Update (June 8th)
Received my 3rd one of these yesterday from Amazon. Honestly, this one was the best of the three. BUT - the vertical banding is still there. I tweaked the picture settings and adv picture settings the best I could to reduce it, but watching the hockey game last night, it was all I could see. Had to go watch the game on my 6 year old LG as the dirty screen effect was so bad. SO - boxed up and back to Amazon it goes. What a shame for a TV that has so much potential. TCL needs to get it's QC processes in check.
I'm wondering if there is just a bad batch of them at my closest Amazon warehouse (they all came from the same one). I may go pick the Best Buy version up today and give it a shot. If I do - I'll post my results to this review. Good luck to all on this one!!
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Update (June 5th)
I received my replacement TV yesterday. This one had the same vertical banding issue. If anything - it was worse than the first TV. Put some hockey highlights on and it was so obvious whenever the camera panned across the ice. I had my wife look at it to see if I was out of my mind, and she confirmed she could clearly see the vertical bands also. What a shame - otherwise this TV looks like it should be a star.
Now I need to decide - do I try for a 3rd time or do I spend more money and go to a brand with far less QC issues? Maybe I'll reach out to TCL support as they suggest in the comment below and get their take.
Both TV's were dropped off at UPS yesterday on their way back to Amazon. Props to Amazon for having an excellent return policy/process.
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Well - I got hit with the dreaded vertical banding issue on the white screen. As I watch a lot of hockey - this is a show stopper. BUT...I will give it another go as Amazon is processing a replacement. Gave two stars instead of one because otherwise it seems like a spectacular television if they could get their QC processes improved. Oh well - wish me luck on the next one!!
I'll update this review with my findings on the replacement TV.
| Brand Name | TCL |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 38.2 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 48.5 x 10.7 x 30.9 inches |
| Item model number | 55R617 |
| Batteries | 2 AAA batteries required. (included) |
