10 Best Small TVs

Wally Nowinski
editor

When choosing the best small TV, we navigated the landscape of options by focusing on models within the 40 to 49-inch range, acknowledging that manufacturers often produce TVs in slightly varying sizes within this category. This approach allows us to cater to those looking for a compact yet engaging viewing experience. Picture quality was our top priority, ensuring that each TV selected stands out for its sharp clarity, dynamic colors, and deep contrasts. This meticulous selection process ensures that even in a smaller form factor, the TVs we recommend do not compromise on delivering a rich and immersive viewing experience. By combining the right size with superior picture quality, our recommendations aim to provide viewers with small TVs that pack a significant visual punch, perfectly blending space-saving design with high-quality performance.

Our experts used the PerfectRec decision engine to comb through our TV database and find the Best Small TVs available in 2024. Here are the top 10 picks.

Our criteria for Best Small TVs:

  • Size Many manufacturers produce slightly different sized TVs. We focused on ones that are between 40 and 49-inches.
  • Picture Quality We prioritized TVs with great picture quality
To consider others factors, try the PerfectRec decision engine to get your personalized TV recommendation
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10 Best Small TVs

1
BEST RATING
Movies & TV shows:
4.8
Picture Quality: Excellent
Movies & TV: A, Gaming: A, Sports: A-
Bright Room: Very Good




Expert Summary
The LG C3 OLED offers excellent picture quality, especially in dark rooms, making it ideal for movie enthusiasts and nighttime viewing. It has a superb contrast ratio and handles reflections well, so it's also a good fit for rooms with some light control. For gamers, its response time and low input lag provide a strong gaming experience, though it may not be as bright as some LED or QLED TVs. Sports fans will enjoy very good performance, but keep in mind that in brightly lit rooms or during daytime viewing, an OLED's brightness might be less impactful than other screen types. It supports advanced audio formats like Dolby Atmos, which enhances the viewing experience with immersive sound if you have a compatible sound system. The TV comes at a premium price, reflecting its high-end features and performance.
Pros
  • Exceptional overall picture quality
  • Outstanding for gaming
  • Excellent in dark rooms
  • Great for movies and series
  • Wide viewing angles
Cons
  • Lower brightness in bright rooms
  • Potential risk of burn-in
  • Average sound quality
  • Reflection handling could be better
2
BEST RATING
Bright Room:
5.0
Picture Quality: Very Good
Movies & TV: A-, Gaming: A-, Sports: B+
Bright Room: Best in Class




Expert Summary
The Samsung QN90C is a premium-priced LCD TV with a miniLED FALD ADS/IPS screen type, offering very good overall picture and gaming performance. It excels in bright rooms, making it an excellent choice if you have a lot of natural light or bright lighting. While its sports, dark room, and contrast performance are good, it may not be the best option if you're looking for perfect black levels or if you primarily watch content with many dark scenes. This TV provides solid performance across movies, news, and animation, with features such as a 120Hz refresh rate and low input lag benefiting gamers. It also supports HDR formats like HDR10+ and HLG, with Dolby Vision absent. For audio, it has great speakers with a 4.2.2 setup. The wide viewing angle makes it suited for larger groups. With four HDMI ports, it handles various inputs, including 4k at 120Hz at 4:4:4 chroma, ensuring compatibility with modern gaming consoles and PCs.
Pros
  • Excellent bright room performance
  • Very good overall picture quality
  • Good for gaming
  • High SDR brightness
  • Supports voice commands
Cons
  • Limited viewing angle
  • Average gray uniformity
3
BEST RATING
Movies & TV shows:
4.8
Picture Quality: Very Good
Movies & TV: A, Gaming: A-, Sports: A-
Bright Room: Good




Expert Summary
The LG C2 OLED TV is an upper midrange model favored for its excellent picture quality, particularly in dark rooms, and is also very good for gaming, sports, and movie watching. It excels in contrast and black uniformity, which is typical of OLED TVs, making it ideal for movies and gaming where dark scenes are common. However, if you plan on watching in bright rooms, the LG C2 is only rated as good, meaning it may not be as bright as some other TVs. It offers wide viewing angles and sports features like HDMI 2.1 ports, making it suitable for the latest gaming consoles. Sound quality is also very good, but if you're looking for the best audio experience, additional speakers may enhance your setup. The TV supports Dolby Vision and HLG, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of HDR content.
Pros
  • Excellent dark room performance
  • Very good overall picture quality
  • Great for gaming
  • Wide viewing angles
  • Supports Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10+
Cons
  • Only good, not excellent bright room performance
  • Motion processing could improve
  • Speakers are great but not outstanding
  • Upscaling quality is good, not best
4
BEST RATING
Movies & TV shows:
4.8
Picture Quality: Very Good
Movies & TV: A, Gaming: A-, Sports: A
Bright Room: Fair




