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TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020 TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.5
Review updated Feb 21, 2022 at 03:54 pm
TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020 Picture
6.6
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.4
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.8
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.6
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.4
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.1
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.6
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.2
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench

The TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020 is an entry-level 4k TV. It's a variant of the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020, running the Android TV smart interface instead of the Roku TV smart interface usually found on past TCL 4 Series TVs. The Android TV interface is easy-to-use, and there's a huge selection of additional streaming apps available through the built-in Google Play Store. Its VA panel has an amazing contrast ratio and great black uniformity, resulting in deep, uniform blacks when viewed in the dark. Sadly, this also results in narrow viewing angles, so it's not a good choice for a wide seating arrangement. It has really low input lag for gaming, but it doesn't support any advanced gaming features like variable refresh rate (VRR) support to reduce screen tearing, and its HDMI ports are limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth.

Our Verdict

6.6 Mixed Usage

The TCL S434 is an okay TV overall. It isn't bad for watching movies in dark rooms because it has an amazing contrast ratio and great black uniformity, but it lacks a local dimming feature to improve contrast. It's decent for gaming, thanks to its low input lag and decent response time, but it doesn't support any advanced gaming features like variable refresh rate technology. Lastly, although it supports HDR, this adds very little, as it can't get bright enough to bring out bright highlights, and it can't display a wide color gamut.

Pros
  • Amazing contrast ratio.
  • Decent reflection handling.
  • Excellent low input lag.
Cons
  • Doesn't get bright.
  • Narrow viewing angles.
  • Noticeable motion blur.
6.4 Movies

The TCL S434 isn't bad for watching movies in a dark room. It has an amazing contrast ratio and great black uniformity, so it's a great choice for watching movies in dark rooms, as blacks are deep and uniform. It upscales lower resolution content well, great if you like watching movies on DVD or Blu-ray. Sadly, it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve contrast, and it can't remove judder from any source when watching low frame rate content, like movies.

Pros
  • Amazing contrast ratio.
  • Great black uniformity.
Cons
  • Can't remove judder from any source.
  • No local dimming feature.
6.8 TV Shows

The TCL S434 is alright for watching TV shows in a bright room. It upscales lower-resolution content without any issues, like from cable boxes, and the built-in Android TV smart interface has a huge selection of streaming apps. It has decent reflection handling, but it doesn't get bright enough to combat glare in well-lit rooms. Also, it has narrow viewing angles, so it's not ideal for a wide seating arrangement or if you like to move around with the TV on.

Pros
  • Decent reflection handling.
  • Upscales lower-resolution content well.
Cons
  • Doesn't get bright.
  • Narrow viewing angles.
6.6 Sports

The TCL S434 is okay for watching sports. It has a decent response time, but there's some noticeable motion smearing with fast-moving content in dark scenes. It performs best in dim to moderately-lit rooms, as it has decent reflection handling, but it doesn't get bright enough to combat glare in well-lit rooms. Lastly, it has narrow viewing angles, so it's not ideal for watching the big game if you have a wide seating arrangement.

Pros
  • Decent reflection handling.
  • Upscales lower-resolution content well.
Cons
  • Doesn't get bright.
  • Narrow viewing angles.
  • Noticeable motion blur.
7.4 Video Games

The TCL S434 is decent for gaming. It has low input lag, ensuring your actions are in-sync with the action on-screen. The response time is decent, but there's significant smearing behind fast-moving dark objects. It has an amazing contrast ratio and great black uniformity, ideal for dark room gaming. Unfortunately, it lacks advanced gaming features like variable refresh rate support, and its HDMI ports are limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, so you can't game at 4k @ 120Hz from the PS5 or Xbox Series X.

Pros
  • Amazing contrast ratio.
  • Excellent low input lag.
Cons
  • Noticeable motion blur.
  • No extra gaming features like VRR support.
6.1 HDR Movies

The TCL S434 is mediocre for watching HDR movies in a dark room. It looks good in a dark room thanks to its amazing contrast and great black uniformity, but sadly, there's no local dimming feature to improve the contrast. It can't display a wide color gamut, so vivid colors in some HDR content look dull and muted, and it's not bright enough for small highlights to stand out.

