Sign up now
Australia Shopping Network. It's All About Shopping!
Categories

Posted: 2017-11-17 15:04:26

Black Friday, meet perfect black levels.

The day after Thanksgiving is known for stampedes of shoppers fighting over the last remaining no-name $70 32-inch TV, but good TVs get Black Friday deals too. And OLED TVs are the best TVs.

The LG B7A series will soon reach the lowest price point for any OLED-based TV, ever. Starting Sunday, Nov. 19 through Cyber Monday, Nov. 27, its price will be: 

  • 55-inch OLED55B7A: $1,500
  • 65-inch OLED65B7A: $2,300

I know a lot of people, a couple of whom work here at CNET, intend to buy a OLED TV this year. Let me address you directly: this sale is the time to pull the trigger, and this is the OLED TV to get.

lg-oled-b7a-cropped

Starting at $1,500, the LG OLEDB7A is the least expensive OLED TV ever.

LG

Why you should buy a B7A now

  • It's hands-down the best value for this level of picture quality. I didn't review the B7A, but LG says it delivers the same image quality as LG OLED C7P series, which has the best picture I've ever tested. And I believe them. Check out that review for more details.
  • The only differences between the two are cosmetic (different stands) and audio-related (the B7A lacks Dolby Atmos decoding and has a different speaker configuration). During the sale period the 55-inch C7 will be $200 more, and the 65-incher $400 more, than the B7A. I don't think those differences are worth the extra money to most buyers.
  • I don't think the price, especially on the 65-incher, will get any lower this year. In 2016 LG announced a similar sale and its pricing never got lower. In fact it increased in price a bit near the beginning of December, according to Amazon price tracker camelcamelcamel.com. That sale had a pretty tight two-week window.
  • Maybe you've read tales of burn-in on OLED screens and are afraid that your new TV will be permanently scarred by a channel logo, letterbox bars or your FPS HUD. Don't be. As someone with a lot of experience reviewing TVs, I don't think the possibility of OLED burn-in is worth worrying about. If I was spending my own money now to buy a new TV, I would get the B7A.

Why you shouldn't buy a B7A now

  • If you like the stand design and audio extras of the C7 better, and don't mind paying a bit extra for them.
  • If you're in no rush to replace your perfectly good current television, next year's OLED TVs will probably be even cheaper -- eventually. You may need to wait until November in 2018 for a sale on the 2018 OLEDs.
  • Maybe you're fine with merely "excellent" as opposed to "best ever" picture quality. If so, there are plenty of non-OLED choices that cost half as much or less, including the TCL 55P607 or Vizio M series.
  • Perhaps 55 inches is too big, or 65 inches is not big enough. If that's the case, it's time to look at one of those non-OLED models.
  • Speaking of money, if you have enough that saving a few hundred or thousand on a new TV is no biggie, you probably already own an OLED. If not, plenty of more-expensive options are available.
lg-olede7p-08.jpg

The E7 OLED TV from LG also gets a Black Friday price drop, but it's still a lot more expensive than the B7A -- for the same image quality.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Speaking of more-expensive OLED TVs, the only other model in LG's line that will get a price drop for Black Friday is the E7 series. Both sizes will be $500 less than they are now. Here are their prices during the same sale window as the B7A:

  • 55-inch OLED55E7P: $2,500
  • 65-inch OLED65E7P: $3,500

If Sony decides to drop the price on its XBR-A1E OLED TV, which currently costs even more than the E7, I'll update this article, but it hasn't happened yet.

No guarantees, but a pretty safe bet

I dispense a lot of TV advice, whether in reviews and articles like this or directly to individuals on Twitter, email and the comments section and even IRL. And I've been wrong plenty of times -- hell, I predicted $2,500 for the cheapest 65-inch OLED, and LG pleasantly surprised me by $200. Maybe the price on the B7A will fall again for some reason, perhaps closer to Christmas or the Super Bowl. Maybe the one you buy will have some flaw that makes you hate it, despite all the glowing praise from users and experts like me.

But as long as you weigh the pluses and minuses above, buy (as always) from a reputable retailer with a solid return policy, and can afford the B7A, I bet you'll be happy you bought one now. If not, you know where to find me.

55-inch Roku 4K TV for $400: Amazon's amazing smart TV deal is back. But should you buy it?

Cheap TV deals of Black Friday 2017 (plus our favorite picks): These are the best TV bargains to date

Black Friday deals: See every Black Friday 2017 deal we've found so far

Holiday Gift Guide: CNET's full gift guide, including dozens of products priced under $25, $50 and $100

View More
  • 0 Comment(s)
Captcha Challenge
Reload Image
Type in the verification code above