Verdict
With excellent smartness , firm picture lineament for the asking price and an audio operation that ’s much good than expect from an low-cost TV , the TCL Roku 55RC630 K is one of 2023 ’s best budget TVs .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
When it get along to TV smarts and affordability , Roku is never far from the conversation . It ’s best known for its cyclosis equipment , and its move into TVs has made it one of the gravid mark in the United States .
Roku has been stress to repeat that success in the UK , teaming up with boob tube producer such as TCL to set up TVs in the budget market .
The TCL Roku RC630 K follows on from the55RP620Kreviewed on this site in 2021 . The food market is look for a budget lead , could the TCL Roku TV be the one ? Here are my cerebration .
Design
The TCL 55RC630 K only needs to be propped up on its feet which make assembling it a simple and quick labor . The foundation also lift the television up with enough infinite to just about squeeze a soundbar below ( unlike theToshiba UK4D ) , and the foot are adjustable so they can be screwed into the middle or at each end .
That level of tractability is n’t always guaranteed , so it ’s a nice lineament to have , although it ’s only useable on the 55- and 65 - inch RC630 K models .
From the trimness bezel that outlines the frame to the slim profundity of the social unit , the TCL 55RC630 K negate its low-cost status . The rear of the gore does jut out , but wall - mounting should be easily doable .
The screen is a DLED LCD backlight with aQLED colour panel , and it features an array of LEDs across the blind which are always “ on ” . I set up view angles decent enough from the side , and though impregnation and brightness drop off , the dip was n’t as big as I expected . The black levels are the heavy loser as they become cloudy and whitish , so head - on remain the well viewing experience .
Roku smart interface
The TCL 55RC630 K employ Roku ’s smart interface , and unlike the interfaces for the high - pricedPanasonic LX800orSamsung BU8000 , this one is swift and responsive . If you ’ve used a Roku equipment before , very little has changed aside from being drape in TCL red .
The interface is discriminate into Home , My Feed , Freeview Play , Search , Streaming channels , and options . The apps and inputs on the home projection screen can be custom-make for quicker access , while the Freeview Play section store all the UK catch - up and on - need apps .
This TCL Roku idiot box covers all the major streaming apps , fromNetflix , Disney+,Apple TV+ , to Amazon Prime Video , BT Sport , Sky Store , Spotify , Tidal – you ’d be severely exhort to come up empty handed for your favourite apps . Dolby Vision and Atmos are supported where available withHDR10+also include on Prime Video .
Some might feel the TV user interface could use a optic spruce up , but in terms of informality of employment , this is one of the honest out there .
The mobile app includes a few features not find oneself on the TV such as advanced Ab scope and secret listening . I ’ve always preferred the app to the remote , which feels cheap and I ’m not a fan of how it palpate to run either . The app is faster , and the room it curates cognitive content give it prosperous to dip in and out quicker than on the TV .
Features
There are four HDMI inputs rated to the 2.0 measure and notHDMI 2.1 . I would not say that ’s a big loss hold the audience this TV is for , and the only interest in the 2.1 standard would be for 4 K / 120Hz back andvariable refresh rate , which are uncommon on budget television receiver . There iseARC supportfor passing through gamey quality sound recording such as Dolby Atmos to a compatible soundbar .
The rest of the connections include a digital ocular out , Ethernet , RF in for sublunary TV , USB 2.0 , and a CI time slot . Wireless selection include Wi - Fi and ostensibly Bluetooth 4.2 , though the latter is n’t listed in the boob tube ’s online specifications .
machine scummy latency modeputs the television set into its most receptive land for gaming , and I measure out input lag at 11.5ms . While that ’s not the fastest you ’ll find , it ’s speedy for any game played on the TCL 55RC630 K Roku TV .
Other feature include compatibility withAmazon AlexaandGoogle Assistant , but you ’ll demand an extraneous twist to get them working . AirPlay 2andHomeKitare corroborate with iOS devices for draw to the TV and bring it to Apple ’s smart plate ecosystem respectively .
Picture Quality
Often with budget TVs there are compromise , particularly with HDR , and the TCL Roku 55RC630 K is no different . It ’s only capable to hit a peak light with HDR content of 387 nits on a 5 % window . That ’s little of 500 + nit toreallysee the impact of HDR and it intend the RC630 K can struggle with looking bright but also maintaining solid black levels .
Compared to the more expensive Panasonic LX800 , the TCL 55RC630 K does proffer just control over its backlight in darker scenes , mostly avoiding backlight bleed ( light from the LED appearing where it should n’t ) . The TCL Roku was able to show more detail in the darker area of the figure , but this does come at the expense of deeper blacks .
The TCL Roku ’s sense of contrast was n’t as strong as the Panasonic LX800 watch The Dig on Netflix , and despite the TCL gas a QLED colour dialog box , the Panasonic also has the bound in terms of HDR highlight and colours – there ’s a better sense of yellowness and whites to sunshine , the super acid of the pasture battlefield is more apparent and there ’s more detail visible in the cloud on the Panasonic .
These observations are n’t meant to damn the TCL Roku , but to show the kind of performance leap uncommitted if paid more , especially if your master interest is HDR .
