The TCL R648 is a premium-priced TV with better overall performance, gaming experience, and bright room handling. It offers a higher-quality picture and sound and supports more advanced features like Dolby Vision and Atmos. Conversely, the TCL S455 is much less expensive and could be a good fit if you're on a budget. While suitable for casual viewing and some gaming, the S455 lacks the advanced features and picture quality of the R648, and it's not as good in brightly-lit rooms. 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 TCL R648 (LCD)
Very good for bright room
Good for dark room
Very good for gaming
Good for movies & TV
Good for news, talk, & other TV
Very good for cartoons & animation
Good for use as monitor
Very good reflections
Advantages of the TCL S455 (LCD)
Good for upscaling
Key differences
Picture Quality
7.7/10
6.5/10
7.00/10
CONTRAST
6.43/10
7.6/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
6.3/10
miniLED FALD
PANEL TYPE
LED
VA
PANEL SUB-TYPE
VA
The TCL R648 (LCD) has good picture quality, while the TCL S455 (LCD) has only fair picture quality.
Movies & TV
7.6/10
6.0/10
7.00/10
CONTRAST
6.43/10
6.5/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
9.2/10
5.9/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
No
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
Yes
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
No
The TCL R648 (LCD) is good for movies & TV, while the TCL S455 (LCD) is only fair.
The TCL R648 is better for movies and cinematic TV due to higher contrast, better local dimming, and superior black uniformity, enriching dark scenes and maintaining detail. The TCL S455, while also having good contrast, is less capable in these aspects, leading to less defined shadows and details especially in darker content.
Gaming
8.2/10
5.7/10
8.2/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
6.0/10
7.6/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
10.0/10
5.3/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
70.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
10.0/100
8.3/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
The TCL R648 (LCD) is very good for gaming, while the TCL S455 (LCD) is poor.
The TCL R648 is better for gaming as it has very good response time and good input lag, which means on-screen action is more fluid and commands from gaming inputs are registered quickly. Conversely, the TCL S455 has just fair response time and the best input lag score; however, the slower response time can result in more motion blur during fast-paced games, making it less ideal despite its excellent input lag.
Cartoons & Animation
8.6/10
6.0/10
7.8/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
5.9/10
7.6/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
6.3/10
9.0/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.3/10
9.0/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
6.6/10
7.0/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
5.8/10
The TCL R648 (LCD) is very good for cartoons & animation, while the TCL S455 (LCD) is only fair.
The TCL R648 outperforms the TCL S455 in displaying cartoons and animation due to its excellent colors out of the box and good color gamut and color volume, which means it provides more vibrant and varied colors. In contrast, the S455 has fair scores for colors out of the box, a poor color gamut and a fair color volume, resulting in less accurate and less saturated colors.
News, Talk, & Other TV
7.5/10
6.4/10
9.0/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.3/10
5.9/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
The TCL R648 (LCD) is good for news, talk, & other TV, while the TCL S455 (LCD) is only fair.
The TCL R648 offers excellent upscaling and very good SDR brightness, which enhances the clarity and visibility of standard content like news and talk shows, whereas the TCL S455, though fair in these aspects, may not render such content as brightly or as sharply, affecting overall viewing experience for regular TV programs. Additionally, the R648's superior local dimming and contrast contribute to a vivid and more engaging picture, compared to the S455, which may appear less dynamic and immersive due to its lower performance in these areas.
Bright Room
8.1/10
6.0/10
5.2/10
VIEWING ANGLE
5.1/10
9.0/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.3/10
7.9/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.6/10
8.0/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
6.3/10
The TCL R648 (LCD) is very good for bright room, while the TCL S455 (LCD) is only fair.
The TCL R648 is better suited for bright rooms due to its excellent SDR brightness and very good performance in handling reflections, while the TCL S455 offers fair performance in both SDR brightness and reflection handling, making it less ideal for such environments.
Cost
$2,000
$542
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The TCL R648 (LCD) has a price of $2,000 and the TCL S455 (LCD) costs $542.
The TCL R648 (LCD) and TCL S455 (LCD) are both only fair for sports.
For watching sports, the TCL R648 offers better motion processing and a higher response time which translates to less motion blur, but reflections are only handled fairly and its viewing angles could be limiting if you have a wide seating arrangement. The TCL S455 also has fair handling of reflections and moderate viewing angles; however, its motion processing and response time are lower, which might not be ideal for fast-moving sports, but it compensates with excellent gray uniformity which helps in maintaining consistent picture quality across the screen.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the TCL R648 (LCD) and the TCL S455 (LCD) compare to other TVs
"A highly affordable but reliably kitted-out 4K Roku TV that, while far from perfect, still punches above its price and delivers a great user experience. If you want to soup up movie night for a bargain, the 4-Series won’t let you down. You may never need to plug in a set-top box or streaming device."
Get a great deal on the TCL R648 (LCD) or the TCL S455 (LCD)
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.
By the numbers
385
TVs evaluated
33,110
TVs stats compiled
21
Proprietary TVs ratings developed
99,030
Recommendations made
14,855
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
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
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.