The 6 Best 4k HDR TVs - Winter 2021 Reviews

The best HDR TV with an OLED screen that we've tested is the LG CX OLED. It's an excellent overall TV, and with its OLED technology, it's able to turn off individual pixels, producing perfect blacks. It has an outstanding style, and it's also extremely well-built with a premium feel.

It displays an extremely wide color gamut with near-perfect coverage of the DCI P3 color space used in most content. It also has decent coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space, and out-of-the-box, it has great color accuracy. It's a good choice to use in bright rooms as it has outstanding reflection handling. If you want to use it for HDR gaming, it has a really low input lag, a near-instant response time, and it has support for FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) technology. The built-in speakers are also good if you don't want to buy an external setup, but if you do, it supports eARC, allowing you to send high-quality audio over an HDMI connection.

Unfortunately, like all OLED TVs, it has the risk of permanent burn-in, but this shouldn't be a problem for most people who watch varied content. Still, it doesn't get very bright, so it doesn't make highlights pop the way they're supposed to in HDR. On the upside, it has wide viewing angles, ideal for a wide seating arrangement. Overall, this is an excellent choice for any use, making it the best 4k HDR TV that we've tested.

The best 4k HDR TV with an LED panel is the Vizio P Series Quantum X 2020. This premium TV offers an exceptional HDR experience, and you won't have to worry about the long-term burn-in risk associated with OLED TVs. Its smart system isn't as good as some other brands, so you may have to buy an external box or a 4k Blu-ray player to enjoy HDR content to its fullest.

It has a VA panel with an outstanding contrast ratio, and its great full-array local dimming feature helps it display some of the deepest blacks we've ever tested on a LED TV. It has excellent gradient handling, displays an excellent wide color gamut for HDR content, and gets amazingly bright in that mode, easily enough to bring out highlights. It also supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats, which is great. It's also excellent for HDR gaming because it has a great response time, low input lag, and FreeSync support to reduce screen tearing. Lastly, it has eARC support, allowing you to send high-quality audio to a compatible receiver through a single HDMI connection, which helps keep your home theater setup clean.

Sadly, our unit has a reddish tint, but we don't know if this is a common issue or a problem with our unit alone. It also has trouble upscaling lower-resolution content, but this isn't a problem if you just watch 1080p or native 4k content. It also has narrow viewing angles, so you get the most accurate image only when viewing from directly in front. Regardless of these small issues, this is the best HDR TV if you're in the market for a LED option.

The best HDR TV for color accuracy that we've tested is the Sony X950H. It's Sony's flagship 4k LED TV and has the sleek, modern design that you'd expect to see on a high-end TV. It's a great overall model that most people should be happy with.

It's a great choice for watching HDR movies because it displays a great wide color gamut, with outstanding coverage of the commonly-used DCI P3 color space. It also has excellent peak brightness in HDR, making highlights pop the way they're supposed to. You likely won't need to get this TV calibrated as it has excellent out-of-the-box color accuracy, so you can enjoy HDR content as soon as you set it up. With its VA panel, it displays deep blacks and has a full-array local dimming feature. It has Sony's 'X-Wide Angle' technology, which improves the viewing angles a bit at the cost of its contrast, but it's still not ideal for a really wide seating arrangement.

Sadly, this isn't a great option for gaming. It has a 120Hz refresh rate, but it doesn't support any VRR technology, and its input lag is too high for competitive gaming. Still, it has a great response time, so fast-moving content looks smooth. It has built-in Android TV, with a great selection of apps available to download, and you can watch YouTube and Netflix in HDR. All in all, this is the best HDR TV for color accuracy that we've tested.

The best HDR TV in the budget category that we've tested is the TCL 5 Series/S535 2020 QLED. Being a QLED TV, it's able to display a really wide color gamut for HDR content. However, it doesn't get very bright in that mode, so highlights may not pop the way they should. Still, most people on a budget should appreciate this TV.

It has a VA panel, delivering an exceptional contrast ratio, and despite its budget-friendly price, it has a decent full-array local dimming feature. It's limited to a 60Hz panel and doesn't have any VRR support, but it's still a good choice for gaming because it has a good response time, a Black Frame Insertion feature, and low input lag in HDR. The built-in Roku TV is easy to use and very smooth to navigate, and YouTube and Netflix are available in HDR. It upscales lower-resolution content well and removes 24p judder from any source, which is rare for a 60Hz TV.

Unfortunately, it has narrow viewing angles, which is typical of a VA panel. It's also not the best choice for well-lit environments because it doesn't get very bright and has just decent reflection handling. Fortunately, our unit has great out-of-the-box color accuracy, so you may not need to pay extra to get it calibrated. All in all, for its price, this is the best 4k HDR TV that we've tested.