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TCL US5800 TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
TCL US5800 Picture
6.9
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.0
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.7
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.0
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.5
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.8
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
5.2
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
4.7
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
This TV was replaced by the TCL S Series/S405 4k 2018

The TCL US5800 Series UHD LED has an average picture quality for a 4k TV. It has a bit more blur than ideal on fast sequences. The screen of the US5800 also produces harsh reflections that can't get countered by the low TV brightness. The Roku smart platform is great though and the TV operation is user-friendly.

Our Verdict

6.9 Mixed Usage

For a 4k TV, the TCL US5800 isn't terrible but still at the bottom of the range. For most usages, 'average' would be the word to summarize its performances. It has more blur than ideal, its colors aren't that good and the fact that the TV can't get bright emphasis its reflections issues. The main strength of the TCL US5800 is really its strong Roku smart platform.

Pros
  • Great smart platform
Cons
  • More blur than ideal
  • Not suitable for a bright living room
  • Average screen uniformity
  • 6.9 Mixed Usage
  • 7.0 Movies
  • 6.7 TV Shows
  • 7.0 Sports
  • 7.5 Video Games
  • 6.8 HDR Movies
  • 5.2 HDR Gaming
  • 4.7 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  2. Updated Jun 01, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
  3. Updated May 31, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the 55" (55US5800). For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 65" (65US5800).

If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their TCL US5800 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.

Size Model
55" 55US5800
65" 65US5800

Compared To Other TVs

Comparison picture

Top left: LG UH7700 (55UH7700). Bottom left: Samsung KU6300 (UN55KU6300). Middle: TCL US5800 (55US5800). Top right: Vizio D 4k 2016 (D50u-D1). Bottom right: TCL FS3750 (48FS3750).  Unlike our other photographs, this picture wasn't taken under a controlled environment, so do not draw conclusions from it.

Although the TCL US5800 has good value for the price, other 4K TVs offer better picture quality and might be worth investing into because of this. Not all TVs are as good when it comes to smart functionalities though.

Hisense H8C
50" 55"

The Hisense H8C is a better TV than the TCL US5800. It has deeper blacks, higher peak brightness, better reflection handling, better motion handling, HDR compatibility, and slightly better built-in speakers. On the other hand, the TCL uses Roku's smart interface which has a wide array of apps and is easy-to-use.

Test Results

Design
6.5
Design
Style
Curved No

The TCL US5800 is a good looking TV although a thick one. It is mostly made of plastic except for its feet that are made of metal.

Design
Stand

The two feets are made of metal with a silver finish.

Footprint of the 55" TV stand: 9.1" x 39.8"

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 200x200

The TV isn't attractive from the back. It has a few different level of thickness so it might look strange when wall mounted. When it is, most of its connections won't be blocked which is good.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.63" (1.6 cm)

Borders have an average thickness.

Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 2.36" (6.8 cm)

From the side, the TV is fairly thick and has an unattractive design which reminds of older LCD TVs.

Picture Quality
8.1
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
3,503 : 1

Blacks aren't the best but deep enough to offer a good native contrast ratio which help picture quality in a dark room.

0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
Direct
6.7
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
219 cd/m²
SDR Peak 2% Window
216 cd/m²
SDR Peak 10% Window
213 cd/m²
SDR Peak 25% Window
211 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
212 cd/m²
SDR Peak 100% Window
211 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 2% Window
216 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 10% Window
213 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 25% Window
211 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 50% Window
212 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 100% Window
211 cd/m²

The TCL US5800 isn't bright at all. Brightness kept around the same level for all window sizes.

not tested
Picture Quality
HDR Peak Brightness
HDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
N/A
HDR Peak 2% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 10% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 25% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 50% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 100% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 2% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 10% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 25% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 50% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 100% Window
N/A

This TV does not support HDR.

6.7
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
3.132%
50% DSE
0.22%

Gray uniformity isn't good. Corners of the screen are darker, banding can be seen both vertically and horizontally (even at a slight angle) and some color tints can be observed.

4.3
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
VA
Color Shift
20°
Brightness
30°
Black Level
21°

From the side, the picture of the US5800 deteriorates but not as much as some other LED TVs.

Update: We have changed the methodology of testing. Since this is an old TV which we don't have anymore, we extrapolated the results.

9.4
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
0.757%

Great as a whole. Faint clouding can be seen when the TV displays a totally black screen but nothing distracting.

8.0
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
8 Bit

8 bit gradations can be seen in our gradient pattern. Also, some tints of colors are present in the gray gradations. This shouldn't much of a problem in normal content though.

8.2
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
3.89
Color dE
2.5155
Gamma
2.04

Out of the box, white balance dE is high and gamma is off. Although this results in a picture that is far from perfect, most people won't notice.

9.5
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.34
Color dE
1.4096
Gamma
2.18

The only possible way to calibrate the TV is with the Roku application. There they offer color space, 2 point and 11 point settings. Calibrating the television was a nightmare, and very time consuming. Some errors couldn't be fixed.

