The short answer is price, performance, and usability. Most regular folks who ask me about a new TV are looking for something around $500 or less. Jumping up a few hundred dollars can often get you a lot more performance value, but I understand that may not be in the budget, so this list generally aims for TVs at or below that magic number. To get there, we’ve made a slight sacrifice on size, generally recommending 55-inch models rather than the 65-inch size that’s becoming the industry standard. Not everyone needs a larger screen, and the larger you go, the more you’ll notice performance imperfections.
As TVs get increasingly bigger, it’s also getting harder to find good TVs smaller than 55-inches, especially if you want features like High Dynamic Range and quantum dot colors that make for a much more vibrant and impactful picture. These features often go hand-in-hand with 4K resolution, so while you may not mind getting an HDTV at smaller sizes, all the TVs we’ve recommended offer 4K resolution. Wherever possible, we look for models that offer various size options to cater to all buyers and use cases.