All modern TVs are “smart” TVs, but there are some that come with better smart features, such as advanced streaming services for gaming and better processors for upscaling and automated image enhancement. Our pick for the best smart TV for streaming, the Samsung S90D, has near-flagship picture quality and access to Samsung’s Gaming Hub at a fraction of the price of the top models. But it’s not the only great smart streaming TV out there.
The best smart TVs for streaming include the Sony Bravia 9.
Illustration: Forbes / Photo: Retailer
If you want an affordable smart TV for streaming, the Roku Plus is an excellent option. If you want a premium streaming experience, it’s hard to beat the Sony A95L with its incredible processing power. Whatever kind of TV you’re looking for, though, there’s something for you here. These are the best smart TVs for streaming in 2024.
The Samsung S90D is one of the best TVs ever made, and it does it at a fraction of the price of the flagship models. It offers incredible brightness, gorgeous contrast and coloring from its QD-OLED panel, and some of the fastest and most responsive gaming experience you’ll find on any TV. It comes with Samsung’s 2024 version of its Tizen operating system, which is easy to use, and has a snappy interface. It has support for HDR10+, though like all Samsung TVs, there’s no Dolby Vision support.
The NQ4 AI Gen2 Processor does a great job upscaling lower resolution content, making some of the more compressed streaming services look better than they would otherwise. It comes with the Samsung Gaming Hub built-in, too, so you can access a wide range of games without having to install any apps, or buy any more hardware.
Strong contrast makes it great for all types of viewing
Roku smart interface is fast and fluid
Low input lag for gaming
Cons:
Lacks HDMI 2.1
Limited to 60Hz refresh rate
The Roku Plus comes with a lot of impressive features and yet, you can buy it for well under $500, making it a fantastic TV for lower-budget viewing, thanks to its excellent Roku operating system and strong specifications. This TV gets plenty bright in SDR and HDR modes, and with a relatively high contrast for an LCD TV, it can look particularly good in darker rooms. The quantum dots help the colors really pop off the screen, too.
It doesn’t support some gaming features, like variable refresh rate, higher refresh rates, or HDMI 2.1, but its input lag is very low, and it has a fast response time, so the TV feels responsive for gaming. The Roku OS is fast and intuitive to use, with access to all the top streaming providers. The remote control comes with built-in voice support, too, so you can more readily find your favorite movies and shows.
What our editors say: Tech editor Rebecca Isaacs tested the Roku Plus Series TV and liked that it comes pre-calibrated. She says, “If you go into the Roku TV settings, you won’t find many there; instead, Roku opted to place most of the settings in its mobile app. That’s both a good and bad choice. For accessibility, it seems like an awkward step backward because now I have to ensure I have the app to adjust my TV settings. But the good in that is in speaking the company’s engineers and designers, Roku specifically built the TV according to what American viewers want out of a television. So, what does that mean for you? In short, this TV needs very little adjustments, if at all, straight out of the box.”
The Sony A95L has made many of our lists, including the best TVs you can buy. With its built-in Google TV OS and Sony’s XR processor, you get fast and intuitive streaming services right from the get go, with some of the best upscaling and image enhancement you’ll find on any TV. The picture quality is some of the best in the world, with near-infinite contrast bringing inky blacks, and the high brightness gives punchy HDR highlights in supporting content. The XR processor can upscale more than just resolution, making older streamed content or heavily compressed content look much better than it would on cheaper TVs.
You do have to spend a lot for this TV, but it’s worth it if you want the ultimate streaming experience. It offers strong sound with built-in actuators using the screen itself as a speaker, and has support for IMAX mode for enhanced visuals and audio. It’s great for gaming too, with a fast refresh rate, response times and low input lag, helping you stay competitive with the best.
Best Cheap Smart TV For Streaming
Get A Great Picture For Less Than $300
Amazon
TCL S4
Size: 43-inch | Type: LED | Resolution: 4K | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Operating system: Google TV | HDR: HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
Pros:
Very affordable price
Roku operating system is fast and intuitive
Supports smart home and smart assistant connectivity
Cons:
Lacks picture quality of higher-end TVs
Low brightness
If you just need a relatively compact TV for streaming shows and don’t mind if the picture quality isn’t flagship-level, then the TCL S4 is a great choice at a very affordable price. At 43 inches, it’s plenty big for enjoying live TV or your favorite movies and TV shows, and with a 120 motion rate, it’s good for watching fast-faced sports and TV. It comes with four HDMI ports, one of which is HDMI 2.1, so you can use it for connecting your games console, UHD Blu-ray player or for eARC support.
It supports most of the important HDR standards, so your favorite streamed movies and TV can look their best. Its brightness isn’t too high, though, so plan on placing this panel in darker rooms. Its reflection handling is quite good, though, so it isn’t ruined by having another light source in the room.
The LG C4 is one of the best OLED TVs in the world, with excellent brightness, inky blacks thanks to high contrast and fantastically rich colors. It’s fast for gaming, and supports Dolby Vision, which you won’t find on any Samsung TVs. It doesn’t get quiet as bright as the very top TVs from the big name brands, but it is still very bright compared to traditional OLED TVs. For streaming, though, this TV really stands out for its impressive upscaling, where lower resolution and compressed streamed content can be made to look far better thanks to onboard processing.
The WebOS 24 operating system is fast and intuitive, and comes complete with all the major streaming apps—as well as access to some of the more niche ones. The built-in speakers won’t top a good soundbar, but they’re a big upgrade over their predecessors, with onboard sound processing delivering a more nuanced audio experience than you might expect from stock speakers.
If you want to see what a true next-generation TV looks like, get the Sony Bravia 9. It might be expensive, but this is a TV with near-OLED contrast, with the highest brightness of any TV ever made. It can go as high as 3,000 nits, though Sony suggests it might even hit 4,000 in the right circumstances. Combined with Dolby Vision and HDR10 support, this TV gives you some of the best HDR streaming experiences money can buy, with additional Bravia and IMAX modes delivering even better visuals in supporting content.
The onboard XR processor is widely recognized as one of the best for upscaling and digitally enhancing older content, so compressed or lower-resolution streamed content will look stunning on this TV. It also has great gaming features and special enhancements for PlayStation gamers to take advantage of, as well as high refresh rate, near-zero input lag and a fast response time. It also has Google Assistant and Alexa support for smart home integration as well as Google Chromecast for easy streaming content from your phone.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
The Forbes Vetted tech team has years of experience writing about a broad range of consumer electronics and have the background and expertise to help you make the best buying decisions possible. In particular, this story was written by contributor Jon Martindale and tech editor Rebecca Isaacs.
Jon Martindale is a regular Forbes Vetted contributor who has been writing about tech for nearly two decades. He has bylines in digital publications including Digital Trends and PCGamer, and formerly ran his own PC hardware review website.
The tech section is overseen by tech editor Rebecca Isaacs. She is a home entertainment expert who has personally tested plenty of panels including going hands-on with a slew of gaming TVs.
How We Chose The Best Smart TVs For Streaming
Here at Forbes Vetted, when we’re not working, we’re gaming and streaming on our TVs. We are experts in the home entertainment area and we love sharing hands-on insights and give you a better picture as to what TV is best for your home.
We combed through the major retailers including Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL, and more to narrow down our options.
From there, we carefully conducted robust research and interviewed tech analysts, diving into the latest technology in panels and what you should be considering when buying a smart TV for streaming. We also combed through real customer reviews to compare the perks and quirks of each TV.
We carefully evaluated each TV’s resolution, refresh rate, display type, smart features and more to compile our list of the best smart TVs for streaming on the market today.
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