With a jam-packed season of summer sports on the horizon you may be in search of a screen that's going to deliver all the live action in its full, vibrant glory. But how do you separate the winners from the losers?
When it comes to how well TVs perform in particular for watching sport, CHOICE experts have found there are some star players you can rely on, as well as others you probably want to leave on the bench.
Our lab experts test models specifically for sport as part of their comprehensive TV reviews. We asked them to reveal the models that belong in the sin bin.
Plus, CHOICE members get exclusive access to the list of budget, mid-range and premium TVs that earned the best results in our sports viewing panels. Not a member? Join CHOICE to unlock these results and more to help you find the best TV for your home.
On this page:
- What's the best TV size for watching sport?
- How to test a TV for sports instore
- How to buy a good TV for watching sports
- Should you use the 'sports' picture mode?
- How we test TVs in sports mode (and more)
- The TVs sports lovers should avoid
- The best TVs for watching sport
What's the best TV size for watching sport?
Bigger is always better, right? Not always with TVs – it depends on your room size and how close you like to be to the TV when you watch. If you sit too close to a massive screen, you may be able to see the pixels – and that's not pretty.
There are three key factors to consider for the best viewing experience.
- Your TV's screen resolution (HD or 4K)
- The size of your room
- How far you sit from the screen
What is the best screen size for a high-definition (HD) TV?
What is the best screen size for an ultra high-definition TV (UHD aka 4K)
There are a few other factors that can help you fine tune the optimal position. Positioning the TV at the correct height and adjusting your seating position for the best field of view are aspects that people tend to overlook, but they're no less important.
How to test a TV for sports instore
Retailers usually play content that makes the TVs look as good as possible. Sports broadcasts are a completely different ball game (pun intended), so switch to a match or race for a more real-world representation. If that's not possible, you could take in your own sports footage on a thumb drive or disc.
Retailers usually play content that makes the TVs look as good as possible, so switch to a match or race for a more real-world representation.
Evaluate key specs such as picture clarity (are the numbers on jerseys sharp?), motion, and colour balance (do skin tones look right?). Cycle through picture modes and note nasties such as judder (lack of smooth panning), motion blur (trailing elements behind fast-moving objects) artifacting and odd saturation.
Store TVs are often muted too, so turn the volume up if you can and study the sound. Is it rich or tinny? How do commentators' voices sound? If it's ordinary, you might need to buy an accompanying soundbar.
How to buy a good TV for watching sports
Know your source
Before buying a new TV, you need to know the broadcast quality of your favourite sports. Are they shown in SD (720 x 576 pixels), HD (1920 x 1080) or ultra high definition (UHD), aka 4K (3860 x 2160)? The answer will vary depending on the sport and whether it's being broadcast on free-to-air, Pay TV or on an online streaming service.
If you're watching an SD broadcast on an HD TV, it needs to upscale the video to display at the higher resolution. How well it bridges this gap depends heavily on the quality of the unit and its internal processors.
This can vary notably between models and definitions, which is why we score separately for SD and HD sources during testing.
OLED or LCD – which is better?
According to our experts, OLED is the MVP (i.e. the best choice), particularly if you can control the ambient light in your TV room. But these are usually more expensive, so you'll have to factor that in if you're shopping on a budget.
If you plan to use your TV in a room with lots of natural light or undercover outdoors, it may be worth looking into an LCD model
What's the difference? LCD (liquid-crystal display) TVs require a light source behind their screen panel, meaning they can go very dark grey but never full black. By comparison, OLED (organic light emitting diode) screens have lights integrated within each diode and they can simply turn off when required, giving you true blacks.
The trade-off is that OLED TVs aren't quite as bright as LCDs. The difference used to be significant, but OLEDs have improved a lot in recent years with much brighter screens.
Now these TVs are much easier to watch during the day, but LCDs still have the edge in bright rooms. If you plan to use your TV in a room with lots of natural light or undercover outdoors, it may be worth looking into an LCD model.
Suss the screen angle
Got friends coming round regularly for the footy? Then you'll want to test the screen angle and ensure they'll all be able to see well.
You may be distracted by objects around the TV if you sit too far back.
As you move sideways from the centre of the screen, most TVs will lose some colour and contrast. But the change is minimal on a good quality screen while a bad one can look like an entirely different TV.
