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PC gamers usually sit at a desk with a keyboard and mouse in front of them and look at a monitor a foot or two away that typically measures between 20 and 30 inches. Console gamers, on the other hand, often sit on a couch with a gamepad and headset, staring at a TV that's six or more feet away. The greater distance demands a bigger screen and means most monitors won't cut it. You need a good TV for gaming. Ideally, that means getting a good TV in general, but there are specific qualities to consider as well.

We judge TVs based on several factors. Our biggest focus is on picture quality: We measure the contrast and colors to ensure everything looks as bright, dark, vivid, and accurate as the director (or game designer) intended. We also consider how easy the TV is to work with, factoring in aspects like remote ergonomics and interface design. Those qualities are all important when you sit down to watch your favorite movie or TV show but, for gaming, you need to think about additional factors, such as input lag and refresh rate.

Read on for the top gaming TVs we've tested, followed by an in-depth explanation of all the gaming features we look for and how we evaluate them.

Are TVs Good for Gaming?

Up until a few years ago, fancy gaming features and syncing compatibility were solely for gaming monitors. Now, TVs are getting into the action and many of those same features are available over HDMI (rather than DisplayPort, something very few TVs offer). They include Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Nvidia G-Sync, and AMD FreeSync.

ALLM is a simple but useful feature for gaming with a PC, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X/S. When you start to play a game, it sends a signal to the TV for it to automatically switch into the gaming picture mode and turn on any other gaming features. And, when you stop playing, it automatically exits that mode and turns off the related features.

TV shows and movies almost all have consistent frame rates, but game frame rates can vary wildly. As a result, TVs with refresh rates fixed at 60Hz or 120Hz can struggle to display action smoothly. VRR means the TV can adjust its refresh rate on the fly to match the video source. It can reduce or completely remove choppiness and screen tearing from your games.

Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync are other frame rate- and refresh rate-syncing features. They let a display sync directly with a PC's graphics card (GeForce and Radeon, respectively) and help reduce screen tearing. Depending on your GPU, either of these features is useful if you plan on connecting your PC to your TV.

What TV Has the Lowest Input Lag?

Input lag is the amount of time between when a TV receives a signal and the display updates. Fighting games, action games, and other titles that require precise timing work best when input lag is very low. It can make the difference between feeling like you have total control over everything happening and needing to constantly compensate for what amounts to very tiny pauses that can throw off your game.

Input lag generally ranges between 5 and 120 milliseconds for TVs, with the biggest differences not between different TVs but between any given TV's game mode and other picture modes. For example, if you play in the Theater picture mode on even the fastest TV, you are likely to experience lots of lag.

We consider less than 20ms to be acceptable, but for a TV to qualify for this roundup, the input lag must be under 10ms. We previously used 20ms as our best-for-gaming threshold, but we've seen significant drops in input lag over time and adjusted accordingly.

We test input lag using an HDFury 4K Diva 18Gbps HDMI matrix with an Xbox One X as a source. The matrix processes the source video to 4K, then transmits the picture to the TV with a black box overlaid on the center of the screen. A light sensor we place on the screen measures the box as it flashes, determining how long the TV takes between when the signal is sent and the picture changes, down to the tenth of a millisecond.

The Diva can measure input lag with both 1080p and 4K pictures, and so far we've seen deviations between the two resolutions to be negligible. Resolution doesn't appear to affect input lag when image processing features are turned off (you should turn any of these off if you want the lowest possible input lag).

We record lag times with the TV's game mode active because input lag is most important for gaming. We also note input lag in other picture modes for reference.

The Best TVs for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X

4K is currently the standard for most new TVs. Whether your games have true 4K resolution or high dynamic range (HDR), contrast, and color depend on the platform you use and the game you play.

The newest consoles, Microsoft's Xbox Series X (and Series S) and Sony's PlayStation 5, support 4K resolution (3,840 by 2,160) with HDR. Games on these systems typically look sharper and more vibrant than those for previous-generation consoles such as the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro (and much sharper than the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One S, which don't support 4K gaming at all). The new systems also support graphical features like raytracing that their predecessors don't. You should look for a TV that supports 4K HDR so you can fully enjoy the latest games.

Refresh rates (the number of times a screen draws a picture per second, measured in Hz) are also important for gaming. All TVs are at least 60Hz, but some are 120Hz (capable of showing twice as many frames per second), and Samsung's newest flagship TVs can hit 144Hz. The newer game consoles support frame rates of up to 120fps (though this is still rare). Nonetheless, fast frame rates paired with a TV with a high refresh rate result in ultra-smooth performance.

Should You Get a Gaming Monitor or a TV?

If you want extremely low input lag and much wider support for various refresh rates and VRR, you need to turn toward smaller screens. By that, we mean dedicated gaming monitors. These are specifically designed for gaming and emphasize responsiveness at least as much as picture quality. Input lag below 4ms is common on high-end gaming monitors and they can also include PC-friendly features that further improve performance, such as adaptive refresh rates with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync. However, we've seen TVs get closer and closer to these numbers in recent years; many have begun to offer features like G-Sync and FreeSync too, so, eventually, the distinction between the two might become moot.

The biggest drawback with gaming monitors is that you need to spend much more per square inch. Monitors are generally smaller than TVs and are designed for use from only a foot or two away. They have fewer inputs, don't always feature speakers, and rarely have any kind of remote control. If you want to game from your couch, a gaming monitor simply isn't feasible. But if you're ready to play from your desk, check out our list of the best gaming monitors.

If you simply want the best picture available, meanwhile, look at our roundup of the best TVs, the best 65-inch TVs, and the best 75-inch (and up) TVs. And if you want to save some money, head over to our list of the best cheap TVs, which highlights some models that are still good for gaming.

For more buying advice, see our story on what TV model numbers and SKUs actually mean.