TCL 55R625 Review: Outstanding Qualities at a Fair Price

TCL 55R625: At First Glance

TCL is one of the notable TV manufacturers that is committed to serving its customers with high-end quality TVs at budget-friendly prices. The 2018’s TCL 6 series of TVs was proof of that fact.

Better still, the 2019 TCL 6 series also proved themselves as worthy competitors to TVs from other brands. In this review, we will focus on one model from the 2019 TCL 6 series – the TCL 55R625.

The TCL 55R625 has a wealth of useful features that make it stand out. Thankfully, despite its impressive feature, it only has a starting price of $898.00 at the time I wrote this review in March 2022.

Now, to see what the TCL 55R625 does different from other TVs and why you should consider buying it, continue reading this review.

TCL 55R625: Design, Dimension, and Weight

The design of the TCL 55R625 looks exquisite for a TV in this price category. It is also an improvement over the models in the 2018 TCL 6 series.

Speaking of its improvement, the bezels on the display edges have been reduced. Matter of fact, until you look closely, you might think the TV is actually bezel-less.

The bezels have a metal brushed chrome texture which looks and feels nice. Meanwhile, the bottom bezel houses a small TCL logo at its center and a Roku TV inscription at the right.

Another improvement on the TCL 55R625 is that the power button has now been moved away from the bottom bezel to the back of the TV. This gives the bottom bezel a cleaner look.

Proceeding to the stand, the TCL 55R625 has a pair of V-shaped gunmetal legs attached to its sides.

As an improvement over the previous models, the legs of the TCL 55R625 are also sturdier. Hence, the legs are strong enough to give the TV enough stability and prevent it from wobbling.

Additionally, the legs are wide apart which creates enough space for you to place a soundbar between them. However, because the TV legs are wide apart, you will need a table that is as wide as the television to place it on.

Now that we have talked about the front features of the TCL 55R625, let’s move on to its back. The TV’s back is sectioned into two parts with the top half having a glossy plastic texture.

Meanwhile, the bottom half is matte and a bit thicker. Unfortunately, there is no form of cable management at the back of the TV.

The implication of the lack of a cable management system is that cables connected to the TV might get disorganized.

As I mentioned earlier, the TCL 55R625’s power button is located at the back of the TV. Additionally, there are also 300 x 300mm VESA wall-mount brackets which are useful for mounting the TV on the wall.

However, due to the thickness of the bottom section of the TV’s back, it will bulge out when mounted on the wall. Speaking of its thickness, the TCL 55R625 is 86.3 mm thick which makes it thicker than some TVs.

For instance, it is thicker than the Samsung UA55RU7100WXXY which is only 58.7 mm thick.

For the entire TVs’ dimension, the TCL 55R625 measures 1226.8 x 86.3 x 713.7 mm (W x D x H). Meanwhile, the Samsung UA55RU7100WXXY measures 1238.6 x 58.7 x 714.2 mm (W x D x H).

When it comes to weight, the 16873.6 g TCL 55R625 is lighter than the Samsung UA55RU7100WXXY, which weighs 17300 g.

Overall, although the TCL 55R625 does not have the most gorgeous design, it has a quite solid build. Therefore, I will be rating it a nine out of ten in this section of the review.

TCL 55R625: Display Features and Picture Quality

It is exciting to know that the TCL 55R625 does not only excel in the design aspect, it also continued to the display. This is because it comes with a 55-inch 4K resolution QLED display that delivers excellent display quality.

As you might already know, 4K resolution is four times better than Full HD resolution. Therefore, the TCL 55R625’s display should deliver a picture quality that is four times colorful, sharper, and clearer than you will get on Full HD resolution displays.

Another thing that makes the display of this TV exceptional is its QLED technology. QLED (Quantum Light-Emitting Diode) is a technology that uses phosphorescent crystals to enhance backlighting on LCD-based LED TVs.

For better understanding, phosphorescent crystals are used to absorb light radiation. Simpler put, the QLED technology ensures that color accuracy on the TCL 55R625’s display will be at its peak.

Proceeding further into this section of the review, let’s discuss in detail, the picture performance of the TCL 55R625. To do this, we will start with its contrast ratio which is one of the important factors that determine picture quality.

For a brief explanation, the contrast ratio of a display is the difference between the brightest and darkest regions of a scene. This implies that a TV with a good contrast ratio will have good black levels.

That said, the TCL 55R625 has an outstanding native contrast of 4,699: 1. However, that is not surprising because VA panel displays are best known for offering high contrast ratio.

Thanks to the excellent contrast ratio on the TCL 55R625, dark scenes in movies will look darker and more enjoyable to watch.

