TCL 65X3CUS Review - the 65-inch Curved 4K UHD Android Smart TV Monster

TCL or The Creative Life announced a curved 65-inch Ultra High Definition Television for the Philippines, the TCL 65X3CUS/MT58PX-LA and this is our review!

4K goodness!

The TCL 65X3CUS or the TCL MT58PX-LA is an Android TV powered Curved 65-inch display TV that although has a thin display profile is huge and will steal serious real estate in your living room.

It is running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow version of Android TV which means it is compatible with Android Apps that support the Android TV operating system. You can even connect your accounts and cast your content from your Android device if supported by the the App.

This Android TV can also be used as a a gaming device, an educational tool, a component that plays music and much more. 

Interesting right?

TCL 65X3CUS/MT58PX-LA Specs

Display: 4K UHD IPS 3840 x 2160 resolution at 68 ppi with 60Hz refresh rate
CPU: 64 Bit 1.1GHz quad core processor
GPU: Mali T860 MP2 480MHz

OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Audio: Harman Kardon Technology WDF125, Dolby MS11

Features: 94% Color Gamut, 178 degrees viewing angle, AC100V-240V
Connectivity: Bluetooth, WiFi

Others: Google Cast, Screen Mirroring, LED Notification
Supported USB Device Media Formats: MP3, MKV, WMA, AVI, JPEG, PNG, BMP, H.265/H.264, MPG1/2/4, WMV, VC1, VP8, VP9, Up to 4K 60Hz 8bit/12bit, Mouse and Keyboard 

Price: PHP 149,995

Disclaimer: This was loaned to us by TCL Philippines for an honest review.

Unboxing / Accessories

Accessories

The Toshiba 65U970 arrived in a HUGE rectangular box. Be prepared, it isn't that easy to open. You also have to be very careful in unboxing it. In our case, it was a two man job to handle, carry, and set-up the Television.  

Accessories Box

Inside, you'll find a pair of removable stands, the main body of the TV, remote control, power cord and documentation.

In our case, TCL was kind enough to add the premium remote and a game controller in the mix. Both have their own box and documentation. Each remote controller had their own set of batteries.

Build Quality / Design

Ang Ganda Besh!

Directional Pad for controlling the TV without the Remote

USB 2.0, LAN port, HDMI 3, HDMI 2 (ARC), Cable in, Antenna-in, SPDIF, HDMI 1, USB 3.0, AV IN, Headphone jack

AC In wall plug port

The TCL 65X3CUS is built surprisingly well. It has metal frames, premium glass display, and lightweight but solid textured polycarbonate. The metal stands are deceiving in that they are thin but are surprisingly solid and heavy for their size. We tried our best to bend the stands but it won't budge. It is strong.

Game Controller

Premium Controller

Stock Controller

The display curves and adds to that immersive feel. It does make it easier to view the images from side to side. Otherwise, I think it is a novel feature.

What differentiates this from other thin TVs is that the speakers are in front. The TV has an asymmetrical bezels where in the bottom bezel is the largest and it contains the speakers. All six of them. This design choice may throw people off. Honestly, when I watch content on this, I dim the environmental lights and the speakers disappear. I understand that this may be out of place when it is sitting on your living room. This is something to consider.

Audio Quality

3 of 6 Harmon/Kardon speakers!

The six speakers in front are harmon/kardon made and supports Dolby MS11. This means the TV supports a wide array of audio formats which make the audio playback of this TV versatile.

The six speakers are ridiculously powerful. It was so loud that in our living room we would limit the volume to just half its maximum volume. Any louder and our neighbors would have reported us to the barangay.

Powerful, well detailed audio!

The sound quality is equally as good. Even at max volume, there is little distortion and the details are well defined. The bass is prominent to an extent but the mids and the trebles aren't far off. If you are not planning to connect multiple speakers to this TV, the speakers are good enough for most consumers.

Performance

Picture quality of this TV is great. It has a Curved 65-inch 4K UHD IPS 3840 x 2160 pixels that's sharp and immersive. 

Images are sharp, colors are vivid and punchy and the immersion is out there!

For us, colors are well saturated and punchy. It uses an ELED display so blacks are deep. When we first started it up and played high resolution streaming like on YouTube and Netflix, there was artifacting and frame rate drops but we were instructed to factory reset the television and this was fixed. We never had this problem again.

The display gets noticeably bright but we wish that it was a little brighter to withstand the harsh daylight coming from our windows. We could unfurl our curtains but it would have been great if it could stand on its own in bright daylight.

We did however selected the sports mode more often when watching videos with fast moving subjects.

Opening apps like Facebook and YouTube is seamless!

Inside, it is powered by an unknown 64 bit quad-core processor. Interestingly, it is coupled w/ Mali-T860 graphics that's commonly found on octa-core MediaTek chips.

The processor breezes through Android apps like they are nothing. In fact we ran 4K files and we've never had stuttering and or hang ups. The only time we had problem is because our Fibr connection couldn't download 4K content fast enough. Otherwise, we are happy with the power of this TV.

In our gaming tests, we were able to run Asphalt 8 but it has some frame rate dips on all high settings but this is better than most. NBA 2K17 is only playable on ultra low settings but it crashes every now and then.

It also has single and multi player modes to play online and offline games with the use of a specific controller.

Software-wise, the TV boots w/ Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS out of the box. It runs YouTube, Netflix and Spotify very well.

Apple iOS devices can be connected to Android TV w/ the use of a downloadable app. Unfortunately, we weren't able to test it as we don't have an iPhone as of this writing.

Lastly, WiFi and bluetooth connectivity is quite stable. We never experienced dropped connections with either.

Pros - Affordable compared to competing Curved UHD TVs, smooth, WiFi and Bluetooth, Good Audio, 94% Color Gamut

Cons - OLED is preferred, It takes two people to set it up, Heavier than it looks, We encountered artifacting once

Verdict

Priced at PHP 149,995, it may seem steep at first but it is relatively affordable compared to competition with similar specs. It uses a beautiful UHD 60Hz Samsung Panel that works beautifully. The details and  the colors are breathtaking while the audio is loud with defined details. The curved display does add immersion but it is novel at best. If you have the budget, then by all means buy it! We recommend trying out flat displays first before jumping in. Otherwise, this is a great product from TCL!

Build / Design - 4
Display - 4
Audio - 4.25
Performance - 3.75
Average - 4 / 5