REVIEW: TCL C645 QLED 4K Smart TV

The TV market is full of the most varied options, such as TCL C645, a 4K model with QLED technology, 120Hz, system Google TV and other really cool technologies. The TV market has very good devices from brands like LG and Samsung, but for those looking for other options, TCL has been presenting great products, I tested one of their models in the last few days and I'll tell you what I thought.

Let's get started: the panel with quantum dots (type of technology used in QLED TVs) generates spectacular images.

And remember, we have already tested the 635-inch TCL P75 smart TV, a simpler model, without a special panel, but with very good value for money.

Design

TVs have always had a very similar layout and nowadays they are becoming more and more similar — which is not a bad thing, since the focus is on the content displayed. The side and top edges of the C645 are thinner than the bottom edge, where there is the company logo. TCL very discreet. The finish is in dark lead metal, avoiding the traditional black — which gives it a very cool look, in addition to increasing its quality.

It is available in 3 sizes: 50, 55 and 65 inches, and we tested the largest model, which is 1.446 x 888 x 154 cm and weighs 15,4 kilos. It's a very large device! Here at home, for example, it didn't fit in 2 of the TV racks we have, so before buying, make sure there is enough space in your living room. If you want to hang it on a support, it has a VESA 300 x 300 standard.

Its assembly is very easy: just place the screws on the feet, plug it into the socket and that's it. I don't recommend doing anything alone, call someone to help you to avoid damaging anything.

Adjustable

Do you know when you're limited to just a few HDMI inputs? So it might not happen here. There are 3 in total, and one of them is HDMI 2.1 with CEC and eARC.

These are her wired connections:

• 1 LAN port;
• 3 HDMI, 1 HDMI 2.1 with CEC and eARC;
• 1 USB 3.0 (could have more);
• 1 RF input for antenna/cable;
• 1 digital audio output (optical)

You can connect the soundbar, a video game and there is also an HDMI input if you want to connect your notebook, for example. I missed more USB ports to connect dongles, I have several, like Fire TV Stick (which we already have a review), Chromecast 4, but as its system is already very good, it may be that users nowadays no longer need USB inputs to supply power. I didn't connect any of these devices myself.

In addition to physical connections, it has Bluetooth 5.0, which is always active to pair with the remote control when you use voice functions, and it supports Wi-Fi 5 on 2.4 and 5GHz frequencies.

Remote control

It's the same control that the company uses on other devices. It is very complete, it has the button to Google Assistant, shortcut to the main streaming services, and the possibility of receiving voice commands. I have to say that it doesn't always work properly, especially for content in English, you may need to repeat it for her to understand what you said, maybe the microphone isn't positioned well, I don't know. But in general, the presence of the resource is very good.

It is also compatible with Alexa, for those who prefer the assistant Amazon.

Image

It is a 4K QLED panel capable of reproducing up to 1 billion colors according to the TCL. The images have great quality and definition and are very rich in colors. Super colorful and vivid content like Avatar are of fill your eyes.

It is an intermediate model for premium, so we have many features that help increase contrast and quality, such as HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Speaking of which, content that features Dolby Vision displays a badge indicating that the feature is being activated. YouTube and Apple TV+ feature works that use technology.

It's a 4Hz 120K TV, and this requires high data transmission rates when you connect to external devices, which means that to transmit an image in this configuration you need to have an HDMI 2.1 certified cable. The cables I have here at home did not meet this requirement and only supported transmitting in 4K at 30Hz, so when I connected my PC to it, everything was very slow, so in addition to the TV, invest in good quality cables.

Perhaps the main negative point in the image is when making Upscaling from Full HD content to 4K. The images are a bit grainy, perhaps the processor (the AiPQ processor 3.0) and the image improvement algorithms are not able to cope in the best possible way as happens on other TVs. On the other hand, native 4K content is displayed with very high quality.

And what is QLED?

QLED (Quantum dot Light Emitting Diode) is a TV technology that uses quantum dots, tiny semiconductor crystals, to improve image quality. Quantum dots emit light in different colors when they are exposed to electricity, which allows QLED TVs to produce a wider and more accurate range of colors than traditional LED TVs.

