The 5 Best TVs For Bright Rooms - Summer 2024 Reviews

The Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED is the best TV for bright rooms we've tested. Its superb reflection handling and SDR brightness means it easily overcomes glare in the brightest of rooms, so you aren't distracted by reflections on your TV screen. As impressive as this TV is in a bright room, it also looks spectacular in a dark room. It has exceptional contrast that delivers incredibly deep blacks that are close to what you get from an OLED with almost no blooming, thanks to its highly effective local dimming control. It's also a great option for 4k Blu-ray collectors or those looking to get the most out of high-quality streaming services due to its support for Dolby Vision and DTS audio formats.

The TV's image processing is excellent for upscaling and smoothing out low-quality content. It's also very accurate in both SDR and HDR, so it delivers an image that respects the content creator's intent. Unfortunately, its viewing angle is mediocre. It's not the best option if you regularly watch shows or movies with a big group of friends since the image degrades when viewed from the sides of the screen. However, it's a great option if you need a TV that pairs well with modern consoles. It has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two ports, up to 4k @ 120Hz, and it supports VRR, so it's fully compatible with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

On top of those features, the TV has a quick response time for minimal blur behind fast motion, and it has incredibly low input lag for a responsive gaming experience. It also has good speakers built-in. If the BRAVIA 9 is too expensive and you still want a Sony TV, you could opt for last year's cheaper Sony X93L/X93CL instead. Although its contrast isn't nearly as good as the BRAVIA 9's, it still delivers fairly deep blacks in a dark room. It's not as bright either, but it's bright enough to overcome glare in a well-lit room, and you still get Sony's fantastic accuracy and image processing.

Although most of these picks focus on TVs for bright indoor rooms, what if you want to watch TV outside? Enter the Samsung The Terrace, the best outdoor TV we've tested. Even if you want to use your TV in an enclosure outside, it's easy for light to get through, so you'll want something that gets bright enough and minimizes reflections well. Samsung designed this TV explicitly for outdoor use, so it's made to handle direct sunlight, making it one of the brightest TVs we've tested. Plus, it has an IP55 rating for water protection, so you won't have to worry too much if it rains. The reflection handling is fantastic, meaning it looks amazing in any outdoor setup.

It's also a great gaming TV, with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on one port and low input lag. However, it doesn't support any variable refresh rate (VRR) technologies. Unfortunately, it has only one HDMI 2.1 port, so you can't connect multiple recent consoles to the TV, but it's a great TV to hook up your Nintendo Switch to at your BBQ parties. Thanks to the built-in Tizen smart platform, you won't have to get an extra box to stream your favorite content, and the built-in speakers are decent enough to use without a soundbar. It's also a lot more expensive than the better overall Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED, so the Sony is the better choice unless you plan on using it outdoors.

The best mid-range TV for bright rooms we've tested is the Hisense U8/U8K. It's a great TV for watching shows or sports during the day. Like the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED, it uses Mini LED technology to get exceptionally bright and overcome glare. It also has excellent reflection handling. It has surprisingly good image processing capabilities, so movies and shows look good no matter their source, even if it isn't nearly as good as the Sony TV. Its viewing angle is narrower than that of the Sony, so it's not as good overall if you have a wide seating arrangement, as the image isn't consistent when viewed from the side.

Still, it's an excellent TV for gaming thanks to its low input lag and fast response time. It has great gaming features, including HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four HDMI ports for up to 4k @ 144Hz gaming, so it's fully compatible with recent consoles and gaming PCs. It runs the Google TV smart interface, which is user-friendly and has a great selection of streaming apps. It also has a great selection of smart features, including hands-free voice control with Google Assistant or Alexa, so you can quickly find your favorite content. You could also save some money by going for the Hisense U7K instead: it has worse contrast and lower peak brightness than the U8K, but it has the same features otherwise and is a great TV for the price.

2024's Hisense U8/U8N is also available. It gets even brighter and has better reflection handling than its predecessor. Unfortunately, it's not as accurate in SDR or HDR, and it has its highest price tag near release. Since the U8K is already bright enough to take advantage of most HDR content and overcome glare in almost any bright room, it's currently the better option for most people while on sale.

The best TV for bright room viewing in the budget category we've tested is the Hisense U6/U6K. It's a good TV for a bright room, with impressive peak brightness and decent reflection handling, so it can overcome glare in a moderately lit room. Its semi-gloss coating reduces the intensity of ambient light well, but it doesn't deal as well with reflections from lights directly opposite the TV, so it's not as good as the Hisense U8/U8K for a room with many windows. It has an excellent color volume, making this TV very colorful overall.

Of course, you lose something by going with a cheaper model, and in this case, the TV doesn't get as bright as the more expensive models above, has worse contrast, and is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. Its image processing is also significantly worse, so there's visible digital noise when watching low-bitrate content from streaming platforms. Still, it's a great 60Hz gaming TV with its fantastic low input lag, good response time, and VRR support. It uses version 11 of the Google TV smart interface, which is easy to use, fast, and smooth.

The 2024 Hisense U6N is now available. It's supposed to get brighter than the U6K and have improved contrast. Since those upgrades are typically incremental, it's better for most people to get the U6K while it's still available and on sale.

The Roku Select Series is the best cheap TV for a bright room we've tested. It's a decent TV with satisfactory reflection handling to help reduce the appearance of glare in a bright room. Its HDR brightness is inadequate, but this model has very good SDR brightness, so it looks its best in a moderately lit room. It handles bright rooms well when watching SDR content. It's also good for a dark room with its okay contrast ratio, even though it doesn't have local dimming to improve it further. It has sub-par image processing, which is normal for a TV at this price point, so it's at its best when watching high-quality 4k content. Still, it's extremely accurate with only a few minor adjustments, so this is truly a TV that you can buy, install, and enjoy.

It comes with built-in Roku TV, which is very fast and easy to use, and it has a good selection of streaming services available, so you can quickly find your favorite content. Unlike the more expensive TVs on this list, it has limited extra features, so it's not the best choice for someone looking for advanced gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth or variable refresh rate support. Thankfully, it has extremely low input lag and a great response time, making it a good choice for someone looking for the cheapest possible bright room gaming TV. If you're a Costco member, you can get the slightly better Hisense A65K for a similar price. If Costco isn't an option, the Roku is an amazing choice.