It’s once again the annual Black Friday sales extravaganza, and if you’re looking to bag yourself a TV bargain for the 2023 edition, you’ve come to the right place.
At Trusted Reviews, we’ll be covering the latest and best deals available, so if you’re in the market for an upgrade, interested in getting a bigger screen for less or want to freshen up the main screen, this hub will explain what you need to know, where you can find those great deals and which TVs to keep an eye out for Black Friday 2023.
Black Friday TV Checklist
If you want run-down of the key things to look out for Black Friday, here’s our quick-fix checklist to ensure that you get the TV that’s right for you:
- Bigger TVs are getting cheaper, but be mindful of how space you have: It’s easy to be swayed by larger TVs, but be sure to measure how much space you have before purchasing any set.
- Research the user interface: Not all user interfaces are born equal. Some have many more features and apps than others, and those with fewer apps may need a streaming stick to assist them.
- Keep an eye out for HDR support: Some TVs support all HDR formats, some only support Dolby Vision, others HDR10+. If you want the best picture quality, it’s worth weighing which TV has which, especially if your favourite app uses one of those HDR formats.
- Count the HDMI ports: Got a lot of sources to connect to your TV? Make sure it’s got the max number of HDMI ports. Less expensive TVs don’t always have the full allocation of four.
- Check the refresh rate: Are you big on gamer and want every advantage during competitive play. Not only check the screen’s refresh rate to see if it can play at 120Hz, as well as other gaming features such as black level optimiser (to peer into the darkest parts of the image), and fast input lag
- Use price history tools: If you’re shopping through Amazon, you can use Keepa and CamelCamelCamel to check the price history of any TV
Which retailers offer Black Friday TV deals?
You’ve got a might selection of retailers to choose, from Amazon to Richer Sounds, eBay, Currys, Hughes, Very, AO, Argos, John Lewis & Partners.
Every retailer will be doing Black Friday discounts online and, where available, in-store. It may be worth looking for deals on retailers that offer long warranties, such as John Lewis, which offers five-year warranty on TVs.
What TV should I go for this Black Friday?
Ideal for gamers
If you’re into gaming then there are plenty of TVs to look for in this year’s Black Friday sales, but the one we’d highlight out of all them is the LG C3 OLED.
It remains the most gaming-friendly TV, with support for a 120Hz high frame rate across all its HDMI inputs so you can plug in a PS5, Xbox Series or PC gaming tower into the TV.
Input lag is consistently one of the lowest on the market, with all types of VRR supported, including Nvidia and AMD’s solutions, to ensure that latency isn’t issue and that you can get the most fluid and stable performance possible with games that support it.
The 48-inch version would be a great option for bedroom gamers, as would the 42-inch model. But whichever size screen you go for, you’ll getting an excellent gaming performance.
The Mini-LED option
Rather than repeat ourselves and choose another OLED, we’re going to suggest another type of TV because while OLED’s are great, they’re necessarily great at everything they do.
Luminance is one area where Mini-LED can best OLED, and for HDR content you’ll need every nit of brightness to show the dazzling range of colours that is possible with HDR. Brightness will also help if you watch TV in a brightly lit room, as it’ll make it harder for glare and reflections to impact the viewing experience.
You won’t find black levels to be as good as they are on an OLED, but depending on the TV you go for, you can get some very fine contrast, along with high clarity levels to wring every bit of detail from the programmes you watch. That’s why we’re recommending keeping an eye out for the Samsung QN95C, which also offers excellent gaming features and connectivity options for plugging sources into the TV
TVs on a budget
Not everyone’s budget will reach the prices of the TVs above, so we’re also recommending a cheaper set for those who just want a system that’s uncomplicated – the TCL Roku RC630K TV ticks that box.
The RC630K features Roku’s accessible user interface that comes with all the major video and music streaming apps you could ever want, a speedy gaming performance (though no advanced features) and Dolby Vision support for the likes of Disney+ and Netflix, as well as HDR10+ support for Prime Video.
If you’re after a TV that packs in tremendous value, this award-winning TCL Roku is a worthy one, and it’s already had a couple of deals in the run up to Black Friday.
Trusted Reviews’ Black Friday TV recommendation
Our recommendation for Black Friday is a Mini-LED TV from TCL, which even at its pre-Black Friday price, was one of the best-value TVs of 2023.
It is the TCL C845K. Why this TV? It offers a very bright performance that helps for colourful HDR performance, along with an impressive level of contrast for such a bright screen. It carries gaming support that’s similar to the likes of Samsung and LG in terms of its spec, and the sound quality is better than you’d expect.
It’s not perfect, but it won our reviewer over enough to award it five-stars. If you see a deal for this TV below £1000, it’d be well worth grabbing. It’s practically a steal for that price.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
