LCD or OLED? Is Mini-LED worth it? Does 120Hz matter? The latest 2025 TV guide with all models and prices.
Last year, I upgraded my home TV, jumping straight from an old 42-inch LCD to a TCL Q10G Pro 65-inch. When I brought it home and opened the box, I have to admit I stood there stunned for a few seconds — the brightness and colors were from a completely different world compared to my old TV. But before buying, I spent a full two weeks researching, from panel technology to chip solutions, from HDR formats to refresh rates — I practically turned over every mainstream model on the market. Today, I'm writing down everything I've learned from two years of TV research, hoping to help you avoid unnecessary detours.
TVs are different from phones. People change phones every two to three years, but a TV typically lasts five to eight years or even longer. Buying the wrong one isn't just a waste of money — it's even worse when you have to look at it every day and it bothers you. So before you place that order, make sure you understand the following things clearly.
The panel is the most critical component of a TV, determining the upper limit of picture quality. Currently, the main TV panels on the market fall into three categories: traditional LCD (including QLED), OLED, and Mini-LED. The gap between them is like the difference between a regular digital photo, a professional DSLR, and a top-tier large-format camera — each has its own use case.
LCD/QLED panels are the most mature and affordable technology. Their principle involves a liquid crystal layer combined with a uniform backlight source, controlling light passage through liquid crystal twisting. QLED adds a quantum dot film on top of LCD to enhance color gamut coverage. The advantages are high brightness, long lifespan, and low price — mainstream 55-inch models typically range from 2000 to 4000 yuan. The downside is that black levels aren't pure enough, because the backlight can't be completely turned off. In a dark room watching a movie, you can clearly notice light bleeding at the edges. Representative models include Xiaomi S Pro 55-inch (sale price around 3299 yuan) and TCL Q10G Pro 55-inch (about 3999 yuan). If your budget is under 4000 yuan, LCD/QLED is the most practical choice.
OLED panels use self-emissive technology — each pixel emits its own light, requiring no backlight. This brings two huge advantages: first, blacks are truly pure black, because non-emitting pixels are completely black, providing virtually infinite contrast; second, colors are very vibrant and translucent, especially in low-light environments. But OLED has two hard drawbacks — brightness and lifespan. Most OLED TVs have a full-screen brightness of 400 to 600 nits, far below Mini-LED flagships that easily exceed 1000 nits. Burn-in risk, while much improved in recent years, isn't completely non-existent. Price-wise, 55-inch OLEDs start at around 5000 yuan, with 65-inch units typically ranging from 8000 to 15000 yuan. Representative models include Sony XR-55A80L (about 7999 yuan) and LG C3 55-inch (about 6999 yuan). Suitable for users who demand极致 picture quality and mainly watch movies in low-light environments.
Mini-LED panels are the hottest technology direction in recent years. They're still LCD at their core, but the backlight layer uses a large number of tiny LED beads, divided into dozens to hundreds of independent dimming zones. This allows the TV to turn off the backlight in corresponding areas when displaying dark scenes, dramatically improving contrast while maintaining LCD's high brightness advantage. Take the TCL Q10G Pro as an example — the 65-inch model has 576 zones with a peak brightness of 2200 nits. At this brightness level, watching HDR content is a treat. The Xiaomi S Pro 65-inch has 896 zones, priced at about 4999 yuan — an astonishing value proposition. I recommended the Xiaomi S Pro 65-inch to a friend, and after he received it, he sent me a WeChat saying, "The picture is absolutely mind-blowing." If your budget is between 5000 and 10000 yuan, Mini-LED is currently the most balanced choice — offering contrast performance close to OLED, with brightness and lifespan far exceeding it.
| Panel Type | 55-inch Reference Price | 65-inch Reference Price | Core Advantages | Core Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCD/QLED | 2000-4000 yuan | 3000-6000 yuan | Great value, good brightness, long lifespan | Average contrast, poor dark scene performance |
| OLED | 5000-9000 yuan | 8000-15000 yuan | Infinite contrast, vibrant colors, fast response | Low brightness, burn-in risk, high price |
| Mini-LED | 4000-7000 yuan | 5000-12000 yuan | Extremely high brightness, fine dimming control, strong overall picture quality | Zone dimming may have halos, higher price than LCD |
Under 3000 yuan budget, choose LCD/QLED. Above 5000 yuan pursuing极致 picture quality, look at Mini-LED. For dark-room movie enthusiasts, go OLED. Don't blow your budget entirely on one panel type — a TV is for watching, not for benchmark scores.
120Hz refresh rate is one of the key selling points TV manufacturers have been heavily promoting in recent years. My view is clear: if you're a gamer, yes it matters; if you only watch shows and movies, you basically won't use it.