To test viewing angle before you buy, stand in the middle of the screen at your normal viewing distance and then take a few steps sideways. If the picture degrades too much, keep looking until you find a screen that does a better job. Your friends will thank you.
Should you use the 'sports' picture mode?
Most TVs include a 'sports' mode in the picture settings. This increases brightness and saturation so the visuals have more impact, but colours may not be entirely accurate. It can also activate motion smoothing depending on the brand and model.
Though film buffs rightfully recoil at the idea of motion smoothing, sports action like fast moving players or a ball flying across a field can be easier to view with this setting turned on. Just remember to turn it off when you flick over to movies or TV shows, because these look awful in sports mode.
This setting isn't essential and whether it provides a better viewing experience will really depend on your personal preference. Give it a go and if it's not to your liking, switch over to another picture mode.
Note, we test all TVs in the default picture settings. This is usually 'standard' mode, not sports.
How we test TVs in sports mode (and more)
In our extensive TV lab testing, our team of experts score every model for sports in both standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) as part of our picture quality assessment. We watch footage from an AFL game recorded from a live TV broadcast on consumer TVs and our reference monitor. This is from the same game broadcast on SD and HD channels.
Our test mainly covers 65-inch TVs, as this is the most popular screen size in Australia. We also provide scores for 55, 75 and 77-inch TVs but most of these aren't tested in the same way.
How do we do this? Our testing and research has shown that the picture quality, performance, features and specifications in 55, 75 and 77-inch screens is extremely similar or identical to the 65-inch models we test.
We can't test every single model on the market so instead, we use this research to calculate scores for 55, 75 and 77-inch TVs. This is only applied to models within the same brand and product line - for example, picture quality in the LG OLED77C5PSA will have the same or near-identical results as the LG OLED65C5PSA TV we tested. We present these as 'similar models' in our test table.
Audio is the only exception. We found that sound quality has too many variables between TV sizes to deliver an accurate calculation. If a TV hasn't been tested in our labs, its sound quality results are listed as 'not tested.'
We still test one to two batches of small-screen TVs (26–47 inches) per year.
The TVs sports lovers should avoid
Listen up sports fans, these TVs will have your family and friends screaming obscenities from the stands. Avoid them if you actually want to enjoy an afternoon watching sports.
ChiQ U65M10F
Worst budget TV for sports
ChiQ U65M10F
- CHOICE Expert rating: 66%
- SD viewing score for sport: 50%
- HD viewing score for sport: 65%
- Price: $899
- Screen size: 65 inches
Even though this ChiQ TV costs less than $1000, it's not worth the asking price. Picture quality is pretty average for sports, movies and shows, so you're better off saving up a little more for a 65-inchTV in the $1200 price range if you can.
Its just-OK sound quality sucks the life out of the room, while audio is detailed but gets hampered by an overall dullness that lacks presence. You'll hear barely a whimper from the crowd when your team scores a try.
This TV's only saving grace is good 4K picture quality. But the majority of matches still aren't broadcast or streamed at this resolution and when it is available, it costs a premium to access. There doesn't seem to be much point in purchasing a budget TV that only performs well with an expensive, limited format like 4K.
Read the full ChiQ U65M10F review.
TCL 65C8K
Worst mid-range TV for sports
TCL 65C8K
- CHOICE Expert rating: 72%
- SD viewing score for sport: 55%
- HD viewing score for sport: 75%
- Price: $2999
- Screen size: 65 inches
Like a baseball player asleep at the plate, this TV is a swing and a miss. HD sports broadcasts look good but that's about it.
SD quality for sports, movies and shows is down at the bottom end of OK. Other HD footage looks better, but it's still not quite good. 4K looks very good but to be fair, it's hard to find a UHD TV that doesn't look good at this resolution. It's not worth buying for 4K alone.
It's hard to find a compelling reason to suggest this TV when our experts have tested plenty of better models that cost the same, or less. Even on sale, this model is unlikely to ever reach the point of being a decent deal based on its performance.
Read the full TCL 65C8K review.
The best TVs for watching sport
Whether you're sitting in the nosebleed section or you have cash to splash for field-side seats, these are the best TVs for sports fanatics.
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