TCL - 50" Class 5-Series QLED 4K UHD Smart Google TV

The Google interface is a bit choppy and laggy. I feel the home screen struggles with this responsiveness due to loading up so much "recommended content." To bypass this, I selected the option to just display installed apps (which kind of defeats the purpose of having a Google TV). The remote is a little odd at first if you're used to having number buttons and channel/volume select on the front. Other than that, picture quality is very good. Obviously you can't compare this to a QN90A or an LG OLED, but the S546 produces crisp images and its local contrast (dimming) feature is solid. It handles reflections pretty well. I mainly use this TV for gaming with my PS5; fast responsiveness little input lag and smooth motion. It isn't "future-proof" since the panel's refresh rate is only 60Hz, but I honestly don't see console games running 4k120 anytime soon. The built-in speakers are ok, so I'd recommend adding a sound bar if that's your thing. I use my Sennheiser GSP 601 headset when I game. My kids use the TV for Disney+ and Youtube. No complaints from them!

When I first purchased this TV from the helpful employees, my expectations were quite low. The price point, "QLED," and the fact that its a TCL had me thinking it would be "good enough" for gaming and YouTube, but not likely to impress. After turning it one starting my xbox, I found it to be fine, nothing more. However, my brother told me I had to adjust the settings first, and change the mode. I swapped it, altered the brightness and contrast, and it was like night and day. The colors came to life, the picture was sharp, and the black was flawlessly dark. Needless to say, I quickly changed my opinion and realized the TV was top tier, like the OLEDs, (at least when you factor the price.) For what it cost, you honestly can't find a better TV in that price range, and its certain to surprise you!

The TCL 5 Series S546 offers a lot of bang for the buck when it comes to features and value, my experience has been good with prior models so it’s an obvious choice for a TV with decent picture quality on a budget that will please the majority of people. The TV’s picture is fantastic with no major panel defects like DSE, banding etc. Picture is very clear, but colors seemed off to me out of the box (this is very subjective according to taste) with it being oversaturated and skin tones having a slight green tint to them. I prefer natural skin tones and less exaggerated colors, I attempted to calibrate the colors myself and could not get the picture the way I wanted it. After a YouTube search for “TCL S546 Settings” I found a guy named QUANTUM TV video who settings fixed all my issues with color and made the picture perfect. SDR over the air via antenna content 720p & 1080i looks really good with 480i just looking ok. HDR content Dolby Vision & HDR10 with streaming services, Blu-Ray is fantastic. Sound is just average. Google TV user interface was fine until it updated to latest firmware: Software Ver: V8-R51MT05-LF1V173.020128 which made slower afterwards, hard resetting the TV by turning it off -holding the power button for 15 seconds-then choose reset option fixed this, but OS is still glitchy sometimes with the settings button not working when depressed every now and then. Live OTA TV guide lags and does not propagate info sometimes also. I’m sure TCL with address these bugs in future firmware updates. Overall, I really like Google TV’s layout and voice commands that makes it so much easier to find what I want watch. There are 12 gigs of total storage for apps so that future proofs it a bit. With any newly released device there are going to be a few bugs to iron out and when that happens this is 5-star product, many will be happy with it.

I bought this TV to replace a Hisense 50H8G that had developed brown heat spots all over the screen. This TV is a good upgrade over that TV in terms of picture quality. The remote and audio are worse though. The two 8 watt speakers sound hollow compared to the two 10 watt speakers on the 50H8G. The remote doesn't have a number pad or an input button. You have to access the number pad and inputs through on screen menus. There was an update when I installed the TV, so I don't have a lag issue with Google TV like the first reviewer. It feels the same as it did on the 50H8G to me. The TV is running Android 11 which is better than the Android 9 running on the 50H8G. It has 11GB of storage with 8.9GB remaining. I plan to get a Sound Bar to improve the audio. They should have had 4 HDMI inputs instead of just 3 also.

I went with the 50 inch tv... this is easily the best 4K tv for those of you who want an impressive screen without breaking the bank! First, I was hesitant to put money in an "off-brand", but at the black Friday price I was tempted to take a risk after I gave my wife my 5 year old 1080p LG tv. I know I am such a good husband! Thus far, I am impressed at what this TV gives me. Out of the box, installation is snappy quick and is literally plug in and play. You can choose to sync with your Google account which I didn't and instead chose the basic tv UI. This helps dramatically with beating lag. I will update this review after I digest the Google TV UI. The no frills basic mode meets my needs: YouTube, Netflix, and a few other standard apps. You will need to use an external cast device such as fire stick or Roku if you want to use basic mode without the Google UI. I also played around on my Xbox series X a bit which the tv seamlessly connects with. I see the full potential of UHD and 4K through the Xbox... Albeit at 60 frames. However, the visuals still pop and the motion blur is minimal. The default brightness on the TV is at maximum so I advise lowering them if you don't want a washed out screen and exaggerated colors. I did adjust the settings a bit for live sports, but the tv display settings are quite responsive. Sound wise, the tv is not nearly as impressive. I remedied this sort of by connecting my LG sound bar with the tv. The two devices did not intially connect, but I plugged in and out and hard reset the tv a few times until it did recognize the soundbar. I've had the tv for a little bit more than a week and I see a clear upgrade from my previous gen LG HD TV. Is it the best picture on the market? No. Is this an excellent under $500 tv that meets the needs of most people short of hardcore gamers and tech snobs? Yes. Remember to customize your tv settings if you have issues with the UI, look, or other modifiable aesthetics. TCL provides an included a manufacturer warranty but I went ahead and added a 2 year service plan just in case. My pics are of the Xbox UI and a few shots from sci Fi classics (T2 and Robocop). Again, the TV maximizes the picture quality of these older Blu ray movies.

Decent picture for the price. 50-inch 4K screen with google TV. Surprisingly excellent TV tuner. Some uneven illumination, but for this price is certainly forgivable. Great choice for bedroom or kids room.

Picture quality is exceptional. I gave this model 4 stars because the on and off command on remote is delayed. I’ve had to unplug the tv for it to turn on several times. I’m not sure if that’s a software issue or not. Overall great quality great brand.

This television is a little slow when you turn it on. And last week the volume went off had to reset the television.