Best Budget TV For 2022: Vizio, TCL Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV And More
The first step to purchasing a new TV is often to determine your budget. Not everyone is willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a new set. CNET's list of the best TVs is full of models with QLED , Mini-LED , or OLED screens—improvements that improve picture quality but also add a significant price tag.
So we were looking for a great entry-level TV that wouldn't break the bank but still have a lot to offer. These devices don't receive any awards for brightness or image enhancement, and that's okay. Entry-level TVs aren't particularly stylish, but they can provide a very clear and balanced picture for a better price.
In fact, most of the models in this series have more in common than differences. They all use LCD panels with a native 60Hz refresh rate , offer 4K resolution and HDR playback , and feature built-in Smart TV streaming. Differences in brightness, screen color quality, HDR format type, extra features (even for gaming), and smart platform usability stand out on some models.
For this review, CNET editor David Katzmaier and I tested four low-cost 2022 TVs side-by-side at the CNET Television Lab. We focused on the 50" model because it fits a variety of spaces, but is much cheaper than the widescreen model. However, these TVs come in a variety of sizes, typically ranging from 43 to 75 inches. Specifications for other sizes in the same range are generally the same and we expect similar image quality from each size.
When it comes to image quality, the Vizio V series seems to be the undisputed leader. The Vizio offers the most balanced and accurate picture during our direct comparison, and comes with some useful extras such as Dolby Vision support, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth compatibility, and variable refresh rates for potentially smoother gaming. Vizio's biggest downfall is its Vizio SmartCast smart TV platform. It was loaded, slow and full of ads for platforms like Tubi and Kidoodle TV.
Ultimately, the Vizio V series offers the best possible picture as well as some quality extras at a very affordable price, even when you factor in the cost of adding a new streaming device. That's more than enough to make it the best entry-level TV I've ever tested.
Sizes: 43", 50", 55", 58", 65", 70" and 75". The following prices are for the 50" model.
You will receive a price alert for the Vizio V Series.
In our tests, the picture quality of the Roku TCL Series 4 TV was only one step lower than the Vizio. TCL's black levels and image fidelity may not be as deep and rich as the Vizio's, but they're still pretty good. The difference between them is so small that you really need to put them side by side to notice anything. The Series 4 lacks Dolby Vision, Bluetooth connectivity, and AMD FreeSync with variable refresh rates, all that Vizio offers. However, it comes with an excellent Roku Smart TV system.
The TCL 4 series is a great entry-level option for most people, and could be a good buy for those who prefer a Roku system and are looking for a complete smart TV solution.
Size: 43 inch, 50 inch, 55 inch, 65 inch, 75 inch, 85 inch. The following prices are for the 50" model.
it Like the Vizio, the Hisense A6H Google TV offers some high-end features at an entry-level price. This TV has a premium build quality and supports Dolby Vision, Bluetooth and DTS Virtual:X to simulate surround sound. The Hisense A6H comes with Google TV, which is our second favorite behind the Roku platform, but we found it to be slower than Google TV on high-end TVs like the Sony X80K.
Although the image quality is inferior to TCL and Vizio, the A6H also stands out for its design. The TV's rings are very thin, and the screen itself sticks right to the back, leaving rounded metal corners. This gives the TV a more premium finish that I haven't seen on other TVs in this price range.
Ultimately, the Hisense A6H Google TV is a good choice for budget shoppers who value design and want a Google TV interface.
Size: 43 inch, 50 inch, 55 inch, 65 inch, 70 inch, 75 inch. The following prices are for the 50" model.
You have received a price notice for Hisense A6H Google TV.
The Fire TV 4 series is one of the simplest TVs on this list. It doesn't offer Dolby Vision, doesn't offer the same benefits for gamers as AMD FreeSync, and doesn't have the impressive build quality of Hisense. Instead, Fire TV gives you a brighter picture, an Alexa-controlled voice remote, and access to Amazon content.
The Fire TV 4 series offers the brightest screen and best gaming picture of our entry-level model, but we like the Smart TV system just as much. However, it may suit people with bright rooms or connected to the Amazon ecosystem.
Size: 43 inch, 50 inch, 55 inch. The following prices are for the 50" model.
The picture quality of an entry-level TV isn't great, but it's better than you might think.
Entry-level TVs lack mini-LEDs, local dimming zones, and other technologies that can really make a TV screen stand out. When comparing these TVs in the lab, it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between standard definition and 4K, as well as standard dynamic range and HDR, because the two types of content look the same.
However, the image fidelity of the V series is definitely a step above the rest. Colors look more accurate and levels are darker, making the V-series a bit more contrasty than other TVs on this list. For example, when watching an episode of The Crown on Netflix, shadows in a dimly lit room look more realistic than on many other TVs. I could also see a lot more detail in the folds of a man's suit, while people's skin tones looked much more natural on screen than on TCL, which tended toward red, and Fire TV, which tended toward blue.
