Almost all modern 4K UHD TVs are generally much better for gaming than your average TV of any kind was just a few years ago. Better connectivity specs, better display technologies and other improved display developments nearly guarantee that even a budget or mid-range ultra HD TV outperforms most older televisions at input lag, responsiveness, motion handling and most importantly of all, sheer visual quality.
This display aspect of today’s 4K UHD TVs became even more impressive with the introduction of high dynamic range to nearly every UHD TV released since 2017. Now that essentially all new TVs come with HDR, they have the ability to add a whole new element of in-game visual quality that you’d probably really want to enjoy if you’re serious about quality gaming. Also, since most newer console and PC games come with HDR options, it only makes sense to enjoy them on the best possible TVs, which are of course HDR 4K editions.
What you’ll also notice about this list is that “best possible 4K HDR gaming TV” doesn’t at all have to mean “most expensive possible gaming TV.” Though this list is obviously a ranking of 4K HDR gaming TVs from best to least, what you’ll notice is that price isn’t necessarily a major metric of quality, and some of our absolutely best ranked editions are actually among the cheaper options available out there, starting with number 1, which is not only the best 4K HDR gaming TV we’ve ever seen across all metrics but also one of the cheapest options of its kind.
Now before we get down to the rankings themselves, one more quick explanation: We were originally going to do one list for the best 4K UHD TVs and one for the best 4K HDR TVs but since almost every newer UHD TV released since 2017 that’s worth mentioning comes with HDR technology, both rankings would include most of the same devices.
Instead we’ve created one straightforward list in which we divide the three best OLED TVs from the remaining LCD TVs and we name our hands-down overall winner at the very end.
Best OLED Gaming TVs
As far as gaming quality is concerned, both LCD TVs and OLED editions can deliver most of the exact same quality if they’re well made. However, OLEDs do add a couple special touches. For one thing, they completely outclass LCD on motion blur control and secondly, they offer perfect black levels, local dimming and contrast for even more vibrant picture quality. This is why we decided to put our best OLED picks in their own list. We should also note that the OLED TVs of 2019 have the best gaming input lag we’ve ever seen to-date from OLED technology
1. 2019 LG B9 OLED 4K HDR TV
LG’s B9 OLED is the best OLED 4K HDR TV we know of for gaming today and quite frankly it’s pretty much the best gaming TV of them all (though a couple of LCD models give it stiff competition). We say this because the B9 delivers just about everything you could want with virtually no real defects or serious weaknesses. This television’s display specs are nothing short of spectacular, with fantastic color delivery, excellent HDR color handling, superbly perfect black levels, contrast and local dimming (due to its OLED display) and of course, completely flexible motion handling with unbeatable input lag and PC connectivity.
Certain LCD 4K TVs can get brighter and LG’s own 2018 B8 OLED is nearly as good (and brighter) for en even cheaper price tag, but the B9 delivers nearly instant motion response times, even lower input lag and still comes priced very cheaply by OLED standards. Also, best of all compared to the B8, the B9 offers HDMI 2.1 for 4K rendering at 120Hz and not just the 60Hz limit of HDMI 2.0. We can’t recommend it enough for how well it balances out everything you’d need.
Minimum retail price (smallest, 55 inch model): Check out the link below
Check out LG’s B9 OLED 4K HDR TV for sale at Amazon
4.7
– 4 Reviews
2. 2018 LG B8 OLED 4K HDR TV
As far as rankings of OLED TVs go, the LG B8 gives the B9 we rank right above it some very stiff competition. This particular UHD OLED TV delivers pretty much everything that the B9 can manage in terms of display specs but also offers a slightly higher level of overall display brightness for gaming in both HDR and normal SDR color/contrast formats. What the B8 lacks, which gives it a lower rank, is the HDMI 2.1 connectivity of the B9, and the same connectivity options for hooking it up to a PC gaming rig. Also, the overall input lag of the B8 is about twice as slow as that of the B9.
This TV still delivers excellent input lag for gaming at nearly every resolution and color format you throw at it but where the B9 averages about 13 to 14 milliseconds, the B8 levels off at around 21. On a brighter note, the B8 is fantastically cheap as an OLED gaming device, with a retail price of just over $1000 for the 55 inch edition. That’s fantastic if you want top-shelf OLED visuals but need to shave as much money as you can off what you pay.
Minimum retail price (smallest, 55 inch model): Check out the link below
Check out LG’s B8 OLED 4K HDR TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
3. 2019 LG C9 OLED 4K HDR TV
The LG C9 needs to be ranked here too because it’s so nearly identical to the B9 OLED but with slightly better color delivery and some better future-proofing in its connectivity specs. This TV costs a fair bit more than its two cousins that we’ve ranked a bit higher but its input lag for gaming is nothing short of fantastic and coupled with the inclusion of cutting-edge TV technologies such as HDMI 2.1, eARC, and HDMI Forum’s variable refresh rate technology for all of its HDMI ports make this model a great choice.
