Side by Side Comparison of: TCL vs Samsung

We've had this TV for about a week, and LOVE it! It is by far the most light weight TV I've ever owned, making it super easy to mount on my own. The controls are fantastic. The picture quality is good, and the sound is just fine. I purchased lightweight wall mount as well, and it fits PERFECTLY. So well that I highly recommend it too! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WYVBR0/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_41We've got the TV mounted in our game room, and it is a cinch to swivel to either the game table or the pool table. Love it.Some reviews have been less than 5 stars because of the screen not fitting. It seems they've fixed the problem. And even then, the reviews were high because of the great customer service. I've not needed the customer service, as it's working great. I'd recommend to all friends and family.I love it when stuff works GREAT!

LOVE THIS TV! My absolute favorite part about this TV is the fact that you can download an app onto your smartphone I have an Android and it make sure phone become a remote control you can control the TV completely just buy your phone I don't even use the remote. It has all my favorite apps on it Netflix, VUDO, to Spotify, youtube , and so many more. Picture quality is great. Colors are very Vivid on the screen. Pictures are screen shots of my phone controling my tv

I'm really impressed by this TV, especially at this price. Mine was delivered in a cardboard box with styrofoam protecting the TV itself. Everything was intact (I like that it even has batteries for the remote). Directions are included, and setup is easy. You create a free Roku account and can use your computer to browse and sign up for channels you like (including everything from popular channels such as Netflix and HULU to specific stuff like a Ted-talk channel or ones featuring certain genres of music). *Note: some channels require a separate monthly subscription: examples include Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, etc. There are lots of free channels too!* The TV syncs automatically (you can also browse for channels on the TV). You can set a code that is required for ANY purchases, to prevent kids or anybody else from buying movies/channels/etc without your permission. It remembers which ports are connected to what device, which is cool. For example, instead of "HDMI 1" the box says "DVD". Navigation is easy, especially with the shortcut buttons on the remote (I do wish it let you personalize these, since I don't use Rdio or Vudu, and only occasionally Amazon, so the only one that is useful to me is the Netflix button). The remote also gets rid of numbers. Instead you scroll quickly through a list of cable/antennae channels that pops up on the left side. You can still use the "back" button if you want to bounce back and forth between two channels. The remote is easy to figure out and use to adjust audio/visual settings, etc. The * button will let you access basic settings at any time.Now, to the functioning of the TV itself. It works quickly and connects easily to all my devices/services. The screen quality is great! Vivid, clear colors. I did notice that when I had the image setting on "normal" sometimes scenes appeared almost "computer animated" when they weren't. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's something to do with color saturation and movement of characters. Not sure if this is a sign of good quality or an issue with the resolution or refresh rate. Either way, I don't notice it after changing it to "movie" mode, and it didn't really bother me in the first place. Just something to note.Overall I am greatly enjoying this TV! It is my first flat screen and I'm totally content with it. It does everything I want it to (connect to cable, HDMIs and wi-fi for TV, Netflix, Youtube, music channels, movies, etc). I would definitely recommend a Roku TV to anybody.UPDATE: 10 months on and the TV is still great. It is a little bit slower to boot up and load programs than when I first got it, but otherwise I still think it's an excellent bargain.

I am very pleased with this TCL Roku TV and happy that I ordered it. I am 72 years old and worried that I might have made a mistake after ordering it. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was very easy to connect to the internet but I made a mistake in trying to connect it to my Dish Network. I called TCL customer support and was connected to a representative almost immediately. He was a very pleasant man with the patience of Job. Spoke slowly and solved my issue. I cannot say enough about the TCL customer support, excellent! I'm including a picture of it sitting on my electric fireplace.

This TV was definitely a wonderful purchase. Our 60" Samsung TV went out, and we decided to look for another television. We looked at a few different kinds, but ultimately decided on this one because of it's wonderful price. I am so glad we chose this television! Here are the pros and cons for it: It came very easy to set up, with the only necessary put together being the stand, which was very simple to attach.Pros:Good screen size with very little edges surrounding the screenClear pictureGood soundVery easy setupLove that it has the Roku built in, it's wonderful for things like netflix and huluGreat priceFast shippingEasy setupCons:To be honest, the only thing I don't exactly love about this television is the remote. It is the same as a Roku remote, and I don't love having a television remote that is so small. But in the scheme of things this is not a big deal to me and would not make an impact on my decision if I was looking at buying a television again.Overall I would definitely recommend this television for anyone who is in the market for a new one. It is the right price and does everything you need a television to do, plus a little more!

UPDATE: 7/10/15: I am editing my review - so much has happened with TCL Customer Support since writing my original review...I must say I have never experienced such OUTSTANDING Customer Service!!! After seeing my review, TCL asked me to contact them regarding the problem TV, stating this was definitely an uncommon issue, and they wanted to do everything possible to remedy the situation -- not only just for me, but to make sure no other customers had to experience the same issue. I was asked to send the defective tv directly to TCL and not back to Amazon so TCL could troubleshoot and make every effort to resolve the problem. A shipping label was provided. They stand behind their product and wanted me to experience the TV I had purchased, so they offered to send it to me directly after a replacement had been viewed and tested at their center first. Thank you to the TCL rep: Chris L. for such prompt method of handing the situation and consideration!!Now to the TV itself -- the picture is crystal clear - amazing! The Roku integration is terrific and so easy to set up and navigate -- you can go from satellite to blue-ray to antenna with just the push of a button. The same with the apps - once you set up accounts with each one -- there are so many from which to choose. Since mine is brand-new, I cannot yet speak of it in how it holds up long-term. But, I can definitely trust that there will be GREAT customer service if I ever need it from TCL again!I have added a photo of the replacement tv showing there is no problem with the screen.Original Review: [This model is defective -- we sent the first one back several days ago and ordered a replacement -- well, the replacement has the same problem - so it is obviously a defect....the plastic frame around the screen does not meet all the way around - leaving a horizontal line of light shining through on the top right screen area -- this is very distracting. I am attaching photos. We are sending back both for a refund. Very disappointed - as the Roku seemed really neat.]

