TCL - 98" Class S5 S-Class 4K UHD HDR LED Smart TV with Google TV (2023)

I love big screens. I had been using an ultra short throw projector for the last 5 years. I loved the projector for its perfect uniformity (no defects) and no reflections, but the blacks were a serious weakness. The immersion of a big screen trumped the weak blacks and I lived with the projector. I have other oled TVs, and ultimately I want a 110" oled for my living room, but pricing is still crazy high. I saw this for $3k and considered. Saw it drop to $2.5k and was tempted, then it went to $2k and I couldn't resist. The first panel delivered had banding issues (only showed up on brown or darker blue areas) and some uniformity issues on very dark screens. Best Buy replaced it and the second panel was much better. I am crazy picky about defects and the second panel is nearly perfect. Very mild lighter spots on black and near black screen. I can see it if I pause on a black screen with no lights, at night. I have always had tvs at the large end of the spectrum and uniformity has always been an issue. In this case, it is not a deal breaker. If you are going from a projector, the brightness and blacks are so far superior you will be very happy. If you are expecting this to have oled perfection, you will be disappointed. I am very happy with the purchase. FYI- this is an unusual VESA mount. Finding a bracket to handle the weight was not too hard, but the mounting pattern is unusual. I had to use "vertical vesa extender plates" purchased through a popular online retailer.

I purchased the TCL 98S550 before Black Friday for $2999 and was able to match the price when it dropped to $2499. On 1/22/24, I was able to price match the $1999 price for even more savings. I know TCL is probably clearing out their older models to make way for the new ones, but to get a 98" TV for less than $2k is amazing. I originally had a 110" screen and a Sony 295ES 4k projector. Unfortunately, I rarely used my theater room because it's located on my third floor and I have an LC 77" C1 TV in my first floor living room, so I mainly stayed downstairs to watch TV or play video games. After surfing YouTube one night and seeing an unboxing and review of this TV, I decided to sell my projector and put the money towards this TV. I was excited about not having to worry about a light controlled room, new HDR formats and Dolby Vision, and the ability to play my games at 4k@120Hz. Getting this TV to my third floor was definitely a chore. The delivery folks had to take the TV out of the box and then go out the front door just so they could angle the TV to go upstairs. I had to unscrew the railing on my second floor so they could swing the TV around and they then had to finagle the TV through the doorway leading to the third floor and up a narrow staircase! They were definitely sweating and took a few breaks. I offered them all the water and gatorade they needed, plus gave them a generous tip. Because of the size of the TV and the length of my center speaker, I had to build a custom TV stand using 2x10's. Once they installed the legs on the TV and lifted the TV onto the TV stand, I told them to power up the TV to make sure it turned on, and then I let them leave. Setup was breeze. I setup a Google Account and installed all the streaming apps I use. I ran a 25 foot HDMI 2.1 cable from the eArc HDMI output on the TV to the eARC input on my Marantz SR6014. Everything sounded great until I noticed an anomaly from the Dolby App on my Xbox Series X. For some reason, it didn't recognize Dolby Atmos and the app wouldn't even let me test tone the speakers because it said Atmos was not supported. So after some back and forth and research, I decided to replace my Marantz receiver with the Denon 3800. This allowed me to hook up all my equipment through the receiver and get 4K@120Hz from my Xbox and PS5. When I fired up my Xbox and opened the Dolby App, everything was now working fine! The picture far and away blows my old Sony 4k projector out of the water. Being able to have my lights on and still be able to view what's on the screen is a huge plus for me. Even though the black levels are better on the TV vs the projector, that is still one my complaint on this TV. When the lights are on, the picture is great and I don't really notice the black levels. However, when the lights are off, I can definitely tell that the screen is backlit and that the blacks are more dark grey. To counteract this and provide more contrast, I decided to install an LED light strip behind the TV, which tricks my eyes into believing the black levels are darker. All in all, this is an excellent TV for the price. I've started to use my theater room a little more which I'm happy about. Obviously I have a little buyer's remorse since the Hisense 100" came down in price to $4k, but it sold out pretty quickly. If you have the room in your house for a 98" TV and don't want to spend a fortune, you really can't go wrong. If you're a home theater aficionado who prefers inky blacks like an OLED, you might be better off investing a little more into a Mini LED or QLED set.

Our previous TV was a 75” Sony X950K that was coming up on 3 year sold. Great TV with zero issue and great IQ. It was just too small for the room. Our couch is 14 feet from TV and there is really no way to change that. I finally pulled the trigger on the TCL S5 and have zero regrets. Size is perfect now. IQ is very similar to the Sony. It did take some adjusting of color for each picture mode but I like the results. I have no criticism of this TV at all after week. We use the TV as a dumb TV doing our streaming through an Apple TV and a DirecTV DVR for mostly sports. No gaming yet. The whole experience is very immersive and makes a huge difference for some types of viewing. We’re very happy with the TV. Feels like a movie theater in our family room now. How this can sell for $2500 (on sale) is beyond me. Nothing about this TV seems cheap.