The C9 offers slightly more vibrant HDR color delivery in terms of WCG color and 10-bit color gradation than the B9 or B8 alternatives from LG and its motion handling is nearly identical to those of the cheaper TVs ranked above. The one negative about this TVs visual specs is that it (oddly) doesn’t get quite as bright as the B8 OLED but the difference isn’t huge. Another factor working against the C9 OLED is that it’s about $200 more expensive than the B9 edition even though they have the same connectivity and display specs.
Minimum retail price (smallest, 55 inch model): Check out the link below
Check out LG’s C9 OLED 4K HDR TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
4. Sony A8G OLED 4K HDR TV
Sony’s A8G OLED is one of the Sony company’s latest OLED 4K offerings, but the reason we include this model ate the bottom of the OLED section of our list is because it’s not quite as fine a performer as the three LG TVs above. On the one hand, this TV comes with a price that’s comparable to that of the C9 ranked just above it, but on the other hand it just doesn’t quite deliver the same motion handling or overall gaming prowess as the LG alternatives. In particular, this model’s input lag specs are nowhere near as good as those of the two 2019 LG options listed above.
The A8G OLED however does deliver up incredibly powerful color performance, on which it outclasses even the C9 or the B8 while also being a fairly luminous OLED HDR TV by OLED standards. What the Sony A8G does lack however is HDMI 2.1 connectivity for 4K video at over 60Hz, and it also comes with no variable refresh rate technology of any kind for gaming.
Sony Also released their A9G OLED Edition for 2019, which offers slightly better gaming connectivity than the A8G but we picked the cheaper Sony OLED television because it offers nearly the same performance at a price that’s several hundred dollars cheaper.
Minimum retail price (smallest, 55 inch model): Check out the link below
Check out Sony’s A8G OLED 4K HDR TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
Best LCD 4K HDR Gaming TVs
LCD TVs don’t quite equal OLED displays on pixel response time and though their black levels and contrast ratios can be downright excellent, they simply can’t match how perfectly an OLED TV delivers them. On the other hand, any high quality LCD TV will deliver much better overall picture brightness than virtually any OLED edition, so if you really want the highlights to light up powerfully, LCD is the winner for that. These are the best LCD editions we know of, with both price and sheer performance balanced out.
1. Samsung Q80R 4K HDR LCD TV
Samsung’s Q80R HDR TV is the company’s “second best” 2019 QLED television in terms of overall display and motion performance for all uses, but when it comes to being a 4K HDR TV for gaming and HDR gaming, we definitely consider this model to be our number one choice. The reason why: it delivers a triple combination of superbly good display specs, a more reasonable price than its cousin the Q90R and the absolute best console gaming specs we’ve seen to-date.
The motion handling of the Q80R is nothing short of superb and this applies especially to its management of motion blur and pixel response time. Furthermore, this TV delivers some of the best low input lag we’ve ever seen when used for gameplay with both the Xbox One or the PS4 and their next-generation variants.
With these consoles, the Q80R handles a very broad range of resolution, frame rate, color and HDR settings fantastically while also offering AMD FreeSync technology as a major bonus feature for smooth frame rate synchronization. Connected to a PC rig, the Q80R also connects superbly, with the FreeSync being very handy if your PC gaming rig happens to run AMD GPUs.
Minimum retail price (smallest, 55 inch model): Check out the link below
Check out Samsung’s QLED Q80R 4K HDR LCD TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
2. 2019 Sony X950G 4K HDR TV
The Sony X950G comes with a very reasonable price tag and delivers some of the best color accuracy of all the 2019 LCD TVs released so far. Even right out of the box, this edition is wonderfully calibrated for really good color delivery and that only gets better after a bit of menu adjustment by the user. Furthermore, the X950G’s VA TV display delivers some very decent deep black levels by LCD TV standards. This couples with a capacity for extremely high display brightness to ensure maximum contrast and vibrancy with any HDR gaming content you throw at this model.
Unlike the Samsung TV’s we’ve ranked here, the X950G lacks AMD FreeSync technology but despite this it still performs extremely well at handling gaming frame rate control. Its input lag is very nicely low too and the X950G’s connectivity specs are very flexible in their support for HDR color, different resolutions, different frame rates and most PC gaming needs with very low input lag. The X950G also delivers superbly good motion handling, with one very low level of blur during even fast-moving game content.
Minimum retail price (smallest, 55 inch model): Check out the link below
Check out Sony’s X950G 4K HDR LCD TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
3. 2019 Samsung Q90R QLED 4K HDR TV
This 4K HDR LCD TV is our pick for the single best overall LCD TV of 2019 and damn is it good. The Q90R is expensive, no doubt about that, and that’s why we gave it third place, since both the Q80R and Sony X950G above perform similarly enough to deliver better overall value for their cost. However, the Q90R is the better gaming and HDR gaming TV in absolute terms of specs and damn does it deliver a crapload of incredible overall connectivity, motion handling and picture quality to make its price nearly worthwhile. In other words, if you want the absolute best 2019 model 4K HDR TV for gaming outside of OLED technology, the Q90R is the model to go for hands down, so long as you don’t mind its price.
