Best 8K TV 2025: The best ultra-high definition TVs

Each year Samsung comes out with a new flagship model, and each year it is better than its predecessors. The latest in that line of 8K flagship TVs is the QN900D.

As usual, there isn’t a lot (if any) native 8K content lying about, so the Samsung QN900D makes the most of the content available to it by upscaling 4K content to near 8K quality. The amount of detail our reviewer noticed with upscaled 4K images effectively transformed it into 8K content. Samsung’s upscaling performance is excellent, bringing out and refining all the detail within the image without creating a soft or noisy image in the process. It’s a performance that’s better than even the best 4K TV can manage.

Peak brightness has gone up, hitting 2445 nits in Movie mode compared to the QN900C‘s 2096 nits in the same mode. That brightness feeds into high colour volumes and rich saturations with HDR content, producing impressively bright and colourful HDR images. The already excellent motion performance has gone a step further with a new feature that can track fast-moving objects without introducing motion blur. The lack of Dolby Vision remains a disappointing omission.

Input lag is 11ms, which is a fraction slower than the QN900C, but VRR technology in HDMI VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro will bring the latency down lower, and all four of its HDMI inputs support 4K 120Hz gaming, so you won’t need to worry about which HDMI port to place your console or PC in.

The sound system can track sounds accurately across the screen but like the QN900C, there isn’t enough bass to give soundtracks heft or excitement. It’s still an impressively wide soundstage and good levels of detail, but we’d suggest partnering the QN900D with a soundbar to make the most of its excellent images.

The QN900D will eventually be replaced by the Q990F later in 2025, and we expect the QN900D to come down even lower in price to make it a more attractive purchase.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN900D

The QN800D is the step down 8K model from the flagship QN900D in Samsung’s 2024 8K line-up, and we reviewed it in its 65-inch size.

Brightness isn’t as high as the QN900D flagship, and peak brightness is similar to the older QN800C at around 1000 nits. What’s impressive about this LCD TV is its black levels with blooming further reduced over previous 8K TVs, and blacks strong and full of depth. With its high peak output, the QN800D offers excellent contrast.

Nevertheless, 4K content looks excellent on this TV, with a wide range of colours, and impressive levels of detail and clarity available. The Movie is improved with a better balance in terms of colours. Upscaling is very strong with HD content looking sharp and detailed, while lower quality SD content looks decent, though we wouldn’t advise watching too much content at that resolution on your brand new 8K TV.

In terms of gaming little has changed compared to previous models. Four of its HDMI inputs can to handle 4K/165Hz, ALLM and HDMI VRR for game consoles, as there is AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for PC gamers. PC gamers also get the Ultra Wide GameView that elongates the image to 21:9 or 32:9 ratios, with cloud gaming supported in Xbox Game Pass is supported. We measured input lag at fast 9.7ms, which is fast for an 8K screen.

The Samsung Tizen interface has generally the same vibe as before with plenty of entertainment options to choose from, along with gaming support and lifestyle features such as Samsung’s screensaver mode. There’s something for everyone in this interface.

We don’t expect much from a TV’s speakers, but the QN800D is mainly decent. The soundstage is big and spacious, there’s good levels of detail and sharpness, and it handles dialogue clearly too but it lacks dynamism, heft, and power. You should definitely consider a soundbar for this screen.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Samsung QE65QN800D

The OLED77Z3 is even more expensive than its predecessor at £14,999, and isn’t available to purchase in the US. It’s perhaps a sign of the times that LG appears to be pulling back from 8K a little, but the Z3 remains the only 8K OLED.

The Z3’s performance is an improvement over its Z2 predecessor in terms of brightness, and we found that upscaling of less than 8K sources improved too. Peak brightness punches just above the 1000 nit mark, although that’s still not as bright as LG’s G3 OLEDs.

Black levels remain excellent creating impressive contrast out of the box, and in general with HDR content, we found the Z3 produced a fantastic performance. The scale of its images is a sight to beyond.

We do think that LG’s motion processing could be improved. It’s not as good as the QN800C, introducing artifacts such as judder in some of the modes. And while we did say that upscaling had improved, we still find that Samsung’s 8K TVs produce a sharper looking upscaled image.

The smart experience is much the same as what you’ll find on the rest of LG’s webOS TVs, with a wide range of apps to enjoy, lots of connectivity options and cloud gaming apps such as Nvidia GeForce NOW. We also appreciate that ads aren’t intrusive to the smart experience.

On the gaming front there’s Dolby Vision gaming support (with Xbox Series consoles) as well as 4K/120Hz, 8K/60Hz, VRR and ALLM supported across all HDMI inputs. We measured input lag at 13.6ms, which is still less than Samsung’s TVs if you want the fastest gaming experience out of the box.

The sound system is perceptively worse than the Z2 was, with distorted bass. It offers good levels of clarity and detail, but like most of the TVs on this list, you’d be better off with a soundbar.

This TV is still available and LG hasn’t announced a Z5 model for 2025. If you’ve got the pockets for it, films and TV shows look great on this 77-inch OLED.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: LG OLED77Z3