Do High End TVs Require a Dedicated Player for Full Functionality?

In addition to this guide, I oversee Wirecutter’s guides to LCD/LED TVs, OLED TVs, Blu-ray players, and several others. I have reviewed AV equipment since 2012, and I have ISF Level III training and calibration certification. ... I tested and compared the latest media streaming devices from Amazon, Apple, Google, Nvidia, Onn, and Roku against alternative options like built-in smart TV platforms, video game consoles, and Blu-ray players.

This LCD TV offers the high-performance technologies necessary to deliver peak brightness and picture quality that almost rivals OLED TVs.

For them, a dedicated media streaming device makes the most sense. But if you’re assembling a home theater, or you’ve paid more to own a premium 4K TV or projector, a 4K Blu-ray player will deliver the highest-quality presentation of your favorite TV shows and movies.

Then we set up the TV for optimal performance using its built-in presets and picture controls, just like you would. We use objective tests and measurements, as well as real-world video clips and subjective evaluations, to determine picture detail, color accuracy, and contrast, and compare each TV with one of several fully calibrated reference TVs in our labs. The CR television lab tests and rates hundreds of new models each year. HDR, short for high dynamic range, is now found in a vast majority of midsized to large sets.

High-end TVs tend to be built and look better than budget TVs. Robust build quality: the last thing you want is a TV that falls apart after the warranty expires. Premium TVs generally have a lower failure rate and last longer than their budget ...

Another customer wrote that the UI "is absolutely awful. It is extremely slow and freezes frequently." Samsung aggressively pushes advertisements and its TV Plus channels directly onto the home screen, which contributes to the sluggishness. But RTINGS's review of the Samsung S95D OLED states that the Tizen OS is "fast and easy to use," which indicates that the OS might be too heavy for older televisions but not for high-end models.

TVs don’t need UIs. This is just unnecessary. Considering the existence of Firesticks, Google TV, Apple TV and the likes it’s a valid argument. Though I think it’s much simpler to have this functionality built into the TV providing it ...

Roku Pro Series: If you want a TV that's also a Roku, this is the best one yet, though third-party models may give you better picture quality. Read my full review of the Roku Pro Series TV. LG C5: Like the Samsung S90F, this is an excellent OLED TV for watching TV or playing games. It's a fine TV, but the S90F is better. Read my review of the LG C5 TV. The Panasonic Z95A is a 2024 OLED TV that boasts a dedicated audio system.

talking only and solely about picture quality. I have read somewhere that it is best to use the TV's internal apps compared to an external streamer because the overall process requires "less video processing" which occurs when using the HDMI from the external streamer to the TV. But I could never found that claim to be substantiated or properly explained by anyone.