The Best Gaming TVs for Smooth, Lag-Free Play

In gaming, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to milliseconds. Your PS5 or Xbox Series X is built for stunning 4K visuals, but lag and blur can spoil the experience. Finding the best TV for gaming depends on a few precise technical specifications, as well as your specific needs (how your room is set up, for starters). 

In this expert guide, our Richer Sounds colleagues will show you the essential features that deliver genuine lag-free performance, so you can experience better gaming instantly.

Why Getting the Right Gaming TV is Crucial

When choosing a gaming TV, two factors are critical for a better experience outcome: speed and motion. A great gaming TV must minimise the time between you pressing a button and the action appearing on screen. If you’re a competitive player, this is a non-negotiable.

Your existing TV might look fine, but if it lacks the right connections or processing speed, it acts as a bottleneck, stopping your console from performing at its peak.

Essential Gaming TV Features Explained

The performance of any top gaming TV is measured by how quickly it can receive and display the signal from your console.

Input Lag vs. Response Time: Clarified

These two terms are frequently confused, but both are essential for fluid gameplay.
Response Time: This refers to how fast the individual pixels on the screen can switch from one colour state to another. A slow response time causes motion blur or ghosting during fast movement. OLED TVs win here definitively, with pixel response times as fast as 0.1ms. This is instantaneous.
Input Lag: This is the total time it takes for your command (button press) to register and appear on the screen. The best gaming TVs achieve figures as low as 4-5ms. This low figure is achieved by activating a ‘Game Mode’, which cancels out unnecessary image processing. Depending on the model, it can also bring up a dedicated Gaming Dashboard or similar feature.
Competitive Standard: For serious competitive gaming, look for a TV with an input lag of 10ms or less when running a 4K/120Hz signal.

HDMI 2.1: The Next-Gen Pipeline

To unlock the full potential of your console, your gaming TV must have HDMI 2.1 ports. This standard provides the massive bandwidth (up to 48 Gbps) required to transfer a 4K/120Hz signal with minimal compression, which is crucial for competitive gamers.

For avid gamers, we recommend aiming for a TV with at least two HDMI 2.1 ports. This allows you to connect a PS5, an Xbox Series X, and an eARC-compatible soundbar simultaneously without having to swap cables.

Next-Gen Gaming Technologies

Beyond raw port connectivity and input lag, the best gaming TVs offer key technologies that dramatically improve the experience. Here are the standards and features worth looking for:

• • ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode): Ensures your TV automatically detects when a console (like a PS5 or Xbox Series X) is connected and instantly switches the TV into Game Mode. This guarantees the lowest input lag possible without you needing to manually adjust settings.
  • VRR (Variable Refresh Rate): VRR synchronises the TV’s refresh rate with the console’s output frame rate. This eliminates frustrating screen tearing and stuttering, keeping the picture fluid and smooth, even during fast-paced action.
  • Dolby Vision Gaming: This is the premium version of HDR (High Dynamic Range) specifically optimised for gaming. It adjusts brightness, contrast, and colour frame-by-frame, unlocking the deepest possible picture quality and detail in supported games.
  • AMD FreeSync & NVIDIA G-SYNC: Both are types of Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), but are developed by different chip manufacturers. They are primarily designed to reduce screen tearing, which happens when your screen displays parts of multiple frames in a single refresh.
  • HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group): While not a technology itself, HGiG is a standard set by the industry. When a TV supports HGiG, it means the TV correctly displays the HDR settings as intended by the game developers, ensuring the visual experience is accurate and true-to-life.

Expert Recommendations: The Best Gaming TVs for Your Style

Choosing the recommended TV for gaming is about matching the technology to your style of play and your room’s ambient light. We’ve curated a collection of high-performance gaming TVs designed to enhance your experience, never to hinder it.

The Ultimate Performer: Premium OLED

A premium OLED is the best TV for gaming if your priority is zero compromise and enhanced motion clarity and visual depth. The individual, self-lighting pixels deliver perfect black levels, making scenes incredibly immersive and detailed, particularly in dark-themed games. The instantaneous pixel response time ensures motion blur is virtually eliminated, a critical advantage in fast-paced competitive shooters.

Be sure to check out our guide to the differences between OLED and QLED TVs.

For the All-Round Gamer

We consistently recommend the LG C-Series OLED, particularly the 65-inch OLED evo 4K Ultra HD Smart TV, as one of the best overall gaming TVs. These sets typically offer a flawless gaming specification, featuring four full HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K/120Hz, VRR, and ALLM on every input. The inclusion of a dedicated ‘Game Optimiser’ interface makes managing settings effortless.

For the PlayStation Enthusiast

The Sony A-Series OLED, such as the Sony Bravia XR 55-inch QD-OLED TV, is a popular choice for many PS5 users. Sony TVs are uniquely equipped with features like ‘Perfect for PS5’ that automatically optimise the HDR tone mapping for your console, ensuring stunning visual accuracy right away. 

While some Sony OLEDs only feature two HDMI 2.1 ports, their best-in-class processing and unique Acoustic Surface Audio technology deliver superior cinematic immersion.

Sony BRAVIA XR55A95LU

The Brightness Champion: Mini LED & QD-OLED

If your gaming is done primarily during the day in a bright, sunlit room, the intense light output of Mini LED or QD-OLED technology is unmatched. The high peak brightness levels powerfully cut through glare where OLEDs might struggle.

The Samsung Neo QLED range excels as a good gaming TV, as the majority of models are equipped with four full HDMI 2.1 ports, making them ideal for multi-console users and PC gaming setups. This zero-compromise connectivity, combined with features like the Gaming Hub and Multi View (allowing you to watch a walkthrough video and play a game simultaneously), firmly establishes it as a powerful recommended TV for gaming.

Richer Sounds’ Recommendation

The Samsung Neo QLED QN90C is a flagship-level 4K display that our experts highly recommend for delivering an immersive gaming experience by solving the two biggest pain points for multi-platform gamers: connectivity and glare.

The dedicated Samsung Gaming hub also gives you instant access to cloud-based services like Xbox Game Pass, meaning you can play thousands of titles without needing to download, patch or connect a console.

However, we know every home and customer is unique. To ensure you find the perfect TV that meets all your individual needs, speak directly with one of our knowledgeable colleagues. Just pop into a store or call our Telesales team for personalised, expert advice.

The Best Value Gaming TV Choice

You don’t always need a flagship model to unlock the core next-gen experience. Many brands offer brilliant 4K gaming TVs that include all the essential gaming features, without overstretching your budget.

The TCL 55-inch P8K OLED TV provides the ideal set of features for an affordable gaming TV without compromising core performance. The Game Master Suite ensures zero lag performance thanks to the advanced 288Hz Game Accelerator and Dual Lane Gate, supporting a higher refresh rate and lower latency for responsive gaming. 

The main features of the TCL 55P8K-UK

The suite also includes critical next-gen features like HDMI 2.1 inputs with 144Hz VRR, AMD FreeSync and ALLM. Beyond speed, the TV offers vivid picture quality via its QLED screen with Colour Optimisation Technology, providing over a billion true-to-life colours that reach 93% of the professional DCI-P3 colour gamut. This means you get the best budget 4K TV for gaming for the price without sacrificing essential console speed, with any potential savings easily diverted towards a separate soundbar.

Ready to Experience Zero Lag?

You now have all the expert knowledge needed to choose your perfect screen. Don’t let outdated technology restrict your console’s performance. Shop our full range of gaming TVs online or in your local Richer Sounds store.