Another picture-quality determinant in displays is their local dimming.

In that regard, here is one of the aspects where the TCL 55R625 improved over the 2018 TCL 6 series. This is because it has a local dimming which was absent on the previous models.

For more details, local dimming implementation is a technique that boosts the black levels on a display. Thankfully, the local dimming present on this TV combines with the contrast ratio to make dark scenes in movies even better.

Impressively, the TCL 55R625 display’s excellence did not stop there instead, it still achieved high brightness levels. Specifically, it measures a peak brightness level of 571 nits when watching non-HDR content.

Meanwhile, it measures a maximum brightness of 667 nits when watching HDR content. Hence, the display gets bright enough for watching both non-HDR and HDR content.

Moving on, the TCL 55R625’s display also supports HDR10, Dolby Vision, and HLG which are all HDR formats. These HDR formats work together to deliver more detail and color vibrancy of the contents of a display.

For reflection handling, because the TCL 55R625’s display has good brightness levels, it is able to offset reflection well. Additionally, the semi-glossy coating of the display also helps it to diffuse indirect glare.

However, the TV will still struggle with reflection under direct lighting in bright rooms.

Next up, let us talk about the viewing angles of this display. Briefly, viewing angles determine how well you can view a display from any angle.

In that case, the TCL 55R625 has poor viewing angles which is one of its downsides for having a VA panel. That said, the quality of images on this TV’s display at extreme angles might depreciate.

Therefore, it is advisable to avoid watching the TCL 55R625 from angles in other to get the best viewing experience.

We have said so much in this display section already but, we still have more display features to talk about. Hence, let’s discuss the motion handling ability of this TV.

To do that, let’s talk about response time. In case you don’t know what that is, response time is how fast a display pixel can transition from one color to another.

Hence, a fast response time is great for watching fast-moving content like sports and games. For the TCL 55R625, it has a good response time of 15.3 milliseconds.

Hence, the TCL 55R625 is decent for watching fast-moving content and games. Another factor that determines if TVs are good for gaming is input lag which determines how fast an input signal is displayed on the screen.

In that regard, a low input lag means a better display response. Fortunately, the TCL 55R625 registers a low input lag of 10.7 milliseconds.

This implies that there will be less delay between the transmissions of the input signal and its reaction on the TV’s display. Hence, the TCL 55R625 is great for gamers.

To clarify, what I mean by “input signal” is input from a gamepad for example.

In summary, the TCL 55R625 features a lot of enticing display features. However, it is not a perfect TV.

Putting these together, I will be rating this TV an eight out of ten in this section of the review.

TCL 55R625: Sound Features

So far in this review, the TCL 55R625 has delivered impressive performance. Now let us see if it will keep up with this trend in this sound review section.

That said, the TCL 55R625 comes with two eight watts speakers which are quite small but produce good sound quality. Thankfully, the amount of sound produced by the TCL 55R625 is good enough to fill a moderately-sized room.

Also, the speakers produce some bass with a bit of punch. However, the bass doesn’t have a thump or rumble because its low-frequency extension (LFE) is high.

For clarity, low-frequency extension (LFE) measures how balanced the sound of a TV is and how well the bass extends to produce thumps and rumbles. Due to the high LFE of this TV which results in less bass, you should consider purchasing a subwoofer to complement its inadequate bass.

Meanwhile, the flat bass produced by this TV is not completely to its disadvantage. This is because its flat bass enables it to produce a clear dialogue.

To aid your understanding, dialogue refers to the conversation between more than one party in movies, TV shows, or any other TV program. Hence, a clear dialogue will ensure that the sound produced by each party involved in the conversation will be audible.

Having said that, let’s proceed to the sound distortion performance of this TV, but firstly what is sound distortion? It is the deviation of sound output in relation to its input.

Now, to evaluate the sound distortion performance of this TV, we will discuss its result in a total harmonic distortion (THD) test. As you might guess, this test measures the distortion performance of sound systems.

It is important to mention that on the THD test if a sound device scores 1% or less, it should produce minimal sound distortion.

In light of that, the TCL 55R625 performed decently in its THD test. To be precise, at an average volume it measured 0.105 THD while at maximum volume the value increased to 0.423 THD.

Regardless of the figures above, if you do not pay much attention, you will not notice the sound distortion on this TV.

In summary, the overall sound performance of the TCL 55R625 is decent, but it lacks enough bass. Therefore, I will be rating it an eight in this section of the review.

TCL 55R625: Ports and Connectivity Features

The TCL 55R625 comes with a decent amount of ports which are all located at the back of the TV. Among these ports, only the power connector faces the right side of the TV.

Meanwhile, the other ports face the left side of the TV. Speaking of the left-facing ports, there is a USB port for connecting external storage devices.

However, it is quite disappointing to have only one USB port on this TV. Unfortunately, users won’t have the liberty of connecting multiple USB devices to this TV unless a USB hub is used.

Furthermore, you will also find four left-facing HDMI ports on this TV. One of these ports is ARC (Audio Return Channel) compatible.

Hence, it allows users to connect the TV to a soundbar using a high-speed HDMI cable. Also, it reduces the number of cables needed for connection to a sound system.

Additionally, with the availability of the ARC compatible HDMI port on this TV, there won’t be a need for a digital optical fiber output cable or an AV cable. This is because the ARC port can transmit multimedia content to and from the TV.

More ports you will find on the TCL 55R625 include an antenna/cable port, a mini 3.5 mm AV port (composite video + LR Audio in), and a fiber optical port. Lastly, there is an Ethernet port for wired connectivity to the internet.

For wireless connectivity, the TCL 55R625 comes with an in-built 802.11ac 2×2 WiFi. However, it lacks Bluetooth.

At this point, I will talk about the TCL 55R625’s remote control. Regarding that, this TV comes with a Roku TV voice remote control which looks simple.

The remote is also small which makes it fit well on your palm. Thankfully, the Roku TV remote connects to the TCL 55R625 wirelessly which implies that you don’t have to point it directly at the TV.

Additionally, the remote also has an infrared blaster that helps you to control the TV with the remote if the wireless connection is lost.

Proceeding to the looks and functions of the remote control, it has a nice black textured finish with curved edges. Furthermore, the TCL 55R625 remote control has only a few buttons.

Speaking of the buttons, at the top part of the remote, there is a power button with a mic pinhole below it. There are also home and back buttons on the remote.

Additionally, the Roku remote control has a purple navigation button, and playback buttons at its center. Also, the TCL 55R625 remote control has a voice command button that allows you to input commands and make searches.

Therefore, users can interact with the TV and search for TV shows and movies just by pressing down and speaking to the remote’s mic pinhole.

In addition to the buttons I have mentioned already, the remote also features four dedicated buttons for quick access to ESPN, Netflix, Hulu, and Roku channels. Also, by the right side of the remote control, you will find the mute button and volume control.

In summary, the TCL 55R625 features a decent amount of ports, and also comes with a Roku TV voice remote control. However, it lacks Bluetooth and has only a single USB port.

Therefore, I will be rating this TV a seven out of ten in this section of the review.

TCL 55R625: Smart Features

Since the TCL 55R625 is a smart TV, it comes with one of the best and most user-friendly smart platforms. To be precise, the television comes with a Roku OS.

Thankfully, the operating system runs smoothly hence, users have nothing to worry about. Furthermore, this OS provides users access to pre-installed streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, YouTube, Pandora, and Disney+.

In addition to the pre-installed apps, users can get more streaming apps from the Roku Channel Store. Thankfully, the Roku OS is unlike other smart TV platforms like the Amazon FireTV and Apple TV that allow users to stream only from their provided streaming services.

Instead, the Roku OS allows you to search for numerous free services to stream from. Moreover, this OS also has a pre-recorded guide that will walk you through how to configure some features that are not originally configured.

These features include mobile app options, the free featured Roku section, and how to use the voice search feature. Indeed, the Roku OS is a user-friendly platform.

Furthermore, you can pause live TV on the TCL 55R625 Roku OS. Thus, when you plug in a USB flash drive, you can pause live TV for up to 90 minutes.

Additionally, TCL 55R625 Roku OS comes with a Screencast feature that enables you to mirror content from a mobile phone or tablet to the TV. This comes in handy if you want to view content from your phone or PC on a larger screen.

One little drawback about the TCL 55R625 Roku OS is that you don’t get a full smart assistant-like experience. This means that Google Assistant and Alexa functions are limited.

Aside from this omission, everything else about the Roku OS is impressive. Therefore, I’ll be rating the TCL 55R625 a nine in this section of the review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The TCL 55R625 comes with a gorgeous design that gives the television a classy look. It is good for gaming, thanks to its low input lag and its decently fast response time.

The TCL 55R625 also delivers amazing picture qualities thanks to its QLED display, high contrast ratio, and local dimming. However, its viewing angles are poor, so at an angle, you won’t get the best picture quality.

On a positive note, the TCL 55R625 features a lag-free Roku OS that has lots of advanced features that anyone would like.

Above all, the TCL 55R625 is budget-friendly and feature-packed. Hence, I recommend that you consider this TV if it suits your budget.

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