Expert Summary
The Sony A90K OLED TV is considered to be in the upper midrange price segment. It offers excellent overall picture quality, gaming and sports content viewing, exceptional dark room performance, and very good movie, news, and cartoon experiences. However, its performance in bright rooms is only fair, which means it may not be the best option for very well-lit environments. The TV provides great viewing angles and excellent motion processing, making it suitable for a variety of content. Additionally, it supports high dynamic range (HDR) content, including Dolby Vision and HLG, but does not support HDR10+. For gaming, it has a very good response time and input lag performance. The OLED screen ensures deep blacks and high contrast, but its SDR brightness is only fair, which could be a concern in brighter rooms. It comes with 4 HDMI ports, but does not have built-in speakers considered to be great. It is a versatile TV that works well as a monitor with a 4k @ 120Hz @ 4:4:4 support, and offers three positions for its pedestal stand, including one that can raise the TV to accommodate a soundbar.
Pros
  • Excellent sports content viewing
  • Perfect contrast with pure blacks
  • Wide viewing angle
  • Great motion processing
  • Accurate colors out of the box
Cons
  • Average bright room performance
  • Fair SDR and HDR brightness
  • Sound quality is only good, not excellent
  • Lack of HDR10+ support
5
BEST RATING
Movies & TV shows:
4.8
Picture Quality: Very Good
Movies & TV: A, Gaming: A-, Sports: A
Bright Room: Fair




Expert Summary
The Sony A90K OLED TV is considered to be in the upper midrange price segment. It offers excellent overall picture quality, gaming and sports content viewing, exceptional dark room performance, and very good movie, news, and cartoon experiences. However, its performance in bright rooms is only fair, which means it may not be the best option for very well-lit environments. The TV provides great viewing angles and excellent motion processing, making it suitable for a variety of content. Additionally, it supports high dynamic range (HDR) content, including Dolby Vision and HLG, but does not support HDR10+. For gaming, it has a very good response time and input lag performance. The OLED screen ensures deep blacks and high contrast, but its SDR brightness is only fair, which could be a concern in brighter rooms. It comes with 4 HDMI ports, but does not have built-in speakers considered to be great. It is a versatile TV that works well as a monitor with a 4k @ 120Hz @ 4:4:4 support, and offers three positions for its pedestal stand, including one that can raise the TV to accommodate a soundbar.
Pros
  • Excellent sports content viewing
  • Perfect contrast with pure blacks
  • Wide viewing angle
  • Great motion processing
  • Accurate colors out of the box
Cons
  • Average bright room performance
  • Fair SDR and HDR brightness
  • Sound quality is only good, not excellent
  • Lack of HDR10+ support
6
BEST RATING
Movies & TV shows:
4.8
Picture Quality: Excellent
Movies & TV: A, Gaming: A, Sports: A-
Bright Room: Very Good




Expert Summary
The LG C3 OLED offers excellent picture quality, especially in dark rooms, making it ideal for movie enthusiasts and nighttime viewing. It has a superb contrast ratio and handles reflections well, so it's also a good fit for rooms with some light control. For gamers, its response time and low input lag provide a strong gaming experience, though it may not be as bright as some LED or QLED TVs. Sports fans will enjoy very good performance, but keep in mind that in brightly lit rooms or during daytime viewing, an OLED's brightness might be less impactful than other screen types. It supports advanced audio formats like Dolby Atmos, which enhances the viewing experience with immersive sound if you have a compatible sound system. The TV comes at a premium price, reflecting its high-end features and performance.
Pros
  • Exceptional overall picture quality
  • Outstanding for gaming
  • Excellent in dark rooms
  • Great for movies and series
  • Wide viewing angles
Cons
  • Lower brightness in bright rooms
  • Potential risk of burn-in
  • Average sound quality
  • Reflection handling could be better
7
BEST RATING
Movies & TV shows:
4.8
Picture Quality: Very Good
Movies & TV: A, Gaming: B+, Sports: A-
Bright Room: Good




