With a jam-packed season of winter sports on the horizon you may be in search of a screen that's going to deliver all the live action in its full vibrant glory. But how do you separate the winners from the losers?
When it comes to how well TVs perform in particular for watching sport, CHOICE experts have found there are some star players you can rely on, as well as others you probably want to leave on the bench.
Our lab experts test models specifically for sport as part of their comprehensive TV reviews. We asked them to reveal the models that belong in the sin bin. Plus, exclusively for CHOICE members, we'll reveal which TVs scored the best for sports viewing in our expert testing.
If you just want to get straight to the best TVs for watching sports, you can jump to the results now.
Remember, sports viewing is just one criteria to consider when choosing a TV. Join CHOICE to see our full TV reviews, which assess picture quality, energy consumption, user interface, remote controls, key features and more.
On this page:
- What's the best TV size for watching sport?
- How to buy a good TV for watching sports
- How to test a TV for sports instore
- Should you use the 'sports' picture mode?
- The TVs sports lovers should avoid
What's the best TV size for watching sport?
Bigger is always better, right? Not always with TVs – it depends on your room size and how close you like to be to the TV when you watch. If you sit too close to a massive screen, you may be able to see the pixels – and that's not pretty.
There are three key factors to consider for the best viewing experience.
- Your TV's screen resolution (HD or 4K)
- The size of your room
- How far you sit from the screen
What is the best screen size for a high-definition (HD) TV?
What is the best screen size for an ultra high-definition TV (UHD aka 4K)
There are a few other factors that can help you fine tune the optimal position. Positioning the TV at the correct height and adjusting your seating position for the best field of view are aspects that people tend to overlook, but they're no less important.
How to buy a good TV for watching sports
Know your source
Before buying a new TV, you need to know the broadcast quality of your favourite sports. Are they shown in SD (720 x 576 pixels), HD (1920 x 1080) or ultra high definition (UHD), aka 4K (3860 x 2160)? The answer will vary depending on the sport and whether it's being broadcast on free-to-air, Pay TV or on an online streaming service.
If you're watching an SD broadcast on an HD TV, it needs to upscale the video to display at the higher resolution. How well it bridges this gap depends heavily on the quality of the unit and its internal processors.
This can vary notably between models and definitions, which is why we score separately for SD and HD sources during testing.
OLED or LCD – which is better?
According to our experts, OLED is the MVP (i.e. the best choice), particularly if you can control the ambient light in your TV room. But these are usually more expensive, so you'll have to factor that in if you're shopping on a budget.
If you plan to use your TV in a room with lots of natural light or undercover outdoors, it may be worth looking into an LCD model
What's the difference? LCD (liquid-crystal display) TVs require a light source behind their screen panel, meaning they can go very dark grey but never full black. By comparison, OLED (organic light emitting diode) screens have lights integrated within each diode and they can simply turn off when required, giving you true blacks.
The trade-off is that OLED TVs aren't quite as bright as LCDs. The difference used to be significant, but OLEDs have improved a lot in recent years with much brighter screens.
Now these TVs are much easier to watch during the day, but LCDs still have the edge in bright rooms. If you plan to use your TV in a room with lots of natural light or undercover outdoors, it may be worth looking into an LCD model.
Suss the screen angle
Got friends coming round regularly for the footy? Then you'll want to test the screen angle and ensure they'll all be able to see well.
You may be distracted by objects around the TV if you sit too far back.
As you move sideways from the centre of the screen, most TVs will lose some colour and contrast.
Stand in the middle of the screen at your normal viewing distance and then take a few steps sideways.
If the picture degrades too much, keep looking until you find a screen that does a better job. Your friends will thank you.
How to test a TV for sports instore
Retailers usually play content that makes the TVs look as good as possible. Sports broadcasts are a completely different ball game (pun intended), so switch to a match or race for a more real-world representation. If that's not possible, you could take in your own sports footage on a thumb drive or disc.
Retailers usually play content that makes the TVs look as good as possible, so switch to a match or race for a more real-world representation.
