26 Jan
Blog

TCL 5-Series (S535) 4K HDR TV Review | The Price is Right

TCL 65 "5 series 4K UHD television

"The TCL 5 Series is well above its price"

  • Local dimming backlight with full array

  • Fixed black levels

  • Excellent backlight control

  • Extended color gamut

  • Low entry delay

  • Doesn't get particularly bright

  • HDR isn't impressive

  • Setup process involved

The TCL 6 series TVs get a lot of press, but what about the 5 series? Perhaps the reason it didn't get that much attention is because it was never really a remarkable television. Until now.

With the 5-series 4K HDR TV (S535) now packed with many of the 2019 6-series features, TCL offers similar performance to its 6-series predecessor at a much cheaper price. Let's see if it works.

TCL 5 Series 4K HDR TV Details (S535)

While we tested the 65-inch model S535, our test also applies to the 50-inch, 55-inch, and 75-inch models.

Screen size Model no RRP
50 inches 50S535 400 dollars
55 inches 55S535 $ 450
65 inches 65S535 $ 630
75 in 75S535 $ 1200

First impressions

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

This TV was much thinner than expected – especially for a TV with a local full array dimming backlight system. There are practically no bezels on the edge, just a thin aluminum strip on the bottom. While the TV's plastic feet feel a little light and cheap after unpacking, their slim appearance is quite nice, and the feet can be placed in two different positions: wider towards the edges of the TV or closer to the center for a smaller footprint. Additionally, the feet offer some cable management, although we found it difficult to get more than a few HDMI cables into each cable.

Entrances

TCM 5 Series HDMI Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The 5 series has four HDMI 2.0b inputs, ARC on the fourth input. The ports aren't HDMI 2.1 capable, so you won't get any next generation gaming features like variable refresh rate or 4K at 120Hz. But it can handle 4K up to 60Hz, which should be fine for most people. While this TV isn't a powerhouse for next-generation gaming, it is still a good TV for casual gaming, especially due to its low input delay of around 11 ms in game mode.

The remote control and the operating system

TCL 5 Series Roku remote controlDan Baker / Digital Trends

The biggest difference in remote control between the 6 and 5 series is that you lose voice control. In terms of user experience, the Roku operating system has a "slightly updated" feel and the system now includes AirPlay and HomeKit as well. Adjustments to the picture settings, sound and other settings must be selected and adjusted separately for each input. Hence, between these settings and other mandatory software and app updates, you'll need to be patient to get this Roku TV working.

picture quality

Let's get to the picture, which has some admirable properties. The 5 series has very good black levels for its price, partly because of its VA panel (which unfortunately means that viewing outside of the angle is not great), but also because of its local dimming backlighting system – you can't destroy the blacks, but still provide deep blacks and minimize all kinds of halo effects around light objects on a dark background that you may get from systems with lower backlighting.

TCL 5 seriesDan Baker / Digital Trends

Unfortunately, the backlight system of the 5 series does not offer a very high peak brightness. We hardly noticed any difference between SDR brightness and HDR peak brightness, regardless of whether we saw HDR 10 or Dolby Vision. In fact, it could be questioned whether this should actually be called an HDR TV, given that the brightness isn't enough to really give you the sparkling highlights of high-performance HDR. The contrast is there, but the peak brightness is not, so the HDR images don't pop as much as with other HDR TVs.

"It's an absolutely respectable television."

The color benefits from using quantum dots, so you get a wider gamut. However, due to the lower brightness potential, you will not get a significantly increased color volume.

Overall, I think the picture quality will be an improvement over what someone could get from a midsize TV about four years ago. It's a completely legitimate TV, and we'd even say it beats its price.

Move

The 5 Series is also good with movement. There's still a tiny bit of motion blur on fast-moving objects, but it's not very easy to spot, so it works well enough for sports content. The 5 series has a native 60 Hz panel, so that a more even movement can be achieved without avoiding the so-called “soap opera effect”.

For movie content, 24 fps content looks very smooth and there is no stuttering, which is fantastic for a TV at this price point.

Sound quality

As for sound quality, let's put it this way: get a soundbar. It lacks depth and not a lot of bass, resulting in thin sound quality. Dialogue clarity also suffers, so a soundbar would be a good idea for most people.

Play

TCL 5 Series GamingDan Baker / Digital Trends

As mentioned earlier, this TV does not have HDMI 2.1 ports and therefore does not support variable refresh rate or other high-end features such as automatic low latency mode. At 4K 60 Hz with a small input delay of 11 ms in game mode, however, casual gaming works great. The only problem – back to what we said about image quality – is that if you want to get something out of the HDR gaming experience, you'll need a slightly brighter TV.

