While you won’t find them on our list of the best TVs we’ve ever tested, 98-inch TVs are becoming a more common offering from the world’s biggest TV brands. And in North America, TCL just released its third massive 98-incher.
Right now, you can pre-order the TCL 98-inch S5 4K TV from TCL, Best Buy and other select retailers. We’ve seen the ability to pre-order come and go, so stock limitations may be a serious consideration when it comes to this massive 4K display. If stock isn’t available when you check — check again.
Especially if you’re a football fan. Between now and September 19, if you order or pre-order a select TCL TV, you’ll also be eligible for up to $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket.
At $4,999, the TCL 98-inch S5 4K TV comes in at the cheaper end of the TCL 98-inch 4K TV lineup. For that price, you get a 4K LED display panel with direct backlighting and a 120Hz refresh rate. That can be boosted to 240Hz for gamers who plug in their PC with Game Accelerator 240.
There’s also Motion Rate 480 to improve motion clarity and an Auto Game Mode (ALLM) that automatically turns on game mode to ensure the lowest possible input lag whenever you’re on your PS5 or Xbox Series X.
And the high-end tech on the spec sheet doesn’t stop there. For HDR support, you get Dolby Vision HQ, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG, so no matter what your HDR-enabled content will work with the S5 98-inch TV. TCL also added its latest AI engine for picture quality optimization.
For sound, the TCL has two 10W speakers combined with an additional 20W speaker and has support for Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X support for immersive 3D sound. However, we still wouldn’t fault you if you got one of our best soundbars to take things to another level.
98-inch TCL 4K TVs: Which one is right for you?
While the new TCL S5 is the newest 98-inch TCL 4K TV, it’s not the cheapest. That honor currently goes to the TCL 98-inch XL Collection QLED TV. This 98-inch TV is a bit older and doesn’t come with every feature on the S5, but it does get a quantum dot filter for improved color accuracy from multiple viewing angles.
And right now you can get it for just $3,999 at Best Buy despite TCL listing it and the new S5 at $4,999 each. We haven’t tested both TVs, but the $1,000 off and quantum dot filter could be enough reason to opt for the older TCL XL Collection over the new S5. But if you prefer to get a few improvements on the software side and opt for the new S5, I don’t blame you.
If you really want it all though, there’s only one option — the TCL QM8 4K Mini LED TV. At a list price of $11,999.99 (Best Buy has it for $2,000 off) it’s significantly more expensive than the other two 98-inch TCL 4K TVs, but it’s truly TCL’s best offering. You get all the features of the S5 and more — quantum dot filter, MiniLED backlighting, IMAX Enhanced certification and even a built-in subwoofer. It’s twice as expensive as the others, but honestly, it might be at least twice as good.
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