As an octogenarian I am not especially up on technical electronics so this is going to be about my experiences with this machine. For starters 10-15 Mbps will get you full HD but not 4k so if you are unsure of signal strength at your planned location you might want to measure it before you click on "buy now". TCL says 25 Mbps is needed and this is easily measured with a lap top, smart phone with speed app or a TV with speed test up loaded to a fire stick. You may need to upgrade your WiFi as I did.
If you are reading this you are an Amazon customer and likely as not a Prime member so I am going to treat this as such. We are strictly streaming and OTA here. OTA on this machine requires a click on the antenna icon in the main menu and another on "search channels". The TV quickly finds and organizes stations in a menu showing what is playing and what is up coming. The voice remote can be used to skip around in the menu. Channel changing brings a brief display of info and a signal strength icon. If it is high and the broadcast is HD the picture will be as good or better than you have ever seen OTA. A press of the asterisk button on the remote allows adjustment of video and audio parameters to your taste. You have now cleared the hurtle of local channel programming for the price of an antenna.
If you have a Roku account get out the info for it. If not your are going to have to create one. Amazon Primers will find Amazon video and music apps in the Roku main menu which work seamlessly with the Roku remote. Don't throw away your fire stick as you will need it to access what is not included in these two apps. Roku does not have a browser so if you want to surf the internet you will have to use Firefox or Silk with your fire stick.
If you want to stream 4k you are going to have to pay for it. Some is available from Amazon, mostly recent Prime Originals. Your Netflix account will need upgrading to top tier. Roku has 4k platforms organized for you to chose from. There are many options.
I added a TCL Alto 7.0 sound bar and the audio is greatly improved over the TV speakers. The Alto works seamlessly with the Roku remote.
We subscribed to YouTube TV before I bought the 4k Roku but with its OTA system we could go to cheaper options which don't provide local stations. This by far and away the best TV I have ever owned and I have payed nearly three times as much for some. Picture quality, ease of use and options are all excellent. Value for price is very high for this machine.
| Brand Name | TCL |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 40 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 12.4 x 48.3 x 31.1 inches |
| Item model number | 55R625 |
| Batteries | 3 AAA batteries required. |
| Color Name | Black |
| Number of Component Outputs | Optical |
| Special Features | Flat |
| Item Weight | 40 Pounds |
| Standing screen display size | 55 Inches |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Wattage | 10 watts |