A 60Hz TV displays 60 frames per second, and 120Hz displays 120 frames per second. For regular video content, regardless of your refresh rate, you'll be watching 24fps or 30fps movies and TV series — because that's the frame rate of the source material itself. The advantages of 120Hz are mainly seen in two scenarios: high-frame-rate live sports broadcasts, and connecting to a gaming console for high-frame-rate gaming. Take the PS5 — many major titles like Spider-Man 2 and God of War support 120fps mode, and the fluidity on a 120Hz TV is a qualitative leap. Additionally, MEMC motion compensation works better on 120Hz panels, making the ball trajectory clearer and smear-free during sports.
If you don't game and don't watch much sports, 60Hz is perfectly sufficient. There's no need to spend an extra one or two thousand yuan on 120Hz. But if you own a PS5 or Xbox Series X, or plan to get one in the next few years, then 120Hz is a must-have. Look for models supporting HDMI 2.1 ports, because only HDMI 2.1 can transmit 4K 120Hz signals. The TCL Q10G Pro, Xiaomi S Pro, and Sony X90L and above all support HDMI 2.1, but check how many full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports the TV has before buying — some brands only provide one, and after connecting a soundbar, you won't have one left for your console.
HDR (High Dynamic Range) is another major factor determining TV picture quality. Simply put, HDR makes bright parts brighter, dark parts darker, and details richer. Currently, there are three mainstream HDR formats.
Dolby Vision is widely regarded as the best HDR format in the industry. It uses dynamic metadata processing, allowing each frame to independently adjust brightness and color mapping. When playing Dolby Vision content on a supported TV, the picture quality advantage is very noticeable. Netflix, Disney+, and domestic platforms like iQiyi and Tencent Video all have extensive Dolby Vision content. Sony and TCL's mid-to-high-end models support Dolby Vision.
HDR10+ is Samsung-led dynamic HDR format. It's technically similar to Dolby Vision, but its ecosystem support is weaker. Samsung TVs don't support Dolby Vision, only HDR10+. If you buy a Samsung TV, playing Dolby Vision content will downgrade to standard HDR10, losing some picture quality. This is a notable downside of Samsung TVs. For example, the Samsung QN90C series only supports HDR10+ and not Dolby Vision.
HLG is the HDR standard for broadcast television, mainly used for live broadcasts and TV signal transmission. It's not very relevant to ordinary consumers — just know it exists.
My advice is simple: prioritize TVs that support Dolby Vision. Both domestic and international streaming content in Dolby Vision is growing rapidly, and this need will only become more important in the coming years. Unless you're certain you'll only use an Android box and never watch streaming content, don't buy a TV that doesn't support Dolby Vision.
A TV's processor (also called picture quality chip) directly affects image processing capability, system smoothness, and picture tuning quality. Different brands' chip solutions vary significantly — something many TV review bloggers won't tell you.
Sony's XR Cognitive Chip is the gold standard in the TV chip domain. It can identify the main subject in a scene the way the human eye does, optimizing the focal area. For example, when viewing a face, it automatically optimizes skin tones and details; when watching a movie, it automatically adjusts contrast based on the scene. After processing by Sony's XR chip, the same source material exhibits noticeably better texture and dimensionality than other brands. The Sony X90L series is equipped with the XR chip — 55-inch about 5499 yuan, 65-inch about 7999 yuan. If your budget is sufficient and you care about picture quality, the Sony XR series is basically a no-brainer.
MediaTek MT9653 is the mainstream chip solution for domestic mid-to-high-end TVs, used by TCL Q10G Pro, Xiaomi S Pro, Hisense U7 series, and others. This chip supports all modern TV standards — 4K 120Hz, HDMI 2.1, Dolby Vision — and is powerful enough. However, the issue is that picture tuning still depends on the brand's own expertise. With the same MT9653 chip, TCL's tuning style leans toward vivid and bright, while Hisense's leans toward natural and soft — the difference is quite noticeable.
Samsung's proprietary Neo Quantum Processor and Hisense's XinXin chip are also decent solutions, but their overall tuning level still lags behind Sony's XR. One more reminder: don't just look at CPU benchmark scores when buying a TV. A TV's core is picture processing, not system smoothness. Some brands use marketing language borrowed from high-end phone chips to promote their TV chips, but that doesn't actually help picture quality.