We replaced a Sony 32" Bravia (720p) that cost over $ 700.00 six or seven years ago. This TV weighs maybe 15 lb. compared to the Sony which was 50 lb. or more. The Samsung has a better picture, built in WiFi, and reasonably good sound. The picture quality is excellent and the colors are vibrant and lifelike. In my experience Samsung makes excellent products which are durable as well. My only complaint is the stand (?) that is supplied. There are two silver colored plastic "feet" that screw into the bottom of the TV. They are designed so that they can only be mounted one way, and as a result they actually extend beyond the edges of the TV screen, causing you to need a very wide mounting platform (more than the 29" width of the TV). You would need a table top at least 32" wide to stand this TV on. We wall mounted ours, so that was not a problem, but be aware that you need a wide space to stand it on. Also, as light as the TV is, tipping or knocking it over could be a problem with big pets or little kids. The mounting feet give NO stability at all. Samsung should modify the stand to fit under the center of the TV and be larger to give the TV more stability and a smaller footprint on a table. The WiFi works very well, but the input thru the supplied remote is slow and tiresome. Be sure to Bookmark your favorite websites to cut down on the time required to input web addresses. Otherwise we are VERY happy with the TV and are glad we have it.

Before I bought this tv, i did lots of research to see what would be the right tv for me and for the right price. I love the size of this tv, it allows me to watch with great quality. I also love the smart tv aspect of it, i am able to binge watch all of my netflix shows, and I can also downloads 'apps' like pandora and the game snake. i would highly recommend this tv for someone else

Love it for the price. Stunningly crisp picture. Use for bedroom and even the sound is good for movies and gaming. My husband uses it for his PS4 but uses a cable as he says it doesn't lag for certain games. Note you can't use Apple TV with it or use Apple AirPlay. However it has Netflix, YouTube, HBO Go and Amazon in the app section plus others ...which for our bedroom is fine. I think it functions with the Android but read specs. No lag at all in streaming videos from any sites so far. You have to get used to the arrow pointer without a mouse but once you get the feel it isn't a problem. Since We are a primarily an apple family probably wouldn't use for main TV in media room but that is just a personal preference.

This was a great price and I'm very, very happy with my decision to purchase a smart TV. If you're on the fence, spend the extra dollars for the smart hub. You will not be sorry. The options to watch Amazon Prime TV shows and movies as I am a prime customer are wonderful and you also get Netflix and internet browser. I'm thrilled with my purchase!

I bought this TV before there was any feedback and found the negative feedback before it was delivered. I must admit that, based on the prior feedback, I was concerned about the feet as I tried to assemble the TV. They seemed very flimsy, at first. However, it was not until I had fully screwed in the feet that I realized they were more than ample to support the television. In fact, the TV is quite secure. Yes, the feet are plastic, but the TV is very light and it does not require very much support at all. The picture is perfect. The sound quality is great. I am delighted with how easy it is to navigate between cable/netflix/hulu/internet. It was a great buy and I am very pleased.

Additionally, be smart and don't be influenced by reviews from people who are not "verified" purchasers of the product.

I'm cautiously optimistic as I write this review.I read a lot of negative reviews on this TV, and with the price to size ratio I was very hesitant to make the purchase.However, I decided to take a risk and ship a 50" TV.It arrived on time despite Amazon missing the shipping deadline. (I was very surprised about that.)The box was HUGE! I know a lot of people here said that it was shipped and packed poorly. Mine came in about 3 layers of boxes with foam on them and was undamaged from shipping.The picture is good, its very bright, surprisingly light weight for its size (our 60" is over 90 pounds, but this 50" is probably 30 or 40?)The reasons I didn't give it five stars:* It's kind of thick. I mean, that;s not a problem, but it makes it look "old" compared to many of the new more stylish thin TVs.* The feeet are plastic and you use what appear to be plastic-tapping screws to mount them on. They don't seem flimsy, but it was unnerving threading your own holes into the TV.* You need a Roku account and wifi connection to even use your TV. That's right, think you're gonna skip all that and go to your hdmi signal? Nope! It wont let you. It MAY even require you to be on wifi every time the TV powers on. I'm not sure. Roku tries to force you into giving them a credit card number to create the account. You don't have to, but it's very alarming at first glance that you're being asked to subscribe to use your TV. I dont use any services on this TV. I use HDMI to a computer and the computer does everything I need. I imagine this is why its cheaper, its sort of bundled with adware in this way. That's ok though, I guess.*The remote. It's tiny and minimal. It has no channel numbers (I.. THINK this thing has a tuner? I didn't read. Doesn't matter but..) The worst thing about it is the volume buttons are on the side, and you're constantly turning it up or down to try to do things on the TV.That sounds like a lot more negatives than positives huh? Well, the positives are pretty major and out score the negatives. Is it worth it? Yea! I think it is! Just don't expect miracles.

