The Best Outdoor TVs To Bring The Cinema To Your Yard

Size: 65-inch | Type: QLED | Resolution: 4K | IP rating: IP55 | Sun protection: Full | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Operating system: Samsung Tizen | HDR: HDR10, HDR10+

Best for: Enjoying your favorite movies and shows even on a bright day.

Pros:

• High brightness
• Strong protections against weather and high temperatures
• High refresh rate and low input lag for gaming

Cons:

• Still expensive
• It’s an older 2021 model

Outdoor TVs are all expensive and models with a high-enough brightness to work in direct sunlight, even more so. But Samsung’s The Terrace from 2021 is a good example of a high-end outdoor TV that doesn’t break into five digit figures. Sure, its price is still very high compared to most indoor TVs, and it’s more expensive than the budget outdoor models too. But this is a TV you can watch in direct sunlight—and that’s something that only a handful of TVs can manage, and even fewer do it as well as this one.

Samsung’s The Terrace Full Sun features a 4K QLED panel and a durable design. This TV has sky-high brightness—over 1,500 nits—to combat the sun, and the Full Sun model can handle direct sunlight hitting the screen for long periods. It’s rated to last up to six hours in sunlight at up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and automatically dims if it starts to get too hot. You can mount this TV anywhere: The chassis is thick and durable, and it has an IP55 rating—so you don’t need to worry about dust, wind, rain or even the spray from a hose. However, hail or more extreme weather conditions may still cause damage to the display, so we still recommend placing it under a patio canopy. The Terrace has full array local dimming and impressive black levels which help make HDR shine, and its 120Hz refresh rate makes it excellent for watching afternoon sports. If this model is a bit too expensive for you, the partial sun model is around a third the price, though it doesn’t get as bright.

Size: 85-inch | Type: QLED | Resolution: 4K | IP rating: IP56 | Sun protection: Full | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Operating system: Samsung Tizen | HDR: HDR10, HDR10+, Hybrid Log Gamma

Best for: Enjoying your favorite movies and shows on a gigantic screen, even in full sun.

Pros:

• High brightness
• Strong protections against weather and high temperatures
• High refresh rate and low input lag for gaming

Cons:

• Very expensive

If you want the ultimate outdoor TV experience, there’s nothing quite like Samsung’s latest edition of the monstrous Terrace TVs. Yes it’s expensive, which makes it our premium pick, but for that price you get a gigantic outdoor TV with all the latest features, giving you the absolute best viewing experience while you’re in the great outdoors. It’s rated to handle full-sun exposure, with a sky-high brightness that ensures the picture looks great during the day and at night, while the quantum dots deliver vibrant and rich colors.

It has a 120Hz refresh rate and a low response time and input lag, making it great for outdoor gaming, and with native support for Samsung’s Gaming Hub game streaming, you don’t even need to connect a gaming PC or console to play. Its waterproofing has been enhanced over older versions of The Terrace, now offering IP56 support, making it all but impervious to dust and able to withstand pressure washer jets from any angle. Rain is not going to bother this TV. You might want a cover to protect against hail or more extreme weather, but it can operate between -24 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit, so unless you live in the hottest of hot climates, this TV works brilliantly no matter the weather.

Size: 55-inch | Type: LED | Resolution: 4K | IP rating: IP54 | Sun protection: Partial | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Operating system: WebOS | HDR: HDR10

Best for: Watching TV outdoors on sunny days without spending a fortune.

Pros:

• High brightness
• Strong protections against weather and high temperatures
• Affordable priced with a free mount

Cons:

• Lacks high refresh rate for gaming

Outdoor TVs tend to cost a lot more than their indoor counterparts—all that weather-and temperature-proofing costs something. But you don’t need to pay the extremely high prices of the other models if you don’t want to. Peerless AV’s Neptune is an excellent outdoor TV with impressive specifications and a much more affordable price tag. It’s a 500-nit display, which isn’t as high as the Samsung models, but it’s bright enough to enjoy a strong picture quality with vibrant colors and a clear image in partial sun. Don’t try this model in full sun though, as it’s just not bright enough for that.

This is the latest 2024 model, so comes with all the latest Peerless features including full wireless connectivity and a range of built-in streaming apps and services. It’s also priced more competitively than ever and offers strong environmental protections like IP54 and support for high and low temperatures. It only has a 60Hz refresh rate, making it less than ideal for gaming on your favorite PlayStation 5 Games. But if you’re using it outdoors, odds are you’re going to have it tuned to a sports game rather than plugging in a console.

