TCL 49S305 49-Inch 1080p Roku Smart LED TV (2017 Model)

Comment

This is what happens to it i bought In April and this happened today

Show more

Comment

I am thrilled with the TV. It is terrific for my purpose. Surprisingly great picture quality. I am not using a cable, satellite or antenna feed of any kind. I have my WiFi connection for the Roku channels, a Google Mi TV Box, a Chromecast unit and an Android TV Media Box with KODI app installed. It is fabulous! Just cant praise it enough. I do have one minor gripe .. the light on the front-bottom of the set that blinks to tell you when some command is being received from the remote. The only time this light turns OFF is when there is a picture on the screen or when the set is unplugged. My usage is in the bedroom .. that is supposed to be dark at night. I do not want to get up and unplug the TV at the end of an evenings viewing. There needs to be a way to use the remote to turn this light OFF. (update: TCL has responded to this review and has solved this problem. The light goes off when the TV does. Success! Thank You TCL.) The only other problem I had was not TCL, Roku or Amazons fault. It was the transit company who did not deliver in two days by 8 PM as they committed to. They were a day late but that will happen if you let the package sit on the floor at the airport freight terminal for 27 hours without it moving. Doesnt make much sense to pay the high price to expedite it out of Atlanta and then have it sit for two days at the receiving airport. It was a day late. The family was so excited with the anticipated arrival of the new TV .. only to have the celebration quashed by the freight delivery company. Unfortunate.

Show more

Comment

Ive had to update this review a couple times, ultimately ended up returning TV. Heres the saga: Got the TV about 4 days ago. Had issues connecting to WiFi while setting it up, contacted TCL customer support. While on the phone, the TV connected. All is well. The next day, it lost the WiFi connection again and could not get back on. Called customer support. They had me turn off the network pings and said said this would resolve the connectivity issue permanently. Two days later, TV lost the WiFi and could not get back on. Network pinging is still off. Call customer support. Tech tells me to do literally the opposite of what the guy told me last time, TV still doesnt work. He is out of ideas of what to tell me (asked me if my password was correct a thousand times). Finally said it must be something else, call your internet provider. Called the internet provider. Nothing on their end. Could be the router but the router is mine. Went to return the TV and tried Amazon tech support as a last ditch effort. He was SUPER helpful and helped me change my router settings to match what the TV wanted. This seemed like it was the issue, and the last thing left to try. That worked....for about two hours. Then it lost the WiFi again and there was no explanation. Instead of calling tech support for the 5th time in 4 days, I decided to return the TV. I followed every instruction given from tech support, even when they contradicted each other and issues were not resolved. I am ultimately not sure if the TV was defective or if there was a mystery issue that was left unresolved, but it was not worth figuring out. Watching TV should not be this hard. Update 1/318: I wanted to add that I purchased Best Buys brand Roku TV (Insignia Roku TV, basically the same thing as this one), and have had no issues with it AT ALL. So I do think the TV was the issue with the TCL. Highly recommend the Insignia - was a little cheaper and Ive had this brand before with no complaints. I dont know why I didnt think if it when I first bought a TV!

Show more

Comment

After I carefully hooked up this TV, it worked perfectly for about an hour and did everything I wanted - cable TV, Roku, and Hulu. After about an hour the screen suddenly went completely blooey (that is the technical term for a lot of vertical lines over the screen and an unwatchable picture.) I went over all the connections and double and triple-checked them. They were all fine and as should be. I finally hooked up my previous TV and everything is fine and I have to return this TV. Thank heavens for Amazon Prime. I dont know what you call the thing that replaces the picture tube in these new TVs but I guess this one failed completely after about an hour. I wont waste time on another one of these so this one is going back for a refund.

Show more

Comment

Bought at a good price during amazon prime only sale earlier in the year. Quick easy set up with wall mount bought on amazon as well. Quick Easy wireless setup with access to applications such as Netflix, YouTube, HBO. Use on the wall for a room that’s 8 by 10 feet

Show more

Comment

Im incredibly frustrated with this product. I dont have cable so I got this to use streaming channels like Netflix, but the Netflix app on the Roku is so ridiculously glitchy its not even worth having the TV anymore. Every 5-10 minutes, the app crashes and reverts to the home screen. It is not a problem with Netflix as its working fine on my phone and laptop. I did some research and found that many other people have been having the exact same issue. I never leave negative reviews but this is egregious. Fix your system with an update that addresses this problem and I will update my rating accordingly.

