If you want the absolute finest audiovisual experience money can offer, you're going to need a big-screen 4K HDR TV. And while you might be able to scrape by with a 49-, 55- or maybe even a 60-inch screen, TV manufacturers and enthusiasts alike consider 65-inch screens the ideal size for most homes.
There are some genuinely incredible TVs in this screen-size, offering the latest in Ultra HD and HDR tech, but also with the latest in panel technology too. We've got LG, Sony, Philips and Panasonic screens rocking the best in OLED fidelity, while Samsung has taken to its new QLED technology like a magnet to a CRT TV.
Why go big on your next flatscreen? Unlike your 49-inchers and under, 65-inch TVs generally pack-in the best technology into one spot. High refresh rates? Check. 4K and HDR? Double check. Full array backlit screens? You bet.
Whether you want a flatscreen to encompass your entire living room wall or a curvy panel sweeping majestically across the corner of your living room, we've rounded up the best-of-the-best screens in the 65-inch category.
That said, at this size nothing comes cheap, andif you're spending this sort of money you want to ensure you're making the right decision. So check out our favorite big-screen TVs and see which one is the perfect panel for you.
At the top of our 65-inch TV list for 2017 is the LG OLED C7 – available in a 65-inch iteration as well as a 55-inch. It's here because it delivers better brightness and light control than last year’s C6 (something we weren't sure was even possible), making it a high dynamic range performer that doesn't sacrifice OLED’s class-leading standard dynamic range capabilities. It delivers its new picture thrills at a price that finally makes OLED a financially viable alternative to top-end LCD sets making it, beyond a doubt, one of 2017’s most irresistible TVs.
There are other OLEDs worth considering this year (see: Sony's A1E OLED or LG's B7 and W7) but we considering just how much LG's OLED C7 offers for its price, there's just no panel from 2017 that beats it.
Read the full review for the 55-inch version: LG OLED C7 (OLED55C7)
Although LCDs haven't quite achieved the same black levels as their OLED rivals, the Sony X900E's HDR performance comes tantalizingly close.
This is achieved through the set's direct LED backlight, which allows it to achieve a brightness uniformity that edge-lit displays often fall short of.
Add in fantastic detail and motion handling, the Sony BRAVIA XBR-65X900E (called the KD-65XE90 in the UK) strikes an excellent balance between price and performance for mid-range 4K TVs and is well worth investigating ... even if its Android TV interface can feel a little cluttered, and its remote a little cheap.
Read the full review: Sony BRAVIA XBR-65X900E
The first Ultra HD Premium-rated TV to land in the UK was a real head-turner. We loved the vibrancy of its images, and the native HDR the picture performance bordered on breathtaking. The full array backlight presented problems (don't think we forgot), but we reckon the visual benefits probably outweigh content-specific backlighting issues.
Having Netflix and Amazon 4K on tap is a major plus point, and more good news is that it can also look pretty great with Full HD content, particularly Blu-ray.
It might not have the hutzpah to overtake some of this year's best and brightest panels from LG and Samsung, but considering how well it performs for its price, it may very well be the screen to convince you that HDR is the next giant quantum leap in image quality we've all been promised.
Read the full review: Panasonic TX-65DX902B
If you have the money to bankroll them, the 65A1E – and the A1E OLED series overall – are crowd pleasers in just about every way. Their ‘picture only’ design has been beautifully realized, managing to be simultaneously subtle and dramatic. Their vibrating screen delivers a far more powerful and effective sound performance than we’d ever thought possible.
The real stars of the show here, though, are the A1’s exquisitely detailed, contrast-rich and colorful pictures. These prove emphatically what we’ve long suspected: More brands using OLED technology can only lead to good things.
Read the full review: Sony Bravia OLED A1E
Samsung was the first brand to introduce an HDR-compatible screen way back in 2015, but it's not been resting on its haunches ever since.
It's latest flagship, the QN65Q9F (QE65Q9FAM in the UK), is a perfect example of this. It ups the brightness to 1500 nits, 50% higher than the level required for UHD Premium certification, making it one of the brightest TV we've ever tested.
Outside of an impressive-sounding number this brightness has a real impact on the set's image quality. Detail is preserved in even the brightest areas of the image, and colors are exceptionally vivid and bright. That means even non-HDR content looks fantastic thanks to Samsung's SDR upscaling technology.
No TV is perfect, and the Q9F can occasionally suffer from some backlight clouding around bright objects and some settings cause color striping in HDR colors, but in all other respects this is the best television around at the moment.
Read the full review: Samsung Q9F QLED TV
Look, there aren't many people out there willing to drop a few months' of rent on Sony’s 2016 flagship TV. But those who are will be teated to some of best images this side of a high-tech movie theater.
In fact, it might just be the holy grail of television for 2016: a TV able to combine the extreme, high dynamic range-friendly brightness of LCD technology with a 600 LED backlight arrangement capable of getting LCD closer than ever before to the stunning light control you get with OLED technology.
If all that wasn't enough, the 65Z9D also sports the ‘X1 Extreme’ video processing system and the latest version of Sony’s reliable Triluminos wide color technology for unlocking the extended color spectrums associated with HDR sources – a must-have if you want to get the most from your movie collection.
Read the full review: Sony XBR-65Z9D
LG's 'B' line of OLEDs has consistently offered a great entry point into the display technology without compromising on what makes it so exciting.
And the B7 series is no different.
Contained within the TVs is exactly the same panel that's powering the more expensive C7, E7 and yes even the W7 LG televisions, which means an exceptional bump over last year's OLED panels at a much lower price.
So where has LG saved the money? In a word, sound. The B7's downward firing speakers are the worst all the company's OLED TVs. Not only that, but the set is also currently unable to pass Dolby Atmos to an external sound system over HDMI (although a firmware update to fix this is on the way).
If however, you're content to put up with a standard surround sound experience, then the B7 is a fantastic entryway into a piece of TV tech that still feels futuristic in 2017.
Read the full review of the 55-inch vesion: LG OLED C7 (OLED55C7)
By introducing its exceptional X1 video processor further down its TV range than ever before and being brave enough to dial down the brightness a bit to deliver a more even, immersive backlight experience, Sony's struck mid-range gold with the XBR-65X850E (KD-65XE8596 in the UK).
While it's not the brightest or most colorful TV on the list, the simple fact is that few TVs we’ve seen in recent times have balanced price, contrast, brightness and color quite so all-round effectively as the 65X850E.
All that said, if you're looking for a great TV that doesn't destroy the bank account, Sony's X850E 65-inch star is the clear winner.
Read the full review: Sony XBR-65X850E
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