Pros
  • Amazing contrast ratio.
  • Great black uniformity.
Cons
  • Can't remove judder from any source.
  • No local dimming feature.
  • Doesn't get bright.
  • Can't display wide color gamut.
6.6 HDR Gaming

The TCL S434 is alright for HDR gaming. It has fairly low HDR input lag, ensuring a responsive gaming experience. The response time is decent, but there's noticeable smearing behind dark objects. It has an amazing contrast ratio that helps it display deep blacks; however, HDR content doesn't look good because it can't display a wide color gamut and isn't bright enough for highlights to pop.

Pros
  • Amazing contrast ratio.
  • Great black uniformity.
  • Fairly low HDR input lag.
Cons
  • Doesn't get bright.
  • Noticeable motion blur.
  • Can't display wide color gamut.
7.2 PC Monitor

The TCL S434 is decent for use as a PC monitor. It has low input lag, and chroma 4:4:4 is displayed properly from a PC, which is important for reading text. Unfortunately, although it has decent reflection handling, it's not bright enough to combat glare in well-lit rooms. It has narrow viewing angles, so the edges of the screen are appear washed out if you're sitting too close to the screen.

Pros
  • Decent reflection handling.
  • Excellent low input lag.
  • Displays chroma 4:4:4.
Cons
  • Doesn't get bright.
  • Narrow viewing angles.
  • Noticeable motion blur.
  • 6.6 Mixed Usage
  • 6.4 Movies
  • 6.8 TV Shows
  • 6.6 Sports
  • 7.4 Video Games
  • 6.1 HDR Movies
  • 6.6 HDR Gaming
  • 7.2 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Feb 21, 2022: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
  2. Updated Jan 14, 2021: Review published.
  3. Updated Jan 12, 2021: Early access published.
  4. Updated Dec 24, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
  5. Updated Dec 21, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  6. Updated Dec 15, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the 55 inch TCL 4 Series Android TV and expect the results to be valid for the 43 inch (43S434), 50 inch (50S434), 65 inch (65S434), 70 inch (70S434), and 75 inch (75S434) models as well. The 55 inch, 65 inch, and 75 inch models are also available in Canada, but we don't know about any variants outside of North America. This TV is a variant of the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020, which is extremely similar but with Roku TV.

Size Android Model (S434) HDMI Ports
43" 43S434 3
50" 50S434 3
55" 55S434 3
65" 65S434 3
70" 70S434 3
75" 75S434 3

If someone comes across a different type of panel or their TCL 55S434 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review.

You can see the label for our unit here.

Compared To Other TVs

The TCL S434 is a basic, entry-level 4k TV with okay overall performance. It's extremely similar to the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020, with the only major difference being its built-in Android TV instead of Roku TV; choosing one over the other really comes down to personal preference. If you don't mind spending just a bit more money, the TCL 5 Series/S535 2020 QLED offers much better overall performance.

Also see our recommendations for the best budget TVs, the best TCL TVs, and the best smart TVs.

TCL 4 Series/S435 2020
43" 50" 55" 65" 75" 85"

The TCL 4 Series/S435 2020 and the TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020 are variants of each other, with few differences. The S435 has Roku TV as its operating system, while the S434 has Android TV. Roku is generally easier to use, but there's a larger selection of apps available on the Google Play store on Android. Each TV has nearly the same performance, except the S435 removes 24p judder, which helps with the appearance of motion in movies. Our unit of the S434 also has much better black uniformity, but this may vary between units.

Hisense H6510G
50" 55" 65" 75" 85"

The Hisense H6510G is slightly better overall than the TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020. The Hisense is better for watching movies because it has slightly better contrast and improved black uniformity, but each of these may vary between units. It also gets brighter and has better reflection handling, so it's a better choice for fairly well-lit rooms. However, the TCL has lower input lag for gaming and it has significantly better out-of-the-box accuracy, so you may not need to get it calibrated.

TCL 5 Series/S535 2020 QLED
50" 55" 65" 75"

The TCL 5 Series/S535 2020 QLED is much better than the TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020. The 5 Series has a local dimming feature, which can help improve picture quality in dark scenes. It's also better for watching HDR content because it displays a wide color gamut and gets brighter. The 5 Series has Roku TV, which is easier to use than the Android TV on the 4 Series. The S434 has better reflection handling, so it performs better in bright environments.