Expert Summary
The LG A2 OLED TV is characterized by its excellent dark room performance, ideal for watching movies, due to its perfect black levels and contrast. It also performs very well for watching sports and animated content. However, its bright room performance is just good, so if your viewing space is very well-lit, the screen might not be as vivid as in darker rooms. For gamers, the response is very good with low input lag, though there are TVs with more tailored gaming features. Keep in mind, this TV is at a high-end price point, so it might be more expensive compared to other options. Sound quality is good, and with OLED technology, you get wide viewing angles and vibrant colors. It comes with three HDMI ports, which is standard, but if you have numerous devices, you might need more. The TV doesn't support certain advanced gaming features such as high refresh rate making it less suited for cutting-edge gaming.
Pros
  • Excellent for dark room viewing
  • Deep blacks with perfect black uniformity
  • Wide viewing angles
  • Very good reflection handling
  • Supports Dolby Vision and HLG
Cons
  • Fair HDR brightness level
  • Less effective in bright rooms
  • May struggle with fast motion
  • No HDR10+ support
8
BEST RATING
Movies & TV shows:
4.7
Picture Quality: Very Good
Movies & TV: A, Gaming: A-, Sports: A-
Bright Room: Good




Expert Summary
The LG C2 OLED TV is an upper midrange model favored for its excellent picture quality, particularly in dark rooms, and is also very good for gaming, sports, and movie watching. It excels in contrast and black uniformity, which is typical of OLED TVs, making it ideal for movies and gaming where dark scenes are common. However, if you plan on watching in bright rooms, the LG C2 is only rated as good, meaning it may not be as bright as some other TVs. It offers wide viewing angles and sports features like HDMI 2.1 ports, making it suitable for the latest gaming consoles. Sound quality is also very good, but if you're looking for the best audio experience, additional speakers may enhance your setup. The TV supports Dolby Vision and HLG, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of HDR content.
Pros
  • Excellent dark room performance
  • Very good overall picture quality
  • Great for gaming
  • Wide viewing angles
  • Supports Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10+
Cons
  • Only good, not excellent bright room performance
  • Motion processing could improve
  • Speakers are great but not outstanding
  • Upscaling quality is good, not best
9
BEST RATING
Bright Room:
4.9
Picture Quality: Very Good
Movies & TV: A-, Gaming: A-, Sports: B
Bright Room: Best in Class




Expert Summary
The Hisense U8K LCD TV offers a very good overall picture quality, making it well-suited for watching movies and series. It has excellent performance in dark rooms, with high contrast and good local dimming abilities. The screen shines particularly well in bright rooms and sports content is handled decently. If you're into gaming, this TV also provides a very good experience due to its high response time and low input lag. However, when watching sports, you may notice it's not the best performer. Color reproduction is excellent and the speakers are great, but keep in mind that the viewing angle is limited, which could be a downside if you often watch TV from wide angles. With support for HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HLG, it can display a wide range of HDR content effectively. It's also equipped with 4 HDMI ports and can be used as a monitor. Overall, the TV is positioned at a midrange price and offers a slew of features that could make it a good fit for various uses, especially in bright rooms and for viewers who appreciate high-quality image and audio for movies and gaming.
Pros
  • Excellent dark room performance
  • Very good overall picture quality
  • Low input lag for gaming
  • Strong reflection handling
  • Powerful built-in speakers
Cons
  • Limited viewing angle
  • Fair performance in bright rooms
  • Gray uniformity could be better
  • Only fair sports content quality
10
BEST RATING
Gaming:
5.0
Picture Quality: Excellent
Movies & TV: A, Gaming: A+, Sports: A-
Bright Room: Very Good




Expert Summary
The Samsung S90C OLED TV is a high-end model with excellent overall picture quality, making it great for movies and series, with strong performance in bright rooms and an outstanding viewing experience in dark rooms. If gaming is a priority, this TV offers the best gaming experience with a 144Hz OLED screen and low input lag. Sports enthusiasts will appreciate the very good handling of fast-moving scenes. Although the sound quality is fair, this might not be a concern if you already have or plan to get a separate sound system. This TV comes at a premium price, but its features like a wide color gamut, high contrast, excellent HDR performance, including support for HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HLG, could justify the investment if top-tier picture quality and future-proofing are important to you. Keep in mind that it may not be the best choice if you plan to use it as a PC monitor or if you heavily prioritize audio quality from the TV speakers themselves.
Pros
  • Excellent overall picture quality
  • Best for gaming experiences
  • Excellent in dark rooms
  • Very good in bright rooms
  • Wide viewing angles
Cons
  • Fair sound quality
  • No built-in great speakers
  • Not as bright as some TVs
  • No Dolby Vision support