The answer — one pick, priced
Get the
TCL 98QM7K
no budget ceiling
The best price-per-inch in the category across 11 independent sources — a real 2,500-zone Mini-LED with Dolby Vision and 144Hz for under $1,900.
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Fit ledger — need → measured evidence
■ The catch — co-equal billing, always
Only two HDMI 2.1 ports. A PS5, an Xbox and a 4K PC cannot all stay on full-bandwidth inputs — you will swap cables or buy a switch. The Hisense 100U7SG and Samsung sets ship four. Stock is also down to 3 units at this price.
Dealbreaker? Runner-up №1 has four HDMI 2.1 ports at 4K/165Hz ↓
■ Every product has a catch. Verdicts that hide it are how bad buys happen.
Runners-up — if your needs differ
Adjacent verdicts — same method
Traps — this verdict avoids
The doorway problem
The box is roughly 8 ft × 5 ft × 1 ft and 200–230 lbs, and the set alone is 110–160 lbs. Measure every doorway (32 in minimum), elevator and stairwell turn before you order — it's a 2–3 person carry, and many sedans can't transport a 98-inch TV at all.
Rooms too small to use it
SMPTE/THX want 12–15 ft of viewing distance for a 98-inch 4K set. Under 12 ft a 75–85-inch TV looks identical and saves $1,500–$3,000; under 10 ft you'll see individual pixels. The constraint is geometry, not budget.
Scarcity pricing
Most 98-inch listings show 1–4 units left, and thin stock whipsaws price: the TCL 98QM8K jumped 33% from ~$2,998 to ~$3,998 in five weeks, and the Samsung 98QN90F sits at ~$14,998. Check live price and stock before you commit.
Provenance — 11 sources, dated
Winners are picked before affiliate payouts are checked, from the full research dossier at knowledgelib.io. Prices, stock and listings are re-verified monthly by an automated pipeline. Some links earn us a commission — it never changes the pick, and we say so here rather than in a footer you'd never read.