Side by Side Comparison of: TCL vs Samsung

We bought the 40" Model last year for my son to use with a new XBox One since he wanted 1080p. At first I thought the picture was very pixelated but turned down the sharpening and it cleared right up (just turn it down to zero) We had a plasma in the living room so I never really thought much about this budget television. Recently we had to replace the plasma and picked up a very highly rated Samsung KS8000 4K UHD model. Yes, it does 4K, Sure, it's got a lot of great smart features. But this TCL handles angle viewing BETTER, handles cable broadcast motion MUCH BETTER and sounds almost as good as the bells an whistles beast we paid close to 4 times the amount for. It doesn't have all the adjustments as the Samsung, can't do smart functions or UHD etc, but as a pure method of watching cable or basic gaming I would say it is superior. I don't see judder, the image colors remain reasonably consistent looking at angles. We literally unpacked this thing, plugged it in and took half a day to adjust it and were happy. the high dollar screen in the other room is a constant headache. 5 stars, not because it does it ALL, but 5 stars because it does what it's meant to do as well as anything at a fraction of the cost.

I recently bought a Samsung Smart TV J5205. I was disappointed in the Samsung's woefully limited number of Internet TV channels. So, I looked at the TLC TV with internal ROKU. But the WiFi capability of the TLC Roku TVs is relatively weak. So, I opted for this 'dumb' TLC TV paired with a new ROKU 4 (which has state-of-the-art dual-band WiFi technology). It was a perfect solution for an Internet TV.
PROS:
1. Picture-quality is good. Audio from TV speakers is loud and perfectly fine for TV shows and movies.
2. The TLC brand works like a dream with ROKU devices, especially the new Roku 4.
3. THIS TV HAS A HEADPHONE JACK...which means you can EASILY connect old 'analog' speakers to this TV...AND the TLC remote control still controls the volume. New Samsung TVs only have a plug for digital audio output--that severely limits what speakers you can connect! My old Pioneer speakers sound great connected to a TV via the TV's headphone jack or RCA component audio output. SO, a digital audio connection pretty much kills using Oldie Goldie speakers. BUT THIS TLC TV OFFERS EASY, EFFECTIVE CONNECTIONS TO OLDER SPEAKERS...which is why I gave it 5-Stars.
4. $260 for a very decent 40-inch TV is a great value.
CONS:
1. Admittedly, a Samsung TV has a better picture.
2. Audio from TV speakers is not meant for playing music..though sounds OK...but not great by far.
VERDICT:
If you want a bleeding-edge ROKU TV, this TLC TV is 1/2 of the equation. If you pair this TLC TV with a new Roku 4 device, you will end up with a kick-azz, smoking-fast Roku TV system. PLUS, the Deal-Maker is this TV's Heaphone Jack that allows connecting Oldie-Goldie Speakers for a totally awesome sound experience to boot.

We are using it as a monitor. TCL makes great products, this is my 3rd TCL TV and can't be happier.

I was lucky enough to get this bad boy during the prime day sale. For how cheap this TV is, I am extremely happy with how it performs. The speakers are nice and the screen is crisp. The TV has 3 HDMI ports on the side for easy access. I am very happy with this purchase.

The hardest part was attaching the legs to the TV and from there everything else was a breeze. Set up is pretty much self explanatory and you have a minimal amount of selections to make and the TV does the rest to set itself up. The color is very good, especially on HD channels and the sound is crisp.

I started to get a known name brand unit for about $80 more, but I am glad I took a chance on this model/

I got this on black friday, which is when I hear they use cheaper discount hardware to lower the prices. I've loved mine though, and I haven't had any issues with it. Great picture, and I just use rabbit ears for local OTA channels and a chromecast for Netflix.

