Overall I’m happy with this TV. It works well and the picture quality is decent enough. It’s performance is really let down when it comes to watching live broadcasts through the aerial. This took a while and several restarts before it would work. Ever since then it has been ok, but can take many seconds (probably up to 30) before turning in. Sometimes it then decides the channel you were last watching isn’t what you wanted and switches to something else (this only occasionally happens when first switching to live TV). The program guide is also ultra slow at populating.
Please note I have very fast WiFi and a strong broadcast signal.
But this aside it’s a great TV for the price. I’d almost certainly consider getting a second one if the need arose.

 

I have one of those Samsung curvy wurvy all singing, all dancing smart TV’s, well, back when having a curved TV was all singing and all dancing, but the chance to grab a TV for the conservatory came up so I snapped it up.

Now, I don’t think I’ve heard of TCL prior to ordering the 50CF630k but a quick Google reveals that TCL are, in fact, one of the biggest companies you’ve never heard of.

So, hooking this up, and getting it online is a breeze, particularly if you’ve set up smart TV’s before. The operating system seems quite similar to that of my Samsung, except that a lot of the apps I want and need are already there. My Samsung is of an age where there is no Apple TV+ or Paramount+ app available for it.

Now, I’ve seen some people complain about the remote, but, for me, it’s functional, if not the absolute best, it doesn’t come close to the smart wand thingy I have on my Samsung, but some of this is mitigated by having built in Alexa, which works well. If you already have a Fire TV Stick or similar, then you know the drill.

The TV in use, it has all the ports and connections you would expect and ever need – HDMI, USB, WiFi, blaaaah, and the TV immediately connected just fine to my PS4, PS5, and docked Nintendo Switch. It lso connected to my WiFi no problem after configuring it, and allowed me into my streaming apps no problem.

The build quality of the thing is also pretty good, though secure it properly or it will go bye bye in a fall.

So of great importance is image quality, the blurb claims Dolby Vision, 4K HDR Pro, and all manner of screen based jargon, but all most people want to know is “is the picture good?” Well yes it is, and I dare say it’s on a par and if not better than my Samsung. Yes you got to play around with settings to get what you want out of it, but you have to do that with any TV, but colours just pop, and blacks are blacker than on my Samsung. The screen is also pretty much edge to edge, which is a slight step up from my Samsung which has a slight bezel.

Movies, shows, and games look good on this thing, though I do think on my Samsung, gaming is better (refresh rates, latency, etc.), despite the dedicated Games Master mode on the TCL.

Now, sound. I almost hate to say it but the TCL has far superior sound to that of my Samsung, and this is thanks to the TCL’s built in Dolby Atmos. Whilst I understand that there are different grades of Atmos and this might be on the lower scale, it is still streets ahead of my current TV.

This is an amazing secondary TV, and a good primary TV. It has good picture, good sound, it’s good for gaming, and it comes in at a budget you wouldn’t be unhappy with. Sure it isn’t going to win a sparring match against the top or even middle offerings from Samsung’s, LG’s, or Sony’s, but it holds its own very well.