(This article is one of 16 parts in our Tech Awards 2024: Editor's Choice content series.)
Still the centre of our home entertainment system
The TV still takes pride of place in our homes as the centre of our home entertainment system. No matter how much the price of a 4K projector has dropped, it is still the humble TV that we choose to gather around to keep us entertained.
Given the level of technology that the top TV manufacturers incorporate into their devices, from processors to improve graphics and video clarity to AI to enhance and make audio more realistic to bonus enhancements like Game Modes, almost any technology that can improve the viewing experience has been made a part of the modern TV.
This makes determining which TV is better a difficult task that often boils down to mere degrees of difference. That makes it all the more important for us to consider each screen's capabilities and performance to give you our definitive buying recommendation.
This year, we are comparing the latest, top-of-the-line, 65-inch OLED TVs launched within our qualification period (Q2 2023 to Q2 2024), making them the greatest releases possible from the leading TV brands.
Nominees:
- LG OLED G4
- Samsung S95D OLED
- Sony Bravia A95L OLED
Note: While Sony recently launched newer screens, they are not on the same playing field as its top offering, the Bravia A95 OLED using a QD-OLED panel.
And the winner is…
Overall, we felt the Sony Bravia A95L OLED performed the best. It lacks some features in its gaming department, but it puts up a stunning screen performance, delivering the right brightness, contrast, colours, and tones while also delivering crisp, direct, and rich audio.
Beyond its Sony-added proprietary video features, the A95L comes with a gamut of support for high-quality visuals through HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision standards, as well as enhanced audio quality through Dolby Audio, Dolby Atmos, DTS Digital Sound, and event DTS:X, leaving no stone unturned.
In our dark room test, we observed no loss of black depth in our test scenes with shadows detailed, and colours reproduced remained distinct while keeping skin tones accurate and life-like.
From left to right: LG G4, Sony A95L, and Samsung S95D. The QD-OLED screens of the latter two clearly overpower LG's overall vibrancy and brightness. On its own, you'll still be content with LG's output, but once you do bring in competitors and perform close comparisons, you'll note that Sony and Samsung are clearly better at commanding a more immersive experience. Not to mention, while Sony's A95L is bright, it managed to handle the dark portions without loss of fidelity (no 'black crush'), represented accurate skin tones and was free from overaggressive processing seen on the LG.
In brighter scenes, like those in The Mandalorian set under Tatooine's sun, the Sony shone brightest among the three tested. Sony showed superior colour reproduction among the three TVs tested, best conveying the director's intent. The A95L's contrast was outstanding, making scenes more realistic while objects more believable with sharp and clear definitions. We observed the same results when watching the fine detail in Avengers: Infinity War. Sony displayed consistently warmer colours, finer detail, and more accurate skin tones, as expected of the test scene.
In this shot, you'll notice the Sony A95L (on the right) has better colour tones and is brighter and more vibrant, almost making the LG G4 (on the left) look a bit pale in comparison. If you doubt which is more accurate, Samsung (peeking in on the far right), has more in common with the Sony than the LG, plus we've photos from past TVs tested to guide us as well.
On the audio front, the Sony A95L features a 60W 2.2 channel setup, but figures don't really convey what the TV is capable of. The TV's outstanding audio prowess stands out with its excellent Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology implementation, where the audio comes directly from the screen, creating a more immersive audio-visual experience. During our Top Gun: Maverick movie test, the jets' roar followed the action across the screen, making it feel like a live event. Despite the immersive background audio, dialogue remained clear and detailed, making accents easy to discern.
Sony was the only TV of the three to offer Google TV as an operating system and coincidentally, we also found it to be the least cluttered TV interface, with only apps that are important to you. Running Google TV also means that the Sony comes with seamless integration with Google services and access to a vast app library through the Google Play Store, complemented by Sony’s Pictures Core streaming service, which is yet another bonus. Even Sony's remote felt like it had the best design and usability, coupled with auto backlighting when used in the dark. It doesn't have a number pad like LG's remote, but it was, otherwise, our perfect wand.
At S$8,079 (before any deals or discounts), the Sony A95L is certainly not cheap, but it is a stunning TV.
Not only is it capable of producing bright and accurate colours, but it is also one of the best-sounding TVs you can buy without the obligatory soundbar/sound system purchase if you're short on space. What makes it even better? It's often priced competitively in retail along with our other competitors, thus making it an easy pick. Don't forget that it also has an optional Bravia Cam add-on feature to facilitate video calls, control your TV using gestures and even turn off the screen when you're not present.
Note: You can buy the Sony A95L from the official Sony online store, Sony's official stores on Shopee and Lazada, Courts, Harvey Norman, and Gain City.
Scoring Breakdown
LG OLED G4 | Samsung S95D OLED | Sony Bravia A95L OLED | |
Design | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
Features | 8.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 |
User-friendliness | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
Performance | 7.5 | 8.5 | 9.0 |
Value | 8.0 | 7.0 | 6.5 |
Overall score | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
Price (SRP) | S$5,399 | S$6,199 | S$8,079 |
Street Price | N.A. | S$5,499 | S$6,199 |
*Note: Official prices and ratings listed are accurate during individual product evaluation. Street prices are, however, much lower, especially for Sony and Samsung, which often have ongoing offers. Due to large differentials between list and street prices, we've indicated them here for reference, as this will play a big role in what one would purchase.
