TCL 6-Series Google TV (R646) Review | Worth The Trouble?

There's no denying TCL's 6-Series Google TV has a drop-dead gorgeous picture and is easily one of the best values in TV you can buy ... if we were to agree picture quality is the only consideration. TCL may have fixed some of the problems this model had in its early days, but we still ran into some issues. Is it still worth buying? Let's talk about that.

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0:00 - Intro
1:05 - Picture Settings
1:40 - Dynamic Contrast, Black Stretch, and Micro Contrast
2:37 - Numbers For Nit Nerds
4:28 - Picture Quality
5:54 - Panel Lottery
6:42 - User Experience, Bugs, Glitches, and Quirks
10:48 - Gaming
11:32 - Sound Quality
11:43 - Would I Recommend The TCL 6-Series R646?

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[Caleb_Denison]

Hey everyone! Sounds like setting the R646 up as a “dumb” TV and using an Apple TV is a popular idea. I’d even just buy a Chromecast with Google TV and use up an HDMI input. What would you use?

[jamescalder]

Speaking about the software bugs, I've owned this TV since November and yeah it's annoying. It has gotten better with the updates. One thing I would definitely recommend is to turn off quick start. The TV doesn't really turn off if not, just goes into a kind of sleep mode and gets really glitchy. I've noticed it's way less of an issue if you're fully turning off the TV when not in use, yeah it takes a little longer for it to power on but way less annoying then the apps crashing mid video. It helps trust me.

[boofaceboxing]

Since the recent updates this tv is absolutely the best tv of the year picture quality is top tier I guarantee if you buy this tv you won’t regret it

[arcticthundergamer]

Seen a good number of reviews on this TV lately and the recent update seems to have fixed all the issues, But nobody says anything about it so far just bashing it when it first came out and nothing since then, it's a great tv now

[gmjacobs]

I bought this TV in November for about 800 with Black Friday sales. Picture quality has been outstanding. I haven’t had too many bugs lately (other than the soundbar audio being laggy when changing volume). I found after I switched off the quick turn on feature it was a lot better user experience.

[rayharrell]

I bought this tv strictly for gaming 95% of the time and the occasional tv. It’s located in my “man cave” and it’s been awesome. I haven’t experienced any of these issues talked about due to running all apps through my Xbox and use headphones connected through the Xbox. Solid tv for $750 for my intended purpose.

[matthewfeeney]

I’ve been having many of the same bugs with my 55” r646, so you’re not alone! Thanks for the great review!

[Calwinn]

You should do an updated review, since all of the bugs are virtually fixed. Amazing set and value.

[percysowner]

My plan has always been to keep using my Roku Streambar as my interface and keep the Google TV for when Roku and some service have a dispute. With the exception of the sound issues it sounds like that plan is pretty feasible.

[ChannelTrooper]

I bought this TV in December and after rigorous testing (I mean as much as I can with a cellphone) I guess the panel are amazing from the lot! Mine as well is smooth no obvious gray smudging or such.
For the google Tv glitches, disabling quick boot it fixed most of everything but I never had an app crash at all (Binged hours of movies). But now you'll have to put up with 15-20 seconds boot time. I'd rather that then apps being slow and unresponsive.
But thank you for the honest review! I love the picture quality

[purplemonkey]

Thanks Caleb for this review. New subscriber and fan of your content, keep up the great work! I purchased the TCL-65R646 a month ago and have had the exact same experience as yourself. Great picture with a buggy google operating system. It got so bad that I ended up factory resetting the TV and starting the setup process over. During setup, I made sure to not use my Google Account to sign into TCL Home and just used a junk email to bypass it. I forced stopped and cleared the cache of all apps that I rarely use, including TCL Home. I have no idea why they force you to have a TCL account. I went into the privacy section and turned everything off and physically turned the mic switch off on the back of the TV. Since making these adjustments, I have not had any app issues. I have a sneaky suspicion that connecting a Google account to TCL Home causes a lot of the latency and app crashes. Due to all the bad press, the 65R646 dropped $300 and is now an amazing value at $999.99 especially when the older Roku model (65R635) cost $1099 at Best Buy. And I agree with you that changing inputs with the remote is annoying! I bypass it by using the google assist voice command button on the remote to change inputs. Thanks for all your hard work. Appreciate you!

[JPSchulzy]

Thanks for the review Caleb. As I stated in your unboxing video I have hooked an Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max into this TV for my parents and everything works great. They do not use the Google TV interface except to switch inputs. My only minor complaint is that the volume control with the TCL Alto 9+ soundbar is a little sluggish sometimes. Overall the picture really pops. It will undergo further testing this weekend with the Super Bowl on Peacock. To answer your question at the end of the review, yes, I am willing to take picture quality and value while awaiting future software updates.

[willc]

i purchased the TCL R646 Feb. 12 and its been playing many hours since. I have not had any glitches as you express in this video.

[JDT]

I just got the 75” model and am IN LOVE. I lucked out and got a great panel, virtually zero noticeable DSE. I have also not experienced any of the software issues you referred to. I’m actually loving to Google OS so far.

[shmookins]

I'm dying for your X95K review. I'm literally checking every day for it. :)

[PH-ujpx]

I bought the TV a few days after it was released at Best Buy before they took it off the shelf. The update was good but I still have all the glitches that you have as well. I still like the TV and I would recommend it, especially for people on a low budget like me!

[ericsenechal]

I bought a 65 inch TCL 6 series at Best Buy in January 2022. It was a lemon, there was 4 black dots that hovered over the image in a line 1/3 up from the bottom. I lost faith in the brand and switched to a more expensive LG OLED C1 series and happy. The image is beautiful, the colours are amazing.

[cyjoker]

I picked this unit up a few days ago at Best Buy for $349! Looks and works better than my $1300 LG.

[BrentNelson]

Bought this 75” version today, mounted it, and have a few observations:

1. Picture quality is damn good. We also have a 2017 55” OLED and it’s darn close between the two. Black levels are just a small notch above true black.

2. However….there are bugs. My picture setting (movie) has changed multiple times on its own after i navigated in and out of settings (and it’s also happened after turning the tv off and back on). I’m sure this can be fixed with an update but it’s definitely annoying.

[sneakkyz]

December 17th 2022 I have literally no issues with glitches or bugs or anything from this TV. I've had it over 6 months and never had any issues as a matter a fact. Basically perfect TV imo especially for the Series X. I mean every once in a while something will happen and it might go back to the home screen or something but happens so little I shouldn't even mention it honestly.