The new TCL 6-Series Roku TV has massive footwear to fill. For two years working it has been my favourite TV for on a regular basis consumers, with wonderful picture high quality, class-leading smarts and an reasonably priced value. The 2020 model provides a brand new backlight system powered by mini-LED, improved gaming options and a 75-inch measurement, but retains the price reasonably priced. The result’s the most effective image high quality for the cash I’ve examined this 12 months.

LikeWonderful total picture qualitySuperior brightness for the priceGreat recreation mode efficiencyRoku good TV is straightforward, succesful

Don’t LikeSome points with low-light dimmingNo Peacock, HBO Max or Apple AirPlay

Those mini-LEDs maximize brightness, main to raised photographs in shiny rooms and with HDR. Local dimming, in the meantime, manages to maintain black ranges darkish and total distinction excellent — though it isn’t excellent. And players will recognize the brand new THX Certified recreation mode, which serves up quick response time with minimal lag and wonderful picture high quality.

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TCL 6-Series Roku TV evaluation: Brighter and higher than…

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Compared to the 2019 6-Series, which continues to be a superb TV if you’ll find one in inventory, the 2020 model is best in just about each manner and value an additional $100 or so on the 65-inch measurement. The new 6-Series is not nearly as good because the 2019 TCL 8-Series, nevertheless, which has a fair brighter picture and higher native dimming. Normally there is a massive value hole between the 2 however when the 8-Series is on sale — because it usually appears to be — video high quality snobs who do not wish to spring for OLED ought to most likely select the 8 as a substitute.

I’ll replace this evaluation when I’ve the possibility to check out extra 2020 TVs — coming quickly — however going into the vacation season the TCL 6-Series is already powerful to beat, particularly as soon as the normal November value drops kick in.
Red Roku, metallic body, spectacular image mark TCL 6-Series
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Gray metallic physique, adjustable feetTCL’s midrange TVs have a way more polished look than their funds units and the brand new 6-Series is not any exception. The slim body across the picture and thicker backside edge are darkish grey textured metallic, with refined TCL and Roku logos. Not-so-subtle is the massive accent mild beneath the central brand — it turns off whenever you activate the TV, fortunately, however I want there was a method to disable it totally (Update: you’ll be able to! Go to Settings, System, Power, and switch off the Standby LED. Thanks to commenter chazzsubscribe).New for 2019 is a dual-position stand leg association on the 65- and 75-inch sizes that permits you to place the legs both out towards the sting of the panel, as seen within the photographs right here, or extra towards the middle. Both additionally embrace a cable cozy within the legs that allow you to kinda conceal HDMI, energy and different connectors.

David Katzmaier/CNET
Hello, Roku, goodbye, HBO Max and PeacockI’m a fan of Roku TV, for causes I’ve documented extensively in earlier critiques. Here’s the brief record why:Frequent updates and have enhancements.Simple menus with full customization, together with enter naming.Inputs on the identical dwelling web page as TV apps.More apps (and 4K HDR apps) than every other good TV system.Cross-platform search covers many providers and permits value comparisons.Like different Roku gadgets, the TCL 6-Series is at present lacking apps for Peacock and HBO Max. HBO subscribers can nonetheless watch HBO exhibits utilizing the usual HBO app, however will not get entry to Max-specific exhibits equivalent to Friends or Love Life. There’s no method to entry Peacock on the TV until you join one other streaming machine.Another factor at present lacking from the Roku platform — and out there on competing good TVs from Vizio, Samsung and LG — is help for Apple’s AirPlay system. The Apple TV app, which incorporates entry to Apple TV Plus, is on-board.
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The 6-Series contains the straightforward Roku distant with built-in voice management. Roku’s voice perform is not almost as sturdy as Amazon Alexa, discovered on Fire Edition TVs, for instance, nevertheless it labored superb for searches, app launching, switching inputs and tuning to an antenna channel. If the TV is off, a voice command like “Launch Netflix” will flip it on and launch the app.Mini-LED leads an enormous record of optionsMini-LEDs are, as you might need guessed, smaller than customary LEDs, permitting them to be grouped into extra native dimming zones. Full-array native dimming is one of the simplest ways to enhance image high quality on LCD TVs. It permits the backlight — the half behind the LCD display that gives illumination — to dim and illuminate totally different areas concurrently. Smaller areas, or extra dimming zones, imply extra exact illumination, which finally will increase distinction, an important ingredient in a very good image.Key TV options

Display expertise

LED LCD (Mini-LED)