Our opinion

TCL 5 Series Roku TvDan Baker / Digital Trends

The TCL 5-Series is a great all-purpose TV that caters to those who aren't very picky about HDR performance. The TV's use of quantum dots expands the gamut of color for a rich picture, while the solid full array backlight controls provide better black levels and better reduced halo effects than almost any other TV in its price range. While it won't get bright enough to do HDR impressively, most people who just want a solid TV at a reasonable price probably won't find this deal-breaker.

Is there a better alternative?

There is only one TV that competes with the TCL 5 series in its price range and that is the Hisense H8G Quantum, which sells for roughly the same price, runs Android TV instead of Roku TV, and can get significantly brighter. The TCL, while not as bright, has better color accuracy. Otherwise, competing LG and Samsung televisions will not offer quantum dots or full array backlights and will not be able to compete in terms of black levels and backlight control.

How long it will take?

So far, TCL's track record in terms of build quality looks pretty good. We expect the 5 Series to serve owners for many years to come.

guarantee

TCL offers a one year limited warranty. You can find more information about TCL's TV warranty here.

Should you buy it?

Yes. For those looking for a quality TV that performs better than what is usually expected for the price, the TCL 5 series is one of the best budget-friendly options out there.

If you want cheaper TV options, you can also consider the best 4K TV deals currently available.

Editor's recommendations




22 Jul
Blog

TCL 5-Series (S525) 4K HDR TV Review | Lots Of Work

TCL 5-Series (S525) 4K HDR TV test: A lot of work

"A good basic TV that's just not great."

  • Ideal for playing

  • Decent contrast

  • Attractive design

  • Roku app access

  • The out-of-box image needs to be edited

  • Frustrating image presets

  • Not particularly bright

My relationship with TCL TVs started two years ago when I checked the company's 6-TV for 2018. This model put TCL on the map among TV enthusiasts who had never considered the brand before.

Today TCL is the affordable brand to beat. Several models are just as powerful, if not better than the much more expensive competition. I think TCL can be thanked for a shift in the TV industry towards more powerful televisions with lower prices.

Where does the 5 Series 2019 stand in the TCL product range, and is it worth buying one with the 2020 product range from TCL, which is expected to hit the shelves in August? After all, a 65-inch model only costs $ 600, while the 55-inch variant only costs $ 400. These prices are hard to beat. But what can you expect from a TV at this price? Let's dive in.

Out of the box

The TCL 5 Series is a much better looking TV than I expected for the price. The top and side bezels are extremely thin, the profile of the TV is also quite thin, and the "feet" of the TV are also attractive, if not a little light and cheap.

I'm not a fan of the round button next to the TV's Roku logo, and the bottom is a bit big, but overall, the TV looks like it should cost more than it does.

TCL 5-Series Roku remote controlDigital trends Caleb Denison

The TV comes with an increasingly elusive composite video breakout cable, a set of AAA batteries, and a Roku remote control. This special Roku remote control has neither an integrated headphone jack nor a voice remote control, although private listening and voice control are available via the Roku app for iOS and Android. We'll be talking quite a bit about this app review in this article.

properties

TCL 5 seriesDan Baker / Digital Trends

The 5 Series is not a high-end television, at least not in the price. This TV does not offer local dimming zones for direct backlighting. This means that the TV on the screen has a much more uniform brightness than an edge-lit TV. However, since none of these backlights can dim, it can be difficult to offer deep black, especially in scenes with bright objects on a dark background.

Other than omitting local dimming, it is not apparent that corners have been cut. TCL does not speak often with its video processing, so there is no clear indication that the 5 Series is less powerful than its 6 or 8 Series cousins.

Like all TCL TVs, the 5 Series is a Roku TV. This means that you not only get a Roku home screen with customizable input names and apps, but also the interface through which you can make settings. I'm usually a fan of the Roku TV interface, but not so much with this TV.

configuration

TCL 5 seriesDan Baker / Digital Trends

Before I go on, I want to make it clear that I am not blaming TCL or Roku for the issues I want to highlight. I think it's a question of partnership and I hope that a firmware update will fix these problems in the future. That's the beauty of smart TVs: you can update them.

It is difficult to get the best picture quality because there is so much work to do.

In the past, my praise for the Roku TV operating system was due to the simplicity and ease of use of Roku. It is an accessible experience, even for people who are not technically inclined. Unfortunately, I lack the simplicity to get the best picture quality that concerns me.

The first thing to tell people when they get a new TV is to go into the picture settings and switch the TV to film mode (cinema, custom, etc.) and then adjust the backlight setting to match the to achieve the desired brightness. By default, the film preset (or an equivalent image) reliably takes on a warmer, more accurate color temperature and often eliminates motion smoothing, which can create the dreaded “soap opera effect”.

With the 5 series, the TV assumes a warm color temperature, but motion smoothing must still be switched off. No big deal, it happens.

