Just about any TV will work with the PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. All it needs is an HDMI port. However, if you want to take advantage of the latest next-gen graphics and features found in these new game consoles you’re going to need a new TV. Most TVs these days have Ultra HD 4K resolution, but only newer TVs have extras like 120 frame-per-second input and variable refresh rate, which increase smoothness and reduce choppiness and tearing.
Also, you don’t have to spend a fortune on an 88-inch 8K behemoth to get gaming console-friendly features. In fact, as far as screen size goes, you can find most of the features necessary for an excellent gaming experience in 65-inch TVs that are priced below $1,000.
Best TVs for PS5 and Xbox
At the end of the article you’ll find two charts with all of the TVs we know on sale now that support advanced gaming features. We’ve included compatible TVs from the past two years, and you may still be able to find 2020 models on sale. Before those charts, however, here’s a list of our current favorites.
Best overall TV for gaming
LG OLED C1 Series
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LG’s C1 offers some of the best image quality we’ve tested, comes in a variety of sizes and includes the full range of gaming features on every input. We also like its specialized Game Optimizer settings suite. It’s a great choice for gamers who want excellent picture but with a smaller hit to the wallet.
1080p input lag: 13.1ms
4K HDR input lag: 13.1ms
Sizes: 48-, 55-, 65-, 77-, 83-inch.
Read our LG C1 review.
$1,297 at Crutchfield
$1,282 at Amazon
$1,300 at Best Buy
Best non-OLED TV for gaming
Samsung QN90A series
David Katzmaier/CNET
If OLED isn’t your thing, Samsung’s QN90A offers the best non-OLED picture quality we’ve ever seen. It’s incredibly bright, with minimal blooming from the local dimming backlight. It also has the lowest input lag we’ve ever measured on a TV.
1080p input lag: 10ms
4K HDR input lag: 10ms
Sizes: 50-, 55-, 65-, 75-, 85-inch.
Read our Samsung QN90A review.
$1,600 at Samsung
$1,598 at Crutchfield
$1,598 at Amazon
Highest brightness for the money
Hisense U8G series
David Katzmaier/CNET
The Hisense U8G offers tremendous brightness for gamers who want to play during the day and don’t have light control in their chosen gaming space. While there are a couple of TVs that are brighter, all are a lot more expensive. Contrast and color is good too, though HDR is a step behind the competition and its games mode isn’t as sophisticated as Samsung or LG.
1080p input lag: 15ms
4K HDR input lag: 15ms
Sizes: 55-, 65-inch.
Read our Hisense U8G series review.
$700 at Amazon
$750 at Walmart
$750 at Best Buy
Affordable option with VRR, local dimming
Vizio MQ7 series
David Katzmaier/CNET
With a price generally lower than any of the TVs above, this Vizio’s image quality and gaming features aren’t quite as good, but it’s still a solid step above budget gaming TVs. Local dimming achieves solid contrast and while it lacks 4K/120Hz input capability, it does offer variable refresh rate — a rarity at this price.
1080p input lag: 16.07ms
4K HDR input lag: 13.73ms
Sizes: 50-, 55-, 58-, 65-, 70-, 75-inch.
Read our Vizio M-7 Series Quantum (2021) review.
$580 at Amazon
$580 at Walmart
$580 at Best Buy
FAQs about gaming TVs in 2021
Below you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions about the best gaming TVs, followed by the charts that show which features are available on which TVs.
What TVs support HDMI 2.1 features?
All the advanced gaming features we’ve mentioned– 120Hz input and VRR, as well as the more common Auto Low Latency Mode, aka Auto Game Mode, and eARC — are roughly grouped under the HDMI 2.1 standard, but not all of the TVs in the charts below include every feature, nor deliver the full video and audio bandwidth that’s possible with HDMI 2.1.
Even more confusing, input capability can vary on the same TV. Behind the physical connection where you plug an HDMI cable is a subsection of the TV’s processing, namely a chip. These chips cost money, like everything else. In order to keep costs down, not every input on the TV is fully capable of all the latest features and frame rates. To put it another way, every road on Earth could be capable of highway speeds, but building them all that way would be expensive and rather pointless.
For example, one HDMI input might be capable of eARC, but not be able to handle 4K at 120Hz. Just something to keep in mind as you peruse the charts below. Also, there are some important brand and model specifics that didn’t fit in the chart; please check the bullet points below for details.
Finally, the consoles themselves are in a transition period, too. The hardware of the PS5 console can technically support VRR, but unlike the Xbox Series X and Series S, it’s not enabled yet. Sony’s PlayStation 5 FAQ says VRR will be added via a future software update.
What is 120Hz input?
Despite TVs being capable of 120Hz refresh for well over a decade, the ability to input 120Hz is a far more recent development. This is largely due to the fact that other than a fairly beefy gaming PC, there just haven’t been any 120Hz sources. That all changes with the PS5 and Series X. Some of the TVs on our list can accept 4K at 120Hz on all HDMI inputs. Others can only do so on select inputs and one, the TCL 6-Series, can only accept 120Hz at lower-than-4K resolution (1440p).
The Xbox Series S can also output 4K at 120Hz, but internally the game is rendered at a lower resolution (1440p) and upscaled before it’s sent to your TV.
For more info, check out the truth about 4K TV refresh rates — and beware fake 120Hz refresh rates on 4K TVs.
What is VRR?
VRR, or variable refresh rate, is a new TV feature that you’d probably be surprised wasn’t already a thing. All modern TVs have a fixed refresh rate. A 60Hz TV is going to refresh, or create, a new image 60 times a second. The problem is a new console might not be ready to send a new image.
Let’s say you’re in the middle of a huge boss battle, with lots of enemies and explosions. The console struggles to render everything in the allotted time. The TV still needs something so the console might send a duplicate of the previous image, creating juddering on screen, or it might send a partially new image, resulting in the image looking like someone tore a page off the top and revealed the new page below.
VRR gives the TV some flexibility to wait for the new frame from the console. This will result in better gaming performance with smoother action and less tearing.
What is ALLM or Game mode?
Game mode turns off most of the image-enhancing features of the TV, reducing input lag. We’ll discuss input lag below, but the specific feature to look for is called either Auto Low Latency Mode or Auto Game Mode. Different manufacturers call it one or the other, but the basic idea is the same. Sensing a signal from the console, the TV switches on game mode automatically. This means you don’t need to find your TV’s remote to enable game mode. Not a huge deal, but convenient. All the TVs listed above have, or will have, one or the other.
What about input lag?
Input lag describes how long in milliseconds it takes for the TV to create an image. If this is too high, there’s a delay between when you press a button on the controller and when that action appears on screen. In many games, like shooters or platformers, timing is crucial and a TV with high input lag could hurt your performance.
As a longtime console gamer myself, I can easily notice the difference between high (greater than 100ms) and low input lag (sub-30ms). The good news is, most modern TVs have input lag that’s low enough that most people won’t notice it. Largely gone are the days of 100-plus-millisecond input lags… at least when you enable game mode.
So as long as the TV has a game mode, you’re probably fine, though it’s worth checking CNET’s reviews for the exact numbers to see if it has low input lag. Lower, in this case, is always better.
What is eARC?
While not a console feature, eARC is a next-gen TV feature to keep in mind. It’s the evolution of ARC, or Audio Return Channel. This sends audio from a TV’s internal apps (such as Netflix or Vudu), back down the HDMI cable to a receiver or soundbar. With eARC, newer formats like Dolby Atmos can be transmitted as well.
The issue is in many cases, eARC often precludes higher resolutions or frame rates on the same input. So if you’ve connected your PS5 to your receiver and the receiver to the TV, you can have eARC audio back from the TV or 4K120, but usually not both. This is only important if you plan on using the internal apps in a TV (as in, not a Roku or Amazon streaming stick) and you want to use the new audio formats via eARC.