Show more

Comment

Well, it has been running six plus hours a day 4 - 5 nights a week for a while now and although I know other buyers have had issues this TV has been great. Out of the box it was four screws to put on the two reasonably sturdy feet. Connectors for power and HDMI were easily accessible. Setup was confusing at first. This is supposed to primarily be a Roku/streaming TV although it can work just fine with you cable or satellite providers set top box. Included instructions didnt have a bypass the online setup section but TCL support quickly walked me through getting the TV connected to the cable box. Image quality is stunning. I was honestly amazed at how bright, vibrant and saturated the picture is. Sound quality is good, nothing spectacular but it does go loud which was a necessity as my mother, the primary user, is going deaf and at full volume couldnt hear her previous TV. She hears this set perfectly and theres plenty of volume left if her hearing issues worsen. I would recommend this set to anyone looking for an affordable TV.

Show more

Comment

This was the first new TV I ever bought. Up until now, it has been hand-me-downs and used TVs for cheap. I was extremely dismayed when the first unit I received was broken. However the return and replacement process was easy, free and only took 2 days before the replacement arrived. It was shipped in the original box which is very well packaged, so I think the first TV was just a fluke. It is a brightly colored TV box though, so the delivery person will probably not leave it at your door. I had to be present for UPS to drop off. But they didnt make me sign anything, so it might be hit or miss in your area. Keep that in mind when ordering. Actual product review. Wow. I. Am. Impressed. Ive only had Netflix up until now, so this was a major upgrade for me. I am now jacked in to Roku and have added many channels to my TV to start my transition away from cable TV. I have not tested the OTA tuner yet, but will get to it eventually. If it has problems I will update this review. If it works I probably wont bother. There are 3 HDMI inputs (one is ARC enabled). It has a SPDIF output which I connected to my stereo. It also has an old school composite RCA input which I connected to my SNES. Im really happy that they kept 1 old input like that. Now for the only downside. I am very tech savvy, just not very interested in most new tech. I design and program computers for a living. I understand the guts of hardware and software. I had no trouble at all with the setup of this TV and I was impressed by the level of integration with various web services. However, I think of my parents with a TV like this. If they could not get me to come set it up and train them how to use it multiple times, it would be returned. For an "average" person who is minimally savvy with their IPhone, this TV would be a challenge to set up. Maybe this is just the state of modern consumer tech, because it seems like TCL and Roku put a lot of effort into making the options well presented and organized. But there is a LOT in there. Dont buy this TV for your aging parents unless you want to be fiddling with it on every visit. But otherwise, its a solid purchase and you will not be disappointed. Oh and since it is a "TV" the picture quality is excellent. Not the best I have seen, but very very good. Especially at this price point. Update: Im old enough to clearly remember the days when advertisers suddenly discovered that they could record their ads at higher volume so that the networks would play them at a higher volume and ANNOY THE HELL OUT OF ALL THEIR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS! Im new to smart TVs. Maybe its this one free station. Maybe its just a mistake with this one show. Heck it could even be a software bug. But it could also be that the laws written in response to the loud TV ads somehow dont apply to streaming content. Doesnt really matter though. Im still happy with it and just like the good old days of analog TV the MUTE button works great when the ads come on.

Show more

Comment

PRO: The picture is very good. The Black Friday price and the delivery were great. Roku is the number one streaming device for good reason. It has all the cool stuff I loved about my Roku stick. The purchase of a TV integrated with Roku seemed like a good idea at the time, however… CONS: 1. Slow starts: if youre used to instant-on TVs, this might bother you. 2. Annoying Remote (its not the one depicted on the box): If you buy this, use the remote control app. The Roku remote (exactly the same as the Roku stick) can be very annoying because of the protruding buttons on the bottom. Just picking up the remote can kick you out of your program and start up one of the channels that occupy those four buttons at the bottom (Netflix, Amazon, CBS News, Sling). Imagine how annoying that can be late at night when all you wanted to do was lower the volume. 3. The remote has no numbers, so using it to view regular TV can be tricky. Dont put it in a guest room because guests would never figure it out. There is a learning curve. 4. This TV replaced a Samsung I used in my home office/bdrm as both a TV and a second monitor for my laptop. This TV will not get the resolution right when I plug in my laptop. It looks so awful it unusable as a monitor. 5. Documentation is scant. BOTTOM LINE: Im replacing this at the next opportunity. Having a hard time trying to figure out whom I might give it to because of the issues with the remote. Till then, Ill try using a universal remote to see if it resolves any issue with the Roku remote.

Show more

Comment

Super easy to set-up, easy access to netflix and sling from your remote control. 40 inch is a 40 inch screen indeed (dont know why another review complained about it). Loving it so far!!

Show more