These days, there is a ridiculous variety of TVs available at a wide variety of price points, to the point that you can get a pretty big TV — and often a pretty decent one — at virtually any budget. If you have a specific use case, you can probably find a TV for it, although quality TVs at small to medium screen sizes — let’s say under 55 inches diagonally — are becoming increasingly difficult to come by. But overall, it’s as much of a buyers’ market as there’s ever been, with tons of options that should satisfy just about any consumer, making them feel like they got their money’s worth.
One use case requiring some extra care in selecting a new TV is if you’re looking to put it in a particularly bright room. A room with a lot of windows, maybe some French doors, and so on — a place where light reflections are a real problem. At least speaking broadly, the best TVs for bright rooms are going to be TVs that get bright themselves while having above-average reflection handling. If you’ve shopping for a new TV for a room like that, those are the two things you must prioritize most. Thankfully, this is something that professional reviewers tend to keep an eye out for, so narrowing down the best TVs for bright rooms isn’t too difficult. Let’s take a look at six of the best TVs that reviewers have singled out as being particularly good in bright settings.
Samsung QN90D series
One TV that’s consistently recommended for use in bright rooms is Samsung’s QN90D series of quantum dot LED-backlit TVs. It’s a pretty premium model in Samsung’s lineup, with the 55-inch model retailing for $1,499.99 while 65 inches retails for $1,599.99, 75 inches for $2,199.99, 85 inches for $2,999.99, and the absurdly gigantic 98-incher for $12,999.99, though stores like Best Buy often have each model for hundreds or even thousands less. As the spec list goes, the QN90D features most of what you’d expect at this kind of price point: Full array backlighting with local dimming, a 120Hz refresh rate with variable refresh rate support, four HDMI 2.1 ports, and various image processing enhancements. It is, however, missing support for Dolby Vision-encoded HDR content, as Samsung eschews the format.
Professional reviewers love the QN90D, both in general and as far as how it performs in bright rooms. Wired gave the TV an eight out of 10 rating, and the review singles out bright room performance as a major positive. “The thin, pedestal-mounted TV has excellent, mini LED–driven contrast, but at brightness levels that might downright hurt your eyes in a dark room,” reads the review. “For watching inside during summer, there is probably no better viewing experience.” RTINGS, meanwhile, gave it an 8.4 out of 10. “It’s suitable for watching content in a bright room due to its incredible reflection handling and superb SDR brightness,” notes the review. For bright rooms, it sounds perfect.
Hisense U8 series
Another TV that’s well-known for its brightness levels and, to a slightly lesser extent, its reflection handling, is the Hisense U8 series — more specifically the U8N for the 2024 model year. Retail pricing for the TVs in this model series starts at $999.99 for 55 inches before moving on up to $1,299.99 for 65 inches, $1,599.99 for 75 inches, and $2,299.99 for 85 inches, but you can usually find them discounted at stores like Best Buy.
The U8N is the top-end model of its budget to mid-priced U series of TVs, which rely on mini LED backlighting in a full array with local dimming and also add quantum dot color for better color saturation. Those features are available across the U6N, U7N, and U8N lines, but the U7N and U8N add additional features like a 144Hz refresh rate with variable refresh rate support, a NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuner supporting eventual over-the-air 1080p and 4K broadcasts, and more brightness, especially in the U8N.
Professional reviews of the U8N are stellar, with some highlighting its bright room performance. TechRadar gave it 4.5 stars out of five and a “TechRadar Recommends” badge of honor, noting that “its high brightness complemented by a low-reflection screen that made quick work of any would-be glare induced by my room’s overhead lights.” RTINGS gave it an 8.5 out of 10 for mixed usage and singled out the U8N’s performance in bright rooms as a key item in the “Pro” column.
TCL QM8 series
If there’s a direct competitor to Hisense’s U8N, it’s probably TCL’s QM8 series, another line of TVs with a great feature set and strong performance in brightly lit rooms. However, if you want a TV smaller than 65 inches, you’re out of luck, as that’s where the QM8 line starts. MSRPs are set at $999.99 for 65 inches, $1,999.99 for 75 inches, $2,499.99 for 85 inches, $5,999.99 for 98 inches, and $19,999.99 for 115 inches, with discounts available on some sizes at stores like Best Buy.
The bells and whistles are largely the same as the U8N, with quantum dot color, mini-LED backlighting in a full array with local dimming, a higher refresh rate with VRR support, and a NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuner. The QM8 also adds a 2.1.2 channel speaker system from Onkyo with Dolby Atmos spatial audio support TCL’s AIPQ PRO picture processing, and up to 5,000 Nits peak brightness.
