Along with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Memorial Day is one of the best opportunities of the year to save on a TV, and it’s all because of the timing. You see, big-box retailers like Best Buy are making one last push to move models from the previous year, which means some of the best and most popular sets are near their lowest price to date.
I pored over pages of TV listings at Best Buy, and of all the deals available at the store’s Memorial Day sale, this is my favorite: the 55-inch LG B5 OLED for $799. LG’s entry-level OLED was already one of my most-recommended TVs heading into this week, but Best Buy’s sale price has turned it into a no-brainer. (For more deals, check out our guide to the best Memorial Day TV sales).
While it’s picture isn’t as bright or colorful as that of pricier OLED TVs, the B5 is still an OLED TV, which means you’re getting all of the benefits that come with arguably the best display technology the industry has to offer.
Instead of relying on a backlight, OLED TVs like the B5 leverage self-lit pixels. Not only does this allow for perfect black levels, but you also don’t have to deal with that hazy, bluish light bloom you’ll often see on LED TVs.
The nature of OLED is also why the B5’s relatively modest peak brightness goes a longer way. Its picture has better shadow detail than what you’re likely to see on an LED-based TV with similar peak brightness, so highlights have a tendency to pop better.
Along with the premium hardware comes a premium amount of extra features.
Along with the premium hardware comes a premium amount of extra features. The 55-inch B5 may be several hundred dollars less than a 55-inch LG C5, but you’re getting almost all of the same streaming- and gaming-related enhancements.
The B5 is one of the best gaming TVs in its price range. It supports 4K gaming at 120Hz, the top 4K spec for the latest consoles. You’re also getting LG’s Game Optimizer mode, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), AMD FreeSync and G-Sync compatibility, too.
And, while LG’s webOS software suite isn’t my favorite way to stream movies and shows, it’ll serve just fine as a daily driver for folks who’d rather not rely on a dedicated streaming device. Its app support is robust and the user interface is relatively straightforward.
If you’ve been curious about OLED technology but have shied away from the high prices that typically come with these TVs, this is a legitimately great opportunity to dive in. I can’t think of very many 55-inch TVs for $799 that I’d rather buy.
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom’s Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok.