TCL P735 55P735 (55")

If you need a cheap tv it is just about ok... If you need a good tv probably avoid! – Update: 11-05-2023 So I have reduced my rating. The Google TV interface has slowed right down to a crawl since November last year and the bugs (such as not being able to audio sync Binge TV) are really starting to annoy me. I am considering purchasing a ChromeStick to replace the interface all together. Previous review: I needed a cheap 55" tv to replace my previous (TCL) that was accidentally destroyed by one of my children. I decided to keep it cheap due to the risk of future destruction. I also need it to have Android/Google TV with a well stocked app library as I rely on certain apps to play video of the kids, etc from my network attached storage (NAS).

Out of the sub $650 55" displays on sale, the TCL was the clear winner in terms of 4k panel brightness and perceived quality (With one exception). However, for just a few hundred dollars more the quality of display was considerably better across the board (but sadly out of budget!). There was a Hisense tv that was in a similar price point and had a noticeably brighter display which looked a little better the OS lacked some of the essential streaming apps such as 7Plus and Binge. Aside from the lower display quality, the other negative that stood out is how slow and laggy the interface is however once streaming this does not appear to affect performance.

Good points: - In a dark room playing 4k content, the display is quite beautiful and really pops. - Google TV or Android (It seems to have the most complete set of apps). Some of the more expensive non-google tvs were missing vital streaming services (such as Binge and 7Plus) - Runs most if not all of the major streaming services - Significantly better brightness than similarly speced bottom end systems like Chiq. - The viewing angles both horizontal and vertical are exceptional. - Picks up the aerial based digital signal way better than our previous TCL - External storage can be plugged in. - It still runs the more modern apps in the play store. - Standby works! My previous TCL going into standby caused a crash which required a full reboot! - The speech recognition search is quite a useful feature. Though I initially agreed to use "Hey Google" then regretted it as I wasn't able to find the setting to turn it off. In the end I said "Hey google! I don't want my TV listening to me!" and it worked! - Works with OLD TCL remote which is much better than the one it comes with.

Room for improvement: - Awful remote control! The control for my old TCL is a thing of beauty! What happened? See picture below. - Remote missing video controls such as Play, Skip (fwd & back), Pause and record. - I am not thrilled that my Google account is the primary household TV account. While I could have created a new account for the TV I don't really want to shell out for a new subscription to YouTube Premium. - The sound is not great (and comes out of the bottom of the TV) - The display is very slightly (but visible to naked eye) lighter around the edges. This does not detract too much from the viewing experience and after a while is not noticed. - The tv is quite underpowered so apps that do run can run pretty slowly/laggy but it doesn't appear to affect the streaming apps when they are streaming. - Some of the apps are pretty badly written/buggy and auto-run (even when "turned off") is a problem. Eg. In YouTube if you turn "Preview sound" to off in the settings it just ignores the setting and still auto-plays the previews with sound! - It integrated with my Android mobile phone too much. Again this is a family TV so I don't particularly want the level of integration. - You have to sign up with an TCL account or sign in with Google account (giving TCL access to a lot of personal details out of your Google account). I went with a freshly created TCL account. - The support feet are spaced towards the edges meaning that it requires a TV table that is about the same width as the TV.

Conclusion I can't complain too much. I went out to buy a cheap tv and got the best one I could for under $650! I feel I have got the best tv for my budget and it is by no means a bad tv. I just wish that I hadn't gone into a store seen what I could have owned if I had had a bigger budget!