I was replacing a dead tv that had been much more expensive, so I was a little apprehensive. I didn't need to worry, though. This tv is great! I love the built-in Roku. Not only is it easy to use, but it also frees up a tv input. It was pretty easy to set up, though it to me a little while to get all the settings the way I wanted them. For example, I didn't realize at first that I could have it automatically start up on the TiVo input. Once I figured that out my experience was seamless.I did have one problem with the tv, though. It started shutting off by itself periodically. I called TCL and they recommended that I try a hard reset, which involved setting everything up from the get-go, which was a bit of a pain. But it fixed the problem and I haven't encountered any issues since.Really, for the price this is a fantastic deal!

WARNING!If you plan to mount this to a wall, be aware the VESA pattern is 100 x 150, and most TV mounts DO NOT support this pattern. This has been a real problem. We like single stud mounting systems, and finding one that worked for this TV was not a good experience.That aside - this TV is pretty good - but they really need to explain the difference between this and a normal TV. This is more of a Roku unit with a TV attached. Users may be confused by the tiny remote that just has some directional buttons and some dedicated buttons for Netflix etc. There is no numeric keypad, so cable-cutters beware! Although you can attach it to an antenna, changing channels is HARD. You basically have to step through all the channels instead of just being able to enter the TV station number.The Roku side of things works really smoothly. Once you get used to the fact that your Antenna (or cable, or other devices) just appear as another Roku 'channel' in the HOME display, it's easy to work with. The remote has one problem though - it's really easy to hit the MUTE button by mistake - it's on the side of the remote instead of on the face - as are the volume controls. (Initially I thought I'd bought a TV with no volume control!) Haven't yet tried setting this up as a 'device' on my cable remote, and not sure if you can program a generic remote to work with the TV.

I like it well enough, but it is infuriating that I cannot run headphones and optical audio out at the same time. It should be extremely easy to implement, and yet they chose not to. This especially sucks since the remote does not have a headphone jack. I am also a bit sad that the new roku sticks have "private listening" option with the app which I assume will not be possible to add to these TVs via an app update. Alas, it has great picture and isn't too terrible slow to boot up netflix and plex.

For the most part I really like this TV. It does excel in some areas but in there effort to simplify it they went too far in some ways. If you use it hooked up to cable or satelite the tuner is really good. BUT when you try to set it up for off air antenna feed where you have to rotate the antenna to multiple directions it will not work well. It selects what it gets a signal for in one setting but when you rotate direction for more signals it erases the first channels while searching for new channels. Then to go back to a channel you have to go through channel setup all over again! It needs to have an option to maintain channels and manually select a channel without having to go through the search mode each time. I plan on using this in an RV with 1 antenna. An option for a home setup would be an antenna for each direction but I don't have that option for an RV aplication. I may have to implement an independant tuner that can actually be tuned to a specific channel manually. One last thing on this subject. Before you select "Search For Channels" it would be nice to know if the antenna is even getting a signal. If the TV had a signal meter available for positioning the antenna direction for best signal strength it would be great. DirecTv has that feature, why can't TCL? Moving on to other features. The options for inputs/outputs are at a minimum. To hookup to an older sound system you will want to invest in an adapter to convert your optical out toslink connection to the composite RCA audio. Then there is only 1 composite input. I used that for the DVD. My DirecTv is SD so the option is either RF input or invest in an adapter to upscale the composite lines to HDMI to get the best picture. Yeah, that's right. another adapter. Ok, to wrap this up, I only gave this TV a 4 star rating because of the lack of features to make this unit more user friendly for many situations. Many may find these shortcomings to be of no concern. If I was using this in the house It would have been 5 stars! After having used this TV some more I have found some of the features that make it more useful. To find those features takes a LOT of trying this and trying that. If the TV had a built in guide where searching for HOW TO subjects was an option it would improve matters. Oh, and there is a "pause feature" on the remote. That requires a USB memory drive to be plugged in and then it only seems to pause what is being streamed. It doesn't seem to work on cable TV. Also, if you are using the USB port (there's only 1 port) for anything else you will need a USB hub adapter. Yea, another adapter. Still, for the price I paid and all the things this TV does with a nice picture it is worth the money I spent.

TV is as describe. It is very light, weight approximated no more than 22 pounds. Remote doesn't have numbers and is about 5 inches long. Came with 2 batteries. It has 3 HDMI ports on the back. Easy to put settings on. First set it up with your network then set up the Roku account. Once you have active a Roku account the device gets active with the code that is display on TV. From there is just scrolling thru the different menus and setting it as you wish. It has several free channels for streaming movies, news and others. No need to plug in a computer or a devise to watch Netflix, Amazon, Holu, Youtube, Pandora, ihearts, etc. You only need to have an active account with them. You can pair it with your tablet or smart phone, send pictures to the TV or your favorite music, and listen on the TV, That is a big plus. Picture and sound is OK. Cons that I found; it only has one AV plug input for DVD player on the left side, and I needed another one for my Wii console. I will have to be switching between them. It also has only one USB port on the left side of the TV. The headphone connector is on the back. At less you have an extra long headphone cord,I don't see how can it be use. Legs are in a chip plastic material which worries me if they will last. TCL 40FS3800 40-Inch 1080p Roku Smart LED TV (2015 Model)

So far so good. I think its a great picture and TV for the price. My only two beefs with it are this. 1st the legs are plastic and feel like they could break at any moment when your moving it. 2nd when you first turn it on, you have to wait 2-4 minutes roughly for the internet connection. This is a small beef but still a little frustrating when I just want to turn it on and get it going, I guess am a little impatient.

