Podcast #1271: Consumer Reports HDTV Ratings

On this week's show we take a look at the consumer reports ratings for 70 inch and larger TVs. We also read your email and take a look at the week's news.

News:

• Your Google Home can now take orders from Claude and other AI agents
• Roku Adds 30 New Bundles To Premium Subscriptions
• Element Launches New TiVo-Powered Smart TVs in the U.S.
• Paramount Settles States' Antitrust Suit, Clearing Way for Warner Megadeal

Consumer Reports Ratings for 70-inch and larger TVs:

On this week's show we take a look at the consumer reports rating for 70 inch and larger TVs. This list was sent to us by Dermot who thought it may make a nice topic. We took the list and only updated pricing. So how does Consumer Reports determine a score for their TV ratings?

Consumer Reports builds each TV's Overall Score from three buckets: lab performance, member surveys, and (for smart TVs) privacy/security. They do not accept manufacturer samples. Secret shoppers buy the sets at retail so they test the same units you would buy.

They run 200+ TVs a year. Each set goes through 20+ tests and more than 500 data points in their Yonkers labs. Picture settings are optimized with the on-screen user controls only—not a full professional calibration. If a set needs a calibrator to look good, that hurts it.

What the lab actually measures

• HD and UHD picture quality — test patterns plus real movie/TV clips for detail, black level, contrast, and color accuracy after the set is optimized.
• HDR — peak brightness (measured with a Photo Research PR-740 spectroradiometer), plus how well highlights and shadows hold up in dark and bright scenes.
• Viewing angle — color and contrast from both horizontal and vertical off-axis positions.
• Motion blur — how clean moving text and action stay.
• Sound quality — built-in speakers: clarity, bass, volume range, and distortion, compared against reference sets in the lab.
• Features / versatility — inputs, smart-TV functions, ease of use, etc.
• Data privacy and data security — whether the TV collects extra data, how easy it is to control that, encryption, known vulnerabilities, update practices. These scores are folded into the Overall Score.

A viewing panel then watches real content side-by-side after the meter work is done.

Survey piece

Predicted reliability and owner satisfaction come from CR member surveys, not from the lab unit they bought.

• Reliability is brand-level, not model-level. A statistical model estimates the chance a new set from that brand will have a problem in the first five years. They control for age, how often it's used, and whether it has an extended warranty.
• Owner satisfaction is how likely members are to recommend that brand. It is weighted at 5% of the Overall Score for every product category.
• Reliability's weight varies by category (typically 10–20%). For TVs it sits toward the lower end of that range because members rate reliability about even with picture performance.

If a brand scores Poor or Fair on predicted reliability, that model cannot get a CR "Recommended" badge, no matter how well it tested.

When they don't have enough survey data for a brand (like on some Roku sets), they plug in category-average survey scores.

How it becomes one number

Overall Score is a weighted mix of the lab scores plus those two survey scores (and privacy/security). Models are then ranked against others in the same size group.

That's why two 91-point sets can sit at very different prices: one won on lab performance plus surveys at a lower street price; the other is a more expensive flagship that still maxed the same scoring formula.

Brand Model Overall Score Price
LG OLED77C5PUA 91 $1,800
Samsung QN77S95F 91 $3,000
Samsung QN77S90F 90 $2,500
Samsung QN77S90H 89 $2,600
LG OLED77G6WUA 89 $3,800
LG OLED77G5WUA 88 $3,150
LG OLED77C6HUP 88 $2,700
LG OLED77M5PUA 87 $3,870
Samsung QN77S84FA 85 $1,600
LG OLED77B5PUA 84 $3,000
Sony K-77XR80 83 $3,000
Sony K-75XR90 83 $3,500
Samsung QN75QN90F 82 $2,000
Sony K-77XR8B 78 $2,500
Sony K-75XR70 78 $1,500
Hisense 75U8QG 75 $1,700 (65")
LG 75QNED92AUA 75 $1,680
TCL 75QM8K 74 Mostly Unavailable
Sony K-75XR50 73 $2,000
Roku 75R8B5 73 $1,250
Roku 75R8C5 72 $1,200
Hisense 75U75QG 72 $1,700 (65")

TV COMPARISON SUMMARY

TOP TIER (Score 88-91)

1. LG OLED77C5PUA 91 $1,800 Best score-to-price
2. Samsung QN77S95F 91 $3,000 Same score as C5, $1,200 more
3. Samsung QN77S90F 90 $2,500
4. Samsung QN77S90H 89 $2,600
5. LG OLED77G6WUA 89 $3,800 Highest-priced LG
6. LG OLED77G5WUA 88 $3,150
7. LG OLED77C6HUP 88 $2,700

Our takeaway is that the only score that actually matters here is not "91 vs 89." It is that the LG C5 is tied with Samsung's flagship S95F at 91, and it is $1,200 cheaper.

If we were going to spend money for a 75–77" set, we would treat the list like this:

• Buy the C5 if the room is normal-to-dim and you want the best picture per dollar.
• Buy the S95F only if the room is bright, you want a matte screen, and you specifically want a bright picture. Do not buy it just because it is tied at 91.
• The Samsung S84F at $1,600 / 85 is the value model if you don't want to go OLED.
• Anything at 75 or below is fine for a secondary room. Especially when you consider models from Samsung and LG providing higher quality for barely more in cost.

Does Consumer Reports still matter? Yes, but not as the only vote, and not the way it did 15 years ago. There are other sources out there and each weighs aspects of TVs differently. With that said, they all agree that the LG C5 is a really nice TV.