The TCL 4 Series 2020 is an okay entry-level TV. It's pretty basic in terms of extra features, but that's expected for a model in this price range, and it performs fairly well for most uses. It has a VA panel with a high native contrast ratio to display deep blacks, so it performs best in dark rooms, but it's not as good for well-lit rooms because it doesn't get bright, and the reflection handling is just decent. Its HDR performance is limiting because it can't display a wide color gamut and lacks a local dimming feature, but if you want to watch lower-resolution content, it doesn't have any trouble with upscaling. Our unit has Roku TV built-in, but there's also a variant with Android TV, the TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020, so you can get the one with the smart system you prefer.
Our Verdict
The TCL 4 Series is an okay TV for most uses. It performs best for watching movies in dark rooms because its VA panel has a fantastic contrast ratio, but it lacks local dimming. It has decent reflection handling if you watch shows or sports in rooms with some light, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight a ton of glare. It's okay for gaming because of its fairly low input lag; however, the slow response time results in black smearing. Lastly, HDR content isn't anything special as it can't get bright and fails to display a wide color gamut.
- Fantastic native contrast.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Upscales lower-resolution content well.
- Doesn't get bright.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Doesn't display wide color gamut.
The TCL 4 Series is okay for watching movies in dark rooms. It has a VA panel with a fantastic contrast ratio that allows it to display deep blacks. However, black uniformity is just okay, and there's no local dimming feature to deepen any blacks. It displays 1080p and 4k content without any artifacts and removes judder from 24p sources, like Blu-ray players or native apps.
- Fantastic native contrast.
- Removes judder from 24p sources.
- Black uniformity is just okay.
- No local dimming.
The TCL 4 Series is okay for TV shows in bright rooms. It has decent reflection handling, but it doesn't get bright enough to combat glare in a well-lit room. It upscales lower-resolution content without any problems, and it doesn't have the risk of permanent burn-in from constant exposure to static elements. Sadly, it has narrow viewing angles, and you quickly lose image accuracy as you move off-center.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Upscales lower-resolution content well.
- Doesn't get bright.
- Narrow viewing angles.
The TCL 4 Series isn't bad for watching sports in well-lit rooms. It has decent reflection handling for when you want to watch in a room with some lights, but it doesn't get bright enough to combat a ton of glare. It has a slow response time that results in some black smear with fast-moving content. It also has narrow viewing angles, so it's not an ideal choice for watching the game with a large group of people.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Upscales lower-resolution content well.
- Doesn't get bright.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Slow response time.
The TCL 4 Series is okay for video games. It has an incredibly low input lag when gaming with a 4k resolution, but it increases significantly with 1080p content. The response time is slow, resulting in black smearing in dark scenes, and it doesn't have any extra gaming features like variable refresh rate (VRR) support. However, if you game in a dark room, it has an outstanding contrast ratio.
- Fantastic native contrast.
- Low input lag.
- Slow response time.
- No extra gaming features.
The TCL 4 Series is unremarkable for HDR movies. It has a fantastic contrast ratio that results in deep blacks, but there's no local dimming feature to further improve it. Unfortunately, HDR content doesn't look all that different from SDR content because it fails to display a wide color gamut and has bad peak brightness, so highlights don't pop how they should.
- Fantastic native contrast.
- Removes judder from 24p sources.
- No local dimming.
- Doesn't get bright.
- Doesn't display wide color gamut.
The TCL 4 Series is alright for HDR gaming. It provides okay gaming performance thanks to its low HDR input lag, but it has a slow response time that results in black smear. It has a fantastic contrast ratio that makes black appear deep, but HDR content doesn't look good because it doesn't get bright, fails to display a wide color gamut, and lacks local dimming.
- Fantastic native contrast.
- Upscales lower-resolution content well.
- Low input lag.
- Doesn't get bright.
- Slow response time.
- No extra gaming features.
- Doesn't display wide color gamut.
The TCL 4 Series is decent to use as a PC monitor. Its VA panel doesn't have the risk of permanent burn-in, and it displays chroma 4:4:4 with a 1080p or 4k resolution. It also has a low enough input lag for desktop use and has decent reflection handling. However, it doesn't get bright, and it has narrow viewing angles, so the image looks washed out if you sit too close.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Low input lag.
- Displays chroma 4:4:4.
- Doesn't get bright.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Slow response time.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 26, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jul 08, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Apr 17, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 11, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55-inch TCL 4 Series Roku TV, and we expect our results to be valid for the 43, 50, 65, 75, and 85-inch models as well. The 85-inch appears to have the same panel, but it has a different body with wide-set feet. We've also tested the Android TV variant, the TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020, and it performs very similarly. We aren't aware of any other variants outside of North America.
Walmart sold a Black Friday exclusive model, the TCL 55S20, which appeared to be the same model with Roku TV, but with three HDMI inputs. It was only available in a 55-inch size. There are also two variants of this TV, known as the TCL S431 and the TCL S433. There are no differences between them; these different models exist for different retailers to avoid price matching, but they perform exactly the same.
| Size | Roku Model | 431 Variant | 433 Variant | HDMI | Android Model | HDMI |
| 43" | 43S435 | 43S431 | 43S433 | 3 | 43S434 | 3 |
| 50" | 50S435 | 50S431 | 50S433 | 4 | 50S434 | 3 |
| 55" | 55S435 | 55S431 | 55S433 | 4 | 55S434 | 3 |
| 65" | 65S435 | 65S431 | 65S433 | 4 | 65S434 | 3 |
| 75" | 75S435 | 75S431 | 75S433 | 4 | 75S434 | 3 |
| 85" | 85S435 | 85S431 | 85S433 | 4 | - | - |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their TCL 4 Series doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
You can see the label for our unit here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The TCL 4 Series is an okay low-cost TV, but it's a downgrade from its predecessor, the TCL 4 Series 2019. It doesn't have any trouble upscaling lower-resolution and displays 4k content perfectly, but it has a slow response time that results in black smear. There are better options for gaming in this price range, but if you need a TV for watching your favorite shows, you should be happy with it. The TCL 4 Series/S434 Android 2020 is also a similarly-priced option that performs about the same, but it has Android TV instead of Roku.
Also see our recommendations for the best budget TVs, the best small TVs, and the best Roku TVs.
The TCL S535 is much better than the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020. The S535 has a better contrast ratio, a full-array local dimming feature, and it gets brighter. It also displays a wide color gamut for HDR content, has a much quicker response time, and lower input lag. However, the 4 Series has better out-of-the-box color accuracy and better reflection handling.
The LG NANO80 2020 is slightly better than the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020, but they have different panel types. The LG has an IPS panel with wide viewing angles, it gets much brighter, displays a wide color gamut, has lower input lag, and a much quicker response time. However, the TCL has a VA panel with a better contrast ratio and it has much better gradient handling.
The Hisense R6090G is better than the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020. The Hisense gets brighter, has slightly better reflection handling, has a quicker response time, and lower input lag. However, the TCL has much better out-of-the-box color accuracy and much better gradient handling.
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.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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