The best 4K TVs available in 2020

What are the best 4K TVs money can buy in Australia?

With 8K TVs available to consumers, now is an even better time to buy a 4K TV. Why? Whatever widespread 8K dominance may enjoy is still somewhere off in the future, given the current lack of 8K content. But, today, there’s a wealth of stuff to watch on a 4K TV, whether it’s streaming 4K movies on Netflix or 4K TV shows on Stan and Prime Video, playing the best 4K games on Xbox One, or watching content via Ultra High Definition (4K) Blu-ray discs.

Whatever the 4K reason, there’s a 4K TV to match your brand preferences and budget for enjoying a wealth of movies, sports, gaming, and TV series.

While you can drop more than $10K on the 77-inch LG C9, that amount more than halves for the 65-inch variant and costs less than a third for the 55-inch screen. The C9 is the best OLED 4K TV that boasts stunning picture quality, with second-to-none contrast and incredible black levels, atop a colour range that extends beyond one billion options. Sure, the C9 is a 2019 model 4K TV, but it’s still our pick of the best in 2020.

The C9’s impressive presentation is powered by an Alpha 9 Gen 2 Intelligent Processor, which is designed to enhance your 4K content experience across visual and audio. It achieves this by cleverly using AI analysis to optimise video and sound based on your viewing preferences.

In terms of High Dynamic Range (HDR), the C9 uses a combination of the proprietary Dolby Vision variant and HDR10, which means a more vibrant differentiation between darkest blacks and whitest whites in compatible content. Grey uniformity and wide viewing angles mean the C9 offers a 4K experience you’re unlikely to forget. Still, it’s a shame LG didn’t include HDR10+ support.

On the Dolby front, there’s also Dolby Atmos which, when paired with the right booming sound system, boosts aural fidelity to match the 4K eye candy. The cherry on top is the integrated Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support to make controlling all of this gorgeous entertainment even easier. The C9 is great for everyday playback of whatever content you throw at it, but the addition of Nvidia G-Sync support means it’s also a viable gaming option for PC gamers with Nvidia graphics cards.

Here’s another entry in our 2020 picks that’s actually a 2019 model. Why? Last year doesn’t mean outdated, and the Samsung Q90R is a great mix of performance and, these days, cheaper price because of its intended replacement model, the Samsung Q95T. Whether you’re looking to critical reviews or user reviews, it’s clear that Samsung’s 2019 TVs are ticking the right boxes when compared to its 2020 refreshes.

If OLED screens are too dark for you – especially for people who are frustrated at screen reflections during the day in TV rooms they can’t sufficiently darken – QLED is the solution to what ails you, and the Q90R is a shining example of both screen brightness and accommodating a wide viewing angle so every front-of-tele seat is the best in the house.

Compared to preceding models, the Q90R also achieves impressive black levels during darker scenes, meaning that Samsung is able to step into OLED territory for those who fancy noticeable detail in their on-screen black levels. The straightforward and impressive sights and sounds of the Q90R are complemented by a single-cable solution for keeping a potential jungle of cables out of sight beneath the bottom of the bezel. The main detractor is on the HDR front: while it does support HDR10+ (unlike the LG C9), it’s lacking Dolby Vision.

There are two camps when it comes to 4K TVs: those who adore OLED screens, and those who love QLED panels. Both have their pros and cons but, as you can probably tell from this choice, the black levels of my heart are better complemented by OLED more so than the rare bright areas that benefit from QLED’s brightness. And the Sony A9G is an OLED contender that is nipping at the heels of the LG C9 victor for 2020.

Yes, it’s another 2019 4K set that’s enjoying a 2020 victory lap for Sony TV fans, but while it also lacks HDR10+ support, it’s slightly darker for HDR and non-HDR content, which can be an OLED challenge if you’re unable to darken your TV room. That said, the A9G goes toe to toe with the C9 on pretty much every other metric.

Get the room dark to mitigate those brightness issues, and you’re dealing with a 4K TV that has wide viewing angles and impressive visual performance. Where the A9G has the edge over its LG OLED counterpart, though, is for on-screen motion with a near-instant response time that translates to smooth playback. With decent out-of-the-box sound, too, those with an allegiance to Sony TVs will have that fealty rewarded in the A9G.

If you want our pick of the best LG 4K TV, scroll back up and read about the LG C9. For a worthy runner-up, though, the LG CX is – surprise, surprise for this list – a 2020 model 4K TV that’s well worth considering if you want the newest of the new. Like the C9, this LG 4K TV is built to impress whether you’re into watching movies, bingeing TV series, yelling at sports, or getting your gaming fix.

Those who fancy UHD Blu-ray movies, for instance, will be particularly rewarded by near-perfect black levels, so long as you don’t have direct light on the screen disrupting things. For those who’ve clung onto their regular Blu-ray collection, the LG CX does an admirable job of automatically upscaling 1080p content with great results. The same is true of streaming 720p content, like older TV series, while all content playback makes great use of decent inbuilt speakers if you don’t want to pare your 4K tele with a home theatre setup.

Sports fans may notice a bit of a blur with faster-moving content, but the CX handles most sports admirably, while the wide viewing angle makes it a crowd-pleasing screen for game day. Speaking of games, the CX is almost as impressive with games than it is with its excellent UHD movie results, meaning you can even use this as a giant 4K monitor for PC gaming.

When it comes to a budget 4K TV, there are some key brands to choose from, including Hisense, Kogan, Bauhn (exclusive to Aldi), and FFalcon. Our pick of the best budget 4K TV in 2020 is the Hisense Series 8. Stick to the 43-inch (43S8) or 50-inch (50S8) varieties to keep the cost under $1,000. Like most of the picks on this page, the 50S8 a 2019 model, but it’s still a great performer across the board for a range of viewing content.

The on-screen results aren’t as jaw-dropping as QLED or OLED panels and HDR is restricted to HDR10, but for a sub-$1K screen, it has impressive performance for most of your 4K TV needs.

If you’re looking to save more money, the FFalcon 50UF1 has a good-sized 50-inch option you can pick up for under $500 that’s best used for movies and TV shows and even has HDR10 support.

For around the same price point and for similar uses, you can also take a look at the Kogan 55-inch Series 9 UX9210. Inbuilt Android TV means it’s easy to find all of your favourite streaming apps, plus there’s built-in Chromecast and, impressively at this pricepoint, baked-in Dolby Vision HDR support.

If you don’t mind stretching that budget between $500 and $1,000, you can get your hands on the Bauhn 58-inch 4K TV. Impressively, this Bauhn 4K TV has a QLED panel, Google Assistant voice-powered remote, and even basic HDR.

Got the speed to stream 4K?

Now that you’ve decided on a 4K television, you’re going to need a strong broadband connection to stream in UHD resolution. These are the fastest NBN Premium plans according to WhistleOut.