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What Do TV Model Numbers and SKUs Actually Mean? How to Know If You're Getting a Good Deal
Those long strings of numbers and letters in TV model names actually mean something. We decode the SKUs for every major TV manufacturer.
By Will Greenwald
What Do TV Model Numbers and SKUs Actually Mean? How to Know If You're Getting a Good Deal Hisense TCL LG (LED) The Best TVs Samsung (QLED) Sony Samsung (Non-QLED) LG (OLED) Vizio
Several times a year, electronics retailers slash prices on products as part of seasonal and holiday sales. Super Bowl weekend, President's Day, Amazon Prime Day, and of course Black Friday offer sizable discounts on big-ticket electronics like TVs. You might be able to find a great television for an amazing price during these sales. You might also wind up with a mediocre model you ultimately paid too much for, because product names and labels are confusing.
When you're shopping for a TV, the brand name can be a factor in features, design, and general quality. It's far from the biggest factor, however, because every TV manufacturer makes multiple lines of products.
There are budget-friendly TVs with low price tags and unambitious performance. There are midrange models with modest prices and performance to match. And there are high-end televisions with impressive performance and sky-high prices. And, after testing many of them, we've found that there are also budget TVs with great picture quality and pricey panels that aren't up to snuff. If you simply follow a sale and buy a "Samsung TV" or a "Sony TV" or any other TV just because it has a discount, you'll have no idea exactly what kind of TV you're buying, or how good it is.
This is where stock keeping units, or SKUs, come in. In retail, SKUs are identifiers for specific versions of products. They identify the individual model of a given item, like a TV. Think of them as labels that let you figure out exactly what you're buying when an ad or even the product box isn't completely clear on it.
Television SKUs are long and complex strings of letters and numbers that define a variety of aspects of each model. They can show the product line, screen size, and even individual retailer variants of TVs, and they're the key to decoding just how good a TV on sale is. They're also wildly different for each TV manufacturer.
With that in mind, here's a handy guide to decoding the SKUs of different TV manufacturers. It's a complicated system, but once you break down each label to its parts, it becomes much easier to navigate.
The Parts of the Number
Every television SKU can be broken down into individual components. Once you can identify these components, you can figure out things like screen size, tier/quality level, and even retailer exclusivity. Depending on the manufacturer, TV SKUs have three to five parts, including:
Screen Size: A number indicating how big the TV is.
Product Line: A set of letters or numbers indicating what product series the model is in.
Generation: A set of letters or numbers indicating what year the TV was made.
Retailer Sub-Model: A number indicating a specific model is intended to be sold at a specific retailer.
Other Variations: A set of letters or numbers indicating the TV is of a specific variety outside of its product series. This is most commonly seen in Hisense and LG TVs. Hisense designates Android TVs with an H and Roku TVs with an R, and LG specifically calls out OLED TVs with the OLED designation.
Fluff: Additional numbers or letters that indicate the sales region or other broad categorizations that are similar or identical across all TVs available from the manufacturer in your market.
Now that you know the basics, let's break it down by specific manufacturers.
Example: Hisense 65H9F, the 65-inch version of Hisense's 2019 flagship line.
The 65 at the beginning shows that Hisense puts screen sizes at the start of the product number.
The H means it's an Android TV. If it was a Roku TV, it would have an R instead.
The 9 after the H means it's Hisense's flagship line. Lower-end TVs include the H8 and H6.
The F means it's a 2019 model. 2020 TVs have a G at the end, while 2018 TVs have an E.
Example: TCL 65R625, the 65-inch model in TCL's 2019 6-series of mid-high-end budget TVs.
The 65, again, is screen size.
The R625 is confusing and complicated. The R6 indicates that the TV is part of the 6-series. The flagship 8-series is denoted by Q8, while the lower-end 4- and 5-series are denoted by S4 and S5.
The 25 shows that the TV is the 2019 version of the 6-series. A 35 indicates a 2020 model, which applies to the 4-, 5-, and 6- series. The 8-series hasn't been updated since 2019, so there's only Q825. If that isn't confusing enough, the last digit can also vary slightly.
Basically, pay close attention to TCL product numbers.
LG (LED)
Example: LG 75SM9970PUA, the 75-inch model of LG's 8K LED TV line from 2019.
The 75 at the beginning indicates the screen size.
The SM is the generational designation, showing that it's a 2019 model. As part of a minor format change, 2020 models have NANO, while SK indicates a 2018 model.
The 9970 indicates that it's LG's most advanced LCD TV. 2019 and earlier LG TVs have four digits, with numbers in the 9000s indicating flagship status, 8000 numbers indicating midrange and mid-high models, and lower numbers indicating lower tiers. 2020 LG TVs have two digits, but the number logic is the same; 90-plus is flagship (99 and 97 are the 8K tiers), and 80-plus is midrange, with higher numbers indicating higher level models.
