If you're looking for a TV and your budget is a primary concern, you might lean towards the Insignia F30 as it's generally less expensive than the TCL S446. However, if you're willing to spend slightly more, the TCL S446 offers better performance for watching sports and animation, which suggests it has better motion handling and color reproduction for dynamic content.
In a dark room, neither TV stands out, so they may not be the best choices for movie nights. But if you plan to use the TV in a well-lit room, the TCL has a slight edge over the Insignia due to its higher bright room performance.
Both TVs have similar sound quality, and neither is particularly excellent, so you might want to consider a separate sound system regardless of which TV you choose.
For gaming, the TCL S446 offers a slightly better experience, which could be important if you play games often.
In terms of using the TV as a monitor, the TCL S446 also scores higher and supports HLG, which could be beneficial for future content compatibility. Neither TV supports HDR10+ or Dolby Vision, which are advanced HDR formats found on higher-end TVs.
Overall, your choice might come down to whether you prefer to save money with the Insignia F30 or if the improvements in performance for sports, gaming, and bright room usage with the TCL S446 are worth the extra cost. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Insignia F30 (LCD)
The Insignia F30 (LCD) has no clear advantages over the TCL S446 (LCD).
Advantages of the TCL S446 (LCD)
Good for upscaling
Good reflections
Key differences
Cartoons & Animation
5.9/10
6.4/10
5.9/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
5.8/10
6.2/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
6.0/10
5.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.0/10
8.1/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
9.1/10
7.5/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
6.0/10
The TCL S446 (LCD) is only fair for cartoons & animation, while the Insignia F30 (LCD) is poor.
The Insignia F30's performance is lower for cartoons and animation primarily due to its poor color gamut, which affects the range of colors displayed. The TCL S446, in comparison, is rated higher as it delivers more accurate colors out of the box and a slightly better color volume, leading to a fairer representation of animated content.
News, Talk, & Other TV
5.4/10
6.4/10
5.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.0/10
5.5/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
The TCL S446 (LCD) is only fair for news, talk, & other TV, while the Insignia F30 (LCD) is poor.
The Insignia F30 has poor upscaling which can make lower resolution content like news appear less clear, and its subpar SDR brightness makes it less suitable for daytime viewing, whereas the TCL S446 showcases fair upscaling and better brightness, making it more adept at handling typical TV programming in a variety of lighting conditions. Additionally, the F30's colors out of the box may not be as accurate, and with a limited color gamut, it falls short in providing a vibrant picture when watching colorful content compared to the fair color performance of the S446.
Cost
$340
$400
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
The Insignia F30 (LCD) has a price of $340 and the TCL S446 (LCD) costs $400.
The TCL S446 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) both have poor picture quality.
Movies & TV
5.3/10
5.4/10
4.29/10
CONTRAST
5.37/10
5.5/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
4.8/10
5.5/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
No
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
No
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
No
The TCL S446 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) are both poor for movies & TV.
Sports
6.0/10
6.4/10
2.5/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
8.7/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
8.0/10
5.5/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
5.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.0/10
No
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The TCL S446 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) are both only fair for sports.
The Insignia F30 and the TCL S446 both have fair response times suitable for sports, with the Insignia F30 slightly outperforming the TCL S446 in reflections handling, which is key for rooms with many lights or windows. However, the TCL S446 has a slight edge in terms of viewing angles, meaning colors and contrasts stay more uniform when viewed from the side, but both TVs display fair uniformity performance crucial for an even playing field appearance.
Gaming
5.6/10
5.8/10
5.8/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
6.2/10
8.7/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
8.0/10
2.5/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
0.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
0.0/100
5.8/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.6/10
The TCL S446 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) are both poor for gaming.
The Insignia F30 and TCL S446 both have LCD screens that provide a very good input lag for gaming; however, their response times are poor, which may lead to motion blur during fast-paced games. Additionally, they both have a refresh rate limited to 60Hz, which may not be suitable for high-frame-rate gaming that requires smoother motion.
Bright Room
5.5/10
5.8/10
7.2/10
VIEWING ANGLE
7.5/10
5.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.0/10
5.6/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.4/10
6.0/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
7.2/10
The TCL S446 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) are both poor for bright room.
The Insignia F30 and the TCL S446 both have low SDR and HDR brightness levels, which hampers their performance in bright rooms since they can't shine through ambient light well. Additionally, the Insignia F30 has fair reflections handling ability which is better than the TCL S446 with a good rating, but neither are excellent in this aspect, further diminishing their suitability for bright environments.
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How the Insignia F30 (LCD) and the TCL S446 (LCD) compare to other TVs
"Still one of the best bargain TVs. The best feature remains its quick and responsive implementation of Fire TV OS and all the goodies that come with it. Having Alexa inside the Insignia 4K Ultra HD Fire TV Edition brings a lot of value, from voice control of TV functions to access to your smart home devices."
Get a great deal on the Insignia F30 (LCD) or the TCL S446 (LCD)
About Insignia
Insignia is an in-house brand from BestBuy. It offers a range of TV sets that are lower-end and smaller size. They are manufactured in China by Hisense, which is another TV brand. Insignia TVs use Amazon's Fire OS as the smart TV software, providing users with a highly user-friendly experience.
About TCL
TCL, the highly recognizable TV brand from China, has firmly established itself as the second-largest manufacturer in terms of sales volume. Renowned for striking an impressive balance between affordability, picture quality, and design, TCL TVs deliver a compelling overall package. While they have traditionally excelled in the low-end and midrange TV segments, TCL has recently made remarkable strides in the realm of high-end televisions, introducing impressive models that rival top competitors. Most TCL TVs use Roku software which is very user friendly and easy to use, but they have a few other models that use Google TV which has the largest app selection, but is not as user friendly as Roku.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec TVs team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest TV information and makes it digestible for you.
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