{"id":7965,"date":"2016-12-09T11:54:13","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T19:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.hellotech.com\/?p=7965"},"modified":"2021-06-29T05:06:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T12:06:12","slug":"tcl-32s3800","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/tcl-32s3800","title":{"rendered":"TCL 32S3800: The Entry-Level Roku TV for the Budget-Conscious Cord-Cutter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Planning to \u2018cut the cord\u2019? In that case, choosing a streaming media service and getting a smart TV should top your list of to-dos. First, you need to decide which among the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/apple-tv-vs-roku-4-vs-amazon-fire-tv\/\">most popular streaming devices<\/a>&nbsp;is best for you. Once you\u2019ve picked one, look around for a great smart TV that\u2019s easily within your budget. But why go through all that hassle when the&nbsp;<em>TCL 32S3800<\/em> combines the best of both worlds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This entry-level smart television offers Roku TV on a budget, which is a tempting bargain for anyone new to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/more-people-are-cutting-the-cable-cord-than-you-think-2016-08-11\">cord-cutting trend<\/a>. We\u2019ll see if this 32-inch TV is a worthy addition to your home theater right after the jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-design\">Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s clear <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00UB9UJBA\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00UB9UJBA&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=hellotech2016-20&amp;linkId=b0d74bd9c8fddd0ae75d6c38ce264307\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the TCL 32S3800 32-Inch 720p Roku Smart LED TV <\/a> isn\u2019t wasting its value on aesthetics. We\u2019re not implying its unassuming appearance is a bad thing, though. It has glossy, black, plastic bezels that taper slightly inward like a picture frame and comes with stable, V-shaped, plastic feet. You\u2019ll notice a silver accent alongside Roku TV\u2019s and TCL\u2019s logos, too. Put all those together and you get a budget TV that has enough appeal to make anyone look twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><span data-src=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/up130_img6-min.png\" rel=\"lightbox\" data-fancybox><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/up130_img6-min.png\" alt=\"TCL 32S3800\" class=\"wp-image-7969\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\"\/><\/span><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, its infrared remote has a fairly standard Roku-style vibe to it. You see the standard controls (e.g. Power, Home, and Back buttons up top; Option, Replay, and playback controls below) along with four dedicated service buttons. The one-touch access buttons are dedicated to Netflix, Vudu, Amazon, and Rdio. Of course, we didn\u2019t forget the Mute button and volume controls. Sadly, you can\u2019t do private listening on this remote since it doesn\u2019t have a headphone jack like the Roku 3. Another surprising omission includes game mode and sleep-timer buttons, which you readily find on other Roku TV remotes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-setup\">Setup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sign on to a Wi-Fi network, link the TV to your Roku account via Roku.com, and you\u2019re set to install the channels you want to watch. It\u2019s that easy. Although some channels are installed by default, you can readily add\/remove them anytime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You definitely don\u2019t get to enjoy such intuitive and simple setup than with a Roku TV. In this aspect, the <em>TCL 32S3800<\/em> gets an edge over other smart TV models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-connectivity\">Connectivity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Connectivity options run aplenty on the <em>TCL<\/em>&nbsp;<em>32S3800<\/em>. You\u2019ve got three HDMI ports, a headphone jack, a power connector, and an antenna\/cable connector facing down, near the screen\u2019s left side. There is an optical audio output, a composite video input, and a USB port, too. Unexpectedly, we didn\u2019t see an Ethernet port so anyone getting this Roku TV will have to settle for its built-in Wi-Fi card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-performance\">Performance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At first glance, it\u2019s hard to tell if the <em>TCL<\/em> <em>32S3800<\/em> is a budget Roku TV model. The compromise becomes apparent the moment you turn it on, however. No high refresh rates. No special dimming. It even uses 720p (1,366&#215;768) resolution unlike other models in the FS3800 Series that normally use 1080p-resolution LCD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another noticeable trade-off this TCL model makes is its out-of-the-box color accuracy. Don\u2019t get your hopes too high with this one when you\u2019re after superb picture quality and excellent contrast. In the end, the poor color accuracy and contrast produces disappointingly underwhelming visuals. It pays to remember, however, that it\u2019s an entry-level TV you can get on a bargain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the upside, the input lag on the TCL 32S3800 clocks in at 29.3 milliseconds. That isn\u2019t so bad, really. Choppy videos won\u2019t be much of a problem to you on this affordable Roku TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-power-consumption\">Power Consumption<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This 32-inch TV consumes an average of 28 watts under normal viewing conditions. That number gets shaved down to 24 watts when viewing the TV in a Low Power mode, though the screen gets slightly dimmed. This is, frankly, a pleasant surprise for an HDTV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-verdict\">Verdict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking for a Roku TV that offers a decent picture quality yet stays under $200? The <em>TCL 32S3800<\/em> may be your best bet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Planning to \u2018cut the cord\u2019? In that case, choosing a streaming media service and getting a smart TV should top your list of to-dos. First, you need to decide which among the most popular streaming devices&nbsp;is best for you. Once you\u2019ve picked one, look around for a great smart TV that\u2019s easily within your budget. But why go through all that hassle when the&nbsp;TCL 32S3800 combines the best of both worlds? This entry-level smart television offers Roku TV on a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17585],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-products-and-reviews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.10 (Yoast SEO v20.10) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>TCL 32S3800: An Entry-Level Roku TV for the Cord-Cutter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The TCL 32S3800 TV offers Roku TV on a budget. 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