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TCL P607/605 thread (GOAT budget 4K HDR TV)
- Thread starter Karish
- Start date
Picked up a 605 from Best Buy on Tuesday. Man, this thing is light! It's replacing a 47" Vizio that is four years old and the weight difference is very noticeable. I love the super thin frame around the display, the picture is amazing but Roku is the biggest surprise.
I use XBox Ones for all my gaming and streaming and the Roku is so much snappier. Even fast forwarding through streaming content is much better. I went into the Roku app and streamed Robocop, I was able to fast forward to Peter Sellers death scene very quickly and stop right when I wanted to. Getting back to the main menu and into a different app is super fast as well.
On the downside: it took forever to figure out how to activate the antenna guide (press left on the arrows), there is no way to delete OTA channels so they don't show up when you flip through channels, you cannot select favorite channels (it does it for you automatically). I also had an issue where the Switch had a buzzing audio sound but I swapped ports with the Xbox and they both work fine now.
I use XBox Ones for all my gaming and streaming and the Roku is so much snappier. Even fast forwarding through streaming content is much better. I went into the Roku app and streamed Robocop, I was able to fast forward to Peter Sellers death scene very quickly and stop right when I wanted to. Getting back to the main menu and into a different app is super fast as well.
On the downside: it took forever to figure out how to activate the antenna guide (press left on the arrows), there is no way to delete OTA channels so they don't show up when you flip through channels, you cannot select favorite channels (it does it for you automatically). I also had an issue where the Switch had a buzzing audio sound but I swapped ports with the Xbox and they both work fine now.
Edit: Ended up exchanging this for an LG C7
I received this TV on Tuesday from Best Buy. I think the picture, especially while watching Planet Earth II, looks great, but I am finding the gray uniformity (also known as the Dirty Screen Effect) to be more of a problem than I expected. I have dark spots that go horizontally across the center of the screen, which are noticeable on bright, solid colors like blue sky shots or playing games like Rayman Legends. I know that this TV is at the very bottom of Rtings.com gray uniformity tests, receiving a 5.7, and I've read several reports of others having problems with it here. I plan on playing Super Mario Odyssey soon and have also read of people especially noticing the uniformity problems there. I have the option of exchanging it for the same model, but that it is a risk as there is no guarantee I will get anything better. Now that I have experienced 4K HDR for the first time, I might be willing to spend more money than I originally planned, possibly getting an OLED, but then I am concerned about image retention and burn-in. I know not any TV is perfect, but I connected my Xbox One X back to our 35-inch 1080p Vizio and the uniformity wasn't as bad on there, but I'm not willing to go back to 1080p, either.
I was wondering about the experiences of others who have had problems with the dirty screen effect with this TV, what their experience was like getting a replacement model, and what the experience with uniformity was like for those who chose to spend more money in the end on a higher-end TV. I don't want to become an obsessive person when it comes to image quality, but the poor uniformity is noticeable on casual use when I'm not looking for it, and I plan on playing a lot of bright, colorful games.
I received this TV on Tuesday from Best Buy. I think the picture, especially while watching Planet Earth II, looks great, but I am finding the gray uniformity (also known as the Dirty Screen Effect) to be more of a problem than I expected. I have dark spots that go horizontally across the center of the screen, which are noticeable on bright, solid colors like blue sky shots or playing games like Rayman Legends. I know that this TV is at the very bottom of Rtings.com gray uniformity tests, receiving a 5.7, and I've read several reports of others having problems with it here. I plan on playing Super Mario Odyssey soon and have also read of people especially noticing the uniformity problems there. I have the option of exchanging it for the same model, but that it is a risk as there is no guarantee I will get anything better. Now that I have experienced 4K HDR for the first time, I might be willing to spend more money than I originally planned, possibly getting an OLED, but then I am concerned about image retention and burn-in. I know not any TV is perfect, but I connected my Xbox One X back to our 35-inch 1080p Vizio and the uniformity wasn't as bad on there, but I'm not willing to go back to 1080p, either.
I was wondering about the experiences of others who have had problems with the dirty screen effect with this TV, what their experience was like getting a replacement model, and what the experience with uniformity was like for those who chose to spend more money in the end on a higher-end TV. I don't want to become an obsessive person when it comes to image quality, but the poor uniformity is noticeable on casual use when I'm not looking for it, and I plan on playing a lot of bright, colorful games.
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Its all just based on your own screen. Some arent bad. Mine is just a little bit in the corners and thats it. Id recommend exchanging and trying one more time? That's what I would do if mine was bad.
