LG CX OLED vs. TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) faceoff

(Prototype credit: LG/TCL)

For several years at present, OLED TVs have dominated the big screen market with a film sharpness and color intensity unmatched by whatsoever other brandish technology. Quantum dot-based LCD sets have come close, with impressive 4K video, simply OLEDs have continued to reign supreme.

That may exist near to finish. TCL is the kickoff TV maker to introduce a competing LCD-based display using mini-LED applied science. It'southward designed to compete with LG's OLED displays—at a much lower price signal. Then does it succeed? Nosotros decided to do a screen-to-screen comparing of the LG CX OLED and the TCL 6-Serial Roku TV (R635) to find out.

LG CX OLED vs. TCL six-Series Roku Tv (R635): Specs

	LG CX OLED	TCL 6-Series Roku Tv set R635
Price range	$1,499–3,999	$699–1,399
Screen sizes	48, 55, 65, 77 inches	55, 65, 75 inches
Resolution	4K UHD (3,840 ten 2,160)	4K UHD (3,840 x ii,160)
HDR	Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10, and HLG	Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG
Refresh rate	120Hz	120Hz
Ports	4x HDMI ii.1	4x HDMI
Audio	ii.2 channel sound	2.0 aqueduct audio
Smart Goggle box software	webOS	Roku Goggle box
Voice interaction	Mic in remote	Mic in remote
Smart assistant	LG ThinQ AI (congenital-in Amazon Alexa and Google Banana)	None built-in (works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant)

LG CX OLED vs. TCL vi-Series Roku TV (R635): Toll and size options

The LG CX OLED comes in a handful of screen sizes, ranging from 48 inches up to 77 inches, only for most shoppers, the 55- and 65-inch options will be the most attractive. The TCL six-Series, on the other manus, comes in three sizes, 55-, 65- and 75-inch models.

	LG CX OLED	TCL 6-Series Roku TV R635
48 inch	$ane,499.99
50 inch
55 inch	$1,699.99	$649.99
58 inch
65 inch	$two,499.99	$899.99
75 inch		$1,399.99
77 inch	$3,999.99

When it comes to comparing the two model lines, the LG CX OLED's 48-inch model is a great choice for smaller rooms that won't conform a 55-inch or larger, and it's also being pitched as a smashing gaming Tv.

Merely the biggest difference is in price, with the TCL 6-Serial selling for much less than the LG's premium OLED models. In fact, LG'south pricing starts where TCL leaves off – the nigh affordable is the 48-inch model, but it's $100 more than than the well-nigh expensive 75-inch TCL 6-Serial model.

If y'all're looking for the about affordable option, the TCL is the easy choice, and our top recommendation for value shoppers. But the LG CX OLED offers a level of premium performance and features that the TCL tin't match – if that'due south something y'all're willing to pay more for.

LG CX OLED vs. TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635): What'south the difference?

Well-nigh LCD TVs use LEDs as a backlight to illuminate the screen. Some sets have LEDs along the edge, others use and then-called full-array LED backlights where the diodes are placed in strategic places backside the LCD layer in "zones." Mini-LED designs ameliorate on this system by using smaller (less than 0.ii millimeters) and more numerous LEDs for the backlight, making it possible to create more zones and improve the contrast and highlights in images.

LG CX OLED vs. TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) faceoff — (Image credit: LG)

(Mini-LED sets should not be confused with micro-LED engineering science, which assigns even smaller LEDs to each private pixel. Such sets have millions of LEDs and thousands of dollars.)

LG's OLED or organic light-emitting diode TVs have a crispness and sharpness because there is no split up backlight. The organic pixels emit their ain calorie-free when activated. So each pixel tin be completely turned on or off separately, making for blacker blacks and deeper hues.

LG CX OLED vs. TCL 6-Serial Roku TV (R635): Display

To boost its color reproduction abilities, TCL'southward vi-Series set uses a quantum dot layer to deliver more colors than a standard LCD. Information technology does an splendid job turning in richer, deeper greens and reds, for example, and in our tests it was able to reproduce 99.92 per centum of the standard Rec 709 colour space. That's in line with other breakthrough dot sets, which tend to come in to a higher place 99 percent. In colour accuracy testing using our X-Rite colorimeter and CalMan software, the 55-inch TCL vi-Series turned in a Delta-East rating of ii.8 (closer to 0 is better).

