I seriously cannot believe this thing for the money. I ordered two of these for my desk (don't laugh, I have a big desk), expecting that I would probably return them. I was thinking there's no way they would be good enough to run 4k clearly 3ft from my face, and low latency at 60Hz 4:4:4, and have deep enough blacks in a dark room, and produce great color. I've never been so happy to be wrong. It met all my requirements and then some. The only problem I'm currently having is finding a display port to HDMI adapter or cable that can handle 4k@60Hz, 4:4:4, HDR and HDMI 2.0a but that's not the fault of the TV.
Is it something you would use for photo editing or perfect color and contrast for movie watching? Of course not, but you will be hard pressed to find anything in this price range that will even come close. I attached some pics for your viewing pleasure taken with my Gs9 at 4032x2268, although Amazon my compress them...
Edit: Almost 2 months in and still very pleased with these. The panels were not identical in color in both sets, but that's not uncommon. I had to calibrate them and now they look almost identical. Unless you're getting two to sit side by side like I did, it should not be an issue. My office is dimly lit most of the time and these settings work well for me. Picture mode Normal, Backlight 75, Brightness 50, Contrast 100, Color 50, Tint 0.
Let me start off by saying that I was extremely skeptical when I was actually thinking of purchasing this tv. I mean TCL? Can't be that good for that price, right?. A 43" 4k UHD HDR TV for under $300!? After reading mixed reviews I wasn't sure if I wanted to take a chance on wasting my time on this tv. I needed a budget 4k tv as I have an xbox one x. I took the chance after reading somewhere that TCL is the official Call of Duty tv for gaming tournaments. And now I'm still trying to find something to dislike about this tv! Awesome picture! Might have the best tv speakers I've ever heard! Gaming in 4k on here is amazing! Even the Roku feature on here is great! The Roku feature is very responsive with no lag! So yeah. If you're thinking about it, go for it! You wont be disappointed! Take it from a 36 yr old gamer that's very picky about his gaming screen. You'll love this tv!
I bought two of these and everyone is really happy with them. We have them connected to RTX 2080 cards and after fiddling with them for a bit we've got them running well. Here's what we ended up using to get things working smoothly:
1) Connect the TV to the card via displayport using the Club3D CAC-1080 Active DisplayPort 1.4 to HDMI 2.0b HDR Adapter.
2) When configuring the TV input, specify a 'game console' rather than a computer. Doing this forced the TV and Windows to negotiate HDMI, color, and HDR options.
3) In the display settings, turn sharpness to 0.
4) In the NVidia control panel, set the 'Output color format' to YCbCr422 and apply. Do it again if it doesn't take it the first time.
5) In the NVidia control panel, set the 'Output color depth' to 12 bpc and apply. Again, do this step until it takes.
At this point, setting enabling the 'HDR and WCG' option in the display settings causes the HDR notification on the TV and enables HDR settings for the input. The colors are washed out in desktop mode, so don't leave it enabled. We've tested HDR with both Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey and verified that it's enabled. I like the 'Bright HDR' option in the TV settings when playing.
Using this setup, we have a crisp picture in desktop and in games. One of the computers has this as well as Rift connected. The use of the DisplayPort adapter left my HDMI open for the Rift.
Lastly, the TV worked flawlessly with a original PS4, including HDR once I switched the HDMI mode to 2.0 in the TV settings.
The most important part of this review that no one else has mentioned yet:
This 4K TCL TV IS capable of 4:4:4 chroma with 4K at 60Hz. Make sure that your graphics card and HDMI cable are rated for HDMI 2.0a or higher. After your initial setup, make sure that you go into the TV's main menu and go to Settings > TV Inputs > HDMI mode > HDMI 2.0. If you don't force this option, it will throttle down to 1.4 and not have the bandwidth for full color output.
Overall TV quality is good, lighting is slightly less than I expected of a TV but the default brightness and backlight can be turned up significantly. Make sure to change the picture settings to enable Game Mode, which will also decrease the input latency to 1 frame, which is perfect for gaming. Built in speakers are decent quality and can be turned up very loud. Roku OS comes bundled with the TV but you can skip that by setting it up to boot to an input (your TV cable, computer, game console, etc). Startup time is also strangely fast compared to every LCD and LED monitor I've owned. Don't know why or how, but it's a thing.
In short: 5/5 stars. I highly recommend this if you're looking to game or do office work in 4K. The extra desktop space coming from 1080p is phenomenal. Runescape in 4K is a dream come true for me.
EDIT: Removed my previous edit, finally figured out how to get 4:4:4 at 60Hz!
