TCL 32S305 Review: Affordable, Excellent Smart TV OS

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TCL 32S305: At First Glance

The TCL 32S305 is a decent budget LED TV with ROKU smart TV operating system. This television features a 32-inch display that has satisfactory picture quality.

Additionally, the television boasts some of the best smart features. Unfortunately, the television’s display isn’t very bright, and its motion handling could be better.

On a bright note, the TCL 32S305 is really affordable. Its price tag was about $229.96 in October 2021, when I published this review.

Now the main question is, would the television’s low price be enough for buyers to overlook its few flaws? That is a question to be answered in the remainder of this review.

Therefore, to find out, read on!

TCL 32S305: Design, Dimension & Weight

If there is one area TCL doesn’t over-emphasize, it must be the design of their televisions. Therefore, the TCL 32S305 has a basic design, and most parts of the television are made out of plastic.

The only exception is the upper half of the television’s back which is made of metal. However, just like most TCL televisions, the lower half of the television’s back is thicker than the upper half.

This is because the lower half of the television’s back features most of the television’s electronics and ports. Therefore, if the TCL 32S305 is wall-mounted, its back will stick out of the wll a little bit.

Thankfully, the TCL 32S305 comes with a pair of V-shaped legs. These legs are made of plastic and they have a silver finish.

Additionally, the legs are quite sturdy and should support the television pretty well. However, they are very close to the edges of the television.

Therefore, you will need a fairly large table to place the television on.

Moving on, the TCL 32S305 comes with some pretty thick bezels, which borders its display screen. However, the bezels have a glossy-black finish, which gives the television a bit of elegance.

Also, the bottom bezel features a TCL logo in the center and a ROKU TV logo at the right edge.

The build quality of the TCL 32S305 is also really impressive. Even though the television’s plastic chassis looks cheap, it is very durable.

Asides from that, there are no holes or gaps in any part of the chassis.

In terms of size and weight, the TCL 32S305 measures 734 x 81.2 x 434.3 mm and weighs 4399.8 g. However, despite its impressive lightweight, the Hisense 32H4F is lighter than the TCL 32S305.

The Hisense 32H4F weighs a mere 3810.1 g and measures 728.9 x 73.6 x 431.8 mm. On the bright side, the TCL 32S305 weighs less than the VIZIO D-Series 32.

Specifically, the VIZIO D-Series 32 weighs 5297.9 g and measures 30.8 x 291.1 x 430.8 mm.

In conclusion, the TCL 32S305 is a decently made television, which has a design that doesn’t draw attention to it. Additionally, the television is adequately lightweight.

Therefore, I believe the TCL 32S305 deserves a nine out of ten rating in this design review section.

TCL 32S305: Display Features

The TCL 32S305 uses a 32-inch direct-lit LED display screen. Direct-lit LED televisions are those with LED lighting directly behind their LCD panel.

Direct-lit LED TVs are also typically thicker and pretty expensive to manufacture. Therefore, it is really impressive that the TCL 32S305 features a direct-lit LED display considering the television’s affordable price.

In addition to the TCL 32S305’s direct-lit LED display, the display features an HD (1366 x 768) resolution. An HD display isn’t the brightest or most colorful when compared to a Full-HD display or 4K display.

However, it should suffice for casual viewing. Furthermore, despite being an HD display, the TCL 32S305’s display has a very impressive contrast ratio.

It has a contrast ratio of around 3500:1. A contrast ratio is the ratio between a display’s brightest white and the darkest black.

Furthermore, the contrast ratio improves the black level of a display screen. Therefore, with a 3500:1 contrast ratio, blacks on the TCL 32S305’s display are very deep and sharp.

As a result, dark or shadowy movie scenes are a joy to watch on the TCL 32S305. Although the TCL 32S305’s display’s contrast ratio is impressive, its brightness is somewhat disappointing.

The TCL 32S305’s display registers a maximum brightness of 182 cd/m². With such poor maximum brightness, the TLC 32S305 won’t be suitable for use in a bright room.

Moreover, the display may still not be bright enough to be viewed in a dark room or low light areas. Unfortunately, the TCL 32S305 doesn’t support HDR, which would have enhanced the brightness of the display.

Moving on, the TCL 32S305’s display not only has a disappointing brightness, but the display also has poor viewing angles. Therefore, people viewing the television from the sides will not get as excellent picture quality as people viewing from the center.

Additionally, blacks will look more like grey when the television is viewed from an extreme angle. Also, colors will degrade and brightness will also decrease.

On a bright note, the TCL 32S305’s display features a semi-gloss coating which prevents it from reflection. However, given that it isn’t particularly a gloss coating but a semi-gloss coating, it may struggle to retract reflection in well-lit rooms.

Nonetheless, it should suffice in an average-lit room.

In terms of color reproduction, the TCL 32S305’s display is somewhat poor. The display registered only 80.39% of the Rec 709 color space.

This is a very poor result given that most displays on affordable televisions register 90% upward of the Rec 709 color space. Therefore, the colors on the TCL 32S305’s display will be less vibrant and somewhat dull.

Moving on, the TCL 32S305’s display has an average response time. It records a response time of 30.1 milliseconds.

The time it takes for a display to change from one color to another is known as the display response time. Additionally, a display’s response time aids in reducing the transition between frames, resulting in a smoother image.

Also, the response time of a display impacts how fast it can handle motion. Therefore, the faster the display response time, the better the viewing experience.