Samsung TU7000
43" 50" 55" 58" 60" 65" 70" 75" 82" 85"

The Samsung TU7000 is a bit better overall than the TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020. The Samsung is better for gaming because it has a lower input lag and for watching TV shows and sports because it gets brighter. However, the TCL has much better out-of-the-box accuracy, and even though this can vary between units, you may not need to get it calibrated to enjoy it to the fullest.

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Market Context
Market Context
Market Context

The TCL S434 is an entry-level 4k TV 2020 model. It's TCL's only 2020 model available with Android TV in North America, and it's a variant of the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020, which has Roku TV instead. Its main competitors are the Toshiba Fire TV 2020, Hisense H6510G, and the Vizio V Series 2020.

Design
6.5
Design
Style
Curved No

This TV has an okay design and looks exactly like the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020. It's made out of a mix of plastic and metal and feels cheap overall. It has wide-set feet and relatively thin bezels, which is a nice touch for a budget-friendly model.

Design
Stand

The plastic feet are nearly as wide as the TV itself. The stand holds the TV fairly well, but there's still a bit of wobble. There's no alternate position for the feet, and they're fairly low. If you plan on placing a soundbar in front of the TV, it'll block part of the screen.

Footprint of the 55 inch TV: 38.7" x 12.2".

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 300x300

The back panel is the same as the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020. It's a thin sheet of metal, and the part where the inputs are has a cheap plastic covering. Unfortunately, there's no cable management, and the inputs are close to the center of the screen, so they're difficult to access when the TV is wall mounted.

Design
Borders
Borders 0.47" (1.2 cm)

The borders are relatively thin, especially for an entry-level TV, so they're not very distracting.

Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 3.35" (8.5 cm)
6.5
Design
Build Quality

The TCL 55S434 has an okay build quality. All the materials used feel cheap, it wobbles a bit, and there's noticeable flex. There's nothing that stands out about it.

Picture Quality
8.9
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
5,427 : 1
Contrast with local dimming
N/A

The TCL 55S434 has an amazing contrast ratio, resulting in deep blacks in a dark room. Unfortunately, there's no local dimming feature to improve the contrast ratio.

0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
Direct

This TV uses direct LED backlighting instead of edge-lit, but unfortunately, it doesn't have a local dimming feature. We still film these videos on the TV, though, so you can see how the backlight performs and compare it with a TV that has local dimming.

4.6
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
166 cd/m²
SDR Peak 2% Window
193 cd/m²
SDR Peak 10% Window
195 cd/m²
SDR Peak 25% Window
195 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
195 cd/m²
SDR Peak 100% Window
195 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 2% Window
193 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 10% Window
195 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 25% Window
195 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 50% Window
195 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 100% Window
194 cd/m²
SDR ABL
0.001

The TCL 55S434 has poor SDR peak brightness. The peak brightness doesn't fluctuate with different scenes, which is great, but it's not bright enough to overcome glare in a bright room. It's best-suited for a dim to moderately-lit environment.

These measurements were made after calibration in the 'Movie' Picture Mode. If you don't care about image accuracy and want the brightest image possible, the 'Vivid' Picture Mode is significantly brighter, reaching a peak brightness of 277 cd/m² with a 2% slide.

4.4
Picture Quality
HDR Peak Brightness
HDR Real Scene Peak Brightness
183 cd/m²
HDR Peak 2% Window
215 cd/m²
HDR Peak 10% Window
217 cd/m²
HDR Peak 25% Window
217 cd/m²
HDR Peak 50% Window
218 cd/m²
HDR Peak 100% Window
218 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 2% Window
215 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 10% Window
217 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 25% Window
217 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 50% Window
217 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 100% Window
218 cd/m²
HDR ABL
0.001

The TCL 55S434 has bad peak brightness in HDR. It gets brighter than in SDR, but it's not bright enough for small specular highlights to stand out the way the creator intended.

These measurements were taken in the 'Movie HDR' Picture Mode. The 'Vivid HDR' Picture Mode is a lot brighter, reaching a peak brightness of 279 cd/m² with a 2% slide, but it's also less accurate.

6.7
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
2.775%
50% DSE
0.223%
5% Std. Dev.
2.341%
5% DSE
0.124%

The TCL 55S434 has okay gray uniformity. The edges are noticeably darker, and there's some backlight bleed as well. There's significant dirty screen effect in the center, which is distracting when watching sports or if you're using the TV as a PC monitor. The uniformity is a bit better in near-dark scenes, but the backlight bleed is more noticeable.