First the bad. The only reason this tv didn't get 5 stars was because of how long it takes to connect to the internet. If we want to watch Youtube, Netflix or Amazon prime we turn on the tv, go do something for 5 minutes then come back and its connected. I am not kidding, my 14400 modem could connect to the internet quicker. I have never seen a device take so long to connect to the internet.

The picture quality is great, no complaints with any type of movie. We love how clear and sharp it is.

I would recommend you get a tv that you can connect a blue tooth keyboard. IT would make this tv great!

I really like this TV. Good picture and the built in sound is better than most but I still run in through my stereo system most of the time. The smart TV hub us a little clunky to navigate and slow but works. It did not have an app for Amazon Prime music so I also purchased an Amazon TV stick so I could get that. In getting the stick I use is most of the time as it is faster than the TV's "smart" hub. Over all I am very happy with the purchase and would recommend it.

Great TV with excellent picture and perfect size for my side desk. Setup is easy and painless. Just plug in the Ethernet cable and follow the instructions onscreen. Has 2 HDMI and 1 Component inputs, which is more than enough for my Android TV box and cable box.

Smart TV function has plenty of apps, including Youtube, Nextflix, Hulu, Amazon Video Prime, and many other apps. As a matter of fact, I'm a bit surprised to see so many apps available, although I'm sure I will probably just use a few of the most popular ones, ever.

Remote control is not a traditionally big remote but rather petite in size. Plenty of options and it's rather intuitive. I have absolutely no problem with it and after popping in the included batteries, it worked right out of the box. The TV is very responsive with the remote, switch between Smart Hub and TV is very quick, almost no wait time. As a matter of fact, if you mistake Return with Exit key, you will be kicked out of Netflix back to TV mode instead of just one screen back. Takes a bit of getting used to but not out of this world difficult.

The only reason for this deduction is the 2 silver legs that came with the TV as "stand". These sorry excuse of a stand is made with plastic, not at all sturdy, but since the TV is extremely light, I guess it is just enough. I would prefer a bit more weight for stability, but then again Samsung decided to go in another direction, but it is my primary reason for giving it only 4 stars.

All in all I am satisfied with the TV. It is meant as a second screen for my array of screens and for that purpose, it is doing a superb job.

So far so good! I like the features of the TV and it was pretty decently priced for the size. Only small complaint is the sound isn't as loud as what my old TV was.....I'm sure you could solve that problem easily with a sound bar or speakers but for us, that isn't an option right now due to finances. Overall a great TV

Being hearing impaired and using wireless earphones I was disappointed to find that
Samsung was too cheap to keep the RCA audio output jacks on this model. Now I have to buy separate speakers and a digital audio toslink cable and receiver to get my earphones working. The TV does not allow the internal speakers to work in conjunction with the digital audio output. I'ts either 1 or the other.Just a bit stupid as far as engineering goes. One thing is picture quality is great but I'll be sure next time to check the outout ports.

Loved it at first. We bought this to replace our Samsung Smart TV. However, after a month, the TV keeps dropping our network signal. I've tried everything. The router is in the same stand that the tv sits on; the wifi isn't out; I've reset the tv and the connection (on the router and the TV); I've restored to factory settings. It's very frustrating. I went onto their website to leave a private message, however their mobile site isn't conducive to contacting support, so I thought I'd try here. Hopefully I have a positive update to share soon!Update: they pushed an update through and problem solved!!!!!

So far so good. All of your subscription services in one area. It's only a month old, and the internal computer seems to glitch sometimes. I powered it down and restarted, which helped, but it shouldn't be doing that.

When it works it is great, however, as others have noted the internet connectivity is problematic. I have no trouble with any other devices but the wifi on this TV is incredibly unreliable and sometimes completely unusable. Also, it appears I am unable to directly connect my macbook to this TV via HDMI cable and use it as a monitor. This is quite surprising as I have never had that issue with any other TV.Pro: picture quality, price, roku features when it's working.Cons: Roku features often don't work. Unable to connect my macbook even with a direct HDMI connection.

I've had it for a few months now and so far it is ok. I really wish it included a Web Browser. It connects via my wireless wifi quite readily with only a small delay. I have to use the Roku remote and DirectTV and vcr/cd remote separately which is a bother. It really should come with a universal remote that will run everything. The remote that comes with it only runs the Roku portion. This is my main frown. Also the entire screen rarely fills up. There is always some kind of black border around the picture. There is no 'Full Screen' option. The picture is crisp and clear and the colors are great. The onscreen setup instructions were easy and uncomplicated. I am waiting see if the updates are sufficient to keep this tv current or if eventually a 'new' Roku will be released that will make this tv obsolete.

