Pros & Cons
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- Excellent color reproduction.
- Inexpensive.
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- Poor black levels.
- Bare-bones feature set.
TCL 48FS4690 Specs
| Black Level | 389.33 |
| Contrast Ratio | 3,244:1 |
| HDMI Ports | 3 |
| Panel Type | LCD |
| Refresh Rate | 60 |
| Resolution | 1920 by 1080 |
| Screen Brightness | 0.12 |
| Screen Size | 48 |
| Streaming Services | 1 |
| Video Inputs | Component |
| Video Inputs | HDMI |
| Video Inputs | RF |
A $500, nearly 50-inch HDTV would have been a laughable idea last year, when budget sets included the Editors' Choice 42-inch RCA LED42C45RQ and Chinese HDTV manufacturer TCL's promising LE46FHDE5300. The latter was a 46-inch, 1080p display available for $550, and TCL has since followed that model up with the 48FS4690, a 48-inch HDTV that adds two inches to the diagonal screen size and a third HDMI port while shaving $100 off the price tag. The 48FS4690 is available for $448, and at that price it's a bargain even if it suffers from disappointing black levels and a bare-bones feature set.
Design
The 48FS4690 is very plain, but thoughtfully designed. With the stand attached, it measures 42.8 by 26.5 by 7.7 inches (HWD) and weighs 31 pounds. Even without the stand, it's a fairly chunky three inches thick, but you wouldn't notice from the front thanks to its half-inch glossy black bezel. The bezel is mostly flat and black, with a silver-colored edge on the bottom highlighted by a protruding TCL logo that lights up when the screen is off and goes dark when the screen is on. The base is a very solid glass trapezoid that doesn't swivel, but holds the HDTV very steadily. It's bolstered by two optional plastic supports that screw into the bottom edge of the screen's chassis. The supports aren't necessary because the base itself is surprisingly solid, but it's a clever, simple addition not seen on most HDTVs.
View All All of the connections and controls sit on the back right edge of the screen, with three HDMI ports, a USB port, a cable/antenna connection, and an RCA SPDIF audio output facing right, easily accessible. Only the component video input faces back, in a recessed space. A four-direction mini-control stick sits on the lower right corner of the back of the screen, offering very similar controls to most Samsung HDTVs.
The remote is similarly bland but functional. It's an uninspiring 7.8-inch plastic wand with flat, unlit rubber buttons. On the positive side, the buttons are nice and large and feel distinct under the thumb, and the direction pad is very easy to find without looking.
You probably won't use the direction pad for much besides adjusting the 48FS4690's settings, though. Besides being Roku Ready with an MHL-enabled HDMI port (making it compatible with the non-HDMI Roku Streaming Stick, and letting you control it with the HDTV's remote), it doesn't really have any bells or whistles. It has no network features at all, no 3D, and few video or audio enhancement features outside of a 24fps film mode, volume leveling, and surprisingly, a five-band (100Hz, 300Hz, 1.5KHz, 5KHz, and 10KHz) audio graphic equalizer. If you want to watch streaming media, you'll have to get a connected Blu-ray player, game console, or a media hub like the Roku 2 or HDMI Roku Streaming Stick; there isn't much benefit from using the MHL Roku Stick besides one less cable in the back.
Performance
We test HDTVs with a Klein K-10A colorimeter, SpectraCal's CalMAN 5 software, and DisplayMate test patterns. After a basic dark room calibration, the 48FS4690 put out an excellent 389.33 cd/m2 peak brightness. As can be expected from a budget HDTV, its black levels aren't nearly as impressive, reaching only 0.12 cd/m2 with a dark screen and the Dynamic Backlight feature disabled (to prevent the screen from completely shutting off). The resulting 3,244:1 contrast ratio is solid for its price range, but not particularly amazing.