I’ve been fascinated by smart TV’s since they started emerging, but have never owned one. I always thought it would be pretty cool to be able to have dedicated channels to the likes of Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. About a month ago, I got the opportunity to test TCL’s 65-inch 65C807 Roku TV. To be honest, I had never even heard of the manufacturer until last year. I saw some of its sets at a big-box store and was fairly impressed with the picture. Then while channel surfing, I landed on one TCL model being sold on one of those home shopping channels. The salespeople claimed it was one of America’s fast-growing brands. Intrigued, I checked it out and discovered the company is coming on strong in a big way. Just this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it earned several editors’ choice-type of awards by some major magazines and websites. Safe to say the company is on a roll.
And if the TV I’ve been testing is any indication, I can see why. First of all, it’s priced very reasonable compared to the rest of the market. Secondly, the picture quality is outstanding. It’s a 4K resolution HDR screen that is vibrant. Colors look real. Even the sound makes a good impression. And the unit itself looks very sleek. A tiny silver bezel surrounds the very thin screen — giving the impression that the screen is just kind of floating in mid-air as it sits on its minimalist legs. And as the model name implies, it’s powered by Roku. In fact, the remote is a Roku model — replete with dedicated buttons for various streaming services and voice search.
Setting it up and connecting it to the house WiFi was a breeze. And traversing the menus was very intuitive — unlike the big screen I’ve owned from a competitor the past four years. I was stumped by one specific item — how to get the TV to turn on directly to my cable TV full-screen rather than the default Roku home menu. I cautiously called the company’s customer support team, figuring there would be hold times and me having to register the device. Instead, they answered the phone quickly, with the gentleman solving my issue in less than 30 seconds. Perhaps this is yet another reason the brand is growing so quick.
The very nature of Roku has me thinking strongly about cutting the cable cord. If I did so, this would be the exact TV I would do it with. I can quickly jump through menus for the likes of Amazon Prime, Sling, HBO Now, etc. And because the TV has a dedicated antenna slot for over-the-air signals, it might be fairly close to a cable experience when you combine all of the 4,000+ streaming channel options.
As a sports lover, I found the single-best use for a smart TV: One night, I had the boys over to watch a football game during bowl season. One of them asked if I had seen a touchdown catch an Atlanta Falcons receiver had made the night before. Several of us hadn’t. So I quickly switched over to the YouTube channel, and within maybe 10 seconds we were all witnessing this amazing reception. If this is the future of where home entertainment is heading, count me in. My family room already feels transformed.