I am in no way an expert but own a few different TV's with varying picture qualities to be able to give a decent review. I own a 2017 LG B7A OLED which has a phenomenal picture, a 2020 Vizio Series Quantum which also has a great picture with ton of features, and finally the 86 Inch LG that this TCL ultimately replaced. I originally ordered the Hisense u8k from Amazon and it seemed like it was never going to ship. When I noticed best buy put this TCL model on sale for 2499.99 and included free delivery and wall mounting I had to take a turn and order this model. I was honestly worried the whole time that I was settling, but that changed when the tv was delivered and set up. Since this doesn't have a Quantum dot filter on it I figured I would get muted colors which is the case of other budget TV's but I was wrong. Im a huge fan of a saturated HDR picture and this one is vibrant. I had to turn it down slightly. In short the colors are fantastic on this set. Very comparable to the Qled Vizio that I mentioned before. Doesn't look like a budget set at all. Peak brightness seems to be very good on this set as well. I ran a YouTube pattern test and it looks like it gets to around 600 nits in HDR which isn't bad at all compared to some budget sets. Black levels are really good as well considering this TV doesn't have local dimming. It's not inky black like the OLED but it's miles better than the 86 Inch LG it replaced (yes I know the LG is an IPS panel but I imagine there will be others replace an IPS panel with this). This set also meets all the current gaming specs that are out today. This set is fantastic and feels like a significant upgrade over the model it replaced. I couldn't be happier. I have no doubt that the Hisense would have been excellent also considering the features but this felt like a safer bet since a lot of people were having panel issues with the Hisense. I have no regret or remorse on buying this model The geek squad did an excellent and quick job mounting the TV. A hassle free process for the buyer.

I recently purchased the TCL 98-Inch TV from Best Buy, and I must say, it's been an absolute game-changer for my home entertainment setup. The sheer size of the screen is breathtaking, turning my living room into a cinematic experience every time I turn it on. Firstly, the picture quality is outstanding. The 4K resolution combined with the Quantum Dot technology delivers vivid colors, sharp contrast, and impressive clarity. Whether I'm watching movies, playing video games, or streaming content, every detail pops off the screen with lifelike realism. Another aspect that impressed me is the sound quality. The built-in speakers produce immersive audio that fills the room, eliminating the need for external speakers or soundbars. Additionally, the TV supports Dolby Atmos, enhancing the audio experience even further with dynamic surround sound. The smart features of this TV are also worth mentioning. With Google TV built-in, I have access to a vast library of streaming channels, including all the popular ones like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. The intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate between apps and find the content I want to watch. Furthermore, the design of the TV is sleek and modern, complementing my living room decor perfectly. The slim bezels and minimalist stand give it a premium look, while the thin profile makes it appear less bulky despite its massive size.

Researched Vizio, Samsung, and other name brands before deciding on this mega-sized TV. I also, considered short throw and conventional projectors, but nearby windows and a requirement for day-time viewing ruled those out. This is the best bang for the buck in a long time for this size TV. I was a little leery of dealing with yet another set of TV apps, but TCL makes it intuitive to setup and find what you want. We've owned this TV for 2 months and remain very satisfied. Full disclosure that this is the first new TV for us in 8 yrs, coming from a mid-range 55" Vizio. Best Buy provided free delivery and did a good job being careful with the well-packaged box it came in. In fact, this was a consideration to buy locally from Best Buy rather than Amazon and the roll of the dice on the "shipping experience". We wall mounted this behemoth and made absolutely sure we were into the studs with long lag bolts. Tested the mount by hanging my modest 175 lbs from it. Being a fan of GoVee products as well, I added the H605C backlight which adds quite a light show to action-oriented movies. My decision to buy TCL was finding a big sized 4K TV at a cost I could afford for the purpose of enjoying movie night with the kids. My expectations are more than met.

You have to admire that this TV is a tough competition to many major brands, I am an LG and Sony fan due to the picture quality. But honestly when I was debating between the UST projector for my media room, this TV beat it all. The features in this TV which include Dolby ATMOS and Vision are available at much higher price point in USTs and you have to additionally buy an ALR for using these features in UST. It all came down to cost and effort to setup a media room. This TV won hands down. Wall mount by Geek Squad was perfect and precise (Amr and crew). It's a massive screen with vibrant colors (some basic tuning required), default settings are also great. Audio is amazing which includes a subwoofer at the back and audio sounds great. This audio is not for audiophiles, who may want to plug in an external sound system in eARC. Picture processing is great. You will be more than satisfied with the package this TV has to offer. I added some LED backlight for eyestrain is the only extra thing. Last words - "You will feel like coming out of a movie theatre when the movie ends."

I was apprehensive about getting this TV, i was worried about it not being a Qled with it’s size. All of those worries were put aside when the geek squad came to instal it. Let them do it BTW this thing is massive. I love the size but it also has an amazing picture, from streaming NFL games on YouTube TV, playing games on the PS5, or watching a movie in dolby vision or HDR 10 I am blown away by the quality and brightness. It truly is and immersive experience to say the least, watching 4K videos of beautiful landscapes it feels almost like you are riding on Soarin’. If you are on the fence let me be the push that sends you over, you wont regret it!