1 – Samsung QN90A
from R20,000 | samsung.com/za
So you’re looking for a new TV, are you? Look no further… actually, maybe a little further, since the next generation of this one has arrived in South Africa. But the QN90A is still a mighty impressive buy. It’s packing Samsung’s Neo QLED tech inside, giving you some seriously bright and colourful image reproduction at 4K resolutions. Best of all, it’s mighty affordable. You can have the 5oin version for a round R20,000. Jump up to the 65in version and you’ll pay R47,000. There’s even a massive 98in version of the TV for R200,000. We’d suggest only buying that one if you’re into extreme social distancing but still want the neighbours to be able to watch the rugby with you.
Samsung’s set was Stuff‘s TV of the Year for 2021, in case you’re having doubts about its worthiness. And, by the look of things, 2022’s edition is on track to perform similarly well here at home.
2 – LG OLED 65G1
from R53,200 | hirschs.co.za
LG has stalled a little bit, but that’s what happens when you’re a little too good at what you do. The South Korean company’s OLED TVs have been spectacular for ages. But the problem is, they’ve been spectacular for so long that we’re taking them for granted. Still, the OLED 65G1 will still make you sit up and take notice with how good it is. We’re not saying it’ll stand up to those fancy new Samsung-made QD-OLED panels Sony is bragging about, but we’re not not saying it either.
3 – LG OLED 55CX
from R25,000 | makro.co.za
LG’s 55CX TV is getting on a bit in years. This isn’t the downside you might expect. It’s not quite ready to take on the challenge of the newest generation of consoles. Yes, there’s an HDMI 2.1 port but the TV itself caps out at just 100Hz. Still, you’re laying hands on one of LG’s OLED panels for what amounts to a budget price. Trust us on this. This OLED is worth R25k. If you’re planning on holding on to your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One X for a while longer, you can do worse than pairing it with this TV set. And a sound bar. Your games will thank you. The neighbours, not so much.
4 – LG OLED 65C9PVA
R43,000 | takealot.com
This TV is a previous Stuff champion. Those skills don’t go away just because something better has come along. Tyson will still knock most regular people out, after all. Same energy. It’ll outdo the 55CX above, providing a decent experience for your next-gen console hardware, but it has one glaring problem. It’s almost twice the price. Part of that is the extra ten inches. Ten inches will cost you. Some people will forgive that in their quest for as many console frames as possible, but for others, that price is a little too high to pay.
5 – Samsung AU7000
from R7,500 | samsung.com.za
You know, you don’t always need the very best panel in the business to score a bargain. A brand spanking new Samsung 4K TV will run you just R7,500 in this day and age. That’s for the 43in version of this LED TV. Open your wallet up and splash out R23,000 and you can clip a 75in version of this one to your wall. That’ll ensure that everyone coming over to watch the Big Game™ (whatever you favour) can see what’s going on, for not very much money. As far as these things go, anyway. There are some smart features here, powered by Samsung’s Tizen, but don’t expect the best experience. This one’s a bargain. Performance may be ranked accordingly.