Shopping for anew 4K TVwithout any idea of what to look out for can be difficult, given the available options. 4K TVs come in multiple screen sizes, resolutions, display technologies, and price ranges, so making a final decision can be tricky.
VIZIO 50-inch MQX-Series 4K 120Hz QLED HDR10+ Smart TV
LG C3 Series 42-Inch Class OLED
Although 4K TVs have always been considered pricey, consumers can explore some options that cost less than $1000. Not to be seen as pushovers, these budget-friendly 4K TVs also come with advanced tech and a suite of amazing capabilities. Game Rant has compiled a list of the best 4K TVs under $1000 that pocket-conscious shoppers should consider in 2024.
How To Choose The Right 4K TV Under $1000
Below are some factors that buyers should take into consideration when getting a 4K TV:
Size: Many TV models come in different sizes, with buyers expected to choose the right one that fits their needs. To determine which size is the best for them, they must consider the size of their room. Nobody wants to overwhelm a small room with an 85-inch TV, so getting a smaller-sized TV makes sense in this case. Also, measuring the viewing distance from the TV will help make the right choice.
Refresh Rate: Unlike input lag, which is a big deal for gaming TVs specifically, shoppers must consider refresh rate when shopping for a new TV. A TV’s refresh rate refers to how quickly it switches from one image to another. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother the content is. Most cheap and mid-range TVs offer a 60 Hz refresh rate, while some higher-end and outright premium TVs up the ante with 120 Hz.
Display Technology: This can be a tough choice given the respective capabilities of QLED, LCD, LED, Mini-LED, and OLED displays. A TV’s display technology determines whether it has good picture quality. Buyers should research the pros and cons of the above display technology to know which is best for them. For instance, an OLED display has better viewing angles and color accuracy. However, screen burn-in is a major issue.
HDR:High dynamic range, otherwise known as HDR, can make viewers see every detail in the darkest and brightest content. Although it is available on many TVs, the HDR found on one TV can differ from what’s available on another. HDR in mid-range and premium TVs tends to perform better compared to budget-friendly TVs. When choosing a 4K TV, ensure that it is HDR-compatible and has an incredible peak brightness level that should deliver more realistic on-screen images.
Here Are Game Rant’s Best 4K TVs Under $1000 to Buy in 2024
SAMSUNG 65-Inch Class Crystal UHD 4K CU8000 Series Smart TV
With effortless performance, crowd-pleasing features and great value, this large smart TV from Samsung offers 4K visuals to watch favorite movies and TV shows using the Crystal Processor. Picture quality is improved as colors, contrast, and motion are analyzed and adjusted with the Dynamic Crystal Color, Contrast Enhancer, and Motion Xcelerator technologies. Even the audio is transformed to deliver 3D surround sound that moves with the action using Object Tracking Sound Lite.
Perfect for owners who love watching movies or gaming on a giant TV screen, the Samsung CU8000 Series TV boasts a whopping 65" of screen real estate. One of the best 4K TVs under $1000, it typically sells for below $700. Equipped with Samsung Dynamic Crystal Color technology, this TV can render up to a billion color tones when turned on. According to the manufacturer, this translates to enhanced picture quality. Another exciting highlight of this TV is its Crystal 4K Processor’s ability to upscale the quality of non-4K content to near-4K levels, enabling viewers to enjoy all kinds of content in high resolution.
As expected, this is acapable smart TV. Buyers can stream their favorite shows on platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and more. While capped at a 60Hz refresh rate, the Samsung Gaming Hub is available as a cloud streaming option for gamers to play console games (without the console) through platforms like Xbox Game Pass. While it’s an existing feature, it’s limited to cloud gaming services. As such, users must have a strong active internet connection to enjoy the Gaming Hub.
INSIGNIA 43-inch Class F30 Series LED 4K Fire TV
The INSIGNIA 43-inch 4K Fire TV is an excellent alternative to some of the larger screens that Amazon generally puts on sale every Prime Day, offering an extremely competitive price coupled with support for multiple internet services as well as Amazon Prime video baked into the Smart TV by default.
As this guide has shown, consumers don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to get a 4K TV with breathtaking visuals. Available for less than $200, the INSIGNIA 43-inch Class F30 Series is an incredibly affordable 4K TV that should please budget-conscious buyers. With built-in Fire TV functionality, owners can enjoy a superb smart TV experience for a highly reasonable price. Fire TV allows owners to access thousands of channels and apps, including Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, and catch up on their best content. The TV’s audio department is pretty impressive thanks to DTS Audio, which produces lifelike audio using two-speaker playback. This makes for a truly immersive experience.