LED backlight

Full array with native dimming

Number of zones

55-inch: 128, 65-inch: 160, 75-inch: 240

Resolution

4K

HDR suitable

HDR10 and Dolby Vision

Smart TV

Roku TV

Remote

Voice

TCL continues to be the one TV maker to make use of mini-LED expertise, first within the 8-Series and now within the 6-Series, however specs on the 6-Series aren’t almost as spectacular. The cheaper 6 has round 1,000 LEDs and 240 zones on the 75-inch measurement, whereas the costlier 8 has 10,000 mini-LEDs and 1,000 zones. That’s probably the most important purpose the 6-Series did not carry out in addition to the 8-Series in my assessments.Read extra: Mini-LED is right here: How smaller lights might result in massive TV enhancementsThe 2020 Vizio P-Series might be the brand new 6-Series’ closest competitor and it truly has extra native dimming zones than the TCL — 200 on the 65-inch measurement. The Hisense H9G matches the TCL with 160 zones on the 65-inch measurement, whereas different TV makers like Sony and Samsung do not specify variety of zones. Another enchancment over the 2019 6-Series is a real 120Hz refresh price on all sizes within the collection, which ends up in higher movement efficiency. Like most TVs in its class at present the 6-Series makes use of quantum dots that assist enhance shade in comparison with non-QD-equipped TVs. And in fact it helps each Dolby Vision and HDR10 excessive dynamic vary codecs. These days mainly the one producer that does not is Samsung.
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Inputs are ample:4x HDMI inputs1x analog (composite) video input1x USB port (2.0)Ethernet (wired web)1x headphone jack1x optical digital audio output1x RF (antenna) enterThe 2020 6-Series helps Auto Game Mode that engages the brand new THX Certified recreation mode routinely when related to a suitable machine. New for this 12 months it additionally has variable refresh price and the power to just accept body charges as much as 120Hz. The latter are each vital capabilities of the upcoming PS5 and Xbox consoles, however hardcore players ought to word that the 6-Series lacks the power to do 4K decision 120Hz with HDR, as a substitute maxing out at 1440p decision. The Vizio P-Series and Sony X900H, in the meantime, can deal with 4K/120 with HDR. I’m unsure how massive a distinction it’s going to make however I plan to check the brand new TVs with these consoles after they come out.Picture high quality comparisonsClick the picture above to see CNET’s image settings.
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While the TCL 6-Series put out a superb picture, I can not say but the way it competes in opposition to the 2020 Vizio and Hisense units talked about above, since I have not reviewed them but. Against the TVs I’ve reviewed, nevertheless, its total image is best than every other set that earned an 8 on this class — but not fairly worthy of the 9 I gave the brighter and costlier 8-Series and Vizio PX from final 12 months, not to mention OLED fashions just like the CX that earned a 10. The new 6-Series nails the fundamentals and appears nice for gaming, however some points with dimming in choose scenes held it again a bit.

Dim lighting: With customary Blu-ray and different SDR content material calibrated for a darkish room, the TVs seemed very comparable, and any variations could be powerful to differentiate exterior of a side-by-side comparability. Overall the Sony confirmed barely lighter black ranges than the TCLs, for a barely much less impactful and contrasty picture, and between the three TCLs the 8-Series seemed greatest by a nostril.Watching 1917 on Blu-ray, for instance, after the soldier awakens in chapter 13 (1:06:38), the 635’s letterbox bars and shadows seemed more true and extra inky than the Sony’s, whereas I might discern extra of the folds of his uniform and partitions within the background than on the 625. Meanwhile the 635 and the 8-Series have been closest of all, with the one actual distinction being barely higher shadow element on the 8-Series.During the extraordinarily darkish assault on Hogwarts from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the 635 once more seemed greatest other than the 8-Series. Compared to the 625 from 2019 its black ranges have been very barely worse however shadow element was considerably higher, and all three TCLs maintained black ranges higher than the Sony. In content material vulnerable to blooming, for instance once I introduced up the playback controls throughout a black display, the TCLs all did a greater job controlling the stray illumination than the Sony, which lit up bigger parts of the picture. The 635 did present blooming extra with brighter content material, nevertheless, together with HDR (see beneath).Bright lighting: The TCL 6-Series is the brightest TV I’ve ever measured at this value. Brighter TVs just like the 8-Series and the Vizio PX value much more — as do quite a few dimmer examples just like the Sony X900H. Light output in nits

TV

Brightest (SDR)

Accurate shade (SDR)

Brightest (HDR)

Accurate shade (HDR)

