If you're on a strict budget and need a TV essentially for dark-room viewing like watching movies, the TCL S450F could be suitable due to its excellent black uniformity. However, if your budget can stretch to a higher cost, the TCL S555 offers better overall picture quality, including in bright rooms, higher performance for movies, series, and animation content, and better sound quality. While both models struggle with gaming and sports content due to their fair ratings in those areas, the S555's very good rating for cartoons and animation suggests it's a stronger performer for family content. Keep in mind that both TVs have limited viewing angles and may not be the best for wide seating arrangements. If you do not require the incremental benefits of the S555 and want to save money, the S450F is a solid choice. Otherwise, investing in the S555 could enhance your viewing experience for various types of content. 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 S450F (LCD)
Good for upscaling
Advantages of the TCL S555 (LCD)
Good for bright room
Good for dark room
Good for movies & TV
Good for news, talk, & other TV
Very good for cartoons & animation
Key differences
Picture Quality
6.5/10
7.8/10
6.428571429/10
CONTRAST
9.07/10
6.3/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.3/10
LED
PANEL TYPE
LED FALD
VA
PANEL SUB-TYPE
VA
The TCL S555 (LCD) has good picture quality, while the TCL S450F (LCD) has only fair picture quality.
Movies & TV
6.0/10
7.9/10
6.428571429/10
CONTRAST
9.07/10
9.2/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
7.0/10
7.5/10
UPSCALING
5.4/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
No
HDR10+ SUPPORT
Yes
Yes
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
Yes
The TCL S555 (LCD) is good for movies & TV, while the TCL S450F (LCD) is only fair.
Gaming
5.7/10
6.7/10
6.0/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
7.0/10
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
10.0/10
4.6/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
10.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
80.0/100
5.8/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.3/10
The TCL S555 (LCD) is only fair for gaming, while the TCL S450F (LCD) is poor.
Cartoons & Animation
6.0/10
8.4/10
5.9/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
7.4/10
6.3/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.3/10
6.3/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.5/10
6.6/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
8.6/10
5.8/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
6.4/10
The TCL S555 (LCD) is very good for cartoons & animation, while the TCL S450F (LCD) is only fair.
News, Talk, & Other TV
6.4/10
7.0/10
6.3/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.5/10
7.5/10
UPSCALING
5.4/10
The TCL S555 (LCD) is good for news, talk, & other TV, while the TCL S450F (LCD) is only fair.
Bright Room
6.0/10
7.3/10
5.1/10
VIEWING ANGLE
5.5/10
6.3/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.5/10
5.6/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
6.3/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
5.9/10
The TCL S555 (LCD) is good for bright room, while the TCL S450F (LCD) is only fair.
Cost
$400
$600
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
The TCL S450F (LCD) has a price of $400 and the TCL S555 (LCD) costs $600.
"It looks great out of the box and the picture quality it is rock-solid for the price. (...) What really makes this a decent gaming TV, though, is the very low input lag. (...) But if you want to save a little money, the TCL S555 strikes a great balance between cost and performance – the kind of performance that’s impressive enough to deliver some wow to your eyes. (...)"
Get a great deal on the TCL S450F (LCD) or the TCL S555 (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
122,130
Recommendations made
18,320
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.