TCL 43C641K: 43-Inch QLED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV TCL - Review 🏆

The TCL 43C641K is a feature-packed 43-inch 4K LED TV that offers excellent value for money. Part of TCL's C-Series range, it comes with a stylish slim design and plenty of smart capabilities powered by the Android TV operating system.

Some of the key features and specifications of the TCL 43C641K include:

• 43-inch 4K Ultra HD LED display with 3840 x 2160 resolution
• Support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision for enhanced picture quality
• Game Master Pro technology with ALLM and VRR for optimized gaming
• Dolby Atmos sound system for immersive audio
• Integrated Freeview Play to access live TV and on-demand content
• Built-in Google Assistant and Alexa for hands-free voice control
• Dual-band WiFi and Ethernet connectivity
• 3 HDMI ports and 2 USB ports

With its sharp 4K resolution, HDR support, smooth gaming features, and extensive smart platform, the 43C641K delivers an excellent viewing experience and smart functionality at an affordable price point. Its design and features make it a great option for both entertainment and productivity use in living rooms and bedrooms.

Design

The TCL 43C641K features a sleek and modern design with thin bezels around the display for a more immersive viewing experience. The TV has a matte black finish and two V-shaped metal feet to hold it up on a surface.

Overall, the build quality feels sturdy and premium thanks to the metal construction. The bezels measure just 6.9mm thick, giving the television a contemporary look. At 43 inches, it's a good size for smaller rooms or as a secondary TV. The TV isn't the slimmest at 3.1 inches thick, but still looks great when wall mounted.

With the stand attached, the total depth comes to 6.7 inches. The feet are positioned towards the edges of the TV rather than centrally mounted. This provides enough space to place a soundbar without blocking the screen.

If you're looking for a larger, more cinematic experience, consider the TCL 85C645K: 85-Inch QLED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV. This 85-inch television boasts QLED technology for vibrant colors and sharp details. With 4K Ultra HD resolution, you'll enjoy crystal-clear visuals whether you're watching movies, playing games, or streaming content. Its smart capabilities allow easy access to all your favorite apps and services, making it a great choice for those who want the ultimate home theater experience.

Display Quality

The TCL 43C641K features an impressive 43-inch 4K Ultra HD QLED display with 3840 x 2160 resolution. This provides stunningly vivid colors and excellent sharpness and clarity for all your content.

The QLED technology utilizes quantum dot technology to produce over a billion colors. This results in vivid, lifelike images with high brightness, accurate color reproduction, and deep blacks. You'll experience excellent contrast and immersive HDR viewing.

For high dynamic range support, this TCL TV is HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision compatible. This allows you to enjoy HDR content with expanded contrast, brighter highlights, and more realistic images. It makes movies and shows pop with detail and depth.

The 4K upscaling engine ensures lower resolution content still looks great on the higher resolution screen. This TCL also has motion clarity processing to reduce motion blur, so fast action scenes stay smooth and clear. Overall, the display quality produces an excellent viewing experience whether you're watching 4K content or upscaled HD.

If you're looking for another excellent option, consider the TCL 43P638K: 43-Inch 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV. This TV also features a 43-inch 4K Ultra HD display, but it uses LED technology. It offers smart features that provide easy access to your favorite streaming services. With high dynamic range support and upscaling functionalities, the TCL 43P638K also ensures excellent picture quality, making it a great alternative for a premium viewing experience.

Sound Quality

The TCL 43C641K comes with decent built-in speakers that provide clear and balanced audio for most content. The speakers have a total output power of 30W, which should be sufficient for a medium-sized room.

One of the highlights of the sound system is support for Dolby Atmos. This audio technology creates a surround sound experience by adding height channels, so you get immersive audio coming at you from all directions. Dolby Atmos helps make movies and shows more impactful with localized effects and a wider soundstage.

While the built-in speakers can deliver good audio quality, connecting the TV to a soundbar or speaker system via the HDMI ARC port or optical audio out can take the sound to the next level. The addition of a subwoofer is also recommended for boosting bass response if you plan to watch action movies or listen to music.

Overall, the TCL 43C641K provides a satisfactory audio experience out of the box, and Dolby Atmos support helps create a more immersive listening experience. Those looking for more powerful and nuanced sound may want to pair the TV with a dedicated sound system.

Smart TV Features

The TCL 43C641K runs on Android TV, providing access to a wide range of apps and services. It comes with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built-in, allowing for hands-free voice control.

Some of the key smart features include:

• Android TV - This provides access to the Google Play Store, giving you thousands of apps to download. From popular streaming services like Netflix and YouTube to games, music, and more.

• Chromecast - Allows you to cast content from your mobile device or laptop to the TV. Useful for streaming from apps not available on the TV.

• Google Assistant - You can use your voice to search for content, launch apps, control smart home devices and more. The far-field microphones allow you to access Google Assistant from across the room.

