Best TV for Playing PlayStation 5 Games

There are a variety of TV types available, each offering different trade-offs. Some TVs may be less expensive but don't perform as well, while others deliver exceptional image quality at a premium price.

In this article, I explain which factors to consider when choosing a TV for PS5 gaming and break down the key qualities that will enhance your PlayStation 5 gaming experience.

The best type of TV for playing PS5 games is an OLED TV.

OLED TVs deliver exceptional refresh rates and response times, along with perfect black levels and vibrant colors, making OLED TVs the best type of display for playing PlayStation 5 games. Below, I explain why these qualities matter for PS5 gaming.

Find the best OLED TVs: My Recommended OLED TVs for PS5 gaming.

While OLED TVs are the best option for playing PS5 games, you may be looking for a more affordable alternative.

QLED TVs are an excellent choice since they handle motion well and cost significantly less. However, QLED TVs have some trade-offs compared to OLED, including lower contrast ratios, slightly slower response times, potential light bleed, and narrower viewing angles.

Find the best QLED TVs: My Recommended QLED TVs for PS5 gaming.

When buying a TV for playing PlayStation 5 games, the most important considerations are excellent refresh rate and response time. These two factors determine how well a TV handles motion. Lower response times and higher refresh rates produce better results.

High refresh rates reduce motion blur and make animations smoother, while low response times prevent ghosting during fast-paced gameplay.

Response time is how long it takes a display to change from one color to another, typically measured by transitioning between white and black. This is measured in milliseconds, with lower values being better.

OLED TVs have a response time of around 0.1-0.2 ms for 80% of color transitions and 1-2 ms for the remaining colors. For optimal gaming, you want 5 ms or less, and OLED TVs far exceed this standard, making them the best display type for response time.

To compare, Samsung QLED TVs have a response time of around 2-5 ms for 80% of color transitions and 6-12 ms for the remaining colors.

Refresh rate is the number of times the display redraws the screen per second. It's measured in hertz (Hz), which represents cycles per second. For example, 120 Hz refreshes the screen 120 times per second. A good refresh rate for gaming is 120 Hz to 144 Hz and above.

Most QLED and OLED displays offer 120 Hz refresh rates, with newer premium models reaching 144 Hz and even 240 Hz, which is more than sufficient for PS5 gaming, including fast-paced action games and sports titles.

Response Time

LED	Good
QLED	Good
OLED	Excellent
Mini-LED	Very Good
MicroLED	Excellent

True black levels significantly enhance the PS5 gaming experience. Deep blacks make images more accurate, rendering dark areas as true black instead of gray. Good black levels improve the contrast between bright and dark elements in games.

Poor black levels cause dark scenes like outer space, shadowy interiors, or nighttime environments to appear washed out and gray rather than black. Weak contrast creates a faded appearance when bright and dark elements share the same scene.

The deep blacks provided by good black levels are most noticeable in dimly lit or dark rooms, such as a home theater, bedroom, or gaming den. In bright rooms with lots of natural light, the benefits are less apparent.

OLED displays have perfect black levels. This is the primary advantage of OLED displays not using an LCD backlight like QLED and LED TVs. QLED and LED TVs produce dark gray instead of pitch black.

Black Levels

LED	Limited
QLED	Limited
OLED	Excellent
Mini-LED	Very Good
MicroLED	Excellent

OLED Contrast Comparison Brandon Jones / TechReviewer

If you plan to game in daylight or a bright room, choose a TV with high brightness levels. TV brightness matters most in well-lit conditions since it must compete with ambient light. For example, in a bright living room with large windows, you need a TV with excellent brightness capabilities.

QLED and MicroLED TVs have the best brightness levels. Most QLED TVs produce 1,500 to 2,500 nits of peak brightness, with premium models capable of reaching 3,000-4,000 nits. Most other TV types typically don't exceed 1,000 nits of brightness.

A nit measures the amount of light a TV emits per square meter. Higher nit values mean brighter displays.

Peak Brightness

LED	Good
QLED	Excellent
OLED	Moderate
Mini-LED	Excellent
MicroLED	Excellent

The downside of high peak brightness in some TVs is potential light bleed. Light bleed, or backlight bleed, is most noticeable during nighttime viewing or in rooms with low ambient light. If you plan to place your TV in a dark room, choose a TV with minimal light bleed.

You can learn more about backlight bleed in LED TVs.

Backlight Bleed

LED	Yes
QLED	Yes
OLED	No
Mini-LED	Minimal
MicroLED	No

Viewing angle is less important if you game directly in front of the TV. However, if you frequently view from the side or have friends over for multiplayer sessions at wide angles, better viewing angles become valuable.

Wider viewing angles maintain optimal picture quality (brightness, colors, contrast) even when viewing the screen from the side. If you always sit directly in front of your TV, viewing angles matter less.

OLED TVs have the best viewing angles with an average of around 70 degrees from center, where center means directly facing the screen. You won't notice any degradation in colors or brightness at most viewing angles with an OLED TV.

LCDs like QLED TVs have an average viewing angle of around 20-40 degrees from center. You'll notice washed-out blacks and colors along with brightness loss starting at 10-20 degrees, which increases as you move farther from the center.

The narrow viewing angle results from the backlight projecting through the LCD panel. Like viewing a bedroom light from outside a house, the light is most visible from certain angles.

If you want flexibility in your viewing position, an OLED TV is the better choice since it doesn't use a backlight.

Viewing Angle

LED	Good
QLED	Good
OLED	Excellent
Mini-LED	Good
MicroLED	Excellent

Excellent color accuracy determines whether you'll see the best and most naturally vivid images on your screen. Playing PS5 games on a TV with great color accuracy creates a more immersive gaming experience.

OLED and QLED displays are known for excellent color accuracy and vibrance even at wider viewing angles.

OLED TVs have an average of 85-95% color volume and 95-99% color gamut.

Samsung QLED TVs have an average of 80-95% color volume and 90-98% color gamut.

Standard LED TVs have widely varying color volume and color gamut but average moderately lower compared to QLED and OLED displays.

TVs are sometimes advertised with 100% color volume despite not reaching those levels. However, you won't notice significant differences between high-end OLED TVs and premium QLED TVs since both deliver excellent color accuracy when properly calibrated.

Color Accuracy

LED	Good
QLED	Excellent
OLED	Excellent
Mini-LED	Excellent
MicroLED	Excellent

To get the most out of your PlayStation 5, game on a 4K TV. Higher resolution produces crisper images, provided your content supports that resolution. Many 4K TVs include upscaling features that enhance lower resolution content.

4K resolution is currently the standard. While 8K offers the highest resolution, most games and content don't support it yet, making 4K the optimal choice for PS5 gaming.

Almost all modern TVs feature 4K resolution as the baseline standard.

You can learn more about TV resolution.

TV Resolutions

	Resolution
8K UHD (Ultra HD)	7680 x 4320
4K UHD (Ultra HD)	3840 x 2160
1440p / QHD (Quad HD)	2560 x 1440
1080p / FHD (Full HD)	1920 x 1080
720p / HD (High Definition)	1280 x 720

TV Resolution Comparison Brandon Jones / TechReviewer

High Dynamic Range (HDR) enhances your picture by expanding the contrast ratio and color range to create more realistic, natural images. However, the games you play must support HDR for the best experience; otherwise, HDR provides minimal benefit.

Playing HDR-supported games delivers brighter highlights, deeper shadows, more accurate and natural colors, and sharper overall image quality.

OLED displays have high color volume and gamut with near-perfect contrast ratios, both ideal for HDR content. Despite typically having lower brightness than QLED TVs, OLEDs produce stunning HDR scenes because of their infinite contrast ratio. For the best HDR experience on OLED, view content in dimly lit rooms or during evening hours.

Samsung QLED displays have high color volume, good contrast ratios, and 1,500+ nits of brightness, all excellent for HDR. However, OLED TVs still deliver superior HDR performance due to their perfect black levels.

Standard LED TVs are typically not recommended for HDR content but can still display it, just not at the same quality level as OLED or QLED TVs.

Contrast Ratio

LED	3K-6K:1
QLED	4K-8K:1
OLED	Infinite
Mini-LED	10K-100K:1
MicroLED	Infinite

In the table below, you can compare the different qualities of each type of display.

