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John Archer, Contributor

The 10 Best TVs To Buy On Black Friday 2019

Black Friday is looming again, bringing with it all the usual breathlessly hyped technology deals, wall to wall internet coverage, and, unfortunately, a nasty case of bargain fever that seems to find all too many tech buyers taking leave of their collective senses and spending good money on products they wouldn’t normally touch with a bargepole.

Nowhere is this money-saving madness more apparent than in the world of TV. These photogenic big-ticket items invariably feature high on all the ‘doorbuster’ ads the major stores run, accompanied by insanely low prices for the sizes of screen on offer. 

All too often, though, these most hyped Black Friday deals aren’t actually good deals at all, for the simple reason that the very cheapest TVs are typically the worst. Little more than a waste of money for anyone who cares about picture and sound quality. Especially in these days where HDR and 4K have created so much picture quality potential. 

Here, then, and in no particular order, I want to share my pick of not the cheapest but the best performing TVs of 2019. These sets may not feature in all the headline-grabbing Black Friday ads ahead of November 29, but the chances are that they will all be receiving healthy discounts over the Black Friday period. And if you get one of these, there’s no way you’ll be feeling like you’ve wasted any money by the time November 30th rolls round.

Samsung QN65Q90R (QE65Q90R in Europe)

For its flagship 2019 TV, Samsung combined a new class-leading LED backlight system with a new panel design that finally solves the problems LCD TVs have with limited viewing angles. All while retaining the huge brightness levels and wide color ranges associated with its ‘QLED’ (Quantum Dot) technology.

This all adds up to a phenomenally punchy HDR picture, with extreme brightness at one end of the expanded brightness spectrum and inky blacks at the other. 

All the picture heroics, meanwhile, are backed up by the most comprehensive smart TV system in the TV world (including a built-in Apple TV app).

The TV does sometimes dim down bright objects that appear against dark backdrops quite aggressively to maintain the consistency of its black levels, and there’s no support for the Dolby Vision HDR system. But the 65Q90R is still a truly cutting edge TV that’s looking set to be heavily discounted over the Black Friday season. It’s already available at $2,199 (that’s $1,300 off) on Samsung’s own US website, but other retailers may cut even further.

You can find a full review of the QN65Q90R on this link. Note that while bigger screen sizes are available, the QN65Q90R delivers the most effective backlight control.

LG OLED65C9

The sweet spot in LG’s OLED TV range for 2019 is undoubtedly the C9 series. These are the cheapest models in the latest range to benefit from LG’s improved Gen 2 Alpha 9 picture processor, which brings with it key improvements to contrast and color, delivering a more impactful and immersive HDR performance. And while OLED can’t get as full-on bright as the best LCD TVs, don’t forget OLED’s natural advantages when it comes to contrast and viewing angles. 

The C9 series is also exquisitely designed thanks to the ultra thin profile only OLED technology makes possible. Though this thinness doesn’t stop it sounding better than you would expect thanks to LG’s new sound AI processor and Dolby Atmos support.

Wrapping the attractions up is LG’s ever-engaging WebOS smart system, and aggressive price cutting that finds LG currently selling the 65-inch OLED65C9 for $2,099 ($1400 off).

My full review of the OLED6565C9 can be read here.

If you want to combine the picture quality of the OLED65C9 with a beautiful glass-based design and a much more powerful sound system (especially if you use LG’s Sound AI mode), you could also look out for good prices on the OLED65E9.

Sony XBR-55A9G (Sony KD-55AG9 in Europe)

Sony’s latest flagship OLED TV partners the natural contrast and viewing angles of OLED technology with the often glorious talents of the brand’s exceptional X1 Ultimate video processor.

This does a sensational job, in particular, of both upscaling HD and SD content to 4K, and up-converting standard dynamic range content to HDR. 

It also delivers class leading motion, while its beautifully refined pictures are partnered by Sony’s clever Acoustic Surface Audio technology. This uses the surface of the screen to produce a strikingly direct, open sound.

All this tech doesn’t come particularly cheap – hopefully the current $2,499 price will get cut further by some retailers once Black Friday actually arrives. It’s also true to say that the 55A9G is not especially bright, meaning that it won’t necessarily suit a well-lit or sun-drenched room. So long as you can work with that, though, this set has plenty of that classic Sony TV magic.

Samsung UN55RU8000 (UE55RU8000 in Europe)

This 55-inch 4K LCD TV does not benefit from Samsung’s QLED technology. But the trade off for this is that it’s cheap. In fact, for this Black Friday season Samsung is already selling the set for just $549.99 – and it wouldn’t be surprising if other retailers potentially go even lower than this in the coming days.

The 55RU8000 isn’t as bright as Samsung’s QLED TVs, and it doesn’t deliver as much color range, either. Actually, though, this turns out to be a good thing in one way, as it helps the TV deliver a more contrasty and balanced looking picture than the cheapest QLED sets, which tend to become rather grey in dark scenes.

The UN55RU8000 also carries a full version of Samsung’s excellent new smart TV system, and unlike many affordable LCD TVs, this one doesn’t use an IPS type of LCD panel, meaning it avoids the contrast issues IPS panels always suffer with.

LG OLED55B9

LG’s entry-level OLED TV for 2019 the second generation of LG’s Alpha 7 processing engine rather than the Alpha 9 Gen 2 processor provided in LG’s higher OLED ranges. This means HDR pictures look a touch less dynamic, there’s a bit less shadow detail in dark areas, motion doesn’t look as clean, sub-4K images aren’t upscaled with as much sharpness, and colors are sometimes less natural and consistent. 

