TCL S450F (LCD)

TCL S450F (43" LCD)

TCL S450F (LCD)

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BEST RATING
Overall Picture:
3.6
PICTURE QUALITY: Fair6.5/10
MOVIES & TV: Fair6.0/10
GAMING: Poor5.7/10
SPORTS: Fair6.1/10
CARTOONS & ANIMATION: Fair6.0/10
NEWS & TALK: Fair6.4/10
BRIGHT ROOM: Fair6.0/10

The TCL S450F is a budget-friendly LCD TV known for its fair overall picture quality, making it suitable for various types of content like movies, sports, and cartoons. While its gaming performance is rated poorly, it could still be acceptable for casual gamers. The TV performs evenly in both bright and dark rooms, though not exceptionally in either scenario. It has a good gray uniformity and superb black uniformity, which is beneficial for watching content with darker scenes. However, its local dimming feature is poor, which could affect its ability to depict deep blacks in dark environments. The color performance out of the box is fair, meaning it may not be the best choice for those seeking vibrant and accurate colors without calibration. It responds quickly to inputs, has low input lag, and supports HDR content, but its HDR brightness is poor, potentially leading to less impressive HDR performance. The TCL S450F has a VA panel which tends to have excellent contrast but a narrow viewing angle, so the best picture quality is seen directly in front of the TV. With 4 HDMI ports, you have ample connectivity options, but it does not feature great built-in speakers, suggesting the need for external sound solutions for a more immersive audio experience. If you're a voice command user, this TV supports that functionality as well. Give Feedback

this description is based on the product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars.








Evaluation

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Pros
  • Excellent black uniformity
  • Best input lag score
  • Good reflections handling
  • 4 HDMI ports
Cons
  • Poor gaming performance
  • Poor local dimming feature
  • Poor HDR brightness
  • Poor color gamut

Ratings by Category

Overall Picture:
3.6
The TCL S450F exhibits fair picture quality primarily due to its adequate contrast and black uniformity which are crucial for deep blacks and overall image depth, but its poor local dimming and HDR brightness undermine its ability to display HDR content vibrantly. Additionally, while its out-of-the-box color accuracy and color gamut are average, contributing to a decent color depiction, the restricted color volume limits the range of shades it can display, affecting the richness of the image.
News, Talk & Reality TV:
3.5
The TCL S450F's upscaling and SDR brightness are rated fair, ensuring that lower resolution content like regular TV broadcasts is displayed decently and visibly in normal lighting conditions. However, its fair color performance out of the box and poor color gamut, along with the very limited effectiveness of its local dimming (indicated by a low score), means that the colors shown might not be as accurate or vibrant, potentially making images look less realistic.
Sports:
3.2
The TCL S450F is fair in response time, meaning it displays fast-moving sports reasonably well, but it could be clearer during very fast scenes. With limited viewing angles and only a fair score in reflections handling, its picture quality diminishes from the side, and it struggles with room glare, making it less ideal for group viewings in bright rooms.
Cartoons & Animaton:
3.1
The TCL S450F has fair performance for cartoons and animation due to its decent color accuracy straight out of the box. However, it has a poor color gamut which means that it might not display the wide range of colors often used in animated content effectively.
Movies & TV shows:
3.0
The TCL S450F has a good contrast ratio which is essential for deep blacks, but it's hindered by poor local dimming which means the TV may not display dark scenes well. Although it offers excellent black uniformity, this could be overshadowed by the fair color accuracy out of the box, requiring potentially additional calibration for the best experience.
Bright Room:
3.0
PerfectRec’s bright room score is a proprietary score of a television's performance in a bright environment, taking into account the following factors: screen brightness, reflections, and color volume. A higher score indicates better TV performance in bright conditions, minimizing glare and producing a more pleasant viewing experience. Brightness is crucial in how well the image displays in direct sunlight, and low reflections reduce glare. Color volume contributes to color vibrancy and depth, which are vital in a bright environment.

Full Specs

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GENERAL

Price
$220
Brand
TCL
Release Date
July 1, 2023
Full name
43S450F
Screen Size
43"
Screen Resolution
4K

TV FEATURES

Operating System
Fire OS
Sound Quality Score
PerfectRec logo
6/10
NextGen Ready
No
HDMI Ports
4
Coax Ports
1

DISPLAY QUALITY SCORES

Picture Quality Score
PerfectRec logo
6.6/10
Bright Room Score
PerfectRec logo
6/10
Gaming Score
PerfectRec logo
5.7/10
Movies & TV Score
PerfectRec logo
6/10
Sports Score
PerfectRec logo
6.2/10

PHYSICAL

Dimensions w/o Stand (H x W x D)
22" x 37.7" x 3.1"
Dimensions with Stand (H x W)
23.7" x 37.7"
Weight without Stand
13.7 lbs
VESA Mount
200 x 200

DISPLAY

Color Depth
8 bit
Black Frame Insertion
No
Auto Low Latency Mode
Yes
Contrast
PerfectRec logo
6.4/10
Local Dimming
PerfectRec logo
3/10

SOUND

Speaker Setup
2.0
Speaker Power
20 W
Dolby Atmos
Yes
DTS:X
No

Comparison charts

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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.

By the numbers

385
TVs evaluated
33,110
TVs stats compiled
21
Proprietary TVs ratings developed
121,230
Recommendations made
18,185
Consumer hours saved

About the TV team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and TVs Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Jaime Roldán

TVs Expert
Jaime is a Colombia-based TV expert. He is an electronics engineer with 8 years of experience in the telecom sector and has been making TV recommendations for 12 years.

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