Notwithstanding, OLED is yet the king of color. The 65-inch LG CX delivered one of the widest colour gamuts nosotros've ever tested. It was able to produce 134.57 pct of the Rec 709 color space, delivering a head-turning picture intensity. Moreover, it as well yielded splendid color accuracy with a Delta-Due east score of one.95.

Picture quality is not just most color, notwithstanding. There are also practical issues regarding effulgence and viewing angles. In a sunny room, the TCL half-dozen-Serial fix is going to win out. LCDs in general do ameliorate at pumping up the lite output than OLEDs overall.

Merely all that may depend on where you lot're sitting on the burrow. LG's OLED holds its color and clarity in near all viewing angles, even when you're the final one on the chaise. And while the mini-LEDs assist TCL's vi-Series models, its display cannot compare in this regard to OLEDs.

Winner: LG CX OLED

LG CX OLED vs. TCL six-Series Roku Television receiver (R635): Gaming

If you're looking for a large screen for big games, both sets offer enticing features. The TCL 6-Series is the offset model to boast a THX Certified Game Manner. It not only improves response times but too meets requirements for color quality and coping with dark-to-low-cal transitions. It as well supports Auto-Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which switches to game style automatically, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which eliminates picture judder.

These are great features but in our response time tests, the TCL 6-Series was acceptable simply not impressive. Its overall lag time turned in a 21.5 millisecond outcome. By comparison, the LG CX OLED was noticeably quicker with a lag time of just 13.1 milliseconds, making it the winner here.

Winner: LG CX OLED

LG CX OLED vs. TCL six-Serial Roku Television (R635): webOS vs. Roku Television set

Nigh smart TVs from major manufacturers boast more than capable software for handling streaming services and apps. These two are no unlike. LG uses its own webOS software with easy-to-follow graphics, all the major streaming services from Hulu to Starting time, and a remote control that uses a handy floating on-screen cursor. Information technology doesn't offering the hundreds of streaming apps that Android TV and Roku-based sets do, simply nosotros only noticed i glaring omission: the Benchmark Channel.

LG's CX also has built-in support for Google Banana and Amazon'due south Alexa, a genuine plus that makes this fix but that much easier to use. Furthermore, the remote'south microphone can exist used to calibrate the audio based on your seating position, a nice touch for improving the impact of soundtracks.

By comparison, TCL's six-Series uses what has to be the simplest yet most widely supported smart TV software, Roku Television. It boasts thousands of apps and one of the nearly straightforward video-oriented interfaces available. Roku also obeys voice commands, just it doesn't accept the abilities of Alexa or Google Assistant. Instead, information technology focuses on finding the programs yous want, quickly.

Winner: Tie

LG CX OLED vs. TCL six-Serial Roku Boob tube (R635): Which i wins?

If you want the best 4K movie, regardless of toll, and then LG's CX OLED remains the articulate winner. But mini-LED technology illustrates that LCDs continue to improve. And then the TCL 6-Series represents a distinct value that is difficult to ignore. The 55-inch TCL six-Series is simply $649.99 compared to the LG CX, which is nearly double the price, $1,399.99. For well-nigh budget-minded shoppers, that's a deal that'southward hard to resist.

Which TV should y'all buy? Meet how our favorite TVs stack up in our collection of Television receiver face up offs:

TCL half-dozen-Series vs. TCL 8-Series
LG C1 OLED vs. LG CX OLED
LG C1 OLED vs. LG GX OLED
LG OLED vs. OLED evo
LG CX OLED vs. TCL 6-Serial Roku Television set (R635)
TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) vs. Samsung Q60T QLED

John R. Quain has been reviewing and testing video and audio equipment for more than twenty years. For Tom's Guide, he has reviewed televisions, HDTV antennas, electric bikes, electric cars, as well as other outdoor equipment. He is currently a contributor to The New York Times and the CBS News television program.