When I received the package in the mail, it was quite an ordeal to get it unpackaged. Fortunately, this helped keep the TV in good condition.It has worked well for me now for the past month or so. The only thing I have noticed is a slight white spot on the TV screen when the picture begins to go darker/black. You would only really notice this flaw if its really dark in the room and the picture being played has a black background to it as well. I find it slightly irritating, but not enough were i feel it to be necessary to return and wait for a new tv.Overall, this tv has done everything i could have ever wanted it to do. the three stars is for the white spotIf you want a good, somewhat simple television, this should work well for you

This is a tough one to rate. For the price the picture quality is great, the sound quality is not that great, setup was simple, and Roku is very nice. But the remote that comes with this set has a design point that just baffles me. The 3 sound control buttons (up, down, mute) are on THE SIDE of the remote. Located right in the curve of the remote where you are simply trying to hold the remote. So nearly every time I try to push any of the buttons on the top of remote using one hand, I end up muting or changing the volume instead! Very frustrating. You have to contort your usual grip of the remote to avoid the sound buttons.I "solved" part of the annoyance for me by setting up the TV to power on to my cable box and programed the cable universal remote to cover basic on/off AND SOUND functions. So I only need to "gingerly" use the TV's remote when using the Roku functions.

I would not recommend buying this Samsung Smart TV. You come out so much better just buying a good quality flat screen and then purchasing an Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick for your streaming. Samsung limits you to their app store which is minuscule compared to Amazon's. My TV also came pre-loaded with HBO Go but the app doesn't work. I contacted both HBO and Samsung and they blamed it on one another. I finally just hooked a Fire TV up to this Samsung so that I could stream anything my heart desired.

I very rarely post reviews, and rarely so soon after using a product (just used it for a few hours today) but I thought I'd at least make a note of my thoughts over time.

The set up was pretty smooth, and since I don't have an aerial I went straight to the smart apps. I was able to get Netflix up and running pretty promptly, although the Netflix app was fairly sluggish. I managed to watch an episode without a hitch. Picture quality is pretty good, but the text is not extremely sharp. As I say in the headline of the review though, the Smart TV experience was disappointing as I expected it to work a bit more smoothly than a Fire TV stick I bought a few years ago, which it doesn't.

I was very disappointed with the YouTube app though - it didn't work at all on the first boot. After I restarted the TV it worked, but I couldn't stream from my device, so this was disappointing.

More to follow, especially with my experience of using it as a monitor for my macbook pro

As with many other users, I have been experiencing a 'slow' TV. My allegiance to this brand stemmed from our recent purchase of a larger, albeit more expensive, model for our family room. The larger model works very well and has a very reasonable response time when powering on (~5 seconds to launch an app), but this smaller model seems VERY slow to process anything within the first 1-2 minutes of power up. Our intention when purchasing this TV was to place it in our children's playroom and use it's 'SmartHub' feature to connect to our favorite shows via Netflix, Hulu, etc. We do NOT have it hooked up to cable, satellite, or antenna. It's sole purpose is to connect to Wi-Fi! When starting the TV, the common static appears along with the channel. Once you attempt to select an app through the SmartHub, it states "Preparing TV. Please try again later". This message continues to occur regardless of the app selected for a time that is very unreasonable (over 1 minute). You have to sit there, staring at static... Because of our situation (no cable), I would consider this a poor purchase for anyone who wished to use it as we intended.

I have owned and used this TV for about a month now. The picture and sound quality are very good, and overall it is an attractive unit. It was easy to install (I wall-mounted it; it's very lightweight) and set up. Best of all it was an excellent value. I would rate the TV itself 5/5.

However, the SmartHub features are almost useless. It takes a long time for the SmartHub to open, and it was impossible to stream Netflix—the video buffered every few seconds, and never fully loaded. It was impossible to watch video. When I exited Netflix, the TV would become unresponsive to the remote and took a long time to turn off. After troubleshooting, it was obvious that the problem was with the TV and not Netflix or my internet service. This is a known problem with these units, and another reviewer on Amazon offered a solution—to disable the security feature on the TV, and auto updates for the apps. This allowed video to quickly load and play, but it had to be done every time before watching videos. My solution was to invest in a Google Chromecast, which I absolutely love. It works so much better than SmartHub, and I like to use my phone or tablet as the remote.

Between the excellent TV and horrible smart features, I would give this TV a 3/5. If you're willing to purchase Chromecast or a similar device, I recommend it, but if you want to use the smart features right out of the box, consider a different unit.

Overall I like it. I does have all the smart TV features I wanted. What I don't like though is something that seems almost unbelievable to me. You can't to a free text search in their app store. So you have to scroll around the categories to try and find an app. What's also frustrating, is the smart hub is not very intuitive. Picture is great.. the small-ish border is nice, sound is ok. It does have netflix, amazon prime, hbo go, hulu, youtube. I probably would have gotten an LG had I not heard about Samsung's interface being good. Which it's not great in my opinion.

I would have rated this TV 5 stars, however it took two hours to get the Netflix app to work without constantly freezing and locking up the TV's OS.

Symptoms we experienced: Launching Netflix and attempting to watch a show would cause the show to repeatedly buffer and get stuck at 99%. After this occurs, the TV's OS becomes incredibly sluggish and it becomes nearly unresponsive, forcing a full reboot of the TV.

Disabling "Smart Security" feature completely resolves this issue, and gets rid of the sluggishness and freezing experienced within the TV's OS. We also disabled auto-update as we saw this was recommended by other owners as a potential fix.

To disable Smart Security: Menu button on Remote> System > Smart Security > Off

Pros:
TV is incredibly light and thin.
Picture quality is great.
Once Smart Security is disabled, navigating the menu and apps are responsive and quick.
Easy to use.
Price

Cons:
TV is not ready to use "Out of the box".
Smart Security feature completely cripples the TV and makes it unusable with built-in default apps.