• Amazon Alexa - In addition to Google Assistant, the TV has Alexa built-in. So you can choose which voice assistant you prefer to use. Alexa allows you to access thousands of skills and smart home control.

• Apps - Comes pre-installed with apps like Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, Freeview Play and more. Provides access to all the major streaming platforms.

The TCL 43C641K offers a great smart TV experience thanks to Android TV and hands-free voice control with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Gaming Performance

The TCL 43C641K offers excellent gaming performance, making it a great choice for gamers. It has a very low input lag of around 10ms, which means there is barely any delay between pressing a button on your controller and seeing the action happen on screen. This allows for responsive and precise gameplay.

The response time is also impressive at under 8ms, resulting in smooth motion and less ghosting or blur during fast-paced action scenes. You'll be able to clearly track moving objects without distracting artifacts.

One of the standout gaming features is TCL's Game Master technology. This provides extra optimization for gaming by reducing input lag even further to under 5ms, improving response time, and enhancing picture quality. It ensures you get the absolute best gaming experience possible on this TV.

With the combination of low input lag, fast response time, and dedicated gaming enhancements, the TCL 43C641K delivers an extremely fluid and lag-free gaming performance. Whether you play fast-paced competitive shooters or story-driven adventures, this TV will handle all your favorite games smoothly and responsively.

Ports and Connectivity

The TCL 43C641K has a good selection of ports and connectivity options. On the back of the TV you'll find:

• 3 HDMI ports - The HDMI ports support HDMI 2.1 and HDCP 2.2. This allows you to connect devices like games consoles, Blu-ray players and streaming sticks in up to 4K resolution at 60Hz.

• 2 USB ports - The USB ports are USB 2.0, which is fairly standard for most TVs. You can use the USB ports to play media files directly from a USB flash drive or external hard drive.

• Ethernet port - There is a LAN port so you can connect the TV directly to your home network with a wired ethernet connection. This is useful for the best streaming quality and keeping a reliable connection.

• Wireless connectivity - The TCL 43C641K has built-in WiFi supporting the latest wireless standards. It makes it easy to connect your TV to the internet and stream content wirelessly.

The connectivity options on the 43C641K provide everything you need for connecting external devices and streaming content. The HDMI 2.1 ports are great for new consoles and 4K playback. And you have both wired and wireless options for getting the TV online.

Remote Control

The TCL 43C641K comes with a sleek and minimalist remote control that feels nice in the hand. It has a brushed metal backside and rubber buttons for a premium look and feel. The remote is powered by 2 AAA batteries which are included in the box.

For controls, you have the standard directional pad, OK button, back button, home button, volume controls, channel rocker, mute, and power. There's also quick access buttons for Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and Freeview Play. Everything is well spaced out and intuitive.

One of the highlights of the remote is the built-in microphone for hands-free voice control. You can press and hold the voice button to speak commands to Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. This allows you to launch apps, search for content, control playback, and more using just your voice. It worked well in testing with good recognition of voice commands.

Overall, the included remote is responsive, easy to use, and has a great build quality. The addition of hands-free voice control is also a nice touch.

Pros and Cons

The TCL 43C641K has a lot of great features and performance for its price, but there are some downsides as well.

Pros

• Great 4K picture quality with QLED technology providing vibrant colors and good contrast
• Smooth gaming performance with low input lag
• Hands-free voice control with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa compatibility
• Smart TV platform with access to popular apps and streaming services
• Dolby Atmos provides an immersive audio experience
• Sleek, modern design that looks great in any room

Cons

• Only 60Hz refresh rate, may not be ideal for fast-paced gaming
• Limited viewing angles compared to higher-end QLED TVs
• Mediocre built-in speakers may require a soundbar for better audio
• Some motion blur in fast-moving scenes
• Lacks advanced gaming features like VRR and ALLM

Overall, the TCL 43C641K provides very good 4K picture quality and smart features considering its affordable price point. Gamers may want to consider a TV with higher refresh rate and more gaming optimizations. But for most buyers looking for a budget 4K TV with good performance, the 43C641K is a solid option worth considering.

Conclusion

The TCL 43C641K is a solid mid-range 4K TV that offers good overall performance for its price. The sleek design and build quality make it look more premium than its price tag suggests. The picture quality is quite good with deep blacks, vibrant colors, and decent motion handling. Gaming feels responsive thanks to the low input lag.

The Android TV interface is easy to use with access to lots of apps and Google Assistant built-in. The audio quality could be better but is passable for regular TV watching. Connectivity options are sufficient for most needs.

Overall, the TCL 43C641K is an excellent choice if you want a future-proof 4K TV with smart features but don't want to break the bank. It's a great option for buyers looking for good value in the budget 4K segment.

Unless you need more advanced gaming features like HDMI 2.1 or Dolby Vision support, the TCL 43C641K gets our recommendation as a solid mid-range 4K smart TV that punches above its weight. It provides an enjoyable viewing experience for movies, TV shows, and casual gaming at an affordable price point.