PICTURE QUALITY Picture quality was very good, overall. Reproduction of fine image detail was excellent. Color accuracy was excellent, so colors, especially flesh tones, look very natural and lifelike. Contrast was limited in dark scenes, giving images a somewhat flatter appearance. Black levels were overly bright, unfortunately, worse than many TVs. Its reproduction of smooth edges on image content for "up-converted" HD-to-UHD images was generally excellent and free of "jaggies" (jagged edges). Deinterlacing of 1080i video was excellent. Its frame-rate compensation for 1080i film-based content was excellent.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE HDR performance was ineffective. In our tests, the display did not have the peak brightness capability necessary (by HDR standards) to reproduce the extended contrast on our HDR content.
VIEWING ANGLE This TCL model has a moderate viewing angle—decent—but not as good as the better-performers. The best viewing position for this model is directly in front. In our tests, the picture did show some slight dimming from the sides, but not to a distracting degree. When we viewed the TV from the sides, image quality got worse. the picture showed a moderate loss of color, so flesh tones looked a bit washed out. Black levels brightened slightly. Lastly, we viewed the image from above and below center screen, and noticed good vertical viewing angle performance, with only slight changes in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR In our motion tests, this TCL LCD (LED) had good motion performance, with some blurring.
SOUND QUALITY We got sub-par sound quality, with below average performance. It could be acceptable for typical programming, but its shortcomings would be obvious with movie soundtracks and music. In our listening evaluations, we found the bass (low frequency sound) to be adequate but a bit weak and very well defined. Treble (high frequency sound) lacked detail. The treble was generally neutral, notably closed in. This TV should be OK if the room isn't too noisy—we found the speakers could produce a good volume level. Our bass-heavy music track revealed a slight buzz. If sound quality matters to you, you might want to add a soundbar or other external speaker system.
EASE OF USE Consider the TV's stand is 51 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on. The remote controls doesn't need to be pointed at the TV. It has a simplified design with a reduced set of buttons. The remote has a microphone use to issue voice commands.
INTERNET FEATURES This TV provides internet functionality via its "Google TV" portal, with access to a library of applications. Movie streaming services that can be downloaded to this TV, or are built-in, include Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney Plus, Hulu, Max/HBO Max, Netflix, YouTube. It includes a built-in Google Assistant virtual assistant, which allows you to use natural speech to ask questions, launch applications, and search programming by talking to the TV.
CONNECTIONS This model has 3 HDMI inputs one USB port, an optical digital audio out, headphone out, an Ethernet port, 802.11ac/WiFi 5 wireless networking, and AirPlay—for sharing videos, photos, music, and more from Apple devices to the TV.
WHAT'S INCLUDED A remote control.
