Top positive review
5 people found this helpful
Good picture and price
By Ryan on Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2019
I’ve waited a few months to write this review. This TV replaced a 2012 Panasonic 50” HD plasma in our living room. After getting a XBOX One X, I convinced myself I needed a 4K tv to take full advantage of the XB1X’s capability. While overall I am pleased with the performance of the tv, there are some things I miss about my plasma. When playing UHD games on the XB1X, the graphics are amazing. I could tell a huge difference over the plasma’s HD graphics. The LED screen is also much brighter than the plasma, which I knew even when I bought the plasma. For utilizing the UHD capabilities this tv did exactly what I thought it would do. I’ve always liked how plasma TVs look. When I watched tv at someone’s house who had an LCD/LED, I could tell a difference in the fluidity. I’m not a tv guru, so I don’t know the word, but the movement of the people looked like I was watching them in person. It doesn’t have that cinema or movie movement. A plasma just looks much more fluid, especially in high movement scenes. I believe a plasma has superior refresh rate over LED, but again I’m no guru. Regardless, when watching fast paced, high movement HD tv shows, I’m not overly impressed compared to my plasma. However, I think that would be the case for any new led tv I bought, and not specifically this one. I have been able to minimize this effect customizing the settings. I use the cinema preset for most tv watching and just adjust the brightness as needed. I will say I can see a difference in how the tv tries to “upscale” the graphics of standard HD content. For normal tv shows without a lot of fast movements the image is much better compared to the same program on my old tv. The internal speakers are ok. I had an older sound bar that used an optical cable. I plugged it up initially but there was a slight delay in the sound. I unplugged it and have been using the internal speakers. I plan to get a new sound bar and utilize the HDMI ARC. I was concerned about the vertical screen lines and corner screen issues others have expressed. I can barely see the vertical lines on a solid white screen, but for normal tv watching I cannot see them and it does not interfere with anything I’ve watched. I did see the corner fading initially, but it seems to have improved over time. And again when watching tv, I don’t even notice it. I also like the built in Roku app. We do not stream and watch DirectTV mostly. But we’ve liked having some of the free content on the Roku. There are some apps our kids watch on the iPad that they can now watch on the Roku. Overall I’m very pleased with this TV.
Top critical review
427 people found this helpful
Great TV BUT MAJOR BANDING ISSUES
By David S on Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2018
First let me tell you my story. I first ordered the TCL 55R617 at the beginning of May, I was very excited when it arrived several days later. I was coming off a 10 year old Panasonic 50" Plasma which was flawless, never any issues and a great picture. I unpacked my new 4k and set it up which was very easy. I'm running everything through my Denon AV Receiver so a digital optical /audio cable was needed for streaming sound. Ran some YouTube video tests and found some serious banding and clouding issues, watched it for several days hoping it would clear up. What a huge letdown, I called Amazon customer service after doing some research and finding out that TCL says this is within normal screen parameters!! You could see the banding lines while watching content, almost looked like a dirty screen. Amazon CS was GREAT and sent out a replacement which arrived in 2 days. Arrived 2 days later, fingers crossed. Unpacked the second 55R617 set it up......BAMB same issue, slightly better but again bleeding through watching content. Watched it for a few days, no improvement. Called Amazon CS Very apologetic but GREAT AGAIN and sent another replacement which arrived 2 days later The third TV arrived, fingers crossed, thought 3 times is the charm right? Wrong! Same issues on the right and left side of the screen, but a little better. At this point to say there is a issue with quality control is a understatement. I'm going to watch this TV for a few days to see if anything improves. And will notify Amazon CS that the third one has issues and what my intentions are. Update; 5/21/18 It's been a week of watching this 3rd TCL 55R617 and the banding is still present. Call me crazy but another replacement is on the way arriving Wednesday. There just is not another TV with everything this one has to offer, I just want a panel without banding that I can live with and not see as I'm watching content. Again Amazon CS was understanding, just fantastic. Please don't let this discourage you from purchasing this TV, I just having trouble getting a good one. I'm sure as production ramps and I'm sure TCL is aware of this, it wont be a issue moving forward. As for the TV.....Amazing picture, deep Blacks, explosive colors, Build quality is an issue with banding and Roku I really want to have one with no issues. I was looking at the Sony 900e I've also been looking at the Samsung MU9000 as a replacement, but again I really want the TCL as I love all it has to offer at a great price point. I will update this review next week. I want to thank Amazon Customer Support for taking care of me and expediting the replacements and their respectful approach with my issues....... 5/24...The 3rd replacement showed up and it had a software issue, I couldn't activate Roku, and they couldn't figure out a fix. I used my Roku stick to fun youtub and bring up a test screen, very little banding BUT a bad pixel in the lower left side of the screen. Sent it rigjt back the same day I got it. I still have second replacement (#3) which has banding across the screen and have requested a rerurn with full refund. I think I give up. As much as I want this TV I've had the worst luck with the panel lottery!! Again Amazon CS is the very best. Update 6/1/18 Sent a email to TCL explaining everything that happened and requested they bring a pre inspected replacement that has no issues. As I said before I really want this product. I will update again 6/5/19 Spoke to TCL and as I suspected from what I have read, said this was normal, even said he didn't see any banding in my photos. He was arrogant and said I needed to go buy a more expencive TV. So I would no longer recommend TCL to anyone. I will gladly pay a few hunderd more and purchase a Sony, Samsung or LG. The moral of my story you get what you pay for!!
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