As a Fire TV, owners can leverage Alexa’s voice capabilities and ask the Insignia TV to do a ton of things, including controlling other smart home gadgets. Aside from displaying movies and other content in 4K UHD resolution, the TV can also upscale content to UHD-grade quality. Aside from streaming, this TV can also handle console gaming easily with three HDMI ports and a 60 Hz refresh rate. While 60 Hz may seem inadequate to competitive gamers, casual gamers should have no qualms whatsoever.
VIZIO 43-inch MQ6 Series 4K QLED HDR Smart TV
The Vizio MQ6 Series is a great 4K TV that delivers a great deal of value for its price. Viewers will experience optimized contrast and brightness levels using Dolby Vision Bright. It’s also a great TV for gaming, with features like AMD FreeSync, VRR, and low input lag. While the TV ships with a voice remote, buyers can still control the TV using the Vizio mobile app.
The VIZIO MQ6 Series is an interesting blend of affordability and functionality. Fortunately, buyers are guaranteed a great experience with this TV. For starters, the TV delivers content with enhanced contrast and brightness using Dolby Vision HDR/HDR 10+ technology. Another cool aspect of this TV is connectivity. Despite being a budget product, the VIZIO MQ6 Series ships with Wi-Fi 6e, a new iteration that not only offers faster speeds, but lower latency. This should make streaming on this TV feel like a breeze.
Keeping up with the times, VIZIO includes a voice remote with this TV. This allows users to launch apps, increase/lower volumes, and do so much more with their voice. The Vizio Mobile app also unlocks another way of remotely controlling the TV. Designed with gaming in mind, the Vizio MQ6 Series also features AMD FreeSync, VRR, and a low input lag, which collaborate to make gameplay feel stutter-free at all times. For users looking for entertainment beyond streaming platforms, 260+ live channels are available to explore using Vizio’s WatchFree+ service. Given the above offerings and the asking price, this is one of the best 4K TVs under $1000 that consumers should seriously consider.
Hisense 65-Inch Class U6 Series 4K TV
The Hisense 65-inch Class U6 Series TV features 4K ULED technology. This enhances color, brightness, contrast, and motion. The TV employs Mini-LED backlighting technology with Full Array Local Dimming. These Mini-LEDs are much smaller than traditional LEDs, allowing for a higher number of them to be used. This creates a bright and more uniform image across the screen.The TV also incorporates QLED Quantum Dot Wide Color Gamut, which produces colors that are more vivid and accurate than those of regular LED TVs.
Thanks to a bezel-less design, the 65-inch Hisense U6K won’t overwhelm the room with a gigantic frame, but still offers 65 inches of screen real estate to feast on. To make images look brighter than a regular LED display, the U6K’s Mini LED technology uses small LEDs as a backlight. Since Mini-Led displays can accommodate more LEDs given their small size, this translates to improved brightness and contrast ratio for viewers. While it doesn’t equal the color accuracy capabilities of an OLED TV, the U6K is free from any screen burn-in issue.
To ensure that buyers experience cinema-grade entertainment, Hisense equips the U6K with Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos for greater video and sound quality respectively. Adding to the cinematic feel of this TV is Filmmaker Mode, which allows users to watch movies in their original settings, the way the makers would have wanted. Hisense’s Game Mode Plus is the intersection where the TV’s advanced gaming features meet. From ALLM to a 60 Hz VRR, players can enjoy stutter-free gameplay. One downside to this TV’s gaming features is the absence of HDMI 2.1 ports. If gamers can ignore this oversight, then this is a wonderful TV worth the financial commitment.
Sony 65 Inch 4K Ultra HD TV X80K Series
The Sony X80K Series features an improved gaming picture quality boosted by features targeting PS5 gameplay. Gamers using PlayStation consoles will have an easy time with this TV, courtesy of its convenient interface. While the 60 Hz refresh is quite average, but it is good enough for a worthwhile entertainment moment. Google TV makes content easily accessible and allows users to stream from apps like Prime Video, Netflix, and Apple TV.
