TCL 43S435

amazon TCL 43S435 reviews

The TCL 43S435 offers good picture quality and Roku TV functionality at the lowest price available in a variety of sizes, making it a great choice for anyone looking to import 4K without spending too much.

TCL is a popular budget TV brand, and it impressed us last year with its high-end, top-of-the-line 6-Series. The TCL 43S435 is part of the company’s entry-level 4K lines. It packs the same powerful Roku TV platform as the 6-Series and goes the extra mile to support 4K content in HDR. It also offers more screen sizes than the 6-series, starting from the small 43-inch TCL 43S435 we’re reviewing to the large 85-inch TCL 85S435, which means you have plenty of options to choose from ideal.

The 43-inch model we’re reviewing at retail for a reasonable price is half the cost of the nearly equivalent 6-series model, the 55-inch Smart TV TCL 55R635. TCL makes some compromises to achieve a lower price point, with a much dimmer display, and a narrower color range, and it doesn’t support Dolby Digital, but you still get a lot of value for money.

Specifications

Panel Type: LED

Screen size: 43 inches

Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160

Video Input: USB, Composite, HDMI, RF

HDR: HDR-10, HLG

HDMI port: 3

Streaming service: Yes

VRR: No

Design

The TCL 43S435 is a plain-looking TV, which is not surprising for a budget set. Its screen is surrounded at the top and sides by narrow, glossy black plastic bezels. The bottom bezel is a bit thick and has a silver TCL logo in the middle. The display is supported by a pair of V-shaped glossy black plastic legs that match the bezels and edges.

A power connector can be found on the left side of the back of the TV, facing the left. All other connections are on the right side of the back panel, facing right. These include three HDMI ports, one USB port, one Ethernet port, one 3.5mm composite video port, one 3.5mm headphone jack, one optical audio output, and one antenna/ cable.

Roku TV & Remote Control

The included Roku TV remote is a standard model that uses infrared only. It shouldn’t be confused with an enhanced Roku TV remote that comes equipped with a high-end microphone that allows you to use Roku’s voice search features. This is a small plastic wand with curved tips and a separate directional pad. The Roku app for Android and iOS lets you use voice search if you want to, although Roku’s functions are still limited compared to Amazon Alexa found on Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Echo Dot speakers. Google manager on Android TV devices and Siri on Apple TV.

With the Roku TV platform, the TCL 43S435 can access a wide range of streaming services. The main players here include Amazon Prime Video, DirecTV Now, Google Play Movies & TV, Hulu, Netflix, Vue, Sling, Vudu, and YouTube. As expected, Apple is missing from the list and Google Music is also unavailable, but you still get Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, and more streaming services.

Many other satellite carriers have Roku apps that allow you to access their VOD library and even live TV via TV without necessarily connecting a set-top box. In case you don’t want to subscribe to any of the services, the Roku Channel has a library of free movies and TV shows.

Outstanding features of TCL 43S435

The TCL 43S435 boasts a 4K display, full 3840 x 2160 resolution, with direct backlighting and HDR (high dynamic range) support. The result is a relatively good (if basic) viewing experience, and a better viewing experience than you might expect at this price range.

TCL 4K Roku TV records a 97.4% Rec. 709 color gamut, better than the Vizio V505-G9 (96.65%), but not as wide as the 98.3% we saw on the Samsung 40-inch NU7100. However, while we like watching 4K TV at close to 100%, the TCL is within the range we’d expect for a cheaper model.

The TCL 43S435 doesn’t stand out when it comes to brightness, even in Bright (HDR) mode with the backlight turned on; it maxed out at 244.05cd/m2, which is half the peak brightness of 488.01cd/m2 on the 6-series. Again, it lacks the local dimming feature available on the 6-series, and its Dynamic Contrast setting can only brighten or dim the entire screen simultaneously.

When watching the BBC’s Planet Earth II, scenes looked great although you can easily notice the TV’s dimmer screen and smaller color gamut compared to the 6-Series or more expensive sets like LG’S OLED55C9PUA or Samsung QN55Q70RAFXZA. However, the trees and blues in the episode “The Archipelago” look clean and natural, although fine textures like feathers and bark are sharp when well-lit. That said, shadows do get a bit dim, and the screen is quite dim looking as unreal as it does on brighter panels.

Gaming Performance

Unlike other sets, the TCL 4-Series TV doesn’t offer any kind of automatic switching to game mode or detecting game consoles, such as Xbox One X. When you switch to game mode game, it will be a bit intuitive, as this mode is not offered in the usual selection of picture modes and requires navigating into a separate menu of advanced picture settings to activate.

The TCL 43S435 supports 4K gaming, and you can stream content with 10-bit color support at 24Hz. However, this console does not support additional frame rates for streaming content, nor does it support HDR mode for gaming or streaming. It’s good that HDR content isn’t at the top of your list, but that doesn’t mean games will come out any less impressive than other 4K sets.

While this TV doesn’t support HDR for gaming, it does deliver excellent response times, a feature indispensable in fast-paced games. If there’s an area this set is missing, it’s got to be the audio. With a pair of 8-watt speakers providing sound quality, the overall volume is too low and relatively weak, and not suitable for rooms with a lot of background noise.

where can you get a TCL 43S435 online

TCL 43-inch 4K UHD Smart LED TV – 43S435, 2021 Model: Buy it now