You’re standing in the middle of a Best Buy or scrolling through an endless Amazon results page, and it hits you. Every single LG 65 inch smart TV looks exactly the same from the front. A big, black rectangle. Maybe the bezel is a millimeter thinner on one, or the stand is a slightly different shade of charcoal. But honestly? The spec sheets are where the real chaos lives. You see terms like QNED, OLED, NanoCell, and α9 AI Processor Gen7 tossed around like they’re common knowledge. They aren't.
Most people buy a 65-inch screen because it’s the "Goldilocks" size for the modern living room. It’s big enough to feel like a theater but small enough that you don't have to rearrange your entire life (or your wall studs) to fit it. But here’s the kicker: buying the wrong panel type for your specific room lighting is the fastest way to waste two thousand dollars.
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Why 65 Inches is the New Standard
Back in 2018, a 55-inch was the king of the hill. Times changed. Manufacturing yields got better, and suddenly, the 65-inch became the sweet spot for value.
If you’re sitting about seven to nine feet away from your screen, a 65-inch display hits that 30-degree field of view that THX and SMPTE always rave about. It’s immersive. It’s enough to actually see the difference between 1080p and 4K without squinting like you’re trying to read a CVS receipt. LG has basically cornered this segment because they make the panels for almost everyone else anyway. Whether you buy a Sony or a Vizio, there’s a high chance the "glass" inside came from an LG Display factory in Paju, South Korea.
The OLED vs. QNED Confusion
Stop. Don't just grab the cheapest LG 65 inch smart TV because it says "4K" on the box.
OLED is the holy grail. I’m talking about the C4 or the G4 series. These sets don't have a backlight. Each pixel is its own light source. When the screen needs to show black, the pixel literally turns off. It’s dead. Zero light. This creates "infinite" contrast. If you’re a movie buff who watches The Batman in a dark room, OLED is non-negotiable.
Then there’s QNED. This is LG’s attempt to bridge the gap. It uses Quantum Dots and NanoCell technology with a Mini-LED backlight. It's bright. Like, "searing your retinas at 2 PM in a sun-drenched Florida sunroom" bright. If your TV is going in a room with three windows and no curtains, an OLED might struggle with reflections, whereas a QNED90 series will power through it like a champ.
A Quick Reality Check on "AI Upscaling"
LG loves to brag about their Alpha processors. They’ll tell you the α11 AI Processor "optimizes every scene."
Basically, it’s just very fast math.
The TV looks at a grainy 720p broadcast of a Sunday night football game and tries to guess where the extra pixels should go to make it look like 4K. It’s gotten scary good lately. Five years ago, upscaling looked like a muddy watercolor painting. Now, thanks to deep learning models, the TV can recognize a human face or a blade of grass and sharpen them differently. It’s not magic, but it’s why a high-end LG 65 inch smart TV looks better than a budget off-brand set even when they’re playing the same Netflix show.
WebOS is No Longer Just a Menu
If you haven't used an LG TV in a couple of years, the software will surprise you. It’s called webOS. It used to be a simple "ribbon" of apps at the bottom. Now, it’s a full-screen hub.
Some people hate this. They think it’s cluttered.
Honestly, I get it. But there’s a feature called "Quick Cards" that actually makes sense. It groups your stuff—Gaming, Music, Home Office—into folders so you aren't scrolling forever to find Spotify. And the Magic Remote is still the best in the business. It works like a Nintendo Wii pointer. You just point at the screen and click. It beats the hell out of clicking a D-pad fifty times to type "Interstellar" into a search bar.
The Gaming Secret
Gaming is where LG actually beats everyone else. If you have a PS5 or an Xbox Series X, the LG 65 inch smart TV (specifically the OLED models) is essentially a giant gaming monitor.
Most TVs have a "Game Mode," but LG has 4K at 120Hz across all four HDMI ports. Most competitors only give you two. Why does this matter? Because if you have a soundbar, a PlayStation, and an Xbox, you’re already out of "fast" ports on a Sony or Samsung. LG doesn't make you choose. Plus, they support G-Sync and FreeSync, which stops the screen from "tearing" when the action gets intense in Call of Duty or Elden Ring.
