Best 8K TV 2024: The best ultra-high definition TVs

Each year Samsung comes out with a new flagship model, and each year it tops its predecessors. The latest in that line of 8K flagship TVs is the QN900D.

As usual, there isn’t a lot (if any) native 8K content lying about, so the Samsung QN900D makes the most of the content available to it by upscaling 4K content to near 8K quality. The amount of detail our reviewer noticed wiht upscaled 4K images effectively transformed it into 8K content. Samsung’s upscaling performance is excellent, bringing out and refining all the detail within the image without creating a soft or noisy image in the process. It’s a performance that’s better than even the best 4K TV can manage.

Peak brightness has gone up, hitting 2445 nits in Movie mode compared to the QN900C‘s 2096 nits in the same mode. That brightness feeds into high colour volumes and rich saturations with HDR content, producing impressively bright and colourful HDR images. The already excellent motion performance has gone a step further with a new feature that can track fast-moving objects without introducing motion blur. The lack of Dolby Vision remains a disappointing omission.

Input lag is 11ms, which is a fraction slower than the QN900C, but VRR technology in HDMI VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro will bring the latency down lower, and all four of its HDMI inputs support 4K 120Hz gaming, so you won’t need to worry about which HDMI port to place your console or PC in.

The sound system can track sounds accurately across the screen but like the QN900C, there isn’t enough bass to give soundtracks heft or excitement. It’s still an impressively wide soundstage and good levels of detail, but you’ll want to partner the QN900D with a soundbar to make the most of its excellent images.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN900D

Samsung continues to be 8K’s biggest fan and in the QN900C it has produced a spectacular TV.

So the main selling point about the QN900C is that it’ll make 4K and lesser quality video content better through upscaling, and on this TV, pictures enjoy more density, smoother edges, and a better sense of three dimensionality. Given how much information the TV is having to make up to upscale to 8K resolution, our reviewer found it to be a stunningly impressive performance.

And it’s no slouch with HDR content either. We measured peak brightness at over 2000 nits, delivering richer and more vibrant images than the QN95C 4K TV can muster. It also produces images that are sharper and denser than its 4K counterpart, able to produce a higher level of brightness with black levels that approach the depth and consistency of OLED. We found there were still some backlight issues especially with bright objects set against dark backgrounds, but overall the QN900C does its best to minimise blooming.

Gaming on this screen is excellent, especially for those who want a premium performance from the PS5 and Xbox Series X. We observed gaming latency to be 10.5ms, which is fast in light of the 8K resolution you’re playing at. There’s VRR technology in HDMI VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro to help PC gamers, while all four of its HDMI inputs support 4K 120Hz gaming.

The lack of Dolby Vision whether for films or gaming is disappointing, but we don’t imagine Samsung will be changing its tack anytime soon, and our reviewer did find that with HDR10 content, the Samsung’s tone mapping was good enough to negate the need for Dolby Vision.

The sound system is better than the usual flatscreen TV: clean, clear and well balanced with effects and dialogue matching their placement on screen. A bit more bass would have been nice, and the soundstage isn’t enough to meet the demands of a high quality Hollywood film, but we did enjoy listening to this Dolby Atmos compatible system.

It has been replaced by the QN900D, which further improves on the QN900C, but at half the price it once was, if you’re looking to get into 8K, this TV would be a good place to start.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN900C

The QN800C is the step down the flagship QN900C in Samsung’s 2023 8K line-up, that offers a similar proposition in terms of picture and sound, but at the less expensive price of £3799 / $4499.

Brightness isn’t as high as its QN900C stablemate, but in our measurements it managed to hit above 1000 nits. What’s impressive about this LCD TV is the strength of its black levels. Blooming is minimal, with blacks strong and full of depth. With its high peak output, the QN800C can offer some excellent contrast.

We do have some quibbles with its picture performance. The Movie mode is arguably too bright, with clipping (loss of detail in the brightest parts), visible in the films we test with. Skin tones can look too orange at times, and there’s also the issue with aggressive dimming of small bright objects that takes away the impact of the black levels and brightness that the QN800C can achieve. It is a little softer in terms of than we recall on previous 8K sets.

Nevertheless, 4K content can look excellent on this TV, with a wide range of colours, and impressive levels of detail and clarity available. Upscaling is very strong given the QN800C is having to guess at what information is there, with HD content looking sharp and detailed, while lower quality SD content looks decent, though we wouldn’t advise watching too much content at that resolution on your brand new 8K TV.

In terms of gaming little has changed compared to previous models. Four of its HDMI inputs can to handle 4K/120Hz, ALLM and HDMI VRR for game consoles, as there is AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for PC gamers. PC gamers also get the Ultra Wide GameView that elongates the image to 21:9 or 32:9 ratios, with cloud gaming supported in Xbox Game Pass is supported. We measured input lag at fast 9.8ms, which is quick for an 8K screen.

The Samsung Tizen interface feels quicker and more responsive than it does on the 4K models, though it still suffers from the way it is organised. We feel it could be neater and tidier, rather than the disparate way it functions at the moment.

We don’t expect much from a TV’s speakers, but the QE75QN900C puts in a good shift with audio. The soundstage is big and spacious, there’s good levels of detail and sharpness, and it handles dialogue clearly too. Dolby Atmos sound from the Samsung’s internal apps sounds better than it does from off-board sources, and in general, bass isn’t particularly strong. We also feel the volume could be better. It tends to tap out at around level 60 or so.

It will soon be replaced by the QN800D, but for now this is an impressive mid-range 8K TV.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN800C

The OLED77Z3 is even more expensive than its predecessor at £14,999, and isn’t available to purchase in the US. It’s perhaps a sign of the times that LG appears to be pulling back from 8K a little, but the Z3 remains the only 8K OLED on the market.

The Z3’s performance is an improvement over its Z2 predecessor in terms of brightness, and we found that upscaling of less than 8K sources improved too. Peak brightness punches just above the 1000 nit mark, although that’s still not as bright as LG’s G3 OLEDs.

Black levels remain excellent creating impressive contrast out of the box, and in general with HDR content, we found the Z3 produced a fantastic performance. The scale of its images is a sight to beyond.

We do think that LG’s motion processing could be improved. It’s not as good as the QN800C, introducing artifacts such as judder in some of the modes. And while we did say that upscaling had improved, we still find that Samsung’s 8K TVs produce a sharper looking upscaled image.

The smart experience is much the same as what you’ll find on the rest of LG’s webOS TVs, with a wide range of apps to enjoy, lots of connectivity options and cloud gaming apps such as Nvidia GeForce NOW. We also appreciate that ads aren’t intrusive to the smart experience.

On the gaming front there’s Dolby Vision gaming support (with Xbox Series consoles) as well as 4K/120Hz, 8K/60Hz, VRR and ALLM supported across all HDMI inputs. We measured input lag at 13.6ms, which is still less than Samsung’s TVs if you want the fastest gaming experience out of the box.

The sound system is perceptively worse than the Z2 was, with distorted bass. It offers good levels of clarity and detail, but like most of the TVs on this list, you’d be better off with a soundbar.

This TV will continue on into 2024 with no Z4 coming to the market. If you’ve got the pockets for it, films and TV shows look great on this 77-inch OLED.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: LG OLED77Z3