You're standing in the middle of a Best Buy or scrolling through endless Amazon listings, and honestly, the sheer volume of acronyms is enough to make anyone want to stick with their 10-year-old plasma. But here's the thing: the 65 inch TV LG smart ecosystem has become the "sweet spot" for a reason. It isn't just about the size—though 65 inches is objectively the point where 4K resolution actually starts to look like 4K—it’s about how LG has basically cornered the market on panel technology and software integration.
Most people overthink it. They worry about whether they need 8K (you don't) or if they should wait for next year's "miracle" tech. If you’ve got about nine feet between your couch and the wall, you're in the 65-inch zone. It’s big. It’s immersive. It doesn't require a second mortgage.
The OLED vs. QNED Confusion
LG is a weird company because they compete against themselves. You’ve got the legendary OLED lines—the C-series and the G-series—and then you’ve got QNED. If you're looking for a 65 inch TV LG smart model, you have to decide if you want "perfect" blacks or "really bright" colors.
OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) is the king of the mountain. I’ve spent hours looking at the C4 and the newer G4 models, and the way an OLED can turn off individual pixels to create absolute darkness is just... it’s different. It’s not just marketing. When you watch a movie like The Batman or Interstellar, the space scenes don't have that annoying gray glow around the stars. That’s because there is no backlight. Every pixel is its own light source.
But OLED isn't perfect.
If your living room has giant floor-to-ceiling windows and you live in a place like Phoenix, an OLED might struggle against the glare. That’s where the QNED models come in. They use Quantum Dots and NanoCell tech with a traditional backlight. They get incredibly bright. They’re punchy. They’re also significantly cheaper. You’re trading that "infinite contrast" for a screen that can fight off the afternoon sun.
webOS: The Software That Actually Works
Let's talk about the "smart" part.
Most TV interfaces feel like they were designed by someone who hates joy. They’re laggy, filled with ads for shows you’ll never watch, and usually require five clicks just to change the input. LG’s webOS has gone through some changes lately—it used to be a simple blade-style menu at the bottom, and now it’s a full-screen hub—but it remains one of the fastest.
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The Magic Remote is the secret sauce.
It works like a Nintendo Wii pointer. You just point it at the screen and click. It sounds gimmicky until you have to type in a 20-character password for Disney+. Then, suddenly, it’s the greatest invention since sliced bread.
One thing most people miss is the "Home Office" and "Game Quick Settings" hubs. LG actually updated webOS to include dedicated areas for people who want to use their 65-inch beast as a monitor or a gaming hub. You can access GeForce Now or Amazon Luna directly. You don't even need a console anymore if you have a decent internet connection and a Bluetooth controller.
Why 65 Inches is the "Correct" Size
There’s a bit of science here, but don’t worry, I won't get too nerdy.
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommends a viewing angle of about 30 degrees for a "cinematic" experience. For a 65-inch screen, that puts the ideal seating distance at roughly 8.9 feet.
If you go 55 inches, you often feel like you’re squinting at the details in a 4K stream. If you go 75 or 85 inches, the TV starts to dominate the entire room like a giant black monolith from a Kubrick film. Plus, the price jump from 65 to 75 inches is usually disproportionately large compared to the actual gain in screen real estate.
Gaming is Where LG Pulls Ahead
If you own a PS5 or an Xbox Series X, or if you're planning on getting one, the 65 inch TV LG smart OLEDs are basically the industry standard.
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Why?
Four words: Four HDMI 2.1 ports.
Most other brands give you two. One of those is usually the eARC port for your soundbar, which means you only have one high-bandwidth port left for a console. LG gives you 4K at 120Hz on all four. It supports G-Sync, FreeSync, and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate).
I’ve played Cyberpunk 2077 on a C3 OLED, and the input lag is so low—under 10 milliseconds—that it feels as responsive as a high-end gaming monitor. When you’re playing at 65 inches, that level of responsiveness combined with the HDR (High Dynamic Range) makes games feel completely different. You start noticing textures on the pavement or the way light reflects off a character's armor that you just didn't see on an older LED set.
Real-World Longevity and Burn-In
People still freak out about OLED burn-in.
"Won't the CNN logo be permanently etched into my screen?"
Look, in 2016, maybe. But it’s 2026. LG has implemented so many "pixel cleaning" cycles and screen-shift technologies that burn-in is almost a non-issue for the average user. Unless you are leaving the TV on a static news channel for 18 hours a day at 100% brightness, you’re going to be fine. The panels are much more resilient now.
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The Sound Dilemma
Here is a truth most manufacturers won't tell you: the speakers in a thin TV are almost always garbage.
Physics is a jerk. You cannot get deep, resonant bass out of a chassis that is only an inch thick. LG tries with their AI Sound Pro, which uses the processor to virtualize a 9.1.2 surround sound experience, but it’s still just "okay."
If you're buying a 65 inch TV LG smart model, budget for a soundbar. LG’s own soundbars have a feature called "WOW Orchestra" that lets the TV speakers and the soundbar work together instead of the soundbar just replacing the TV's audio. It makes the soundstage feel a lot taller and wider.
How to Actually Set Up Your New LG
Don't just plug it in and leave it on "Vivid" mode.
Please.
"Vivid" mode is designed to catch your eye in a bright retail store. It makes people’s skin look like they have a bad spray tan and turns whites into a blinding neon blue.
- Use Filmmaker Mode: This is a preset developed with input from actual directors like Martin Scorsese. It turns off all the "motion smoothing" (the soap opera effect) and sets the color temperature to what it’s supposed to be.
- Turn off Energy Saving: LG is aggressive about saving power, which is great for the planet but bad for your picture. It often dims the screen too much. Find "Energy Saving Step" in the settings and turn it off to see what the panel can actually do.
- Adjust the Height: A 65-inch TV is big. If you mount it too high (the "TV Above the Fireplace" sin), you’ll be visiting a chiropractor within a month. The center of the screen should be at eye level when you’re sitting down.
Maintenance and Updates
LG is actually pretty decent about firmware updates. They recently committed to the "webOS Re:New" program, which promises four years of OS updates for certain models. This is a big deal because, historically, smart TVs would become "dumb" after two years when the apps stopped updating.
Keep the screen clean with a dry microfiber cloth. No Windex. No paper towels. Just a clean, high-quality microfiber. These screens have anti-reflective coatings that are easily damaged by harsh chemicals.
Actionable Steps for Your Purchase
If you're ready to pull the trigger on a 65 inch TV LG smart setup, do this:
- Measure your space: Ensure you have at least 58 inches of horizontal width for the TV itself.
- Check your lighting: If you have high ambient light, look at the LG QNED90 series. If you can control the light, go for the C4 or G4 OLED.
- Verify your HDMI cables: If you want 4K/120Hz for gaming, your old cables from 2015 won't work. Get "Ultra High Speed" certified cables.
- Update immediately: Once you connect to Wi-Fi, run the software update. LG often patches picture quality issues right out of the gate.
- Test for "Dead Pixels": Run a simple YouTube color test (search "OLED screen test") in the first 48 hours. If you see any black dots that won't go away, exchange it immediately.