I decided to replace a 9-year-old 720P Toshiba 37" TV with this unit. I'm not a big spender, and I want the most bang for my buck, and that lead me to this TV.
I first saw the TCL brand at a Walmart, and looked down on the brand name having never heard of it. But back home I did some research and found the name more popular than I expected. Various models (particularly their top '5' series) were getting some decent reviews from trusted sites. And then there was the 2,500+ positive reviews here on Amazon, which pushed me into purchasing it.
My primary goals were to get something slightly larger than our 37", that was 4K, and had 3 or more HDMI inputs. Having Roku built-in meant that the Amazon FireTV we were using would also be removed to free up an HDMI jack. We are using an antenna for live TV which seems to pull in more channels more reliably than our previous TV. The Roku interface tied into the TV features is very intuitive. We can even see a channel guide for live broadcast that the TV gets from somewhere. We linked up an XBox 360 and Wii U to the HDMI inputs, and an old GameBoy to the discrete AV inputs, and it's intuitive again to switch between the inputs (they can be renamed).
It has a nice feature where you can pause live TV if you have a USB memory stick in the USB port, so that's new to us.
The sound features are adequate for us. You can hook it up to a BlueTooth speaker if desired, so more impressive sound can be obtained at a price. Still, I selected one of the enhanced audio presets, and I am happy with the sound. There's also a setting that favors dialog that seems to work nicely, if you have problems hearing dialog in movies and such.
The picture itself is set to a 'normal' setting, which was not the default. It provides a really nice picture, and with the proper input I can say that everyone has noticed the improvement. The one downside I would say I've noticed is that the angle of view is not as great as with our previous set. If we all sit on the couch 5' from the screen, the image is good. But, if you start going to far off to the side, then the picture becomes washed out. It's not a practical concern to me, just an observation, as nobody sits off that far to the side.
The only thing that remains to be seen, is how this will TV will stand up to the test of time. If I can get 5 years use out of it, then I would be pretty happy with that.
Feature Product
- Dimensions (W x H x D): TV without stand: 49" X 28. 4" X 3. 1", TV with stand: 49" X 30. 6" X 8"
- Smart functionality delivers all your favorite content with over 500, 000 movies and TV episodes, accessible through the simple and intuitive Roku TV
- Pairs 4K Ultra HD picture clarity with the contrast, color, and detail of high dynamic range (HDR) for the most lifelike picture
- Direct-lit LED produces great picture quality
- Inputs: 3 HDMI 2. 0 with HDCP 2. 2 (one with HDMI ARC), 1 USB (media player), RF, Composite, Headphone Jack, Optical Audio Out, Ethernet
- Compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant
Description
TCL, one of the world's largest TV manufacturers in the world and America’s fastest growing TV brand, bring the latest in 4K technology and design. We've simplified the 4K Ultra HD TV so you can instantly enjoy endless entertainment. With compatibility, choose from more than 5, 000 streaming channels that feature 450, 000 movies and TV episodes plus live sports, news, music, kids and family, food, science and tech, fitness, foreign language and so much more.
For the price, and on a tight budget, we got a 4k smart tv! Never used Roku, and so far im ok with it.
- I like that I can use my smartphone or tablet as a remote for the tv.
- I like that I can use Plex Roku app, and that this tv doesn't buffering issues with its onboard hardware. 4k 20-30mbps bitrate no issue.
- It has enough options to feel fancy for the price, but lacking just a few things - One being Lack of sound options (if you use onboard speakers)
- It has HDR.
- Arrived with no dead pixels, no damage.
- Box delivered in could have been a tad bit more discrete. Box sure does scream "I'm a new tv sitting on this porch."
- Really annoyed at the packing tape directly on panel holding the peal off plastic on. If there was ever a point at which you could damage your panel, peeling that tape off incorrectly would certainly raise those odds.
--Really small stand. Splurge for a wall mount.
- Hope TVs come with bluetooth in future for connecting to bluetooth wireless speaker. Everything s better with bluetooth!
--Tested 4k youtube app with 4k dedication to the Man show. --Impressive...pixels!
I had to quickly buy a replacement for an Insignia 32" ROKU TV. I had accidentally put pressure on it's screen resulting in a totally ruined picture with 6" vertical grids and mauve and green people. Don't ask!!
After extensive online and local shopping I found this 2018 TCL 43" ROKU TV. I hit the jackpot. The picture is clear and crisp, the setup was easy and the result is amazing, especially for the price.
The previous Insignia ROKU sound was terrible. At 100% sound setting, the Insignia was more like the 25% on this new TCL. I was thinking about getting a soundbar for the Insignia. Not necessary for this TCL. Love it!!