Furthermore, a display that has a response time of fewer than 5 milliseconds is considered ideal for gaming. Unfortunately, the TCL 32S305’s display is way more than 5 milliseconds, therefore; it isn’t suitable for gaming.

In conclusion, the display of a TV is a very crucial aspect of the viewing experience. Unfortunately, the TCL 32S305 failed to deliver in that regard.

Its display has poor viewing angles, poor color reproduction, average response time, and mediocre brightness. However, it features an impressive contrast ratio.

As a result, I will rate the TCL 32S305 a seven in this display review section.  

TCL 32S305: Sound Features

The TCL 32S305 must have disappointed most of us in terms of its display. Unfortunately, I am sorry to break it to you, but it also disappoints in terms of sound and audio quality.

The TCL 32S305 features two 5-watts stereo speakers. These speakers produce weak sounds and they aren’t particularly loud.

Additionally, the speakers don’t have any bass at all. Therefore, you can’t enjoy banging or buzzing sounds on the TCL 32S305.

Furthermore, the TCL 32S305’s speakers produce more distortion than average speakers. Specifically, the speakers delivered a score of 15.154% on a THD test.

Total Harmonic Distortion, or THD for short, is a measurement that assesses how much distortion a sound system generates. Additionally, the THD score is typically expressed as a percentage.

As a result, the greater the percentage score, the greater the distortion. It is important to note that the average or acceptable THD score for speakers is 5%.

Additionally, if a sound system or speaker delivers a THD score of less than 1%, distortion won’t be present or audible.

On a bright note, the TCL 32S305’s speakers produce impressive dialogue sounds, just like most TLC speakers. Dialogue sounds are discussions between two or more people in a film or TV show.

In summary, the TCL 32S305 features a pair of 5-watt speakers that produces weak sounds and lots of distortion. Therefore, I will rate the TCL 32S305 a six out of ten in this sound features review section.

TCL 32S305: Ports & Connectivity Features

The TCL 32S305 isn’t exactly packed with ports, which is understandable for an affordable entry-level television. However, most users should be satisfied with the ones that are available.

Most of the television’s ports are located on the right side of the television. The only exception is the audio/video inputs (red, yellow, and white), which are located on the back of the television.

Thus, on the right side of the TCL 32S305, you will find three HDMI ports. Additionally, one of the HDMI ports is ARC-compatible

Therefore, the ARC-compatible HDMI port can be used to connect a soundbar to the television.

Furthermore, the TCL 32S305 features a single USB 2.0 port, optical audio out, headphone jack, and an RF connector. However, the TCL 32S305 doesn’t feature an Ethernet port, which is a noticeable omission.

On the plus side, the TCL 32S305 has an 802.11 (2×2) WIFI built-in for wireless internet connectivity. Additionally, as with most TVs, a remote control is included with the TCL 32S305.

Specifically, the remote control is a ROKU TV remote control as the TCL 32S305 is a ROKU television. The remote control is pretty basic, with a glossy-black finish, compact size, and curved edges.

Additionally, the remote has blue plus-shaped navigation buttons. Above the navigation buttons are Back, Home, and Power buttons, and right below the navigation buttons are playback buttons.

In addition to that, there are also dedicated buttons for some streaming services on the remote control. The streaming services that have dedicated buttons include Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, CBS News, and Sling TV.

However, the volume control button and mute button are located on the side of the remote control. Moreover, the ROKU TV remote control isn’t the only device that can control the TCL 32S305.

There is also a ROKU app for phones that can act as the remote control. The ROKU application can be downloaded from the Google Play Store for Android phones, and App Store for iPhones.

In conclusion, the TCL 32S305 has a decent port selection and handy remote control. However, the lack of an Ethernet port is something most users would complain about.

Therefore, I believe the TCL 32S305 doesn’t deserve a rating of more than an eight out of ten in this port and connectivity section.

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TCL 32S305: Smart Features

As with all TLC ROKU TV, the TCL 32S305 features ROKU smart TV operating system. The interface of this operating system is user-friendly, straightforward, and easy to use.

However, it lags from time to time, and applications take a few extra seconds to open. On the plus side, the interface doesn’t feature any advertisement, unlike some other operating system interfaces.

However, that doesn’t mean that some third-party applications won’t feature a few ads.

Moving on, users will have access to a variety of applications and streaming services, thanks to the ROKU operating system. Additionally, the ROKU OS has a hub for almost all the streaming services available.

The hub includes popular streaming services like Google Play Movies & TV, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Sling TV. However, the hub doesn’t include Apple TV+, as expected.

It’s also worth mentioning that ROKU OS features the exclusive ROKU Channel, which has a number of free on-demand movies. However, you might experience some annoying ad breaks when watching free movies from the ROKU Channel.

Additionally, with the use of Miracast/Wi-Di, the ROKU operating system also supports streaming from computers or laptops. Moreover, you may also stream movies or content to your television using the ROKU app on your mobile device.

In conclusion, ROKU smart OS has always been outstanding, and it doesn’t disappoint with the TCL 32S305. Therefore, I will be rating the TCL 32S305 a nine out of ten in this smart features review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

If all you need is television that fits your tight budget, the TCL 32S305 is worth considering. However, the television’s affordable price tag hides a few drawbacks like a not-so-good display and subpar speakers.

Nonetheless, the TCL 32S305 comes with an impressive ROKU smart TV OS that might make you forget about its flaws. Additionally, the television features a good number of useful ports.

However, most users would want to consider the omission of an Ethernet port before purchasing the television. Overall, the TCL 32S305 is a low-cost television with adequate performance.

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