TCL 50" Class 5-Series 4K UHD Dolby Vision HDR Roku Smart TV - 50S525

We've had a 32" 720p Vizio Smart TV for several years now. At the time it was the biggest TV we ever owned. It's been flawless, aside from the slow menu response and you can't really add apps for newer streaming services. When we moved to a house with a larger living room, it felt quite small, and when I wanted to play games I always felt like I had to sit closer to the TV in my office chair...at which point I might as well play on my PC.Anyway, Black Friday rolls around, as it does. While casually browsing, I was astounded by the prices of TVs. A 50" 4k Smart TV for $300? That's crazy. I remember when HD TVs cost thousands. This isn't even the cheapest model, as the 50S425 was priced at $249. I did some research though, and found that this model, the 505525 had a significantly brighter screen and better viewing angles. One of the complaints I noticed about the 50S425 was it's low maximum brightness. There were some other factors such as the four vs three HDMI ports and t hat the panel on the 505525 is also supposed to have more vibrant colors and higher dynamic range. Plus, I liked the design of this one, with the front mounted power button the just out below the frame. Reminded me of the very first TCL I looked at when I was shopping for a 32" 720p TV (although ended up buying the Vizio). With that in mind, I opted to spend the extra $50 on this one.So far, I don't regret it. The image quality is beautiful. I'm sure higher end Samsung's are better, but compared to the 720p TV we have, it's a night and day difference.I really like the Roku OS. It's fast and intuitive, and you can add an array of apps to it (even VRV, which thoroughly impressed me). Has no trouble streaming. The Grand Tour looked fantastic playing on it. Sound quality is pretty good. Not mind blowing, but not bad. I plan to get a sound bar to enhance the experience though.On thing worth noting, is if you have a smaller TV cabinet like me, the legs on this TV are very far apart. The were close to a foot wider than the TV cabinet was . Because there's a window directly behind the TV cabinet, an aquarium on one side, and a brick wall on the other, wall mounting wasn't an option. I opted for an aftermarket stand (USX MOUNT TV Base) that solved the problem.The funny thing is: I don't watch TV or play games much, but on the occasions when I do, this is a real treat. Bumblebee looked terrific playing on it.I'll update if anything goes awry, but for now I'm very happy with my purchase.

I've been watching TCL for a few years since I first saw them at Costco, and my new employer had a few at their office. When I opened up our new office last year, we needed one just to act as a big monitor on the wall for the most part, and the price of the 65" was attractive. It's a great TV, with a very well-designed easy to use user interface, simple yet very functional remote, good picture and looks reasonably attractive.I was impressed enough that I bought a second one (55") for home, and got into more of the consumer-oriented features. The built-in Roku device is very useful - I normally buy an AppleTV box, but with this I didn't need one - It has all of the major streaming services built in or available to add as an app *including* AppleTV Plus, so that saved me even more money. The smartphone app can be used as a remote and works just like the standalone remote. I'm really very happy with both of them, especially since their prices are lower than comparable products from competing brands.

So, I've got two TCL 43" TVs and they've been very good. So, I figured I would try the 65" in our family room given Roku is included and runs really smooth on these TVs. Setup was a breeze and the picture is great. I'm not going to go into technical color details on this TV because if you're expecting a TV with perfect gray/black levels or show stopping HDR visuals this aint it. You are at the wrong price point. However, if you're looking for a TV that can output a clean 4K picture, looks great (not excellent) in a bright or dark room, and you're a Roku household you can expect an above average experience for the money invested. Which is crazy low for the picture this thing can put out, and 4k Roku built in.The only issue I had was the support for soundbars. I have a Samsung sound bar which worked flawlessly with the Samsung TV this unit replaced. No matter what I did, the TV will not work wirelessly with it. So, I plugged in HDMI 4 ARC which the soundbar supports. This allowed me to turn the volume up/down on the sound bar through the TV controller but still no actual sound came out. Turns out the only way ARC (CEC) would work, is by also using an optical cable. Now, I'm not new to setting up AV systems. I've used plenty of high end equipment, but always used receivers and I'm not all that familiar with ARC. It seems ridiculous to me that a whole HDMI cable is used just to send volume up/down commands to the soundbar? Why not use the cable for the audio too? I'm not sure if that's the standard, or if this is a specific requirement for TCL TVs. It's all working good now, so I still give the TV a 5 star for the price point, ease of setup, and great 4K picture. You can't really go wrong here, as long as expectations are realistic.