Bargain-Priced 4K TVs That Offer Great HDR

Better-performing HDR TVs typically generate at least 600 nits of peak brightness, with top performers hitting 1,000 nits or more. Sets that can reach those higher levels are able to display greater contrast between very dark and very bright images, revealing more details in nighttime or sun-soaked scenes.

You’ll see brighter, more realistic “specular highlights,” such as the sun’s reflection off a car’s chrome bumper or the surface of a lake. HDR also helps to improve the vibrancy and integrity of colors in brighter scenes, so they don’t look washed out. There’s more to understand about the multiple types of HDR, but these are the basics.

The problem is that many HDR TVs produce only 100 to 300 nits of peak brightness, which is really not enough to deliver a compelling HDR experience. And there’s no way of knowing how a new set will do with HDR until you get it home: The packaging only lets you know that the TV supports the technology. That’s why our TV ratings, which are available to CR members, include a separate HDR score for every TV with this feature.

Most of the TVs with Very Good or Excellent HDR ratings are pricier, top-tier models. But we’ve managed to find some less expensive models that can still provide a satisfying HDR experience. In this list, we’ve focused mainly on 65-inch sets, but the same models in different screen sizes often perform similarly.

Prices change frequently, so you might see these TVs selling for more or—hopefully—less when you shop.