Its funny because all these grand Japanese OEMs like Sony and Panasonic got undercut by Korean rivals like LG and Samsung in the 2000s, which forced Sony to move further into exclusively high priced devices and for many other OEMs to leave the US or global market.
Now TCL and HiSense are undercutting the grand Korean OEMs, which is slowly forcing them out of the low-middle end market.
I upgraded from a 20+ year old Phillips LCD to TCL’s QM8K, and the display technology for being a QLED panel is astounding. It looks 95% like a high quality OLED for a fraction of the cost.
Only downside is Google TV (Junk Android that you have to debloat a bit) and for some reason the TV can’t passthrough Dolby Atmos from app players like Kodi, even though it can do DTS-X just fine. I’m pretty sure the second issue is just a software bug, but TCL has been taking ages to respond. Pass through from an external source works perfectly fine though.
If you’re in the market, I highly recommend seeing it in person at a hardware/electronics store. The side by side comparison is insane.
The only negative thing about my TCL tv is that it’s running Google tv launcher. I replaced that with Projectivy.
I went from Sony, Samsung, and LG to now buying TCL. At under $1000 for a 65", they’re the best option.
Anything under $1500 I’d bet on TCL. Keep in mind TCL manufacturers a great chunk of the worlds LCDs that aren’t just for TCL. Pretty sure they bought LGs LCD plants. Maybe Samsung too.
Their TVs have a lot of dimming zones. Sony I don’t think makes LCDs or OLED panels themselves. At least one line of their TVs use TCL panels already. They buy from others
Here’s a review for the model that came out last year. At this point where’s it’s regularly on “sale” for $1000. TVs are MSRP for like half a year and then the discounts always seem to me to be happening
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/tcl/qm8k
1,680 dimming zones in the 65" model and from what I’ve read, the global models are usually one year behind China. So in 2025 China had TCL TVs with even more dimming zones. 8 years ago sub $1000 65" with array LED backlight zones were like 100-200 zones. OLED were incredibly better and would kill off LCDs when prices came down. The density of dimming zones I think progressed faster than people expected
So TCL has solid image processing while Sony has great image processing but not so much better for me to think it’s worth it. Same with the $1000-2000 mini-led backlit LCDs vs OLED. Yes OLED looks better. Don’t feel like it’s large enough for me to go much higher than a $1000 TV. That’s a reality for home theater brands today. TVs, speakers, receivers/amplifiers, headphones, mics, etc - there’s good stuff at low prices.
Everyone’s competing on value now. There used to always be rumors about a Apple TV (actual TV) and Apple EVs. Never hear about rumors for those anymore. Don’t think the quality difference possibility and profit margins exist to make those appealing anymore for Apple. Sony like Apple is increasingly a services/media company.
Samsung - Tizen sucks. I don’t recall how LG and WebOS looks, but to me Tizen is leagues above Android and Roku in making your TV into a loud billboard. At least Android you can install a different launcher.
Absolutly nothing Sony, TCL or any of that garbage will ever be in my home. Or any of the advertising supported TV’s. Nope.
What brand do you use of you don’t mind sharing?
Where I live, it’s mostly the Korean brands on top and middle-tier, but for the working class they have an insane number of choices from Chinese makers, despite the quality.
Sony’s modern OLEDs are sick. There are a few between my family, and they have the best processing I’ve seen, they decode massive bluray rips no problem, and native options for a clean ad-free UI.
Why TF aren’t people buying them?
Probably because they’re quite expensive
TV
2026
Honestly, don’t remember the last time I watched TV
is your cell phone battery mostly consumed supporting phone calls
The verge is a garbage paywall site now
I first read it as TLC. You mean the TVs will play nothing but low-grade reality shows?
I used to have a TCL soundbar.
In addition to being extremely mediocre, it promised to integrate with my WiFi so that music could be airplayed through it. After adding it to my WiFi, it still broadcast the open ‘setup’ WiFi network.
