The 5 Best 4k HDR TVs - Fall 2021 Reviews

The Sony A90J OLED is the best 4k HDR TV that we've tested with an OLED panel. It's a flagship 4k model from Sony's 2021 lineup, and although most OLEDs deliver similar picture quality, this one stands out when it comes to HDR content. It's very well-built with a sleek design that should look nice in any setup, and the stand can even be raised to accommodate soundbars.

Like any OLED, it can turn off individual pixels, resulting in a near-infinite contrast ratio with perfect blacks and no visible blooming around bright objects. Speaking about brightness, this TV gets brighter than most OLEDs, allowing highlights to stand out in HDR, and it displays a wide color gamut for an amazing HDR experience. It has excellent out-of-the-box accuracy, and even though this can vary between units, Sony TVs are known for their great accuracy. Lastly, it has fantastic gradient handling so you shouldn't notice any banding in scenes with shades of the same color, like in a sunset.

Unfortunately, if you also want to game with it, it doesn't have support for variable refresh rate (VRR) technologies yet, but Sony has said that should come in a future firmware update. Even at that, it has higher input lag than other premium TVs. Also, OLEDs run the risk of permanent burn-in if constantly exposed to the same static elements, but we don't expect it to be an issue for most people. All things considered, it's the best HDR TV in the OLED category.

The best HDR TV in the LED category is the Samsung QN90A QLED. It's a high-end model that's packed with a ton of features and delivers excellent picture quality no matter what you're watching. The built-in Tizen OS offers a ton of apps you can download, and it's easy to use. Our unit has fantastic accuracy before any sort of calibration, but keep in mind that this can vary a bit between units.

The TV uses Mini LED backlighting, allowing it to get extremely bright in HDR, so small highlights really pop the way the creator intended, even more than OLEDs. It displays a wide color gamut thanks to its quantum dot technology, with good coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space. It has a VA panel with a great native contrast, but it's lower than most VA panel TVs because Samsung added their 'Ultra Viewing Angle' technology to improve the viewing angles. Still, the full-array local dimming feature does a great job at improving black levels further.

Unfortunately, it only supports HDR10 and HDR10+, and not Dolby Vision. This means that some HDR content from streaming apps like Netflix will be limited to the HDR10 format instead of taking full advantage of the Dolby Vision format. The local dimming also performs worse in Game Mode than outside of it because it raises the black levels, so HDR picture quality isn't as good while gaming. Still, this is one of the best 4k HDR TVs and the best HDR TV for gaming with an LED panel that we've tested.

The best HDR TV in the budget category is the Hisense U6G. It's a great overall TV that delivers impressive performance for watching HDR content, and despite its low price, it has a few features to improve the user experience. It supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats, so you won't have to worry about the format your favorite HDR content is in before streaming it.

It performs well in dark rooms because it has a VA panel with a high native contrast ratio, and the decent full-array local dimming feature improves the picture quality in dark scenes. Black uniformity on our unit is excellent with minimal blooming around bright objects, and the gradient handling is great. It displays a wide color gamut, and although its HDR brightness is just okay, it's enough to deliver a great HDR experience, and it's better than most budget options. Even in well-lit rooms, it has excellent reflection handling and gets bright enough to combat glare. Like the Hisense U8G, it comes with Android TV, and the Google Play Store has a ton of apps you can download.

Unfortunately, it has narrow viewing angles, which is expected from a VA panel TV, so it's not the best for watching content in wide seating areas. Also, the color temperature on our unit is noticeably warm, giving the image a red tint, but this can vary between units. If these minors issues don't bother you, it's the best HDR TV that you can get for a low cost.