TCL 43S425 43 Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart ROKU LED TV (2018)

I'm a Sony guy and, given the right opportunity and place, would select an authentic OLED Sony screen to hang onto a wall. But currently I find myself marooned and cash-stressed in a one-room apartment. Necessity can be the mother of serendipitous surprises, such as the discovery of this 55-inch "overachiever" from TCL, going for one-tenth the price of my desired Sony. It comes with two tripod legs (which are all I require in my quiet, sedate setting), though it's light and thin enough (though thicker, of course than an OLED) for hanging on a wall. I'm happy to place my screen in front of the big dresser mirror, where it blocks from my view the strange freak I find staring at me each morning. I've found that 55-inches is enough to cover the entire width of the mirror and falls just 4-5 inches short of reaching the top. More importantly, without an A-B side-by-side comparison, this picture satisfies me as much as the Sony and Samsung sets I've owned since 2015--a year in which all makers' hi-def sets were given a huge boost because of the pervasive use of LED lighting (previously used to illuminate only the edges of the picture). Moreover, the AUDIO is the best I've heard from any TV set (If you're "bass-challenged," buy the subwoofer). Listening to the Lincoln Center Orchestra play the music of Miles Davis (on Youtube), I could hear and notate every note from the acoustic "walking" bass without need of plugging into a high-end stereo-system. You'll notice that this is a "4 Series"--or #55S45, meaning 55-inch 4K Hi-Def Set with HDR. If you're willing to spend $50 to $250 more, you may wish to look into TCL's 5 series (55S55) or 6 series (55S65). The latter will bring you some metal to complement the plastic in the picture frames of the 4 series. And with the 6 you'll have bragging rights to more sophisticated circuitry, giving you control over, say, black levels of one small portion of the screen (great for viewers who have OCD and enjoy endless fiddling). Also, "gamers" may be willing to pay more for a TV promising faster, more efficient processors. I remember the days when we argued vehemently about the best-sounding loudspeaker. Now, all the attention is not on sound (have you heard today's, uh, music?). Confession: last year I installed a 32" TCL with Roku in our kitchen. It was so good, I couldn't wait to use my treadmill (placed directly in front of the TV) on a daily basis. Besides cable I had access to Prime Video and Netflix--all of it accessible on the TCL twice as fast as the Sony and 5 times faster than the Samsung. After duping the American public into believing that 4K was so revolutionary we all needed to trash our existing TV sets, "Consumer Reports" has become more honest and even a bit apologetic. The only difference the naked eye will see, according to the latest claim, is not in the sharpness of 1080p vs. 4K resolution, but in the quality of "depth" in the picture (the part referenced by "HDR"). Conclusion: my research and personal experience tell me that this TCL 4-Series offers a fully competitive picture at an amazing price. Moreover, in addition to two sets of legs, you will receive a full-featured remote control (including batteries!) as well as older pin plug adapters (1 video 2 stereo) and an instruction manual. All you "might" need for optimal versatility is an HDMI cable. Most consumers by now are wise enough to know that a high-priced $40 cable will not provide a picture that's 4X better. Check out the prices of Amazon cables. I purchased a 20-footer for $10, and it performs as well as a $50 cable. (It arrived a day later than the TV.)

You are looking at the best priced TV on the market when it comes down to dollar for quality picture. Between the picture quality and the price I would call this the best overall deal on the market TCL made a winner here. After viewing a lot of TV's for a family members gift I decided to go with this TV. The remote is simple, intuitive and easy to use and smart features make this TV a step above the rest. The Roku interface is fast, slick and simple to use and pushes which pushes this TV above the rest of competitors. I installed Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+ and Netflix all of these apps worked flawlessly. Out the box the TV is extremely light and great for hanging, viewing angles are decent for a LED and on par with even more higher end LED TV's and the truth is when you are dealing with LED technology their all about the same when it comes to viewing angles. There is no magic wand that fixes the issue of viewing at angle and picture not degrading with LED technology. There is one important and noticeable issue here that could be a deal breaker for some. 1. Brightness. You'll notice this TV doesn't have Dolby Vision which isn't surprising at $299 but the reason it doesn't have Dolby Vision is it just isn't bright enough. Out of the box I was surprised at how fantastic everything looked but still went into the settings to see what I could tweak for a medium bright room the TV was placed in. I was surprised to see the brightness was already maxed out. I could play with the contrast but again shocked to see the brightness was already turned all the way up. That being said above - I would not put this TV in a room beyond medium bright. Examples it would go great in an office or a shaded living room but if you live in an area where you going to have full on beaming daylight this is not the TV for you and to be honest you won't find anything in this price range with 4K HDR that will suit your needs. You'll need to spend more money on brighter TV and there is no way around it. With the overall picture quality, smart features and price I can't even knock one star off for such a good budget TV and if you have the right spot this is the TV for you. I've had the TV now about two months and could not be more impressed. Though my family members eyesight is poor and unfortunately borderline blind in one eye which is why I opted for the ease of use this TV provides I have an eye for detail. I could not find a single dead pixel on this display and I have attention for detail. These TVs are well manufactured and the look and feel is more inline with a more expensive TV. On another note I also did review the TCL 55S525 which is slightly more expensive TV with Dolby Vision but it suffers from the same issue with the picture brightness and the fact is the 55S525 doesn't get bright enough to even output a Dolby Vision quality picture. If you are thinking about this TV or the 55S525 save your money and buy this TV!