This arrived damaged, Amazon quickly replaced it and had it shipped immediately. I returned the damage one two days before the new one arrived. I purchased this for my elderly mother who recently moved to assisted living. I am amazed at the quality of picture. Fits perfectly on an end table. We chose not to hang it as we're responsible for any damage to the walls. Amazon has a photo to determine the distance and size for viewing. I found that very helpful when purchasing. Price is right. My mother and I are very pleased.

Excellent TV. So light weight was easy to install. Picture quality is very good and sound it pretty good too. It set's itself up pretty much plug -n- play! I pushed enter on the remote I think 3 times and she was good to go. I installed this TV in my camper. The thin edges made it possible in the space I had to work with. The light weight made it easy! I got this from Amazon's Used Like New so was a killer deal!

Bought this for my younger son's bedroom. Compared to my older TV in my other son's room, this is fantastic. Size-wise this is so much nicer. It takes up far less room than the other TV (both are 32" tv's). It is very thin and very stable. The picture quality is very good. I would definitely buy this again.

I have this TV hung on my office wall in case of a community emergency or wanting to watch my soap operas. It is a decent picture and a standard 32" size. There is no connectivity, only one HDMI port, and only 720p image, BUT for what i use it for it is awesome. This is a great TV for a child's room or playroom or even the office. IF you are intending to watch movies and videos with great quality, save up and buy the higher end model, but if you just want to relax and watch a show, I highly recommend this TV.

Bought 2...for bedrooms. Picture quality is great. Exactly what I needed.

Purchased in early 2017, this is a great deal on a 48" LED. For those who care about such things (or like me only care about when researching TV's), this TV has full Overscan control; i.e. you can disable it. It also is one of the few TV's still available that has Component hookup (even TCL's 2016 Roku replacement for this set ditches it).

The only thing keeping it from having five stars is that Color Saturation and Tint settings are greyed out on HDMI inputs. This is a long-standing problem in TCL and Insignia TV's that people complained about in 2012; it is due to the TV being confused by legacy RGB signals being sent by game consoles, etc through HDMI. They evidently still have not discovered a solution, meaning that the picture is slightly over-saturated and reds looks slightly pink, with no way to compensate. Otherwise many settings to tweak.

** UPDATED from 2 to 4 Stars **

My original review is below, and I have the same impressions after a few months as I did up front. I was disappointed by the quality with the first one I was sent, but I must have gotten a lemon. I had a pretty hassle free exchange from Amazon and have been using the TV ever since. The sound is probably the worst part of it, but again, this is a good price for a larger TV. I've had no new issues so far with the replacement, it's been holding up nicely. I've been using it for TV, Movies, and Video Games.

==========

I had this TV all of one night and now and the screen has these green pixelish color. I thought at first I had a bad connection to my cable box, but then tried to watch a movie from my game console and it's the same thing. Not sure what happened from last night.

I bought this on prime day for a discounted price. The TV and box is very light weight. When I picked up the box it flew up because I was expecting it to be heavier.

What comes in it?: TV, power cord, a remote (with batteries), 2 leg stands (one for each side) and screws, a quick start guide, and a manual. It took all of 10 minutes to get it unboxed and hooked up. You'll only need a philips-head screwdriver if you plan on putting the leg stands on.

Inputs: TV, Component (GBR,WR), AV (YWR), 3 HDMI ports, 1 USB, and 1 VGA.
The USB is right above the HDMI, so it's nicely placed for HDMI accessories that are powered by USB.

The picture is very nice. The HD looks crisp.

The sound is not very good. I'm not a huge audio person either. It was noticeably bad when I turned on the TV. I have a 9 year old TV that sound a lot better than this TV. The sound is going through the HDMI input.

There are some features to note such as
eco mode
smart sound
dynamic backlight

The TCL 48FD2700 is not the slimmest TV nor is it the sharpest and no it is not a smart TV. What it is however is a great TV for those like me who don't need the best TV or the most expansive. I paid $319 for a 48" TV, that's a pretty good deal. The TV is pretty crisp as long as your not watching super action packed movie scenes then it does tend to get a bit choppy. The TV came well packaged and was not damaged in anyway. The remote is simple and easy to use and setup was a breeze. Overall I am very happy with my purchase and I would recommend to anyone looking for a basic TV at a good price.