Vizio PX65-G1

1,990

1,120

2,908

2,106

TCL 65Q825

1,653

904

1,818

982

TCL 65R635

1,114

792

1,292

1,102

Sony XBR-65X900H

841

673

989

795

TCL 65R625

653

578

881

813

Vizio M658-G1

633

400

608

531

LG OLED65CX

377

290

690

634

The TCL’s brightest settings, “TV Brightness: brighter” and “Picture mode: Vivid,” (or “Bright HDR” for HDR content material) are terribly inaccurate. An correct bright-room image is laudably straightforward to realize, nevertheless. Just swap the mode to “Movie” or “Dark HDR” mode, which reduces mild output however delivers a significantly better picture. Under shiny lighting the 2020 6-Series’ TCL’s display carried out a bit higher than final 12 months’s mannequin, in addition to the Sony, at mitigating reflections and preserving black ranges and distinction. Overall its bright-room picture is simply as spectacular for the worth as its dwelling theater image.Color accuracy: According to my measurements the TCL 635’s shade was wonderful earlier than calibration in Movie mode and even higher afterward. Watching 1917, for essentially the most half I’d name its shade wonderful as nicely, as indicated by the numbers. It did seem barely much less saturated than the opposite three at instances, for instance, within the faces of the troopers or the reddish glow of the firelight. In normal the distinction was minimal, nevertheless, and in different scenes it was a lot much less seen.Video processing: The 6-Series is a 120Hz native TV with loads of choices for dealing with movement. The most evident is Action Smoothing which has 4 settings. In Off the TV delivers right 1080p/24 movie cadence however within the different settings, Low and better, it causes the TV to have the buttery smoothness of the Soap Opera Effect.Those different settings, “Action Clarity” and “LED Motion Clarity,” have an effect on movement decision and work together with each other. The excellent news is that attaining most movement decision would not require SOE. When I toggled LED Motion Clarity on, partaking black body insertion, and cranked Action Clarity to High, I measured a wholesome 1,080 traces of decision — superb, albeit inferior to the Sony or another 120Hz TVs I’ve examined. Turning LED Motion Clarity off reduces decision out at 600 traces. I most well-liked to depart AC on High and switch LED Motion Clarity off as a result of the latter dims the picture barely and launched some flicker. Viewers very averse to blur may wish to depart it on, nevertheless.Compared to final 12 months the 2020 6-Series added a pair milliseconds of gaming enter lag, clocking in at round 18/19ms for each 1080p and 4K HDR in recreation mode. Twitch players may discover, however no person else will. That stated, the possibilities of noticing lag go manner up for anyone who would not use recreation mode in 4K HDR: I measured 134ms (!) in 4K with recreation mode turned off.”Game mode” is definitely one other complicated setting on the 2020 6-Series. You can apply it to any image mode (equivalent to Movie) or select the precise “Gaming”https://www.cnet.com/”Gaming HDR” image mode, which invokes THX’s particular sauce. In each circumstances enter lag was mainly the identical.Uniformity: With take a look at patterns the 2020 6-Series was strong with out an excessive amount of brightness variation throughout the display: barely higher alongside the perimeters than the 2019 6-Series and higher within the center than the Sony. One blemish on my evaluation pattern was a pair of very barely darker spots within the center proper. They have been fairly refined: I solely seen them on take a look at patterns and demanding materials like hockey. From off-angle the 65R635 preserved extra black degree constancy than the 625 and the Sony, whereas off-angle shade was just like the opposite TCLs and worse than the Sony.

