Best Gaming TV: The best screens for single-player and online gaming

After a good, if not quite amazing C3 model, LG is back on form with the C4, and in terms of gaming options there are few TVs as comprehensive as this series.

That’s mainly because the C4 supports pretty much every feature a casual or competitive gamer could want. You’ve got 4K/120Hz and VRR support across all its HDMI inputs. The premium Dolby Vision Gaming is supported too, which is compatible with Xbox Series consoles. PC gamers get AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync support too, as well as support for higher refresh rates up to 144Hz.

More features come with LG’s Game Optimizer, which allows you to customise the performance by tweaking black levels of switching through various game mode presets. Input lag is much the same as it was with the OLED65C3 with our reviewer finding it measured at 13ms. The Boost mode knocks the latency down to less than 10ms.

But all those premium gaming features would be naught if the picture quality wasn’t good, and the C4 is a step up from the C3. Images are colour rich without being oversaturated, blacks full of depth helping to create excellent contrast with crushing detail in the shadows.

We measured it as brighter than the previous C3 OLED was at 1150 nits on a 10% window. That’s more than enough to bring out the brightness with HDR highlights.

If you want the best experience, we would suggest purchasing a soundbar, and for the most immersive performance you’ll want to consider an LG soundbar that has its WOW Orchestra feature. It allows the soundbar to work with the C4’s speakers to create a bigger, more immersive sound.

On its own, the TV’s speakers are fine, but not befitting of the performance you get from its picture.

Reviewer: Steve May
Full Review: LG OLED65C4

8K hasn’t hit the heights that a few would have presumed when the first sets were announced several years ago. However, we’re still a believer in them, and if you’re a gamer after the ultimate picture quality and performance then look no further than the QN900D.

This latest 8K TV comes with a raft of features, with a fast input lag of 11ms, and the ability to reduce that input lag even further with HDMI VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. All four of its HDMI inputs supporting 4K 120Hz gaming as well as 8K.60Hz, so a high level of gaming performance is possible with the QN900D.

The Game Hub screen within the TV’s interface is where all your gaming sources (both cloud gaming and physical), while an onscreen Game Bar menu provides access to information on your gaming signals plus a few gaming aids such as the AI-bolstered mini-map feature where the TV automatically detects the game’s mini-map and presents a bigger version of it in another window.

Of course, there’s more to the QN900D than just playing games. Brightness has been improved with the QN900D able to produce 2445 nits on a 10% window in its Movie mode, brighter than the 2096 nits on the QN900C.

The upscaling performance is brilliant, as we noticed a big jump up in detail of 4K content. Samsung’s AI processor is able to bring out all the detail within an image and sharpen it without overemphasising noise.

We would suggest adding a soundbar to get the best from the QN900D. While the OTS sound system tracks audio accurately across the screen, it is underpowered in the bass department.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN900D

If you’re gaming on a PS5, Sony’s own Bravia TVs serve as offering the best integration in terms of performance with a number of features that are exclusive to the TVs.

And from its 2023 range of TVs, the A80L is the set we’d currently recommend as the best option for PS5 owners. Those ‘exclusive’ features aren’t necessarily any different from what you’d find on other TVs, though. Auto Genre Picture mode is essentially ALLM, to automatically switch the TV in and out of its game-ready state so the A80L isn’t stuck in game mode all the time.

Auto HDR Tone Mapping enhances the HDR performance of the A80L’s screen for best brightness and contrast. Dolby Vision Gaming is not supported either by the PS5 or the A80L but 4K/120Hz and variable refresh rates (VRR) are, and they’re available across two HDMI 2.1 inputs (one of which is shared with the eARC port). We measured input lag at 16.4ms before VRR is applied, which is solid, but TVs such as the LG C2 can achieve a quicker performance out of the box.

The Sony A80L is short of other gaming features for PC gamers, so it’s not as versatile as the LG is. It also pitches itself as more of a home cinema telly, so once you’re done playing games on the PS5, you can enjoy the impressive picture and sound quality. While it’s not as bright as the LG C-series OLED, we found it to be a much more nuanced, and balanced image that produces a very natural look. Upscaling is also of very high quality, boosting detail and clarity while preserving the look of the source. Motion processing is excellent, smooth and with very few noted issues such as judder.

