The Market: TCL's Full Array Local Dimming Takes Center Stage

In recent years, market trends have shifted towards incorporating full array local dimming (FALD) technology in LCD TVs. This innovative feature allows for more precise control over brightness and contrast, resulting in a better viewing experience. However, FALD-equipped TVs are often compared to OLED models, which are known for their superior picture quality due to the unique properties of organic light-emitting diodes.

TCL's latest TV model, the 6 series, employs full array local dimming using mini LEDs. These smaller LEDs pack a punch in terms of brightness and control contrast, making them an attractive option compared to standard LEDs found on other TVs. The mini LEDs allow for more precise adjustments, resulting in improved overall picture quality. This is particularly evident when it comes to contrast and brightness, which are crucial factors in creating a visually stunning experience.

Gaming Capabilities: A Solid Performer

When it comes to gaming, TCL's 6 series holds its own against high-end TVs from brands like Sony and Samsung. While the Sony X900H takes the lead with 4K at 120Hz input, the TCL 6 series delivers excellent picture quality for most gamers. The TV features a THX Game Mode that allows it to handle higher-quality inputs from PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, although it can't quite match the full 4K at 120Hz input of some other top-tier TVs.

One notable feature of the TCL 6 series is its support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). This technology enables the TV to adjust its refresh rate to match the frame rate of the game or content being displayed, reducing screen tearing and providing a smoother viewing experience. Additionally, the TV supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) and 4K resolution, making it an excellent choice for those seeking an immersive cinematic experience.

Design: Sleek and Sophisticated

While features are essential in any TV, design plays a significant role in many consumers' purchasing decisions. The TCL 6 series boasts a sleek and sophisticated design that is sure to appeal to those who value aesthetics. The TV's thin bezel and metallic accents create a premium look, even if it doesn't quite reach the level of some high-end models like the Samsung Q80.

The stand legs on either side of the TV add to its overall design, although they do require a larger piece of furniture than some other TVs on the market. This is a minor consideration, as most viewers watch TV from a seated position rather than standing or sitting near the edge of their couch. The TCL 6 series' design is undoubtedly one of its strengths.

Smart TV System: Roku TV Shines

TCL's smart TV system is powered by Roku TV, which has earned a reputation for being user-friendly and feature-rich. The remote control is particularly noteworthy, with simple navigation and intuitive shortcut keys that make it easy to find your favorite apps or access frequently used features. One potential drawback is the absence of an HBO Max app at launch, although this may change in the future.

For now, users can employ AirPlay to access HBO Max on their Apple devices, although this requires a bit more setup and effort. Nevertheless, the TCL 6 series's Roku TV system remains one of its standout features, offering a seamless and engaging viewing experience without unnecessary complexity or clutter.

In conclusion, the TCL 6 series stands out as an excellent value proposition for those seeking a high-quality TV without breaking the bank. Its full array local dimming using mini LEDs delivers better contrast and brightness compared to many other TVs on the market. The TV's gaming capabilities are impressive, if not quite matching top-tier models. Design-wise, it is sleek and sophisticated, with a premium look that is sure to appeal to many consumers. Finally, its Roku TV system shines, offering a user-friendly interface and feature-rich experience without unnecessary complexity or clutter.

