The 5 Best TVs For Bright Rooms - Fall 2024

The Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED is the best TV for bright rooms we've tested. Its superb reflection handling and SDR brightness means it easily overcomes glare in the brightest of rooms, so you aren't distracted by reflections on your TV screen. As impressive as this TV is in a bright room, it also looks spectacular in a dark room. It has exceptional black levels with almost no blooming, thanks to its highly effective local dimming control. It's also a great option for 4k Blu-ray collectors or those looking to get the most out of high-quality streaming services due to its support for Dolby Vision and DTS audio formats.

The TV's image processing is excellent for upscaling and smoothing out low-quality content. It's also very accurate in both SDR and HDR, so it delivers an image that respects the content creator's intent. Unfortunately, its viewing angle is mediocre. It's not the best option if you regularly watch shows or movies with a big group of friends since the image degrades when viewed from the sides of the screen. However, it's a great option if you need a TV that pairs well with modern consoles. It has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two ports for up to 4k @ 120Hz with VRR, so it's fully compatible with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Additionally, it has a quick response time for clear motion and low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.

Although most of these picks focus on TVs for bright indoor rooms, what if you want to watch TV outside? Enter the Samsung The Terrace, the best outdoor TV we've tested. Even if you want to use your TV in an enclosure outside, it's easy for light to get through, so you'll want something that gets bright enough and minimizes reflections well. Samsung designed this TV explicitly for outdoor use, so it's made to handle direct sunlight, making it one of the brightest TVs we've tested. Plus, it has an IP55 rating for water protection, so you won't have to worry too much if it rains. The reflection handling is fantastic, meaning it looks amazing in any outdoor setup.

It's also a great gaming TV, with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on one port and low input lag. However, it doesn't support any variable refresh rate (VRR) technologies. Unfortunately, it has only one HDMI 2.1 port, so you can't connect multiple recent consoles to the TV, but it's a great TV to hook up your Nintendo Switch to at your BBQ parties. Thanks to the built-in Tizen smart platform, you won't have to get an extra box to stream your favorite content, and the built-in speakers are decent enough to use without a soundbar. It's also a lot more expensive than the better overall Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED, so the Sony is the better choice unless you plan on using it outdoors.

The best mid-range TV for bright rooms we've tested is the Hisense U8/U8N. It's a great TV for watching shows or sports during the day. Like the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED, it uses Mini LED technology to get exceptionally bright and overcome glare. It edges out the Sony and the Samsung The Terrace when it comes to reflection handling, so it's the best anti-glare TV on this list. The TV has surprisingly good image processing capabilities, so movies and shows look good no matter their source, even if it isn't quite as good as the Sony TV. Due its very effective local dimming, the TV displays very deep blacks with only slightly more blooming than the Sony, so it also looks great in a dark room.

The TV's viewing angle is even narrower than that of the Sony, so it's not as good overall if you have a wide seating arrangement, as the image isn't consistent when viewed from the sides. Still, it's an excellent TV for gaming thanks to its low input lag and fast response time. The TV has great gaming features, including HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four HDMI ports for up to 4k @ 144Hz gaming, so it's fully compatible with recent consoles.

The best TV for bright room viewing in the budget category we've tested is the Hisense U6/U6N. It's a good TV for a bright room, with very good SDR peak brightness and decent reflection handling, so it overcomes glare in a moderately lit room. Its semi-gloss coating reduces the intensity of ambient light well, but it doesn't deal as well with reflections from lights directly opposite the TV, so it's not as good as the Hisense U8/U8N for a room with many windows. If you also turn the lights off to watch movies or shows, the TV's local dimming delivers deep blacks that are quite impressive for a TV in this price range. It's even bright enough in HDR to make some highlights pop out against darker backgrounds.

Of course, you lose something by going with a cheaper model, and in this case, the TV doesn't get as bright as the more expensive models above, has worse contrast, doesn't remove artifacts very well from low-quality content, and is limited to 4k @ 60Hz. However, you can choose to drop your resolution to play games up to 1440p @ 120Hz, which is a great feature for a budget model. Additionally, it has fantastic low input lag, a good response time, and VRR support, so it's a good budget gaming TV.

The Roku Select Series is the best cheap TV for a bright room we've tested. It's a decent TV with satisfactory reflection handling to help reduce the appearance of glare in a bright room. Its HDR brightness is inadequate, but this model has very good SDR brightness, so it handles bright rooms well when watching SDR content. It's also decent for a dark room with its okay contrast ratio, even though it doesn't have local dimming to improve it further. It has sub-par image processing, which is normal for a TV at this price point, so it's at its best when watching high-quality content.

It comes with built-in Roku TV, which is very fast and easy to use, and it has a good selection of streaming services available, so you can quickly find your favorite content. Unlike the more expensive TVs on this list, it has limited extra features, so it's not the best choice for someone looking for advanced gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth or variable refresh rate support. Thankfully, it has extremely low input lag and a great response time, making it a good choice for someone looking for the cheapest possible bright room gaming TV.