The sound quality is punchy, dynamic, and loud; good enough that we wouldn’t rush out for a new soundbar, though if you did, the likes of the HT-A5000 would be a good partner (if you have space for it). A cheaper option is Sony’s X85L LCD TV, but that doesn’t offer as good a picture or sound performance as the A80L.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony A80L

The Samsung Q80D is a suprisingly affordable mid-range TV, and the gaming features it offers are excellent for a TV at its price.

It is a QLED and not the more advanced Neo QLED model, though we don’t feel it sacrifices much in terms of performance. It features a dedicated Game Hub that comes with cloud gaming options such as Xbox Game Pass and Utomik, and there’s also a Game bar that overlays on the screen to show the user all the vital info such as input lag, VRR performance and HDR.

We measured input lag at an impressive 9.8ms with 60Hz feeds, one of lowest out-of-the-box figures on any TV. You can enable Game Motion Plus for a smoother picture, though that does add more input lag to the Q80D’s performance.

HDMI 2.1 is supported across all the Q80D’s inputs, which again is unusual for a TV at this price, with support for ALLM, VRR, and 4K/120Hz frame rates. There’s official support for AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro VRR technology and uncredited support for Nvidia G-Sync.

We found the Q80D impressed as a gaming display. Our reviewer measured brightness at 1000 nits, which is more than enough to produce a bright, punchy, and colourful performance. Black levels and contrast are very good, and sharpness and detail levels are high. There’s no Dolby Vision support, so you won’t get any HDR gaming in Dolby Vision where that’s supported.

We also found the audio quality to be very good for a flatscreen TV, producing a large soundstage and tracking sounds well across it. Bass is relatively solid and distortion free, so while a soundbar would be an effective upgrade, we don’t feel the need to rush out for one.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full review: Samsung Q80D

Panasonic’s spent the last few years courting gamers with a variety of features to go along with its fine picture quality, so if you’re looking for an Panasonic OLED that’s affordable, we’d recommend the MZ980.

All Panasonic’s premium TVs feature its True Game mode, which offers a calibrated picture performance out of the box, so you get accurate colours to go along with the fast gameplay. Our reviewer measured input lag at 14.5ms, which is not far off the LG C4 OLED on this list, and with 120Hz engaged, that figure usually halves in response.

The MZ980 supports VRR, ALLM, and 4K/120Hz; though it only supports these features on two of its HDMI inputs, one of which is shared with the eARC input. If you have multiple consoles/PC gaming desktops, you’ll have to consider plugging them in and out. Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync VRR formats are support for PC gaming.

Panasonic has integrated a Game Control Board menu, not too dissimilar to LG’s Game Optimizer. Gamers can get that shows game-specific signal info and features, as well as choose between two audio settings configured for RPG and FPS game types.

The picture performance is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from Panasonic, delivering beautifully balanced and subtle images; with deep black levels and excellent control over brighter areas. Detail is excelent, and viewing angles are wide, so you can sit anywhere you like and still get a good picture performance.

In terms of sound, we found the Panasonic MZ980 can get very loud before it starts to sound brittle or uncomfortable. It has plenty of power to create a spacious soundstage, and there’s a decent amount of depth to low frequencies. It’s a good effort for a 55-inch tellie.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full review: Panasonic MZ980

Like Panasonic, Hisense has stepped up its game with regards to the gaming performance with its TVs, and the U7N offers a very competitive feature set.

We measured input lag at 13.2ms, which in terms of its out of the box performance, is not far off the LG C4 OLED, and is better than the Panasonic MZ980 and Sony A80L. 4K/120Hz should effectively halve that number for a quicker response time.

VRR and ALLM is supported, with PC gamers getting access to AMD FreeSync Premium Pro to improve picture and input lag with AMD chips. Refresh rates for PC gaming can go as high as 144Hz, which matches LG’s OLED TVs. There’s a Game Board menut too that allows for customisation of the TV’s gaming performance as you play.

The Hisense U7N produces a colourful and bright performance with HDR content, though we did feel as if its levels of sharpness and detail weren’t as good as other TVs around its price (such as the Panasonic MZ980). Black levels are decent, though not the deepest, which affects the U7N’s contrast. It’s a good picture for a 65-inch screen, though we feel you can find a 2023 OLED for around the same price.

The sound system features Dolby Atmos support, and it sounds pretty decent too. It handles dialogue with clarity and detail, the soundstage is spacious and bass is ok for the most part though not the most consistent. A soundbar would improve on what Hisense has delivered here, but it’s an enjoyable sound system for a flatscreen TV.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full review: Hisense U7N