You might be tempted to buy a TV so you can watch the game outside on a nice sunny day or enjoy a movie night with friends and family on a warm night. While there are TVs designed specifically for outdoor use, we only cover one true outdoor TV: the Samsung The Terrace. Otherwise, this article focuses on an alternative to buying a very expensive outdoor model: buying an indoor TV and installing it in an enclosure designed to protect it from the elements. Most TVs in this article aren't designed for outdoor use, so ensure they're protected. Through our in-depth testing process, we can see which TVs are bright enough to counteract glare from the sun, have speakers good enough that you can leave your soundbar inside, and have the picture quality to look good at night.
Below are our recommendations for the best TVs for outdoor use. Also, see our picks for the best smart TVs and the best budget TVs. If you'd prefer to shop for a projector you can use outdoors, look up the best outdoor projectors instead. You can also vote on which TVs you want us to buy and test. To learn more about the TV landscape for this year, check out our 2026 TV lineup page.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
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Best Outdoor TV
Mixed UsageHome TheaterBright RoomSportsGamingBrightnessBlack LevelColorMotion HandlingGame Mode ResponsivenessProcessing (In Development)Resolution:4kNative Refresh Rate:165HzScreen Finish:MattePanel Type:LCDSub-Type:VADolby Vision:NoSee all our test resultsSizes:65" 75" 85"The Samsung R95H is the best outdoor TV we've tested. This RGB Mini LED model is new for 2026 and features incredibly high peak brightness and a matte anti-reflective coating, so glare is barely noticeable during the day. It delivers stunning picture quality overall, with bright, vibrant colors and incredible contrast, but it's not very accurate out of the box, with a noticeable blue tint. It also has a decent viewing angle, making it a great choice for a wide seating area.
It runs Samsung's proprietary Tizen OS smart interface, which has a huge selection of streaming apps, so you can quickly find your favorite content. It supports Wi-Fi 6E for more stable streaming outdoors, as there's considerably less interference, great if you have an outdoor wireless access point. Its built-in speakers get very loud, so you don't necessarily have to plug it into an external speaker system. Finally, it has a great selection of gaming features, including HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support to reduce tearing.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Outdoor TV
Mixed UsageTV ShowsSportsVideo GamesHDR MoviesHDR GamingPC MonitorResolution:4kNative Refresh Rate:Screen Finish:Type:LEDSub-Type:VADolby Vision:See all our test resultsSizes:55" 65" 75"The Samsung The Terrace is the best upper mid-range outdoor TV we've tested. Unlike most TVs on this list, it's designed for outdoor use with protection from the elements. It's very well-built, with a unique design and IP55 dust and water resistance to protect it from rain or other outdoor elements. Although it's exceptionally bright, brighter even than the Samsung R95H, it has worse reflection handling overall, so glare can still be noticeable during the day.
This TV has the same Tizen OS smart interface found on most other Samsung TVs. It's easy to use and has a huge selection of streaming apps available, so you're sure to find your favorite content, and you won't need to connect any extra streaming boxes. You can also cast content from your phone or another mobile device, which is great for sharing pictures with family and friends. It's one of the loudest TVs we've tested, so you won't have any trouble hearing it if you don't want to connect a sound system, and there's a lot of outdoor noise while watching TV.
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Best Mid-Range Outdoor TV
Mixed UsageHome TheaterBright RoomSportsGamingBrightnessBlack LevelColorMotion HandlingGame Mode ResponsivenessProcessing (In Development)Resolution:4kNative Refresh Rate:165HzScreen Finish:MattePanel Type:LCDSub-Type:VADolby Vision:YesSee all our test resultsSizes:55" 65" 75" 85" 100"If you're looking for something cheaper than the above models, check out the Hisense U7SG instead. This mid-range model delivers surprisingly good picture quality for the price. It's nearly as bright as the Samsung R95H or the Samsung The Terrace, and its matte anti-reflective coating does a fantastic job reducing the intensity of daytime glare, but it's not quite as good as the R95H. Colors are also incredibly bright and vibrant, but again, it's a bit of a step down from the R95H.
It runs the Google TV smart interface, which has a massive selection of streaming apps, so you can quickly find your favorite shows. It also supports multiple user profiles, so you can keep separate viewing patterns for kids and adults. It also has decent speakers that get loud enough for a moderate environment, and it supports eARC so you can easily connect it to an external speaker system.
