The 3 Best Budget TVs - Fall 2024

The best budget TV in 2024 we've tested is the Hisense U6/U6N. What separates it from similarly-priced models from other brands is its effective local dimming feature that gives the TV fantastic contrast, so you get deep blacks in a dark room that mostly stay deep when highlights are also on screen, although there's some noticeable blooming. Still, the TV provides excellent overall picture quality due to its wide color gamut, good upscaling, and very good SDR brightness, which makes it usable in a room with some lights on. Unfortunately, the TV isn't as bright in HDR as in SDR, but it's still enough for a somewhat impactful HDR experience. You also get Dolby Vision HDR, HDR10+, and DTS audio support.

Regarding gaming, the TV is limited to 4k @ 60Hz and doesn't have HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, but it does support VRR for a nearly tear-free gaming experience. You can also choose to forgo some resolution to play in up to 1440p @ 120Hz, although VRR doesn't work when you do that. If you're looking for a budget-friendly TV and don't need modern gaming features like 4k @ 120Hz, the U6 is an excellent option.

If you like the Hisense U6/U6N but want even better picture quality and modern gaming features, the best premium budget TV we've tested is the Hisense U7N. It has even better contrast than the U6N, so you get deeper blacks in a dark room. The TV also displays more vibrant, lifelike, and brighter colors. The biggest advantage it has over the lower-end model is how much brighter it gets, meaning it's well-suited for use in a bright room and delivers more impactful highlights in HDR. It's also more accurate, so it sticks closer to the content creator's intent. You also still get support for all three major HDR formats, and it supports DTS audio formats.

In addition to better overall picture quality, it's a fully featured gaming TV with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two ports for up to 4k @ 144Hz and VRR support. This makes it fully compatible with modern gaming consoles and pairs well with powerful gaming PCs. It also has a quick response time, so fast motion has minimal blur behind it.

The Roku Select Series is the best cheap TV we've tested if you want something affordable that gets the job done. Unlike our two picks above, this TV doesn't have local dimming, so you don't get the same deep blacks as you do on those TVs, but it still provides a decent dark room viewing experience. It has good enough SDR brightness to use in a room with some lights on, but it's dim in HDR, so HDR content lacks impact. It supports the standard HDR10 and the more advanced HDR10+ formats, but you don't get Dolby Vision HDR or DTS audio support.

The Roku has low input lag and a quick enough response time for a smooth gaming experience, but you won't find any modern gaming features on this TV, so you're limited to 4k @ 60Hz without any sort of VRR, and you do see some screen tearing. Still, if you're searching for the cheapest possible TV that still looks pretty good, the Roku is the way to go.