Top five best 48 to 50-inch TVs

With many models having exceptional picture quality and prices gradually coming down, it isn't surprising that so many are investing in TVs capable of creating immersive, cinema-like experiences in our homes.

From reasonably priced mid-range sets from top brands, such as Samsung and LG, to the very best they have to offer, you’ll find something for your tastes in this size bracket.

But price isn’t everything. We’ve named TVs costing as much as £700 as Don’t Buys. Equally, we’ve seen Best Buys for as a little as £450 outperform models two or even three times the price.

Best 48 to 50-inch TVs

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How big is a 48, 49 or 50-inch TV?

Each TV has a different sized bezel and stand, so there will always be slight differences in the height, width and depth of a TV. 

We've taken the average size of the models we've tested so you can get a good idea of how much space one will take up.

• 48-inch TV: 65.3 x 107 x 26.1cm (H,W,D)
• 49-inch TV: 71.8 x 110.1 x 26.2cm (H,W,D)
• 50-inch TV: 71 x 111.8 x 25.6cm (H,W,D)

How to check if a 48 to 50-inch TV is the right size for you

According to our research, this size bracket is the most popular. More visitors to the Which? website look at 48-inch sets than any other screen size. 

Smaller 43-inch 4K TVs are available and of course there are bigger ones, too. 48 inches is far from the biggest size but it could still be too big or too small for your room. We recommend sitting nine or 10 feet from a 48 to 50-inch TV. Sit closer and you should probably choose a smaller TV, or a bigger one if you sit further away. 

Use our TV screen size tool to work out the size of TV that will best suit your room.

What features should you look out for?

If this is the right size for you, here are some key things to look out for:

• 4K ultra-HD: Due to its sharper picture and superior HD quality, this higher resolution features on all of our Best Buy TVs, especially those of this size. We strongly recommend choosing a 4K TV to make sure you don’t miss out on top-quality content in years to come.
• Sound quality: There’s a huge disparity in sound quality across modern flatscreen TVs. While a Best Buy sound bar will improve your experience of any TV, the sound shouldn’t be so bad that you’re forced to splash out on one. We test every TV with both music and dialogue to ensure our Best Buys not only look great but sound great, too.
• High Dynamic Range: You’ll now find this picture technology on most 4K sets. It should give deeper blacks, brighter whites and more subtlety of tone in between, but you need HDR content to make use of it. Hundreds of hours of HDR content is available on streaming services and pricier 4K TVs will have more advanced formats. These aren't necessarily must-haves though. Our reviews always detail the HDR formats supported and how well they are utilised.