Verdict
honestly , you ’re not entitled to expect perfection in a mathematical product as competitively priced as this – and for certain enough , the TCL 55C645 K is far from complete . But it ’s surprisingly accomplished in quite a few areas – and in the right circumstances it looks like a more expensive telly . well not to pay too much attention to the way it sounds , though …
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
If you ’ve been research TVs late , you ’ve in all likelihood got a undecomposed idea how much a 55 - inch 4 K QLED television set with HDR talent and a lot of saucy TV functionality ought to set you back .
Well , TCL is here to make your effrontery look a prospicient means wide of the mark . Its 55C645 K cost way less than a blind with this sort of spec tend to .
Can it possibly be true ? Can TCL have undercut the grocery by a significant tolerance while still producing a TV that ’s worth watching ?
Availability
The TCL 55C645 QLED TV is on sale in the United Kingdom at an exceedingly middle - catching £ 389 . In America the tantamount modelling pass away for $ 399 , while in Australia the most comparable model is yours for AU$899 or thereabouts .
Need I say with undue vehemence that this is very low-cost indeed for a 4 K QLED television receiver with a credible smart TV interface and some current - gen game console table financial support ? I ’m lure to suggest it ’s almosttooaffordable …
Design
When the absolute majority of expensive televisions are nothing special when it comes to contrive , it seems ego - plain that a TV as somewhat priced as the TCL 55C645 K has not been design so much as construct .
Still , you incline to buy a television in society to look directly at it , proper ? And in this deference the 55C645 K is absolutely o.k. . Its bezels are somewhat slim , the boomerang feet it stands on do n’t finger anything particular but appear perfectly ok … and they can be attached in a twosome of positions , so the TCL does n’t need all that wide a surface to put up on . They elevate the screen to the extent that any realistically sized soundbar will match nicely beneath it .
And besides , when you recognize the 55C645 K is a hefty 83 millimeter at its deep point you ’re unlikely to want to cling it up on the paries – even if its 11 kg weight is no essence , it look a little less than refined when it ’s up there .
Build caliber and the standard of finish are completely unremarkable too – which , in the context of the price , is almost singular in itself . The plastics used in its grammatical construction feel no more special that those used for the feet , and spending more will buy you far fewer expose screwheads on the rear instrument panel … but who looks at the rear panel , anyway ? Bear the asking Mary Leontyne Price in mind and there ’s nothing to take return with here .
Features
The TCL 55C645 is a 4 honey oil television usingQuantum DotQLED technology in tandem with full - regalia backlighting in 2040 discreet zones . It ’s compatible with every worthwhile HDR standard , includingHDR10+andDolby Vision , and its two - channel , 20 - W audio system can apportion with Dolby Atmos and DTS - HD soundtracks . At the risk of labouring the point , that ’s a powerful specification for a 55 - inch screen that cost less than £ 400 .
And somehow there ’s more . One of its threeHDMIinputs is at 2.1 standard , withALLMand AMD FreeSync compatibility for the gamers andeARC functionalityfor the owners of recent soundbars . Further connectivity is covered by a USB - A 3.0 one-armed bandit , a couple of aery binding posts , a 3.5 mm composite video comment , an Ethernet socket , and a digital optical outturn . Wireless choice are available viaBluetooth 5.0and two-fold - band Wi - Fi .
Once you ’ve choose a method acting to get your content on panel , the TCL ’s AiPQ 3.0 processing locomotive engine is in commission of moving-picture show lineament – it deploy MEMC ( Motion Estimate , Motion Compensation ) to handle with on - screen apparent motion .
It also incorporates its Game Accelerator feature of speech which tries to entail it can render 4K/120Hz – but in fact its 60Hz panel requires the use of Dual Line Gate technology to show 120fps content . So yes , you ’re only getting half the vertical solving of lawful 120fps – but here ’s where you necessitate to remind yourself of the request terms again .
It ought to be clarified that this is a review of TCL 55C645 K for theUKmarket , which dissent from what you get on the continent , in the main in terms of the interface . UK owners get Android TV while those not of these isles plug away intoGoogle TVas the wise interface .
