If you look through our guide to the best TVs, you’ll notice an absence of 8K TVs. That’s because while an 8K TV undoubtedly gives you incredible display resolution, they’re still a bit ahead of the curve. Between the costs of buying one and the lack of 8K-ready content, it's not something you absolutely need to buy this second.
But maybe you’re an early adopter that wants to get in on 8K now and enjoy the ride as more 8K content becomes available. Well, good news. There are some truly spectacular televisions out there with 8K resolution — including one that may be the best Mini-LED TV we’ve ever reviewed. So even though you’ll be waiting for a wide variety of 8K programming, you’ll still have a truly excellent TV in the meantime.
With that in mind, we’ve curated a list of three 8K TVs you can buy right now abnd which we’ve also tested here at Tom’s Guide. We'll also warn you about the 8K TV that you should pass on no matter what.
Buy this: Samsung QN900C Neo QLED 8K TV
If you want an 8K TV, the Samsung QN900C Neo QLED 8K TV is the one to get. Two other 8K TVs in this guide are also great, but the QN900C offers a truly dazzling peak brightness of 2,433.6 nits in a 10% window. Credit the Mini-LED technology powering the display, which is the top choice for display manufacturers targeting elite brightness.
Unfortunately, the Samsung QN900C Neo comes without Dolby Vision HDR support, which is admittedly a bummer for a TV that costs $6,299 right now at Best Buy if you get a 75-inch model. But with HDR10+ and HLG, you’ll still get tons of HDR content that the Neo Quantum HDR 8K Pro processor can analyze and improve picture quality down to the pixel.
And in terms of future-proofing, the Samsung QN900C Neo comes with four HDMI 2.1 ports, which means every single HDMI port on the One Connect Box can support 4K/120fps or 8K/fps content. So if you want a TV that will be ready for 8K shows, movies and games, this is the best bet out there.
Buy this: LG QNED MiniLED 99 Series 8K TV
As incredible as the Samsung QN900C Neo QLED 8K TV is, the LG QNED MiniLED 99 Series 8K TV is a close second. It’s a bit older than the Samsung QN900C, and it can’t match the brightness levels of the Samsung set, either. In fact, it also falls short of the TCL 6-Series I’m going to recommend in the next section of this article as well. That said, you still get an incredible picture, thanks to the MiniLED’s color reproduction and still excellent brightness.
And you’re largely covered on future-proofing as well, despite this being an older model. You get four HDMI 2.1 ports to ensure that you’ll be able to handle 8K/60fps content once it becomes more widely available. And unlike the Samsung QLED 8K, the LG 99 Series 8K features Dolby Vision support in addition to HDR10 and HLG HDR formats.
The biggest knocks on the LG 99 Series 8K — aside from the relatively weaker brightness — is that because it’s a bit older you’ll be locked into a more outdated version of LG’s webOS smart TV platform. And the upscaling processor didn’t impress us on the LG like it did on the Samsung.
But the TV itself is a bit cheaper than comparable models, possibly because of these shortcomings. Right now, you can get a 75-inch LG QNED MiniLED 99 Series 8K TV for $2,999 at Best Buy. That’s less than half the price of the Samsung, and that could make this the better 8K TV for your budget.
Buy this: TCL Roku TV 6-Series 8K (R648)
If you’re trying to get an 8K TV for even less than the $2,999 the LG 99 Series will set you back, there is another option — but you’ll have to act fast.
The TCL Roku TV 6-Series 8K (R648) is a surprisingly good 8K TV given that it cost less than the LG C2 OLED TV at launch — and LG's set is the best TV we’ve ever tested. Despite the budget price, you get an impressively bright Mini-LED display with great color gamut coverage. TCL even created an 8K streaming service just for this Roku TV, so it beats out the other TVs in terms of available content.
Here’s the catch — well, two catches, actually. First, while you get support for Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG formats, and you get other great features like Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), you only get two HDMI 2.1 ports. Again, there’s not a ton of 8K content out there, so you may only need the two HMDI 2.1 ports, but it's a definite mark against the TCL 6-Series 8K.
The other catch? You’ll need to get the TCL 6-Series 8K right now. As of this writing, the only place that still has it is Amazon, which has a 75-inch TCL Roku TV 6-Series 8K (R648) used (like new) for $2,475. I don’t typically advocate buying used or refurbished for my electronics, but by buying “Like new,” Amazon will guarantee that the TV itself is in excellent condition, with only blemishes to the packaging — not the TV itself.
I use this a lot to save a little money at Amazon, and the only time something went wrong, Amazon took care of it no questions asked. This TV is even sold and shipped by Amazon, so you don’t have to worry about a third-party seller either. But still, just be aware of that caveat if you try to score this deal.
Skip this: Any 8K TV smaller than 75 inches
If you’ve noticed, I’m only recommending 75-inch TVs, and only giving you pricing for them as well. That’s because if you’re buying an 8K TV, you need to get one with a display that is at least 75 inches or larger. The 65-inch or smaller displays will definitely be cheaper but at that size, your eyes will struggle — if not outright fail — to tell the difference from 4K.
Where you sit matters, too. You need to be up close to your TV (twice as close as with a 4K TV) to really tell the difference in picture quality between the best 8K TVs and the best 4K TVs. So unless you have the ideal space to watch your 8K TV, hold off for now. But if you have a great room to watch a massive, high-resolution TV, then the three TVs mentioned above are definitely your best bet.