4.9
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
Color Washout
26°
Color Shift
20°
Brightness Loss
32°
Black Level Raise
11°
Gamma Shift
12°

This TV has narrow viewing angles. It's not a good choice for a wide seating arrangement, or if you like to move around with the TV on, as the image loses accuracy and fades as you move off-center.

8.3
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
0.809%
Std. Dev. w/ L.D.
N/A

This TV has great black uniformity. There's some noticeable backlight bleed, but thanks to the amazing contrast ratio, the screen isn't cloudy at all. There's no blooming around bright objects, as there's no local dimming feature.

7.4
Picture Quality
Reflections
Screen Finish
Semi-gloss
Total Reflections
5.3%
Indirect Reflections
0.5%
Calculated Direct Reflections
4.8%

This TV has decent reflection handling. It handles a moderate amount of light well but struggles a bit with direct reflections in a bright room. Considering its low peak brightness, it can't overcome glare in a bright room.

8.9
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
1.48
Color dE
1.47
Gamma
2.28
Color Temperature
6,607 K
Picture Mode
Movie
Color Temp Setting
Warm
Gamma Setting
2.2

The TCL 55S434 has amazing out-of-the-box accuracy. It's great if you want accurate colors and don't want to spend extra to get it calibrated. There are hardly any noticeable inaccuracies with most colors and white balance. The color temperature is a bit colder than the 6500K target, but it's not enough to be noticeable. Unfortunately, gamma doesn't follow the target very well, and most scenes are darker than expected.

9.3
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.76
Color dE
0.97
Gamma
2.20
Color Temperature
6,605 K
White Balance Calibration
20 point
Color Calibration
Yes
Auto-Calibration Function
No

The TCL 55S434 has incredible accuracy after calibration. Any remaining inaccuracies can't be spotted with the naked eye. Gamma follows the target almost perfectly, and even though the color temperature didn't improve, it's still close to the target.

You can see our recommended settings here.

8.0
Picture Quality
480p Input

The TCL 4 Series Android TV displays 480p content, like from DVDs, well. It doesn't have the same scaling issues as the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020.

8.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

720p content, like from a cable box, is upscaled well without any obvious artifacts.

9.0
Picture Quality
1080p Input

1080p content, like Blu-rays, looks almost as good as native 4k content.

10
Picture Quality
4k Input

The TCL 55S434 displays native 4k content perfectly, and there aren't any visible issues.

0
Picture Quality
8k Input

This is a 4k TV that can't display 8k content.

Picture Quality
Pixels
Type LED
Sub-Type
VA

This TV uses a BGR subpixel layout, which affects the way text is rendered when using the TV as a PC monitor. You can read about it here.

7.0
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
No
DCI P3 xy
78.29%
DCI P3 uv
82.95%
Rec 2020 xy
56.42%
Rec 2020 uv
61.31%

The color gamut is decent, with good coverage of the DCI P3 color space used by most current HDR content. It has very limited coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space, though, and since it can't display a wide color gamut, vivid colors in some HDR content appear dull and muted instead.

The EOTF follows the target curve fairly well, except most scenes are a bit too dark. The brightness rolls off smoothly as it approaches the TV's peak brightness, preserving fine details in bright scenes. 'Game' mode is a bit brighter, as you can see in this EOTF. If you find HDR too dim, setting Gamma to '1.8' and Dynamic Contrast to 'High' increases the brightness of dim scenes, as you can see in this EOTF, but the overall peak brightness of the TV remains the same.

6.4
Picture Quality
Color Volume
Normalized DCI P3 Coverage ITP
73.7%
10,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage ITP
25.9%
Normalized Rec 2020 Coverage ITP
53.0%
10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage ITP
18.5%

This TV has mediocre color volume. It's mainly limited by its lack of wide color gamut and low peak brightness. However, it displays dark colors well, thanks to its high contrast ratio.

9.1
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
10 Bit
Red (Std. Dev.)
0.069
Green (Std. Dev.)
0.086
Blue (Std. Dev.)
0.055
Gray (Std. Dev.)
0.091

This TV has amazing gradient handling, better than the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020. There's only a bit of banding in the grays and light greens, but it's not very noticeable. The Gradation Clear setting doesn't improve the gradients in the test pattern or real content.

