Even if the buyer’s budget is a little limited, he can still buy a good TV. TCL C735 QLED 4K TVs offer more than decent picture quality and a complete Smart TV environment at a very competitive price. From the TCL 55C735 review, we will try to find out in which area the biggest compromises have been made.
TCL C735 Review
Design
A good finish always gives the TV a beautiful appearance. The screen looks very thin because the thicker part, containing the electronics and connectors, takes up relatively little of the back panel. A thin, matte titanium-coloured edge, which is only visible as a thin line at the front, completes the design.
The base consists of two L-shaped legs, which are located in the center under the screen. They are covered with a plastic plate. But if you remove this plate, then the design will not suffer from this. Since the TV is very light, it is very stable.
Google TV and hardware
The TCL C735 TV is powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 processor with 3GB of RAM and a Mali-G52 MP GPU. The chipset is powerful enough to provide a great Google TV experience. Installation is done in a jiffy using the Google Home app. Google TV has expanded significantly compared to 2021.
From the factory settings, there are Amazon Prime Video, Disney + and Apple TV. Content recommendations are also divided into useful categories such as sci-fi movies, thrillers, etc. The range of Google TV apps is still one of the most comprehensive.
Remote controller
The two included remote controls are the same as the TCL C835 . The old remote, recognizable by the digital block, can be immediately removed. The new remote is much more convenient. After all, it is clearly aimed at the viewer watching streaming. The remote works via Bluetooth. The limited number of keys makes it easy to use.
Features such as Quick Settings, Previous App or Game Bar can also be accessed with a single key. You can also use the control using voice commands through the built-in microphone of the remote control. Of the six shortcuts, only four are really useful: YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, and the TCL media player.
Image quality
The 55C728 uses Quantum Dot Direct LED backlighting with a VA panel . The real panel contrast is 4300:1. Since there is no local dimming, the contrast remains practically unchanged. The panel has very good uniformity in both dark and bright images.
However, sometimes you can observe some deviations along the left and right edges. The Cinema picture mode is very well calibrated from the factory. These results are above average, especially for mid-range TVs. This mode hides some black details, which can be made more visible by setting the Gamma to zero or one.
If we talk about viewing angles, they are not as good as IPS TVs. Therefore, it is best to watch this TV perpendicular to the screen. Input lag is 16.6ms when watching 4K 60Hz content. What’s more, the Panel has a variable refresh rate of up to 144Hz. All this, plus the presence of ALLM and VRR, means that the TV is great for gamers.
Image processing
In many ways, the C735 resembles its older brother, the C835. However, in terms of image processing, it is more similar to its predecessor , the C728 . There are no really significant improvements, but the performance is very good.
Machine learning and neural network based methods provide excellent scaling results. Noise reduction is good at removing random noise, but does not always cope with MPEG noise in highly compressed video. The Reduce Jitter feature activates motion interpolation so that images no longer shake.
Multi HDR
In this area, the TCL C735 TV is inferior to more expensive models. Peak brightness is 365 nits. This is well below the 540 nits we’d like to see as the minimum for a real HDR effect. The TV may show this value in a 10% window on a completely white screen. With smaller windows, it compresses light output a bit to better preserve blacks.
When “Dynamic Tone Mapping” is activated, the device respects HDR metadata and displays white detail up to 400 nits. In addition, it analyzes each image in order to display it optimally, which provides very good results. The 55C735 maintains good color intensity, nuances and white details.
However, the limited peak brightness slightly spoils the overall picture. There is no glare from the highlights, but the overall character of the HDR images is very well preserved. In addition, the C735 TV supports Dolby Vision , HDR10+, HLG, HDR10 and Dolby Vision IQ . This universal support ensures that the user is viewing the best HDR image.
Sound quality
The 2 x 10W sound solution has an Onkyo signature, which can be found on the lower right corner of the bezel. But, despite the name of a well-known audio manufacturer, the sound is a bit disappointing. The performance of the 55C735 meets the expectations of the middle class, if you do not demand maximum volume from it. The sound is good for talk shows or light music, but that’s where it ends.
Movies with a solid soundtrack or slightly louder music will not have the desired effect. The sound is harsh, sounds a bit compressed. Most sound presets often make things worse. If you increase the volume too much, you can immediately hear the compression. If you want to regularly enjoy the sound of movies, then you should consider purchasing a sound bar.
Connections
The connections are almost the same as on the TCL C835. The exception is the lack of one HDMI port. Of the three ports, one is HDMI 2.1. It provides 48Gbps bandwidth (HDMI 1 and 2) and supports 4K@120, ALLM, VRR and eARC .
There is also one USB 2.0 port, a composite input, two antenna connectors, an optical digital output, and a 3.5mm headphone output. In addition, the patch panel is equipped with an Ethernet RJ45 port for line-in Internet connection and a CI+ 1.4 slot. WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connections for connecting a mouse/keyboard or wireless headphones complete the list.
Conclusion
TCL C735 has excellent mid-range picture quality, but with limitations. With real HDR content, it’s not bright enough for that. In addition, a small disappointment brings poor sound quality. Google TV has made a lot of progress, but some advanced customization options, such as a separate account for TCL, could be a disaster for it.
This TV delivers excellent contrast, although viewing angles must be considered when viewing dark images. The TV is very well calibrated in both SDR and HDR. This makes it possible to make the most of its hardware, especially in HDR, where excellent tone mapping makes up for limited peak brightness.
Excellent image processing and decent motion clarity are a plus, no matter what content you’re watching. Gamers get the essential HDMI 2.1 connectivity and gaming features. TCL has also set a great price for the C735. The ratio of price to quality is the main advantage of this TV.