3 ms·

TCLs are 'dumb' tv's with a Roku built in. They're quite popular so I might be missing why these are to be avoided and/or network disabled and Roku over HDMI i

TCLs are 'dumb' tv's with a Roku built in. They're quite popular so I might be missing why these are to be avoided and/or network disabled and Roku over HDMI is preferred?

kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
They're superior to a standalone Roku for ease of use, at least until the hardware goes unsupported which will be a while. One annoyance with mine using the RokuTV speakers is that speakers drop out and don't maintain a consistent volume level whenever the WAN connection is lost. Something is taking up too much processor time trying to connect to the outside world. The speakers are unfortunately the only way to get AGC in a stereo system because the TV itself can't do it for whatever reason.
everdrive 7y ago
I managed to get a dumb TCL off Amazon in December 2018. I think you might still be able to get one. It was the 2017 model. The TV is fine enough. The display ghosts if you're playing any quick video games though. It's not the worst ghosting I've seen, but it's not great.
xeonoex 7y ago
I have a Vizio and a TCL tv right next to each other in my living room. The Vizio is the main TV and is connected to a sound system with ARC and all that. The TCL is off to the side and mostly used for gaming. If I turn on my PS4 with the controller, it turns on the Vizio TV and the Yamaha receiver, and sets it to the correct inputs. If I turn on the PS4 on the TCL, the TV does turn on even though CEC is enabled. I have to turn on the TV manually. A dumb tv would go back to the input I left it on, but the TCL goes to the home screen. I have to go and pick the PS4 input every time I turn on the TV. So I have just wanted dumb TVs before. When setup properly and everything works properly, they're great. But there has also been a time when turning the PS4 on in the main setup would turn everything on, but then put it on the wrong input (ARC is on 1, PS4 is on 5, it would switch to ARC whenever the PS4 home button was pushed). There is a big blurry line between smart and dumb which is more inconvenient than either.
- wilsonnb3 7y ago
  I think there's a setting on the TCL to make it show the last input when you turn it on instead of the home screen. At least, there is on my TCL roku tv.
  - xeonoex 7y ago
    You are correct. Thanks!
KeepFlying 7y ago
My issue with my TCL is that with Roku built in to the TV it is able to track what I watch even outside of Roku "channels". If I plug in a Roku over HDMI it can only track how I use the Roku, not the rest of the TV. Last time I checked their privacy policy they admit to using content ID systems on their TVs, but I'm on mobile and don't have a citation on that at the moment.

TCLs are 'dumb' tv's with a Roku built in. They're quite popular so I might be missing why these are to be avoided and/or network disabled and Roku over HDMI is preferred?

kevin_thibedeau 7y ago

They're superior to a standalone Roku for ease of use, at least until the hardware goes unsupported which will be a while. One annoyance with mine using the RokuTV speakers is that speakers drop out and don't maintain a consistent volume level whenever the WAN connection is lost. Something is taking up too much processor time trying to connect to the outside world. The speakers are unfortunately the only way to get AGC in a stereo system because the TV itself can't do it for whatever reason.

everdrive 7y ago

I managed to get a dumb TCL off Amazon in December 2018. I think you might still be able to get one. It was the 2017 model. The TV is fine enough. The display ghosts if you're playing any quick video games though. It's not the worst ghosting I've seen, but it's not great.

xeonoex 7y ago

I have a Vizio and a TCL tv right next to each other in my living room. The Vizio is the main TV and is connected to a sound system with ARC and all that. The TCL is off to the side and mostly used for gaming. If I turn on my PS4 with the controller, it turns on the Vizio TV and the Yamaha receiver, and sets it to the correct inputs. If I turn on the PS4 on the TCL, the TV does turn on even though CEC is enabled. I have to turn on the TV manually. A dumb tv would go back to the input I left it on, but the TCL goes to the home screen. I have to go and pick the PS4 input every time I turn on the TV. So I have just wanted dumb TVs before. When setup properly and everything works properly, they're great. But there has also been a time when turning the PS4 on in the main setup would turn everything on, but then put it on the wrong input (ARC is on 1, PS4 is on 5, it would switch to ARC whenever the PS4 home button was pushed). There is a big blurry line between smart and dumb which is more inconvenient than either.

wilsonnb3 7y ago
I think there's a setting on the TCL to make it show the last input when you turn it on instead of the home screen. At least, there is on my TCL roku tv.
- xeonoex 7y ago
  You are correct. Thanks!

KeepFlying 7y ago

My issue with my TCL is that with Roku built in to the TV it is able to track what I watch even outside of Roku "channels". If I plug in a Roku over HDMI it can only track how I use the Roku, not the rest of the TV. Last time I checked their privacy policy they admit to using content ID systems on their TVs, but I'm on mobile and don't have a citation on that at the moment.