In TCL, the black parts of the Season 2 opening credits look rich and dark, and I see most of the detail in the men's suits at the start of Episode 5. Speech in a red suit on a red background. This pink tint persists when the TV is calibrated for a brighter environment, and I've never been able to find a picture setting that works as well as the Vizio's Calibrated Mode.
TCL's picture settings give you a lot of control, but sometimes it's hard to find the best combination for the most accurate picture. In the dark room, I used Dark HDR in combination with the Dark brightness setting. I find it difficult to get a good combination in a lighter room and the process shouldn't be difficult or time consuming.
Hisense lags behind the other two. Colors appear pale and less vibrant, blacks lose contrast and fade. In the Crown, the colors of objects are not displayed, and black is more of a shade of gray. It is also difficult to see many details in the dark. Her complexion is pale, bluish, and TV in general tends to be blue. The Filmmaker mode, which is generally the most accurate, cannot solve this problem in bright or dark light.
The Fire TV 4 series also showed poor contrast when calibrated for a dark room, and only got worse when I adjusted the image for brighter situations. The opening credits of "The Crown" show bluish gray in what would otherwise be all black. It is also difficult to see details in dark conditions and in poorly lit scenes. The skin tones of the Queen and Philip tend to look a bit bluish as the entire screen is tilted back towards a more bluish hue.
Entry-level TVs are not very bright, but workable
Vizio performed well in sunny conditions. The calibrated setting, which is best used for accurate images in well-lit rooms, results in an average brightness of just 215 nits . It's one of the lowest brightness levels I've measured, but numbers aren't everything, and the Vizio definitely passed the vision test. I don't seem to see much difference in actual brightness when watching the show on TV. Indeed, the Vizio is bright enough for a well-lit room and is able to maintain useful blacks and accurate colors during light-filled viewing sessions.
The Roku's screen appears quite bright in dark or lit rooms. Average brightness is 226 nits with the brighter Dark HDR setting, which isn't very bright. This screen, like Vizio, will not surprise you with its light output. However, its brightness is more than enough to see any display in any light.
Hisense's brightness is average for the TVs on this list, at 247 nits in theater HDR mode. However, it is certainly bright enough for comfortable viewing in all lighting conditions.
The Fire TV 4 series is by far the brightest I've tested, averaging 312 nits in Cinema mode. In this case, the numbers do reflect actual results, as the TV looked brighter than the rest of the range in our comparison tests.
The numbers above don't get any brighter in this TV's less accurate modes, and you'll have to pay more to get a much brighter picture. Of the 2022 TVs we tested , the 55-inch Samsung QN60B-TV scored 514 nits in its most precise mode, while the 65-inch Vizio MQX scored 742 nits (and Vizio claims the 50-inch hit 400).
Yes, you can play video games on entry-level TVs.
Playing on the Vizio is an adequate experience, although I found that when playing Call of Duty on the Xbox Series X , the graphics were less vibrant and more washed out than other game modes. The Vizio is the only entry-level TV on this list that offers AMD FreeSync and variable refresh rates. According to the Vizio display, the frame rate never drops below 60fps while playing, so I've never seen variable refresh rates in action. Of course, your results may vary.
The TCL 4 series screen looks very bright during video games. Call of Duty looks crisp and bright, albeit a bit in the blue end of the color spectrum. While the Series 4 isn't known for its game-specific updates, the TV manages to deliver a more than adequate gaming experience for the average gamer.
CoD is not fun at Hisense. The game mode lacks color accuracy, with the landscape having a bluish-green tint and the night scene lacking contrast and detail. Casual players may not notice a huge difference, but those who play regularly may be disappointed by the game's graphics.
The Fire TV 4 series' brightness levels really help with gaming, and in our side-by-side tests, Call of Duty looked better on the Fire TV. The game looks alive and exciting when the game mode is on. The landscape was still slightly bluish, but I could see every detail of the roads while chasing the enemy in the dark night.
Some integrated smart TV systems are better than others
As with any TV, it's easy enough to change the Smart TV platform by purchasing a separate streaming device starting at $40 for the incredible Roku with 4K HDR , and many bands are turning to them during the holiday sales. Of course, you can save that money and use the system built into your TV.
The Roku platform is my favorite and the TCL 4 Roku series perform very well. Apps on TCL launch quickly, and Roku offers a clean and easy-to-use approach that doesn't recommend one streaming service over another. As our tests show, it also has the simplest user interface and the best search function.