The table below summarizes the most mainstream brands and models on the market. Prices are based on JD.com 618 and Double 11 sale prices — regular prices will be higher.
| Brand | Model | Panel Type | 55-inch Price | 65-inch Price | Key Selling Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sony | XR-55X90L | LCD Full Array | 5499 yuan | 7999 yuan | XR Cognitive Chip,顶级 picture tuning, perfect PS5 compatibility |
| Sony | XR-65X95L | Mini-LED | - | 12999 yuan | Sony's strongest Mini-LED, flagship XR picture chip |
| TCL | Q10G Pro | Mini-LED | 3999 yuan | 5999 yuan | 576 zones, 2200 nits, HDMI 2.1×2, value king |
| TCL | C12G | Mini-LED | - | 8999 yuan | Higher zone count, better design, Onkyo audio |
| Hisense | 65U8KL | Mini-LED | - | 7999 yuan | XinXin X picture chip, 2000+ zones, black pearl anti-glare screen |
| Hisense | 55U7N | Mini-LED | 4499 yuan | 6499 yuan | Good value, natural picture tuning, user-friendly system |
| Xiaomi | S Pro 65 | Mini-LED | 4299 yuan | 4999 yuan | 896 zones, insane value, smart home integration |
| Xiaomi | ES Pro 55 | LCD | 2599 yuan | 3599 yuan | Entry-level首选, Star Curtain backlight, MEMC, affordable |
| Samsung | QN90C | Neo QLED | 6999 yuan | 9999 yuan | Vibrant colors, ultra-thin design, no Dolby Vision support |
Here's a quick summary of each brand's positioning: Sony sells picture tuning, TCL sells Mini-LED value, Hisense is the domestic tech player, Xiaomi is the price disruptor, and Samsung is the design-oriented choice. There's no absolute good or bad — it all depends on your budget and needs.
First, don't just look at specs without looking at actual picture quality. Some brands have impressive specs on paper, but real-world colors are severely off and motion compensation produces artifacts. Before buying, it's best to see the actual unit at a physical store or watch hands-on reviews from professional reviewers. Second, pay attention to the operating system. Sony and Hisense use Android TV, with the richest app ecosystem. Xiaomi uses MIUI TV, which is also quite good. Samsung uses Tizen OS, which has far fewer apps — some streaming apps may not be available. Third, pay attention to audio. TVs are getting thinner and thinner, and speaker units are getting smaller and smaller. Many built-in TV speakers sound terrible. If audio quality matters to you, set aside 1000 to 2000 yuan for a soundbar.
The relationship between TV size and viewing distance can be calculated with this formula: viewing distance (in meters) multiplied by 25 to 30 gives the recommended diagonal size in inches. For example, if the distance from your sofa to the TV wall is 2.5 meters, 2.5 × 25 = 62.5, so a 65-inch is recommended. If the distance is around 2 meters, 55-inch is appropriate.
But what I want to say is: within budget, buy a TV bigger rather than smaller. The human eye adapts very quickly. When you first buy it, 65 inches seems huge, but after two weeks you'll be used to it. On the other hand, if you buy too small, you'll always feel it's not immersive enough. At my home, on a 3-meter viewing distance, I went with 65 inches, and now it doesn't seem big at all. My neighbor, on a 2.8-meter viewing distance, bought a 75-inch, and he said, "This is what watching movies should feel like."
Under 3000 Yuan: At this price point, mainly look at LCD/QLED panel TVs. First choice is the Xiaomi ES Pro 55-inch (about 2599 yuan), with Star Curtain multi-zone backlight and MEMC motion compensation — perfectly adequate for daily TV shows and sports. Or TCL 55V8G (about 2399 yuan), also a very balanced entry-level option.
3000 to 5000 Yuan: At this range, you can get entry-level Mini-LED. The Xiaomi S Pro 65-inch (4999 yuan) is the value首选, with 896 Mini-LED zones, high brightness, and excellent dimming control — basically unbeatable at this price. The TCL Q10G Pro 55-inch (3999 yuan) is suitable for those wanting to experience Mini-LED with a limited budget.
5000 to 8000 Yuan: This bracket offers the most choices. The TCL Q10G Pro 65-inch (5999 yuan) is a very balanced choice — Mini-LED with dual HDMI 2.1, great for both picture quality and gaming. The Hisense 65U7N (6499 yuan) is also good, with more natural picture tuning. The Sony 55X90L (5499 yuan) suits users who care about picture quality and don't need a very large size.
Above 8000 Yuan: At this level, you're looking at each brand's flagship models. The Sony 65X95L (12999 yuan) is the top-tier Mini-LED choice — the XR flagship chip's picture quality is truly无可挑剔. The TCL C12G 65-inch (8999 yuan) as a domestic flagship is also very competitive. The Samsung QN90C 65-inch (9999 yuan) suits users who value design and color performance.
One last heartfelt note: TV technology iterates rapidly, and there will always be better new products on the horizon. Don't keep waiting for new models to drop in price. Buy the model you want at a reasonable price and enjoy the viewing experience it brings — that's the real purpose of buying a TV.
Want to see more detailed TV buying content? Below are several in-depth articles I personally wrote on 66.chibie.cn, helping you find the right TV from different angles: