TCL D2900 Review
Type : LED Resolution : 720p Refresh Rate : 60 Hz
The TCL L32D2900 is the cheapest 32 inch TV with 720p resolution. The TV has an average picture quality. There are no high-end features as found in expensive models. It also lacks the Smart features.
Design
Curved : No
The L32D2900 has a very basic design. It neither looks premium nor very cheap. The plastic table stand of the TV has a wide footprint. The most commonly used inputs are located on the side and are thus easy to use. The TV looks thick when viewed from the side.
Stand
The table stand is made of decent quality plastic and holds the TV well. It has a wide footprint and thus a wide table is required to properly settle the TV.
Borders
Top Border : 0.6" (1.5cm)
Side Border : 0.6" (1.5cm)
Bottom Border : 0.8" (2.0cm)
The borders look fine in black colour with an average thickness.
Back
The back of the TV is made of good quality plastic. The commonly used inputs are located on the side and are easily accessible even if the TV is wall mounted.
Thickness
Max Thickness : 3.2" (8.2cm)
The TV is more thick than average. It will stick out of the wall if wall mounted.
Build Quality
The build quality is decent considering the low price of the TV. The remote and the table stand are also made of decent quality plastic.
Picture Quality
The L32D2900 has an average picture quality. The dark room performance is good because of the good contrast ratio and panel uniformity. The TV has so far the highest contrast ratio in the 32 inch segment. The colour uniformity is also decent. However, the colours of the TV are poor due do its low gamut coverage and this is the primary reason behind its sub-standard picture quality. The viewing angle is also bad, the entire picture looks washed out because of the further degradation in colours at an angle of 45 degrees.
Contrast Ratio
Black : 0.042 cd/m2
White : 126.969 cd/m2
Contrast : 3027:1
The TV has the highest native contrast ratio in the 32 inch segment. This results in a decent dark room performance.
Peak Brightness
Peak 2% Window : 257.0 cd/m2
Peak 100% Window : 255.4 cd/m2
The peak brightness performance is bad on this TV. It will be okay for a dark room but for a bright room it is not sufficient to fight glare of strong reflections from back during the day. Also the TV lacks the local dimming feature thus the brightness remains same no matter what is shown on the screen.
Viewing Angle
Panel type : VA
Unfortunately, the TV has a bad viewing angle. This is because of the VA panel due to which colours degrades at an angle resulting in a washed out picture.
Panel Uniformity
Max Colour Dev. (50% pattern) : 2.6
Avg Luminance Dev. (5% pattern) : 16.95%
The L32D2900 has average colour uniformity. There is some dirty screen effect visible in the middle of the TV screen. The TV is average for watching sports.
The panel uniformity is quite good. There is however a black spot visible in the middle of the screen in the test picture. This is however not much visible during the normal viewing.
Native Resolution - 720p
Native Resolution – 720p The 720p content looks good on the TV. The image looks sharp and carries the details. If the picture looks soft, slightly increase the sharpness by 5-10 points.
Reflections - Bright Room
The L32D2900 has a semi-gloss screen which decently handles the reflections. This is fine for a normal room but average for a very bright room.
Local Dimming
Local Dimming : No
There is no local dimming feature on the L32D2900.
Gamut Coverage
sRGB gamut coverage : 85.03%
Adobe RGB gamut coverage : 63.04%
The TV has insufficient colours due to which the picture looks washed out.
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE : 12.83
Color dE : 8.08
Gamma : 2.00
Out of the box results are not good on the TV. Because of the excessive cooler colour temperature blue colour is inflated and this is clearly visible in the test picture. Due to this, both grayscale and colour de are quite off. Gamma is also quite below the target of 2.20.
Post Calibration
White Balance dE : 9.43
Color dE : 7.16
Gamma : 2.01
There are no advance controls on the TV to adjust the picture quality. In the basic settings, colour temperature is turned warmer and this has pretty much improved the colours. Still the error in colours and white balance is fairly high and its impact is clearly visible on the picture.
Motion
Motion Blur
The TV has decent motion performance. Fast moving object looks clear and there is less motion blur. However minor flickering in the picture can occur while playing the 24p content like movies because the TV has judder.
Motion Interpolation
This feature is not available in the L32D2900.
Inputs
Input Lag
Game mode : NA
Outside Game mode : 28.5 ms
There is no dedicated game mode present on the TV and input lag is good in the game mode. From this aspect, the TV is good for gamers. The input lag is good outside the game mode. From this aspect, the TV is good for gamers. There is no game mode on the TV.
Side Inputs
USB : 2 Ports
RF Connection (Cable/Antenna) : 1 Port
Analog audio out RCA : 1 Port
HDMI : 2 Ports
Rear Inputs
VGA : 1 Port
SPDIF : 1 Port
Audio In : 1 Port
Component In : 1 Port
Total Inputs
USB : 2 Ports
RF Connection (Cable/Antenna) : 1 Port
Analog audio out RCA : 1 Port
HDMI : 2 Ports
VGA : 1 Port
SPDIF : 1 Port
Audio In : 1 Port
Component In : 1 Port
Input Specifications
USB 2.0 : Yes
USB 3.0 : No
HDMI 1.4 : Yes
HDMI 2.0 : No
HDMI ARC : No
HDMI DVI : No
HDCP 2.2 : No
HDCP 1.4 : No
HDMI (CEC) : No
HDMI (MHL) : No
Analogue Audio Out RCA : Yes
Miscl.
TV Controls
There are 3 buttons available at the bottom of the TV. Middle button is to access the quick menu and to turn the TV ON/OFF. Other two buttons helps to change the channels and volume.
Power Consumption
Power Consumption (Max) : 20.53 W
Power Consumption (Standby) : 0.0 W
The readings are taken after calibration.
Remote
The remote is made of decent quality plastic but has a weird design and doesn’t feel comfortable in the palm. Overall, it’s a very basic remote with limited functionality.
In the Box
- Remote
- Table Stand
- User Manual
- Warranty Card
- Screws
- Batteries
Conclusion
The TCL L32D2900 is a good inexpensive TV but it lags behind the VU D7545 in terms of the picture quality. The D7545 has better colours and viewing angle at the similar price.
Overall, the TV is decent for playing games because of the low input lag and less motion blur but it’s not good for watching movies or TV shows because of the mediocre colours.