The Sony X80K is a 65-inch TV that aims to excel in picture quality, audio, and gaming. Using Sony’s 4K HDR Processor X1, viewers can enjoy 2K and even HD content in rich near-4K resolution thanks to upscaling. The TV also has an ambient optimization feature which uses a light sensor to adjust pictures and sound according to the current atmosphere. Buyers will see that brightness is lowered in dark rooms to deliver the right view and increased in well-lit rooms. Given its large size, it’s best to put this TV in a large room instead of sitting a few feet from it.
One of its most attractive offerings is the fact that the X80K TV is designed for the PlayStation 5 console. PS5 console owners can take their gameplay to the next level using the exclusive features that this TV has. For instance, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) delivers a more fluid and responsive gameplay which is a huge deal when playing fast-paced titles. Despite the gamer-centric offerings, one would expect this TV to have a higher refresh rate than 60 Hz. While not a deal-breaker for most users, anyone used to a higher refresh may view this purchase as a downgrade.
This Vizio MQX Series 4K television comes with a 50-inch display panel with QLED technology. The Quantum Color technology allows increased color performance in a 4K resolution with Active Full Array Backlight technology and local dimming. Buyers will also appreciate the fact that this TV supports Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+ for vibrant high dynamic range content. Vizio’s smart TV platform allows easy access to millions of titles from popular streaming channels and other apps. Vizio WatchFree+ offers over 250 free live-streaming channels too.
Game Rant considers the 50-inch VIZIO MQX-Series as the best 4K TV for gaming that one can get for below $1,000 for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it ships with a 120 Hz refresh rate that towers over the Sony X80K, even with its exclusive PS5 features. With this higher refresh rate, gaming and fast-paced scenes in live sports will be rendered smoothly. Equipped with high-performance gaming features like HDMI 2.1, VRR, ultra-low input lag, and AMD FreeSync Premium, buyers can game at a premium level without screen stuttering and tearing.
Aside from being a competent gaming TV, this is a terrific smart TV that makes streaming feel so good. With Wi-Fi 6E, users get to enjoy faster download and streaming speeds along with low latency. What’s more, users can stream at high speeds without disturbing the network speeds of other connected devices. Speaking of streaming, the Vizio TV has a broad range of content to choose from, with casting from one’s phone also available. Compatibility withsmart home assistantslike Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home enables owners to interact with other smart devices through voice control.
The LG C3 Series OLED 4K smart TV has everything a player needs, from crisp imagery with a fast response time of 0.1ms to a 120 Hz refresh rate. Like most LG TVs, this selection has the NVIDIA G-SYNC, VRR, and AMD FreeSync Premium to boost the gameplay. Gamers will also appreciate the LG C3’s accessibility, with four HDMI 2.1 inputs that allow for the plugging of multiple devices.
The 42" LG C3 is a terrific choice for shoppers who desire the game-changing offerings of an OLED display, but don’t want to spend beyond $1,000. Running on the LG a9 AI Processor Gen6, the C3 TV delivers exceptionally in terms of picture clarity. Whether the viewer is in a dark or well-lit room, the Brightness Booster feature ensures that the TV always renders visually appealing images. The C3 also features a thin bezel design, allowing owners to focus on the screen and less on the edges of the display.
A 120 Hz native refresh rate translates to great motion handling for streaming and gaming. Another reason why the C3 is a fine option for gaming is its 0.1 ms response time, which allows for clear images and fluid in-game movements. Advanced features like VRR, Nvidia G-Sync, and AMD FreeSync Premium further add to the C3’s appeal as a terrific gaming TV, even for competitive titles. Players have four HDMI 2.1 ports to hook up multiple devices. What’s more, HDMI 2.1 allows gamers to tap into the full potential of their current-gen consoles like the PS5. While screen burn-in is an issue withOLED displays, the C3’s top-tier offerings make it one of the best 4K TVs under $1000 to check out in 2024.
FAQ
Q: Is 4K better than Full HD?
Yes, a 4K display can produce 4x more pixels than a Full HD (FHD) display. This translates to enhanced picture quality for movies, gaming, and other entertainment.
Q: Can I get an OLED TV for less than $1,000?
Seeing how OLED TVs are more expensive than other display technologies, finding one for under $1,000 isn’t easy. Among the few is the LG C2, a 42-inch OLED TV that sells for under $900.
Q: What are the disadvantages of a 4K TV?
Despite offering superior picture quality, most 4K TVs are still quite expensive. They also consume more power than HDTVs.
