MorbidFaithless posted... What is the average price for a "good" tv these days? I know the price has decreased a lot, but like, is 300 dollars a crappy tv? Should I aim for like the 600+ range?
Yeah. Unfortunately the TVs around 300 is just going to be in that "glad it works" tier. HDR isn't going to matter for TVs in this range, and if you wanted features like VRR or 120hz capability via some HDMI 2.1 ports and hardware then you can forget it in this range (if these is put into a budget TV, then there is a extremely high chance its not going to work good at all/feel shoe-horned in).
*What TV manufacturers don't tell you is that HDR will literally do nothing and actually make your image worse if your TV does not have both the software (different TVs have different algorithms when it comes to stuff like what should be dimmed at the right time and whatnot) and hardware to do anything with it. A TV having HDR on it's box when it comes to budget black friday type TVs around 100 to 300 dollars or so is basically "this TV technically supports a HDR container and so we aren't lying. We can't be sued" type of thing.*
You can get a good TV just spending like 600 to 700 dollars. It depends on the specific model (not manufacturer. Like sony, samsung and LG all makes some pretty crappy TVs, so buying one just because one of the "big 3" is the manufacturer isn't the way to go) of TV though.
In north america TCL and hisense with vizio coming in a little behind tend to have the best "affordable" TV options compared to the major 3 guys sony, samsung and LG.
RTings (a great site to use to look up specific TV models) thinks that TCL made the best mid-range priced TV this year in the TCL QM7K.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/tcl
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/tcl/qm7k
It is a miniLED TV (out of the different LED types, miniLED TVs are considered the best type of LED TV to have) who's 55 inch version is currently priced at 699.99.
https://www.bestbuy.com/product/tcl-55-class-qm7k-series-4k-uhd-hdr-qd-mini-led-smart-tv-with-google-tv-2025/J36QYTQTCP
Doing a quick look-over this TV would get you the basics of what you need for HDR to actually be noticeable on a LED TV. Good input lag, actually has some VRR support with some HDMI 2.1 inputs so you would be able to make use of 120hz for console or PC gaming, got a good bit of dimming zones, a algorithm that looks to be good for the money you pay, and real good contrast and dark levels.
If I had to limit myself to 700 dollars I would totally go for that TCL QM7K.