TCL’s – Amazing TV for a great price

TCL 32S305 32-Inch 720p Roku Smart LED TV (2017 Model)

 

TCL has become a household name in the Television landscape with the number of great products they have in the market. The TCL S305 is another budget TV they have in the market that has worked its way up as a popular choice.

The importance of Televisions in the home cannot be overstated. They have become so popular that you will find at least a TV in every home regardless of their financial status. This article has been put together to help you in making a choice of Television to get for your home.

If you cannot afford the very expensive TV sets, you do not have to worry as you can get a good budget TV. The TCL 32S305 is a budget TV that offers you decent quality at a very affordable price. It offers you plenty of features like built-in Wi-Fi and online features such as Hulu Plus and Netflix. It is a 32-inch Roku TV that uses Roku’s platform. Its panel is 720p rather than the 1080p you will find in more expensive sets. This is an understandable flaw for a budget TV.

Design

It has a simple design that is characteristic of most budget TCL TVs. The screen is surrounded by a flat glossy bezel made from plastic. A slim-profile plastic piping lines the sides which add a little bit of style to its simple look.

If you choose to place the TV on a tabletop or any other flat surface, it has two U-shaped legs for support. These legs and the plastic piping have a gunmetal color. If you prefer to mount your TV on a wall, you can use a wall mount to hang it on the wall.

The ports are placed towards the right side which makes connections easy. A drawback to this TV is the fact that it has only 3 HDMI ports which limit the number of devices you can connect before you need a splitter. It does not use an Ethernet port for the Roku features like other TVs. Instead, an 802.11n dual-band Wi-Fi card is used.

At first glance, this TV gives you the impression that the manufacturers leaned towards simplicity rather than sophistication.

Roku TV

The remote control that comes with the TCL 32SS305 is characteristic of TCL TVs. It has a simple design just like the TV and it is pretty easy to use. The remote is glossy, short and has a prominent plus-shaped directional pad. The back, power and home buttons are above the directional pad. The app and playback buttons can be found below the directional pad.

With the action buttons, you can gain access to services like Sling TV, Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu. You also have access to apps and services typical of all Roku TVs. When it comes to smart TVs, Roku hosts most of the channels you will find and you can navigate through the Roku app on your smartphone.

Another drawback to using the TCL SS305 is the fact that it does not have the voice search feature as well as the headphone jack that is on the remote of some other smart TVs. Users have fallen in love with these features and it is a little disappointing that they are not on this TV. Though, the TV has a headphone output.

Performance

The TCL 32S305 is not really a top of the line TV so we do not expect it to have any extraordinary feature. There is no fancy 3D, no impressive dimming and there is no high refresh rate. Unlike some more expensive TCL TVs, it does not use 1080p panels but 720p. It is noticeable that ‘F’ is missing in the naming which means that it is not a full HD TV compared to other more expensive models.

Its refresh rate is only 60Hz which is lower than the 120Hz refresh rate in other models. Though according to TCL, the backlight scanning that those other models have is responsible for the higher refresh rate.

Users are particularly delighted that it acts like the usual Roku box and the apps are easy to use. You can easily stream TV shows and videos with the Roku TV interface. Though, it is not as catchy as the Roku 3 or Roku 2. When it comes to smart TVs, the TCL 32S305 is sleeker than most.

One drawback to using this TV is the fact that it has average color accuracy. This is not really a deal breaker especially when you consider its affordability.

Power Consumption and Input Lag

Input lag basically means the time between the updating signal and the display receiving signal. A review on the TCL 32S305 revealed that the input lag is 29.3 milliseconds which is good for a TV. The input lag reduces if you change the mode, though, the trade-off is the reduced picture quality.

One of its major selling points is the low power consumption. When in use, this TV set consumes about 28 watts of power. Though, you can reduce the power consumed by using it in low power mode. Its relatively low power consumption can be attributed to its low-resolution and small size.

Price

The TCL 32S305 is one of the most affordable smart TV sets you will find in the market. It sells for about $149.99 on Amazon at the time of putting this review together.

Conclusion

The TCL 32S305 TV is a good fit for you if you are looking for a budget TV that is not too far away from more expensive sets in terms of quality. It has a simple design that does not take away from its beauty. The 3 HDMI ports it has is a drawback as most users prefer to have at least 4 HDMI ports. Also, the absence of the voice search is also an issue that some users have. These flaws should not be a deal breaker as its affordability and the Roku TV features are things to look forward to.

So, when next you are going shopping for a TV set and you have a limited budget, you may want to consider the TCL 32S305 for quality.

TCL 55S405 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Roku Smart LED TV (2017 Model) Review

TCL is one of the leading players in the Television market. They have a lot of great products in the TV market. The 55S405 is another great product from TCL. With the balance of quality and affordability, the TCL 55S405 is a great choice for a budget TV.

Televisions have become very important pieces of hardware in our homes. TV has both educational and entertainment utilities, no wonder everyone regardless of financial status wants one. If you are looking to get a TV set for your home, then, this article will help you in making an educated decision.

If you are looking for a budget TV, it is important that you go for the best value you can afford. Most people think you cannot get a budget TV with good enough quality. You do not have to give up quality for affordability especially if you go for the TCL 55SS405. It has HDR and basic 4K support with the Roku’s smart-TV interface. Let us take a look at its other features.

Design

The TCL 55S405 has a pretty simple design and is similar to most other TVs by TCL. It has a 55-inch screen that is framed by a plastic bezel with a glossy black finish. Apart from the Roku TV logo at the right lower corner of the TV, it does not have any real decoration on the edges.

It has a plastic stand that is used to hold the TV steady on a table top. The wide stand means you will need to get a reasonably wide table for your TV. Though, you can decide to mount it on the wall with the VESA mount.

Ports

The power cable of the TV is on the right side, at the back, while the other ports are on the left side. It has 3 HDMI ports with one of them having ARC. Though, most people prefer TVs with at least four HDMI ports because you will be able to connect more devices. It has only one USB 2.0 port which is also a downside to this TV. Though with the Roku interface, this may not really be an issue.

It also has other ports such as a 3.5 mm headset jack, a Toslink port that is used for digital surround sound, and a cable or antenna coaxial connection. It also has a port for network connections as well as a video output port.

Performance

For its price, we do not expect the TCL 55S405 to be a world beater, but it still gives you good quality performance. It has HDR support, ultra HD resolution and a refresh rate of about 60Hz. A similar review revealed the result of a test carried out on the 55S405. In this test, it had 2.2 as its Delta rating which is good for a TV in its price range. You should note that the closer the rating is to zero the better.

Its color performance can be a little disappointing. The colors seem a little bit skewed which means you may lose some fine color details in what you are watching. It offers support for HDR10 but does not offer for other formats of HDR. This is no surprise as this feature is only found in more expensive TV sets.

It struggles in a well-lit room because it does not really get very bright and it cannot really deal with reflections. It also has a narrow viewing angle

Audio

In terms of sound quality, the TCL 55S405 does not leave much to be desired. This is understandable for a budget TV. Its built-in speakers offer a decent room-filling output without the distortion that is evident in some other budget TVs. Though, its limited range affects the quality of sound you get. The bass sound also sometimes comes out muffled which is because of the absence of subwoofer in the speakers.

All these issues are nothing a good soundbar cannot fix. A good way to get around the quality of sound is to get a decent soundbar to complement it. You do not have to spend a lot on it as a cheap one will suffice.

Remote Control

The TCL 55S405 comes with a remote control that is similar to any other Roku TV remote. It has a simple design and layout that makes it easy to use. It has a plus-shaped directional pad, the usual controls for media-playback, and two action buttons (back and home buttons).

It also has some service buttons which gives you access to HBO, Amazon, Netflix, NOW, and Sling TV. Then, you have the volume and mute buttons. One downside to using this remote is that it uses IR (infrared) so it has to be in the TVs’ line of sight.

Another drawback is the fact that it does not have a headphone jack which is used to listen privately. Also, it does not have a pinhole microphone which makes voice control possible. This will not be an issue if you use the Roku app as these features are available on it.

Smart TV Features

It uses Roku’s operating system which gives it its smart TV features. This is one of its major selling points as the Roku app is compatible with different services (e.g. Sling TV and Plex). The Roku app is easy to use and has a large ecosystem.

Price

The TCL 55S405 cost $379.99 on Amazon. This is also one of its upsides as it is relatively cheap when compared to its peers. Considering its features, the TCL 55S405 is a pretty good budget TV.

Conclusion

The TCL 55S405 will not really drop jaws, though, it has a simple but good design. The look gives you the impression that the manufacturers went towards simplicity rather than sophistication.

If you are looking to get a budget TV, the TCL 55S405 is as good as you can get for its price. It is good value for money

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