3/5 stars. 5/5 once the Smart Security feature is disabled.

I'm glad this TV was cheap. It states it's 1080P but the picture quality of the display is so poor you'd think it was from an old 720p LCD set. Lot's of pixielization and motion blur. It's supposed to be 120 MHZ but I think it's not entirely true. Startup time is horribly slow, over 30 seconds. So slow my Logitec Harmony remote times out before the TV is loaded. If you are just looking for a cheap TV for a kid's room or someplace you don't care about image quality this is great. The Roku features and all of the apps make it worth a couple hundred bucks. But if you want this as your primary TV and you like a decent looking picture look elsewhere.

Nice looking unit, great concept but it freezes constantly and loses connection to wifi frequently. The only way to fix it when it does this is to unplug and reboot. Not cool when you have to do this at least three times a day. I haven't been able to watch more than a couple of hours without issue. You get what you pay for I guess. Problems started the night I set it up. We've now had it for three weeks and have spent more time troubleshooting issues than watching anything. I get that it's a cheap tv, but I expected it to work for at least 24 hours before taking a nosedive.

I bought the tv on 3/26. Today is 9/2. For weeks now it has been having problems connecting to the wifi. Today it won't connect, locks up when checking connection, and reboots itself. Not even 6 months and it's already a paperweight. The whole point of purchasing this tv was to disconnect from my cable company. That's not even an option if the wifi doesn't work.

First off it will not keep a connection... CONSTANTLY losing the signal, even when I'm not streaming (and my Wi-Fi signal is at 100%... even tried using a range extender sitting 5 feet from the TV and it lost it's signal at the same rate). I can test the connection and it will say it's connected, then searches, connects for a bit, then searching, connect, searching, etc. Can't make it 3 minutes into anything without it losing the connection. Every time it's turned on you have to set up the connection again, only to see it crap out a brief time later. It may called be a smart TV, but it has to stop and think every couple minutes.Everything else seems to fine. I'm hoping I just have a bad TV and can get a return on a different one in hopes of having better luck.

I was pretty excited about this TV. I have been looking for a nice 50 inch smart LED TV to gift to my parents. I bought this thinking that I could help them lower their cable bill while also introducing them to entertainment apps and giving them a nice platform so they can watch amazon prime movies. It almost did that.The TV was easy to setup, picked up our home network with no issues and worked pretty good, just like i had hoped... for 2 weeks. We didn't use the TV very much over those 2 week either, because this is a surprise gift that I put in my parents house. I would go over and do some chores and turn the TV on. The first indication of the problem was that it froze at the application home screen. I had to unplug it and plug it back in to get it to work. The next day, same thing. I would turn on the TV, it would show the loading screen and then freeze once it was on the home screen. Next it started to reboot it self over and over again. I unplugged it and plugged it back in but it didn't work this time. Same problem, endless freeze and reboots. The TV then lost the home network and I couldn't even try to find it again as the thing would freeze and reboot. I pushed the factory reset button, didn't fix it.At this point I have to try to return it. I wanted this to be a surprise gift that made my parent's lives easier, not harder. I love the concept of a simple TV/roku combo but the one I got broke immediately with little use.***Update: I was able to return it and got a refund. (Amazon did an amazing no hassle job, thank you!)

Very disappointed in TCL. The remote is very cheap and inconvenient to use. I keep hitting on the sound button as they are to close together.Tried to get a universal remote for the set and found out none is available.Last night the factory remote stopped working. I can not turn the TV off ot on.Nor can I change channels.Replaced the batteries no response.Unplugged and replugged the TV again no result.Download Andriod phone app and the TV has to be turned on before the program can find the TV..and of course I can not turn set on or off.To add insult to energy I see the price has dropped from $439.99 to $350.00.And a most annoying feature is the refresh rate this takes a full 4/5 seconds..I have two Roku plug in units on other TVs and they work fine. The problem seems to be shoddy wotk by TCL.TCL 50FS3800 50-Inch 1080p Roku Smart LED TV (2015 Model)

TV worked fine for a few months. After about four months the picture started going bad. I have submitted a claim . Waiting for a response.

Believe the bad reviews. The TV takes forever to turn on. It might as well not be a smart TV. I had to also buy a roku to stream. This is either a fake, or a dud.

If you are getting this as simply a TV the setup and display runs well although it does truncate some images. If you are getting this as a web enabled TV. Look for another TV. The user interface l is not very intuitive and things are hidden. Just try loading an app. The screen keyboard and moving arrow takes a little getting used to and you may even get to a word a minute. The support pages are just as cumbersome . Very aggrevating even if you just need a simple answer.

not bad for price, but speakers have slight vibration at mid- high volume. the netflix app doesnt always open. sometimes have to open browser then netflix. also samsung smart tvs have issues with vevo app fully functioning. outside of these its not a bad product.

update: i removed the rca cords so i can wall mount it. the video prong came right off with the cord. hdmi is my only option now. i was switching to it anyway or else i would've returned it. i love samsung, but they are eing made cheaper every day.

[Final update: read to bottom to see how I "fixed" this problem, because Samsung wouldn't.]I've had (and still have) several other Samsung TVs, and have liked them. This one has the same good picture quality as my previous units, but I must say that it is the least satisfying TV that I have ever owned. Why? Because it is ...... slow.How can a TV be slow?* It's slow to turn on. Remember picture tube TVs that used to take time to warm up? Not quite that bad, but takes time.* It's slow to change channels. You press a button on the remote and then wonder if the TV heard you, or not. Eventually it responds, but you are not sure if and when it will do that.* The "Smart TV" feature is *excruciatingly* slow. Many times when trying to start viewing Netflix, this TV will put a pop-up on the screen that says "Preparing TV". This goes on and on. Even that might not be so bad if it automatically started Netflix once the "preparing" was done, but it doesn't work that way - you have to just keep trying until the pop-up doesn't appear. And then wait ... for ... Netflix ... to ... start.* But WORST of all, once the TV has been "prepared" for watching Netflix, it will go into an endless cycle of showing a few seconds of a show, then freeze while a spinning counter slowly goes up to 100%, shows a few more seconds, then repeats. Again, the only solution seems to be turning the unit off then on again and try one more time.This TV is just like having a big, bright monitor that is hooked to an old, really slow computer - that needs to be re-booted over and over again to correct problems.Very, very disappointing![Update 12/29/15]:Several people have reported that they have "fixed" this problem by doing various things like waiting for all software updates to be downloaded or by turning security options off. My TV is at the latest available software version, and I've tried making all of the changes that others have suggested - but none of the fixes work very long, and then it's back to the same maddening behavior.I do appreciate the various suggestions and reports of apparent success, and I keep hoping that a real solution will emerge (Samsung, are you listening???). But I have found that there are things that you can do, or specific sequences of operations, that *appear* to fix the problem. But then try again later, and the problems are still there. I have been down that path many times.One interesting thing I have found:Sometimes Netflix will play reliably if I let it "auto-play" a program from the beginning. By this I mean that I did not press any button to have the program start playing (it seems to start playing automatically after the menu is displayed a few seconds), and I was not trying to resume an episode that I had watched part of earlier. That is great, but just too complicated. I shouldn't have to do that. And it doesn't work all the time. But what this does suggest is that it IS possible for Netflix to work on this TV under the right conditions, if only Samsung would fix this.I keep hoping that someone (Samsung would be the obvious source) will come up with a solution for this whole problem.[Update 1/2/2016]:The Netflix issue with this TV is a serious problem that needs urgent attention from Samsung. It is affecting many people. As of this writing, there 691 reviews of this TV here on Amazon, of which 98 have reported the same or similar issues with unacceptable slowness or constant buffering that makes Netflix unwatchable. So if you have this issue, you are not suffering alone.This TV also has a suspiciously large number of 5-star reviews that say nothing more than things like: "it is great," "cool," "working good" [sic], "excellent," - many of which are concentrated on a few certain days, so will leave it to others to decide if the large number 5-star reviews are the result of any ballot box stuffing to improve the overall rating.I would have returned this TV by now if I hadn't recycled the box it came in. Lacking that alternative, it looks like the only way I will be able watch Netflix on this TV without going crazy is to buy a Roku stick to provide Netflix access.Samsung is a well-known global company. If they truly cared for their customers and their reputation, I would expect them to: A) make a reassuring statement here (because someone representing Samsung has answered a number of the questions about this TV), and B) deliver a fix for the problem. But so far, we have seen neither.[Update 1/22/2016]:Having suffered with the maddening slowness along with an unusable Netflix application that Samsung still has not fixed, I took action on my own that finally allows me to watch Netflix reliably and pleasurably on this TV.The solution is to buy a Roku 3500R Streaming Stick (HDMI) which plugs into one of the HDMI outlets on the back of the TV. Like all Roku devices, it provides a user experience that is far better than Samsung's "smart" feature. I also added a TVPower Mini USB Cable for Powering Roku Streaming Stick for a very tidy installation.The only downsides to this solution are having to spend an additional 50 bucks to provide what I thought I was getting with the "Smart" TV, plus having an additional remote (although the Roku allows you to set up your smartphone as a remote).

This TV worked ok for the first few months. I was not thrilled by the picture quality. The refresh rate was slow and darker content was very dim, unclear, and (sometimes) grainy, no matter how much I pumped up the brightness. But for the price at the time ($320), I was moderately satisfied.Then, one day, I turned on my TV (3 months after purchasing) and there were lines vertically and horizontally, appearing to come from some kind of crack //inside// the panel. The outside was still smooth and normal when the TV was turned off. From my research, this can come from heat build-up in the TV. In any case, I had an extended warranty and it was still under the 1-year manufacturer's warranty. I called TCL and they refused to do anything to replace or repair or refund the TV, even though it was clear I had done nothing to the TV, and it had worked fine for 3 months and stayed mounted on the wall that entire time. The extended warranty was the same (though that's not really their fault).I was ok buying a cheap TV with the assurance of a 1-year manufacturer's warranty and 4-year extended warranty. Once I learned that it was just a an illusion of a warranty: NEVER AGAIN.The good news: Amazon Customer Service went out of their way to help me out and refunded the TV, even though this was NOT THEIR PROBLEM. Again, the TV arrived in perfect condition, and worked fine for 3 months. While I give TCL and the TV a ZERO, I give Amazon 5 stars for their customer service. Definitely buying a TV from Amazon again. I can only hope Amazon has the leverage to bring these kinds of costs/issues back to bear on poor vendors like TCL.

I ordered the this TV to have in time for SuperBowl Sunday. The TV arrived on time. You are required to install the feet on the unit, while not complicated was not expected. I plugged the unit in to find the LED was cracked from the top left to the bottom right with a spider web of cracks going downward. There was not enough time to return and reship the device for the event but decided to have it replaced instead of getting a refund, so it could be used on future dates. The replacement arrived with less packing material on the outside then the first unit. I plugged it in and it too was damaged in a similar fashion. While the crack started on the top left it went out about a quarter of the screen and sloped back to the bottom left side. I decided to return the second TV for a refund.The boxes that the TVs came in did not have any significant damage to them and the outer screen was just fine, and this would appear to be a manufacturing problem.

Was so happy with this TV... For two weeks and then it quit working. All the sudden it quit connecting to wifi. Didn't move the TV, didn't move router, halfway through an episode on Netflix it lost internet and hasn't connected since. Tried everything, factory reset, router reset, everything tech support suggested, now it can't even find any wireless networks. Then I though hey, can at least hook laptop up through HDMI and watch that way, not at all what the TV should be capable of but it's something. That didn't even work. The TV just restarts itself every 5 minutes while trying to watch a show. Very expensive useless wall decoration. My husband and I bought as a Christmas present to ourselves, so disappointed. Can't even return it cause all the extra screws, boxes and everything got thrown out with rest of Christmas garbage since we thought it'd be a long lasting good TV. Really upset with purchase, should have stuck with Samsung like our other TV that is still going strong after 8 years. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra money on a decent brand.

Purchased this tv in April and I wish I hadn't. You get what you pay for. Tv freezes, the remote is extremely cheap and needs new batteries constantly, my screen goes black but the audio still runs and I have to turn off and on to get it to work properly. The sound is terrible- differs with what show or app you are using but have to use subtitles most of the time because the voices are unclear or washed out. Have tried every setting or adjusted the volume and it's a big headache. Would not buy this brand ever again or recommend

TV screen went black 8 months after purchasing. TCL will not replace or refund. They are sending a technician out to fix the problem but they have given me no timeline or guarantees as to how or when. TV also freezed up a lot in the past and would restart on its own while watching a show or movie. Overall I'm not impressed with the quality and I don't like having to deal with such a drawn out repair process so I will be buying a tv from a different manufacturer and getting rid of this one once TCL finally repairs it.

After one month the front plate glass (panel) separating from the frame. I contacted TCL (Roku). This is the answer;--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Ms. Laugerude,Thank you for reaching TCL Email support! We do apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused.Unfortunately, issues like this aren’t covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. I’m sorry we weren’t able to fix your damaged TV. You do have the option of taking your TV to any local repair shop and ask if they could repair your TV. However, we do not recommend panel repairs. Reason being the panel of most TVs costs approximately 95% of the original price of the TV.Thank you for choosing TCL,Best Regards,Alex Tapiador | Subject Matter Expert - NATCL North America----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have they Warranty front of me;Limited WarrantyRoku warrants the player hardware against defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of one (1) year from the date of purchase ("Warranty Period") if used in accordance with the documentation provided with the player. If Roku determines that the player’s hardware is defective during the Warranty Period, Roku’s sole obligation, and your exclusive remedy, will be to either repair or replace the unit with either a new or rebuilt player, at its option.*

So far I can't give this more than one star. We don't have cable, antenna, or dish. Just streaming and sling TV. Everything looks great until we go to stream a show and then the aspect ratio is a tiny cube in the lower left hand corner. When going into the menu and trying to fix the picture ratio, it says "it's not an option." We've done all the troubleshooting in the manual including resetting to factory settings, updating to the newest software, changing the DLS to the correct number and it still doesn't work. My boyfriend is so upset he can't speak right now. For $300 this is proving to be one of the worst buys we've ever done.

I would gladly update this review if there were a way to fix the problem, otherwise I'm sending this right back and expecting a full refund.

just received the TV and half of the screen shows white and cannot see any pictures. someone wrote the same review, so i think its a problem with this particular TV.

Pros:
- Nice tv picture quality. That's where it ends.

Cons:
- Significant delay with basic tv/remote functions including power, volume, menu settings
- Volume had to be up to 80 (?!) to be able to hear throughout the room
- SmartTV took a good 5 minutes to connect to the internet, so don't plan on streaming anything right after turning on. Would get the message "Preparing TV check back later"
- Netflix and other apps were constantly crashing the Smart TV software in the middle of a show (software was up to date)
- Significant remote delays in all Smart TV functions - trying to get back to the menu, in between shows, pausing shows, etc.
- The glossy frame created circular patterns of dust, very noticeable, even wiping off daily - very annoying and unattractive

This was a great TV, for 2 days after it was opened. It then decided to fail spectacularly and began bleeding colors in the form of vertical colored green, blue, red, and white lines.. I ordered a replacement and am crossing my fingers this doesn't happen again after the warranty period is done. The smart tv features were a little slow but they worked and the picture was pretty good. But this 1 star review will remain until I get a replacement and it prooves to me that it can work for a month or two.

My 50 inch samsung plasma tv is 5.5 years old and still going strong and this one lasted only 48 hours. Disappointed.

I've been waiting for the TV for weeks. It finally arrived and item is defective. It repeatedly turns on and off. Called customer service and told there's nothing they can do and to have it replaced. I looked online and it's a common problem. Had I known, I would have NEVER bought from Samsung. Very disappointed and will have to wait another two weeks for the replacement and hope that it's not defective out of the box again. If it is, I will simply request a refund and spend my money elsewhere. Buyer beware.