The PUA is fluff for 2019 and earlier models. 2020 fluff can be UNA or ANA; they don't mean anything significant.
The 2020 equivalent of the 75SM9970PUA is the 75NANO99UNA.
The Best TVs
With all of this in mind, you can't go wrong with any of the picks on our list of the best TVs. Just make sure you're buying the right model!
If you're looking for something more specific, we also have lists for the best cheap TVs, the best 65-inch TVs, and the best TVs for gaming.
And if you're trying to figure out what size TV you need, check out our handy tips.
Samsung (QLED)
Example: Samsung QN65Q90RAFXZA, the 65-inch version of Samsung's 2019 top-of-the-line 4K QLED TV.
The QN indicates it's a QLED TV, a higher-end LED TV compared with Samsung's broader range of LED-backlit LCD TVs (which are identified with a UN).
The 65 is screen size.
The Q90 shows it's Samsung's most advanced QLED TV. Q80, Q70, and Q60 are all steps down in quality, design, or feature set.
The R indicates that it's a 2019 model. 2020 models have T (as in Q90T), while 2018 models are indicated with an N or NU.
The AFXZA is fluff, and can be ignored.
Example: Sony XBR-65A9G, Sony's 2019 flagship 4K OLED TV.
The XBR used to indicates that the TV is one of Sony's higher-end models, but it doesn't show the specific product line. KD and KDL indicate lower-end Sony TVs.
The 65 once again shows screen size.
The A shows that the TV is an OLED. Sony A-series TVs are OLED, while its X- and Z-series TVs are LED.
The 9 indicates the position of the TV at the top of Sony's product lines. A lower number indicates a TV that isn't part of Sony's Master Series flagships, like the A8G. Single numbers show high-end Sony models, while three-digit numbers sit below them, again counting down; the X950G is higher end than the X800G, and so on.
The G at the end indicates that the TV is a 2019 model. An H indicates a 2020 TV (with the exception of the A9S Master Series OLED TV, also a 2020 model), while an F indicates a 2018 TV.
Samsung (Non-QLED)
Example: Samsung UN65RU8000FXZA, the 65-inch version of Samsung's 2019 high-end-but-below-QLED LED TV.
The UN indicates it's a non-QLED TV.
2019 TVs have an RU and 2020 TVs have a TU, with one slightly confusing exception. The RU9000 is a 2020 TV, while lower-tier non-QLED TVs are TU. If it says RU but isn't followed by a 9000, it's a 2019 model.
The four-digit number is the product series. The first digit indicates the tier, with higher numbers meaning higher-end models. The last three digits usually indicate retailer-specific models and other variations; an RU8000 might be stock for Samsung, while RU8150 could be a Best Buy-specific version that's extremely similar in performance and build quality, with a few small differences.
The FXZA, like AFXZA, is fluff and can be ignored.
LG (OLED)
Example: LG OLED65C9PUA, the 65-inch model of LG's 2019 midrange 4K OLED TV. LG's OLED name structures are significantly different.
The OLED at the beginning shows it's an OLED TV.
The 65 indicates the screen size.
The C shows the product line, with higher letters indicating higher-tier versions with sleeker designs or more features.
The 9 is the generational designation for LG's OLED TVs. An X (as in 10) indicates a 2020 OLED TV, while an 8 indicates that the TV is from 2018.
The PUA is fluff, and can be ignored.
Example: Vizio M657-G0, the 65-inch model of Vizio's 2019 midrange M-series. Or rather, one of the 65-inch models in Vizio's midrange M-series, because this gets a bit complicated.
The M indicates the overall product line. M is Vizio's midrange line, V is the less expensive value line, P is the higher-end premium line. Above that are Vizio's OLED TVs, which are represented by OLED instead of one or two letters.
The 65 once again shows the screen size.
A Q following the screen size number (but before the 7) indicates a TV uses Vizio's Quantum Color feature, which means its a higher tier than this specific model. An X after the Q indicates a step-up for the P series of Vizio TVs, making it a P-series Quantum X model rather than a standard P-series (which also has Quantum Color).
The 7-G0 gets complicated, because Vizio has several different combinations of letters and numbers to indicate both years and quality tiers within the overall product line. For brevity, just ignore the last number and know that H1 means a 2020 model, while G0 means a 2019 model.
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About Will Greenwald
Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert, reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. Will is also an ISF Level II-certified TV calibrator, which ensures the thoroughness and accuracy of all PCMag TV reviews.
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