Professional reviews of the QM8 are glowing and routinely bring up its performance in bright rooms. CNET gave it an 8.5 out of 10 while saying, “it was able to reject light in a lit room effectively, and it provided distraction free images.” Tom’s Guide gave it four stars out of five, saying that “If your living room has ambient lighting issues, its high level of brightness makes it ideal.” And Home Theater Review gave it a perfect five-star score, praising “its ability to create a great looking image even in a very bright room.”
Sony Bravia 9 XR90 series
If you’re looking for a premium, brand name TV that excels in brightly lit rooms, then the Sony Bravia 9 XR90 series seems like a great choice, but it’ll cost you. Retail prices start at $2,999.99 for 65 inches before moving up to $3,499.99 for 75 inches and $4,799.99 for 85 inches, though you should always check stores like Best Buy for possible discounts. Like the competition, it features quantum dot color while being backlit by LEDs in a full array with local dimming, also adding a 120Hz refresh rate with variable refresh rate support, plus Sony’s XR picture processing.
Professional reviews for the Bravia 9 are excellent. “Superb SDR brightness and reflection handling means it overcomes glare in bright rooms,” reads an entry in the “Pro” list in RTINGS’ 8.8 out of 10 review. What Hi-Fi scored it four stars out of five, saying that “those who watch a lot of very bright content and in bright rooms will probably find the Bravia 9 to be a great choice.” We should note, though, that while Wired gave it a nine out of 10 and a “Wired Recommends” badge, it found that, when dealing with particularly dark scenes or direct overhead lighting by the TV, the Bravia 9’s reflection handling caused an undesirable “rainbow” effect. However, the review adds that, outside of those scenarios, users are unlikely to notice a problem. If your light source isn’t directly over the TV, it seems like a fine choice.
LG G4 OLED series
Though the conventional wisdom had been that OLED TVs don’t get bright enough to be good choices for brightly lit rooms, that’s starting to change with improvements in the technology. (For the uninitiated: Unlike most TVs, where an LCD panel is backlit by LED lighting, an OLED TV consists of pixels that serve as their own light source.) Case in point is the LG G4 OLED series, with retail prices starting at $2,199.99 for 55 inches before increasing to $2,799.99 for 65 inches, $3,999.99 for 77 inches, and $5,499.99 for 83 inches, though you can usually find a deal to save at least a few hundred dollars at stores like Best Buy. Besides the color and contrast advantages that come with being an OLED TV, the G4 also features a 120Hz refresh rate with variable refresh rate support, LG’s picture processing technology, four HDMI ports, and LG’s “Magic Remote.”
Professional reviews are glowing, with many singling out its bright room performance. RTINGS scored it a 9.2 out of 10, listing one of the keys in its “Pro” column as “Impressive SDR brightness and exceptional reflection handling makes it suitable for a bright room.” Power Up Gaming gave it a perfect five stars, saying the G4 is “ideal for both HDR content and brightly lit rooms where OLEDs traditionally struggle.” And Forbes gave it a 9.5 out of 10, saying it “brings the brightness to any space, whether it’s a sunny, bright living room or a darkened theater.”
Samsung The Terrace outdoor TV
Finally, we have the most obvious possible pick: Samsung’s “The Terrace,” a premium-priced TV that’s designed to be used outdoors and thus excels in dealing with bright lights bouncing off it. At retail, The Terrace is priced at $3,499.99 for 55 inches, $4,999.99 for 65 inches, and $6,499.99 for 75 inches, though you can save hundreds on each at stores like Best Buy.
As core features go, it includes the kind of things you’d normally expect in this price range: Quantum dot color, full-array backlighting with local dimming, a 120Hz refresh rate with variable refresh rate support, and high brightness levels, while also adding IP56 water and dust resistance. (According to the IP ratings chart, IP56 means that the TV is dust-protected but not completely dust-proof, while also providing protection against powerful water jets.)
Professional reviews of The Terrace have been very positive. RTINGS rated it an 8.1 out of 10 for mixed usage, singling out the most important traits for a list like this, brightness and reflection handling, as major positives. The reviewer took issue with the viewing angles, though, describing them as below part for a TV at this price point, chalking up the issue to the TV using a VA panel. Other available professional reviews of The Terrace appear to be for older model years, so that one RTINGS review appears to be the only one to point to right now, though the older reviews were generally positive on the older models.
