TCL 50" Class 4-Series 4K UHD HDR Smart Roku TV – 50S455 2022

Hoping this helps with your decisions. So, wish we had vid/pic the product to post along with this review. Package was in the simple original carton only. That said, UPS handled it very well as there were zero damage or wear to the carton at all & we gladly accepted the delivery. The carton gave instructions on how to open the TV the easiest and safest. It was inner wrapped in plastic with an additional thick foam and cardboard shield between the carton and protected screen. Every item was attached to find easily & no loss or damage. The set itself is a great economical entry/midrange tv. Picture is on par and the bundled Roku software lends many viewing options. Wireless network setup on TV is easy especially bc we knew our password. Its not clear if any push to connect option was available as we don’t allow that option on our residential wireless. Hardwire network option is available, though our wireless is substantial to hold and serve many endpoints. Updates were automatically verified and then the Roku app setup begins with simple date time and zipcode verification. If you are familiar it is identical as a external Roku setup. If not familiar, Roku is easy to navigate and select or deselect channels and setup. You will find 4 HDMI ports one supporting (ARC). If you aren’t familiar with hdmi(arc) devices, suggest you Google else you will miss out on a optional device interface, like controlling a sound bar. Speaking of sound bar… my only “con” about this set is the rather ‘cheap’ sound it produces by itself. Actually the sound isn’t too bad for a down and back firing sound. I assume the reason for the speaker position is more for wall mounting (not included) and provide a sleek frontal look with a equally 1/2” ‘borderless appearance. If you plan to use the factory feet/stand just know your lower clearance is around 2” from bottom of set to your counter, tv stand top. Making the audio sound seem a little strange, however you will acclimate to the bass lacking internal sound. The set itself, it is rather light in comparison to older LCD/LED/Plasma. A feature beyond a cable box remote controller, enjoyed by our family is the direct ability to adjust volume from the simple Roku remote included. All in all…this is an excellent value. It’s not a set to ‘crow about up and down the neighborhood, on NFL superbowl weekend HOWEVER you will not be embarrassed by this set in anyway. Kid to the in-laws will love it. Recommend: Consider a sound bar which are also offered at reasonable $ by same manufacturer & for just this TV model. (So the manufacturer actually knew the sound is anemic and gamble you will have or upgrade with a sound bar…)

I am impressed. I've had it a week. The picture is very nice. It was very very easy to set up. Multiple ways to activate the Roku, you can use your cell phone, an app or your email. Plug it in and it works. I also use it as a computer monitor, which only required me to plug in my HDMI cord and good to go. The remote is very simple and very straight forward. It gives off no heat that I can feel, even after being left on for 24 hours straight, I can not feel any heat coming from the screen or the back of the TV. That means no wasted electricity going into heat, and for a Floridian like myself, no heat that my air conditioner needs to work to dissipate. My old flat screen would heat up my room very quickly and I always had to run the A/C on a lower temp to keep the room cool. A lot of electric savings on this. Tag says $10 a year for 5 hours a day of use. That's really good. The frame is about 1/2" and feels sturdy. I did not want one of these frameless TV's where you have to be afraid to even touch it or it can be ruined. I dont intend to throw it around, but it doesnt feel delicate. It is EXTREMELY light weight. The box felt empty at first when I picked it up to bring it in from my porch. I opened it immediately thinking it must have gotten packaged without the TV. Nope, it's just that light weight. But NO, it doesnt feel cheap. It doesn't look like cheap plugs or poor quality materials. It just doesnt weigh much. It's just some electronics inside a plastic shell, with a thin film over the front. Nothing to add weight. I will update this later if I have any quality issues in the future, but for now, it's just what I wanted at a great price.

The TCL roku tv is the best interface on earth for cord cutters. Why? Because once you hook this tv to a good antenna, you will not only get a great picture but a menu. Not just any menu to view what is on tv right now, but a menu to show you what is coming up. TCL is so high tech for cord cutters, by adding a USB drive to the tv you can pause live tv. This is amazing. imagine watching your favorite show but you need a bathroom break. Just press pause and when you come back you can resume. What an amazing free feature. Now if you have internet in your home you will also get free tv channels. At least a hundred free stations that are a part of your guide. Its basically like having basic cable without a monthly fee. The tv will pay for itself in 12 months. About the sound, it is high end sound. You can use headphones and a sound bar but the sound is really good and immersive. About the picture, I suggest you go to sports mode. Go to settings and put it on sports mode because it will be operating in 120 motion mode and the picture quality is great and bright with great contrast. You will get your best picture in sports mode. The best sound is when you go to sound settings and combine the bass with enhanced sound for speech. it is just a button click. In my opinion, if you are a cord cutter a TCL tv has the best combination of features, sound and picture quality. I have owned other brands and still do, but NOTHING compares to a TCL for a true cord cutter. NOTHING! Nothing beats newer tvs because it is made for a cord cutter. Press the left arrow button to get quick access to the FREE TV GUIDE and enjoy.