Ultimately, the TCL 6 series is an excellent choice for those seeking a complete package of features, design, and picture quality at an affordable price point. Its performance in our tests has left us impressed, making it our top recommendation for the money so far this year.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everybody 2020 is finally wrapping up and i've had the chance this year to test a bunch of tvs in my basement my favorite overall for the money is the pcl6 series here's why start off with features most of the good tvs on the market these days feature full array local dimming those are the lcd tvs they're not quite as good in picture quality as the oled tvs those oled tvs cost a lot more money this tcl has that full array local dimming but unlike most other tvs out there it uses mini leds now yeah the leds that power the picture are smaller than standard leds found on other tvs but the big advantage is that there's more of them and you can pack a lot more into the screen and get a lot more brightness and control contrast a lot better talk about that in a little bit so that's a real point in the tcl's picture quality favor i'll also talk about gaming on this set the tcl very good gaming capabilities not quite as good as some of the other higher end tvs on the market from sony and samsung i compared this tv directly to a sony x900h for example while the sony does take 4k 120hz input unlike this tcl tcl look better overall for picture quality the tcl6 series has a thx game mode that allows it to take some of the higher quality inputs from playstation 5 xbox series x now it can't handle full 4k 120 frames per second input like some of the other high-end tvs on the market can but it does do 1440 at 120 and it does 60 hertz at 4k so at the end of the day it's plenty of gaming for a lot of people oh yeah this tv also supports variable refresh rate and of course like most of the other good tvs out there this tcl is 4k resolution it's got hdr and it's got all the things you really need in the tv with none of that extra fluff like built-in voice assistance of course features aren't everything on a tv design is a big factor for a lot of people this tcl looks really good again not as good as some of the higher end tvs like the samsung q80 in particular but it does look really sleek it's got a nice thin bezel around the edge metallic accents a little bit thick when seen from the side but again nobody watches tv from the side there's also these stand legs to either side they do require a larger piece of furniture like i have here than some other tvs on the market use a central stand like that samsung but all things considered design not a problem on this a real strength is its smart tv system tcl uses roku tv on the 6 series and i really like it my favorite overall smart tv system because it's super simple has a ton of apps and the remote is really cool it's actually one of the simplest remotes out there a few shortcut keys nothing really confusing and pretty much anybody can figure out how it works one of the downsides to tcl's roku system however is no hbo max app at least not yet by the time you see this maybe they'll have added it but of course roku and hbo max still a little loggerheads there so that's one point against it where some other tvs and smart systems have a hbo max app of course you can use airplay on this tv if you want to get hbo max a little bit of a work around there but you know if you're an hbo mac subscriber and you still want this tcl it's worth the hassle so features and design were really solid but what really had this tcl stand out in my tests was picture quality compared to a lot of other tvs on the market that cost more money this tcl actually delivers better contrast and particularly better brightness those mini leds that i mentioned at the top really put out a lot of light this particular tv measured about a thousand nits that's excellent especially with hdr material and bright rooms so you get that extra brightness but you also don't lose any contrast the local dimming on this tv works very well to preserve the black levels darker areas of the picture which again are super important for creating that pop and impact side by side with the sony x900h and the vizio m series which does cost a little bit less this tcl was clearly better and it kept up very well with the vizio p series which is a little bit more expensive so to sum it all up the tcl six series is the complete package excellent picture quality really good features and design nothing extra that you don't really need at a price that you can really afford again of all the tvs i've tested this year tcl6 series is my favorite for the money so that's it for 2020 2021 is right around the corner let's hope it's a better year and i'll see you next year in the tv review lab i'm david katzmeyer for cnethey everybody 2020 is finally wrapping up and i've had the chance this year to test a bunch of tvs in my basement my favorite overall for the money is the pcl6 series here's why start off with features most of the good tvs on the market these days feature full array local dimming those are the lcd tvs they're not quite as good in picture quality as the oled tvs those oled tvs cost a lot more money this tcl has that full array local dimming but unlike most other tvs out there it uses mini leds now yeah the leds that power the picture are smaller than standard leds found on other tvs but the big advantage is that there's more of them and you can pack a lot more into the screen and get a lot more brightness and control contrast a lot better talk about that in a little bit so that's a real point in the tcl's picture quality favor i'll also talk about gaming on this set the tcl very good gaming capabilities not quite as good as some of the other higher end tvs on the market from sony and samsung i compared this tv directly to a sony x900h for example while the sony does take 4k 120hz input unlike this tcl tcl look better overall for picture quality the tcl6 series has a thx game mode that allows it to take some of the higher quality inputs from playstation 5 xbox series x now it can't handle full 4k 120 frames per second input like some of the other high-end tvs on the market can but it does do 1440 at 120 and it does 60 hertz at 4k so at the end of the day it's plenty of gaming for a lot of people oh yeah this tv also supports variable refresh rate and of course like most of the other good tvs out there this tcl is 4k resolution it's got hdr and it's got all the things you really need in the tv with none of that extra fluff like built-in voice assistance of course features aren't everything on a tv design is a big factor for a lot of people this tcl looks really good again not as good as some of the higher end tvs like the samsung q80 in particular but it does look really sleek it's got a nice thin bezel around the edge metallic accents a little bit thick when seen from the side but