Either way , though , the bright goggle box interface occupy the whole filmdom . It does n’t have many apps as standard , and downloading the one you want from the Google Play store takes a while . ‘ A while ’ , in fact , also cover rearranging apps into your want order , and the loading time of the apps themselves . At least it has every app you ’re likely to require , though , andFreeview Playmeans all the stop - up TV mental object you want is uncommitted too .
Navigating the interface , or the fair brief lay out - up bill of fare , is a caper for the comprehensive , logical and mundane - feeling remote control French telephone . Or you may favour to expend phonation control – but here , again , is where thing differ establish on your location . UK viewers are prompted to add the TCL skill to your Alexa app ( there ’s ‘ work with ’ Google fundamental interaction too ) , the Google tv set manikin hasGoogle Assistantbuilt in , naturally .
Picture Quality
get just one HDMI 2.1 socket is a bit of an worriment – especially as it ’s in charge of eARC functionality too . But there ’s no question that the TCL 55C645 does by far its best body of work when given some full - on mental object to deal with . Load up a PlayStation 5 game or a UHD 4 K Blu - electron beam disk with an HDR constituent to it and there ’s plenty to like about the result ikon .
The vintage good luck charm of Gregory ’s Girlin its Dolby Vision - remastered pretence allow the TCL to reveal quite a few domain in which it screw exactly what ’s what . It ’s a stable and composed watch , handles even the sport - concern on - screen motion well , and it keep detail horizontal surface gamy at the same sentence . Patterns and grain get plenty of tranquil , stable expression , and edge - definition is proficient .
colour are in general convincing , and the C645 does particularly good study with skin - tones . There ’s plenty of across - the - control panel sport in step and shade , and theQLED configurationmakes its influence find in the elementary range of color the TCL can generate . disgraceful tones are quite recondite by the standards of LCD dialog box , particularly panels as low-priced as this one , and the backlighting is focalize and control well . I find that only the most testing stuff – white text on a black background , for example – can fluster it .
This is not a vivid television , though – so despite the fact its bloodless tones are creditably unobjectionable and elaborate , contrasts are far from potent . Console games that rely on lighting effects do n’t have the pop available on bright screens , and the Dynamic Contrast control in the set - up menus is extremely mild in its effect . None of this is help by the reflection factor of the screen – see the TCL in a bright room and its readiness to meditate combines unhappily with its own lack of straight-out brightness .
alternate to some 4 thou content from a streaming serve and there ’s only the slight drop - off in detail levels and some queasiness to edge definition to allow you know what ’s what as consider your source . But you ’ll know where your content is come from already , because the C645 K takes longer to load than any screen you ’ve sat in front of in who acknowledge how long – and once it ’s loaded there ’s a short flow of jumping and falter while the system establishes a buffer .
Step down to some 1080p content and this is a perfectly decent upscaler – as long as you do n’t mind a petty indistinctness and rather less certainty with motion than before . Anything less information - rich than this , though , and the TCL is n’t well-situated in the slightest – it becomes quite common and noisy and loses its grip on motion quite poorly .
Sound Quality
To be honest , the wanton matter to say here is tobudget for a soundbar . This is the feeblest sound 20 watts I ’ve ever heard , and the system ’s stereo configuration sounds small and cramped . It sounds aggressive and surd at volume , too . There ’s a lack of substance and civilisation here that seems almost headstrong .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
A deficiency of brightness aside , the TCL 55C645 has raft go for it in picture - caliber terminus .
The sound it makes is far more in keep with its asking cost than the pictures it make .
Final Thoughts
There ’s no such thing as a free lunch etc and so on … but the TCL 55C645 K is n’t the overhaul - place sandwich its request price might suggest . On a dog pound - for - pound footing , in fact , it ’s quite tasty – which is about all you may ask of a 55 - inch QLED goggle box be less than £ 400 …
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every goggle box we review good over an lengthy period of time . We apply industry stock tests to liken lineament decently . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to survey a product .
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FAQs
you may bet on in Dolby Vision as the TCL C645 corroborate that feature with compatible game consoles .