Good TV. I bought two of them and installed in my garage. Not too expensive and works great. Good picture and volume is good also as I do not have them running to any speakers and they sound out into the street.

4K doesn’t look radically better. I can see the caked makeup on newscasters, though. QLED, OLED…maybe better, but some have complained about it’s triple highlight ‘soap opera” effect. It’s big enough. I don’t like the tiny remote, and can’t find the on/of switches on the set. Sound quality is good. Much better than my old Vizio. I don’t have to crank it up. What I don’t like is that you can’t directly go to live tv anymore. It must be true of all tvs nowadays. I have to go through several places to click on. Why can’t they just consolidate like they used to? I think ROKU is probably the best, less complicated, and smooth running streaming. Smartcast, Fire, Tizen are a mess. The face of the ROKU is clear, not cluttered like a Tizen would be. I think complanies are starting to focus on Os or Google (yuk), and you can’t seem to find many systems that use ROKU but you can use a plug in or whatever it’s called

In my living room, I have an awesome 65" LG OLED - which has a picture that simply cannot be beat. It is hands down the best screen/picture I've ever seen. That TV cost me $1700 a few years ago - so it's certainly not cheap - but it is the centerpiece of my living room. This TV - is 50 inches, has 4k, HDR and Roku built in for under $300 - and for that price - it's simply a no-brainer. At this price - EVERYONE in America should own a large 4k television - almost anyone can afford this. The picture is certainly NOT at the level of my OLED - the blacks are not as rich, but I bought this for my bedroom, so I didn't need a top of the line TV - I just needed something in my room and this works PERFECTLY. The built-in Roku is amazing. Every streaming service you can ever want is included - I don't even need a cable box in my bedroom because of it. I personally love the Roku remote included with this TV. The only negative I can say about the remote is I wish it was backlit - I can't see any buttons in the dark - but it's certainly not a deal-breaker. As with all flat screen TVs - the audio is not great - but that can be fixed with a small sound bar - but honestly, I don't need to crank the volume in my bedroom anyway. Overall - the value you get from a TCL Roku TV is simply unmatched. This TV replaced an old 50" plasma that weighed a TON more than this TV. This TV weighs about 25lbs out of the box - compared to like the 60lbs my plasma weighed. If you're in the market for a new-fangled TV with an impressive number of features, but are on a budget, look no further than this TCL Roku TV. Even the larger models are affordable. For the price, you really can't do much better.

update- may 2026 43in tv is still going strong that i purchased in 2023. though i suspect it might be having some issues, but i cant be sure its the tv or windows causing the bug since this tv is only a "display and NOT connected to the internet". -4k60 HDR 43in *HDR looks great on actual HDR supported videos (at least vs my non existent comparisons with other HDR displays, but a youtube video claiming HDR at 4k looks amazing*. i purchased this tv with several other items, and so far. its been great for 4k 60 as i use it with my PC to game on. *i do have a proper monitor, but 43in vs 27...yeah* so far, ive had no issues, the HDR isnt the greatest. but, i have ZERO experience with HDR period. other than this. but, it does look vibrant enough for me to be happy. some movies/shows seem dark, but that may just be my settings as i can adjust the TV itself, and adjust several way in my PC (nvidia control panel, windows, etc). either way, for what i paid for this im happy. its mounted on the wall with a normal swing arm wall mount. the mount (separate) was 18 u.s.d. which it still is at the time of writing. *Full Motion TV Monitor Wall Mount Bracket Articulating Arms Swivel Tilt Extension Rotation for Most 13-42 Inch LED LCD Flat Curved Screen TVs & Monitors, Max VESA 200x200mm up to 44lbs* is the "search" you would use to get it.

Update: 1 week after contacting TCL with a fairly painful 45 minute chat conversation, a tech was sent out with “I’ll be at your house today are you home”. Fortunately I was able to make that work. The tech himself was a contract repairer and he was great. Knew exactly what the problem was, says they see this all the time. Quick replace of power board. So. I’m back in business but next time I’ll buy a higher quality tv. Sure it’s more expensive but I won’t feel crappy about sending 3-4 tvs to the landfill and rolling the dice on when it will quit (holiday weekend) in the same amount of time the quality one lasts. I’ll add one star for actually getting a tech out to me within the warranty period. So it’s 23 days until the 1 year warranty is up and the black screen of death has occurred. I have gone through all the troubleshooting available from TCL and the friendly internet and no luck. After 45 minutes on TCL support chat (interface circa 1998 and unable to attach basic iPhone pics or movies without error) they’re going to send a technician to my house. He’ll call me at some unspecified time in the future, they won’t give me a company or a number. It’s a holiday weekend and 23 days until warranty ends. Call me skeptical. I will update if they pleasantly surprise me but I’m not holding my breath. My last TCL lasted 3 years and then died with a similar issue. Probably time for an upgrade.