TCL 50S425 4K Smart LED TV Review
TCL 50S425 4K Smart
LED Roku TV (2019)
· Dimensions (W x H x D): TV without stand: 44. 1 X 25.
7 X 3. 2 inches, TV with stand: 44. 1 X 28 X 8 inches
· 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. Stand
Separation Distance 39.6 inch
· 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. Screw
Size-M6 x 12
Customer Review ;
November 8, 2018
Size: 43 InchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified Purchase
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.
Edit 09/21/19: Figured I would update this post. Both displays are still going strong. No issues whatsoever. Still very happy with my purchase. These are true 4K displays and work great for gaming. As one of the comments mentioned, they are not going to compete with gaming displays and I have had overpriced small gaming monitors. I much rather play on this, and they have 100s of hours of gaming on them with no issues. Extremely sharp, and they work great as monitors. If you have a different experience, it needs to be calibrated. I spent a good few hours getting these dialed in, and it was worth it!
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.
Edit 09/21/19: Figured I would update this post. Both displays are still going strong. No issues whatsoever. Still very happy with my purchase. These are true 4K displays and work great for gaming. As one of the comments mentioned, they are not going to compete with gaming displays and I have had overpriced small gaming monitors. I much rather play on this, and they have 100s of hours of gaming on them with no issues. Extremely sharp, and they work great as monitors. If you have a different experience, it needs to be calibrated. I spent a good few hours getting these dialed in, and it was worth it!
November 5, 2018
Size: 43 InchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified Purchase
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!
November 5, 2018
Size: 43 InchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified Purchase
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.
· Amazon TCL 50S425 Buying Link : https://amzn.to/2qYvgXL
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.
· Amazon TCL 50S425 Buying Link : https://amzn.to/2qYvgXL
March 2, 2019
Size: 50 inchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified
Purchase
This is my 2nd TCL tv purchase. I have an older 25in
720p that's still going strong daily for 6 or so years. Don't let the brand
name discourage you from buying. This 50 inch (2019 edition) has a great
picture and great sound quality. I've read other reviews saying the opposite
but I noticed there's varying sizes/models in the reviews so I can only speak
to this specific tv. Setup is easy. If you intend to wall mount, it takes VESA
200x200. I used the included legs. Only tool needed is a small Phillips screwdriver.
Once turned on you're prompted to sign up for a Roku account. Have your
phone/tablet or a computer nearby to enter the code on the website to activate.
The tv detects what else you connect and prompts you to enter what it is, which
makes it simple to switch over to satellite, Fire tv stick, or whatever else
you connect. The audio setting out of the box is set to "quiet", I
needed to change that for better sound quality. I left the display on
"auto detect" and so far it's been perfect. The power cord is
somewhat shorter than I need and it connects on the left rear of the tv while
the 3 HDMI ports etc are on the right side behind the screen. For anyone
reading this that uses DirecTV, when you reprogram your DirecTV remote for this
tv, choose "Gateway" as the manufacturer and let it auto search. My
other TCL tv used RCA for it's code. 5 stars, so far so good. If anything
changes I will update this review.
February 17, 2019
Size: 50 inchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified
Purchase
Two years ago being wary of this brand may have been
understandable...but in 2019, only a name brand showy snob would pass on this
TV because it isn't a "big name brand". With millions of sets sold
and with reviews being overwhelmingly positive it's just fact that TCL TV's are
no joke. The setup is easy, I was able to pair my Cox Cable remote to it in
seconds, there's apps for Android & Apple for the Roku component, allowing
your smartphone to be a remote too.
Picture quality, sound and overall brightness are all very good especially for a $300 4K TV. With 4K programming it looks awesome. Yes a Samsung QLED may have a tad darker blacks, and a sound bar would help the audio improve as well. But for what you pay you are getting a crazy good TV experience.
I think if you blind A-B tested a lot of Home Theatre corksniffers they'd say this TV was much more expensive and a different brand. I wouldn't hesitate to get another TCL TV after my experience with this. Highly recommended.