Size: 43-inch | Type: LED | Resolution: 4K | IP rating: IP54 | Sun protection: Partial | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Operating system: WebOS | HDR: HDR10

Best for: Enjoying your favorite shows outdoors even if you don’t have lots of space.

Pros:

• Relatively affordable
• Compact size compared to its contemporaries
• Extreme temperature protection

Cons:

• Lacks heavy rain protection
• Not bright enough for sunny daytime viewing

If you have a smaller garden or patio, you can still enjoy a TV outdoors. The Furrion Aurora comes with with all the protections you need to watch your favorite shows and movies outside without fear of adverse weather. With an IP54 rating, it’s not as well-protected as other outdoor displays, but it can handle a bit of rain and is fully dust-proof. While it doesn’t have as stringent protections as some against water, it supports a wider temperature range than most outdoor TVs. Able to withstand anything between -24 degrees Fahrenheit up to 122 degrees, it’s well suited to hot and cold dry weather climates.

Rated for, “partial sun,” we’d recommend you keep this one in the shade, or use it when after the sun sets, so you can still see everything on-screen clearly. The TV’s contrast delivers good black levels, and it has a very low input lag, making it a good choice for gaming even though it lacks a high refresh rate. If you stick to 4K 60Hz games, this TV makes them look and feel great to play. If you really like this TV, but wouldn’t mind it slightly bigger, you can get the Furrion Aurora in a range of sizes, including a 65-inch option.

Size: 55-inch | Type: QLED | Resolution: 4K | IP rating: IP55 | Sun protection: Partial | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Operating system: Samsung Tizen | HDR: HDR10, HDR10+

Best for: Making the most of a covered area with movies, games and more.

Pros:

• Incredible brightness
• Less expensive than the full-sun model
• IP55 protection keeps it safe from the elements

Cons:

• Can’t handle direct sun

Samsung’s Full Sun The Terrace is our favorite outdoor TV, so it’s no surprise that the partial-sun version is our favorite option for shaded areas, too. It has all the same amazing features as the Full Sun Terrace, but for less than half the price because it can’t handle direct sunlight in the same way. It still has no trouble with an ambiently bright day outdoors, but it works its best in shaded areas where its high brightness can really pop. And by bright, we mean really bright. This TV can hit over 2,000 nits at its brightest, making it capable of looking vibrant, with rich colors on even a very sunny day.

No need to worry about a little rain or dust as this TV has an IP55 rating, making it practically dust-proof and able to withstand everything up to a light jet washing without concern for damage. Armed with its impressive anti-reflective coating, this TV looks terrific outdoors. It also has the contemporary features you’d look for in a top-tier TV, like a 120Hz refresh rate and low input lag for gaming and HDR10 and HDR10+ support (though no Dolby Vision, same as all Samsung TVs). The TV runs on Samsung’s responsive Tizen operating system for smart TV and streaming functions.

Size: 27-inch | Type: Touchscreen LCD | Resolution: 1080p | IP rating: None | Sun protection: Shade | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Operating system: LG WebOS | HDR: None

Best for: Watching TV outdoors wherever you go.

Pros:

• Portable touchscreen TV that you can take anywhere
• Crisp 1080p picture looks clear on 27-inch panel
• Sturdy carry case makes it safe for when you need it

Cons:

• Can’t handle direct sun
• Limited to three hours of battery life
• Limited to shaded areas or partial sun

One issue with outdoor TVs is that they’re always static and immovable. Not so with the LG Stanbyme Go, a unique, “briefcase TV,” that means you can watch TV just about anywhere—including outside. It’s a sturdy briefcase design with a 27-inch, 1080p LCD display inside, that can reach a brightness of 400 nits. That does fall behind our other outdoor TVs, and it will only really work in shaded areas or light partial sun, but you can literally take it anywhere with you. Watch your favorite shows on the big screen on the beach, while camping, on your boat or anywhere else you can think of.

It comes with three hours of battery life, has a four-channel 20W speaker configuration for surprisingly loud audio and it has HDMI and USB inputs, so you can connect any streaming devices you like. Alternatively, the built-in webOS gives you all the streaming apps you need. The display quality isn’t amazing for the price, but this is a compact portable TV that works brilliantly well outdoors.