At CES 2025, it's all about big-screen TVs. Several TV brands have confirmed new 100+ inch TVs, including Hisense, Samsung, TCL and LG. While this isn't Hisense or TCL's first rodeo into the world of 100-inch TVs, Samsung announced a 115-inch version of its Samsung QN90F Neo QLED TV as part of its 2025 Neo QLED lineup. LG also revealed a model of its QNED85 as part of its QNED 2025 TV line, throwing itself into the 100-inch ring.
These brands, all responsible for making some of the best TVs on the market, already have experience with larger screen sizes; CES 2024 and 2024 in general will see a massive increase in 98-inch TVs. But CES 2025 goes one step further and breaks the 100-inch barrier.
Hisense also revealed a 116-inch RGB mini-LED TV, called the UXN 116-inch, to add to its lineup of already stacked 100-inch TVs, including the UXN 110-inch, the U8K 100-inch, and more. It even announced a 136-inch MicroLED TV that it says will be consumer-ready and launch in 2025, followed by a 163-inch version.
While demand for big-screen TVs appears to be on the rise, the question arises: will these TVs become the preferred big-screen option for home theater fans, replacing projectors? Honestly, I don't think so. No still anyway.
It's all about money
While we still don't have confirmation on the price of most of the announced big screen models, we can look at other models currently available to get an idea. The best example is the 110-inch Hisense UXN. A mini-LED capable of reaching a maximum brightness of 10,000 nits (although based on my testing, it's closer to a maximum sustained brightness of 3,000 nits when measured in a 10% window), the 110UXN costs approximately $15,000/£20,000, so it is very much a premium television.
For the cream of the crop of larger-screen TVs, like the 97-inch LG G4, you'll need to pay $24,999/£24,999. This is well beyond most people's budget and means that larger TV screens are out of reach.
For this, you can easily get one of the best 4K projectors, including the ultra-premium JVC DLA-NZ800, which costs $14,999/£14,999, and a large screen, up to 150 inches, to go with it. Even going down to the still-excellent Sony
Even the LG CineBeam Q, one of the best ultra-short throw (UST) projectors, can achieve over 100 inches of projection for under $1,000/£1,000. So why would you opt for anything other than a projector in these 100-inch sizes?
Cheaper big screen TVs: for and against
Well, above I've selected some of the most extreme examples of big screen TVs. The truth is that there are a crop of 100-inch mini-LED TVs, one of the best panel types for larger screens, available for under $5,000 / £5,000, some for as little as $2,000 / £2,000.
The Hisense U8K, one of the best mini-LED TVs of 2023, is one of those budget sets and sells for around $3,999, but we've seen it for as low as $2,599 during the previous Black Friday. For a mini-LED TV of this quality, which we praise for its detail, brightness and contrast, it's a bargain at this size.
I even tested a 100-inch Hisense U7K with the Hisense L9H Laser TV (UST projector) to see which was better if you wanted a large home theater screen on a budget, and while I chose the L9H projector, the U7K mini-LED TV . It came very close and even outperformed the projector in some areas (i.e. in brighter viewing conditions).
There are also plenty of cheap large-screen QLED and LED models from Hisense, TCL, Samsung and more, for as little as $1,299 / £1,299, which is significantly cheaper than what you'd have to shell out for a projector and screen decent. Of course, it's crucial to make sure these TVs have the right type of lighting; It's best to avoid edge-lit TVs, as I discovered when testing a budget 75-inch Samsung.
However, the general problem with these cheaper big screen TVs is that they can have notable flaws. This could be due to poor backlight control, causing backlight creep and poor black uniformity (the ability to display dark tones evenly across the screen), something projectors are unlikely to suffer from. of similar price.
The other problem is that for how much you'd spend on one of the “best” affordable big-screen TVs, like the Hisense U8K or a more premium set, you could easily get a very good ultra-short throw projector. The Hisense PX3-Pro, which costs around $3,499/£2,499 and scored four and a half out of five in our review, thanks to its excellent HDR image quality and high versatility, is a great example of this.
Final thoughts
While it looks like big-screen TVs are here and could be the future of home theater, they ultimately won't replace projectors anytime soon. To get the best quality from a big-screen TV, you'd need to spend more than you would on a very good 4K or UST projector and an even larger screen (over 130 inches, say).
Don't get me wrong, some of the big-screen TVs we've seen here at TechRadar, myself included, are certainly impressive and rival the most elite projectors. But until the prices of these big-screen TVs come down, they won't dethrone the projector for those looking for the best value home theater system.
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