HDR and 4K video: As regular with shiny, contrasty HDR materials I noticed extra variations than with SDR. To get a baseline I began with the video montage from the Spears and Munsil 4K HDR benchmark disc, and the 635’s benefits stood out over the Sony and the 2019 6-Series. In the cityscape scenes just like the Ferris wheel at evening (4:49), the 635’s highlights seemed brighter than the opposite TCL, whereas the black ranges of the sky and shadows have been considerably darker than the Sony. Meanwhile the 8-series seemed better of all, with blacks as darkish because the 635 and brighter highlights.In troublesome scenes with objects in opposition to black backgrounds all three TCLs confirmed comparable inky black ranges however the highlights have been fairly visibly totally different. The 635 was persistently brighter than both the Sony or the 625 (the pen at 4:12 was a very good instance) and dimmer than the 8-Series. In principally white scenes, just like the mountains and the horses grazing within the snowfield, the 2020 635 once more measured the brightest other than the 8-Series.As with SDR the 635’s shade did seem barely much less impactful and saturated at instances, notably orange just like the sunsets or the wings of a monarch butterfly at 3:51. And similar to with SDR the distinction was refined and the form of factor I would not discover exterior of a side-by-side comparability. And in different scenes, just like the purple, inexperienced and yellow of the tulip discipline, the 635 seemed simply as vibrant and punchy as the opposite three. Moving on to the 1917 4K Blu-ray disc it was principally the identical story, however in a few blended shiny and darkish scenes that actually take a look at native dimming, the 635 stumbled. When the troopers meet the final within the bunker (5:20), the 635 confirmed extra blooming and stray illumination within the troopers silhouettes, the shadows and letterbox bars than the others. I attempted lowering the brightness setting from Brighter (which I like to recommend for HDR on this TV typically) to Normal (which put it at roughly the identical total mild output because the 2019 TCL) and or Darker (the dimmest possibility and far dimmer than both one). If I had to decide on between the Sony’s lighter black ranges and the 635’s blooming, I’d nonetheless take the 635, however each of the opposite TCLs dealt with this scene higher.And as regular the impact diversified fairly a bit. In the following darkish bunker scene, round 25:45, the 635’s blooming was a lot much less noticeable, maybe due to the best way the flashlights and digicam moved by means of the rooms. On the opposite hand within the Chapter 13 awakening scene the TCL 635 was mainly unwatchable: its dimming kicked in aggressively to crush nearly all of the shadow element within the scene, the uniform and background have been invisible and blooming rampant. Changing the image mode to Bright HDR reclaimed a lot of the element however made different features of the picture look worse, particularly in brighter scenes. The 625 seemed a bit higher (however not nice) throughout this scene, the 8-Series seemed considerably higher, whereas the Sony seemed the most effective regardless of its lighter black ranges, exhibiting minimal native dimming results.HDR shade throughout 1917 confirmed the Sony because the palest and least saturated of the three on this pale and unsaturated film, and to my eye the 635 and 8-Series seemed essentially the most balanced. HDR shade accuracy measurements gave the Sony the benefit over the 635.4K HDR gaming: For this take a look at I performed The Last of Us Part 2 on a PS4 Pro within the TVs’ varied Game modes: Gaming HDR (aka THX-certified Game Mode) for the 635, Dark HDR/Brighter/”Game mode” toggle on for the opposite two TCLs and Game mode on the Sony. In my comparability THX Game mode did a superb job of balancing picture high quality and low enter lag.In these settings the 635 had the most effective distinction, brightest highlights and most punch of the bunch — the opposite three seemed extra washed-out. When you are crawling round a darkish constructing looking zombies, nevertheless, shadow element is extra vital than black degree and distinction, as a result of it permits you to peer into darkish recesses to identify enemies. By that measure the Sony was higher than the 635, delivering each ounce of element within the darkest shadows whereas the 635 was a bit extra shrouded, albeit nonetheless higher than the opposite two. If I needed most zombie-spot potential on I’d set the sport’s Contrast slider a bit decrease.Moving out into the day-lit Seattle streets the 635 once more seemed greatest total due to superior distinction, which as regular helped colours pop. Of course you’ll be able to reclaim the native distinction of the opposite TCLs by turning off the Game mode toggle however the trade-off is excessive enter lag  — which was insupportable as I performed the sport. Geek Box

Test

Result

Score

Black luminance (0%)

0.005

Good

Peak white luminance (SDR)

1114

Good

Avg. gamma (10-100%)

2.2

Good

Avg. grayscale error (10-100%)

0.44

Good

Dark grey error (30%)

0.40

Good

Bright grey error (80%)

0.54

Good

Avg. shade checker error

1.60

Good

Avg. saturation sweeps error

1.56

Good

Avg. shade error

1.39

Good

Red error

1.36

Good

Green error

2.16

Good

Blue error

1.61

Good

Cyan error

1.29

Good

Magenta error

1.17

Good

Yellow error

0.72

Good

1080p/24 Cadence (IAL)

Pass

Good

Motion decision (max)

1080

Good

Motion decision (dejudder off)

600

Average

Input lag (Game mode)

19ms

Average

HDR10

Black luminance (0%)

0.011

Good

Peak white luminance (10% win)

1292

Good

Gamut % UHDA/P3 (CIE 1976)

96.51

Good

ColorMatch HDR error

10.91

Poor

Avg. shade checker error

4.96

Average

Input lag (Game mode, 4K HDR)

18.27ms

Average

TCL 65R635 CNET evaluation calibration outcomes by David Katzmaier on Scribd