While the OLED55B9 might not be as accomplished as LG’s C9 OLEDs up, though, its still a truly exceptional performer for its money. Already available through Black Friday for just $1,199.99, this 55-inch model delivers cinematic black colors and contrast that no LCD can get close to, as well as a gorgeous, super-slim design.

Sony XBR-55X950G (Sony KD-55XG9505)

Thanks to its combination of a direct LED lighting system with local dimming and Sony’s excellent X1 Ultimate video processor, this 55-inch LCD TV is capable of delivering exceptionally punchy, bright, richly colored and detailed pictures – especially with HDR sources. 

Its upscaling of non-4K images is exemplary, too, and like Samsung’s high-end LCD TVs, this Sony supports wider viewing angles than most LCD TVs. 

Its backlight system doesn’t use as many local dimming zones as some rivals, but the 55 and 65-inch models in the X950G range don’t suffer much backlight clouding anyway – despite their genuinely spectacular amounts of HDR-friendly brightness. 

The 55 and 65-inch models in the X950G range don’t get Sony’s new wide viewing angle technology, unlike the 75-inch and 85-inch models. But actually I wouldn’t say this is a bad thing for the smaller models (unless a wide viewing angle is really necessary to your room layout), as Sony’s wide angle technology tends to reduce native contrast.

TCL 65R625 (US only)

This 65-inch LCD TV is great value at its current $799.99 price. So if you manage to find it discounted below this for Black Friday, it will be seriously hard to resist. 

Its Roku smart TV system gives you loads of content and a simple operating system, and its picture quality is excellent for the money. This is down partly to its 120-zone full array local dimming backlight system, which delivers impressively deep black levels and enough brightness to do HDR plenty of justice, and partly to its Quantum Dot color system. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR as well as the industry standard HDR10 platform. 

The only pity, really, is that TCL doesn’t sell these TVs in more territories around the world!

Samsung QN55Q80R (Samsung QE55Q80R in Europe)

If you want much of the high brightness, deep black levels and explosive color of Samsung’s flagship Q90R TVs at a fraction of the price, the 55-inch QN55Q80R is a great alternative. 

There’s a sharp reduction in the number of dimming zones used by the full array backlight compared with the Q90R, but Samsung’s new dedicated backlight/dimming chip helps keep LED clouding impressively unobtrusive despite the image packing a fearsome brightness punch. The QLED-inspired color performance is often dazzling too, with the impressive pictures being joined by solid audio and an excellent smart TV system.

Vizio M558-G1

Vizio’s 55-inch M558-G1 wraps up the main list (see the addendum below for a couple more models only available in Europe) of this year’s 10 best all-round TVs, for two main reasons.

First, a recent firmware update by Vizio enabled it to play the HDR10+ premium HDR picture format. Given that the TV launched with support for the rival Dolby Vision premium HDR format, the HDR10+ update makes the M558-G1 one of only a small number of TVs (all made by Vizio) in the US capable of playing all the best quality sources out there. This is a great move that we can only hope other brands available in the US follow.

The other big attraction of the M558-G1 is, as usual for Vizio, its price. It’s already being discounted to just $459.99 by Dell, so with a bit of luck things might sneak even cheaper than that when Black Friday finally arrives.

Of course, the M558-G1 wouldn’t make this list if its picture quality wasn’t also up to scratch. There are no worries there, though, as it uses another direct lighting system with local dimming to deliver impressive contrast and color. 

HDR pictures don’t look as bright and punchy as they do on the other sets on this list, but you have to accept a compromise somewhere for the M558-G1’s price.

ADDENDUM

There are a couple of other TVs not available in the US that more than deserve to be added to this article for readers from other territories. Not just as replacements for the US-specific TCL and Vizio models, but because they happen to be genuinely fantastic TVs.

First up there’s the Panasonic TX-65GZ2000. While most OLED TVs from any brand are essentially variations on panels built by LG Display, the 65GZ2000 (£3700 at the time of writing, but hopefully set for some discounting over Black Friday) incorporates genuine hardware innovations by Panasonic, derived from its long experience as the premier maker of plasma TVs.

This hardware innovation enables the 65GZ2000 to deliver more brightness than any OLED TV before, without damaging the technology’s renowned black level prowess.

This flagship model also carries a Dolby Atmos sound system (delivered by a 140W speaker system that even includes up-firing speakers mounted at the top of a column behind the screen), and even supports both of the HDR10+ and Dolby Vision premium HDR formats.

The other TV worth considering if you’re in Europe is the Philips 55OLED804. This 55-inch OLED  is pretty heavily discounted already, hitting just £1400 in the UK, for instance. Despite the fact that it combines OLED’s trademark contrast-rich pictures with super-powerful processing from Philips’ P5 engine. Plus there’s Philips’ unique Ambilight technology, where LEDs on the TV’s super-thin rear pump out pools of colored lights onto the wall behind the screen for a more immersive effect.

Add in support, again, for both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic HDR formats, and the bang for your buck on the Philips 55OLED804 is huge.

US readers should note that the Philips brand in Europe is owned by TP Vision, and the TVs it produces bear no relation to those that wear the Philips brand in the US.

If you found this article useful, you might also like these:

LG’s Black Friday 2019 TV Deals: Huge OLED And LCD Savings Available Now

Samsung Black Friday 2019 TV Deals: Full Range Of Massive Savings Revealed

Samsung QN65Q90R Review: Tearing Up The LCD Rulebook

LG OLED65C9 OLED TV Review: Knocking On Heaven’s Door

The Great OLED Screen Burn Debate – Everything You Need to Know

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