Once again this year, Sony OLED was crowned 'King of 4K TV' at the 2021 TV Shootout while LG OLED took home the win as 'King of 8K TV'.
2021 TV Shootout
Last year's event fell victim to covid-19 but the annual TV Shootout in the US returned this year in New York, arranged by Dealerscope and Value Electronics, in an expanded form where four TVs competed in the 4K category and three TVs competed in the 8K category.
A panel of professional video colorists, finishers, TV reviewers, and video scientists were asked to vote and find a winner based on various picture quality parameters (see table).
The TVs were:
The winners
Sony's 65-inch A90J OLED TV was crowned 'King of 4K TV' for 2021 after it received the most votes in almost all categories, followed closely by the LG G1 OLED TV. The two 4K LCD TVs from Samsung and Hisense did not win any of the picture quality disciplines (SDR or HDR).
In 2018, Sony ended LG's four-year run as the winner of the annual shootout. Sony OLED also won in 2019 and once again this year.
Also read: List: Best TVs (review scores)
2021 TV Shootout. Photo: Value Electronics
In the more exotic 8K shootout, the judges picked the LG ZX OLED TV as 'King of 8K TV' based mainly on its 4K capabilities. LG ZX is a 2020 model that will be succeeded by the LG Z1 this year.
- "We had a great time at our 2021 4K and 8K TV Shootout Evaluation event! Thank you for all who participated to make this the best TV Shootout! Congratulations to all the flagship TVs competing in the event, and to the new King of 4K TV, Sony's XR65A90J, and the new King of 8K TV, LG's OLED77ZXPUA," said Value Electronics.
Detailed results are found below.
2021 King of 4K TV
| Best SDR Day Mode | Sony A90J OLED TV |
| Best SDR Reference Mode | Sony A90J OLED TV |
| Best HDR Reference Mode | Sony A90J OLED TV |
| King of 4K TV | Sony A90J OLED TV |
SDR Day Mode - Best 4K Living Room TV
| Model | Motion / DSE | Image Quality / Brightness | Upscaling / Sharpness |
| 65" Samsung QN90A LCD | 6.80 | 7.94 | 7.38 |
| 65" LG G1 OLED | 8.75 | 8.31 | 7.25 |
| 65" Sony A90J OLED | 8.81 | 8.50 | 7.75 |
| 75" Hisense U9DG LCD | 6.44 | 7.06 | 6.44 |
SDR Reference Mode - Best 4K Home Theater TV
| Model | Black Level / Shadow Detail | Color Accuracy / Skin Tones | 24p Motion |
| 65" Samsung QN90A LCD | 6.19 | 5.75 | 7.50 |
| 65" LG G1 OLED | 8.50 | 7.50 | 7.94 |
| 65" Sony A90J OLED | 8.94 | 8.69 | 8.06 |
| 75" Hisense U9DG LCD | 6.06 | 6.50 | 6.88 |
HDR Reference Mode - Best 4K HDR TV
| Model | Black Level / Shadow Detail | Color Accuracy / Skin Tones | 24p Motion | UHD Detail / Sharpness | High APL | Live Sports | 4,000 Nit Tone Mapping |
| 65" Samsung QN90A LCD | 5.94 | 6.38 | 6.63 | 6.81 | 7.88 | 6.25 | 4.81 |
| 65" LG G1 OLED | 8.00 | 8.57 | 8.25 | 7.56 | 7.25 | 7.69 | 8.00 |
| 65" Sony A90J OLED | 8.69 | 8.50 | 8.25 | 8.94 | 8.38 | 7.81 | 7.63 |
| 75" Hisense U9DG LCD | 5.75 | 5.63 | 6.56 | 6.31 | 6.25 | 6.19 | 5.88 |
2021 King of 8K TV
| King of 8K TV | LG ZX OLED TV |
| Model | 4K Black Level / Shadow Detail | 4K Upscaling | 4K Color | 8K Native Quality (Exhibition) |
| 77" LG ZX OLED | 8.63 | 7.75 | 8.38 | 8.50 |
| 75" Sony Z9J LCD | 6.63 | 8.25 | 7.63 | N/A |
| 65" Samsung QN900A | 6.88 | 7.50 | 7.13 | 7.38 |
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