Tcl 5 series review

Well, the S — which you can still buy, by the way — performed a little better. And although it was a bit buggy at the time, as is the case with its more premium sibling, tcl 5 series review, the 6-Series Sthose bugs have now been largely worked out. That being the case, I feel like I knew exactly what to expect from this TV — no surprises in store.

It all adds up to a serious bargain for the discerning shopper. Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. The TCL 5-Series is available in four different sizes. We received a inch model on loan from TCL for our review. Pricing for the available sizes are as follows:. We expect performance across sizes to be similar, particularly color and grayscale accuracy, viewing angle, and gaming performance.

Tcl 5 series review

It uses Google TV, which is a user-friendly smart interface with an excellent selection of apps available to download through the Google Play Store. You also have access to Google Assistant through the built-in mic on the TV for hands-free voice control. There are a few more gaming features like variable refresh rate VRR support to reduce screen tearing, but it's still limited to HDMI 2. It's great for gaming thanks to its low input lag, quick response time, and variable refresh rate support. It's very good for watching movies in a dark room thanks as it displays deep blacks and has a full-array local dimming feature, but the local dimming feature isn't the best, and there's some blooming around bright areas of the screen. It's good for watching sports and decent for shows in a bright room, as it has good enough brightness to overcome some glare. However, it has a narrow viewing angle, so the image degrades when viewed from the side, making it a poor choice for a wide seating arrangement. It has decent reflection handling, and it gets bright enough to fight glare in most well-lit rooms. It displays p content like from cable boxes well, but it has trouble with p content if you watch standard definition TV shows or DVDs from an older source that doesn't upscale the image. It also has a narrow viewing angle, so the image appears washed out from the sides, so it's not ideal for a wide seating arrangement or if you like to move around with the TV on.

Unfortunately, due to the limited number of dimming zones, the zone transitions are quite noticeable.

With high-end TVs getting bigger and adding pricier features each year, I find myself cherishing reasonable mid-range TVs more than ever—especially when they punch above their weight. Do I miss the Roku experience? A little. But the all-new 5-Series is better than ever—and Google TV is a fine stand-in. Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors.

It has a few new features compared to the S, including variable refresh rate support, but like the S, it's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and doesn't support HDMI 2. It has a full array local dimming feature, but like most budget models, it doesn't use Mini LED backlighting and has a small number of dimming zones. It's available in inch, inch, inch, and inch sizes, so there are options available for many different needs, and all sizes perform the same. It's an impressive TV for watching movies in a dark room thanks to its superb contrast, fantastic black uniformity, and decent local dimming feature. It looks good in a bright room, with high peak brightness and decent reflection handling, but it's not a good choice for a wide seating arrangement, as the image fades and looks washed out when viewed at an angle. It delivers a great gaming experience, with low input lag and a very good response time, but it's a bit limited by its 60Hz refresh rate and lack of HDMI 2. The TCL S is good for watching shows in a bright room.

Tcl 5 series review

It has a VA-type panel which can produce deep dark scenes, but doesn't support more advanced features such as local dimming to improve the performance further. It also supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and can produce great vivid colors but can't produce bright highlights. For gamers, it has a low input lag which is excellent. Decent TV for mixed usage. It is well suited for use for gaming or as a PC monitor.

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DCI P3 xy. The Google Play Store has a wide selection of apps available to download. You can set up personal accounts for every member of the household, letting you enjoy personalized recommendations, add shows to your own watchlist right from your phone, and interact with dozens of smart home devices from the comfort of your couch. In a nutshell, this ensures that the image is as rich in detail and as realistic as can be. The panel is a bit prone to reflections though, but this is not uncommon among televisions. The back of the TCL 5 Series consists of a smooth metal top portion and a textured plastic bottom portion. Gamma is close to the target of 2. Curved No. Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Dynamic Range Compression. Advanced Options. For wireless connectivity, the television supports dual-band WiFi and Chromecast. Color accuracy was great right out of the box, with a Delta-E average of 1. However, the remote functions still work if you place a soundbar in front. Cons So-so color production Narrow viewing angles Limited to 60Hz.

By focusing on delivering a solid, quantum-dot 4K picture at an affordable price, the TCL 5-Series is a great choice for anyone on a budget. Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you.

TVs bought and tested. Everything you need is here, and getting to it is simple and easy. For video content, it doesn't cause any issues, but if you're planning on using this TV as a PC monitor, this reduces text clarity a bit, although there are easy workarounds for it. The S has much better accuracy both before and after calibration, and it looks better in a dark room thanks to its better local dimming feature and better black uniformity. HDR in Netflix. Skip to main content. It does, however, support variable refresh rates VRR between 48 and 60Hz, as well as auto low latency mode, switching seamlessly to game mode once it detected that the connected console had turned on. App Selection. I only have two real complaints about this TV. As with other Google TVs, there are ads and suggested content on the home page, and there's no way to disable them. But if we take the smart TV platform out of consideration, you do get better specs from the Hisense U7H. IR In 0. Thanks for signing up.