TCL doesn't have the voice remote found on other TVs, but Roku's powerful software comes with an easy-to-use iOS and Android phone app that can be used as a remote control for your TV. The app comes with voice control and lets you use Roku's best search feature. For example, Netflix starts up immediately when I'm talking on the phone. Similarly, Roku handled my request in the case against Adnan Syed with ease. When I click on a result, I get a list of where the show was shown and how much it costs to watch it. By saying "football" on my phone, I called up upcoming games along with the sports movies that came with my Disney Plus subscription. "Looking for the Steelers" actually features a Pittsburgh Steelers game.
While the Vizio is my favorite budget TV, it has a smart TV platform that I dislike the most.
The screen is filled with shows and movies, and below the app row are many more rows, including Live & On Demand TV, Hulu News, and Featured. Navigation is slow and using the voice search function on the remote control could be faster. For example, my question was answered by Netflix, as was the case against Adnan Syed. Vizio also let me know what record the show was making, which I thought was a nice touch.
I was out of luck when looking for a football that didn't work. If you say "Steelers" into the microphone, this is a film about the world's first gay rugby club. This is very hard to accept, as the Vizio splash screen is a huge advertisement for Steelers vs. Brown. Seems like Smart Cast should be a little smarter.
The Hisense A6H comes with Google TV and includes Google Assistant built into the remote. In the end, the remote worked fine, but at first I had problems connecting it to the TV. You must ensure that the remote control is manually paired with Bluetooth for the Google Assistant to work properly.
I know some people really like the Google TV interface and find it more useful than Roku, but I find it slow on this particular TV. Google also offers some ridiculous categories that don't make sense. For example, I had a category called “Love Dramas” appear on my screen. I'm not sure if Google thinks I like to watch dramas or if I'm interested in romantic dramas, but searching for series doesn't come up with clarity. This category includes Baz Luhrmann's classic Romeo + Juliet, but with posters misidentifying it as Romeo and Juliet, as well as The Florida Project and Sweeney Todd, which are only marginally associated with love, and then only with darkness. the senses.
Google Assistant quickly took me to Netflix when I asked, and automatically opened HBO Max when I wanted to file a case against Adnan Syed. When I asked about football, I got a football-related YouTube video and a few films about football, but not the actual game. The Steelers' research also found no games.
As you might expect, the Fire TV 4 series works well with Alexa integration. Netflix immediately appeared on the screen when I asked Alexa to open it. It took a little longer to process my request for The Case v. Adnan Syed, but I was finally shown where I can watch it on HBO Max or buy the episode on Amazon. If you ask Alexa about football, you'll get results that include live football and American football events, as well as football-related movies and TV shows.
The Fire TV interface is full of content and ads, with categories like Movies & TV and Trending on Fire TV. Many of these categories promote content available exclusively through Amazon Prime Video. I don't like it when ads stand out on all platforms like this, and I especially don't like it when the screensaver TV turns into a giant rotating billboard for content or ads.
How does CNET test budget TVs?
For this review, four identical TVs were compared side-by-side with an AVPro Connect 8x8 4K HDR distribution matrix under different lighting conditions and played a variety of media including movies, TV shows and games in different test categories, from brightness to processing, from video to HDR playback. I didn't do any standard CNET measurements or specific tests for this group of TVs, although I did measure gaming input lag as well as network brightness with a Konica Minolta LS-100 light meter. Our rating also takes into account design, functionality, smart TV performance, HDMI input, and game compatibility, among other things.
Frequently Asked Questions about TV for Beginners
In general, yes.
Of course, everyone has different needs, but cheap TVs provide a very good viewing experience for most people. Sure, you won't get the best picture quality or features on an entry-level TV, but you'll get a decent picture quality TV that will give you years of enjoyment.
yes they will
The TV buying cycle is a cycle. Each year, new TVs are announced in January before they hit the market in the spring and early summer. Затем они поступают в продажу осенью и в Черную пятницу, когда они обычно продаются по самым низким ценам, поскольку производители пытаются освободить запасы для новых моделей, выходящих в январе.
Тем не менее, телевизоры начального уровня довольно дешевы, поэтому скидки обычно не такие большие, как на более дорогие модели.
Всегда ли телевизоры меньшего размера дешевле?
Не всегда, но обычно. Большие телевизоры той же марки и серии почти всегда дороже, чем маленькие.
Конечно, цена действительно зависит от типа телевизора, который вы ожидаете. Например, вы, безусловно, можете найти более крупные бюджетные телевизоры с базовыми функциями, которые стоят меньше, чем более мелкие телевизоры высокого класса. Разница в цене в этом случае, скорее всего, связана с разной технологией, используемой в двух телевизорах.
Обычно рекомендуется сначала определить желаемый размер телевизора, а затем бюджет покупки. Таким образом, вы можете сравнить различные модели в пределах вашего бюджета и ценового диапазона, чтобы найти лучший телевизор для вас.
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