Picture quality, sound and overall brightness are all very good especially for a $300 4K TV. With 4K programming it looks awesome. Yes a Samsung QLED may have a tad darker blacks, and a sound bar would help the audio improve as well. But for what you pay you are getting a crazy good TV experience.
I think if you blind A-B tested a lot of Home Theatre corksniffers they'd say this TV was much more expensive and a different brand. I wouldn't hesitate to get another TCL TV after my experience with this. Highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
So far so good
September 26, 2018
Size: 43 InchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified
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.
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.
January 14, 2019
Size: 50 inchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified
Purchase
This is an excellent TV for the price. My wife and I
got this TV for our one bedroom apartment and we have been thoroughly impressed
so far. The 50" is perfect for a small apartment if you don't want your
WHOLE living room to be taked up by screen. You may say "Can I go with
just the 43 inch??"...That depends on the size of your room. If you want
to use this TV as a monitor on a desk or if it's going in a bedroom the
43" would probably work. I am very glad I went with the 50" for our
living room because a TV any smaller would feel too small for sitting 15 feet
away. We sit about 15' away in our living room and the 50" is about the
perfect size. The resolution and frame rate at this distance is very good. Blu
Rays and "Ultra HD" Netflix look excellent. I did notice some weird
pixelation when viewing certain colors of purple and bright red but that is
hardly noticeable and may have been from the Movie I was watching. I didn't
notice any of that when watching netflix. I found that the standard color and
brightness setttings were fine for our place! Sound is great too. The speakers
are plenty loud, we only keep the volume at 25-30.
April 11, 2019
Size: 50 inchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified
Purchase
How can you complain, a 50 inch 4k tv for under $300.
There are plenty of hdmi ports, as well as an av converter port. I normally am
not the biggest fan of streaming on a smart TV, as many of them has
disappointing processors, this has a duel core cpu and gpu. Now, this display
will not be as good as the 3 grand OLED tv, but I would NEVER spend $3000 on a
tv. I already had Roku devices on all other tvs and cut the cord several years
ago, hence, I was thrilled to have Roku built in. LOVE having access to the
other HDMI devices through the Roku interface. No longer do I need to change to
a different input. Roku remote does not have a ton or buttons, but what it does
have works well. Just wish that they let you program what apps to set the quick
access buttons on the bottom of the remote. Also a bit counter intuitive on
finding some of the functions on the remote like a sleep timer. Overall,
thrilled and would purchase this again.
December 31, 2018
Size: 43 InchConfiguration: TV onlyVerified
Purchase
We wanted to upgrade my MIL's livingroom, 32" 720
HDTV to this 43" 4k one. She doesn't have internet, so I won't address the
smart TV functions. But I will comment on the ease of use and the simple
remote. She does have satellite tv with an HD feed.
It was very easy and fast to set up the satellite and DVD player to work with the TV. We also bought the recommended full range wall mount. There were only 2 screws in the back of the unit, but 4 holes for mounting. The mounting kit came with extra screws of various sizes, so we did attach the TV using 4 screws, and it was very secure.
We had never heard of this brand but felt confident buying it from Amazon. The picture is fantastic. Even my MIL could immediately see the difference in clarity, and she usually never notices things like that.
This is an excellent 4K TV for the price.
· Amazon TCL 50S425 Buying Link : https://amzn.to/2qYvgXL
It was very easy and fast to set up the satellite and DVD player to work with the TV. We also bought the recommended full range wall mount. There were only 2 screws in the back of the unit, but 4 holes for mounting. The mounting kit came with extra screws of various sizes, so we did attach the TV using 4 screws, and it was very secure.
We had never heard of this brand but felt confident buying it from Amazon. The picture is fantastic. Even my MIL could immediately see the difference in clarity, and she usually never notices things like that.
This is an excellent 4K TV for the price.
· Amazon TCL 50S425 Buying Link : https://amzn.to/2qYvgXL
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