10
Picture Quality
Temporary Image Retention
IR after 0 min recovery
0.00%
IR after 2 min recovery
0.00%
IR after 4 min recovery
0.00%
IR after 6 min recovery
0.00%
IR after 8 min recovery
0.00%
IR after 10 min recovery
0.00%

There aren't any signs of temporary image retention. The patchy areas on the screen are from the gray uniformity and aren't signs of image retention.

10
Picture Quality
Permanent Burn-In Risk
Permanent Burn-In Risk
No

This TV isn't expect to have VA panels that experience permanent image retention, as the VA panel in our long-term test appears immune.

Motion
7.3
Motion
Response Time
80% Response Time
6.1 ms
100% Response Time
15.1 ms

The TCL 55S434 has a decent response time. However, there's noticeable smearing with fast-moving content because of its slower response time and overshoot in darker transitions. The backlight's flicker frequency also causes image duplication.

4.0
Motion
Flicker-Free
Flicker-Free
No
PWM Dimming Frequency
120 Hz

The TCL 55S434 uses pulse width modulation (PWM) to dim its backlight. It flickers at 120Hz whenever you set the Brightness setting to '28' or below, which causes duplication in motion and can bother some people. It's flicker-free above that backlight level. Since this TV is very dim, it's unlikely that you would be using it at such a low backlight setting.

5.4
Motion
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
Optional BFI
No
Min Flicker for 60 fps
120 Hz
60 Hz for 60 fps
No
120 Hz for 120 fps
N/A
Min Flicker for 60 fps in Game Mode
120 Hz

This TV doesn't have an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion. It flickers at 120Hz if you set the Brightness to '28' or below, which reduces the amount of persistence blur but causes a double image to appear when watching 60fps content.

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

This TV doesn't have a motion interpolation feature.

7.7
Motion
Stutter
Frame Hold Time @ 24 fps
26.6 ms
Frame Hold Time @ 60 fps
1.6 ms

Due to the slower response time, low frame rate content, like movies, doesn't appear to stutter.

0
Motion
24p Judder
Judder-Free 24p
No
Judder-Free 24p via 60p
No
Judder-Free 24p via 60i
No
Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps
No

Unlike the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020, the TCL 55S434 can't remove judder from any source when watching low frame rate content, like movies.

0
Motion
Variable Refresh Rate
Native Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
HDMI Forum VRR
No
FreeSync
No
G-SYNC Compatible
No
4k VRR Maximum
N/A
4k VRR Minimum
No VRR support
1080p VRR Maximum
N/A
1080p VRR Minimum
No VRR support
1440p VRR Maximum
N/A
1440p VRR Minimum
No VRR support
VRR Supported Connectors
No VRR support

The TCL 4 Series Android TV has a basic 60Hz panel and doesn't support any variable refresh rate technology.

Inputs
8.7
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60 Hz
11.0 ms
1080p @ 60 Hz Outside Game Mode
42.5 ms
1440p @ 60 Hz
N/A
4k @ 60 Hz
11.5 ms
4k @ 60 Hz + 10 bit HDR
27.9 ms
4k @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4
11.0 ms
4k @ 60 Hz Outside Game Mode
42.5 ms
4k @ 60 Hz With Interpolation
N/A
8k @ 60 Hz
N/A
1080p @ 120 Hz
N/A
1440p @ 120 Hz
N/A
4k @ 120 Hz
N/A
1080p with Variable Refresh Rate
N/A
1440p with VRR
N/A
4k with VRR
N/A
8k with VRR
N/A
Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)
No

This TV has an excellent low input lag, and it's even lower than the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020. It's equally low whether you're gaming in 1080p or 4k. Sadly, it's too high for competitive gamers when gaming in HDR. You need to be in 'Game' mode to achieve the lowest input lag possible, and there's no 'Auto Low Latency Mode' that automatically switches the TV into 'Game' mode.

8.3
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 4k
1080p @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
1080p @ 120 Hz
No
1440p @ 60 Hz
Yes (forced resolution required)
1440p @ 120 Hz
No
4k @ 60 Hz
Yes
4k @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
4k @ 120 Hz
No
8k @ 30 Hz or 24 Hz
No
8k @ 60 Hz
No

This TV supports most common resolutions at 60Hz. It displays chroma 4:4:4 properly with 1080p and 4k signals, which is important for reading fine text if you want to use it as a monitor. You simply need to be in 'Game' or 'PC' mode for it to work.

