One of the first things you have to look at before buying a 4k tv for watching sports is the size of the TV. I would recommend you go with the larger size TVs because the more screen size you buy you will be benefited from a good performance like the viewing angle will be wider and also the bigger screen effect.
For sports, just look for a screen with a high-frequency range, usually, a screen with 60hz or more is excellent and provides great performance for gaming and sports. The second question that arises on everyone’s mind is that should I go with HDR TV? The high dynamic range TVs deliver great picture quality and there will be no motion blur in the image that appears on the screen.
It produces a wide range of color gamut and also the image have a great contrast ratio and brightness so the people feel to watch sports.
Our list below for best sports TVs is chosen based on:
- Great viewing angles without loss of contrast – when you have the people over watching the game you don’t want a contrast to degrade and black levels start to look at angles washed out.
- No Motion Lag, blur, and minimal judder – judder is the annoying jerky impact as the target or individual moves across the screen side by side. That should be smooth. Motion lag or blur is produced when the television processing is slower than the object moving on the screen which causes some delay.
- High levels of contrast and deep black – these two go hand in hand but you certainly don’t want the picture to be washed away. That is prevented by strong contrast and deep black levels.
See also our recommendation on best TV to use a monitor.
- Best TV For Watching Sports: LG CX OLED
- LED Alternative: SONY X950H
- Best TV for Watching Sports Overall: Sony X900F
- Top Sony TV for Sports: Sony Master Series A9F 4K TV
- Best Budget TV for Sports: Sony X950G LED TV
- Top-Rated 4k Smart TV: Vizio E Series
Main Factors to Look Before Buying a 4k TV for Watching Sports
- Response Times
- Permanent Burn-In
- Motion Blur
- Contrast Ratio
- Viewing distance of TVs
- Resolutions and Reflections
Top High-Performance 4k Smart TVs For Sports Lovers
1. Best Response Time TV: LG CX OLED
The LG CX OLED is the best sports TV that we’ve reviewed in 2023. It’s an outstanding all-around TV with incredible image quality. It has all the features that most sports fans need, including very wide viewing angles, which is perfect if you are going to have a large group of friends over to watch the big game.
It has a near-instant response time, so without motion blur, fast-moving content looks fantastic. With hardly any dirty screen effect, our unit has amazing grey uniformity, but this can differ between units. It gets fairly bright when you watch games in bright spaces, but it’s still not the brightest TV out there on the market.
Fortunately, it has excellent reflex handling, so you should not have any troubles positioning it in a moderately-lit room. Its OLED technology will turn off pixels individually, resulting in perfect blacks, which is fantastic if at night you watch sports. Finally, without any problems, it upscales lower-resolution video, such as from cable boxes.
Unfortunately, it has the possibility of permanent burn-in, like any OLED TV. Burn-in is just a concern with constant static elements, and even though you watch football and its static shows, such as the scoreboard, every Sunday for nine hours, there are sufficiently diverse elements (replays, commercials, etc.) that it does not pose too much of a threat.
The built-in WebOS is also easy-to-use and you can download your sports streaming applications on it quickly. All and all, the LG is the best TV we’ve reviewed so far for sports.
- Perfect blacks.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Great out-of-the-box color accuracy.
- Near-instant response time.
- Aggressive Automatic Brightness Limiter
Model | LG CX OLED |
---|---|
Image Quality | Outstanding |
Viewing Angles | Very wide |
Response Time | Near-instant |
Dirty Screen Effect | Almost none |
Brightness | Fairly bright |
Reflection Handling | Excellent |
Black Uniformity | Amazing |
Upscaling | Excellent |
Burn-in risk | High |
Smart TV platform | WebOS |
Sports Streaming | Easy to download and use |
2. LED Alternative: SONY X950H
Check out the Sony X950H if you’re concerned about the possibility of permanent burn-in. It doesn’t have large viewing angles like the LG CX OLED, but it’s more appropriate for moderately-sized seating configurations.
The Sony gets even brighter, though, and it still has excellent reflection management, so if you watch sports in a space with intense sunshine, it’s an perfect option. There is a fast response time on this TV, so most fast-moving stuff looks fantastic.
Without any problems, it upscales lower-resolution video, and the smart device for Android TV has an outstanding choice of applications that you can use. Unfortunately, there is a dirty screen effect in the center of our unit, which can be distracting. Fortunately, this TV has excellent colour fidelity out-of-the-box, so you certainly won’t need to have it calibrated to stream your favorite sports.
