You can use your smartphone as a TV remote. Although, we didn't see options to search for specific content on the T-Cast app. Similarly, the Stream section lets you access content from Entertainment, Music, Science and technology and more. The Home section itself has two sub-sections - 'Now' and 'Likes'. There are four other options such as Stream, Remote, Applications and Treasure chest. The home screen of the app prompts for the TV connection at first, which makes it quite easy. We also connected an Android phone to the TV using the free T-Cast app available on the Google Play Store. On this Natural setting, the picture appears gentler on the eyes.Ĭonnecting the TV to the internet was not a problem, but it takes time to switch between content and apps. Although, we preferred the Natural picture preset over the Dynamic preset that was set by default. On tweaking the settings, we didn’t notice any major changes in the picture. When we checked the picture settings, we noticed that the contrast, sharpness and the brightness levels were set to the maximum. With default settings, the screen lights up further, with brighter colours. We tested it by playing a few HDR sample clips, one of which was from the Life of Pi.

Picture settings can be tweaked per input, which is handy. It’s better than most budget TVs, but the compromise in panel quality is visible. The panel doesn’t show up detail very well. On reducing the brightness, contrast and the default sharpness, we were able to get the picture look a lot better but the result wasn’t spectacular. On switching the connection to HDMI, we got access to finer picture settings such as saturation, colours, sharpness, RGB, etc. With content playing from the USB drive, few picture settings were available. On the default picture settings, colours appeared bright with very high colour saturation but details were lacking. We connected a pen drive with all the sample content loaded on it. To check the picture quality of the TV, we viewed several high-quality 4K photos and videos. You’ll find YouTube and Netflix to be the most useful. The TV settings menu is arranged properly, but not neatly categorized.

On the left, are contents currently playing, while the right had highlighted connectivity ports. We found some random YouTube video listings under this tab. The Video tab has a collection of movie, sports, music, popular, education, news and gaming videos categorized separately. Just below the content, are four items - Home, Videos, TV and Apps. The home screen has a search box, Netflix app and a very few videos listed. However, we noticed that navigating through the interface is not very smooth. It resembles the flow seen on most smart TVs. Turning on the TV, we were greeted with the T-launcher interface. Also, the slightly older WiFi standard, 802.11n is present for easy internet connectivity and local media streaming. Talking about wireless connectivity, there is Bluetooth for connecting smartphones, speakers and headphones. The HDMI cable sends audio and video between the TV and audio devices, and vice versa. With the help of the HDMI ARC, you can establish a connection between the TV and audio devices such as a receiver, soundbar, etc. There are two USB 2.0 ports for connecting external USB devices and three HDMI ports including one HDMI ARC port. Wired connectivity on the TV is quite simple. Speakers on the TCL R500 are rated at 10W each, which should sound good enough. For apps, there is a TV+ app store where you can download a number of apps. There is YouTube in addition to Netflix, so you can explore more content of your choice. Like any other modern 4K TVs, even the TCL R500 comes with Netflix 4.3 pre-installed. It runs T-launcher, a TCL interface that is simple in looks and also to use. It has a large 55-inch 4K screen sporting a resolution of 3840 x 2160. The 55-inch TCL R500 is like most other 4K Smart TVs. We were happy to see a dedicated Netflix button on the remote for easy access, but there is no YouTube button. It feels like holding a 30 cm ruler in a hand. The remote is comfortable to hold, but not really compact. The TV comes with a standard remote with buttons. The TCL R500 has two down-firing speakers covered with a plastic grill. All the connectivity ports are on the right of the TV and are easy to reach, even if the TV is wall mounted. The top of the TV is thinner than the lower half. The TV can be wall mounted or kept on a flat surface with its easy-to-assemble TV stand. The TCL R500 4K Smart TV comes as a large 55-inch screen with a glossy, plastic bezel surrounding it. The design of the TV is nothing extra-ordinary.

Tcl smart tv 55