again nobody watches tv from the side there's also these stand legs to either side they do require a larger piece of furniture like i have here than some other tvs on the market use a central stand like that samsung but all things considered design not a problem on this a real strength is its smart tv system tcl uses roku tv on the 6 series and i really like it my favorite overall smart tv system because it's super simple has a ton of apps and the remote is really cool it's actually one of the simplest remotes out there a few shortcut keys nothing really confusing and pretty much anybody can figure out how it works one of the downsides to tcl's roku system however is no hbo max app at least not yet by the time you see this maybe they'll have added it but of course roku and hbo max still a little loggerheads there so that's one point against it where some other tvs and smart systems have a hbo max app of course you can use airplay on this tv if you want to get hbo max a little bit of a work around there but you know if you're an hbo mac subscriber and you still want this tcl it's worth the hassle so features and design were really solid but what really had this tcl stand out in my tests was picture quality compared to a lot of other tvs on the market that cost more money this tcl actually delivers better contrast and particularly better brightness those mini leds that i mentioned at the top really put out a lot of light this particular tv measured about a thousand nits that's excellent especially with hdr material and bright rooms so you get that extra brightness but you also don't lose any contrast the local dimming on this tv works very well to preserve the black levels darker areas of the picture which again are super important for creating that pop and impact side by side with the sony x900h and the vizio m series which does cost a little bit less this tcl was clearly better and it kept up very well with the vizio p series which is a little bit more expensive so to sum it all up the tcl six series is the complete package excellent picture quality really good features and design nothing extra that you don't really need at a price that you can really afford again of all the tvs i've tested this year tcl6 series is my favorite for the money so that's it for 2020 2021 is right around the corner let's hope it's a better year and i'll see you next year in the tv review lab i'm david katzmeyer for cnethey everybody 2020 is finally wrapping up and i've had the chance this year to test a bunch of tvs in my basement my favorite overall for the money is the pcl6 series here's why start off with features most of the good tvs on the market these days feature full array local dimming those are the lcd tvs they're not quite as good in picture quality as the oled tvs those oled tvs cost a lot more money this tcl has that full array local dimming but unlike most other tvs out there it uses mini leds now yeah the leds that power the picture are smaller than standard leds found on other tvs but the big advantage is that there's more of them and you can pack a lot more into the screen and get a lot more brightness and control contrast a lot better talk about that in a little bit so that's a real point in the tcl's picture quality favor i'll also talk about gaming on this set the tcl very good gaming capabilities not quite as good as some of the other higher end tvs on the market from sony and samsung i compared this tv directly to a sony x900h for example while the sony does take 4k 120hz input unlike this tcl tcl look better overall for picture quality the tcl6 series has a thx game mode that allows it to take some of the higher quality inputs from playstation 5 xbox series x now it can't handle full 4k 120 frames per second input like some of the other high-end tvs on the market can but it does do 1440 at 120 and it does 60 hertz at 4k so at the end of the day it's plenty of gaming for a lot of people oh yeah this tv also supports variable refresh rate and of course like most of the other good tvs out there this tcl is 4k resolution it's got hdr and it's got all the things you really need in the tv with none of that extra fluff like built-in voice assistance of course features aren't everything on a tv design is a big factor for a lot of people this tcl looks really good again not as good as some of the higher end tvs like the samsung q80 in particular but it does look really sleek it's got a nice thin bezel around the edge metallic accents a little bit thick when seen from the side but again nobody watches tv from the side there's also these stand legs to either side they do require a larger piece of furniture like i have here than some other tvs on the market use a central stand like that samsung but all things considered design not a problem on this a real strength is its smart tv system tcl uses roku tv on the 6 series and i really like it my favorite overall smart tv system because it's super simple has a ton of apps and the remote is really cool it's actually one of the simplest remotes out there a few shortcut keys nothing really confusing and pretty much anybody can figure out how it works one of the downsides to tcl's roku system however is no hbo max app at least not yet by the time you see this maybe they'll have added it but of course roku and hbo max still a little loggerheads there so that's one point against it where some other tvs and smart systems have a hbo max app of course you can use airplay on this tv if you want to get hbo max a little bit of a work around there but you know if you're an hbo mac subscriber and you still want this tcl it's worth the hassle so features and design were really solid but what really had this tcl stand out in my tests was picture quality compared to a lot of other tvs on the market that cost more money this tcl actually delivers better contrast and particularly better brightness those mini leds that i mentioned at the top really put out a lot of light this particular tv measured about a thousand nits that's excellent especially with hdr material and bright rooms so you get that extra brightness but you also don't lose any contrast the local dimming on this tv works very well to preserve the black levels darker areas of the picture which again are super important for creating that pop and impact side by side with the sony x900h and the vizio m series which does cost a little bit less this tcl was clearly better and it kept up very well with the vizio p series which is a little bit more expensive so to sum it all up the tcl six series is the complete package excellent picture quality really good features and design nothing extra that you don't really need at a price that you can really afford again of all the tvs i've tested this year tcl6 series is my favorite for the money so that's it for 2020 2021 is right around the corner let's hope it's a better year and i'll see you next year in the tv review lab i'm david katzmeyer for cnet\n"