While a 65-inch TV might seem enormous to some people, it’s actually considered the “sweet spot” of living room entertainment these days. A 65-inch screen is big enough to turn your main living space into a home theater, but not so big that it completely dominates the room. It helps, too, that most of the best TVs around come in a 65-inch size — it’s one of the most popular and common sizes among sizeable big screens. And that vast selection means you can find a number of models at a reasonable price.
The best of the best right now is the TCL 6-Series Roku TV. It’s the TV I’d recommend first to anyone who wants excellent picture quality and features without spending a ton of money. I’ve tested a lot of other 65-inch TVs, however, and many are also excellent for different budgets and priorities. Here’s my picks for the best 65-inch TV options available now.
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Best 65-inch TVs
Other 65-inch TVs we’ve tested
Sony KD-X80K series: Sony is a prominent brand and its higher-end TVs like the X90J do well in reviews, but the entry-level TV in its 2022 lineup, the X80K, didn’t make the list. It costs around the same as the TCL 6-Series and Samsung Q60 TVs, and had a worse picture than both, with lighter black levels and contrast. It’s definitely not a bad TV, and we liked its Google smart TV system, color accuracy and connectivity, but you can definitely do better for the money. Read our Sony KD-X80K series review.
Hisense A6H Series: This entry-level model has better style usual at this price, but in our best budget TVs roundup we preferred the picture quality Vizio V-Series and the TCL 4-Series overall. The A6H comes with Dolby Vision support, Bluetooth connectivity and DTS Virtual:X for simulated surround sound. We found that its Google TV system ran slower than on higher-end TVs like the Sony X80K. Read our budget TVs roundup.
How CNET tests TVs
Our TV reviews follow a rigorous, unbiased evaluation process honed over nearly two decades of TV reviews. Our primary TV test lab has specialized equipment for measuring light and color, including a Konica Minolta CS-2000 spectroradiometer, a Murideo Sig-G 4K HDR signal generator and an AVPro Connect 8×8 4K HDR distribution matrix. We use the Portrait Displays CalMan Ultimate software to evaluate and calibrate every TV we review.
In every CNET TV review, three or more similar TVs are compared side-by-side in various lighting conditions with different content, including movies, TV shows and games, across a variety of test categories, from color to video processing to gaming to HDR. Our reviews also account for design, features, smart TV performance, HDMI input and gaming compatibility and more.
Read more: How We Test TVs
65-inch TV FAQs
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