The TCL S450G is a budget-friendly 65-inch TV with a reasonable picture quality, suitable for gaming and sports viewing, and performs decently in bright rooms. It may not be the best for dark room viewing, due to its contrast and black uniformity.
On the other hand, the TCL R745 is a more expensive option, offering an 85-inch screen with superior gaming performance. It also has better audio quality and more HDMI ports, which can be a deciding factor if you have multiple devices. However, it might not offer a significant difference in picture quality compared to the S450G for general content.
If you're on a budget and need a TV for mixed usage including gaming, sports, and bright room viewing, the S450G should suffice. If you want a larger screen with enhanced sound and gaming experience, and can spend more, the R745 is a better choice, especially for gaming enthusiasts. Both models have a similar picture quality in bright rooms. Keep in mind the larger screen and sound system of the R745 come at a higher cost. 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 S450G (LCD)
The TCL S450G (LCD) has no clear advantages over the TCL R745 (LCD).
Advantages of the TCL R745 (LCD)
Good for gaming
Good for upscaling
Good reflections
Key differences
Gaming
5.6/10
7.4/10
5.7/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
6.1/10
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
10.0/10
4.6/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
18.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
0.0/100
5.7/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.7/10
The TCL R745 (LCD) is good for gaming, while the TCL S450G (LCD) is poor.
The TCL S450G has poor performance for gaming due to its lower input lag score and slower response time compared to the TCL R745, which has a faster response time and higher input lag score, making it better suited for gaming. Additionally, the TCL R745 supports a higher refresh rate which is beneficial for smoother gameplay.
Cost
$398
$1,700
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The TCL S450G (LCD) has a price of $398 and the TCL R745 (LCD) costs $1,700.
The TCL S450G (LCD) and TCL R745 (LCD) both have poor picture quality.
Movies & TV
5.6/10
5.2/10
5.64/10
CONTRAST
4.97/10
6.1/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
5.0/10
6.0/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
No
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
Yes
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
Yes
The TCL S450G (LCD) and TCL R745 (LCD) are both poor for movies & TV.
The TCL S450G and the TCL R745 are poor choices for movies and cinematic TV due to their lack of local dimming, which is highly important for achieving deep blacks and high contrast, key for a good cinema experience. Additionally, both TVs have issues with black uniformity, which can lead to uneven dark scenes, and the S450G in particular has subpar color performance right out of the box, further reducing the quality of movie and cinematic content.
Sports
6.1/10
6.4/10
4.6/10
MOTION PROCESSING
4.6/10
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
10.0/10
6.0/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
5.5/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
Yes
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The TCL R745 (LCD) and TCL S450G (LCD) are both only fair for sports.
The TCL S450G and the TCL R745 both have fair performance in sports due to limitations in motion processing and viewing angles, which could cause motion blur and limit the view for people sitting off to the side. Additionally, while both handle reflections decently, neither excels in response time, which is crucial for fast-moving sports content.
Cartoons & Animation
5.8/10
5.9/10
5.9/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
6.5/10
6.2/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
5.8/10
5.5/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
6.2/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
7.7/10
6.6/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
6.0/10
The TCL R745 (LCD) and TCL S450G (LCD) are both poor for cartoons & animation.
The TCL S450G and TCL R745 both perform poorly when watching cartoons & animation mainly due to subpar color representation; the S450G has fair colors out of the box, poor color gamut, and color volume, while the R745 although having good colors out of the box, still has only fair color gamut and poor color volume which affects their ability to display the vibrant and varied colors typically found in animated content.
News, Talk, & Other TV
5.6/10
6.1/10
5.5/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
6.0/10
UPSCALING
7.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers TCL R745 (LCD) to be only fair for news, talk, & other TV, while the TCL S450G (LCD) is poor.
The TCL S450G delivers less satisfactory results when watching news and TV programs primarily due to its poor upscaling of low-resolution content and its subpar SDR brightness, making it less ideal for viewing in well-lit environments. On the other hand, the TCL R745 offers a fair experience with better upscaling abilities and slightly better colors out of the box, although its SDR brightness is also less impressive, affecting its performance in brighter rooms.
Bright Room
5.7/10
5.8/10
5.0/10
VIEWING ANGLE
6.8/10
5.5/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.8/10
5.5/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
5.5/10
6.6/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
7.8/10
The TCL R745 (LCD) and TCL S450G (LCD) are both poor for bright room.
The TCL S450G and TCL R745 are not ideal for bright rooms because they both have low SDR and HDR brightness, which means they can't get bright enough to overcome glare in well-lit environments. Additionally, both TVs struggle with reflections despite the R745 being slightly better at minimizing them; this paired with their average contrast and color performance make them less suitable for viewing in bright conditions.
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How the TCL S450G (LCD) and the TCL R745 (LCD) compare to other TVs
"TCL, though, has built much of its success on affordable sets, and the 2023 TCL S Class S4 with Google TV is a testament to just how good of a TV you can get for an affordable price tag"
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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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