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Are cheap TVs any good? I bought a $350 budget TCL TV from Amazon — here's why I wish I bought it sooner

I'm terrible with technology, but I found it easy to set up and was able to stream Netflix ten minutes after unboxing it.

Sarah Rohoman
a picture of a TCL tv hanging on the wall
I tested out this budget TCL TV — here's my honest review. (Photo via Sarah Rohoman)

My partner and I were looking to buy a new smart TV to upgrade from our old device — and we realized we know absolutely nothing about televisions or the current technology. So to determine what we should buy, we set out some criteria: it needed to have popular streaming apps like Netflix and Spotify, crisp visuals, cost under $500 and not weigh a million pounds like our old TV did.

With that in mind, we found a relatively inexpensive TCL Smart TV on Amazon Canada that seemed to tick all our boxes. Given that it only costs $350, I had some doubts about it's quality — but I'm happy to report that this cost-effective TV is fantastic and has seriously improved our leisure time.

Quick shop:

Scroll onwards to read my full review of the TCL 43-Inch Class S4 4K LED Smart TV and see if it's the right fit for your home.

TCL

TCL 43-Inch Class S4 4K LED Smart TV with Fire TV

Unbeatable value and excellent quality. 

Pros
  • Extremely affordable
  • Crisp visuals
  • Lots of streaming options
  • User-friendly interface
  • Very light
  • Highly customizable
  • Can use voice technology
  • Quick to set up
Cons
  • Wish I'd gotten a bigger size
$350 at Amazon

The TV has 4K Ultra HD Resolution, Motion Rate 120 and HDR PRO that provides exceptional visual detail, improved motion clarity and enhanced contrast. It also has Dolby Atmos which provides an immersive, cinematic audio experience.

For streaming, it has Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Spotify and dozens of other popular services as well as the ability to search and download less popular apps.

It has three HDMI inputs for gaming and other needs, and has Alexa technology that let's you hold down the voice button and ask her to find and launch content.

In terms of appearance, the TV has an edge-to-edge glass design that would look perfect in any setting.

  • The interface: As mentioned, I'm not very tech-savvy, so I anticipated that I'd struggle — but I truly had no issues. It's extremely user-friendly to find what your looking for and to start watching right way. It also has voice control technology, so you can ask it to launch programs for you when you don't feel like typing. The interface is also customizable and you can change the audio-visual options tor the different streaming apps.

  • Streaming options: The TV comes loaded with all of the most popular apps like Netflix, YouTube and more — and you can search and download more niche apps. For instance, my partner downloaded the Kanopy app so he can watch library-sourced documentaries and Armenian animations. As well, we found it easy to stream from our phones and laptops and cast it to the TV.

  • The visuals: One of the first things we did was watch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the difference in visual quality between the TCL and our old TV was immediately noticeable. A few quotes from my fiancé:

    • "Shit, that's crisp!"

    • "I'm getting lost in Elijah Woods's blue eyes."

    • "There's even enough brightness settings to make The Rings of Power watchable."

  • The set up: From taking the TV out of the box to getting it mounted on our wall and watching Netflix, the entire process took maybe 10 minutes. It likely would have taken us less than that but it took us a a bit to figure out how to attach it to our wall mount (entirely our own fault, not a negative to the TV at all).

  • The weight: I was genuinely shocked at how light this TV is! Our old, non-smart TV weighs about 30 pounds. The TCL weighs under five pounds, which made it extremely easy to carry up the stairs to our apartment and subsequently hang on the mount we already owned.

  • The size: The only thing I dislike about this TV is the size, and that's entirely my own fault for choosing a 43" instead of a 50." When doing the measurements, I made the error of measuring the width of the wall we would mount it on. From that I surmised I needed a 43" TV, but the way TVs are measured is across the diagonal. Because of my error, the television is a little too small for the area we have it in, but it's not the worst problem to have!

The TV has a 4.1-star rating on Amazon Canada and has been bought more than 2,000 times in the last month.

"The best budget TV I've ever owned," says one customer. "I would recommend it all day."

Another notes that they're "impressed with what this TV offers," particularly "at such an affordable price point."

Others write that "the colours are rich and vibrant," it's "very easy to set up" and offers "unbeatable value."

However, a few people say "the sound isn't the best" — I would agree that it's not exactly cinematic or comparable to what you'd get out of a sound bar, but the sound quality is not a concern at all for me.

I am extremely pleased with the TCL 43-Inch Class S4 4K LED Smart TV, and would 100 per cent recommend buying it. In fact, I'm likely going to repurchase this TV in a bigger size when it's on sale.

I'm impressed with the quality of this device, it's weight and how easy it is to set up — and at just $350, it doesn't break the bank, which is always a bonus.

If you're on the hunt for an affordable TV that gives excellent performance, I'd definitely check it out. It frequently is included in Amazon's deals, so you may want to keep an eye out for a Boxing Day sale to snag it even cheaper.

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.

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