Overall, if you simply want the best TV for sports, you can’t go wrong with the LG; however, if you want an LED TV that gets brighter, look into the Sony.
- Excellent SDR and HDR peak brightness.
- Outstanding reflection handling.
- Mediocre viewing angles.
Model | Sony X950H |
---|---|
Image Quality | Outstanding |
Viewing Angles | Moderate |
Response Time | Fast |
Dirty Screen Effect | Some |
Brightness | Very bright |
Reflection Handling | Excellent |
Black Uniformity | Good |
Upscaling | Excellent |
Burn-in risk | High |
Smart TV platform | Android TV |
Sports Streaming | Easy to download and use |
3. Great Motion Handling: Sony X900F
The Sony X900F is the best 4K smart TV that is updated with the new technologies and features. The Sony X900Fhas a great picture quality. The TV screen delivers a high-quality image to the user it appears deep black color in the darkroom which feels great to the user who loves to watch sports in the dark rooms.
It has excellent motion handling so this TV is mainly recommended to use for watching sports, video games, TV shows, and for HDR Gaming. It also has a high contrast ratio and full arrays of local dimming support.
At HDR, the television succeeds as it can produce bright, dynamic images. The processing of motion is also outstanding due to the fast response time and the ability to flicker backlight to continuous motion.
- Deep and uniform blacks
- Excellent motion handling
- Bright HDR highlights
- Picture quality degrades at an angle
Model | Sony X900F |
---|---|
Image Quality | Great |
Viewing Angles | Moderate |
Response Time | Fast |
Dirty Screen Effect | Minimal |
Brightness | High |
Reflection Handling | Good |
Black Uniformity | Excellent |
Local Dimming | Full Array |
Upscaling | Excellent |
Smart TV platform | Android TV |
Sports Streaming | Easy to download and use |
4. Best Sony TV for HDR Gaming: Sony Master Series A9F 4K TV
The Sony Master Series A9F 4K TV is the greatest OLED TV we’ve ever seen, it produces deep black levels when watching the TV and the image also looks good and appears perfectly without any motion blur.
And it has a very good response time which feels the best for those who like to watch sports and gamers will experience better motion handling. The Android 8.0 smart platform is much faster than previous Sony TVs.
The motion rate in this TV is good due to this the picture appears clear without any motion blur. This model can be used for TV Shows, Sports, Movies, Video Games, HDR gaming and movies, and as a PC Monitor as well.
- Excellent dark room performance
- Near-instantaneous response time
- The image remains accurate when viewed at an angle
- Could experience permanent burn-in
- Brightness is limited in white scenes
Model | Sony Master Series A9F |
---|---|
Image Quality | Great |
Viewing Angles | Wide |
Response Time | Very good |
Dirty Screen Effect | None |
Brightness | Fairly bright |
Reflection Handling | Excellent |
Black Uniformity | Deep black levels |
Motion Handling | Great |
Smart TV platform | Android 8.0 |
Usage | TV Shows, Sports, Movies, Video Games, HDR gaming and movies, PC monitor |
5. Wide Range of Colors: Samsung Q8FN QLED TV
The Samsung Q8FN is the best QLED TV introduced by Samsung in 2018. It has many updated features and functions compared to the older Samsung models. It has a very low input lag which helps gamers to experience better responsiveness in gaming.
It has excellent motion handling without any motion blurriness. It has a wide range of colors at viewing angles and the only disadvantage in this TV is that the picture quality reduces at an angle when viewed from different angles. This model can be used for TV Shows, Sports, Movies, Video Games, HDR gaming and movies, and as a PC Monitor as well.
- Excellent wide color gamut
- Feels responsive due to low input lag
- Great motion handling
- Picture quality degrades at an angle
Model | Samsung Q8FN |
---|---|
Image Quality | Great |
Viewing Angles | Wide range of colors, but reduced quality at angles |
Response Time | Excellent |
Input Lag | Very low |
Motion Handling | Smooth without motion blur |
Smart TV Platform | Samsung Smart Hub |
Usage | TV Shows, Sports, Movies, Video Games, HDR gaming and movies, PC Monitor |
6. Excellent Dark Scene Performance: Vizio P Series Quantum
One of the best TV in 2018 is the Vizio P Series P65-F1 which is 65 inch in length. The cost is relatively low that is below $1000 and it can be affordable by everyone. Compared to other TVs there are Many extra features in the Vizio P series. We can use it as a PC monitor and play games on it.
