Audio Video News

TCL, the Chinese consumer electronics brand that has been aggressively pursuing the U.S. market in recent years, has announced pricing and availability for the flagship 4K/Ultra HD TVs it previewed at CES in January.

The two models in the 6-Series are available now at pre-order introductory prices of $649 for the 55-inch 55R617 and $999 for the 65-inch 65R617.

Key features of the 6-Series TVs include the latest version of the Roku OS, increased “contrast control zones,” Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) processing, and other proprietary picture enhancing technologies. The TVs also support the standard HDR10 format and sport a new brushed metal frame.

TCL said the number of “contrast control zones” has been expanded to 96 zones for the 55-inch model and 120 zones for the 65-inch model, up from 72 zones in last year’s P6-Series TVs. The increase in zones is said to result in significantly improved contrast.

As part of what TCL calls the HDR Performance Package Pro, the 6-Series televisions feature Wide Color Gamut with NBP Photon technology for “more realistic colors.” NBP (Nano Band Phosphor) technology combines high-output LEDs with precision phosphors to deliver a color palette that’s said to come close to matching the DCI-P3 reference color standard. Also contributing to the expanded color palette is a new iPQ Engine that uses an algorithm to “tailor precise colors based on the capability of each TV.”

The TVs also incorporate TCL’s HDR Pro Gamma technology, which creates a custom tone map for different environments to maintain a detailed picture regardless of lighting, and provide three HDR picture presets: HDR Dark for dark home theaters, HDR Normal for moderately bright rooms, and HDR Bright for sun-drenched spaces.

TCL said the new Roku OS is easy to set up and use thanks to an inviting home screen that displays all inputs and lets users choose from more than 5,000 streaming channels, including the Roku Channel, which provides free access to a collection of films and TV shows, and Dolby Access, which showcases the benefits of Dolby Vision HDR through a series of trailers and short videos. More than 240 movies are available in Dolby Vision via streaming or on 4K UHD Blu-ray disc, according to the company.

The 6-Series TVs also come with the Roku TV Voice Remote, which lets viewers use spoken commands to search for content, switch inputs, tune to a local broadcast channel, launch a streaming channel, and more.

For more information, visit tclusa.com.