TCL 4K Smart LED TV, 65" (65S425)

I'm a Sony guy and, given the right opportunity and place, would select an authentic OLED Sony screen to hang onto a wall. But currently I find myself marooned and cash-stressed in a one-room apartment. Necessity can be the mother of serendipitous surprises, such as the discovery of this 55-inch "overachiever" from TCL, going for one-tenth the price of my desired Sony. It comes with two tripod legs (which are all I require in my quiet, sedate setting), though it's light and thin enough (though thicker, of course than an OLED) for hanging on a wall. I'm happy to place my screen in front of the big dresser mirror, where it blocks from my view the strange freak I find staring at me each morning. I've found that 55-inches is enough to cover the entire width of the mirror and falls just 4-5 inches short of reaching the top. More importantly, without an A-B side-by-side comparison, this picture satisfies me as much as the Sony and Samsung sets I've owned since 2015--a year in which all makers' hi-def sets were given a huge boost because of the pervasive use of LED lighting (previously used to illuminate only the edges of the picture). Moreover, the AUDIO is the best I've heard from any TV set (If you're "bass-challenged," buy the subwoofer). Listening to the Lincoln Center Orchestra play the music of Miles Davis (on Youtube), I could hear and notate every note from the acoustic "walking" bass without need of plugging into a high-end stereo-system. You'll notice that this is a "4 Series"--or #55S45, meaning 55-inch 4K Hi-Def Set with HDR. If you're willing to spend $50 to $250 more, you may wish to look into TCL's 5 series (55S55) or 6 series (55S65). The latter will bring you some metal to complement the plastic in the picture frames of the 4 series. And with the 6 you'll have bragging rights to more sophisticated circuitry, giving you control over, say, black levels of one small portion of the screen (great for viewers who have OCD and enjoy endless fiddling). Also, "gamers" may be willing to pay more for a TV promising faster, more efficient processors. I remember the days when we argued vehemently about the best-sounding loudspeaker. Now, all the attention is not on sound (have you heard today's, uh, music?). Confession: last year I installed a 32" TCL with Roku in our kitchen. It was so good, I couldn't wait to use my treadmill (placed directly in front of the TV) on a daily basis. Besides cable I had access to Prime Video and Netflix--all of it accessible on the TCL twice as fast as the Sony and 5 times faster than the Samsung. After duping the American public into believing that 4K was so revolutionary we all needed to trash our existing TV sets, "Consumer Reports" has become more honest and even a bit apologetic. The only difference the naked eye will see, according to the latest claim, is not in the sharpness of 1080p vs. 4K resolution, but in the quality of "depth" in the picture (the part referenced by "HDR"). Conclusion: my research and personal experience tell me that this TCL 4-Series offers a fully competitive picture at an amazing price. Moreover, in addition to two sets of legs, you will receive a full-featured remote control (including batteries!) as well as older pin plug adapters (1 video 2 stereo) and an instruction manual. All you "might" need for optimal versatility is an HDMI cable. Most consumers by now are wise enough to know that a high-priced $40 cable will not provide a picture that's 4X better. Check out the prices of Amazon cables. I purchased a 20-footer for $10, and it performs as well as a $50 cable. (It arrived a day later than the TV.)

Hello everyone, I'm sharing my experience with the TCL 50S425 50 Inch 4K Smart LED Roku TV. These days, it’s not exactly difficult to find a budget TV with a good picture for a reasonable price; the question is which one—there are so many options that it can be overwhelming. First, I’ll talk about what you can notice visually (after all, that's the main thing in a TV): the picture is bright and vibrant, no complaints here. Sure, the folks in the technical review section will look for pixel brightness, true black color, measure brightness, viewing angles, and so on, but in terms of feel, everything is just excellent. Yes, the viewing angles could be wider, but please tell me, do you really move around the room while watching TV? It supposedly has 120Hz support, but visually, that’s not noticeable. The built-in speakers lack bass, but again, that’s perfectly normal for built-in speakers and TVs in this class. Just keep that in mind. The TV could perhaps be a bit thinner, but again, for this price, that’s absolutely fine. I won’t describe the Roku operating system and ports. Navigation is simple and intuitive, and you can easily see the ports in the photos (HDMI). My verdict: The TCL 50S425 is an excellent budget 4K TV.

My son bought this TV about a year ago, the 55 inch size, and has really liked it. I recently needed a new TV for my bedroom so bought the 43 inch version. I have been using it for a couple months now and really like it. I use it strictly for streaming (don't have cable), and it was easy to set up. Wifi connection has been great, though every once in a while it will take about a minute to connect upon turning the TV on rather than its usual connection within seconds. It can use 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wifi signals. I did have some issues at first with some backbleeding and spotty/pixelated dark or black scenes in shows and movies. My son had the same issue when he first got his TV, and after he messed with the picture settings on and off over several days, he corrected the issue. I wrote down his settings and changed mine to match and now the issue is resolved on my TV also. As a tip, these settings are not part of the initial setup of the TV which just has rather simplistic/basic settings. The user manual lays out how to access the "advanced" picture settings - you must be actively watching something, example a show on Netflix, hit the star button on remote and it will bring up several different TV settings, scroll down to picture settings, click on it, and then you will see the more indepth picture settings - backlight, brightness, contrast, color tint, etc., which you can adjust to your liking. In addition, there are a few different settings for sound you may want to check out. For example one option is to make the speaking dialog "pop" out over background noise or music. Speaking of the sound quality, it is okay. It's not bad but nothing outstanding either. My son bought a soundbar to use with his TV, but the built in speakers work just fine for my use. All in all, I'm very happy with this TV, and I feel it is very good quality for the price.