The 4 Best 40-42-43 Inch TVs - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best 42-inch TV we've tested is the LG OLED42C3PUA. It's a fantastic TV that looks amazing in a dark room but is also capable enough in a brighter environment. It delivers superb picture quality thanks to its near-infinite contrast ratio and has an excellent selection of additional features. Its built-in LG webOS interface has a massive selection of streaming apps, making it a great choice for a dorm or other small space. It's also great for watching movies and has good image processing features, like Dolby Vision and DTS advanced video and audio format support.

HDR content looks excellent on this TV thanks to the near-infinite contrast of its OLED panel, and its color gamut displays a wide range of colors, so the content looks vibrant. Its nearly instantaneous response time makes it great for gaming, resulting in crystal-clear motion with no distracting blur or ghosting behind fast-moving objects. It supports HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four of its HDMI ports, allowing for 4k @ 120Hz gaming, and it also supports all variable refresh rate (VRR) technologies, meaning you can take full advantage of the PS5, the Xbox Series X|S, or a PC with a recent graphics card.

The 2024 LG C4 OLED is now available. It can do up to 4k @ 144Hz and has some very small improvements in some other areas, but it's also currently a lot more expensive than the C3. Unless you want those very minor upgrades, you're better off purchasing the cheaper C3 while it's on sale. 

The best 43-inch 4k TV in the upper mid-range category we've tested is the Samsung QN43QN90CAFXZA. It's an impressive TV overall, and the smaller 43-inch size offers a few extra features for PC gamers, including a higher 144Hz refresh rate on all four of its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports. This allows for smoother motion handling than comparable 120Hz displays. It delivers an impressive gaming experience but has a noticeably slower response time than the LG C3 OLED, so you'll see more blur and ghosting around fast-moving objects if you play fast-paced games.

One advantage over the LG is that it gets much brighter, so it's a better choice for a bright dorm or living area. Bright highlights stand out incredibly well, so it delivers impressive visuals when watching HDR content; anything from HDR games to HDR movies looks bright and vibrant on this TV. It doesn't have the LG's near-infinite contrast ratio, but instead, its Mini LED backlight dims small areas of the screen to achieve a similar effect. There's more blooming around bright objects than on the LG, but it's not distracting.

The Samsung QN90D is now available. It has a new processor that is supposed to provide better overall picture quality than its predecessor. Unfortunately, it's a lot more expensive at first, and since the upgrade to picture quality is likely very minor, you're better off getting the cheaper QN90C while it's still available.

If you want something cheaper than the Samsung QN90C/QN90CD QLED without sacrificing too much, the Sony KD-43X85K is the best 43-inch TV in the mid-range category. While its picture quality isn't nearly as good as that of the Samsung or the LG C3 OLED, it has many of the same gaming features, like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two of its ports. It's great if you want to take full advantage of the PS5, the Xbox Series X, or a beefy PC gaming rig, as it supports 4k @ 120Hz. Sony TVs are also known to have good processing features, and this one is no exception, as its color accuracy before calibration is fantastic, and upscaled content looks great.

Regarding image quality, the Sony X85K performs well in dark and bright rooms. It has a high native contrast ratio, so blacks look great in a dark room, even when bright highlights are displayed. It doesn't have a local dimming feature, so dark scenes don't look as good as on the LG or the Samsung. Its reflection handling is very good and has impressive peak brightness, so visibility is fine in well-lit rooms as it can easily overcome glare. Unfortunately, its image processing is disappointing, which is surprising for a Sony TV.

If you want something in the budget category and want to save money, consider the Roku 40R2A5R/43R4A5R, also known as the Roku Select Series, as this TV is the best 40- and 43-inch in the category. It has fewer gaming features than the Sony X85K, as it's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and doesn't have HDMI 2.1 bandwidth or VRR. Still, it has a great response time and very low input lag, so it's a good gaming TV if you don't care about advanced features. It's not the brightest TV in HDR, but it's decent for watching movies in a dark room with its adequate contrast, great black uniformity, and excellent color and HDR brightness accuracy. Plus, the TV has very good peak brightness in SDR, resulting in a pleasant viewing experience in a bright room. Unfortunately, its image processing is inadequate, so it's not the best choice to watch low-resolution or low-bitrate content on.

It comes with the great Roku TV smart platform, which is extremely fast, simple, and easy to use, with a great selection of streaming channels. It has a good remote with an integrated microphone for voice commands, or you can also give commands through the Roku companion app on your phone. You can also plug headphones into the remote, a great feature at this price point. Overall, the TV is decent and provides a good user experience, especially for the price. Still, if you're a Costco member, you can get the slightly better Hisense A6/A65K for a similar price. If Costco isn't an option, the Roku is an amazing choice. The 40-inch model of the Roku is limited to a 1080p resolution with three HDMI ports, while the 43-inch model is a 4k TV with four HDMI ports, so choose accordingly.