A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for a 65-inch to cost less than $1,000. But as the 4K category matures, those purchasing TVs of that size can get a lot more bang for their buck.

Unless you're going extremely cheap, it's hard to go wrong in purchasing a 65-inch TV. But of course, some TVs are better than others.

In a December 2019 article about "Cheap TVs That Aren't Worth the Money," Consumer Reports listed the Westinghouse WR65UX4019 TV as near the "race to the bottom of our ratings for big sets," behind only a 60-inch RCA TV. The Westinghouse TV has a listed MSRP of $579.99. So if you're buying something that's going to be your primary living room TV, it's important to do due diligence.

The latest rankings of 65-inch TVs on RTINGS.com list a total of 71 products from between 2017 and 2020, although this includes many models that come in multiple sizes, as long as one of them is 65 inches. 

Each TV is given a total "mixed usage" score out of ten, and all of the listed TVs rank 7.1 and above.

The lowest-ranked TV on the list, the LG UM6900, from 2019, has a not-terrible score of 7.1. The site criticizes the TV for "low contrast ratio, poor black uniformity, and no local dimming," as well as a backlight that "always flickers."

Second to the last on the list is the Hisense H6570F, also from 2019, with a score of 7.1. The site describes it as " an entry-level budget TV with decent overall performance." It's ranked only a 6.4 for movies and a 6.8 for sports.

Also ranked with 7.1 is the LG UK6300, from 2018. The TV is ranked especially low for viewing movies.

Next on the list are a pair of Sony TVs, the X750F from 2018 and the Sony X800G from 2019, both with 7.3.

The RTINGS 65-inch best-of list is dominated by LG OLED models, which take the top five spots and six of the top eight; the sixth and seventh spots are taken up by Sony OLED models.

Best Buy's rankings of the most customer-preferred 65-inch TVs are led by Samsung's 65-inch NU6900 Series, followed by Sony's X900F series. Also near the top is TCL's 6 Series.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons.