The Cyber Monday sales have started and there are plenty of deals on 4K smart TVs. We’ve specifically picked out the best TVs for your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X console. Take advantage of the biggest price drops of 2023 on 4K TVs from LG, Sony, Hisense, TCL, and more. If you’re still plan to purchase a TV by the end of the year and you haven’t yet jumped on a prior Black Friday sale, this is your final opportunity to save on the TV you’ve always wanted.
What exactly is a gaming TV?
The current generation PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles are able to run most of their games at native 4K resolution. Several games can also be run at framerates of up to 120fps. The majority of TVs can only support 4K gaming at up to 60Hz refresh rate. Playing a game at over 60fps won’t help at all if the TV itself can’t support refresh rates over 60Hz. Only certain TVs can support 4K gaming at up to 120Hz. For a TV to support 4K @ 120Hz, it needs to have these two features:
- The TV must have HDMI 2.1 ports (HDMI 2.0 caps out at 4K @ 120Hz)
- The TV must have a native refresh rate of 120Hz
It can be difficult running through the features list on a TV to figure out whether or not it’s future proofed for 4K @ 120Hz gaming. Well, to make things easier for you, we’ve only picked out TVs that support this feature. If it’s in here, you can bet that it will make an excellent TV companion for your current-gen console.
The Best Black Friday TV Deals
65″ Sony Bravia XR A75L 4K OLED Smart TV for $1498
Amazon has the 65″ Sony Bravia XR A75L 4K OLED Smart TV for only $1498. This is a brand new 2023 model that rivals the LG C3 OLED, and at this price it is cheaper. Many people actually prefer the Sony OLED over LG because Sony’s processing algorithm is considered to be superior. Like any OLED TV, the A75L offers some of the best 4K HDR image quality you’ll ever see in a TV. It also has a native 120Hz panel with HDMI 2.1 ports, which means it supports 4K @ 120Hz gameplay, making it a perfect complement for your current gen PS5 or Xbox Series X console.
55″ Samsung “The Frame” 4K QLED TV for $977.99
The Amazon Black Friday Sale is here, and one of the best TV deals we’ve seen is the 2022 Samsung “The Frame” 4K QLED Smart TV for only $977.99. That’s over $500 price drop from its original $1500 MSRP and the biggest percentage discount we’ve seen for any “The Frame” series TV this year. Samsung’s “The Frame” sets itself apart from all other TVs with its seamless aesthetics. It features an Art Mode that showcases your choice of fine art sort of like a screen saver. To go along with the art theme, the TV bezel is thin and looks just like the framing on a painting.
65″ TCL QM8 4K Mini LED QLED Smart TV for $898
The QM8 is TCL’s highest end TV for 2023. It also has a QLED and Mini-LED panel with full array LED backlighting, local dimming, and wide color gamut. Whereas a normal LCD TV with local dimming might have as many as 100 zones of dimming, the TCL QM8 boasts a whopping 2,300 zones. The QM8 is also incredibly bright (TCL claims up to 2,000nits). The QM8 has a native 120Hz refresh rate and two HDMI 2.1 inputs.
New 2023 65″ Hisense U7K 4K Mini LED TV for $699.99
Update: For a limited time, get a free copy of NBA 2K24 Black Mamba Edition when you purchase an eligible Hisense ULED TV. This particular TV qualifies. Click here for more details.
Amazon is offering a 65″ Hisense U7K 4K QLED Mini-LED Smart TV for only $699.99. That’s 36% less than the $1,099.99 MSRP. The Hisense U7K boasts a Mini-LED panel with quantum dot technology (QLED) and wide color gamut (ULED). It’s also features a native 120Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 inputs.
42″ LG Evo C3 4K OLED Gaming TV for $896.99
Amazon has the 42″ LG Evo C3 4K OLED Smart TV for only $896.97. This is the first time we’ve seen the 42″ C3 model on sale for under $300. Not only is it one of the best 4K TVs available, but it’s smaller size makes for an excellent gaming monitor. The 42″ size fits gaming desks better than the 48″, especially since most of us sit only a few feet away from our monitor. It has HDMI 2.1 ports and supports 4K @ 120Hz. It also supports 4:4:4 chroma sampling for clear, sharp text as well as sub-1ms response time and G-SYNC compatibility.
65″ Hisense U8K 4K Mini LED TV for $897
The U8K is Hisense’s highest-end TV of 2023 and comes with all the premium features you’d expect from a flagship TV. The U8K boasts a Mini-LED panel with quantum dot technology (QLED) and wide color gamut (ULED). The new U8K has almost double the dimming zones compared to the U8H. The U8K makes for a solid gaming TV for the current generation PS5 and Xbox Series X gamers. That’s because it comes equipped with a native 120Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 inputs.