If you joined the setup network, you could SSH into the soundbar as root without a password and dump the dhcp.conf file, which would give anyone access to my home WiFi network. Other TCL models also allowed for root via SSH, but used 12345678 as the password. A skilled hacker could just bot these via wardriving and turn them into network listeners.
It may have still broadcast the setup network because I blocked the device from accessing the internet. I only ever went poking around on it because I noticed that the setup network kept getting set to the same channels as my home network and it was causing interference. I eventually just factory reset the device so it had no information on it at all.
After the umpteenth time of not being found by my TV, a hard reset killed it. Just got stuck booting and never recovered.Anyway - crap brand. Sad day for Sony TV fans.
Read about that boot issue and how it starts as a “full storage” message. Also how it was outside the warranty period for most cases, so you end up with a literal brick. I’d be pissed if my TV died just a few years in.
TCL might not make a good sound bar,but I’ve never seen a bad TCL tv. Are they as nice as Sony? Hell no.
Do they cost 1/4 the price? Yep.
Edit: also, PlayStation is the only profit maker for Sony.
And TCL has been making displays for all of the major OEMs for years now.
Playstation is nowhere near the only profit maker for Sony https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/pdf/25q2_sony.pdf (from https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/archive.html)
Make a dumb tv and I’ll be a buyer
Can’t you just use any modem TV and not hook it up to the interwebs?
I believe more and more TVs require network connection for setup.
I used an Ethernet cord for what they made me set up, then unplugged that and have never connected it again.
I usually do this but would still prefer a dumb TV, mainly to reduce the possible points of failure
They will still have those garbage “smart” menus.
What are garbage smart menus that can’t be avoided?
I’m not being funny. I’m still on a Panasonic last gen thin plasma FHD but thinking of upgrading to a LG C5 OLED when they are on final sale when this year models are rolling out. I’m only watching movies through the box connected to it.
Yeah, a dream: dumb TV with awesome modern panel and range of connectivity ports like HDMI, DP, DP over USB-C, composite, scart
I just want one DP input and I’ll decide how to split my inputs with an outside box. The TV should only decide how to show the picture. I don’t need your YouTube app
Look for “commercial display panels.” They’re 3-4 times the price of a smart TV, but they are just basic TVs. If you find a bank, hospital, clinic, or any other privacy focused business that’s going out of business you can generally pick those used displays up pretty cheap.
However, the image quality of those displays is usually worse compared to home displays. This is from a technical who works with these products.
ive heard: buy one made for business
there’s a lot more options there, that dont have ads, etc
Dammit. I’ve had an LG plasma for the last 15, and it looks like I’ll have to get that Sony well before I’m ready for it.
So Sony is now the new RCA. This is a new low for the company. I can’t believe that they are gone just like that.
Well, their TV brand is gone. Their headphones are still the top tier of consumer stuff and price-performance king for studio headphones
Playstation5?
Being the best doesn’t mean they’re selling well… I assume you’re meaning 7506s? So yeah they’re awesome yet dirt cheap, I highly doubt they will keep Sony floating in the long term.
The over the ear noise cancelling one’s are amazing as well
Idk if I used a really bad set of wh1000xm4s but they sucked. Too bassy and muddy. Like more than they should have. I hope their studio headphones are much better in that regard.
Maybe it’s just because I’m an audio engineer so I was able to EQ them to my taste, but I love my WH-1000XM4 cans. But yeah, their studio cans are both top tier and dirt cheap. MDR-7506, they’re like $80 and generally sound like a million bucks because they’re used in basically every single recording studio as reference headphones.
Seems like they’re closer to $110 these days
That’s how I eqed the set I borrowed. I had no eq in Deezer and it was a downloaded flac. It still wasn’t great but better than stock.
Maybe. My current set is a tired pair of Monoprice BT600ANC. I found that the high end of the xm4 lacking compared to the bt600anc. Noise canceling was about the same level as the 600anc.
TCL TVs are fine for the price, but you use a TV with more processing power than whatever hamster wheel TCL uses and you get real lusty real fast. Painfully slow, unresponsive UI.
