TCL S546 (LCD)
TCL S546 (LCD)
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PICTURE QUALITY: Good—7.4/10
MOVIES & TV: Good—7.0/10
GAMING: Fair—6.6/10
SPORTS: Fair—6.3/10
CARTOONS & ANIMATION: Fair—6.6/10
NEWS & TALK: Fair—6.4/10
BRIGHT ROOM: Good—7.2/10
The TCL S546 is a budget-friendly LCD TV with a 65-inch screen that provides good overall and dark room picture quality, making it suitable for movie enthusiasts who prefer to watch in lower light conditions. However, its performance in bright rooms is also rated as good, so it's versatile for various lighting settings. Gaming and sports content are fair, which means it may not be the best fit for those seeking the highest experience in fast-paced action, but it's capable for casual gaming and watching sports. The TV has a very good contrast ratio which enhances the depth of black levels, but its reflection handling is fair, indicating that it might struggle with glare in very bright rooms. Its speaker quality is described as poor, so you might want to consider a soundbar or external speaker system for better audio. Additionally, it has three HDMI ports and supports 4K at 60Hz, but it does not have great speakers included. It also has various HDR formats support including HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. 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
Pros
- Good for dark room viewing
- Performs well in bright rooms
- Very good SDR brightness
- Good color volume
- Very good input lag for gaming
Cons
- Local dimming feature is limited
- Fair HDR brightness
- Narrow viewing angles
- Struggles with reflections
Ratings by Category
Overall Picture:4.2
The TCL S546 boasts excellent contrast and a very good SDR brightness which contribute to deep blacks and bright images in standard dynamic range content. Additionally, its very good color volume allows for rich and vibrant color representation across a wide range of brightness levels, although the colors out of the box may require adjustment for optimal accuracy.
Bright Room:4.1
The TCL S546 is good for watching TV in a bright room because it has a very good SDR brightness, meaning it can produce bright images that maintain visibility even in well-lit environments. Additionally, its ability to handle reflections is fair, which helps reduce the impact of light sources that might otherwise distract from the viewing experience.
Movies & TV shows:4.0
PerfectRec’s movies & cinematic TV score takes into account the most important TV features for cinematic content. Our score considers the following factors:color gamut, color volume, out-of-the-box color accuracy, local dimming and black uniformity. We also factor in gray uniformity and viewing angles to a lesser degree.
Gaming:3.7
PerfectRec’s gaming score measures a TV's performance when it comes to playing video games. It is based on several factors that can significantly impact the quality of the gaming experience, including screen response time, input lag, and refresh rate. Screen response time is a critical factor that determines how quickly the TV can transition from one color to the next, while input lag measures the delay between the gaming console output and the TV display. Refresh rate refers to the number of times per second that the TV displays a new frame, which can impact the smoothness of the gaming experience. The gaming score also takes into account two other features: local dimming in gaming mode, which can enhance contrast and picture quality, and black frame insertion, which can reduce screen brightness and create a smoother gaming experience.
Cartoons & Animaton:3.6
The TCL S546 has poor performance in reproducing colors out of the box, meaning that animations may not appear with the accurate colors intended by the creators. Although the TV has a good color gamut, its color volume is only very good, which can affect how vibrant and varied the colors in cartoons look on the screen.
News, Talk & Reality TV:3.5
The TCL S546 performs well at upscaling lower resolution content, which is essential for standard definition news programming. However, its poor performance in colors out of the box means that it may not provide the most vibrant and accurate colors without calibration.
Sports:3.4
The TCL S546's performance in sports watching is fair due to its limited viewing angles, which can affect the experience when watching from the side, and its motion processing capabilities are not optimal for fast-paced action. Additionally, the TV's handling of reflections is only fair, which means it might not perform best in very bright rooms.
Full Specs
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
| Price | $400 | ||
Brand | TCL | ||
Release Date | August 1, 2021 | ||
Full name | 50S546 | ||
Screen Size | 50" | ||
Screen Resolution | 4K | ||
TV FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Operating System | Android TV | ||
Sound Quality Score  | 5.9/10 | ||
NextGen Ready | No | ||
HDMI Ports | 3 | ||
Coax Ports | 1 | ||
DISPLAY QUALITY SCORES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Picture Quality Score | 7.4/10 | ||
Bright Room Score | 7.2/10 | ||
Gaming Score | 6.7/10 | ||
Movies & TV Score | 7/10 | ||
Sports Score | 6.4/10 | ||
PHYSICAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Dimensions w/o Stand (H x W x D) | 25.5" x 43.8" x 3.1" | ||
Dimensions with Stand (H x W) | 27.3" x 43.8" | ||
Weight without Stand | 26.0 lbs | ||
VESA Mount | 200 x 200 | ||
DISPLAY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Color Depth | 10 bit | ||
Black Frame Insertion | Yes | ||
Auto Low Latency Mode | Yes | ||
Contrast | 8.2/10 | ||
Local Dimming | 5.7/10 | ||
SOUND | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Speaker Setup | 2.0 | ||
Speaker Power | 16 W | ||
Dolby Atmos | Yes | ||
DTS:X | No | ||
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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.
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