terrific OLED TV. The LG B4 is one of the best budget OLEDs we’ve ever reviewed, and thanks to its quartet of HDMI 2.1 ports and new Dolby Vision Filmmaker mode, it’s fantastic for both gamers and movie lovers.
2024 the year of OLED. We’d be surprised if this wasn’t the case every year until 2034.
Until we’re all forced to make the corneal upgrades demanded through Minority Report, the much-vaunted long array of 8K TVs will probably take a back seat for now.
Though the recently released PS5 Pro is trying to make 8K console gaming a thing, the likelihood of Sony’s expensive new machine moving the needle in terms of 7,680 x 4,320 gaming (if you’re down with your pixel count lingo) is extremely unlikely.
The Samsung QN900D is our current pick for the best 8K TV, and it’s certainly a TV. However, at the time of writing, it is also not essential, like the best streaming, Blu-ray, and gaming facilities. They are not yet up to the task of offering 8K at the price that other people are interested in or demanding.
Until Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Sony with its PS5 Pro get serious about 8K, even the most die-hard TV enthusiasts are holding on to their 4K TVs.
Despite the best efforts of Disney and Best Buy to either reduce or flat-out stop support for 4K Blu-rays, our beloved Ultra HD discs aren’t going anywhere quite yet.
2024 was another strong year for 4K Blu-rays. When a movie transfer is done correctly on the format, it still looks comfortably crisper than on streaming services and also has superior audio quality.
This year spoiled us with some incredible 4K transfers, even if the movies themselves couldn’t quite match up with the image quality. Despite not being great films, the likes of Alien: Romulus and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes look absolutely pristine on one of the best 4K Blu-ray players. As for Dune: Part 2, the sweeping sci-fi epic continues Denis Villeneuve’s incredible run of drool-worthy 4K transfers.
When it comes to 4K Blu-ray instead of streaming, the score continues to read “Discs 1 – Internet 0. “
Dave is a freelancer who’s been writing about tech and video games since 2006, with bylines across GamesRadar+, Total Film, PC Gamer, and Edge. He’s been obsessed with all manner of AV equipment ever since his parents first bought him a hideously garish 13-inch CRT TV (complete with built-in VCR, no less) back in 1998. Over the years he’s owned more plasma and OLED TVs than he can count. On an average day, he spends 30% of his waking existence having mild panic attacks about vertical banding and dead pixels.
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