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Think of this TCL 70S470G TV review as a snapshot of the current market landscape for displays. With each passing year, shoppers get a growing selection of affordable displays with high-performance features. Today’s review finds out if the impressive specifications on budget TVs can translate to powerful and reliable performance.
Let’s check out the 70-inch TCL S470G to see if a budget 4K smart TV delivers on picture quality and overall user experience.
TCL 70S470G TV review: Market considerations
The TCL 4-series is an entry-level product line featuring 4K smart TVs that run Google or Roku platforms. 2023 brings with it two versions of the S4 series, namely the TCL S450G and the TCL S470G. Our focus is on the S470G, which is available at wholesale clubs like Costco. Compared with the S450G, the more exclusive 470G has advantages like:
- A 3-year extended warranty that suggests better hardware and build quality
- The metal frame around the panel
- Wide color gamut
- Wholesale clubs ship the TCL S470G with a complementary HDMI cable
TCL uses pricing as the opening sales pitch for its TVs, and the S470G does not disappoint in this regard. As of September 2023, the manufacturer’s website recommends an asking price of $630 for the 70-inch model.
For this low price, you get a smart TV that supports HDR content at 4K resolution. The following sections go into the different areas where the TCL 70S470G stands out.
TCL 70S470G TV review: What buyers get with the 70-inch TCL S470G smart TV
Live every product ever made, the S470G has its strengths and limitations. The S470G is a VA panel that gets dark enough to execute stunning contrast and an impressive level of detail. This TV also has a large color palette and good color reproduction across different picture presets.
Better still, the 70S470G is quick to react to input signals from media sources and user commands. The low lag is an advantage when gaming or navigating the display’s user interface. From the buyer’s perspective, the TCL 470G works well in the following use cases:
1. Movies and dark room viewing showcase the panel’s strengths
The panel’s deep blacks and high contrast ratio deliver crisp and vivid images in dark scenes. Fine detail manages to stand out in shadows and darker sections of an image. Best of all, the screen’s wide color gamut allows the S470 to showcase small differences between two near-identical colors. For this reason, this 70-inch widescreen does a great job of rendering cinematic content.
Movies with rich color and lots of detail look pretty good on the S470G. The same goes for nature content, where constant changes in lighting create all kinds of nuance and color variations. For a budget TV, the S470G manages to execute natural content with impressive accuracy. Still, users must remember that picture quality decreases in bright ambient lighting.
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2. Regular TV looks good in dim and moderate lighting
News, general content, and TV series look fine in rooms with low or moderate lighting. At these levels of ambient light, the S470 panel will handle reflection and glare. In contrast, images will lose definition in brightly lit rooms, which takes away from your overall viewing experience. This means that anyone thinking about getting a TCL S4 TV should factor in the lighting in their entertainment space.
Lastly, Google’s PlayStore offers numerous streaming apps that form a large catalog of content. The catalog spans every genre and every specialist niche you can think of.
3. Sports content looks fine
A fairly dim panel and narrow viewing angles limit the TCL S470 to sports content that looks ‘fine’. To get the most out of the panel, you’ll have to manage ambient light and create some distance between the audience and the TV.
Fast-moving objects leave minimal blurring behind them, and there’s only the faintest appearance of a dirty-screen effect.
4. Decent support for gaming
Low lag allows the 70-inch S470 to respond instantly when you pull the trigger or swerve sharply. You may notice slight motion blur, but nothing that would cost you a win during gameplay.
4K resolution and a 60-Hz refresh rate deliver clear images with details that would look blurry on a less impressive screen. The crisp graphics allow you to pick up on cues that may give you an advantage over an opponent.
5. Decent build quality
A plastic chassis with a metal frame houses the screen and internal hardware of the TCL S470G. The S470 may not boast the toughest build in the world, but the plastic that forms the panel’s exterior is solid enough. Different parts of the TV also fit together snugly to minimize the entry of particles and dust.
Mounting this 70-inch widescreen requires a bracket that matches the 200×200 VESA pattern at the back of the TV. A wall-mount installation works nicely with the size and side profile of the TCL S470G. The only downside is that you’ll have a hard time reaching the ports from the side of the TV.
Placing the TV on a piece of furniture allows you to access the ports without too much hassle. However, you’ll need a piece of furniture that’s at least as long as long as the TV. It’s worth mentioning that the TV feet leave a 2.6” gap between the TV and the furniture surface. This means that most soundbars will be too tall to sit under the TCL S4780G.
6. Many connectivity options
Three HDMI ports provide connectivity for a variety of media players, computers, gaming consoles, and sound equipment. The HDMI and optical ports support most high-resolution video and audio formats.
A 3.5mm audio jack and a composite AV port support connections that you usually find on legacy devices. Lastly, you get a USB port for the times when you want to play media directly from a storage device.
WiFi and Bluetooth support wireless connections to your home network, nearby devices, and compatible home electronics.
7. A smart TV interface that covers the basics
The 70-inch TCL S470 runs the Google TV platform, with mixed results. On one hand, Google TV is a feature-rich platform with content that caters to all kinds of tastes. On the other hand, the platform is bulky enough to cause lag in certain conditions.
Some buyers have reported glitches and a sluggish interface; usually soon after the TCL S470G starts up. Other users report that the issues go away with time, and the improvements could be the result of a firmware update.
Pros
- Good design and build quality
- HDR content looks vivid; with sharp, detailed images
- The panel renders rich, uniform colors
- High native contrast
- Very good execution of shadow detail
Cons
- Some customers report lag and glitches in the smart TV platform
- Poor anti-glare handling
- You may notice slight dirty-screen artifacts while watching sports content
TCL 70S470G TV review: Solid performance at irresistible prices
This TCL 70S470G TV review finds that you can get a smart TV with great picture quality for a steal. Newer brands like TCL leverage their capacity to manufacture their own hardware to offer affordable 4K widescreens. The result is TVs that can outperform competing models with similar prices but from older brands.
The 70-inch TCL S470G delivers good picture quality and a good user experience, all for a few hundred dollars. Click here to learn more about this television.
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