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Review [Review] TCL C725 55" 4K TV

rubber_otter

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TCL C725 Range of 4K TV’s – Leaves a bit to be desired.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the first people in South Africa to have a 2 week hands on with TCL’s 55C725 4K TV. This TV is an interesting option, especially for those who don’t want to spend too much. While the price is lower than you’d expect, there are some Pro’s and Con’s to consider before getting on. Let’s discuss.

Look, Build and Setup

Overall, the look and build is top class. Narrow bezels, seemingly aluminium feet, and a remote that feels comfortable in your hand. I have to mention that, while the build is good, it isn’t great. Yes, the TV will look good in most home environments, but it feels like the design team selected a template from a dropdown list, and then just went with that.


Turning the TV on, I was greeted by a Google TV set up menu. 10 minutes later I was set up and ready to go. With all the expected app pre-installed, I fired up Plex and immediately headed to the first 4K content I could find. (Planet Earth II, of course) I was pleasantly surprised by the colour and brightness of the panel. At a peak brightness of 330 nits, it’s more than enough for the average user. While there was a tiny bit of light bleed at the bottom edges of the display, this should not be a huge concern for the every-day buyer. It was barely noticeable, and I doubt it would bother anyone but the purists.

Connectivity
Well…? Pick your poison. HDMI 2.0, 2x USB ports, (one of which is USB3), S/PDIF, Aux, the works. If you need it, this one’s got you covered.


Image Quality and Functionality

The QLED panel is great. And almost on the level of an OLED TV that will cost you twice the price. While I say that, TCL have incorporated their own motion smoothing function into the software that really leaves a lot to be desired. This was the single biggest problem that I had with the TV. Having it turned on, the TV presented me with a lot of image tearing. I am pretty sure that this can be resolved with a firmware update, but as it stands, my default option was to turn that off completely.

The addition of Google TV is great. Having the option to cast directly to the TV without an additional android TV box is fantastic. But this is where the cost cutting mantra rears its head. While the functionality is there, and available, it is annoyingly slow and sluggish. If you are patient, which most people nowadays are not, the frustration levels will rise quickly. But, that being said, a quick run upstairs to grab my Xiaomi MiBox S shut me up very quickly. After plugging that in, everything started going better.

All things considered, the TCL 55C725 is great value for money. But, ironically, that comes at a cost.

The 55C725 is currently listed on Takealot at R10'999
Takealot

Pro’s
Great Price
Sound system better than average
QLED Panel
Chromecast built in
HDR 10 Compatible
Offers Google Assistant
HDMI 2.1

Con’s
Slow software operation
Motion smoothing not all that great
 
Last edited:
Been waiting in anticipation for their OLED line to land - wonder if that's going to happen.
 

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