I bought a mid-range TV and I don’t regret it at all

“The only TV worth buying is a high-end LG or a top-tier Samsung,” is something I still hear pretty frequently.

While LG and Samsung make some of the best televisions out there, especially when looking at their respective high-end OLED models, you don’t need to break the bank anymore to get your hands on a decent-looking TV.

For years, companies like Vizio, TCL, Hisense, and more have been selling solid mid-range TVs. They might not have all the high-end features more expensive TVs from LG, Samsung, and Sony offer, but in a lot of cases, they’re more than good enough for most people, even if you’re like me and care at least a little bit about picture quality.

TVs are the sort of tech that I only research when I’m buying one myself or when someone in my family is looking to get a new television. My dad recently decided it was time to upgrade his relatively low-end 1080p LG TV with awful viewing angles. If you aren’t sitting directly in front of the television, you can’t see the picture at all — it’s abysmal. So, over the past few weeks, he’s asked me dozens of questions about 4K TVs, which has me immersed in the gimmick and buzzword-filled television world all over again.

This reminded me how good modern mid-range TVs are now.

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Don’t sleep on mid-range TV manufacturers

TCL and Hisense have stepped up their game

In late 2023, it was time for me to buy a new TV (my roughly 7-year-old Vizio M50-E1 was starting to suffer from panel backlight issues). Since I live in Canada, Vizio wasn’t an option since the company left the country a few years ago. If I wanted to stick with a reasonably priced mid-range set that cost a little over $1,000 CAD, my only viable choices were TCL, Hisense, or a lower mid-range LG or Samsung TV.

Since I do most of my gaming on a 120Hz HDMI 2.1 LG Ultragear 27GP950-B monitor in my office, I don’t need my TV to have the absolute best picture. Don’t get me wrong, I watch a lot of TV, but once the panel crosses a certain quality threshold, I’m good. I didn’t always feel like that, though. At one point, my TV was the center of my entertainment world, but my habits have changed over the years, and while I’ve recently started playing more cooperative games like Split Fiction on my PS5 in my living room, the majority of my gaming is done in my basement office on a high-end monitor.

That said, I still wanted the TV I ended up buying to support HDMI 2.1 for 4K 120Hz gaming with my Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 (just in case I decided to occasionally game in my living room, which I still sometimes do), HDR10, and, if possible, Dolby Vision high dynamic-range. I didn’t care about the operating system since I’m firmly planted in Apple’s ecosystem and planned to plug my Apple TV 4K into whatever TV I bought. AirPlay 2 support also doesn’t matter since I can get it directly through my Apple TV.

There are some annoying limitations with mid-range TVs, though. For example, a lot only feature one or two HDMI 2.1 ports and, in some cases, just one features HDMI-CEC, which a lot of people use with their sound bar. To get around this problem, you can always purchase a relatively cheap HDMI 2.1 switch to plug all of your devices in at once.

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Mini-LED might not be as bright as OLED, but it’s still pretty good

A lot of mid-range TV makers opt for the cheaper display technology to save costs

After some research, I got my hands on Hisense’s 55-inch mid-range U8H, which cost $1,200 CAD (about $845 USD) at the time. While it doesn’t include an OLED panel, it features mini-LED screen technology. Its blacks are deep, and there are ample local dimming zones, but there’s a bit of blooming with darker content. I’ve also encountered weird grain with darker, low-bitrate TV shows and movies with certain apps (I’m looking at you Paramount+).Generally, though, the picture is spectacular whether I’m playing the occasional game or watching a TV show/movie, and sometimes, the screen is almost too bright (I’ve been using it for over two years now and have very few complaints). When I watch TV at night, the U8H lights up my entire living room, so I can’t imagine how blinding an OLED TV would be.While you can still buy this particular Hisense TV on Amazon, the 2025 version is the U8K. It seems like the same TV with very few changes, including that it still only features two HDMI 2.1 ports. TCL also has a well-reviewed mini-LED TV, the 55-inch QM751G TVthat’s comparable to the company’s TVs I was looking at a few years ago.

With some mid-range TVs from China-based manufacturers, the difference between a top-end TV and a mid-range set is so negligible that most people won’t notice the quality shift. It often comes down to features like the TV’s internal chip being faster, additional HDMI 2.1 ports, slightly better brightness, a wider color gamut, and a higher refresh rate panel. Similarly, in some cases, the difference between a high-end and a mid-range TV can be as simple as how thick it is (some mid-range televisions are pretty chunky).If you don’t aim to play games on your TV and only plan to watch TV shows and movies, a lot of these features aren’t necessary. It ultimately comes down to what you plan to use your television for personally.With all of this in mind, the next time someone says you need to buy that pricey, high-end LG or Samsung if you want a feature-rich, great TV, check out some of the industry’s mid-level players first. You’ll likely be surprised by the quality and features mid-range TVs offer.

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