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Best Budget Outdoor TV
Mixed UsageHome TheaterBright RoomSportsGamingBrightnessBlack LevelColorMotion HandlingGame Mode ResponsivenessProcessing (In Development)Resolution:4kNative Refresh Rate:144HzScreen Finish:GlossyPanel Type:LCDSub-Type:VADolby Vision:YesSee all our test resultsSizes:55" 65" 75" 85" 100"Although most budget TVs typically aren't bright enough to use outdoors on a sunny day, the Hisense U65QF is a surprisingly bright TV for its relatively low price. If you keep it away from direct sunlight, the TV is just bright enough to handle glare during a sunny afternoon. Blacks aren't as deep as they are on the Hisense U7SG, but thanks to its solid local dimming, dark areas of the image are deep enough that the picture doesn't look washed out, especially at night.
This model runs the Fire TV OS, which isn't quite as popular as Google TV and tends to run a bit slower, but still gives you access to a huge catalog of apps and supports voice control. The TV's speakers are alright and produce a bit of bass, but the sound profile becomes more unbalanced as you raise the volume, so dialogue can be a bit hard to understand at times.
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Best Cheap Outdoor TV
Mixed UsageHome TheaterBright RoomSportsGamingBrightnessBlack LevelColorMotion HandlingGame Mode ResponsivenessProcessing (In Development)Resolution:4kNative Refresh Rate:60HzScreen Finish:GlossyPanel Type:LCDSub-Type:VADolby Vision:YesSee all our test resultsSizes:50" 55" 65" 75" 85"The TCL QM5K is one of the cheapest TVs that's suitable for use outside. It's not quite bright enough to use in the middle of your yard on a very sunny day, but if you have it in a gazebo or another shaded area, visibility isn't an issue at all. The TV has local dimming to help deepen blacks, so the image has nice depth during movie nights in your yard. Like most of the other TVs on this list, its viewing angle isn't wide enough to enjoy a consistent image from the sides of the screen, so try to stay centered to the screen.
It runs the Google TV OS, so you can use the TV's built-in apps, keep your dedicated streaming device inside, and keep your remote to the side while using your voice to control the TV. Unfortunately, its speakers aren't very good since they lack bass and don't get very loud. The sound profile becomes unbalanced as you raise the volume, but dialogue is clear enough to understand at moderate volume levels. If you want better audio, you can pair headphones or a Bluetooth speaker to the TV or use a dedicated soundbar.
Notable Mentions
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Samsung S95H OLED:
The Samsung S95H OLED is a fantastic TV for use in a bright room, and it delivers deeper blacks and a punchier image than the Samsung R95H. Unfortunately, OLED panels can be damaged by direct sunlight, so it's not recommended for use outdoors.
See our review -
Samsung QN90F:
Although a bit older, the Samsung QN90F is a great alternative to the Hisense U7SG. It's a bit brighter and has slightly better reflection handling, but it's also a lot more expensive, so most people are better off getting the Hisense.
See our review -
Hisense CanvasTV 2026:
The Hisense CanvasTV 2026 has a great matte coating that significantly reduces glare, but it's simply not bright enough for daytime viewing. It's an okay alternative to the Hisense U7SG if you're using it in a covered patio, but it's expensive.
See our review
Recent Updates
Jun 25, 2026:
Refreshed the article, adding the Samsung R95H as the Best Outdoor TV and replaced the TCL QM8K with the Hisense U7SG, as their matte coatings are better for outdoor use. Refreshed the Notable Mentions to more recent models.
Mar 23, 2026:
We revised the introduction and confirmed that our picks are still accurate and available.
Nov 20, 2025:
We replaced the Samsung QN90D with the Samsung QN90F, the Hisense U8N with the TCL QM8K, the Hisense U7N with the Hisense U75QG, the Hisense U6N with the Hisense U65QF, and the Roku Select Series with the TCL QM5K. We also updated the Notable Mentions.
Jul 03, 2025:
We updated the introduction section to bring it up to date and tweaked some text throughout for clarity.
Feb 24, 2025:
We added a link to our 2025 TV lineup article, confirmed our picks are still accurate, and refreshed some text for clarity.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best outdoor TVs for most people to buy. We factor in the price (a cheaper TV wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no TVs that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you'd like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's a list of all our recent TV reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no TV is perfect, most TVs are great enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.