TV Type Comparison

	LED	QLED	OLED	Mini-LED	MicroLED
Viewing Angle	Good	Good	Excellent	Good	Excellent
Black Levels	Limited	Limited	Excellent	Very Good	Excellent
Color Accuracy	Good	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Burn-in Risk	No	No	Yes	No	Minimal
Peak Brightness	Good	Excellent	Moderate	Excellent	Excellent
Lifespan	60K+ Hours	60K+ Hours	100K+ Hours	60K+ Hours	100K+ Hours
Contrast Ratio	3K-6K:1	4K-8K:1	Infinite	10K-100K:1	Infinite
Response Time	Good	Good	Excellent	Very Good	Excellent
Backlight Bleed	Yes	Yes	No	Minimal	No
Price Range	$	$$	$$$	$$$$	$$$$$

• This is an exceptional TV for any use, whether for movies, games, sports, or as a PC monitor.
• Fast refresh rates reduce motion blur and make animations smoother.
• This TV has wide viewing angles, perfect for many people watching TV together (like most OLED TVs).
• It has an extreme contrast ratio capable of producing pitch-black scenes without suffering from blooming.
• This TV offers improved brightness compared to previous generations, making it suitable for most room lighting conditions.
• This has the fastest response time for smooth fast-moving content, great for games or sports.
• The LG C5 OLED TV also supports very low input lag and variable refresh rate, both of which are also needed for gaming.
• It's superb for HDR content due to its extreme contrast ratio and wide color gamut.
• Check the latest price of the LG C5 OLED TV on Amazon

• This TV has superb picture quality with an extreme contrast ratio, perfect for your home theater room.
• The Sony BRAVIA 8 II TV has excellent color out of the box, so there's no need for color calibration.
• This TV offers improved brightness performance, making it suitable for various room lighting conditions.
• This TV has Google TV built-in, allowing you to watch from most of your streaming services quickly and smoothly.
• The Sony BRAVIA 8 II TV has very low input lag and quick response time, both of which are excellent for sports and gaming.
• Check the latest price of the Sony BRAVIA 8 II TV on Amazon

• This is an exceptional TV for any use, whether for movies, games, sports or as a PC monitor.
• It's the "Neo" QLED variant, which has an excellent contrast ratio and deep blacks.
• This will also work great in a bright room.
• The Samsung QN90B Neo QLED also supports low input lag, variable refresh rate, and fast response time, all of which are needed for gaming.
• Check the latest price of the Samsung QN90B Neo QLED on Amazon

• This is an excellent Neo QLED TV variant for use in bright rooms while having fantastic response time, low input lag, and vivid natural colors.
• The Samsung QN85B QLED has wide viewing angles and high brightness to overcome screen glare.
• It's superb for HDR content due to its high brightness and wide color gamut.
• A negative to this TV is that it has lower contrast compared to the QN90B.
• Check the latest price of the Samsung QN85B QLED on Amazon

• Great for watching sports or TV shows together with family and friends due to the wide viewing angles while keeping accurate colors.
• It's also quick enough for gaming and great for using as a PC monitor.
• A negative to this TV is that it has lower contrast compared to the QN90B and lower local dimming compared to both TVs mentioned above.
• This TV also has high brightness for HDR along with wide viewing angles.
• Check the latest price of the Samsung Q80B QLED on Amazon

Want to learn more about OLED TVs? Check out the articles in my OLED TV series:

• Ultimate Guide to OLED TVs.
• Are OLED TVs Good for Gaming?
• Do OLED TVs Have Good Viewing Angles?
• What Is the Response Time of an OLED TV?
• Do OLED TVs Have True Black Levels?
• How Bright Are OLED TVs Compared to Other TVs?
• What Is the Refresh Rate of an OLED TV?

Want to learn more about TVs? Check out the articles in my TV series:

• Best TV Display Types
• TV Resolution Explained - 8K UHD vs. 4K vs. QHD vs. FHD
• Choosing the Best TV for Your Room
• Best TV for Playing PlayStation 5 Games
• What Type of TV Is Best for Gaming?
• Ultimate Guide to Samsung QLED TVs
• Best Type of TV for Bright Rooms
• What Type of TV Has the Best Refresh Rate & Response Time?
• What Type of TV Has the Best Viewing Angle?
• Do LED TVs Have Backlight Bleed?
• How to choose the best soundbar for your TV