TCL 55-Inch Class S5 UHD 4K LED Smart TV with Fire TV (55S551F, 2024 Model), Dolby Vision, HDR PRO+, Dolby Atmos, Alexa Built-in with Voice Remote, Apple AirPlay 2 Compatibility, Streaming Television

I bought this TCL tv back in July 2025 so this is about six months later. So far, it works great, no complaints, nice picture, easy remote use and settings, not bad for the $249 sale price (now I see it costs about $100 more today, yikes!) I would recommend at the price I paid, but no more.

Great picture, sound but often has to be unplugged to reset TV. Great Value for the money!

I have owed this TV, and watched it daily, for five months now. I can honestly say I regret purchasing it. There are so many negative traits, I don’t know where to start. It is slow. Sometimes it can take up to 30 seconds to change the channel, or to switch apps, or to even stop playback on a streaming show. It has many glitches… for example, sometimes when I am playing PS5, the screen will just go to black, it will still have audio, but the screen will be completely dark and I I’ll have to relaunch the system to fix it. On the home screen, there is an option to continue watching a show where you left off, but it doesn’t work correctly, and it will start the show on some past episode that you already watched, and you have to go through the hassle of going back to the menu to find the correct show, which since this TV is so clunky, is a real pain in the butt. Speaking of the home screen, it is one big, annoying advertisement for Amazon. Also, this TV does not display old TV shows properly. Any show from the 1980s or earlier, before the advent of widescreen technology, will appear crushed on the screen, making it impossible to enjoy. I actually talked to TCL technical support about this, and they are aware of it, but offered no solutions. Also, you cannot download the Spectrum app on this TV. Because for some reason, Amazon considers Spectrum a competitor they won’t allow you to download their app, so if you use the app to watch spectrum TV, you’re out of luck. How pathetic is that? It’s not enough that Amazon makes $1 billion a day, they have to crush the competitors too. Like allowing people to watch a. competitor’s app with somehow affect their bottom line. Ridiculous. It does have a nice picture, but the sound is average at best, and sometimes I have to turn the volume up to above 70 to hear the dialogue, depending on the app I am using. The really interesting thing is I also own a 55 inch TCL TV with a Roku operating system, and it is great. So IMO the issue is not with the manufacturer, TCL, but with the operating system, Fire TV. I would highly discourage anyone from purchasing any TV with the Fire TV operating system, and in particular this TV.

Great tv! I had reservations about buying this brand because I usually go for a higher end unit but to our surprise we were blown away by this television. Great quality, lots of features, incredible duplication of signal transfer and up to 240mhz ( runs mostly @ 120mhz ) refresh rate is superb. If you’re into gaming, like me, prepare yourself, get a new sound system, new 7.1 surround, a high speed soundbar system, whatever-upgrade it NOW and make this monitor your go to. You won’t be disappointed. Best purchase of the new year, and it’s only February! Peace

TV is absolutely amazing. Features and picture quality unbelievable. Set up was very easy.

The screen is huge. I needed a little help mounting it on my wall. The picture is good (I am not a connoisseur, but it looks good to me). Sound is clear with more than adequate volume. Remove works well. Basically, it is a nice, very large television. One negative is that my other televisions allow users to turn off the screen but keep the sound on. I used this feature in my bedroom as I would often put on music or podcasts with a timer, and then turn off the screen. This TV does not have that functionality (shame), so it is all or nothing. It is easy to work around using other devices, but if you find that the lack of such a feature will annoy you, be aware. That said, I would buy this again if I needed a screen this large.

For $259 with free Prime shipping, I couldn't pass this up. 55 inch, UHD (4K), HDR10+, Dolby Vision+, DTX, Clear Voice Audio, Alexa-enabled remote with FireTV functionality. Regarding the exasperated reviews I took note of before buying, some are valid and others are a few updates from being resolved. 👇 The picture is absolutely customizable, and great at this price. After a few necessary and mostly automatic firmware and software updates, you can customize almost everything: picture mode - standard, movie, dynamic (vivid/showroom), natural, custom, and also dynamic backlight, dynamic contrast, local contrast, etc. You can fine tune color, brightness... toggle game mode, etc. *However, these settings are app specific, and you can only access the picture setting with each app open. What works for ad-supported HD Netflix and Prime 4K XRay are not always the same. Similarly, each of the 4 HDMI sources is handled the same way. Luckily these are saved after first setup on each, and default to Standard if you don't mess with them. Sound modes: Not great, rear firing speaker with no wall mount audio settings. Still, it does have Clear Voice for late night listening and Audible books and podcasts, as well as many other audio modes and settings, including a manual equalizer or pre-sets. Plan on an external speaker if you are an audio-cinephile. I'm perfectly happy with the sound in my place, because I have neighbors. Lag Between Apps: yes, more from using the preset app remote buttons than while launching the same app from the Home screen. Otherwise, the remote and FireTV functionality is typical. Fandango will have a blue screen if you don't stop play, and then exit to the Fandango app Home, before exiting back to the FireTV Home (or powering off) on the remote. Otherwise, you have to restart the TV to get past the blue screen (Fandango only). It's the same on GoogleTV. It's the app, not FireTV. Setup is easy. I had no screen damage or any other defects so far. Software updates required 3 separate restarts, including 1 just for the remote. I would recommend not skipping these, lest you become exasperated. There is no digital tuner, but a $10 antenna will get a surprising number of local channels which can be added via 1 click Channel Scan to other free streaming channel services (Tubi, Pluto, Xumo, Prime, Peacock, Max, etc.). These are all pulled together seamlessly on the Live TV tab of Home. (After installing the apps and logging in, of course. Use your phone for this. Trust me). All things considered, probably the best bang for the buck at this price point you will find.

The TCL 55-inch S5 Series delivers strong performance for the price, making it a solid choice for anyone looking to upgrade to a modern 4K TV without overspending. Picture quality is impressive for a budget model, with bright colors, sharp 4K detail, and support for Dolby Vision and HDR formats. Streaming is straightforward thanks to the built-in Fire TV platform, and Alexa integration makes voice navigation quick and reliable. Sound quality is acceptable for everyday use, and while the Dolby Atmos support adds some depth, pairing the TV with a soundbar provides a noticeably better experience. The 60 Hz refresh rate is fine for casual viewing and gaming, though fast-action scenes and competitive gaming won’t be as smooth as what you’d get from higher-end panels. Build quality feels good, setup is simple, and connectivity options are sufficient for most home setups. Overall, this TV represents excellent value. If you want a large, easy-to-use 4K smart TV with strong features for the cost, the TCL S5 is a great fit.