The Best Black Friday TV Deals So Far in 2023

Published:Thu, 9 Nov 2023 / Source:https://www.ign.com/articles/black-friday-tvs-2023

Black Friday lands on November 24, but TV deals generally start much earlier in the month. Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon have already launched early Black Friday Sale events with some really great deals on 4K TVs from LG, Sony, Hisense, TCL, and more. Some of these prices are so low that we don't think they'll get any better around Black Friday. In past years, we've seen some of the best "Black Friday" deals actually sell out beforehand. We listed out the best discounts we've found so far and will continue adding more deals.

The Best Black Friday TV Deals So Far

75" Hisense 4K Roku Smart TV for Only $398

A 75" for $398 is a true Black Friday deal. If you find a cheaper 75" TV then this deal on Black Friday, chances are good that the TV itself will be much crappier than this. The Hisense R6 TV doesn't have a lot of premium features like a native 120Hz refresh rate or HDMI 2.1 or fancy OLED, but it is still a solid TV that offers great image quality at a super low price tag. Walmart even offers free shipping for everyone.

65" Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED Smart TV for $1398

As part of Walmart's Early Black Friday Sale event, Walmart is offering a the 65" Sony Bravia XR A90J 4K OLED Smart TV for only $1398.00. This was Sony's highest-end TV of 2021 Although the A90J is an older model year, it was a top-of-the-line TV at the time and it is still one of the best OLED TVs you can buy. To get a better current gen 65" Sony TV, you'd have to splurge for the A95K, which costs hundreds more.

New 2023 55" Hisense U7K 4K Mini LED TV for $478

For a limited time, get a free copy of NBA 2K24 Black Mamba Edition when you purchase an eligible Hisense ULED TV. This particular TV qualifies. Click here for more details.

Amazon is offering a 55" Hisense U7K 4K QLED Mini-LED Smart TV for only $480. That's 40% less than the $800 MSRP. The Hisense U7K boasts a Mini-LED panel with quantum dot technology (QLED) and wide color gamut (ULED). It's also features a native 120Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 inputs. What that means is that it will output 4K @ 120Hz through the PS5 or Xbox Series X console.

2022 48" LG A2 4K OLED Gaming TV for $549.99

The A-series is LG's least expensive OLED lineup. That said, it is still a true OLED TV. Compared to traditional LED LCD TVs, OLED TVs offer better image quality, deeper blacks, better contrast ratio, wider color gamut, and super fast response times. The A2 has the same processor as the B2 and supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision, which makes it an excellent TV for HDR content. The biggest reason why the A2 is less expensive than LG's other models is that the A2 has a native 60Hz panel. That means it is unable to run 4K @ 120Hz and has no HDMI 2.1 inputs. This might deter gamers who want to run games at 4K@120Hz on their PS5 or Xbox Series X, although you should note that not all games can run at this setting.

All Black Friday TV Deals So Far

A Breakdown of Our Favorite TV Vendors

Samsung

Samsung is the largest TV manufacturer in the world. Samsung TVs are generally higher priced than any of the other brands out there, but in return you also get some of the best technology. In 2022 Samsung launched the quantum dot OLED panel (QD OLED) panel which is technically superior to standard OLED. QD OLED is only available on Samsung TVs as well as the highest end Sony A95 OLED TV. Samsung also makes the most affordable 8K TV. There's hardly any 8K content available, but these TVs do make exceptional PC monitors because of their razer sharp clarity.

TCL

TCL is another high volume TV maker and generally offer the lowest pricing among any of the big TV brands. Note that starting in 2023, TCL is revamping its TV lineup. The 4-series is now the Q6, the 5 series is now the Q7, and the 6 series is now the QM8. The Q6 are basic 4K smart TVs stripped of any unnecessary features (for most people) at incredibly low prices. The Q7 TVs noticeably improve HDR image quality with the addition of a quantum dot (QLED) panel with local dimming and wide color gamut. They also making great current-gen gaming TVs since it sports a native 120Hz panel and HDMI 2.1 ports. The QM7 goes one step further by adding in Mini-LED technology for better HDR picture quality.

Sony

Sony, another member of the "big three", carries a healthy lineup of TVs that are catered towards the current-gen gamer. That's not a surprise, since Sony also makes the PlayStation 5 console. Sony's OLED TV prices are dropping steadily and it's not uncommon to see them challenging LG OLED TVs these days in pricing. The A80, A85, A90 and A95 are Sony's OLED models and these are all great TVs for current-gen gamers. For the LED LCD TVs, gamers should stick with the X85, X90, or X95 because these are the only TVs that support 4K @ 120Hz gaming over HDMI 2.1.

Hisense

Hisense leads the pack in TV sales in the Chinese market and fortunately their high volume translates to low prices here in the States. The models to look at are the U6, U7, and U8 TVs. The U6 is the least expensive of the lineup but it still has good image quality thanks to the quantum dot (QLED) panel with wide color gamut (ULED). The new U6K TV for 2023 even has Mini-LED technology, making it the least expensive Mini-LED TV we've seen thus far. The U7 is the cheapest TV we'd recommend for current gen console gamers because it has HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K @ 120Hz gaming. The U8 is Hisense's flagship model. The 2023 U8K promises double the dimming zones over the 2022 U8H.

What TV Features to Look Out For

There are a lot of terms with fancy names that might confuse the first time TV buyer. What's worse, just because a particular feature costs more money doesn't mean that you'll benefit from it at all. Depending on your needs, you can ignore some of the features offered in the more premium sets and save your money.

What makes a good gaming TV?

If you own a current-gen PS5 or Xbox Series X console, then you'll want a gaming TV that has HDMI 2.1 ports and a native 120Hz refresh rate. That's because these consoles can play supported games at 4K resolution at up to 120fps. However, that's only possible if the TV can handle that resolution and refresh rate. Not all TVs support this feature and the ones that do usually command a premium price. If you don't plan to game on a current-gen console, then this feature will probably wasted on you. There's very little 4K @ 120Hz media content available outside of video games. Some other features that a gamer appreciate are variable refresh rate (VRR), which is the TV's version of adaptive sync technology, and auto low latency mode (ALLM), where the TV switches to a lower latency when it detects gameplay. You may also want to look at some of the differences between a gaming monitor and TV before you make a decision.

What makes a good HDR TV?

HDR, or high dynamic range, is the range your TV can display from the whitest white to the absolute blackest black within a single frame. In order to have a very good HDR, you need two basic qualities: the ability to show as true of a black as possible, and a high enough brightness to produce a punchy white. Several TV features help in this regard. The panel itself, for example, is important. An OLED panel has pixels that can individually switch on or off, thus offering a true black image. A full-array LED-backlit panel simulates this by having "zones" of LEDs that can be independently dimmed, thus allowing the TV to deftly handle scenes where bright sunlight and dark shadows coexist. Mini LED panels allow for even more precise local dimming because the controller zones are smaller and more numerous. QLED displays have an additional quantum dot layer that enhances color accuracy and increases brightness, thus also improving HDR quality. A TV with "wide color gamut" can display a wider range of colors, again improving HDR quality.

For another IGN perspective, check out our take on which type of TV wins; OLED vs QLED.

Source:https://www.ign.com/articles/black-friday-tvs-2023

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