TCL 6-Series (2018) Roku TV Review

It was only a few short years ago when 4K TVs used to cost an arm and a leg to buy but now, they’ve come down in price, even for under $1,000. One of the most talked about 4K TVs is the TCL 6-Series Roku TV, they offer amazing picture quality for a great price.

I’ve been testing out the 55-inch TCL 6-Series Roku TV for a few weeks now and it’s easily one of the best TVs available now.

Design & Hardware

The TCL 6-Series has a sleek design with metal accents and fairly thin bezels around the screen. The 6-Series is available in both 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes. It’s powered by a dual-core processor and dual-core GPU, with 802.11ac 2×2 Dual Band Wi-Fi.

The TV has a resolution of 3840 x 2160 which produces over a billion colours and uses the DCI-P3 Wide Colour Standard. In terms of picture quality, everything looks great with deep blacks and brighter whites, thanks to TCL’s Contrast Control Zones technology that is only available on the 6-Series.

In terms of High Dynamic Range Format, the TCL 6-Series supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10. The speakers on the TV are good but you’ll want to purchase a soundbar for even better sound.

For ports, the TCL 6-Series comes with 1 AV input, 1 Antenna input, 1 USB 2.0, 3 HDMI 2.0 ports with HDCP 2.2 (one of which is HDMI ARC), 1 Ethernet, 1 Digital Audio Optical and 1 headphone jack. I wish that TCL had included 4 HDMI ports instead of just 3.

Since the TV is running Roku OS, it also comes with a Roku Voice Remote which allows you to control the TV with voice commands. There are also shortcuts for streaming services like Netflix etc on the remote.

The TCL 6-Series models are as follows:

• 55-inch – 55R617-CA – $849 CAD
• 65-inch – 65R617-CA – $1,249 CAD

The TCL 6-Series is now available from Amazon.ca and coming soon to BestBuy.ca.

Software

The TCL 6-Series is running Roku OS 8.2 which brings upon bug fixes, improvements as well as features like Google Assistant support.

The Google Assistant support allows you to use your Google Home or Google Assistant on your phone to control your Roku TV (like the TCL 6-Series). You can do think like power on/off, volume up/down, switch inputs etc.

To setup Google Assistant control for your Roku, download the Google Home app, log in to your Google Account, after that, press the Add Device button on the main screen. Press Set up and then press where it says Works with Google and then search for Roku and you’ll then be asked to log in to your Roku account and select which Roku player or Roku TV you want to control.

One thing to note is that you can only control one Roku device with the Google Assistant. If you want to control another Roku device, go back into the Google Home app and unlink Roku and relink it and select another device.

You can also control your TCL 6-Series using the Roku app on Android or iOS. The app is fairly straightforward. You have five sections to the app, What’s On, Channels, Remote, Photos+ and Settings.

What’s On will show you things like the latest movies and TV shows that are available for purchase or rent on Google Play Movies & TV. You’ll also see new additions to the Roku Channel which lets you watch free movies & TV shows with ads, with it being updated monthly.

Channels show you which ones you have installed on your Roku TV, you can also add more via the Channels Store. Remote allows to control your Roku TV using your phone, it basically mimics the controls of the included Roku remote and also allows you to use the private listening feature.

Photos+ will let you project your music, photos and videos from your phone to your Roku TV. And finally Settings is pretty self-explanatory, it lets you change settings of the TV from the app.

Navigating through Roku OS is fairly quick with little to no noticeable lag. The homescreen for Roku OS is just a simple grid of icons which can easily be rearranged using the options button on the remote.

There are 5 sections to the OS, the first is Home which where you’ll find all your installed channels. The next is My Feed which is where you can find your bookmarked movies and TV shows and it will tell you which streaming channel you’ll be able to find it on.

So it will search Netflix, Google Play Movies & TV, Crackle and the Cineplex Store and give you options of where to stream/purchase it.

The next section if Search, whereas you guessed it, is where you search for content. Streaming Channels is where you’ll be able to add more channels for even more stuff to watch. Then the final section is Settings which is self-explanatory.

Roku says there are more than 5000 streaming channels available on their platform and while not all will be to your liking, Roku OS does support some of the more popular streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube and Prime Video.

Even though Roku OS is fairly simple in its look and feel, it still looks a bit dated as the actual interface hasn’t changed at all and is in need an of a bit of a visual overhaul.

Final Thoughts

The TCL 6-Series is a great 4K TV that has exceptional picture quality and value for money.

Pros

• Beautiful display
• Great 4K picture quality
• HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support
• Quick performance
• Great value for money
• Easy to use interface

Cons

• Only 3 HDMI ports
• Roku OS interface seems slightly dated