The TCL C647 TVs aren’t the brightest or most feature-rich. However, the image is very impressive and the price is very modest. The TCL C647 QLED 4K is a TV with impressive specs that costs less than half what you’ll pay for top 65-inch models from other manufacturers.
This definitely needs to be taken into account. The C647 series consists of four models with diagonals from 50 to 75 inches. Could this be the TV that is both inexpensive and enjoyable? Is the C647 worth buying? In our review of the TCL 65C647 QLED HDR 4K we will try to answer these and other questions.
TCL C647 review
Design
As just mentioned above, the first thing to keep in mind when evaluating this TV is its price. All this concerns not only ease of use, but also design. On the other hand, it’s difficult to determine where any meaningful savings can be made when it comes to TV design.
The TCL 65C647 TV screen is surrounded by beautiful thin frames on three sides. The TV brand is placed on the lower frame, which is slightly wider. The screen rests on a stand consisting of two Y-shaped legs. The legs are raised enough that a soundbar can be placed under the screen.
In addition, the legs can be attached in two positions: closer to the center or closer to the edges of the screen. Therefore, TCL C647 QLED TVs do not require a very wide surface to install on a cabinet. If you prefer to mount the TV on the wall, then in this case you should purchase a VESA 300×300 mm wall mount (for a 65-inch diagonal).
The depth of the TV at its widest point is 81 mm. This means that this is not one of the thinnest TVs that will look very elegant on the wall. The company used regular plastic to make the C647 case. At this price, this should not come as much of a surprise. In appearance, the TV seems quite durable, despite its light weight of 24 kg (for a 65-inch model).
Equipment
TCL comes with a standard remote control. It is quite convenient to control the TV and allows you to freely navigate the Smart TV C647 interface. The 65C647 QLED TV is equipped with the Google TV operating system, which is based on Android TV.
Initially, the product comes with version 11 installed. There aren’t many apps installed as standard. If you need streaming services like Disney+ or Apple TV+, you’ll have to download them yourself from the Google Play Store. Despite these minor inconveniences, the Smart TV interface loads quite well.
With Freeview Play enabled, all the extra TV services you need are also available. In addition to using the buttons on the remote control, you can control the TV using voice commands. TCL has a built-in Google Assistant voice assistant. There is a microphone button on the remote control that launches this voice assistant. Voice commands are recognized very well.
Sound quality
The C647 QLED TV is equipped with a two-channel audio system with a total power of 20 W. The sound this TV produces is nothing to write home about. It’s narrow and limited, with a slight harshness that becomes more and more pronounced as the volume increases. At the most extreme volume levels, the audio quality can be quite aggressive.
On the other hand, dialogue in films and other programs sounds very clear. Also on the plus side is that the user won’t have to spend a lot of money at all on one of the best cheap soundbars to get decent improvements. TCL can handle most audio track formats, including Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD.
Image quality
The TCL 65C647 4K QLED TV is compatible with all high dynamic range (HDR) standards, among which HDR10+ and Dolby Vision have obvious advantages . The TV is controlled using the AiPQ 3.0 processor. The MEMC has a special responsibility for motion control.
The picture quality of Dolby Vision HDR content from a 4K Blu-ray disc has a significant advantage over other content sources. The TCL QLED 65C647 is capable of controlling even the most complex on-screen movements without the slightest hint of ghosting or judder. It works equally well with textures and patterns, keeping the edges of even quite complex patterns smooth and consistent.
The level of detail is quite high. The TCL C647 TV handles skin tones particularly well. The entire color palette is essentially naturalistic and convincing. There’s a kind of variety and subtlety to the tones and shades, which is essentially the whole point of QLED technology .
On the other hand, this TV cannot be called too bright. Its claimed maximum brightness of 450 nits isn’t anything special. In practice, TCL seems to struggle to achieve even this modest figure. The white tones he creates are certainly pure and varied, but they are far from ideal.
Blacks are impressively deep, but have a slightly lower level of detail than other colors. However, the full-scale backlight is impressive, remaining smooth and focused even in those dark scenes where there is only a small point of light within. Almost all of the above applies to gameplay on current generation consoles.
The motion is stable, color reproduction is good, and the level of detail is high. Despite the lack of full brightness, TCL makes the most of lighting effects. When switching to 4K content from a streaming service, there may be a little noise in the images, but this is not fatal.
If you watch content below 720p resolution, detail levels drop dramatically. Edge definition loses its positivity, and on-screen movement can become problematic. In this regard, it is advisable to watch content of at least HD format for comfortable viewing.
Connections
TCL having only one HDMI 2.1 connector is of course a bit of a problem for some. But the connectors themselves are easily accessible. Therefore, it is not so difficult to switch cables to connect 2 UHD Blu-ray players and a PS5 game console to the C647 .
The HDMI 2.1 input provides eARC functionality , as well as compatibility with some (but not all) features of current generation consoles. HDMI 2.1 supports ALLM and AMD FreeSync . It also uses the “Game Accelerator” feature to create 4K/120Hz images. However, the panel is limited to 60Hz. Of course, this is not ideal.
But again, you need to take another look at the asking price. Physical connections also include a USB-A 3.0 connector, an RJ45 Ethernet port, a composite video input via a 3.5 mm jack, a digital optical output and a pair of antenna connectors. Wireless connectivity is provided by Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi.
Conclusion
If you’re not willing to compromise, you’ll probably ignore the C647. But that would be a mistake. For the extremely modest asking price, you get very decent picture quality, as well as a very good Smart TV interface. If you don’t often watch TV in a very brightly lit room, then this is one of the best TVs you can buy currently for a budget price.
TCL C647
| Brand | TCL |
| Series | C747 |
| Line/options | 50C747, 55C747, 65C747, 75C747 |
| Image | |
| Standard | Ultra HD (UHD) / 4K / 2160p |
| Matrix type | VA QLED |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Permission | 3840 x 2160 |
| Matrix width | 10 bits (8 bits + FRC) |
| Backlight | Direct LED |
| Brightness | 450 nits (max) |
| Contrast | 6000:1 |
| Update frequency | 50 Hz / 60 Hz |
| Latency/input lag | 6 ms (minimum) |
| HDR standards | HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10+ |
| 3D/Up-Scaling | No Yes |
| Video | |
| Standard TV tuner (analog) | NTSC, PAL, SECAM |
| Standard TV tuner (digital) | DVB-T/T2/C |
| Video codecs | 3GPP, AVI, DivX, H.263, H.264, H.265, MKV, MP4, MPEG-4, VC-1, VP8, VP9, WMV, AV1 |
| Connections | |
| HDMI | 1 x HDMI 2.1 + 2 x HDMI 2.0 |
| USB | 1 x USB 3.0 |
| Reception of TV signals | 1 x RF (on-air antenna) |
| WiFi | 802.11 b/g/n |
| Audio output | Optical (audio) |
| Internet | Ethernet RJ-45/LAN |
| Additionally | Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.0, AV composite (mini RCA) |
| Sound | |
| Power | 2 x 10 W (2 x 15 W for 75″ diagonal)* |
| System | 2.0CH |
| Support | Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD, Dolby Digital |
| Smart TV | |
| OS | Google TV (Android 11) |
| CPU | AiPQ Engine Gen 3 |
| CPU/GPU | ARM Cortex-A73 |
| Voice assistant | Google Assistant |
| Memory | 2 GB / 16 GB (eMMC 5.0) |
| Remote controller | Voice remote control |
| Additionally | Internet browser, AMD FreeSync |
| Other | |
| VESA 300 x 300 mm (for 65″ diagonal) |
