The Samsung S90C is a premium OLED TV that excels in overall picture quality, especially for gaming, watching sports, and in dark rooms. Its strengths also include a wide viewing angle and superior color performance. However, this comes at a significantly higher price.
Conversely, the TCL S446 is a budget-friendly LCD TV. It may not match the Samsung in picture quality or gaming performance, but it still offers decent performance for news, talk shows, and animation. For bright rooms, the Samsung performs better. If cost is a major concern, the TCL offers a more affordable option with satisfactory, albeit less impressive, performance.
The choice depends on your budget and what you prioritize: superior picture quality and gaming experience with the Samsung or affordability with the TCL while compromising on some levels of performance. 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 Samsung S90C (OLED)
Very good for bright room
Excellent for dark room
Best in class for gaming
Excellent for movies & TV
Very good for sports
Excellent for news, talk, & other TV
Excellent for cartoons & animation
Excellent for use as monitor
Very good for upscaling
Very good motion processing
Best in class viewing angle
Best in class reflections
Advantages of the TCL S446 (LCD)
The TCL S446 (LCD) has no clear advantages over the Samsung S90C (OLED).
Key differences
Picture Quality
9.4/10
5.8/10
10.00/10
CONTRAST
5.37/10
9.2/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
6.0/10
RGB OLED
PANEL TYPE
LED
QD-OLED
PANEL SUB-TYPE
IPS
The Samsung S90C (OLED) has excellent picture quality, while the TCL S446 (LCD) has poor picture quality.
Movies & TV
9.4/10
5.4/10
10.00/10
CONTRAST
5.37/10
10.0/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
4.8/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
Yes
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
No
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
No
The Samsung S90C (OLED) is excellent for movies & TV, while the TCL S446 (LCD) is poor.
The Samsung S90C excels in movie and cinematic TV watching due to its perfect contrast, effective local dimming, and superb black uniformity, enhancing deep blacks and vibrant colors, essential for dark scene performance. On the other hand, the TCL S446 struggles in these areas with lower contrast, nonexistent local dimming, and poor black uniformity, resulting in less defined dark scenes and flatter visual depth.
Sports
8.7/10
6.4/10
8.2/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
8.0/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
7.8/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.0/10
Yes
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The Samsung S90C (OLED) is very good for sports, while the TCL S446 (LCD) is only fair.
The Samsung S90C excels in watching sports due to its OLED technology, which offers the best response time and wide viewing angles, ensuring crisp motion with minimal blur and a consistent picture for viewers spread out across the room. In contrast, the TCL S446, with its LCD screen, has fair response time and narrower viewing angles, resulting in less sharp motion clarity and a picture that degrades more when viewed from the side.
Gaming
10.0/10
5.8/10
10.0/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
6.2/10
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
8.0/10
8.2/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
100.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
0.0/100
8.4/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.6/10
The Samsung S90C (OLED) is best in class for gaming, while the TCL S446 (LCD) is poor.
Cartoons & Animation
9.3/10
6.4/10
9.2/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
5.8/10
9.2/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
6.0/10
7.8/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.0/10
8.8/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
9.1/10
9.8/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
6.0/10
The Samsung S90C (OLED) is excellent for cartoons & animation, while the TCL S446 (LCD) is only fair.
The Samsung S90C OLED TV delivers richer and more accurate colors right out of the box, along with a superior color gamut, which brings cartoons and animations to life with vibrant and diverse shades. In contrast, the TCL S446 LCD TV has excellent colors out of the box but a significantly narrower color gamut, leading to less vivid and varied colors in animated content.
News, Talk, & Other TV
9.1/10
6.4/10
7.8/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.0/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
The Samsung S90C (OLED) is excellent for news, talk, & other TV, while the TCL S446 (LCD) is only fair.
Bright Room
8.5/10
5.8/10
10.0/10
VIEWING ANGLE
7.5/10
7.8/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.0/10
8.0/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.4/10
10.0/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
7.2/10
The Samsung S90C (OLED) is very good for bright room, while the TCL S446 (LCD) is poor.
Cost
$1,375
$400
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Samsung S90C (OLED) has a price of $1,375 and the TCL S446 (LCD) costs $400.
"Samsung S90C is the company's attempt at making its QD-OLED technology more affordable. You get high-end pictures, great processing, top gaming tech, and a sharp design."
Get a great deal on the Samsung S90C (OLED) or the TCL S446 (LCD)
About Samsung
Samsung, a South Korean electronics manufacturer, holds the title of being the largest global TV vendor in terms of units sold. They offer a diverse lineup of TV products that cater to various budget ranges. A notable achievement in recent years is the development of Quantum Dots, a technology that enhances color reproduction, resulting in richer and more vibrant hues. Samsung TVs are well-regarded for their high manufacturing quality and user-friendly software, making them an excellent choice for consumers seeking an intuitive viewing 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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About the TV team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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TVs Expert
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