Value Electronics, an A/V retailer just outside New York City has held an annual TV Shootout for almost two decades. The Shootout typically gathers TV testing experts, and places them in front top 4K TVs for deciding which one is the best. This year’s honor went to Sony for its QD-OLED Model.
The Value Electronics test was expanded to include a separate test for this category in 2022 due to the popularity of 8K TVs. This year, the Shootout saw the 8K crown go to LG’s Z2 OLED model.
4K TVs compete in the 2022 TV Shootout
- LG G2 Gallery Series OLED
- Samsung QN95B Quantum Dot mini-LED
- Samsung S95B QD-OLED
- Sony XR-A95K QD-OLED (winner)
- Sony XR-X95K mini-LED
8K TVs compete in the 2022 TV Shootout
- LG Z2 OLED (winner).
- Samsung QN900B Quantum Dot mini-LED
- Sony XR-Z9K mini-LED TV
Each TV is calibrated by a professional TV calibration technician to ensure an equal playing field. The sets are placed side-by-side with a 32 inch Sony professional broadcast reference monitor. Test patterns and regular movie scenes are fed over a video distribution system. The expert participants can evaluate each TV simultaneously and their votes are added to determine which TV wins in each category. The standard high-definition content was evaluated in both a bright viewing environment and a dark viewing area. 4K HDR content was also tested in both dark and bright viewing environments. Each set was also evaluated for tone mapping, or how it scaled the full range of HDR programs to the maximum brightness.
QD-OLED is the best TV tech
The Sony QDOLED took first place in every category of the Value Electronics Shootout. It was closely followed by Samsung’s S95B QDOLED model. This result speaks volumes about the future of the new TV tech that combines OLED and the Quantum Dots technology used in QLED TVs.
In the 4K TV test, LG’s closely trailed Sony’s QD-OLED. This shows that OLED is still viable, particularly models such as LG’s G2 or which use the company’s higher-brightness ‘evo’ panels. The G2 actually outperformed the Sony A95K in both the peak brightness and 4K detail categories of Value Electronics’ test.
The LG Z2 OLED model won the 8K category. This proves OLED can be extended to higher resolutions (the Z2 is available only in 77-inch and 88-inch options), and can still compete with the best QLED TVs.
The pricing aspect of the test results is what’s most interesting. Sony’s award-winning XR–A95K 4K TV is priced at around $4,000 / PS3,499 for a 65-inch screen. This is not surprising considering that it uses next-generation display tech.
The Samsung S95B, which uses the same display technology, was just $2,600 / PlayStation2,799 making it the real value champ.
Any of the tested sets can be trusted as they are top-of-the-line models from top manufacturers. If you are interested in getting a great deal on a flagship TV, it is worth doing some research.
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