What Nobody Tells You About Longevity
Burn-in. It’s the boogeyman of the TV world.
If you leave CNN or a news ticker on for 18 hours a day, every day, for three years, yes—you might see a faint ghost of that "Breaking News" banner on an OLED. But for 99% of people? It’s a non-issue. LG has built-in pixel shifting and "Logo Luminance Adjustment" that dims static icons automatically.
If you’re a heavy news watcher or use your TV as a PC monitor with a static taskbar, maybe stick to the QNED (LCD) models. They’re physically incapable of burn-in because they use a liquid crystal layer. It’s a trade-off: perfect blacks (OLED) or total peace of mind (QNED).
Sound Quality is... Fine
Let's be real. Even a $3,000 LG G4 is thinner than a smartphone. There is no physical room for decent speakers.
LG tries to fix this with "AI Sound Pro," which virtualizes a 11.1.2 channel setup. It sounds "wider," sure, but it lacks any real punch. If you’re buying a 65-inch TV, budget at least $300 for a decent soundbar. LG TVs have a feature called "WOW Orchestra" that lets the TV speakers and an LG soundbar work together simultaneously. It’s one of those rare ecosystem features that actually works and doesn't feel like a gimmick.
Setting It Up Without Ruining the Picture
When you get your LG 65 inch smart TV home, the first thing it will do is try to show you "Vivid" mode.
Turn it off. Vivid mode makes everyone look like they have a bad spray tan and turns the grass into a neon radioactive green. Look for "Filmmaker Mode." This was developed by people like Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese. It disables the "soap opera effect" (motion smoothing) and sets the colors to exactly what the director saw in the editing suite. It might look "dimmer" at first if you're used to cheap TVs, but give your eyes ten minutes to adjust. You’ll see detail in the shadows you never knew existed.
Real-World Limitations
Nothing is perfect. The glossy screens on the higher-end OLEDs are magnets for fingerprints and cat hair. Also, the stand on some models like the C3 or C4 is quite low to the table. If you have a thick soundbar, it might actually block the bottom inch of your screen.
You also have to deal with ads. Even on an expensive TV, LG will occasionally show you "recommended" shows on the home screen. You can turn most of this off in the "Home Settings" menu under "Privacy," but it’s annoying that you have to do it at all.
How to Actually Choose
Don't overcomplicate this.
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- The C-Series (e.g., C4): This is the "default" choice for a reason. It’s the best performance-to-price ratio. Perfect for movies, incredible for gaming.
- The G-Series (e.g., G4): This is the "Gallery" series. It’s meant to be wall-mounted flush. It uses Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology to get significantly brighter than the C-series. If you have the budget and want the best, this is it.
- The QNED Series: Buy this if you have a bright room or if you're terrified of burn-in. It’s a great "family" TV where the kids might leave the Disney+ menu on all day.
- The B-Series: The "entry-level" OLED. You lose a few HDMI 2.1 ports and a bit of brightness, but you still get those perfect blacks.
Actionable Steps for Your Purchase
- Measure your stand: A 65-inch TV is roughly 57 inches wide. Ensure your media console isn't too narrow, or you'll be making an emergency trip back to the store for a new stand.
- Check your HDMI cables: If you’re upgrading from an old 1080p TV, your old cables might not handle 4K HDR. Look for "Ultra High Speed" 48Gbps cables.
- Update the firmware immediately: Out of the box, these TVs often have bugs. Connect to Wi-Fi and run the update before you spend an hour calibrating the settings.
- Disable "Energy Saving Mode": LG ships these with aggressive power-saving on to meet regulations. It usually dims the screen way too much. Disable it in the "General" settings to see what the panel can actually do.
Investing in a 65-inch screen is about more than just resolution; it's about how the TV handles motion, glare, and low-quality content. LG’s ecosystem is robust, but the hardware is what carries the weight. Whether you go for the surgical precision of an OLED or the raw horsepower of a QNED, you're getting a panel that defines the current state of home cinema. Just remember to turn off that motion smoothing—Tom Cruise will thank you.