The holiday shopping season is almost here, and once again, I'm gearing up to tell friends, family and anyone who will listen that they can almost certainly do better than to buy one of the many 60- or 70-inch TVs that will go on sale between now and the end of the year.
This uncommon TV size becomes a lot more common once Black Friday and Cyber Monday roll around. But unless you absolutely must save as much money as possible, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are better TVs for you to spend money on.
Here's why you should avoid them like the plague.
For most shoppers, 60- and 70-inch TVs aren't worth it
TVs that earn themselves a 60- or 70-inch size option are typically ultra-affordable models with limited hardware and a considerable lack of features. Oftentimes, this amounts to edge-lit TVs with shallow contrast and low brightness, like the Samsung DU7200 and the Samsung DU8000.
I’ve been covering TVs for over a decade, and I see more deals on 60-inch and 70-inch TVs during the holiday shopping season than I do at any other point in the year.
These TVs tend to be tantalizingly cheap. Sometimes, a 70-inch TV will be several hundred dollars less than a 65-inch TV from the same brand.
Read my full explanation for why I avoid buying edge-lit TVs
Additionally, a number of 60- and 70-inch TVs that go on sale during Black Friday and Cyber Monday are exclusive to those very sales, meaning you likely won't find them once the event is over.
These low-end TVs deliver low-end performance. More importantly, at any given time, there are plenty of 55-, 65- and 75-inch TVs that offer way more bang for your buck.
There are far fewer 60- and 70-inch TVs to choose from
For all intents and purposes, these TV sizes can be considered standard: 55, 65, 75 and 85 inches. And, when I say “standard,” what I mean is that nearly every type of LED TV from every major TV brand is available in some combination of those size options.
Some models only arrive in 65-, 75- and 85-inch variants. Other models are made available in 55-, 65- and 75-inch versions.
OLED TVs are a slightly different story. Many entry-level and mid-range OLED TVs — like the incredible LG C5 — have come in 42- and 48-inch versions. Additionally, due to how they’re manufactured, OLED TVs often come in 77- and 83-inch variants instead of the usual 75 and 85 inches you’ll see across most LED TV series.
So, for OLED TVs, one could consider the standard set of sizes to be 42, 48, 55, 65, 77 and 83 inches. However, whether you’re shopping for an LED TV or an OLED, 60- and 70-inch TVs aren’t often represented.
60- and 70-inch 4K TVs certainly exist, but brands like LG, Samsung and Sony rarely include these size points in their most popular TV lineups. That's a huge red flag.
What to buy instead of a 60- or 70-inch TV
For starters, choose a different size to shop. Even if you swear up and down that a 60- or 70-inch TV works best for your space, you ought to settle for a 55-, 65- or 75-inch model if you’re at all in favor of getting the best TV you can justify spending money on.
If you want something on the larger size, start by shopping the best 65-inch TVs and the best 75-inch TVs, as these popular size points are usually represented in every brand's mainline release. For a smaller-sized TV, shop among the best 55-inch TVs according to people like me.
You might be able to get a 60-inch TV for $400, but for $100 more, you can land an entry-level Mini-LED TV like the TCL QM6K. The added cost might not be manageable for everyone, but for many people, the improved performance is absolutely worth it.
Some folks — like a close friend of mine that I’ve known since college — insist that their 58-, 60- or 70-inch TV is the exact right size for their space. To them, the screen size is more important than getting the best bang for their buck.
If that sounds like you, then by all means, keep a close eye on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals on TVs at these uncommon size points. After all, the only person who ought to be satisfied with their TV is you.
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