There were no big surprises this year as the Sony A95L QD-OLED won the 4K competition with the other QD-OLED and MLA OLED models tied for second. The best 8K TV was last year's OLED.
At the 19th annual TV Shootout, arranged by Value Electronics' Robert Zohn, six TVs competed in the 4K category and three TVs in the 8K category.
A panel of professional video colorists, film finishers, reviewers, and video scientists were asked to vote and find a winner based on various picture quality parameters (see table). The TVs were evaluated in both calibrated SDR and HDR modes as well as the best out-of-the-box preset, and then evaluated with test patterns and real content, compared to two 32-inch Sony BVM-HX310 reference studio monitors.
The six 4K TVs included in the 2023 TV Shootout. Photo: Mark Jessamy Photography
LG, Hisense, Samsung, Sharp and Sony were included, while TCL was not. Panasonic and Philips TVs are not available in the US. The three display technologies competing were MLA OLED, QD-OLED, and miniLED LCD.
The TV models were (with current prices for reference):
2023 TV Shootout: The 4K TV models
FlatpanelsHD2023 TV Shootout: The 8K TV models
FlatpanelsHD
2023 King of 4K and 8K
Last year, Sony's first QD-OLED TV (A95K) won the 4K competition so it is not a big surprise to see the 2023 Sony A95L QD-OLED once again be crowned the 2023 'King of 4K TV'.
- "The results are in and Sony's A95L is now crowned "the King of 4K TV for the 2023 Model Year"! Tied for 2nd place is LG's G3 and Samsung's S95C," announced Value Electronics, the host of the TV Shootout.
Sony A95L won in all three categories, i.e. SDR, HDR, and best out-of-box picture preset. LG G3 (MLA OLED) came out slightly ahead of Samsung S95C (QD-OLED) in points, but it was so close that Value Electronics calls it a tie for second place.
After several delays, Sony A95L is set to arrive later this month. Photo: FlatpanelsHD
Based on the scores (see table), the three miniLED LCD TV models were not close to OLED; not even in HDR highlights which mirrors what FlatpanelsHD has repeatedly emphasized over the years in our reviews. FlatpanelsHD will soon receive Sony A95L for an in-depth review.
As for 8K, the only surprise was to see LG's Z2 OLED TV, a 2022 model, win again but this is because LG's 2023 Z3 (MLA OLED) is still not available. Sony's Z9K is also a 2022 model making the 8K competition rather pointless in 2023.
The results
The results of the 2023 TV Shootout for both 4K and 8K models can be found below. Highlighted in yellow is the winner – or tied winners – for each sub-category, which is used to calculate an overall average score (not shown).
2023 King of 4K TV
King of 4K TV | Sony A95L QD-OLED TV |
Best SDR | Sony A95L QD-OLED TV |
Best HDR | Sony A95L QD-OLED TV |
Out-of-box best preset mode | Sony A95L QD-OLED TV |
|
2023 King of 8K TV
King of 8K TV | LG Z2 OLED TV |
Best SDR | LG Z2 OLED TV |
Best HDR | LG Z2 OLED TV |
|
FlatpanelsHD