South Africans love their TVs, there's no doubt about that. And as time goes on, consumers are increasingly looking for a TV set that offers a full package for a decent price, which has made the market competitive amongst brands. Adding to the scuffle for popularity in 2022 is TCL, which was the second-best-selling LCD TV brand in the world in 2019 and 2020, according to analyst firm Omdia.
The P725 TV has 4K HDR picture quality, Dolby Vision, and LED backlight technology. Colour levels can adjust on the TV to your liking.
The TV's MEMC (its own motion smoothing function) is not the best and I didn't like it much, but it can be turned off in the settings option as well. Essentially, the MEMC software tries to make up for motion blur but it's not my cup of tea.
The TV operates on Android 11 and has hands-free control 2.0, MEMC functionality, Dolby Atmos, HDMI 2.1, 4K display, Google TV, and Google Assistant. It also has two USB ports, S/PDIF, and Aux.
The amount of features the TV offers is great, and I really liked the hands-free 2.0 control feature.
I’m not much of a sound expert but I can say that I found nothing overly wrong with the sound quality of the TV. One minor gripe I had with it was the treble. To me it sounded a bit sharp which could have been to the deep bass it resonates.
I also found that the TV is more than capable of being extremely loud when upping the volume bar which is good for open spaces and gaming.
Overall, the sound was good and I can confidently say that the Dolby Atmos feature provides above-average sound quality.
The design of the TV is straightforward (as with most TVs), and TCL played it safe in this area.
The TV is equipped with thin bezels, a metal-like frame, and silver accents at the bottom and on the v-shaped stands (I'm not sure if it was aluminium). This gives it a premium aesthetic look to it, which I quite liked.
I think that this particular TV will look pleasant in any home as there isn't anything about it that makes it look out of place or odd. If I had to rate the design from one to 10, I'd give it a light seven. To summarise my opinion on the design of the TV: simplistic and easy on the eye.
My overall experience with the TV was smooth, and I would recommend it to any South African that is in two minds about buying it. I give it good word of mouth because I enjoyed the quality of the display, had little to no struggle with navigating and figuring out how it works, the sound was more than adequate, and I liked the design.
The setup was also straightforward, which I appreciated because I'm not a fan of climbing a mountain before a product is up and running.
The TV also offers built-in apps that most South Africans are looking to use with a smart TV such as Netflix, DStv, YouTube, and Showmax, which made my time with it more enjoyable and entertaining.
My time with it has brought me to the conclusion that TCL makes quality TVs for a reasonable asking price, and I'm sure that the brand will be a force to reckoned with in the South African market.
According to Takealot, the TCL 55" P725 TV is R8,299.