65″ Samsung Q70C QLED Smart TV for $847.99
Save 35% off this new-for-2023 TV from Samsung. The Q70C is an excellent gaming TV because it supports 4K @ 120Hz gaming on the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles across all four of its HDMI 2.1 ports. The Q70C is also good at viewing 4K HDR content thanks to its Dual LED backlighting, wide color gamut, and HDR10+ as well as DTS and Dolby audio support.
All Black Friday TV Deals So Far
A Breakdown of Our Favorite TV Vendors
Samsung
Samsung is the largest TV manufacturer in the world. Samsung TVs are generally higher priced than any of the other brands out there, but in return you also get some of the best technology. In 2022 Samsung launched the quantum dot OLED panel (QD OLED) panel which is technically superior to standard OLED. QD OLED is only available on Samsung TVs as well as the highest end Sony A95 OLED TV. Samsung also makes the most affordable 8K TV. There’s hardly any 8K content available, but these TVs do make exceptional PC monitors because of their razer sharp clarity.
TCL
TCL is another high volume TV maker and generally offer the lowest pricing among any of the big TV brands. Note that starting in 2023, TCL is revamping its TV lineup. The 4-series is now the Q6, the 5 series is now the Q7, and the 6 series is now the QM8. The Q6 are basic 4K smart TVs stripped of any unnecessary features (for most people) at incredibly low prices. The Q7 TVs noticeably improve HDR image quality with the addition of a quantum dot (QLED) panel with local dimming and wide color gamut. They also making great current-gen gaming TVs since it sports a native 120Hz panel and HDMI 2.1 ports. The QM7 goes one step further by adding in Mini-LED technology for better HDR picture quality.
Sony
Sony, another member of the “big three”, carries a healthy lineup of TVs that are catered towards the current-gen gamer. That’s not a surprise, since Sony also makes the PlayStation 5 console. Sony’s OLED TV prices are dropping steadily and it’s not uncommon to see them challenging LG OLED TVs these days in pricing. The A80, A85, A90 and A95 are Sony’s OLED models and these are all great TVs for current-gen gamers. For the LED LCD TVs, gamers should stick with the X85, X90, or X95 because these are the only TVs that support 4K @ 120Hz gaming over HDMI 2.1.
Hisense
Hisense leads the pack in TV sales in the Chinese market and fortunately their high volume translates to low prices here in the States. The models to look at are the U6, U7, and U8 TVs. The U6 is the least expensive of the lineup but it still has good image quality thanks to the quantum dot (QLED) panel with wide color gamut (ULED). The new U6K TV for 2023 even has Mini-LED technologymaking it the least expensive Mini-LED TV we’ve seen thus far. The U7 is the cheapest TV we’d recommend for current gen console gamers because it has HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K @ 120Hz gaming. The U8 is Hisense’s flagship model. The 2023 U8K promises double the dimming zones over the 2022 U8H.
What TV Features to Look Out For
There are a lot of terms with fancy names that might confuse the first time TV buyer. What’s worse, just because a particular feature costs more money doesn’t mean that you’ll benefit from it at all. Depending on your needs, you can ignore some of the features offered in the more premium sets and save your money.
What makes a good gaming TV?
If you own a current-gen PS5 or Xbox Series X console, then you’ll want a gaming TV that has HDMI 2.1 ports and a native 120Hz refresh rate. That’s because these consoles can play supported games at 4K resolution at up to 120fps. However, that’s only possible if the TV can handle that resolution and refresh rate. Not all TVs support this feature and the ones that do usually command a premium price. If you don’t plan to game on a current-gen console, then this feature will probably wasted on you. There’s very little 4K @ 120Hz media content available outside of video games. Some other features that a gamer appreciate are variable refresh rate (VRR), which is the TV’s version of adaptive sync technology, and auto low latency mode (ALLM), where the TV switches to a lower latency when it detects gameplay. You may also want to look at some of the differences between a gaming monitor and TV before you make a decision.
What makes a good HDR TV?
HDR, or high dynamic range, is the range your TV can display from the whitest white to the absolute blackest black within a single frame. In order to have a very good HDR, you need two basic qualities: the ability to show as true of a black as possible, and a high enough brightness to produce a punchy white. Several TV features help in this regard. The panel itself, for example, is important. An OLED panel has pixels that can individually switch on or off, thus offering a true black image. A full-array LED-backlit panel simulates this by having “zones” of LEDs that can be independently dimmed, thus allowing the TV to deftly handle scenes where bright sunlight and dark shadows coexist. Mini LED panels allow for even more precise local dimming because the controller zones are smaller and more numerous. QLED displays have an additional quantum dot layer that enhances color accuracy and increases brightness, thus also improving HDR quality. A TV with “wide color gamut” can display a wider range of colors, again improving HDR quality.
For another IGN perspective, check out our take on which type of TV wins; OLED vs QLED.