The image quality and resolution are high. A wide range of colors can also be displayed. Some people also don’t like the way older 480p and 720p, so Vizio TVs upgraded it to HD format. Contrast and brightness are expanded in every pixel. It takes a low input lag. We can operate our favorite apps in Vizio TVs by using our smartphones.
It allows us to insert DVDs, connect Blu ray players and game consoles. This model can be used for TV Shows, Sports, Movies, Video Games, HDR gaming and movies, and as a PC Monitor as well.
- Great dark scene performance
- Excellent motion handling
- Low input lag
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle
Model | Vizio P Series P65-F1 |
---|---|
Image Quality | High resolution and quality |
Color Range | Wide range |
Compatibility | Can be used as a PC monitor, with game consoles and Blu-ray players |
Input Lag | Low input lag |
Smart TV Platform | Allows operation of favorite apps through smartphones |
Cost | Relatively low, below $1000 |
Upgrades | Upgraded to HD format for older 480p and 720p content |
TV Shows | Suitable for watching TV shows |
Sports | Suitable for watching sports |
Movies | Suitable for watching movies |
Video Games | Suitable for playing video games and HDR gaming |
7. Great Image Quality: Hisense H8F
The Hisense H8F is the best 4k smart TV. It is the entry-level 4K TV with decent image quality. It provides excellent overall picture quality, but while the TV has a strong native contrast ratio capable of generating deep dark pictures, it uses more advanced qualities such as local dimming to enhance the picture quality.
Due to the high contrast ratio and the brightness the picture delivers dark in the dark background and bright in bright rooms and offers outstanding performance.
Unfortunately, motion does not look as good as it has a very slow response time, and although it has an additional interpolation of motion, it’s not very good and breaks out continuously. This model can be used for TV Shows, Sports, Movies, Video Games, HDR gaming and movies, and as a PC Monitor as well.
- Deep, uniform blacks
- Excellent low input lag
- Great peak brightness in SDR
- Bad viewing angles
- Slow response time
Model | Hisense H8F |
---|---|
Image Quality | Decent |
Contrast Ratio | Strong |
Local Dimming | Available |
Brightness | Good |
Response Time | Slow |
Motion Interpolation | Not very good |
Usage | TV Shows, Sports, Movies, Video Games, HDR gaming and movies, and as a PC Monitor |
8. Best Budget Option: Sony X950G LED TV
If you enjoy watching cable sports, Sony X950 G is the best-LED TV. You’re not going to get the Vizio’s brightness or great local dimming, but you’re going to get a TV with great picture quality and an almost blur-free backlight that’s great and an optional black frame insertion feature to make motion even perfectly clear.
Moreover, most cable sports channels broadcast in 720p, and Sony is doing a better job than the lower resolution content of the Vizio P Series Quantum. It offers more control over features of upscaling and motion processing, so you can enjoy your favorite sports without any problem.
- It can get very bright
- Amazing out-of-the-box color accuracy
- Great motion handling
- Image deteriorates when viewed at an angle
Model | Sony X950G |
---|---|
Image Quality | Great |
Brightness | Not as bright as Vizio P Series |
Local Dimming | Good |
Motion Handling | Almost blur-free |
Black Frame Insertion | Available |
Resolution | Better for cable sports channels than Vizio P Series Quantum |
Upscaling and Motion Processing | More control |
Usage | Great for cable sports, TV shows, movies, video games, HDR gaming and movies, and as a PC monitor as well |
9. Best TV for Movies: Hisense H9F
The Hisense H9F is the best 4K TV for watching sports. If you want the best TV to buy with your budget with less expensive than Sony X950G then I would recommend you buy the Hisense H9F TV which is the best budget sports TV. It ha an excellent and amazing picture quality.
Has a great contrast ratio the image appears deep black levels when watching in the darkroom so it will be useful for the people who love to watch sports in dark areas. But the main disadvantage is this TV is the image losses its accuracy when viewed it from the side and from different angles.
But it is a good TV for watching sports because it has a very fast response time and you will not get the same gray uniformity or excellent reflection handling as the Sony. Overall, this is a good TV for watching sports and will keep you happy in other uses as well.
- Excellent peak brightness
- Deep blacks
- Outstanding low input lag and excellent response time
- Some noticeable uniformity issues
10. Best 4k Smart TV: Vizio E Series
The Vizio E Series 2018 is a good 4K LED TV that offers a good picture but is a great smart TV when thinking of its lower cost. The motion handling and inputs of the E Series are also a reflection of its lower cost but still, manage to offer more than other options at this price point.