Best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X, Series S in 2021
2021 TVs for PS5 and Xbox
Brand
Model
65-inch price
4K 120Hz Input
VRR
ALLM/AUTO
eARC
LG
G1
$2,500
HDMI 1-4
Yes
Yes
HDMI 2
Nano 90
$1,300
HDMI 3, 4
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
QNED 90
$2,000
HDMI 3, 4
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
C1
$2,100
HDMI 1-4
Yes
Yes
HDMI 2
A1
$1,800
No
No
No
HDMI 3
Nano 75
$900
No
No
Yes
HDMI 2
70 series
$700 (70 in)
No
No
Yes
HDMI 2
Samsung
QN900A
$4,000
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
QN800A
$3,000
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
QN90A
$2,100
Yes (55 in and up)
Yes (not 43 in)
Yes
Yes
QN85A
$1,900
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Frame
$1,700
Yes
Yes (55 in and up)
Yes
Yes
Q80A
$1,400
Yes (55 in and up)
Yes (not 50 in)
Yes
Yes
Q60A
$1,000
No
No
Yes
Yes
Sony
A90J
$3,800
Yes
Yes*
Yes
Yes
X80J
$1,000
No
No
No
Yes
A80J
$2,200
Yes
Yes*
Yes
Yes
X95J
$2,000
Yes
Yes*
Yes
Yes
X90J
$1,350
Yes
Yes*
Yes
Yes
X85J
$1,100
Yes
Yes*
Yes
Yes
TCL
8
$2,000
No
No
No
No
6 8K
$2,200
HDMI 1,2
Yes
Yes
HDMI 4
6 4K
$950
Yes (x2)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Vizio
OLED
1900
HDMI 2, 3
Yes
Yes
HDMI 1
P series
1300
HDMI 3, 4
Yes
Yes
HDMI 1
M series
900
No
Yes
Yes
HDMI 1
Hisense
U9
$3500 (75″)
No
No
No
No
U8
$1,250
HDMI 3, 4
VRR
No
HDMI 3
U7
$1,000
No
Freesync
No
Yes
*Available via a firmware update at a later date (just like Sony’s 2020 models).
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2020 TVs
You might still be able to find some of last year’s TVs on sale. Many had 120 Hz inputs, eARC and more, though not quite to the extent of the newer models. Here’s a look at the TVs from 2020 and what they could do.
2020 TVs for PS5 and Xbox
Brand
Model
65-inch price
Max input Hz
VRR
ALLM/AUTO
eARC
LG
UN85
$765
120Hz (HDMI 3,4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
Nano85
$1,000
120Hz (HDMI 3,4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
Nano90
$1,200
120Hz (HDMI 3,4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
Nano91
$1,000
120Hz (HDMI 3,4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
CX
$2,200
120Hz (All)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 2
GX
$2,500
120Hz (All)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 2
BX
$2,000
120Hz (HDMI 3,4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
Samsung
Q70T
$1,200
120Hz
Yes
Yes
Yes
Q80T
$1,700
120Hz (HDMI 4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
Q90T
$2,000
120Hz
Yes
Yes
Yes
Q800T (8K)
$2,700
120Hz
Yes
Yes
Yes
Sony
X900H
$1,400
120Hz (HDMI 3,4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 3
TCL
6-Series
$950
4K60/1440p120
Yes
Yes
HDMI 4
Vizio
OLED
$1,500
120Hz (HDMI 2,3)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 1
P
$950
120Hz (HDMI 3,4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 1
PX
$1,500
120Hz (HDMI 3,4)
Yes
Yes
HDMI 1
M-Series
$600
60Hz
Yes
Yes
HDMI 1
Notes and specificsPrices are current as of press time but may fluctuate.There are some TVs that fit the criteria but weren’t included because they’re so expensive, namely 8K TVs like LG’s ZX series and Samsung’s Q950TS and Q900TS series.The PS5 and Series X can also output 8K resolution to compatible TVs, but we consider 4K/120Hz, VRR and other enhancements like ray tracing and even HDR more important than 8K for gaming.Samsung doesn’t specify which inputs can handle 4K120 or eARC. It is unlikely that all do, but when we asked, the company didn’t clarify. We did review the Q80T, however, and can confirm that Input 3 is compatible with eARC and Input 4 with 4K120.Sony says the software update(s) that enables VRR and ALLM on the X900H is coming “at a later date.” It’s been saying that for over a year now.The Vizio 2020 M-Series is only 60Hz but has VRR.
The TCL 2020 6-Series can only accept 4K at 60Hz, but can accept 1440p at 120Hz.
CNET TVs, Streaming and Audio
As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, airplane graveyards and more.
You can follow his exploits on Instagram and YouTube, and on his travel blog, BaldNomad. He also wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel.
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