Evaluate key specs such as picture clarity (are the numbers on jerseys sharp?), motion, and colour balance (do skin tones look right?). Cycle through picture modes and note nasties such as judder (lack of smooth panning), motion blur (trailing elements behind fast-moving objects) artifacting and odd saturation.
Store TVs are often muted too, so turn the volume up if you can and study the sound. Is it rich or tinny? How do commentators' voices sound? If it's ordinary, you might need to buy an accompanying soundbar.
Should you use the 'sports' picture mode?
Most TVs include a 'sports' mode in the picture settings. This increases brightness and saturation so the visuals have more impact, but colours may not be entirely accurate. It can also activate motion smoothing depending on the brand and model.
Though film buffs rightfully recoil at the idea of motion smoothing, sports action like fast moving players or a ball flying across a field can be easier to view with this setting turned on. Just remember to turn it off when you flick over to movies or TV shows, because these look awful in sports mode.
This setting isn't essential and whether it provides a better viewing experience will really depend on your personal preference. Give it a go and if it's not to your liking, switch over to another picture mode.
Note, we test all TVs in the default picture settings. This is usually 'standard' mode, not sports.
The TVs sports lovers should avoid
Listen up sports fans, these TVs will have your family and friends screaming obscenities from the stands. Avoid them if you're looking for a TV best suited to watching sports.
Hisense 65U6NAU
Large-screen TV
Hisense 65U6NAU
- CHOICE Expert rating: 70%
- SD viewing score for sport: 45%
- HD viewing score for sport: 60%
- Price: $1395
This Hisense TV has very good 4K picture quality which could be a point in its favour given how much sport is actually broadcast or streamed in UHD/4K these days. But SD and HD quality are so comparatively low, you're going to have a pretty average afternoon watching the footy in anything but 4K.
Though the built-in speaker has warm vocals and good detail overall, it can be a bit harsh and boomy at times. Occasionally the TV case even rattles, which is not what you want to hear when a full stadium starts cheering.
It's really just a middle-of-the-road TV. There are better options out there for a similar price.
Read the full Hisense 65U6NAU review.
Konka UDE50QR315ANT
Medium-screen TV
Konka UDE50QR315ANT
- CHOICE Expert rating: 61%
- SD viewing score for sport: 60%
- HD viewing score for sport: 70%
- Price: $389
Now yes, this TV is affordable and yes, you might be thinking, "hey, it still got a good score for high-def sports". But these good points are far outweighed by this screen's shortcomings.
While it does deliver a good picture if you're watching sports in HD, other content in SD and HD only looks OK. Also, the 4K picture is pale with some motion artifacting and it has a narrow viewing angle. Sound quality is very tinny, hollow, lacking in power and really just flat-out poor.
Read the full Konka UDE50QR315ANT review.
EKO K420FAT
Small-screen TV
EKO K420FAT
- CHOICE Expert rating: 58%
- SD viewing score for sport: 65%
- HD viewing score for sport: 75%
- Price: $269
Don't insult your favourite team by watching their matches on the lowest scoring TV in our test. They don't deserve it, and honestly, neither do you.
The sports test results may seem reasonable for the asking price but this TV isn't good at anything else. Seriously, general SD and HD picture quality is only borderline to OK, sound quality stinks, and it doesn't even support 4K. Don't waste your money.
Read the full EKO K420FAT review.
The best TVs for watching sport
In our extensive TV lab testing, our team of experts score every model for sports in both standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) as part of our assessment of various content, which also includes DVD and Blu-ray movies and broadcast SD and HD TV series. The image quality is compared with our reference TV and the colour accuracy is compared with our reference 4K OLED Sony monitor.
We watch footage from an AFL game recorded from a live TV broadcast. This is from the same game broadcast on SD and HD channels.
Our detailed TV testing data is available exclusively for CHOICE members. If you're not yet a member, join CHOICE to get instant access to all of our expert, independent reviews, from fridges and freezers, toasters and air fryers, kettles and cots, and more.
Or log in to unlock this article and find out which TVs scored best specifically for sports viewing.
Unlock this article and more
- Information you can trust
- See the best brands
- Avoid the worst performers