With Black Panther : Wakanda Forever on Disney+ , the TCL Roku ’s limited brightness shows up again in dark scenes but shifting between various Dolby Vision modes ( Bright , Normal and Dark ) can assist as the former reveals more detail and brighter color , but black levels can be less assertive .
Complexions in Wakanda Forever , and across other content look on on the television , are wide-ranging and consistently well address – there ’s more colour and brightness granted to hide tones that make them seem more lifelike than those on the Panasonic LX800 , although it ’s worth pointing out that in the Dolby Vision Dark mode complexions can look less punchy .
The TCL Roku also supports HDR10 + , and it ’s uncommon for a budget TV to confirm the full range HDR format as the 55RC30 K does . However , toggle between HDR10 and HDR10 + watching Alien and Inglorious Basterds , there is n’t a pronounced difference with HDR10 + , with little alteration in colours , pitch-dark level or contrast registered .
Whereas withDolby Visionthere was a marked difference watching Men on 4 super C Blu - ray , but I feel the leafy vegetable of forest that Jessie Buckley ’s character walks through looked too vividly dark-green and affected with Dolby Vision compared to HDR10 . It ’s good to have both adaptative HDR formats onboard , though the TCL Roku ’s tone mathematical function could be well in some example .
The upscaling is better than the last TCL Roku boob tube I retrospect . Thanks to the Quantum Dot technical school onboard there ’s more people of color , vibrancy and punchiness to colours than the cooler approach the TCL 55RP20 K took , with complexion warmer and punchier ( though there is a slight red push button noticeable to some peel tones ) .
There ’s perhaps a slight shortfall in terms of pungency and detail watching Spider - Man 2 on Blu - ray , which might just be down to its filmic look , but with digitally dash Skyfall ( Blu - ray ) there ’s a step up in edge , clearness , and detail . That suggests to me that the TCL ’s upscaling wo n’t boost content per se , but simply reveal what ’s there in the signal .
Moving to DVD of Harry Potter and Deathly bless Part 2 and Zodiac , they both exhibit a soft facial expression that miss sharpness and item . The TCL Roku is also quite murky with low - light scenes and when character move there ’s seeable noise .
All of this is as I ’d carry from a budget telly , but a cocksure facet of the QLED screen is that the color are potent , natural , and look moderately precise with SDR content . You would n’t want to view much standard definition content , but I ’d say the same for any 4 thou TV .
There ’s no motility processing ( MEMC ) onboard , but the TV seems steady without it when watching content with fast motion like F1 Drive to Survive . There is a characteristic called Dynamic Control that try out to emphasise contrast more , but I get hold it ’s good to fend off as it only make the image darker .
Sound Quality
The TCL Roku 55RC630 K features a sound organisation by Onkyo with support for Dolby Atmos . This would usually be the point where I would say invest in a soundbar , cheap or otherwise , but the TCL Roku is a baseball swing above the common transportation .
Bass is powerfully define and punchy – you ’re not getting much depth to down in the mouth frequencies but at least the TCL Roku can bring home the bacon impact . The paste of impression across the screen is undecomposed , and watching Wakanda everlastingly there ’s a thin gumption of added astuteness to the soundstage when Ludwig Göransson ’s powerful score kicks in .
Dialogue is clearly reproduce , although the TCL Roku does n’t project dialog from the sieve with much force . There is a Dialogue Enhancer to represent with and in action mechanism - heavy sequences it help wind dialogue without making surrounding sounds louder .
With The Dark Knight there ’s a full sense of rising dynamism to Hans Zimmer ’s score as the Joker reveal his face during the bank rip-off – and it gets raucous in the abide by scene where the Tumbler intimidates criminals with burst . There ’s appreciable levels of item and sharpness to pick up on and solid kicking to the bass in the film . It ’s surprisingly robust .
There ’s a Dolby Atmos virtualiser in the preferences to expand the size of the soundfield further , and with F1 Drive to Survive , the Onkyo system sounds grand and tracks the phone of F1 railroad car well across the screen .
A soundbar would still help , but at least you do n’t have to start the search immediately once you ’ve unpack this TV .
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Should you buy it?
Decent HDR performance , excellent smarts and an telling audio scheme , the TCL Roku ticks the boxes for a tacky TV .
Like many affordable TVs , the TCL Roku suffers from limited cleverness with HDR message .
Final Thoughts
The TCL Roku 55RC630 K is not just an acclivity over the previous TCL Roku collaboration , it ’s one of the best 55 - inch budget TV on the mart for less than £ 500 .
The Roku smarts are wide and approachable , the QLED screen offers a startle in colour performance over the premature model as well as a level-headed system that ’s amazingly effective . Its performance with HDR is limited but remains one of the good efforts in the budget realm . In some way , its HDR carrying into action can be slenderly effective than TVs that be more .
If you ’re looking for one of the unspoilt budget TVs on the mart – you ’ve found it . This TCL Roku gives plenty of bang for your buck .
Trusted Score
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We test every television we survey thoroughly over an protracted full point of metre . We use industry standard tests to compare features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , consent money to look back a product .
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FAQs
There ’s no native funding for the HDMI 2.1 , so this TCL Roku tv set lacks modern gaming lineament such as varying refresh rates and 4K/120Hz , but it does feature HDMI eARC for audio , and auto grim response time modality for play .
Test Data
Full Specs
Sustainability
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