This edition delivers some of the best HDR color performance we’ve ever seen, its motion handling is superb (though the pixel response time isn’t quite as good as that of any OLED TV). The Q90R also comes with full HDMI 2.1 connectivity in its HDMI ports and in terms of handling console games at a wide range of frame rates, color settings, HDR settings and resolutions, is uniformly great when set to game mode. It also supports variable refresh rate technology in the form of AMD FreeSync, which alone makes it stand out from many other 4K TVs for both PC gaming and console connectivity. Bottom line for the Q90R: Hands down awesome as a 4K gaming TV even though it’s expensive.
Minimum retail price (smallest, 65 inch model): Check out the link below
Check out Samsung’s Q90R 4K HDR LCD TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
4. Samsung Q70R 4K HDR LCD TV
Samsung once again features in our rankings with the Q70R. This is the third-tier 2019 QLED TV put out by this brand and while it doesn’t quite match the color, motion handling, contrast and general HDR display metrics of the LCD TVs ranked above from both Sony and Samsung, this model still outputs some of the best input lag specs we’ve ever seen. Where the Q70R particularly excels is in its delivery of AMD FreeSync technology and this makes it particularly robust as a gaming TV if used with PCs with AMD GPUs or with the Xbox One console and its One S and One X versions.
The Q70R is also very, very good at rendering strong contrast, excellent HDR brightness and comes with a fairly decent full array LED backlight system with local dimming for even better, more eye-pleasing contrast enhancements. While this particular TV doesn’t get as bright as Samsung’s Q90 or Q80 models we ranked above, or even as bright as the Sony X950G, it delivers more than enough power to be an extremely good choice for its price tag.
Bottom line: The Samsung Q70R is our top pick for 4K HDR gaming TV with a more moderate price.
Minimum retail price (smallest model): Check out the link below
Check out Samsung’s Q70R 4K HDR LCD TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
5. TCL 6-Series 4K HDR LCD TV
The 2018 Vizio P-Series R617 is hands-down the single best ultra-budget 4K HDR gaming TV we’ve seen so far if measured among both 2018 and 2019 4K TVs. Why do we say this? Because despite its wonderfully low price and slight age, the 2018 P-Series continues to impress with across-the-board great specs that include extremely good display brightness, incredibly, unexpectedly great color delivery (especially for HDR wide color gamut) and a really strong, deep contrast ratio.
The 2018 P-series also offers up excellent local dimming that’s actually much better than what you’d see in many pricier 2018 and 2019 4K UHD TVs. On a further note, the 4K HDR TV delivers very, very low input lag for HDR, 4K, 1080P and high frame rate gaming. As a 4K gaming TV for general use, the P-Series is excellent and as a budget 4K HDR gaming TV, it’s simply awesome for how little it costs.
Minimum retail price (smallest model): Check out the link below
Check out TCL’s 6-Series 4K HDR LCD TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
6. Vizio P-Series Quantum 2019 4K UHD HDR TV
On a final note, we present the incredibly good Vizio P-Series Quantum 2018 4K HDR LCD TV series. This particular television is in fact one of the best we’ve ever seen on several key display performance metrics but because it’s becoming unusually hard to find, we ranked it fairly low on this list. That said, the Vizio P-Series Quantum models were some of the best LCD TV releases of 2018 and this applies to both their gaming chops and their quality for general movie/TV watching. For one thing, this TV delivers some of the absolute highest display brightness measurements we’ve ever seen in any 4K TV to-date, especially when set to display HDR games and movie or TV content. Secondly, the 2018 P-Series Quantum offers close to the best HDR wide color gamut performance we’ve ever seen so far.
In other important specs, the P-Series Quantum renders incredibly good motion handling, excellent low input lag (though Samsung’s QLEDs above and LG’s OLEDs beat it on these metrics), and very extensive connectivity options. Vizio has also released a 2019 P-Series Quantum TV lineup but their specs are too similar to those of the 2018 version for their considerably higher price.
Minimum retail price (smallest model): Check out the link below
Check out Vizio’s P-Series Quantum 4K HDR TV for sale at Amazon
4.7 – 4 Reviews
The Single Best 4K HDR Gaming TV of 2019 (OLED or LCD)
The LG C9 OLED 4K HDR TV
Without a doubt our winner for the ranking of single best 4K HDR gaming TV for 2019 is the C9. It’s a bit more expensive than the nearly identical B9 OLED but its combination of extremely high display brightness, fantastic color performance, superbly responsive gameplay connectivity (especially the extremely low input lag) and cutting-edge connectivity specs make the C9 a hands-down winner compared to anything else we’ve seen this year, or maybe even ever. The display brightness is what really settles the C9’s ranking for us though; good gaming is always better with the bright highlights at their maximum beauty and the C9 delivers this really well along with all of its other OLED quality.
Once again:
