Best 65-inch TVs 2024 — April top picks (2024)

The best 65-inch TVs are the middle ground of the TV world, which is something I never thought I'd say. With screens now reaching over 100 inches, 65-inch TVs are the place where you get the best bang for your buck. It's the screen size that gets the best performance per dollar, and it's the right size for most living rooms.

So what should you look for when buying a new 65-inch TV? When we're testing them in our labs, our reviewers look for ones that come with HDR support, 4K resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, at least two HDMI 2.1 ports, Wide Color Gamut and VRR. We then run tests that measure the TVs' color accuracy and peak brightness, as well as their overall color saturation and input latency.The Hisense U8K, our top pick, has all of those in spades.

What we have on our list right now has been vetted extensively by our staff, but it's worth keeping in mind that brand-new models like the Hisense U8N and LG C4 OLED are arriving on store shelves as we speak. We'll be reviewing these models as quickly as we can, so expect to see this change fairly frequently in April, May and June.

The quick list

The best 65-inch TVs you can buy today

Best 65-inch TV

The Hisense U8K holds the top spot on a number of our lists, including the best TVs overall, for good reason. It's a Mini-LED TV with incredible contrast and peak brightness, plus it delivers wide color gamut (the highest of any TV outside of the Sony A95L OLED down below) for under $900 after some recent discounts.

In terms of specs, the U8K is rocking two HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K/144Hz gameplay and two more HDMI 2.0 ports that will work for streaming devices like the Apple TV 4K or a 4K Blu-ray player, as well as support for Dolby Vision IQ that will automatically adjust the picture when it detects changes in ambient brightness. It also comes with an ATSC 3.0 tuner for NEXTGEN TV support.

In our lab testing, the Hisense U8K crushed pretty much every single metric. For color saturation, the U8K covered groundbreaking 80% of the Rec2020 Color Space, and reached a peak brightness of over 2,000 nits. It had slightly higher input lag than we'd like to see (13.2ms) but it was still very much under the 20ms needed for smooth gameplay. Finally, its color accuracy out of the box wasn't the best of any TV, but that's fixable with a few tweaks.

If you want an affordable, well-rounded 65-inch TV, the U8K is our top pick.

Read the full review: Hisense U8K Mini-LED TV

Best OLED TV

The 65-inch Samsung S95C elevates OLED technology to a new level. You know you're going to get the best black levels. You know it's going to give you the best contrast. You know it's going to offer some of the best color saturation and color accuracy out of the box. But now you can add better brightness to the list as well.

The Samsung S95C OLED is a new breed of QD-OLED TVs, a combination of quantum dot and OLED that take the best of both worlds. In our lab tests, the S95C was able to reproduce about 141.5% of the Rec 709 color space in standard mode. That's not quite as impressive as the Hisense's 80% of Rec2020, but still exceptional. In terms of color accuracy, the S95C is almost dead-on with a Delta-E accuracy score of 1.4 (with closer to 0 being best) in Filmmaker mode.

At the 65-inch screen size, the S95C is a really exceptional TV with a lot of great features and strong performance, and was one of the top-scoring TVs of 2023.

Read the full review: Samsung S95C OLED

The best value TV

If you do a lot of digging around other sites, you'll see them recommending the TCL QM8 as the best 65-inch TV. And while we agree that it's one of the top TVs, the U8K has a few more advantages going for it, including the ATSC 3.0 tuner, better sound quality and more consistent picture quality. That's not to say the QM8 is a bad TV, because at this price point it's a steal, it's just up against some tough competition.

So why is it #3 on the list? In our tests, the QM8 delivered incredible results. In 5%, 10% and even 25% window sizes the QM8 could hit over 2,000 nits of peak brightness. It can cover around 80% of the Rec 2020 color space. And it comes with two HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K/120Hz gameplay. It's a very similar TV to the Hisense U8K in pretty much every metric, even the not-so-good ones. Like the U8K, the QM8 had an out-the-box Delta E score of 4.4614, which means you'll have to do some tweaking.

Again, nothing's a deal breaker here, and if you want an alternative to the U8K made by TCL, the QM8 is a very solid second choice.

Read the full review: TCL QM8 Mini-LED TV

The best QLED TV

There's a few TVs that could occupy the 4th spot on this list. The Sony X90L certainly comes to mind as one possibility. But the Samsung QN90C is simply too good to ignore. Some motion processing issues aside, this is the best Samsung QLED TV.

At around $1,600 for the 65-inch model, it's not the most affordable option out there (which is why we try to steer readers towards the QM8 or Hisense U8K) nor is Tizen our favorite smart platform compared to Google TV, but the QN90C does deliver some incredible perks for the price. The biggest and most important of these upgrades are the four full-spec HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K/120Hz gaming and its excellent off-axis color saturation. It has similar test results to the other QLED TVs on the list, but these extra additions definitely help set it apart from the bunch.

Now if only Samsung would lower the price some...

Read the full review: Samsung QN90C Neo QLED TV

Best Cheap TV

With all the talk around great budget models, you must be wondering what's the absolute cheapest 65-inch TV we'd recommend. The answer is the Hisense U6K. It's a Mini-LED TV that you can get for right around $500. It beats any model from Insignia or Onn, and while there are some TCL TVs that come close, the U6K beats them in most performance metrics.

Speaking of, in our lab tests the Hisense U6K was able to cover around 81% of the Rec2020 Color Space, which is unbelievable given the price tag, and had a fairly low input lag of 10.2ms. Its overall brightness and color accuracy were worse than the other models on this list, but there's still a lot to love about a TV that performs at this level for around $500.

Read the full review: Hisense U6K Mini-LED TV

The best QD-OLED TV

If I didn't have a mortgage to pay off, I'd highly consider buying the $3,300 65-inch Sony A95L OLED. It is a superb TV. Probably better than every other model on this list. But its price is three times that of our top pick, and twice as much as every other model. It's a great TV, absolutely, but it's not two or three times as good as the rest of the TVs mentioned above.

So why, exactly, does it cost as much as it does? The A95L OLED uses a QD-OLED panel just like the Samsung S95C above, but Sony takes things a step further by adding a ton of picture and audio-enhancing technology on top. There's the Cognitive XR Processor that creates truer-to-life colors and better motion handling, there's extra-wide viewing angle technology that prevents off-axis color desaturation, there's a Brightness Booster Max technology that helps push every possible pixel to its highest light output...the list goes on and on.

There are some downsides here that feel semi-inexcusable at this price (only two HDMI 2.1 ports, really Sony?) but those little critiques don't take away from how truly amazing this QD-OLED TV is for the lucky few who can afford one.

Read the full review: Sony Bravia XR A95L

Best 65-inch TV Test Results

Best 65-inch TV test results

How to choose the best 65-inch TV for you

How to choose the best 65-inch TV for you

If you're in the market for a new TV, you'll want to consider a few factors before you spend your money. Our TV buying guide breaks down the fine details of what features matter and what distinguishes a great TV from one that's just okay. For a 65-inch set we strongly recommend going with 4K resolution. There are a few older 1080p models still available, but they simply aren't a good value today. And while 8K TVs are hitting the market in the 65-inch size, it will still be some time before 8K resolution gets mainstream support.

Size and space: For a 65-inch 4K TV you'll want to sit between 8 to 9 feet from the screen to hit the sweet spot of being close enough to enjoy all the sharp details, but not so close that you'll be able to make out the pixels that make up the picture.

Price: A basic 65-inch 4K smart TV will range between $800 and $2,300, depending upon how premium your tastes run. The TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) is the best budget model we've seen in this screen size, but if you want the best picture available, the LG CX OLED is our top pick for its combination of stellar picture quality and deep feature set.

Features: For the best picture, we recommend getting a set that offers high dynamic range (HDR) support. HDR10 is the base standard, while Dolby Vision is a higher-caliber format, and we recommend opting for Dolby Vision support when you have the choice.

Ports: Port selection is another chief concern. More HDMI ports will let you connect more devices, like game consoles and satellite boxes. And if you have a soundbar, you'll want to connect it using an HDMI port with eARC.

Software: Finally, you'll want to find a smart TV platform that you like. Companies like Samsung and LG use their own proprietary software, but many use more broadly available software, like Android or Roku TV. The biggest issue is app selection, as some specific apps you may want won't be available on every smart TV platform, or there may be a months-long delay for a new service to come to some smart TVs after launching on others.

But you'll also want to look into more advanced features, like smart home control, video conferencing capability, and other features that may be brand exclusive, or at least unevenly distributed between premium and budget sets.

If you've narrowed down your TV shopping by brand, price range or screen size, check out our picks for the best TVs in each.

Best TVs | Best 4K TVs | Best smart TVs for streaming | Best TVs for gaming

The best TVs under $1000 | The best TVs under $500

Best TV brands | Best Samsung TVs | Best TCL TVs | Best LG TVs | Best Roku TVs | Best OLED TVs | Best QLED TVs | Best 8K TVs

The smallest smart TVs | Best 43-inch TVs | Best 50-inch TVs | Best 55-inch TVs | Best 70-inch TVs | Best 75-inch TVs | Best 85-inch TVs

And don't forget to watch out for the latest TV reviews.

How we test the best 65-inch TVs

How we test 65-inch TVs

When it comes to evaluating TVs, we're serious about getting it right. That's why every TV we review is put through a rigorous testing process that measures key standards of picture quality and performance.

Our lab tests involve testing for color accuracy and color gamut using an X-Rite i1 Pro spectrophotometer, an AccuPel DVG-5000 video test pattern generator and SpectraCal CalMAN Ultimate calibration software. These tools are relied on by professional calibrators throughout the industry, and we've paired them with custom workflows to gather the information needed for our reviews. These measurements are taken first in standard mode to simulate the average watching experience, and then taken again in other display modes to find the top color and brightness performance offered by each set.

Our testing measures contrast and maximum brightness, as well as lag time. Using a Leo Bodnar Video Signal Input Lag Tester to test video signal delay, we time how long it takes for content to travel from the original video source to the screen, measured to the millisecond. Shorter response times equate with faster gaming performance, letting us objectively know which TVs are better for gaming.

We use all of these objective test results to make comparisons about quality and performance between different TVs, but our evaluation doesn't end there. We also spend hours with each set, watching shows and movies, and using carefully selected video samples to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each set and help us tell you which TVs look and sound the best in a real home viewing environment.

And there's more to today's TVs than just viewing, so we also check out the smart TV functions and evaluate everything from the interface to the remote control design. This lets our reviews speak to the technical capabilities of today's smart TVs and how they fit into your connected home.

• Smart TV FAQ: Everything you need to know
• The best gaming TVs for consoles old and new