For $159, this TV is perfect. Needed something for my guest bedroom, but didn't need all of the bells and whistles. This is just the product. The picture is clear, and it's super lightweight, making it easy to move around. The bezel around the screen is extremely thin, which makes the TV look pretty sleek. The only complaint I have is the sound is very tinny. While it doesn't have the look of a cheap TV, it definitely has the sound of one.

Overall, this is a great TV for the price, and I would definitely recommend for anyone who needs a basic, no frills TV.

I'm super pleased with this tv!
I got this on sale from Amazon and was unsure how the quality would be.

I did expect it to be larger vertically, but at least it is a lot bigger horizontally than the 32 inch we had before this one.

I am impressed with the resolution and clarity, since this is a brand I haven't heard of. Visually very impressive, good clean resolution.

The menu on the tv is easy as pie to navigate, with a nice sized remote with a clean simple layout.

The sound quality is just so-so, but I did expect that with a lower price range tv, so I was not surprised.

It has all the slots you would generally expect on a basic LED tv, and fits all our family needs just right.

Easy to set up on the stand also!

Overall great tv, and I would definitely buy another one in the future!

My husband and I wanted a simple flat screen, no frills, bells and whistles, and we were looking for a great price. The picture quality is really nice, sound is effective; we purchased it for our bedroom. I'm giving this a four out of five star rating because my husband did have problems getting it mounted to the stand that we bought along with it, if you purchase this TV and plan to mount it on the wall, be prepared to go and buy longer bolts to secure it. Other than that great quality for the price!

Picture is awesome! Suffers on the audio, needs additional speakers.

Good TV, especially for the price. My complaints bring down the rating only one star, due to the TV being a bargain. My complaints are basically two: 1) very limited file support through the USB port (doesn't play mkv files, for example, just avi and mp4 as far as I can tell); 2) when you go to the menu when a movie is playing through the USB port (for example, to change sound options or something), you exit the media player completely and go back to the TV, thus losing your place in the film -- and actually this happens very easily if you press the wrong button on the remote. So, if you really want to take advantage of playing files off a hard drive or USB stick, you kind of have to buy a separate little digital media player for around 30 or 40 bucks. Other than that, a great TV.

we're please with the purchase. I think I'll buy a second remote control, however, because I have to use a button on the remote to alternate between functions. The $5 remote from Walmart can't change the function.That said, the picture is crisp and the sound is good - we're not using a sound bar. It was easy to set up.

Good looking, inexpensive little LED HDTV. More inputs would have been nice but two HDMI seems to be standard on lower end models. The picture and sound are adequate for the price range, but nothing to write home about. This TV was purchased for a young child and fit that use perfectly, if buying for an adult then spend a few extra bucks and get a 1080p set, maybe even a Smart one if you don't have a device connected that will fill those needs.

This is a wonderful TV for the price; the picture is as good as any, the sound is very reasonable and it has a good selection of inputs. I could probably want one more HDMI to be ideal, but I did know there would be two when I bought it.I have one reservation: It has an external power supply. Yes, this keeps the size of the TV down but I have all the other cables hidden in the wall except for this one. I can't hide the external power block behind the TV because I have a flat mount. I didn't find this information on the Amazon page so I'm a little disappointed.

Good TV on the price, has all kinds of connections, and elegant design, unique problem encountered it is that sometimes scenes presents a red ghost light, sometimes impeceptible, but other uncomfortable

Certainly there are pro's and con's . The set does provide 1080i/p but there is no "smart TV" features and adjustments as well as built in tuner for OTA or over the air signals are only as good as the manufacturer providing vs. what other manufacturers install to bring in signals from further away. If you are buying this HDTV and have cable then this will be a great TV.