The ONLY issue I have is not with the TV, but ROKU itself. There should be a way to set your favorite channels yourself, rather than ROKU setting them based on your scanning history.
For anyone who doesn't have Cable or Satellite, for whatever reason, ROKU is the answer. I refuse to pay for Cable. The picture I get, without Cable, is as good as, or better, than friends who pay for Cable. ROKU is the answer for me. I have Netflix, Hulu and an assortment of other possibilities, so why pay Cable.
Anyone out there on the fence, jump off and buy this. You can't beat the value for the price and I haven't seen it lower anywhere since, even on Black Friday & Cyber Monday.
Our Vizio 43" TV unexpected went belly up last week. We live out in the middle of no-where, our nearest shopping (wal-mart, etc) is 250 miles round trip. So, we weren't really interested to make an emergency run to shop for a new TV. So I started shopping online and looking at the reviews for various TV brands. I'd never heard of TCL before and in doing some research saw that it got great reviews from buyers and other product review websites. And the price was reasonable and I could get it delivered!
Well, I placed and order through Amazon, thinking I would get the same size TV that we had, but saw this one and the price was a little less than the 43" so I decided to go with it. I am sure glad I did. Set up wasn't horribly complicated (I am a 65 yr old woman and the tech "genius" in our house) especially considering I was winging it since my husband had misplaced the instruction booklet. Probably took about a half hour to get everything up and running, with having to sign into Roku and Amazon Prime. Finally got it up and running and all I can say is WOW! To me, the picture was amazing even not with 4K programming. The TV is pretty easy to use and I like the fact that you can go to Amazon Prime or Roku or whatever without having to switch to different inputs. I would definitely recommend this TV and I am very happy with the purchase.
This review is for the 43" (2018 model allegedly). The image on our old TV went psychedelic on us and didn't seem worth the cost of repair. I went with the Roku TV because it was the lowest cost and highest rated 4K in the range. If TVs are not going to last very long these days, I don't see the need to spend too much on them.
Setup was easy and it's fairly light weight. Navigation is much simpler now than with our old setup. We used to have to switch inputs and remotes to use our rokus or fire tvs, and even the apps on the old TV were not directly accessible from the home screen. With our new Roku TV, there's a dedicated home button on the compendious remote, and all the apps and inputs are directly selectable from that home screen (inputs and apps are all together). You can move them in whatever order you prefer. There's also an option in the settings for what should happen when the TV is turned on (e.g. cable tv, home screen, last used input etc.).
There are a few cons, but none of them are dealbreakers. It doesn't come with a proper stand. There's a couple of short skinny legs that do not raise the TV high enough to clear the cable box. I have a black metallic monitor riser stand that my old TV sat on, with the cable box residing beneath. I opted to keep that setup so I purchased a separate stand with swivel for the Roku TV to rest on that (B075TZTXLQ). The private listening only seems to work with the streaming apps and not with the hdmi connected devices, so that's a disappointment. Since Roku is built in to the TV I thought all inputs should work with that. The other items that come to mind are that there's no component inputs and the settings menus are a bit limited compared to my previous TV. For example, I don't see any option to control the optical output delay or for turning the screen off when we just want audio without the picture.
Customer service has been responsive to my questions, and so far I've not had any problems with the picture, sound or operating system.
43 inch set
2019-01-11 When I unboxed the TV there was a 2 inch scratch on the screen and I thought oh crap but it turned out that in actual use it didn't show at all. No stuck or dead pixels that I've noticed so that's good. Nothing to compare it with (4k) but my opinion is that it has a beautiful picture, especially looking at 4k content. I don't base ratings on price but nothing to complain about there and also saving the price of a roku.
I use this set both to watch movies and tv but also as my computer monitor (nvidia 1080 gpu video card). It's on a wall mount about 3 feet from where I set. I set the display resolution so that the text is proportionally larger and that combined with the extra distance has relieved the chronic eyestrain that I normally experience from spending way too many hours in front of the computer. Also, and I can't explain it, with my old monitor Facebook videos started and stopped to the point of being all but unwatchable but with my new setup that issue totally went away.
I finally found the picture adjustments, which I haven't needed, but they are under the asterisk on the remote and I finally figured out how to enable all the hdmi ports. The little manual wasn't much help.
The vesa screw holes are very low on the back of the set and it was a bit of a challenge to get them to work with the wall mount I bought but I was able to work it out.
I didn't realize it when I bought the set but it upgrades 1080p content to near 4K and looks great. Sadly there is a lot on roku that's apparently in 720p where you don't get that effect.
I like this so much that I'm thinking about replacing our living room set with their 65 inch set, which will fit our entertainment center with 0.75 inches to spare.
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