I can’t say I can recall a year when I wasn’t impressed by the TVs I saw at
CES. Maybe that’s just because I love TVs so much.
I know there have been some -- I’ll call them tepid years -- but CES 2021? It was red hot
Welcome back everyone, I’m Caleb Denison and we’re going to run down the best TVs coming
from CES 2021. Now, given this has been a virtual event this year, it was a bit of
a challenge to actually SEE these TVs up close and personal, but we did manage to get eyes-on,
in-person looks at many of the TVs on this list and for those that we didn’t, well ... I have
over a decade of experience helping to inform my decision. So, let’s run down all the absolute
best TVs from the show, along with a couple of technologies that took us by surprise. Let’s go.
But before we do get to it, drop a comment down below and tell me what you think
is the most impressive TV to come from CES. I can’t wait to see what you say.
Also, please slap the like and subscribe buttons because we have tons more to tell you
about what’s happening in the TV space this year. Thank you very much now let’s talk TVs!
Let’s start our list with the Samsung micro-LED lineup. Take your pick, 88, 99, 110 inches,
these displays are just flat-out impressive. Yes, I’m sure they are insanely expensive but
being expensive doesn’t mean it isn’t some of the best TV tech at the show. Speaking of TV tech,
technically, these aren’t TVs! I know, it sounds crazy, but Samsung’s micro-LED TVs don’t have
a tuner, so technically they are displays, not TVs. Since 2006, US Federal law states that a TV
has to have a digital tuner or it isn’t a TV. Anyway, semantics aside, getting intense
brightness and perfect black levels at these sizes is pretty exciting. A little over the top?
Not if you are building a legit high-end home theater, or even a boutique commercial theater.
Samsung scores a second spot on our list thanks to its new Q900 line for 2021. These NEO QLED TVs
are remarkably thin, mini-LED driven TVs with some serious chops. We’ve seen them
in action and they are getting dangerously close to OLED black level performance, but
get way brighter and as a result, HDR comes off seriously impressive. Plus Samsungs high-end TVs
come with the one-connect box, which you know I love, AND Samsung is taking gaming
seriously this year and I anticipate these TVs are going to be outstanding for high-end
gaming. I’m certain this will be one of the top TVs of the year once the reviews are in.
Now let’s visit Sony. Interestingly, Sony hasn’t chosen to embrace mini-LED backlight technology
the way Samsung and LG did this year. At least not publicly. Sony doesn’t really like to reveal
details about its backlighting tech, it just likes to point to how good it is. At any rate,
one area where Sony has always excelled is processing, and it just unleashed its most
advanced processor -- like, by a mile -- which it calls the cognitive processor XR.
This is not the place to get into why it is so awesome -- that’s another video -- but
I bring it up because I think it is going to drive two TVs in particular to the top in 2021.
We’ll start with the Master Series Z9J. I kind of feel like the past few years have been leading
up to this TV. We had the popular Z9D years back, the more recent Z9G, the Z8H last year,
and now we arrive at the Z9J where I think Sony has decided to rev up its engines and deliver the
most cinematic, realistic 8K TV it can muster. It’s likely to offer incredible brightness,
well-controlled black levels, and, of course, Sony’s treatment of color is second to none.
This TV oozes premium and I think it’s going to look incredible when we get one in for review.
As excited as I am about the Z9J, I think I’m a little more excited for the next entry on this
list and that would be the Sony A90J Master Series OLED TV.
Like LG, which we’ll talk about in a minute, Sony has figured out how to brighten up its OLED TVs
for even more intense HDR, and between that and the new Cognitice Processor XR, I think
this might end up being the best-looking OLED TV we’ve ever seen. Sony has also improved its
Acoustic Surface audio technology, which stands to make one of the best-sounding TVs I’ve ever heard
sound even better. Toss in two HDMI 2.1 ports with full support of all the
latest gaming features and I just don’t know if this TV can be beat this year.
If it can be beaten, however, it will be by the next pick on my list:
LG’s Gallery Series or G-Series OLED TVs. LG has been busy developing its OLED technology and has
also figured out how to brighten up its OLED images. Now, it’s hard to say whether LG figured
this out and passed the tech along to Sony, or if Sony is doing some kind of its own version,
but I will remind everyone that Sony uses LG OLED panels just like everyone else. Anyway,
the Gallery series has never looked more gorgeous, it is getting a brightness boost, and it sports
4 HDMI 2.1 ports, along with Freesync and G-sync support. It really has everything.
I’m going to go ahead and predict that between the Gallery Series OLED and the Sony A90J,
it’s going to be processing vs. features, and I can’t wait to wrestle with that decision.
I also have to give honorable mention to LG’s A-Series OLEDs too. No, they won’t offer the
best performance, features, or aesthetics, but what they will do is bring OLED picture
quality to more people thanks to more affordable pricing, and I think that deserves some mention.
Next up: TCL. I feel like TCL has been a leader of its own since 2018
and it has done it again in 2021. First it brought the game-changingly
good 6-Series, then it was the first with mini-LED tech, two years before the competition,
then it dropped that mini-LED tech into the 6-Series and now it is bringing 8K mini-LED
to the 6-Series, which just blows my mind. So is THAT my pick for TCL’s best TV of CES 2021?
I mean, maybe? OR, it could be the 85-inch 8K Mni-LED TV that doesn’t seem to have a
model number yet? Why am I hedging? Because TCL has a new micro-LED backlight technology called
OD-Zero but it isn’t saying which TVs that tech will be in. So it could be either the
new 6-Series or it could be the new 85-inch 8K model which seems to be in its own series, or it
could be both! One looks incredible and the other sounds incredible, so we’ll have to wait and see.
I’ll be looking to review every single one of these TVs in 2021, pit them against each
other in vs. battles, and of course, we’ll be looking at other TVs from these big brands, but,
on the whole, 2021 is looking big and bright with some amazing new TVs on the way.