TCL 43S305 43-Inch 1080p Roku Smart LED TV (2017 Model)

This was the first new TV I ever bought. Up until now, it has been hand-me-downs and used TVs for cheap. I was extremely dismayed when the first unit I received was broken. However the return and replacement process was easy, free and only took 2 days before the replacement arrived. It was shipped in the original box which is very well packaged, so I think the first TV was just a fluke. It is a brightly colored TV box though, so the delivery person will probably not leave it at your door. I had to be present for UPS to drop off. But they didn't make me sign anything, so it might be hit or miss in your area. Keep that in mind when ordering.Actual product review. Wow. I. Am. Impressed. I've only had Netflix up until now, so this was a major upgrade for me. I am now jacked in to Roku and have added many channels to my TV to start my transition away from cable TV. I have not tested the OTA tuner yet, but will get to it eventually. If it has problems I will update this review. If it works I probably won't bother. There are 3 HDMI inputs (one is ARC enabled). It has a SPDIF output which I connected to my stereo. It also has an old school composite RCA input which I connected to my SNES. I'm really happy that they kept 1 old input like that.Now for the only downside. I am very tech savvy, just not very interested in most new tech. I design and program computers for a living. I understand the guts of hardware and software. I had no trouble at all with the setup of this TV and I was impressed by the level of integration with various web services. However, I think of my parents with a TV like this. If they could not get me to come set it up and train them how to use it multiple times, it would be returned. For an "average" person who is minimally savvy with their IPhone, this TV would be a challenge to set up. Maybe this is just the state of modern consumer tech, because it seems like TCL and Roku put a lot of effort into making the options well presented and organized. But there is a LOT in there. Don't buy this TV for your aging parents unless you want to be fiddling with it on every visit. But otherwise, its a solid purchase and you will not be disappointed.Oh and since it is a "TV" the picture quality is excellent. Not the best I have seen, but very very good. Especially at this price point.Update: I'm old enough to clearly remember the days when advertisers suddenly discovered that they could record their ads at higher volume so that the networks would play them at a higher volume and ANNOY THE HELL OUT OF ALL THEIR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS! I'm new to smart TVs. Maybe it's this one free station. Maybe it's just a mistake with this one show. Heck it could even be a software bug. But it could also be that the laws written in response to the loud TV ads somehow don't apply to streaming content. Doesn't really matter though. I'm still happy with it and just like the good old days of analog TV the MUTE button works great when the ads come on.

Great TV for me. I have a FIOS internet connection and the tv only took a moment or two to run its updates when I first powered it on and connected it to my wifi. Since Amazon Video is the only place I have an existing account right now, I tried it with that first. It was unable to connect initially and told me to try from within the channel, so I skipped that to revisit later. Next, I went ahead and plugged an hdmi cable from my computer to my tv and hooked up my computer. (Remember to change monitor display settings from extend desktop to duplicate desktop if you just want the tv to show what's on your monitor, then turn off your monitor.) Arranging my furniture and peripherals was the most interesting challenge, but I got it done. I finished off a james bond movie from my amazon prime via the computer display on the Roku tv yesterday. Warcraft on a 40-inch screen tv is awesome as well. I revisited the Amazon Prime app in the Roku tv today and it simply worked, so maybe it just needed time or some kind of activity to initiate itself. I have an old episode of STNG running off my prime video to the Roku tv even as I type this review on my computer now. I didn't have to create a new prime account. I'm looking into spectrum, vudu, hulu and such now, but see those interesting mixes of paid and free so will see. I have a digital antenna hooked up as well, but my building is a cell/tv signal black hole, so I only get a few channels. The Roku TV actually has many free channels of its own, coming over my excellent wifi connection I presume, but most are news (ABC, CBS, FOX, some weird ones, but no CNN or RT that I can see - I try to watch multiple news stations and guess what's really happening :)), or fringe sports/music/documentary, or maybe an odd beta-test tv/movie service here and there.Also if you lose your remote, you can get another for ten bucks: https://smile.amazon.com/Control-Replacement-40FS3750-40FS4610R-65US5800/dp/B01J3UF9P8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496615739&sr=8-1&keywords=replacement+remote+for+roku+tvMight go ahead and order a spare now if you live for tv. But I suppose if you live for tv, you're not careless with your remotes. :)Lastly, it's a pretty menu-driven tv and doing things like searches or entering your login credentials to get various apps setup will be a bit tedious if you have numerous accounts to setup all at once. HDMI cable from your computer is the quickest way to just slam everything into it all at once at the start, then you can circle back and connect various of your online accounts to the Roku at your convenience later. So your TV can get back to being a tv and you can type reviews while watching your amazon prime videos. :)

I now have three (3) of these. I have a 65", a 55" and now this 49".This TCL model is absolutely great. I cannot say enough about how well they have worked for me and how well programmed they are.All of my units have been packaged with great care and they are all incredibly lightweight which makes installation much easier.(For reference I replaced a 2007 edition of a 42" Plasma with this unit. The old Plasma unit weighed 95 lbs. and you should try putting one of those beasts on a wall mount to appreciate my comment about lightweight)The installation and startup including putting in the wall mount took me only an hour. When I turned it on it looked for an internet connection, asked me for a password to connect and immediately began it's own setup.It identified what I had connected to the HDMI, it identified my BOSE Soundbar, and reminded me to insert a USB so it can do the Pause and hold of live TV.I already have a ROKU account so it just asked me to sign on and it integrated this TV into my existing account. Mind you that this activation process can be done from your smart phone, iPad or tablet while you are right in front of the TV so it's as convenient as it gets.I particularly like that it has AMAZON and NETFLIX integrated as those are my two largest streaming sources.The image quality is the best you can get at this price point.Although TCL was a new brand for me last year and I was a little leery trying them out; I have to say this has been an excellent experience.Bsed on what I have experienced to date ... TCL is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED