TCL L55P2MUS 4K UHD TV Review: Best Budget 4K Android Smart TV?

If you’ve been following the television market, you would have noticed that 4K Smart TVs are quickly becoming a common standard. Smart TVs offer seamless playback of various multimedia content with the help of apps such as Netflix, YouTube, Twitch etc. Furthermore, Smart TVs can also be used for browsing the web and using various apps, thanks to various TV platforms out there, with Android TV being arguably the best TV platform. With 4K TVs and 4K content on the rise, you are not wrong if you are planning to get a 4K TV. While there are a plethora of Smart TVs out there, the true feel of a 4K Smart TV can only be attained on higher screen sizes, such as 55-inches. So, if you’re looking to buy a 4K Smart TV for your home, but are on a tight budget, we’ve got a great suggestion for you in the form of TCL’s latest 4K TV, the TCL L55P2MUS (Rs. 62,990). Well, read on, as we review one of the best budget 4K Android Smart TVs currently available in the market.

Quick Specs

Before we begin, let’s take a look at the specs of the TCL L55P2MUS 4K TV:

Design and Build Quality

The TCL L55P2MUS features a slim design that allows for productivity with an aesthetic appeal. The body is made up of metal materials with a gold shade on top of it. The design follows a minimalistic approach with minimalistic bezels.

The front of the television features a golden frame with a metallic finish on top of it. The branding of TCL has been kept to a minimal, with the main TCL logo being placed in the bottom center portion of the frame.

The right side of the device houses the point for the AC adapter to be connected. Apart from that, there isn’t anything else on the right-hand side of the TV.

Unlike most televisions out there, the most used ports are available on the side of the TV. The TCL L55P2MUS has a USB 2.0 port, followed by a 3.5mm headphone jack, two HDMI ports, and finally a USB 3.0 port. The HDMI 1 port is an MHL port, that is, Mobile High-Definition Link, which can be used to pair up a smartphone or tablet with the help of an MHL-adapter. The HDMI 2 port supports ARC, that is, Audio Return Channel. This can be used to hook up your home theater system or sound system as an alternative to the TV’s inbuilt speakers. Basically, you could connect your media device to any of the other HDMI ports and your sound system to the HDMI 2 (ARC) port, to enjoy your content on the display while the sound is streamed via the sound system.

The back side houses the remaining ports of the television. Though, keeping in mind that the TV might be mounted, the ports have been placed inside a compartment to allow for the wiring space. This compartment houses 2 more HDMI ports, a LAN port, a cable/antenna port, and the various component and A/V ports. It also features an SPDIF port that can be used to transmit digital audio.

The stand does a good job of holding the TV steady. Being built out of plastic, it does feel quite cheap. That being said, it does support the TV well.

Overall, the design is very minimal and yet appealing. The build quality of the TCL L55P2MUS is decent. The low amount of bezels save more space and even when the TV is turned off, it draws the viewer’s attention as a piece of artwork in your living room. That

Picture Quality

The picture quality of a television is probably one of the strongest judging points for any consumer. At this price point, TCL L55P2MUS’s direct competitor is the VIZIO D55U-D1.On comparing the two, it is quite evident that VIZIO’s picture quality is better than what TCL has to offer. That being said, TCL’s quality is not bad in any way whatsoever.

Running at 4K UHD resolutions, pictures look bright and appealing. The color reproduction on this panel is great, but do leave a scope of wanting for more. Although the images look great, I personally feel that they could have been a bit sharper and crispier.

When placed in a dark room, the blacks on the screen look deep and the dark scenes from movies are reproduced very well. The credit for this goes to the great native contrast ratio on this TV. The TCL L55P2MUS has a very good contrast ratio of over 4000:1, which ranks it above most LED TVs in the same price segment. As a result, the black uniformity is also well maintained.

When moved to a brighter room with more lighting, the L55P2MUS can not really overcome the glares. This happens due to the fact that while the screen is bright, it cannot beat the brightness of the light inside the room. Furthermore, the semi-gloss finish causes the reflections to appear larger, diffused across the screen.

The viewing angles on the television are great, and a great improvement from their Roku series. Considering the fact that it is a 55-inch television, watching a movie with your friends from a distance that surrounds the TV like an arc shouldn’t pose a problem.

The TCL L55P2MUS also comes with an inbuilt HDR mode, which does perform well but needs to be manually configured. On stock settings, my PlayStation 4 wasn’t able to utilize the HDR capabilities of the TV and I had to tweak around the settings a bit in order to make it work. Even after that, the HDR lacks a wide color gamut and local dimming, which does not allow the overall experience to be anything extraordinary.

Sound Quality

The sound quality on the television is probably the biggest let down on the television. Had we been reviewing this unit a couple of years ago, the audio quality could have been rated as decent. But with the shift in pricing and more and more TVs being brought out in the budget friendly department, the demand for better features has significantly increased. Thus, I’d rate the sound quality of the TCL L55P2MUS as sub-par.

The L55P2MUS has a very average frequency response. With the aim to amplify the sound, the L55P2MUS has an overemphasis on the lower sound frequencies. This, in turn, causes the sound to be quite boomy and imbalanced.

Furthermore, the L55P2MUS has high amounts of Total Harmonic Distortion. As the name suggests, the harmonic balance between the sound levels is highly imbalanced or distorted. The THD level is about average at lower volumes, but a slight rise in the volume level brings about an exponential increase in the distortion. Additionally, the television also utilizes a lot of aliasing, which makes the higher volumes of the TV better left unused.

Smart Features

• Android TV

The L55P2MUS is an Android TV that runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 out of the box. The OS has been specially optimized for TV to enjoy big screen high-resolution entertainment. The Television comes with the official Google Service (Play Store/Game/ Movie & TV) and other TV edition Apps like Netflix, YouTube etc. Additionally, you can download more apps from the Google Play Store that have been specially designed for Android Smart TVs.

• Built-in Chromecast

While the TCL L55P2MUS does allow you to run Android apps on your television directly, you might want to pair up your Android or iOS device to enjoy your mobile content. Although the TV’s HDMI 1 port is an MHL port, who wants to buy a cable and adapter, right? Thankfully, the L55P2MUS comes with an inbuilt Chromecast to allow for seamless multimedia playback. With the help of Chromecast, you can cast your favorite videos, games from your mobile device to your TV while ensuring 100% quality. Simply press the cast button on your Android or iOS device, to play your favorite content on the screen easily.

• Smart Remote

The TCL L55P2MUS comes bundled with not one but two remotes. One is the standard television remote, while the other one is a smart remote that can be used for voice input as well as an air mouse.

The key travel on the standard remote is decent enough and provides haptic feedback on key press. The buttons on the smart remote on the other hand feel quite sturdy and not that friendly, but then again, the remote isn’t intended to be used that way. For example, the navigation buttons on the smart remote are quite compact and feel sort of compressed altogether. That being said, the range of both the remote controls is good enough, so couch sessions from distance shouldn’t be a problem.

Performance

The overall video performance of the television set is decent and nearly justifies its price tag. The picture quality is good, while the audio quality does leave scope for a lot of improvement. I paired the L55P2MUS with the Amazon Basics Sound Bar and I was able to enjoy my movies. The 4K screen provides good performance on the whole, and when hooked up with my PlayStation 4 Pro, the TV was able to maintain a proper 60 Hz refresh rate. I experienced no frame drops and practically negligible input lag on the device.

The Android TV OS’s performance, on the other hand, is average. The majority of the apps run slow, and the games are quite sluggish. I further ran the 3D Mark benchmark application with the Sling Shot Extreme test on the Android TV OS, and the results were far from acceptable.

For example, I tried running the Asphalt Nitro on the L55P2MUS, which came pre-installed on my model, and I could experience frame drops constantly. Furthermore, the inbuilt Android OS does not even make use of the complete resolution of TV, being capped out at 1080p only.

Should You Buy The TCL L55P2MUS Or Not?

To summarize, the TCL L55P2MUS is a decent performer, which more or less justifies its price tag. The picture quality is decent, and the inclusion of the Android TV OS as well as the built-in Chromecast makes it stand apart from the crowd. The design is also great and the low footprint of the bezels makes the pictures pop out, giving life to the 4K 55-inch screen. The audio quality, on the other hand, is something that you will be compromising upon. My recommendation would be that if you do decide to go for it, make sure to buy a sound bar or audio system to pair it with.

SEE ALSO: 12 Cool Android TV Tips and Tricks to Enhance Your TV Experience

TCL L55P2MUS: Best Budget 4K Android Smart TV

For anyone out there looking to buy a budget 4K Smart TV, the TCL L55P2MUS is a great option. The Android eco-system should bring about an ease-of-use for its customers, with the Android TV OS and Chromecast provided within the television. We hope our review was enough to give you a deeper look at the TCL L55P2MUS. If you’re on the hunt for a budget Smart TV, make sure to drop in your suggestions and queries in the comments section below.

Buy TCL L55P2MUS 4K UHD TV from Amazon: (Rs. 62,990)