7.5
Picture Quality
480p Input

480p upscaling is a little inconsistent. It sometimes looks slightly blocky. There are worse TVs than this one though and most won't notice.

8.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

The TCL US5800 does a better job with 720p content like cable channels, once upscaled the image looks good.

9.0
Picture Quality
1080p Input

1080p looks detailed enough. Closer than about two feet away from the TV, the pixel sub-structure can be seen. This can't be seen farther away and is not an issue.

9.5
Picture Quality
4k Input

4k offers rich details. As in 1080p, from very close, the pixel substructure can be seen but is a non-issue from afar.

7.0
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
No
DCI P3 xy
77.04%
DCI P3 uv
83.57%
Rec 2020 xy
55.48%
Rec 2020 uv
61.86%

Good enough for Rec.709 only. There is no wide color gamut option on this TV.

5.4
Picture Quality
Color Volume
Normalized DCI P3 Coverage
59.97%
10,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage
33.222%
Normalized Rec 2020 Coverage
43.747%
10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage
24.273%
10
Picture Quality
Image Retention
IR after 0 min recovery
0%
IR after 2 min recovery
0%
IR after 4 min recovery
0%
IR after 6 min recovery
0%
IR after 8 min recovery
0%
IR after 10 min recovery
0%
7.0
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
2.4%
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss

Direct reflections are harsh on the screen of the US5800. Since the TV can't get bright, this will be a problem in moderately lit to bright rooms.

0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
No
3D Type
No
2D to 3D
No
Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED

The result of setting 'color temperature' to warm can be found here.

Motion
7.4
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Response Time
19.9 ms
Overshoot
0 ms

The trail following the logo is a little bit long and has a darker yellow tint. The US5800 has an unusual backlight flickering. The PWM frequency is 200Hz, which isn't a multiple of 60Hz. Visually, it produces a shaking duplication of fast moving objects.

3.3
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
200 Hz
BFI
No
BFI Frequency
200 Hz
BFI In Game Mode
No
7.1
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
Yes
Judder-free 24p via 60p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60i
No

Only movies from 24p sources are completely judder-free. Other sources have constant judder. It might not be an issue for everyone though since most cannot detect judder in movies.

0
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
No
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
No

The US5800 doesn't have a motion interpolation feature.

Inputs
7.2
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
46.3 ms
1080p With Interpolation
N/A
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
46.3 ms
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz
41.6 ms
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
N/A
4k @ 60Hz + HDR
N/A
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4 + 8 bit HDR
N/A

The 1080p input lag of the US5800 is 46.3ms, which is average. For most gamers this shouldn’t be noticeable. Input lag is the same with and without Game Mode enabled.

2.0
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No
1080p @ 120Hz
No
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
No
4k @ 60Hz
Yes
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No

Looking at the screen from up close you can notice a strange pixel pattern. This only occurs when the 'color temperature' setting is set to warm. You can see the pixel picture here.

Update: From further testing we have concluded that all current TCL TVs that we have reviewed do not display 4:4:4, but 4:2:2. This is due to the TV inputs accepting 4:4:4 but actually displaying 4:2:2. 4:2:2 is better than 4:2:0, but slightly blurrier for text than 4:4:4.

Inputs
Side Inputs
Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 4
USB 1
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 1
Analog Audio Out RCA 1
Component In 0
Composite In 1
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
SD/SDHC 0
Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical Dolby Digital
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical DTS
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth Yes
ARC Yes (HDMI 1)
USB 3 No
HDCP 2.2 Yes
CEC Yes
MHL No
Variable Analog Audio Out Yes
Sound Quality
5.6
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
5.51 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
5.27 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
6.58 dB SPL
Max
87.5 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
160 Hz

Poor low-end cutoff and maximum loudness. At 160Hz and 87.5dB respectively, these values are not good even for a TV. The frequency response is also below average and pumping may be present at higher volumes.

5.5
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.028
Distortion @ 80
0.081
Distortion @ Max
0.199

The overall amount of harmonic distortion is elevated, even at lower volumes. At maximum volume, there is a noticeable rise in distortion, but not as bad as some other TVs we have measured.

Smart Features
Smart Features
Apps

Roku is the smart platform that offers the most apps. All aren't great but the most popular ones are there.

9.0
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Roku

Roku is the smart platform on the TCL US5800 and it delivers great smart features. It has thousands of apps including most of the popular ones. Its interface is quick and the menus and remote are straightforward for anyone to use. The fact that this TV doesn't have a lot of options plays favorably for its user-friendliness. The US5800 also has a lot of inputs which is great.

10
Smart Features
Ads
Ad-free
Yes
Opt-out
N/A
Smart Features
TV Controls

TV controls can be found on the back of the right side of the TV. The controls can be accessed if the TV is wall mounted.

Smart Features
Remote
Remote Basic

The remote is particularly simple and easy to use. It has a minimum of buttons which emphasis simplicity.

Smart Features
In The Box

  • Manual
  • Remote
  • Batteries

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 83 W
Power Consumption (Max) 151 W
Firmware 7.0.5