The 6 Best Budget TVs - Spring 2020
Reviews

The best budget TV we've tested so far is the Hisense 55H8F. This is a great TV for dark room viewing thanks to its outstanding contrast ratio and exceptional black uniformity. With the help of its local dimming feature, blacks look deep and inky, and there's very little blooming in dark scenes. This TV also has an impressive wide color gamut, producing rich, saturated colors in HDR content; but unfortunately, its peak brightness isn't able to bring out bright highlights in some scenes. However, it's bright enough to overcome glare in a well-lit room, and reflection handling is decent.

Response time on this TV is somewhat on the slow side, but still decent. There's noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects, but thankfully, it has an optional black frame insertion feature to help clear up the image. Input lag is remarkably low for those looking to game on this TV; however, there isn't any support for any variable refresh rate technology, and the panel's refresh rate is limited to 60Hz. Like most VA panels, viewing angles are rather poor, so it's not the best choice for large rooms with wide seating arrangements.

This TV has a budget price, but its performance and features should still satisfy most people.

If price is your primary concern, then the best cheap TV we've tested so far is the TCL 3 Series/32S325 2019. It's a mediocre TV overall. There's no HDR support or any advanced motion handling features like motion interpolation or a judder removal option. On the upside, this TV will serve you well if you're looking for a secondary TV, especially for a room where space is limited. It delivers a mediocre picture quality with deep blacks in a dark room, but can't get very bright so it's more suitable for a dim room like a garage.

This TV has a 1080p resolution and doesn't support native 4k. The 32" model is limited to a 720p resolution (except for the 32S327 variant). On the upside, all models run the same Roku smart TV interface found on the higher-end TCL models. The Roku interface is smooth, easy-to-use, and gives you access to a large number of apps to cover any need.

Overall, this TV can't compete with higher-end models, but it's great as a secondary TV where top picture quality isn't required.

Since prices fluctuate significantly around this time of year, it's hard to pinpoint the best value for size TV; however, the TCL 5 Series/65S525 2019 is a very strong candidate for this title. Despite being in the budget category, it's a 65 inch TV with a fairly premium look thanks to its very thin bezels and metal accents. It features a wide color gamut, which is important for displaying HDR content and delivers deep, uniform blacks, even without having a local dimming feature.

This TV should have no difficulty overcoming glare in bright rooms thanks to its good peak brightness for SDR content, though unfortunately, it doesn't get quite bright enough for HDR content to pop the way it should. This is a great TV for gamers, however, thanks to its outstanding low input lag and great response time, resulting in a responsive gaming experience with only a short blur trail behind fast-moving objects.

Unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle, so this may not be the best option for watching sports with a big group of people. It's also not the best choice for watching HDR content, as it can't get quite bright enough for it to pop, though it still does a decent job, especially for this price point. Overall, this is a good TV for most uses and offers great value for its price.