The Insignia F30 is a budget-friendly TV that is much less expensive than the TCL R745. If you're on a tighter budget and want a TV that delivers acceptable performance for various types of content including movies, TV shows, and animation, the Insignia F30 could be a sensible option. It's also decent for gaming and watching sports.
However, the TCL R745, while more expensive, offers significantly better performance for gaming and has a higher overall sports content score. It also handles bright rooms better than the Insignia F30 and offers better sound quality, which could be important if you don't plan to use an external sound system. The TCL R745 supports more advanced features such as Dolby Vision and HGiG, which may appeal to you if you want a more future-proof TV or are likely to consume content that takes advantage of these features. It's also larger at 85 inches, compared to Insignia's 65 inches, which can provide a more immersive viewing experience but requires more space.
In summary, choose the Insignia F30 if you want to save money and still enjoy a decent viewing experience. Opt for the TCL R745 if you're willing to spend more for better gaming, sports viewing, and room adaptability, as well as more advanced features and a larger screen. 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)
Good viewing angle
Advantages of the TCL R745 (LCD)
Good for gaming
Good for upscaling
Good reflections
Key differences
Gaming
5.6/10
7.4/10
5.8/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
6.1/10
8.7/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
10.0/10
2.5/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
0.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
0.0/100
5.8/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.7/10
The TCL R745 (LCD) is good for gaming, while the Insignia F30 (LCD) is poor.
The Insignia F30 has poor response time and higher input lag which can lead to less smooth visuals and a delay between user actions and on-screen reactions, making it less suitable for gaming. On the other hand, the TCL R745 provides a superior gaming experience with better input lag and refresh rates alongside features that ensure smooth and responsive gameplay.
News, Talk, & Other TV
5.4/10
6.1/10
5.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
5.5/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
The TCL R745 (LCD) is only fair for news, talk, & other TV, while the Insignia F30 (LCD) is poor.
The Insignia F30 has significantly weaker upscaling, resulting in poorer picture quality for standard definition content, which is often the case for news and talk shows, compared to the TCL R745 which has better upscaling. Furthermore, the TCL R745 provides a fair color gamut which can result in more accurate and vibrant colors out of the box, whereas the Insignia F30's performance in this aspect is poor, affecting the overall viewing experience of TV programs.
Cost
$320
$1,700
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Insignia F30 (LCD) has a price of $320 and the TCL R745 (LCD) costs $1,700.
The TCL R745 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) both have poor picture quality.
Movies & TV
5.3/10
5.2/10
4.29/10
CONTRAST
4.97/10
5.5/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
5.0/10
5.5/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
No
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
No
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
Yes
The Insignia F30 (LCD) and TCL R745 (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
120Hz
8.7/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
10.0/10
5.5/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
5.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
No
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The TCL R745 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) are both only fair for sports.
The Insignia F30 struggles with response time and motion processing, making fast-moving sports scenes look blurry, while its decent handling of reflections and wide viewing angles are a plus in bright rooms or for groups. The TCL R745, on the other hand, delivers excellent response time reducing motion blur but is less effective against reflections and offers a narrower viewing angle, affecting visibility from the side. Both TVs exhibit only fair gray uniformity, which may affect the appearance of playing fields in the sports content.
Cartoons & Animation
5.9/10
5.9/10
5.9/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
6.5/10
6.2/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
5.8/10
5.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
8.1/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
7.7/10
7.5/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
6.0/10
The TCL R745 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) are both poor for cartoons & animation.
The Insignia F30 and TCL R745 TVs are less than ideal for watching cartoons and animation because they both exhibit subpar color performance out of the box, and their color gamut—the range of colors they can display—is limited. These factors are crucial for producing the vibrant, varied hues often found in animated content, and both TVs struggle with accurately presenting them.
Bright Room
5.5/10
5.8/10
7.2/10
VIEWING ANGLE
6.8/10
5.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
5.6/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.5/10
6.0/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
7.8/10
The TCL R745 (LCD) and Insignia F30 (LCD) are both poor for bright room.
The Insignia F30 struggles in bright rooms due to its poor performance in SDR and HDR brightness and only fair handling of reflections, while the TCL R745 also faces difficulties under the same conditions because of its poor SDR and HDR brightness, despite a slightly better reflection handling performance. Both TVs may not display vibrant colors as needed in bright environments considering their less impressive contrast and color volume, paired with limited color gamuts.
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How the Insignia F30 (LCD) and the TCL R745 (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 R745 (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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