this is a great Thanks to some great Black Friday TV and soundbar deals, it’s time to upgrade your home theater. If you haven’t tried a modern 4K TV, or you’re still listening to your favorite shows and movies through those tiny built-in TV speakers, there are plenty of reasons to upgrade. Modern home theater technology now has better backlighting, sharper resolution, and immersive surround sound for less money than ever before. Go ahead and turn your living room into a mini movie theater.
We test products throughout the year and handpick these deals.Products that are sold out or are no longer discounted will be available at launch cross out. We’ll be updating this guide throughout Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.
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TV Deals
Check out our best TV guide for more recommendations. Our how to choose the right TV guide might also come in handy.
The U8H (8/10, cable recommends) is one of the best TVs for the price. It features Mini-LED backlighting for deeper blacks and a super-fast refresh rate for gaming on the latest consoles or PCs. The only downside? Some slightly awkward feet mean you’ll need to have proper TV cabinets.
If you want a bigger screen but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars, Hisense is a great brand. I love this quantum dot-enabled LED for brighter colors than the screens you currently have at home.
The TCL 6-series remains one of my favorite TVs almost every year. It has an amazing picture for the money — this one even comes with Mini-LED backlighting — and it has one of the best interfaces around, thanks to the built-in Google TV. The only thing I don’t like is the wide legs, so be sure to mount it on the wall or buy a base.
LG OLEDs have the best black levels on the market because each pixel on the screen acts as its own black light. This model has brighter colors than before, and it’s the perfect size to use as a giant computer monitor when you’re not streaming your favorite shows. It can handle 120 frames per second at 4K, so it’s also smooth on the latest consoles and PCs. The 48-inch model is also on sale for $1,040 ($157 off).
This is a TV literally designed to hide in plain sight. It comes with a new matte finish that makes it look just like the painting it shows when not in use, blending into even the most elegant living room. Picture quality is solid, but you do pay a little more for party tricks (not much today).
LG is still the only company producing large-sized OLED panels, which means it has a huge advantage in offering buyers the cheapest option. It’s its entry-level OLED, and it has perfect black levels like the others, and it supports Dolby Vision HDR. It does only have a 60Hz refresh rate, which makes it less ideal than some other gaming models.
Sony has the best image processing on the market, and the OLED panel supplied by LG in this monitor makes it even better. If you’re after the best moviegoing experience for your money, look no further. The only downside? It has legs on both sides and I hate that. Just mount it on the wall or buy yourself a dock with the money you save here.
This is one of the best TVs for bright spaces I’ve seen (8/10, cable recommends). The giant screen mounted on the pedestal is so bright it almost hurts your eyes, and it has an ultra-wide viewing angle that’s perfect for larger rooms. The backlight system is also excellent, making it a great TV for viewing darker content.
It’s not as pretty as the other 65-inch Samsung TVs we’ve listed, but it’s also a lot cheaper. The base mount still makes it super easy to place on an existing TV stand, and the Quantum Dot and Ultra View coatings allow this TV to be used in bright, large rooms.
Sound Bars and Speakers
Read our Best Soundbars guide for more details. We also have a how to buy a soundbar guide breaking down some terminology and what to expect.
The Beam (Gen 2) is the Goldilocks of Sonos soundbars. It’s not the most powerful of the brand, but it’s the best balance of sound and size for most living rooms. The Beam supports Dolby Atmos and voice assistants (Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri); it’s faster than its predecessor; and it’s stylish whether it’s on a shelf or mounted on a wall. Read our Sonos guide to learn more.
If the Beam is the best Sonos soundbar for most people, the Arc (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the upgrade choice. Our choice for home theater setups, the incredibly powerful Arc delivers deep bass and crisp sound. In some rooms, sound bounces off the walls well enough to mimic a decent surround sound system. This soundbar is the most expensive in the Sonos lineup, so this is a great opportunity to upgrade and save some cash in the process.
I’m usually not a big fan of expensive bars without a subwoofer, but the Bose Soundbar 300 has pretty strong bass, and built-in Alexa lets you stream Spotify and set timers in your living room with ease.
If you want to upgrade your TV’s sound and its ability to play your favorite shows and movies, the Roku Streambar is a very compact option. This little soundbar has a built-in Roku streaming interface, making it a great all-in-one solution for smaller spaces.
It’s a great way to get immersive surround sound in a smaller living room or apartment. Editor Julian Chokkattu likes that you can use the HEOS app to link it to other speakers for streaming, but his favorite feature is the talk button, which makes it easier to hear what the person on the screen is saying.
JBL makes great soundbars, especially in the entry-level category. I like this 2.1 option, it has a cool design that sets it apart from other cheap bars. With 300 watts of total power, it’s also louder than more affordable options.
The Polk Signa 4 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) easily fills a room with rich, Dolby Atmos-powered sound. It has three different sound modes, including a night mode that limits your subwoofer so you don’t disturb the neighbors.
This isn’t Vizio’s latest Dolby Atmos soundbar, but we do like it (8/10, WIRED Recommends), and if you’re on a budget and want something with dedicated surround speakers and a subwoofer, This is a good choice. You won’t fill a huge room with sound, but you can easily spice up an apartment or smaller space.
If your goal is to intentionally disturb your neighbors, look no further than this sound system. WIRED reviewer Jaina Gray spent over a year working on this beast, which includes two subwoofers as well as side and rear speakers, ensuring your whole room will vibrate with earth-shattering sound. If you want, at least.
Streaming Device Deals
Read our guide to the best streaming devices for other options.
Roku is often our streaming device of choice, and the Roku Ultra is one of the most powerful devices out there. While it’s not a handy stick that plugs directly into your TV, the box has one of the most powerful processors ever seen in a streaming box, so you won’t see lag even when streaming 4K HDR footage.
Despite introducing the world to the streaming stick with the original Chromecast, Google had a good time and finally released a streaming stick with a remote. Right now, the Chromecast With Google TV (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of our favorites. If you have an older TV and don’t need 4K, you can also pick up the HD version for $20 ($10 off).
If you’re into the Amazon ecosystem, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is our top pick. It has a faster processor than its sibling and supports Wi-Fi 6, making it the best performing Fire TV stick. But if you don’t need the extra power, you can also pick up the regular Fire TV Stick 4K for $25 ($25 off). If you haven’t upgraded to 4K yet, you can save even more by picking up the high-definition Fire TV Stick Lite for $15 ($15 off).
Hulu has a ton of shows and movies worth watching, and right now you can get a year’s ad-served version for just $24, or $2 a month. Typically billed at $8 per month, or $96 for the year. Unfortunately, this deal is only available to new subscribers or old subscribers who canceled their subscription more than a month ago. The discount doesn’t apply to the ad-free version either, which is quite a bummer.
black friday retailer sales
Want to browse sales for yourself? Here are some of the top retailers participating in the Black Friday deals.
