TCL S4 50S450G 50"

A perfectly fine budget 4K TV that nails the basics and skips the fancy stuff. Great for streaming, forget it for serious gaming.

The spec sheet tries hard to sound fancy, Motion Rate 240 with MEMC frame insertion and all that, but let's be real: this is a 60Hz panel. The motion smoothing helps with sports and fast scenes, but it's not the same as a native 120Hz display. Gaming is where this thing stumbles, landing in the 17th percentile. ALLM is there, which is nice, but if you're plugging in a PS5 or Xbox Series X, you're leaving a lot of performance on the table. The HDR story is a bit better, Dolby Vision support at this price is genuinely welcome, but the panel's peak brightness is modest, so don't expect those highlights to punch.

Stack this against the Hisense U8 Series and it's not even close, the Hisense is brighter, faster, and just better. The Roku Pro Series is also a step up in picture quality and has a snappier smart platform if you're not married to Google TV. But here's the thing: those cost more. The TCL S4's real competition is other budget sets, and against those, it holds its own thanks to Dolby Vision and a clean Google TV interface. The LG OLED evo is in a completely different universe, but so is its price tag.

At $347 USD, this is a solid deal for a 50-inch 4K TV with Dolby Vision. You're not overpaying, but you're also not getting a steal. If you can stretch your budget a bit, the Hisense U8 Series will give you dramatically better picture quality. But if this is your ceiling, you won't feel cheated.

The TCL S4 50S450G is the budget TV you buy when you just want a big 4K screen and don't want to think too hard about it. It's a 50-inch LED panel with Dolby Vision and Google TV, and for most people streaming Netflix in a bright living room, that's honestly enough. The one thing to know? It's a value play, not a performance play. Our database puts its picture quality at the 36th percentile, which means it's fine, but you're not getting OLED blacks or mini-LED brightness here.

If you're a gamer with a current-gen console, skip this. The 60Hz panel and weak gaming performance will frustrate you. Go grab the Hisense U8 Series or a TCL QM6 instead. And if you're picky about picture quality, this isn't your TV, save up for something with mini-LED or OLED.

If you need a 50-inch 4K TV for streaming and casual viewing, and you're on a tight budget, the TCL S4 50S450G is a perfectly reasonable choice. It's not going to blow you away, but it won't disappoint you either. Just don't buy it expecting a gaming monitor or a home theater centerpiece.