What’s the first gaming TV that comes to mind when someone asks you? If you don’t have an answer, I got you. It’s the LG C2 (or the C1). It’s a literal piece of art and it offers 120hz of prime gaming, BUT, it also costs a small arm and a big toe and, for some weird reason, it only comes in 48 or 75 inches locally.
Well, let me introduce you to the new kid on the block, and this time, it’ll only cost you a pinky toe.
The TCL 55C735 is the 55-inch 120hz smart Google TV that, I think, the market has been waiting for.
When the current-gen PS5 and Xbox X Series launched, it was very likely that most of us already had a decent enough television to play our console on. No, it wasn’t the “next-gen” 120Hz HDMI 2.1 beast that was required to get the full potential out of the console, but it allowed us to sit back, relax and enjoy our ourselves with some epic gaming. For some of us, we were able to immediately snap up a supreme HDMI 2.1 TV that could support these new consoles, for the rest of us, we decided to wait it out until it became more affordable or HDMI 2.1 TVs became more popular. I don’t think I’ve seen that trend happen. In fact, I can barely think of more than the LG C range TV, which does support HDMI 2.1, off the top of my head. The TCL TV launching in South Africa changes that. Yes, the logo looks like it was designed in 1980 and is quite reminiscent of the similar-sounding JVC brand which we shall just leave on the shelf over there, but the TCL has a lot to offer and it offers it up well.
Let’s talk about the boring things first, like watching TV. The TCL offers up a pretty crisp and vibrant viewing experience. It comes standard with Google TV, meaning it has all the streaming and viewing apps you need and with a hop, skip and a password, you’re on your way to watching whatever you want. It’s not as mind-blowing as some of the more expensive TVs out there, but it is a lot better than my current Hisense UHD 4K 55-inch from 2020. Another plus of having Google TV as the driver is that you have access to a lot more apps than you would on other Smart TVs that have their custom Smart App Stores littered with a few I-don’t-even-know -whats and random news apps from the depths of nowhere. It also means that if you do have the Google Home setup already going, then you can add it as another device to your routines. I will say though, that a Chromecast has a lot more Google Home features than Google TV does, however that’s more of a Google fault than a TCL fault.
Add to this a few other features like voice control, Dolby Vision and a pretty cool Multi View app, you’ve got yourself a super slick smart TV, ready to kick off your shoes, pop some corn on your chest and watch things until you wake up again on Monday.
But we’re not here for the boring stuff, oh no, we’re here because WE! *smacks chest with fist* ARE GAMERS!
When I finally got a decent gap between life and load shedding, I hit the PS button on my controller with great satisfaction. From there, as if magic, a satisfying beep from the console and the wonderous magic that is eArc works in harmony to turn on the console, the TV and the surround sound, all with the press of one button. Although I do wish the beep would be something more like a chorus of birds and angels, that’s something I’ll keep for my “next-gen” ideas list than this article.
I figured we would do two sorts of tests on the TV; One, do my games look good, and two, 120FPS all day, every day?
Step 1: Go into the TV menu and make sure the Game Bar feature is active, turn on the on-screen FPS monitor and make sure the “aim assist” is off. Yes, it has a feature where it will draw a reticle on screen for you, so you know where the bullets go pew. I like to guess where my bullets go, so I’ll leave that off for now.
Step 2: Find some games.
Step 3: PLAY!
I figured I’d give Gran Turismo a spin since they always seem to have pictures of cars on the 120hz advertisement images, plus I think it’s pretty. The TCL didn’t disappoint here. Gran Turismo was even prettier than I’d previously experienced. Yes, it’s not the wow-est I’ve ever experienced, but it was a significant upgrade to my current screen. Gameplay felt as smooth as ever, and I didn’t experience any sort of tearing or screen jumps or delays. The FPS counter in the top corner sat at 120 and didn’t even flicker once. Visually, the colours are nice and bright and the in-game elements really popped. The TCL does well with a nice, bright game. Next up, something dark…
I opted for Returnal here since it was made for the PS5 aaaaaaaaaand I’ve never played it before, ahem, oops. Again, the TCL performed. The game felt like a real “next-gen” experience. It was smooth, tear-free and visually pleasing, mostly. I did find that even though the game was quite dark, the blacks weren’t black-black, you know what I mean? They still have that slightly blue tinge to them, and the screen, although it did better than what I use now, still didn’t cope too well with screen glare from my window. Besides that, the TCL kept at that 120 frames, and it didn’t dip below it once, no matter how many beasties I was running away from.
Lastly, we obviously have to give the FPS games a test; I mean, 120hz is competition level, so let’s compete. By now, you can probably guess how it went, yup, flawlessly. COD, Apex and Fortnite all stuck to that 120 frames and not a frame lower. The colours were even nice enough to force me to change the skins on my weapons for ones that had a little more flare, and I’m pretty sure that the 120 frames helped me get a camo 45 seconds faster than it would’ve on a 60hz TV.
Overall, the TCL 55C735 did an amazing job of being one of the best budget-friendly gaming experiences out there. Some other users have reported screen delay from when you press shoot. However, I noticed none of this and had an awesome time changing from relaxed mode to competitive mode, over and over again on my couch. You can pick one of them up for around R10,000, and with all the features that the TCL has, that’s a steal. This TCL TV is not going to be shoving LG and the likes off of their pedestals, for now, but if you are on a budget and you’re looking to upgrade your TV to keep up with your console, then this is the TV to look at. I’d also keep my eye on any future releases coming out of the TCL factory. If they are able to get products like this out, they’re definitely on the right path to getting out a C2-esque screen into the market, and at a much easier price point, soon.