HDR 10 +

Present mainly on Samsung TVs, the TCL added compatibility with the HDR 10 + on the C645 too.

HDR 10 + (High Dynamic Range) is an imaging technology that increases the contrast and brightness of the image. This means HDR 10+ TVs can reproduce a wider range of black and white tones, as well as higher brightness levels. The result is a more realistic image with more details.

120Hz-DLG (Dual Line Gate)

It's a 120Hz TV, but what does that mean?

This function is ideal especially if you will use the C645 to play. The 120Hz refresh rate means the image on the screen is updated 120 times per second. This is ideal for gaming and sports as it provides a more fluid, streak-free image. But remember that the content needs to be at 120Hz.

It also has an algorithm called MEMC, according to the manufacturer, this offers fast, action scenes that appear sharper and without blur.

Don't forget, to take advantage of 120Hz you need to connect to HDMI 2.1 and have a cable that supports the feature, if not you will be able to have images displayed at 60Hz or even 30Hz, as was my case using a common HDMI cable — and it's horrible to use a computer at 30Hz, I couldn't stand it for 5 minutes.

Audio

I really like using TVs to watch music videos, which ends up being a way of evaluating sound performance. The TCL C645 QLED has a 20W sound system (2 speakers of 10W each) with Dolby Atmos. O Dolby Atmos is a sound technology surround which creates a three-dimensional audio experience, as if sound is coming from all directions.

To be quite honest, for environments of approximately 30m² it is unlikely that you will use the volume above 50%. I used it most of the time below 30%. The speaker is really very powerful.

Among the audio technologies, we have here:

• Dolby Atmos
• DTS-HD & Virtual-X Virtualized 3D Sound

O DTS-HD and the DTS® Virtual:X™ produce immersive sound that appears to emerge above, beside and behind you, providing a more immersive experience in any environment. I don't know if I had that immersion, maybe it was the environment I was in, but I don't know if just 2 speakers are capable of offering that. That's the resource.

Operating system, interface, features and apps

A TCL has adopted the Google TV on your devices and that is great. The system is very beautiful and complete, and offers practically everything that common users might need. The initial settings can take a while, it's almost like a cell phone, you go through several steps before you actually start using it, so be patient.

The system is also updated when starting and a screen appears informing you of the new features, I found it very cool and useful.

At times he was very slow, taking a long time to respond to commands. It's Android, and even on TVs it sometimes chokes. In the other model that I had tested, the 635-inch P75, this hadn't happened that often. I don't know if it's the processor that isn't doing the trick here, but I often gave commands that took a few seconds to execute.

AirPlay was missing to wirelessly mirror devices from the Apple . But Chromecast and Miracast for PC can be found here.

Price

On the date of publication of this review, price of C645 is R$ 4.275,00 in Bahia Houses. It's a considerable value, you can compare it with models like the Q60C from Samsung which is also 120Hz QLED and is 65 inches, but costs R$4.800,00. Or with the LG NanoCell 65NANO77SRA, which uses similar technology, is also 65 inches and costs R$3.700,00, but is not 120Hz.

It is worth remembering that the manufacturer offers a 12-month warranty.

Conclusion

A TCL C645 QLED is an excellent option for those looking for a smart TV with superior image quality, smart features and a competitive price. It is ideal for watching movies, series, sports and playing games. It is in the price range of major competitors that offer similar imaging features.

Technical specifications TCL C645 QLED 4K TV

Model	TCL C645 QLED 4K
Panel Type	QLED
Resolution	3840x2160 (4K UHD)
Screen refresh rate	120Hz
HDR10	Yes
Pages	1 LAN port, 3HDMI, 1 usb, 1 RF input for antenna/cable, 1 digital audio output (optical)
HDMI CEC and eARC	Yes
Operational system	Google TV
personal assistants	Google Assistant (build-in) Alexa
wireless connections	Wi-Fi (Dual Band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) Bluetooth 5.0
Audio	2 * 10W
Size	1.446 x 833 x 83cm
Weight	15,4 Kg
Price	R$4.275,00
Warranty	12 months

Source: TCL

reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 16 / 1 / 24.