TL;DR, it's okay but not great.

For the price, I don't think I could've done better, not in this size. The set is lightweight, has a buttload of HDMI ports, works like a charm. I can run my WiiU and my X1 box and my Fire TV and my Chromecast in 1080p at 60hz. My main gripe with the set is the color balance. Via HDMI, I don't have access to the Hue slider, so the colors are off. I spent a week messing with this thing to do whatever I could to reconcile the color but it's still just not...quite there. It's most obvious just how off it is when I'm playing something on the WiiU. Using the gamepad screen as the baseline, I can see that the greens are just too, too bright, and my attempts to ease the greens have thrown everything else off just slightly.

Does this interfere with my normal use of the set? Absolutely not.
Can I play very colorful games without significant distortion? Yeah, but only after messing with it for a long time.
Did the colors settle in a bit better after letting the set run for lengths of time after I bought it? No, not in the least.
Do I consider TCL a poor brand based on this? Hell no, not at all. I'd buy another TCL product, but I'd spend a bit more for something a bit higher quality.

I received two broken units from UPS before finally getting one from FedEx that was in good order. That was frustrating but I really had no problems returning them- Amazon handles everything. I paid about $135 for this TV during prime week. It is okay but I'd never pay full price for it. My biggest complaint is that when paused a whining noise that sounds like the wind whistling can be heard. It's significant enough to be heard through out the house if it's quiet. I do not plan to buy another TCL in the future.

Got this TV for an amazing price on Prime Day 2016. Packaging was fine and it arrived intact, which I was nervous about. Set up was simple, but keep in mind if you are not mounting this TV, it is a fairly wide base for a stand. Picture quality is subpar for a 2015 model LED TV. It is very pixely and not very high res for 1080p HD. It serves its purpose for a spare room/kids TV but would not recommend this TV for a main TV unless you are on a budget (again you can't beat the price even its full MSRP)

The most annoying thing with this TV is according to the manual, the TV doesn't fully power down - it goes into a standby mode (TCL claims this speeds up startup which still takes 10-15 seconds). So the TV is still using power after you turn it off. Also when the TV is off, there is a very blinding white standby light. Not sure why they thought this was a good idea as it is very bright and distracting when trying to sleep. The light goes away when the TV is on so again - not a great development idea.

For the price paid these small issues are small potatoes, but keep in mind if paying MSRP, I would spring a few more bucks for a better brand name TV. It would be much worth it in the long run.

Fine TV for the money, but the strange remote functions left my elderly grandmother confused on usage. 720p is a fine resolution for a 32" screen- seeing as anything under 40" seems to be getting phased out by most manufacturers. Overall pleased- just wish the push for 1080p and a regular remote were options for this screen size and model from Samsung.

Spend a little more for audio outputs. Volume isn't very good at all

Got the tv yesterday. Pros: light weight, easy setup, plug & play, price/brand. Cons: needs firmware update, back light makes everything so dark, colors have to be pumped up, lots of shadowing especially evident on text. Am wondering if I should get a more expensive model or will I still have the same shadowing problem (its really noticeable & annoying). May return it for a newer series.

Volume does not go very high at all. Picture quality is good. I guess ya get what ya paid for. Samsung has definitely gone downhill in quality. I have another flat screen Samsung, same size that I purchased 9 years ago, and it still blows the new one away.

Great picture, but the sound only goes to 25 making it difficult to hear sometimes with background noise. I wonder if this is why I got such a good price on a TV set in which the box had already been open. I wonder it this TV is actually one someone else returned because of the sound problem?

This has a very good picture. And the sound is truly terrible no matter how much I monkey around with the possibilities. It's tinny and buzzy. I'm trying to find something I can plug into it for auxiliary speakers. I know a sound bar is recommended but I've been trying to juryrig other speakers without success as yet.