Crazy. I have a Sony XBR 46” lcd that’s almost 20 years old. It still looks great for what it is (1080p and all). It was a top of the line tv back in the day that’s held its own for a very long time. It’s sad to see great companies/products fail.
Yes, but about 5 years or so ago sony started cheaping out on quality. You used to pay more for a Sony but the TV was better and more reliable than other brands. As of late, they still charged more, but they were just as likely to break or have problems than any other cheaper TV.
20 years ago is when LCD’s got good enough compared to CRTs and plasma.
Not as good but I still have my $1k 40” Sony tv. It’s good enough I don’t think about how much better my OLED is when watching it.
In 2010 the pioneer and Panasonic plasmas had no rival in the tv space. LEDs were far from comparable. LEDs were cheaper mostly, which helped their adoption.
I didn’t say comparable. I said good enough.
I had a TCL phone for a bit about 10 years ago and it was the hottest piece of garbage I had ever touched in my life
I bought a TCL TV a while ago. After a year, backlight died. So they sent me a new one. 6 months later, backlight died. Thankfully I got my money back this time and went with a different brand.
They’ve really worked to turn that around with their TVs. They’re entry level still sure, but for the price it’s hard to beat and their quality control on them has taken a big step up.
Their tvs are cheap because of all the ad and Spyware.
You mean the stuff every TV has these days? I also never hook mine to the internet so not really a problem. I haven’t seen a single ad in the year I’ve had mine
You can still get dumb tvs.
Edit: Yall. They are not hard to find. Please do a search of them. They can even be delivered right to your doorstep.
Yes they are hard to find. They are few and far between and cost over twice the price.
If you have a link or can tell me what store to walk in and get a dumb TV with even half the quality of my current TV I will take it. I could only find business displays which were all stuck at 60hz or had a color spectrum and contrast so bad my ten year old laptop IPS screen beat them.
Well I suspect the quality is not going to be up to your standard, but this is the one I have in my living room, and I think it’s perfectly fine. But if you just can’t live without 120hz or whatever, then I guess you’re stuck.
Walmart used to have a variety of these, now they’re down to one. All my TVs are either 10+ years old or Sceptre and therefore are all dumb. But I don’t have a purist bone in my body when it comes to AV stuff.
It’s not a bad TV. And if it was just watching movies or something I definitely wouldn’t care about 120hz, but it’s just so much better for gaming.
I’m not a purist, like I said I’m rocking a TCL which is low end, but I’ve come to appreciate some level of specs I can’t go back on.
That is over twice the price with low specs. You argument is invalid.
You literally just linked me a 60hz business display. The thing I said was the only thing I could find and ruled out…
I would LOVE to know how!
I’m not the OP, but I have this one in my living room… 50", $232.
Thrift
LOL
What disgusting cope. Don’t you have any self-respect?
Just because you can work around the abuse doesn’t mean they aren’t abusing you.
Edit: people like the commenter above are actively making the world worse by normalizing and even excusing abusive corporate practices. I apologize for nothing!
Dude, touch grass and calm down. You’re putting a lot of words in my mouth and completely missing the point which is why you’re getting down voted.
I’ve pushed back on “smart” TVs so much. My point was if your issue with TCL is the ads you should rightfully have issues with every TV. They’re all shoving ads, they’re all analysing watched content. This isn’t a TCL specific thing at all was my only point.
Also disconnecting from internet is a direct way of fighting back against that abuse. You’re not giving them those analytics or ad space. Sure you can choose to not buy any TV but I clearly keep overestimating people’s intelligence and didn’t think I needed to spell out every possible option in a quick comment.
Fuck I hate the braindead keyboard warriors the internet has enabled.
Quantity control :D
You saw nothing! ＼(°o°)／ Ever since I added my Welsh keyboard my autocorrect just doesn’t even try anymore on my phone.
Hehe no worries. I’m just here thinking about TCL yeeting more tv’s when one doesn’t work.