Inputs
Input Photos
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 3
USB 1
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 1
Analog Audio Out RCA 0
Component In 0
Composite In 1 (incl. adapter)
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
SD/SDHC 0

Unlike the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020, the TCL 55S434 comes with an adapter for the Composite In, which is great if you have old video sources, like a DVD player or an old console.

Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
Yes
HDR10+
No
Dolby Vision
No
HLG
Yes
3D
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth
Yes (HDMI 1,2,3)
HDMI 2.1
No
CEC Yes
HDCP 2.2 Yes (HDMI 1,2,3)
USB 3.0
No
Variable Analog Audio Out Yes
Wi-Fi Support Yes (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)

There's no setting you need to enable to achieve HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, and it works by default.

Inputs
Audio Passthrough
ARC
Yes (HDMI 1)
eARC support
No
Dolby Atmos via TrueHD via eARC
No
DTS:X via DTS-HD MA via eARC
No
5.1 Dolby Digital via ARC
Yes
5.1 DTS via ARC
No
5.1 Dolby Digital via Optical
Yes
5.1 DTS via Optical
No

The TCL 55S434 only supports the Dolby Digital audio format over optical or ARC. Unfortunately, it doesn't support DTS, which is still the main audio track for many Blu-ray movies. If you have a lot of movies that use DTS as their main track, you might want to consider connecting your player to your soundbar or home theater instead of using ARC. Set Digital Audio Out to 'Pass Through' and enable T-Link for it to work. If you need a TV that can pass DTS audio, get the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020 instead.

Sound Quality
5.8
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Low-Frequency Extension
134.54 Hz
Std. Dev. @ 70
5.36 dB
Std. Dev. @ 80
5.21 dB
Std. Dev. @ Max
5.78 dB
Max
87.4 dB SPL
Dynamic Range Compression
3.28 dB

The TCL 55S434 has a disappointing frequency response. It has a well-balanced sound profile, which is good for listening to dialogue. Unfortunately, it doesn't produce much bass, so you will need to get a soundbar to get true bass.

6.5
Sound Quality
Distortion
Weighted THD @ 80
0.158
Weighted THD @ Max
0.559
IMD @ 80
7.19%
IMD @ Max
19.78%

This TV has okay distortion performance. There isn't much distortion at moderate listening levels, but it gets a lot more audible at its max volume.

Smart Features
7.5
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS Android TV
Version 9.0
Ease of Use
Average
Smoothness
Average
Time Taken to Select YouTube
2 s
Time Taken to Change Backlight
3 s
Advanced Options
Many

What sets this TV apart from the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020 is the Android TV instead of Roku TV. Android TV is fairly easy-to-use, and the menu navigation feels smooth for the most part. It's the same version of Android found on Sony TVs, like the Sony X750H, but there aren't as many picture settings available.

0
Smart Features
Ad-Free
Ads
Yes
Opt-out
No
Suggested Content in Home
Yes
Opt-out of Suggested Content
Yes

Unfortunately, there are ads and suggestions on the home screen. You can't opt-out of the ads, and even though you can choose to opt-out of suggested content, you'll simply receive non-targeted content instead.

9.0
Smart Features
Apps and Features
App Selection
Great
App Smoothness
Average
Cast Capable
Yes
USB Drive Playback
Yes
USB Drive HDR Playback
Yes
HDR in Netflix
Yes
HDR in YouTube
Yes

Android TV's Google Play Store has a massive selection of apps available to download, and they run smoothly for the most part.

6.5
Smart Features
Remote
Size
Small
Voice Control
Many Features
CEC Menu Control
No
Other Smart Features
No
Remote App Android TV

The TCL 55S434 comes with a basic remote with shortcut buttons to Netflix, YouTube, and Google Assistant. You can use voice control to ask for most common demands, like searching for content, opening apps, and changing inputs, but you can't ask it to change certain settings. There's a CEC setting, but this remote doesn't have a working CEC feature, so you can't use it as a universal remote. There's a feature with an on-screen remote that aims to be a digital universal remote, but it doesn't work properly, and it's not easy to use.

Smart Features
TV Controls

There's a single button underneath the TCL branding at the center of the screen. You can power the TV On/Off and change inputs.

Smart Features
In The Box

  • Remote (with 2x AAA batteries)
  • Composite In adapter
  • User manual

Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 42 W
Power Consumption (Max) 82 W
Firmware V8-R851T02-LF1V440.017008