When this TV is working, the picture is quite nice and there are a good number of inputs for a TV in this price range. However, right at the one year mark my TV has started showing bizarre red swirl marks on every channel and on every input. I was notified by the tech support on the phone to send in an email with pictures of the problem. I have done that...three times. As of yet I have not heard back from anybody. It's been a week.

I will give the telephone support people high marks for talking me through a different issue I had with this model.

Attached is an image that shows the artifacts I am experiencing. Poor George Costanza has enough to worry about!

[Update] I never did hear back from TCL, therefore I had to make an attempt to resolve my issue myself. After disassembling the TV and checking for loose connections, my picture is back to normal and I can once again enjoy this TV without artifacts all over the screen. I don't think the typical owner would expect to disassemble a one-year-old piece of electronics to tighten internal components.

Horrible. But dirt cheap, so decide for yourself.

Two major issues: 1) it makes a background squeal. So bad I called tech support. They gave me a new one, free of charge, and let me keep the original. Now I have 2 40" monitors with a bad squeal. Obviously a mfg issue. So bad that I can't use monitor in bedroom - high pitched keeps me awake.

2) The "standby" light on the front of it - blinding white light. Can not be disabled. It's "on" when the monitor is "off" - so if you think you could deal with the squeal in the bedroom, how about also the bright light when the tv is off in the middle of the night?

Oh, black levels kinda bad. I see pixelation ive never seen before (DirecTV HD DVR) on other sets. But again, dirt cheap and if you just want a dirty little gaming monitor and dont care much, it's a nice little monitor to have. just know what you're getting, that's all.

Terrible quality picture and sound. HD video is pixelated, overly sharp in some parts and then most text is blurry as well. Lots of visual noise. Our 6 year old TCL 720 LCD has better quality picture than this. Sound is also terrible, I'll have to buy external speakers or something because everything sounds awful. Again our older 32in has much better sound, I have no idea how this is possible. I wish I had spent the extra couple hundred on a nicer TV. I don't know if I can recommend TCL ever again.

I've only bought two TVs in my life, both TCLs, I'm very frugal about TVs but in this case it was false economy. I thought I was getting a deal but it's clear the cost was much too high. If you're not picky or this is going in your playroom then you're in luck because this is the perfect kind of cheap TV to put somewhere you won't have to look at it. I'm going to have to either return this or save up and buy a better one in person.

Got for a low price on Prime Day, but immediately noticed that the power-supply emits an unbearable high pitch whining noise. Plastic legs are flimsy (I'd say they're designed to be thrown away so the TV can be wall mounted, but the power-supply connector comes straight our of the back of the set, limiting wall-mounting options -- I'd need to cut a hole in the drywall for the power cord since I have a 1"-thick wall mount). Exchanged the set due to the annoying power-supply squealing sound (it also causes our pets to run and hide under the bed).

UPDATE: Contacted TCL tech support and they confirmed it was a defect. Amazon sent four replacements of the same model (exchanged one at a time), the first had a smashed screen (Thanks USPS), the second & third replacements had the same high-pitch squealing/wining sound. Now I guess I know why they were on sale on Prime Day.

The fourth replacement was finally a winner, with no high-pitch squealing sound, and it actually had a 2015 production date as in the product description!! The other four had a 2016 production date, and had a while LED on the front (the 2015 version has a red LED).

I had to return it. After reading all the reviews and doing some research, I was excited to open this and get it all set up. Unfortunately, mine came with a large oval shaped gray discoloration which seems permanent. It's mostly noticeable when the screen is all black, but it is always present and should not be. This happened new out of the box.

I did have a pleasant experience with their support who had me go through some hidden menus to try to reset some things to no avail. The fact that I could get directly through to support, receive help and get a case number is why I gave it two stars instead of one. I do believe TCL is trying hard to increase market share, but they aren't going to do it with the lemon I received.

Amazon is taking it back and refunding my money, so no issues there.