This movie preset is now active for every input you have just been set to. Let's say you saw cable or satellite at that point. The movie preset is now activated and probably set up correctly. Now the user has to go to every other input he uses, e.g. B. HDMI 2 for a game console, HDMI 3 for a Blu-ray player, and select the film mode for each of them.

This also applies to streaming apps, which are not easily recognizable for most users. In addition, just opening an app like Netflix and choosing film mode is not enough. You need to start streaming a show to adjust the image settings. A bit of trouble, but forgivable.

But what if you accidentally chose a show or film to be presented in HDR (in the case of Netflix, this would actually be Dolby Vision)? You would now choose one of three Dolby Vision image modes: Dolby Vision Dark, Normal or Bright. OK, well, we can choose the Dolby Vision mode we like, but what about SDR content – what most people see most – on other apps like Amazon or Hulu? To customize film mode for SDR apps, you need to play some SDR content on one of these apps.

Sounds frustrating? I'm just getting started. We haven't talked about the regular HDR10 mode that you get with lots of YouTube content and lots of Amazon shows. There are also three modes for HDR10. If we add them all up, there are a total of seven different options between SDR, HDR and Dolby Vision that other image modes like game or standard do not include.

This is far too much work to find the right image preset. In addition, the backlight settings between the dark, normal, and light HDR modes (including Dolby Vision) are maximum, and yet something is happening in the background to brighten the screen.

There's also the question of whether the color temperature and amount of motion smoothing change between Dolby Vision modes, which doesn't make sense to me, and the anomalous "micro-contrast" setting that has something to do with contrast, but is unreliable and is puzzling. It also looks like the TV is dimmed locally if it isn't.

For any of you who is just lost, that's my point. The person who buys this TV will set it up, turn it on and may not touch any of the settings. This is a shame because the ready-to-use image preset with low power consumption is nowhere near the full performance of this TV and frankly doesn't look good.

And if the buyer dares to venture into the picture settings, it is difficult to get the best picture quality because so much work has to be done. I just don't see that in most people.

I suppose we should talk about this image quality now.

picture quality

TCL 5 seriesDan Baker / Digital Trends

As I just explained, the ready-to-use picture quality of the TCL 5 series TV is not particularly good. It's not poor, but a little overwhelming. This is particularly troublesome when this television can deliver fairly impressive images to the inexperienced eye.

It is an ace for games because of its low latency automatic mode, low input delay, and high refresh rate.

If you jump through the tires and optimize the settings for a better picture, you will be rewarded with seemingly very rich colors and impressive contrast. The last bit surprised me. The contrast of this TV is remarkably good considering that there is no local dimming. Since there are no dimming zones to be controlled, there are no annoying fluctuations in the backlight that have to be managed when viewing in a darkened room.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the diminution of halos around bright objects on a black background. Although the screen never turns pitch black, it gets dark enough to provide adequate contrast.

What does it all add up? An above average TV. It's good. Not very good. Definitely not great. But a solid good. It is an ace for games because of its low latency automatic mode, low input delay, and high refresh rate. The variable update rate is not supported, but this is not to be expected here. It's okay for general television. However, higher content like 4K HDR material deserves better.

Here's the thing: you can do better for not much more money, and I think you should. I'm a fan of TCL, but I can't recommend this TV if the company's 6 Series is so much better for a little bit more money. In addition, the Hisense H8G is a more impressive TV for just $ 100 more at 65 inches.

Do not get me wrong. A lot of people will bring this TV home and get along with it. There is nothing wrong with that. I just don't want people to bring this TV home and learn later that there is something much more pleasant that can be watched for just $ 100 more. Regret is an ugly thing.

Our opinion

At $ 600, the TCL 5 series offers great value for money with good picture performance and a mostly friendly Roku TV experience. Immediately ready-to-use image performance leaves something to be desired and it can be difficult to optimize the image settings for all content. Once adjusted, however, it can offer slightly above-average picture quality that most viewers will enjoy.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes. The TCL 6 series (R625) and Hisense H8G are both better televisions and cost only slightly more. In both cases, the upgrade is worthwhile. It is also worth noting that the Hisense is an Android TV. With this option, you lose Roku.

How long it will take?

So far I have had no problems with the longevity of TCL TVs. However, I only started testing it two years ago. Therefore, it is difficult to say that this TV should have a long lifespan in terms of hardware functionality. In terms of functions, it will lag behind very quickly.

warranty

TCL grants a one-year warranty on parts and labor when the TV is used for non-commercial purchases. More information about TCL's TV guarantees can be found here.

Should you buy it

It's okay to buy this TV if the value for money is appealing. Otherwise, you should spend a little more money to get a much better picture quality.

Editor's recommendations