TCL Q35F Series 40Q35F 40"

A shockingly good little QLED for under $100. It's a streaming champ and a gaming dud, so know what you're buying it for.

The QLED layer does real work here. Colors pop more than you'd expect from a budget 40-inch, and the direct LED backlight keeps brightness fairly even across the panel. Motion Rate 120 is marketing speak for a 60Hz panel with software smoothing, so fast sports and action scenes can get a little soft. The 19W speakers are fine for a small room, but you'll want a soundbar if you actually care about dialogue clarity. Gaming is where this thing falls flat. 60Hz, no VRR, no HDMI 2.1, and only two HDMI ports. It's a streaming TV, not a gaming TV.

The Toshiba C350 43-inch is the most direct rival, and it gives you 4K and a slightly bigger screen for not much more money. If resolution matters, skip the TCL and get the Toshiba. The Insignia F50 is another 4K option that often goes on sale, but its Fire TV implementation feels slower and clunkier than TCL's. The Hisense S5 QLED is smaller at 32 inches and costs about the same, so unless you specifically need a tiny screen, the TCL wins that matchup. The LG QNED and Roku 55CC are in a completely different league, bigger and more expensive, so they're not really fair comparisons.

At $44 to $151 depending on where you shop, this is a no-brainer for a secondary screen. Best Buy has it at the low end of that range, and at that price you're basically stealing it. If you're paying closer to $150, you should think twice, because a 43-inch 4K set isn't much more. But under a hundred bucks? Grab it for the guest room and don't look back.

The TCL 40Q35F is a small, cheap QLED that punches above its weight for bedroom or kitchen duty. It's not going to blow anyone away, but at this size and price, the picture is surprisingly decent and Fire TV is genuinely easy to live with. The one thing to know: this is a 1080p panel in a 4K world, and that's fine for 40 inches, but don't expect it to be your main living room screen.

If you're looking for a main living room TV or anything for serious gaming, this isn't it. Go get a 43-inch 4K set like the Toshiba C350 instead. And if you're planning to wall-mount it in a big room, the 40-inch size will feel tiny. This is a secondary screen, not a centerpiece.

Buy it if you need a small, cheap, good-looking TV for a bedroom, kitchen, or kid's room. The QLED colors and Fire TV experience make it feel more premium than it has any right to at this price. Just don't expect it to handle gaming or replace a proper 4K living room set.