For more details on how we rated our nominees and to learn about our experience with each device, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section below. In the meantime, here's how the other nominees fared in a snapshot.
LG OLED G4 - Best Value and Best for Gamers
From left to right: LG G4, Sony A95L, and Samsung S95D. What you see on the LG is just the tip of the iceberg. There's much more crammed on the home screen when you scroll below. By contrast, Sony had the most straightforward and least cluttered screen to navigate and get to what you need to do most often.
LG's claim to fame in the TV world is undoubtedly its OLED TV goodness and more notably, making it reasonably accessible through a wide range of models without a steep price tag. Their very latest model launched continues the good work and foundation laid in the past, but now steeply enhanced with AI processing power.
On its own, the LG OLED G4 delivers excellent colour volume and deep blacks, but comparing it with the best of the best screens under one roof in our test lab, we repeatedly observed that its AI processing was a tad over-aggressive. For example, LG tends to smooth out the film grain effect or elements onscreen that have grain-like patterns too much, which sometimes results in slightly washed-out colours and a loss of detail. In terms of its audio delivery, we felt that the LG G4 seemed to focus more on audio separation, so you get a sense of surround, especially when you engage the surround audio modes. However, the core audio delivery is nothing to shout about and was pedestrian. It also can't go too loud, and it sounds tinny. In the end, it seems our personal preferences won out over the TV's AI.
The TV's proprietary operating system, webOS, is the most cluttered home screen of the three TVs we tested. It has three lines of apps and program recommendations with what LG calls Q-cards in its pride of place on the top line. These Q-cards allow users to use various services by themes. But scroll down, and there is yet more for a total of 11 lines of apps and programs!
Then there's the LG Magic Remote, which doesn't feel as magical as it used to be. For one, TV apps have improved much over the years in several-minute ways that other than browsing the web, you don't really need its gyro-activated cursor control. Secondly, it's unwieldy and large compared to the slim bars its competitors offer.
If you're a console or PC gamer, the LG G4 is perfect for you due to its advanced gaming features. It comes with VRR, ALLM, and supports both FreeSync and G-Sync. It's also the only TV to offer quad HDMI 2.1 ports to plug many inputs supporting all these advanced features. Plus, when gaming, the refresh rate goes up to 144Hz.
The LG G4's big win is its price. At S$5,399, you get the newest 65-inch OLED smart TV that delivers most of what one expects out of a modern TV and all the positive traits of an OLED TV. Plus, there is a boatload of gaming features to satiate the picky fans.
Note: You can buy the LG G4 from the official LG online store, LG's official stores on Shopee and Lazada, Harvey Norman, and Gain City.
Samsung S95D OLED - Most Versatile and Best Glare-free OLED TV
Like Sony, the Samsung S95D employs a QD-OLED panel, which offers bright and enhanced colour vibrancy thanks to its Quantum Dot technology.
One of the stand-out features of Samsung's OLED TV entry this year is its anti-glare coating, which convincingly handled glare and reflections from the room's lights while still offering stunning overall picture quality. It's a seemingly understated feature but an important one which consumers will appreciate, considering TVs are often placed near windows or balconies in the context of flats and condominiums. Despite the anti-glare coating, we often found the Samsung S95D delivered brighter and more vibrant colours than the LG G4 while still being true to life and without over-saturation or loss of detail.
Interestingly, the lack of Dolby Vision support didn't really detract from or upset our viewing experience compared to the other TVs tested with such supporting source materials. Considering most of the top streaming content is best optimized for Dolby Vision, we were frankly surprised to see the Samsung S95D compete with Sony and LG on almost equal footing. It's likely that HDR10+ and HDR10+ Adaptive are more pervasive than expected, as these open standards adopted by Samsung are supported by a wide variety of production houses and streaming channels.
The Samsung TV's audio delivery was only average and a tad disappointing, considering the specs list. It delivered a narrower sound field and couldn’t handle a busy scene well, resulting in audio that sounded messy and unpleasant. Speech delivery was, however, its strong point, as it can boost dialogue during times when the overall volume needs to be kept low, but you still want to hear what is being said on the screen.
When it comes to flexible screen placement, Samsung is still the reigning champ, now made better with the above-mentioned anti-glare coating. The S95D offers a One Connect box, just like its past high-end TVs, which houses all of the TV’s connections and processing. This means that you only need a single, thin, translucent cable to deliver power, audio and video to the TV panel resulting in a lot less clutter. It also gives you a far more flexible placement consideration, doesn't mess up your feature wall design and helps you easily manage your input/output connections.
Then there's the remote, which while it has a rather run-of-the-mill minimalist look and feel about it, is now manufactured more sustainably and is solar-charging friendly, the only such remote in the market. Plus, you can also charge it via USB if necessary, so no batteries are ever wasted.
Its list price of S$6,199 puts it squarely in the middle between the LG G4 and Sony A95L (even when it's on sale). And that seems like the best place for the Samsung S95D OLED. While it has some strong niche points, there were also just enough quibbles to place it firmly in the middle when looking across the board. However, if Samsung's unique features are what you need, you should look no further, as most of those aren't offered anywhere else.
Note: You can buy the Samsung S95D from the official Samsung online store, Samsung's official store on Lazada, and Harvey Norman.
References:
- LG OLED G4 review (coming soon)
- Samsung S95D OLED review
- Sony Bravia A95L OLED (coming soon)
(This article is one of 16 parts in our Tech Awards 2024: Editor's Choice content series.)
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