Since 40-inch TVs work so well in several different environments, it’s a good idea to think about how you’ll use the TV. A budget 1080p model will work well in a guest room or kid’s room, but you may want to consider a more expensive OLED model with the latest high dynamic range (HDR) technology if you’ll be using the TV in the living room to watch movies or play games. We researched the best options for a range of needs. Here are our picks for the best 40-inch smart TVs. Upscaling works great too, which means you won’t have to worry about broadcast TV channels or your DVD collection looking blurry on the 4K display. The solar-powered remote is another useful feature, and it’s one you don’t see that often. Since the remote automatically charges whenever exposed to light, you won’t ever be left scrambling for batteries. Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: QLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: Quantum HDR, HDR10+︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 3 It’s best-suited to watching TV shows, including upscaled content from broadcast TV and DVDs. However, the exceptionally low input lag makes it a decent enough option for gaming, and the excellent response time is perfectly suited to watching fast-paced sports. Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: LED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 4 It also includes Samsung TV Plus, which gives you free access to a ton of streaming content and even provides custom-tailored recommendations to help you find what to watch next. And if you want to screen share from your phone, PC, or Mac, you can do that with one-touch casting enabled on compatible Samsung Galaxy phones. Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: LED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: HDR10+︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 3 It has Roku built right in, which means you can stream content from your favorite sources, like Netflix and Disney+, without needing to invest in an additional streaming device. It supports broadcast TV if you have an antenna or cable, and you can even control it with a companion smartphone app. You also get three HDMI ports to hook up gaming consoles and other devices. Size: 40 inches︱Panel type: LED︱Resolution: 1920x1080︱HDR: No︱Refresh: 120Hz︱HDMI inputs: 3 The killer feature here is that it doesn’t look like a TV. You can have it display photos or art when you aren’t using it, or snap a photo of the wall behind the TV with the companion app, and the screen will display the wall behind it for a sort of see-through look. The Serif also supports an NFC media connection, so you can set your phone on the top of the TV to stream music easily without a lot of fiddling around. Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: QLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: Quantum HDR︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 4 It has full support for both AMD’s FreeSync and Nvidia’s G-Sync and sports a native refresh rate of 120Hz, so it’s just as well-suited to high-end PC gaming as it is to current-gen console gaming. The OLED C1 has HDR10 and Dolby Vision support for improved color contrast and details and enough HDMI ports to connect your PC, a couple of gaming consoles, and Ultra High Definition (UHD) streaming devices like Apple TV 4K to keep you entertained between gaming sessions. Size: 48 inches︱Panel type: OLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG︱Refresh: 120Hz︱HDMI inputs: 4 It also has excellent viewing angles, so you can enjoy the crisp picture from just about anywhere in the room without dimming or color shifting. It’s exceptionally bright even in HDR, and it supports HDR10+, video technology that improves brightness and color contrast. The built-in AI upscaling is on point too, which means that lower-resolution TV shows and movies from DVDs and cable look great. Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: Neo QLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: Quantum HDR 24x, HDR10+, HLG︱Refresh: 120Hz︱HDMI inputs: 4 The 4K picture is crisp and clean thanks to the QLED panel, to the point where you can even use this TV as a PC monitor if the need arises. It’s also great for video games, thanks to very low input lag, and it looks good in bright light, so you can hang it in just about any room. Size: 43 inches︱Panel type: QLED︱Resolution: 3840x2160︱HDR: Quantum HDR, HDR10+, HLG︱Refresh: 60Hz︱HDMI inputs: 4 TVs with higher resolutions have better picture quality. If the resolution of a TV is too low and you sit too close, you may be able to make out individual pixels in the image, which is visually similar to looking at the world through a screen door. The best resolution for a 40-inch TV is 4K, but good budget options come in 1080p. Just keep in mind that if you sit too close to a 1080p 40-inch TV, the picture won’t look as good as it would on a 4K set.
High Dynamic Range
High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a feature that allows a TV to display a broader range of brightness and contrast, resulting in brighter, more brilliant colors, darker blacks, and a better overall picture quality. For HDR to work, you need an HDR video source and a TV that supports HDR. Additionally, the TV needs to support the specific HDR standard used by the video content. Look for a TV that supports HDR 10 at the bare minimum. Look for a 40-inch TV that supports HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) for the best possible picture and compatibility. If you already use one or more 4K streaming services or have a 4K Blu-Ray player, check to see the specific versions of HDR that you need. For example, if you watch a lot of 4K content from Netflix, it’s especially important to look for a TV that supports Dolby Vision.
HDMI Ports and HDMI 2.1
The number of HDMI ports you need will depend on the number of devices you want to connect, but most of the best 40-inch TVs include at least three to four ports. If that isn’t enough, you can always add an HDMI switch and connect as many devices as you like. It’s also important to check what type of HDMI ports the TV has. If you select a TV with a 120Hz refresh rate and want to watch 4K content at 120 frames per second (fps), you need to make sure that the TV has at least one HDMI 2.1 port. Older HDMI versions are limited to carrying a 4K signal at 60fps or a 1080p signal at 120fps. Many TVs include a mix of the older style ports alongside one or two HDMI 2.1 ports or no HDMI 2.1 ports at all.
About Our Trusted Experts
Jeremy Laukkonen has written about consumer electronics for over ten years, with a focus on automotive technology, gaming, and home theater. He has tested and reviewed a number of televisions for Lifewire, and his reviews have also appeared in Digital Trends. For this list, he examined over 50 televisions to narrow down the best options in eight categories. Key factors included picture quality, contrast, brightness, compatibility with important HDR standards, upscaling, HDMI ports, and price. In some cases, factors like FreeSync and G-Sync, which are important for a gaming TV, received extra consideration for certain categories.