Edit: I mean search the panels near the top and DSE even those are going to have issues. I almost got an M series Vizio because I was worried about it, but there are a lot of those with DSE issues as well. Just seems dependent on your panel.
Update on my situation.
As I said previously I got c803 and wasnt finding game mode setting anywhere.
Turns out I was searching while using Antenna, switching to hdmi the game mode option does appear in advanced picture settings (isnt there on antenna).
Now Im a happy camper not fan of FALD, and this set was 450$
Tcl C803 gets my seal of approval
As I said previously I got c803 and wasnt finding game mode setting anywhere.
Turns out I was searching while using Antenna, switching to hdmi the game mode option does appear in advanced picture settings (isnt there on antenna).
Now Im a happy camper not fan of FALD, and this set was 450$
Tcl C803 gets my seal of approval
Could anyone with the p605 post a couple of pictures of their set with their room lights off and on? I went to check out the tv at Best buy and the set looked really dim even though it was on the brightest setting. Since you need the app to make fine adjustments I couldn't get a feel of how it would look fully calibrated.
That's too much effort for me but brightness is not a problem on this set, it's actually one of its strengths.
But judging TVs at a store is basically useless unfortunately because of the outrageous lightning conditions and TV torch modes.
In normal viewing conditions, even well lit bright rooms you'll be more than fine. At night time i actually have to turn the brightness setting from normal to dark or darker sometimes cause it burns my eyes it's so bright at night.
Replaced the batteries in my remote and the green light under the battery cover just keeps flashing. Only power works for the TV. Can't figure out how to re-sync it. Any ideas?
Just the remote which isn't worth the extra $50. Especially if you have a universal remote.
Maybe I should just wait for the 2018 release then. The 900E is tempting for the price, but I was hoping bigger.
But that also means waiting longer to start Origins, or play it non 4k and hdr.
But that also means waiting longer to start Origins, or play it non 4k and hdr.
As crazy as it sounds the uniformity in my set seems to be getting worse and worse. Thinking about exchanging it, possibly for something else. It never really bothered me but I clicked on HBO go today and that gray menu screen, yikes. Then watching football I started noticing vertical dark on the right side. Trying to decide if I should exchange, swap for a m series vizio or pay a few more hundred for a mu8000 samsung... I really love the roku interface though as I use DirecTv Now for tv and netflix. Hate to have to buy a roku stick 4k.
Here's an image
Here's an image
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So I got this TV, calibrated it, threw on 4k HDR videos, annnnnnd... am I missing something? Is there a missing setting? I feel like it doesn't look too different from my 1080p set so far. Am I supposed to enable something? :/
As crazy as it sounds the uniformity in my set seems to be getting worse and worse. Thinking about exchanging it, possibly for something else. It never really bothered me but I clicked on HBO go today and that gray menu screen, yikes. Then watching football I started noticing vertical dark on the right side. Trying to decide if I should exchange, swap for a m series vizio or pay a few more hundred for a mu8000 samsung... I really love the roku interface though as I use DirecTv Now for tv and netflix. Hate to have to buy a roku stick 4k.
Here's an image
keep us updated with what you decide. i'm interested in all the TVs you listed, and this is my main concern for the tcl.
I think it depends on content.
For example The Martian 4k bluray looks out of this world, like looking through a window. Was playing 4k blade runner and while it looks impressive the lack of a digital camera means the image isnt as clean.
Will say care about the roku, at least on the costco model of this TV when you check the rez of many of the 4k content apps it says the content is substantially below 4k. Havent tried netflix or any paid app only some of the free stuff.
4k blurays on xbox s look superb as do short sample videos I put on a pen drive like a digital foundry 4k horizon ps4 sample.
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I'm just worried no matter which of those I go with I will have the same issue lol.
RTings says the vizio m-series has pretty good uniformity. my concern there is the input lag.
Input lag is still good just not as good. My issue with it is the 1 HDMI 2.0 port.
I have two decent size black blotches that can be can't be unseen. Sure they only come up when the content is dark, but they remind me of the kind of thing you saw on the OLED Vita screens. Likely going to exchange. Other than that, the inability to directly switch inputs, and how using an HDMI input kills any Roku app, I do thinks it's a nice set.
Coincidentally enough, that's what I tried. I mean, it looks pretty okay, I'm just not sure it justifies a new TV. I'm starting to think about returning it. Not sure I really need to go to 4k HDR if this is what it's like.
Here are the settings that RTings recommends: https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/tcl/p-series-2017-p607/settings
Well the no remote no FALD costco version the tcl c803 goes for 450$(or can reach that price, don't know current price), meaning square trade guarantee is far cheaper as it's under 500$. Together with citi visa extended warranty + manufacturer warranty, that's like 6 years of warranty. I think at such a prize it's a steal. Dolby vision + HDR 10 + 4k + roku.
