Dodgexander
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Its commonly asked, so here's my own personal recommendation of HDR TV's from first to worst!
These are my recommendations. In 2017 we have seen a reduction overall with input lag making every TV now more or less good enough for gaming. Therefore these recommendations apply to gamers too.
Sony ZD9 - The best, the brightest, the biggest wow factor with HDR.
Sony XE94 - If you need to bigger than 65" and need FALD its a good value TV compared to its bigger sister.
Sony A1 - Top quality picture processing, probably the best OLED you can buy. Its downside is lack of a colour management system for calibration.
LG W7/G7, B7/C7 - Exceptional value found in the C7 and B7. Don't be fooled, still a very high end TV.
Panasonic EZ952 - Great picture processing and colour accuracy, plus better calibration controls than the more expensive Sony. Lack of Dolby Vision support lands it beneath the LG on the list though.
Philips POS9002 - Probably the best motion on an OLED but still like the Panasonic no Dolby Vision support.
Sony XE9305 - An edge lit LCD but with remarkable local dimming. Deserves its place on the high end list if you want a bright LCD but can't afford the more expensive Sony's.
Sony XE9005 - The new mid range king. Doesn't quite get to UHD premium brightness specs but overall it is by far the best value TV in 2017
Samsung Q7/Q9 - Not really great value at current pricing, no better really than last years Samsung models.
Panasonic EX750/EX780 - Not a capable HDR TV due to lack of local dimming and brightness, but motion wise and SDR PQ wise it fits in the medium category.
Sony XE85xx - Avoid the 75" IPS version, but otherwise it has the same pro's and cons as the Panasonic above.
Samsung MU7000(55"+), MU8000, MU9000 - Poor show from mid range Samsung this year compared to the KS range last year, but at least these will be as good as the Panasonic EX750 and Sony XE85xx.
Hisense NU8700 - No better or worse overall compared to the above, its plus is the build quality and better-than-average built in sound.
Samsung Q6 - Same as the Samsung MU8000 but with a wider colour gamut.
Panasonic EX-700 - Wide colour gamut, so decent colour with HDR. As good as you will get now for a low end HDR TV.
Hisense N6800 - Basically the Same as the Panasonic above except with less picture processing and colour accuracy.
Samsung MU64xx/MU66xx/MU65xx/MU700(49") - MU6100/MU62xx are similar but don't have a wide colour gamut so colours will look worse with HDR. Beware 43", 49" and 55" versions of the MU64xx and MU61xx range likely have IPS type panels. Avoid these sizes.
Sony XE70xx - No wide colour gamut to show better colours with HDR but a great TV for SDR. Beware of 43" and 49" versions, they use IPS type panels.
Panasonic EX600 - As sony above but buy 40" Only.
IPS lovers:
LG LCDs UJ750v and higher - Wide colour gamut for better colour with HDR and decent with motion. You need to reach at least the LG SJ850V or higher if you don't want a WRGB Panel.
Samsung MU6400 (49, 55" only) - Wide colour gamut for better colour with HDR.
Sony XE70xx (43, 49" only) - No wide colour gamut for better HDR colours but still a decent TV.
Panasonic EX600 (not 40") - Same as Sony above.
Conclusion and notes:
There's no good small sized tvs for displaying HDR.
There are lots of TV's that market HDR but are very poor at displaying it. Chances are if the TV isn't on the list it falls in to that category. Just having HDR on a TV isn't the same principle as a HDready logo, there's more to it than that.
Don't fall for the buzzwords;
10 bit = actually not as important as you think. All that counts for HDR is a wide colour gamut and % colour coverage in the rec 2020 colourspace. There are 8 bit panels with HDR capable colours and 10 bit panels without. Bit depth is not important with HDR (yet).
HDR+ = this is just a mode to convert normal SDR to HDR. Don't use it.
800hz/400hz etc - forget these fake refresh rates it means nothing with gaming. All that counts is motion blur and smoothness. You will need a mid range TV if you want good motion.
Viewing distance;
HDR can be benefited from anywhere as it's features lay in brightness and colour. UHD resolution is another matter. Want your UHD TV to look better than your FHD one? Be sure to sit closer and or get a bigger screen to notice a quality difference. See: UHD vs FHD
Plasma users may have to spend more than they expect to get a good gaming experience, you just can't beat the value vs pq of a plasma TV anymore. In some areas a Plasma won't be beaten by even a high end LCD. In which instance I recommend saving for an OLED.
This is by no means any official valuation, these are my own personal recommendations based on professional reviews and user reviews. Please don't hold anything against me! Any more info or spotted an error? let me know. I'll try to keep everything updated. Feel welcome to ask questions or discuss alternatives below.
-Dodge
# Some of the lower end tv's may not all have full HDMI 2.0a inputs. The Samsung MU series for example looks like it only has 1 HDMI 2.0a and 2 HDMI 2.0, this means no HDR on ports 2 and 3. and the Hisense N6800 has 2 HDMI 2.0a and 2 HDMI 2.0. So no HDR through ports 3 and 4. Make sure you check specs!
These are my recommendations. In 2017 we have seen a reduction overall with input lag making every TV now more or less good enough for gaming. Therefore these recommendations apply to gamers too.
High Range
HDR as its meant to beSony ZD9 - The best, the brightest, the biggest wow factor with HDR.
Sony XE94 - If you need to bigger than 65" and need FALD its a good value TV compared to its bigger sister.
Sony A1 - Top quality picture processing, probably the best OLED you can buy. Its downside is lack of a colour management system for calibration.
LG W7/G7, B7/C7 - Exceptional value found in the C7 and B7. Don't be fooled, still a very high end TV.
Panasonic EZ952 - Great picture processing and colour accuracy, plus better calibration controls than the more expensive Sony. Lack of Dolby Vision support lands it beneath the LG on the list though.
Philips POS9002 - Probably the best motion on an OLED but still like the Panasonic no Dolby Vision support.
Sony XE9305 - An edge lit LCD but with remarkable local dimming. Deserves its place on the high end list if you want a bright LCD but can't afford the more expensive Sony's.
Mid Range
HDR will still wow, but you may find more clouding and light bleed with these tvs in HDR mode. These TV's may also not have as effective local dimming to separate dark's from brights but they still do a good enough job to warrant buying one.Sony XE9005 - The new mid range king. Doesn't quite get to UHD premium brightness specs but overall it is by far the best value TV in 2017
Samsung Q7/Q9 - Not really great value at current pricing, no better really than last years Samsung models.
Lower Mid Range
These TVs build only on the low range models by having 120hz panels, for most people its useless spending extra on a TV in this range compared to a low range TV. The benefits of a 120hz panel is often misunderstood, it is only useful if you intend to use motion enhancements. From a HDR point of you they are generally as poor as the low range models.Panasonic EX750/EX780 - Not a capable HDR TV due to lack of local dimming and brightness, but motion wise and SDR PQ wise it fits in the medium category.
Sony XE85xx - Avoid the 75" IPS version, but otherwise it has the same pro's and cons as the Panasonic above.
Samsung MU7000(55"+), MU8000, MU9000 - Poor show from mid range Samsung this year compared to the KS range last year, but at least these will be as good as the Panasonic EX750 and Sony XE85xx.
Hisense NU8700 - No better or worse overall compared to the above, its plus is the build quality and better-than-average built in sound.
Samsung Q6 - Same as the Samsung MU8000 but with a wider colour gamut.
Low Range
These tv's aren't great for HDR but instead are the best of a bad bunch, they will process a HDR signal and show improved colour, but in many cases it may actually be better to have HDR off.Panasonic EX-700 - Wide colour gamut, so decent colour with HDR. As good as you will get now for a low end HDR TV.
Hisense N6800 - Basically the Same as the Panasonic above except with less picture processing and colour accuracy.
Samsung MU64xx/MU66xx/MU65xx/MU700(49") - MU6100/MU62xx are similar but don't have a wide colour gamut so colours will look worse with HDR. Beware 43", 49" and 55" versions of the MU64xx and MU61xx range likely have IPS type panels. Avoid these sizes.
Sony XE70xx - No wide colour gamut to show better colours with HDR but a great TV for SDR. Beware of 43" and 49" versions, they use IPS type panels.
Panasonic EX600 - As sony above but buy 40" Only.
IPS lovers:
LG LCDs UJ750v and higher - Wide colour gamut for better colour with HDR and decent with motion. You need to reach at least the LG SJ850V or higher if you don't want a WRGB Panel.
Samsung MU6400 (49, 55" only) - Wide colour gamut for better colour with HDR.
Sony XE70xx (43, 49" only) - No wide colour gamut for better HDR colours but still a decent TV.
Panasonic EX600 (not 40") - Same as Sony above.
Conclusion and notes:
There's no good small sized tvs for displaying HDR.
There are lots of TV's that market HDR but are very poor at displaying it. Chances are if the TV isn't on the list it falls in to that category. Just having HDR on a TV isn't the same principle as a HDready logo, there's more to it than that.
Don't fall for the buzzwords;
10 bit = actually not as important as you think. All that counts for HDR is a wide colour gamut and % colour coverage in the rec 2020 colourspace. There are 8 bit panels with HDR capable colours and 10 bit panels without. Bit depth is not important with HDR (yet).
HDR+ = this is just a mode to convert normal SDR to HDR. Don't use it.
800hz/400hz etc - forget these fake refresh rates it means nothing with gaming. All that counts is motion blur and smoothness. You will need a mid range TV if you want good motion.
Viewing distance;
HDR can be benefited from anywhere as it's features lay in brightness and colour. UHD resolution is another matter. Want your UHD TV to look better than your FHD one? Be sure to sit closer and or get a bigger screen to notice a quality difference. See: UHD vs FHD
Plasma users may have to spend more than they expect to get a good gaming experience, you just can't beat the value vs pq of a plasma TV anymore. In some areas a Plasma won't be beaten by even a high end LCD. In which instance I recommend saving for an OLED.
This is by no means any official valuation, these are my own personal recommendations based on professional reviews and user reviews. Please don't hold anything against me! Any more info or spotted an error? let me know. I'll try to keep everything updated. Feel welcome to ask questions or discuss alternatives below.
-Dodge
# Some of the lower end tv's may not all have full HDMI 2.0a inputs. The Samsung MU series for example looks like it only has 1 HDMI 2.0a and 2 HDMI 2.0, this means no HDR on ports 2 and 3. and the Hisense N6800 has 2 HDMI 2.0a and 2 HDMI 2.0. So no HDR through ports 3 and 4. Make sure you check specs!
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