This can be great time to get a new big-screen TV, with screens 65 inches and larger becoming more common—and less expensive—than just a year ago.
But prices vary widely right now, as many retailers have a mix of leftover 2023 sets at their lowest prices ever and new 2024 models at much higher introductory prices. (You’ll even find some 2022 TVs at retailers.) Many older TVs can deliver top-notch picture quality, so it’s worth considering them. If you’re not in a hurry to buy, the 2024 sets will drop in price as the year progresses.
Below, we list the best TVs you can buy right now, based on CR’s extensive lab tests. Keep checking back because we’re continuing to evaluate new TVs as they come on the market. CR tests hundreds of TVs each year.
In this article
- Best TVs Overall
- Best 65-Inch TVs for Under $1,000
- LCD TVs vs. OLED TVs
- How CR Tests TVs
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Below, we’re spotlighting sets with 65-inch screens. You can also find smaller, less expensive versions of most of these models, and most are also available in bigger screen sizes.
The best TVs in CR’s testing tend to be pricier flagship models. But for people who want to spend less, we’ve also included some great sets that perform almost as well as the top models but cost $1,000 or less. (Information on specific models, along with our full TV ratings, is available to CR members.)
At this time of year, prices are changing fairly regularly, especially on new 2024 models. So it pays to see whether a retailer offers a 30-day price guarantee, which will help protect you against price drops in the weeks after you’ve made your purchase.
Best TVs Overall
You can’t go wrong with any of these top-performing TVs. They offer top-notch overall picture quality, a great high dynamic range experience, and either very good or excellent sound. Even models with slightly lower Overall Scores still have top picture quality and HDR scores, but they may have earned lower marks in areas such as viewing angle or sound quality. (You can improve the sound on almost any TV by adding a soundbar.)
The best TVs tend to be pricey, but there are some really good performers that cost less than $1,000. The eight models listed below prove that point. All deliver very good to excellent overall picture quality, and half can deliver a satisfying HDR experience. The list consists mainly of 2023 sets, as 2024 models are at their highest prices right now, and there’s also a 2022 set from Hisense. All of these leftover models offer a great viewing experience at a more modest price.
LCD TVs vs. OLED TVs
Before you decide on a new set, it pays to understand the two basic technologies used in today’s televisions. LCD TVs (also called LED TVs) have LED backlights that illuminate the screen, while in OLED TVs, each pixel generates its own light.
OLED sets do a great job of displaying the blackest parts of an image, so the deepest shadows can really look black, as in real life, rather than gray. OLED TVs also have essentially unlimited viewing angles, so the picture still looks great even if you’re not viewing the screen head-on.
Two years ago, Samsung and Sony introduced a new type of OLED TV, called QD-OLED, that can produce a brighter overall image than older OLED sets. Now LG, which uses a different type of OLED, called WOLED, is using another newer technology, called MLA (microlens array), in its flagship G-series set. MLA uses millions of tiny mirrors to boost brightness in its best WOLED models.
But most TVs are LCD sets. While they generally can’t deliver OLED-like black levels, they get better every year, especially models that use full-array backlights, where the LEDs are spread across the entire rear panel instead of just along the edges. These models include a feature called local dimming, which divides the backlights into zones that can be dimmed or illuminated separately, depending on the scene. This can help improve black levels.
Some newer sets have Mini LED backlights, which use a large number of even smaller LEDs that can be divided into more zones and locally dimmed. We’ve found that Mini LEDs can help improve contrast and black levels, and reduce halos around the edges of bright objects displayed against a dark background.
Typically, only pricier TVs have full-array backlights with local dimming. Other sets are edge-lit, with the LEDs positioned on the sides of the screen. Some of these sets also include local dimming, but it tends to be less effective than in sets with full-array backlights. The best LCD TVs can create very bright, vivid images.
How CR Tests TVs
The TV test team at Consumer Reports puts every TV through a battery of tests in our TV labs. We first set up each TV and carefully note all of its key features, such as resolution, the number of HDMI inputs, and support for streaming services and voice-enabled digital assistants. We then set up the TV for optimal performance using the set’s built-in presets and picture controls, just like you would. We use objective tests and measurements, as well as real-world video clips and subjective evaluations, to determine picture detail, color accuracy, and contrast, and compare each TV with one of several fully calibrated reference TVs in our labs.
HDR, short for high dynamic range, is now found in a vast majority of midsized to large sets. HDR increases the contrast between the brightest whites and the darkest blacks a TV can produce. To do a good job with HDR video, a TV needs to get bright enough to display brighter, more colorful images with greater contrast and a wider array of colors, much closer to what we see in real life.
For HDR performance, we measure the TV’s peak brightness using a $40,000 Photo Research PR-740 spectroradiometer (also used for fine colors and deep black measurements), and industry standard and proprietary test patterns. We then evaluate the TV’s HDR performance with both very dark and very bright scenes, as well as with video clips that feature an extended range of colors.
We evaluate picture quality for clarity, color accuracy, and contrast at various horizontal and vertical viewing angles. Motion-blur tests, done at various speeds, are an evaluation of how well the TV can produce a blur-free image during motion scenes.
Sound quality is evaluated using the TV’s built-in speakers with subjective testing by a trained listening panel, with support from audio test equipment. In our judgments, we listen for the overall quality of sound, depth of bass, effective volume levels, and audible distortion during dialogue, music, and movie soundtracks. (Many TVs have disappointing sound in comparison to their image quality. You can address that by adding a soundbar.)
The versatility score is a measure of a TV’s useful features, including access to streaming services, the ability to work with digital voice assistants, the number of HDMI and USB inputs, and support for various media.
Finally, Consumer Reports also includes data privacy and security scores for all the TVs we test. Now that TVs routinely connect to the internet, data privacy and security have become concerns for consumers.
Consumer Reports evaluates the various ways TV brands collect, use, and share consumer data, how well they protect it, and how transparent they are about their data practices. We encourage TV makers to ship their sets to consumers with the optimal privacy settings turned on by default. You can adjust the settings yourself.
James K. Willcox
James K. Willcox leads Consumer Reports’ coverage of TVs, streaming media services and devices, broadband internet service, and the digital divide. He's also a homeowner covering several home improvement categories, including power washers and decking. A veteran journalist, Willcox has written for Business Week, Cargo, Maxim, Men’s Journal, Popular Science, Rolling Stone, Sound & Vision, and others. At home, he’s often bent over his workbench building guitars or cranking out music on his 7.2-channel home theater sound system.
