TCL 5-Series Roku TV

Let's keep things in perspective and not overthink this review. Not overthink this particular Tv. The Tcl5 series has a lot of competition out there i...

Bottom line: this Tv has been a bit glitchy and laggy. I ran the software updates it's connected via Ethernet, so it's not hurting for bandwidth. And ...

Overall, it has better color accuracy, a better local dimming feature, better reflection handling, and is usually found for around the same price and ...

However, to play a game and watch The Office before bed, you likely dont need state of the art HDR. TCL series 5 and 6 are the most commonly recommended tvs under $1k that still get respectable reviews from rtings.com. Hisense (formerly Sharp) has been getting some buzz lately too. As for $500 vizio/samsung/lg, you will just have to go see what looks good to you and scan reviews for reliability red flags.

The lower-priced 5-series doesn’t include 4K at 120Hz, but it still gives you full-array local dimming and both variable refresh rate and auto low latency mode when gaming.

I currently have the 5 Series and had an MQ7 for a bit before that. I love the contrasty image on the 5 Series, which gives a sharper appearance, and love the Roku interface* (caveat explained below). The local dimming makes more sense to me on this one as well.

The 5 series (546) is looking attractive due to its price, black levels, and having no OS and app conflicts like its bigger brother (646). The $300 jump to the U8G is worth it if you prioritize color accuracy, overall scene brightness and gaming the most. But if you like good black levels, good contrast, and motion features at a budget price, and you don't mind a little inaccuracy in color, I say go with the 5 series.