I wasn’t blown away with this smart TV, but couldn’t deny that saving money always feels good. Even when being used for video games or as a PC monitor it works well with its basic support of most resolutions.
Some of the drawbacks to the E Series are its some-what narrow viewing angle and lack of a larger color gamut for a more detailed picture. Though, these can easily be overlooked since this is a budget-oriented TV set.
Preferred Usage: The Vizio E Series 2018 is most certainly a casual smart TV. All of the different uses will look alright, but none of them will look great.
- Video Games
- PC Monitor
- Movies
- Sports
- TV Shows
- Deep and uniform blacks
- Excellent low input lag
- Image degrades when viewed at an angle
- Can’t get very bright
Buying Guide – Things to Consider Before Purchasing
I recommend you to read below to help yourself find a good deal. I’ve organized some quick information on how I determine the best televisions for any kind of criteria.
Response Times
Since sports are packed with action they often have many different things all happening at once. This is why a good response time is so ideal for the best TV for sports. A response time allows for the initial pixel of any color to switch quickly to a different color as needed for the content.
By responding quickly it helps smooth out the overall picture for a more immersive viewing experience. Some other side effects of a smart TV with a slow response time would be eye-tracking or motion trailing.
Eye-tracking is sort of like driving in a fast car as you watch the trees next to the road pass by. Your eye becomes attracted to each passing tree in a way that is similar to eye tracking with smart TVs.
Another option that works somewhat well for sports is also motion interpolation. Think of it as response time’s distant cousin. This type of feature helps to smooth the picture, but rather than actually responding, the software is used to smooth the picture.
Though, I do not normally recommend these types of features because the drawbacks often outweigh the positives. They can lead to artifacts in the picture or screen tears in rare cases, but overall any of the best 4k TVs for sports are likely to have these features at your disposal.
Viewing Angles of TVs
The second most important feature for the best TVs for sports will be the viewing angle that it offers. This is especially ideal for sharing the TV set with friends and family when the big game is on. I’d recommend anything that is over an average of 30 degrees because they will do the job for the most part and you can often find good deals.
Anything over 60 degrees is absolute perfection but is often wickedly overpriced for the other features it likely offers. Below is a quick overview of smart TVs and their viewing angles.
Additionally, viewing angles are often broken down into how quickly three different parts of the picture loses quality or ‘washes’ out as you move to the left or right. You’ll want to look at the brightness, black intensity, and color intensity. Each of these plays a different part in the overall quality of the content and depending on your ideal viewing scenario could matter more than the other.
For instance, if you often watch sports at night, the brightness isn’t needed as much as the black intensity because a better black quality will help dark rooming viewing experience whereas the exact opposite is true if you like to watch sports in the morning. I largely take this into consideration when finding the best 4k TVs for sports.
Resolutions and Reflections
This is a tie for third as most important. Both resolutions and reflections play a huge part in the best TV for sports. Resolutions range from 480p all the way to 8K nowadays and finding the best for the money can become quite the hassle.
Another thing to think about will be how well these smart TVs handle reflections. Tons of different sports are on during the daytime and if your windows are open, glare is a usual suspect. That means the best 4k TVs for sports will have to handle reflections well.
Most TV sets will have a glossy finish or some sort of anti-reflective material applied to help minimize this side effect, but not every brand is made equally. So be careful what you purchase something you end up not enjoying.
Permanent Burn-In
Lastly, one final thing to look for when finding the best TVs for sports will be if the smart TV is at a serious risk of permanent burn-in, but what exactly is it?It is the overall risk of developing a static image stuck on screen after being exposed to a static image for a series of time.
Think of this as damaged cells in a scar on the body. The pixels have become damaged are left with an image of a previous picture that is no longer there.
Granted, most smart TVs are not at risk of this particular issue, but OLED TVs have become notorious for this particular issue after a seriously long period of watching only news or TV shows. So why is this important for the best TVs for sports?
Well, often sports broadcasts will list the current score at the bottom of the screen in the same fashion for all sporting events. After a prolonged period of time, this could affect a TV that is at risk for burn-in.
Though this is a rather small and rare issue, I take it into consideration to help prevent any future issues from happening. This also helps ensure a more immersive experience for years to come.
Final Thoughts
We hope that it was helpful, and you are sure about which TV you would want to purchase. Thank you for taking out the time to read until the end. It was our pleasure to write about these affordable best smart TVs for watching sports.
Our suggestions above are what we found the best TVs for watching sports available in the market. These are the best smart TVs for watching sports to buy in every price range for you. We have analyzed the features and functions of each product and reviewed our best for the buyers.