The TV was advertised "as new- still in box". The "box" was in tatters and held together by gobs of sticky tape. The front black frame of the TV was scratched/blemished in several places . The TV worked. I kept it ...how the heck was I going send that "box" back!

Design of 2 flimsy base/pods aren't as stable as needed. The merchant's policy for return-product cost is almost equal to purchase price which is outrageous. The t.v is back in its shipping box. I haven't seen or heard the quality of image, sound, etc., to see if it squares with specs &/or ads.

TERRIBLE SOUND QUALITY!!

I bought this TV last year. It was mentioned in the site that it has in-built Wifi but very last figured out that they are referring Roku stick connection to the TV. I also have picture issues with this TV that is text renders with shadows when connected to the cable.

Really good tv great picture and sound but extremely flimsy

Color was hard to adjust to get accurate. Still not happy with true to life color. Agree with another critical review that sound is poor, no bass and sounds like tin box. No option in menu to increase bass or treble. After two weeks, sound of certain voices was distorted, reverberating ... at only 60% volume strength. Amazon was excellent in troubleshooting, having me unplug power supply, reset power button, suggest maybe it is the HDMI cable, etc. We'll see.

I so wanted to like this TV. The first one we ordered came damaged but Amazon true to form had the damaged one picked up and a new set in our greedy little hands in under three days. But why the one star? Well, the set would turn on without any reason. It wasn't a problem with other remotes or neighbors remotes, for we live in the country. Had problems getting to customer service but when we did get them tech was nice and very helpful. He had me do a Hard Reset. It worked....until six hours later and it went back to turning on by itself. I really wanted this set but in the end it was too much of a hassle. I read many reviews and chose it for cost and star ratings. We must have gotten one of the few lemons. I would only recommend this set if you are buying from Amazon as they were great with return.

I really am very annoyed as I ordered this televison twice and twice got broken screens?? At first I thought it must have been a fluke, then I read the reviews and realized it didn't happen to just me. TCL should really do something about its screen quality because I will always tell my friends to stay away from this brand. I honestly will just request a refund and take my business elsewhere as it is apparent that the TV screen is unable to sustain a delivery and probably wont last very long.

I purchased this set on Prime Day, for what I thought was a great deal. The first one I received had a hole smashed through the screen, something that probably happened on its journey to me. Amazon quickly sent a replacement set that looks great, but whenever the TV is on it emits a high pitched shrieking noise that is clearly audible during gaps/pauses/silences in the shows I'm watching. It sounds like a dog whistle and is really annoying and hard to ignore. This TV has proven to be a huge hassle and I would not recommend it.

As soon as it was plugged in, it started making a high pitched electrical whistle, like when a laptop charger craps out. It's a leaking capacitor. Can't comment on the picture since I just packed it up to go back to Amazon. We'll see if the replacement is any better.

UPDATE: New TV came today. No high pitched wine. We'll see how long it lasts. Will update in a couple weeks.

It met my expectation of how big it would be and how well it would fit in my room, but what really bothers me is the constantly whistling noise it makes when it's on. I mean it's always making this noise when on, idle, and while i'm watching a show. Sometimes it's even louder than the show itself. I've contacted support a month ago and to this day they have not solved my issue. Either they never seem to care to try to help, give me the usual reset it to factory settings like it'll help which it didn't. Overall it was disappointing when I turned it on and ever since then I heard that whistling noise.

I was extremely disappointed with that Samsung TV! It was cheaply constructed, and on the display it would incorrectly represent the input ports used, and every device I attached to it would only display pictures and videos in black and white; no color whatsoever, and that was the proverbial stick that broke the camels back!

Volume doesn't work :(

Came completely broken

After a year and a half, Screen turned black, with sound still coming. Very upset it's still not old yet. According to some other samsung tv customers, that happens a lot.I won't buy another samsung TV!!!

Did not work on arrival. No power. I am really disappointed

Did not work