That should hold until OLED drops near 1000$ with the freesync hdmi and all the new standards.
My issue is that I just don't really see a major difference between those and my 1080p set to warrant any upgrade at all. I see a difference, but it's minor at best. Maybe I need to watch something else. I felt like I had to actively searching for differences.
Thank you so much. Not sure how I hadn't found this myself yet.
I don't even have the TV yet but I've gone through rtings.com's review multiple times just matching and comparing it with other TV's and getting pleasantly surprised at how well the TV rates compared to some almost double-priced screens. My home renovation should be done within this week and I'll be picking this TV up over the weekend hopefully if its in stock at Best Buy's near me.
Depends on how far you're sitting too. With 55 inches you have to be like 4 feet away to better tell the additional detail, iirc.
Yooo, wait. Twist on the whole saga about it looking marginally better.
I was -streaming- 4k HDR. How big is the quality difference between streaming 4k HDR and a 4k UHD disc?
Just an FYI for this thread. The Vizio 55 inch P series, which is their top of the line is on sale this week for 799 at Costco. Pretty amazing deal. Think I'm going to go grab one of those with the free warranty they give.
I think the viewing angles were pretty much typical with other VA panel tvs. Its really not that bad though unless you are looking at it from an extreme angle.
Huge. UHD Blu-rays ill be 50+ GB at least. Any streaming will be in the 3-5 GB range, and that's the high quality stuff.
Compression has gotten better but it's still compression. The only "lossless" sources for video are physical media.
Just throwing in my experience since I've seen a lot of users talking about it:
Originally I bought a TCL P605 from BestBuy. Great picture but the DSE/banding was awful. Like someone else mentioned, Mario Odyssey was like watching through a screen door.
I ended up swapping it out for a Vizio M55 since my B.B. was out of the TCL's at the time. I'll say the Vizio still has some DSE/banding but it's not as bad as the TCL. I prefer the roku interface but i thought the color uniformity was a little better on the Vizio. The finish of the product felt less cheap as well.
I wish all the HDMI inputs were 2.0, but since I'm only running an xbox one through it, it didn't matter too much to me.
I wanted to like the TCL, but the uniformity was such a distraction in games and sports that I couldn't keep it. I've thought about swapping the Vizio one more time, but I think that DSE is going to be on any panel that isn't OLED, especially at the price point.
For what it's worth, I think it's impossible to get a flawless panel for what we are looking for. I've looked on my older and smaller LCDs and the DSE is definitely there, too.
Originally I bought a TCL P605 from BestBuy. Great picture but the DSE/banding was awful. Like someone else mentioned, Mario Odyssey was like watching through a screen door.
I ended up swapping it out for a Vizio M55 since my B.B. was out of the TCL's at the time. I'll say the Vizio still has some DSE/banding but it's not as bad as the TCL. I prefer the roku interface but i thought the color uniformity was a little better on the Vizio. The finish of the product felt less cheap as well.
I wish all the HDMI inputs were 2.0, but since I'm only running an xbox one through it, it didn't matter too much to me.
I wanted to like the TCL, but the uniformity was such a distraction in games and sports that I couldn't keep it. I've thought about swapping the Vizio one more time, but I think that DSE is going to be on any panel that isn't OLED, especially at the price point.
For what it's worth, I think it's impossible to get a flawless panel for what we are looking for. I've looked on my older and smaller LCDs and the DSE is definitely there, too.
can you give more details on the differences you noticed between the two? did the vizio get as bright as the tcl? did you notice the difference in input lag? i'm trying to decide between the 2.
Pretty much why I will be returning mine. Im going to try out the Vizio P series since its 799 at costco right now and see how that is.
I've never maxed out brightness on any tv I've owned, but both were plenty bright for me, and that was only using 50% of the backlight. I've been playing lots of BF1 and Cuphead on the XBone and haven't noticed any difference in lag. Both are very good, but the TCL is a little better. Now my Vizio is dropping WiFi connections so I may have to swap that. I may try the TCL once more and hope for a better panel.
Can any one comment on the TCL S series? Comparing the reviews to the P series it only seems slightly worse and doesn't have a wide color gamut (I have no idea what this means) I don't own any 4K consoles and don't plan on getting one any time soon, and with the costco gift card I've got I'd basically be paying $150 for this TV.
keep in mind the 55 inch vizio p is a IPS panel
is the input lag noticeable?
It seems they only sell refurbished ones here, for a good hundred dollars more. My TV is holding strong, but it's old and has some issues, so I'll need to buy one soon.