When you are looking for affordable 4K UHD TV with Dolby Vision support, I’m sure that TCL S525 and S517 are two choices that you should consider. Although it’s not 100% correct, we can call TCL S525 as the successor of TCL S517. TCL S525 comes as part of TCL’s 2019 TV lineup, while TCL S517 was released as part of TCL’s 2018 TV lineup. Which of them is the one that you should choose? It’s important for us to look at the key differences of TCL S525 and S517 before we can answer that question. Before we talk about the key differences, let’s shortly review TCL S525 and S517.
TCL S525
TCL S525
TCL S525 comes with four screen size options : 65-Inch (65S525), 55-Inch (55S525), 50-Inch (50S525) and 43-Inch (43S525). It comes with 4K UHD Resolution that completed with Upscaling Technology to bring brilliant clarity from both of original 4K content sources and non 4K contents that upscaled into near 4K picture quality. The color of TCL S525 is improved by TCL’s NBP Photon Technology and iPQ Engine. TCL’s NBP Photon Technology can brings Wide Color Spectrum to deliver rich color details on the screen of this TV. iPQ Engine is able to reproduce more accurate color details while also optimize DCI-P3 color space coverage. HDR Dynamic Contrast and HDR Pro Gamma are installed as the contrast technology of this TV. HDR Dynamic Contrast can bring more vibrant contrast between the dark blacks and bright whites while HDR Pro Gamma can adapt the screen brightness to match the lighting condition of the environment. TCL S525 already supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision so that we can enjoy enhanced details and expanded contrast from wide range of HDR content sources. TCL S525 comes with 120Hz CMI as its refresh rate technology. 120Hz CMI can deliver smooth fast motion images for our favorite action movies and sports. 120Hz CMI is also completed with Auto Game Mode that can bring more responsive gaming experience when we use this TV as our gaming monitor. Dual-Core CPU/GPU is integrated with TCL S525 to optimize the color, clarity and contrast of the picture delivered on this TV. Roku TV comes as the smart TV platform of TCL S525. It can deliver wide range of premium entertainment from our favorite content providers with fast internet connection provided by 802.11ac dual band wireless attached to this TV. While TCL S525 only comes with standard RC280 remote control, we can control this TV conveniently with our voice using Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa since they are both already compatible with this TV. The speaker system of TCL S525 is quite basic with 2Ch 16W speaker but It still can delivers good sound quality with Dolby Digital Plus integrated with it. You may need to attach your soundbar if you have higher audio taste.
We can summarize the key specs and features of TCL S525 with the table below.
| TCL S525 | |||||
| Brand | TCL | ||||
| Introduced | 2019 | ||||
| Screen Size | 65-Inch (65S525), 55-Inch (55S525), 50-Inch (50S525), 43-Inch (43S525) | ||||
| Resolution | 4K UHD | ||||
| Display Technology | LED | ||||
| Upscaling Technology | YES | ||||
| Color Technology |
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| Contrast Technology |
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| HDR Support | HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision | ||||
| Refresh Rate Technology | 120Hz CMI | ||||
| Auto Game Mode | YES | ||||
| Processor | Dual-Core CPU/GPU | ||||
| Smart TV Platform | Roku TV | ||||
| Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa | Compatible | ||||
| Remote Control | RC280 | ||||
| Built-in Wifi | 802.11ac dual band | ||||
| Speaker System | 2Ch 16W | ||||
| HDMI/USB | 4/1 except 43S525 3/1 | ||||
| Price |
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TCL S517
TCL S517
We can find that TCL S517 was released with 4 screen size options : 65-Inch (65S517), 55-Inch (55S517), 49-Inch (49S517) and 40-Inch (40S517). TCL S517 comes with 4K UHD Resolution that completed with TCL’s NBP Photon Technology and iPQ Engine as its color technology. TCL’s NBP Photon Technology can deliver Wide Color Spectrum that brings rich color details on the screen of this TV while iPQ Engine brings more accurate details and provides optimization for DCI-P3 color space coverage. We can also find that HDR Dynamic Contrast and HDR Pro Gamma are integrated as the contrast technology of TCL S517. While HDR Dynamic Contrast can improve the brightness between the dark and bright area of the screen, HDR Pro Gamma can adapt the screen brightness according to the environment. We can enjoy enhanced details and expanded contrast from our favorite HDR10 and Dolby Vision since they are both already supported by this TV. 120Hz CMI is integrated with TCL S517 as its refresh rate technology. With 120Hz CMI, we can enjoy smooth motion images from our favorite action movies and sports. The color, clarity and contrast of TCL S517 are optimized by Dual-Core CPU/GPU that integrated with this TV. With Roku TV, we can enjoy wide range of entertainment on the screen of TCL S517. 802.11ac dual band wireless is attached to this TV to bring fast internet connection from our favorite content providers. RC580 remote control is included as the remote control of this TV. RC580 comes with built-in microphone to help you control this TV with your voice. You can also control this TV with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa since they are both already supported. The speaker system of TCL S517 is quite basic. It comes with 2Ch 16W speaker system. Although it’s quite basic, we can still enjoy good sound since it’s powered by Dolby Digital Plus. It’s indeed recommended to attach your soundbar to this TV if you are looking for more powerful surround sound that can meets your higher audio taste.
The key specs and features of TCL S527 can be summarized with the table below.
| TCL S517 | |||||
| Brand | TCL | ||||
| Introduced | 2018 | ||||
| Screen Size | 65-Inch (65S517), 55-Inch (55S517), 49-Inch (49S517), 43-Inch (43S517) | ||||
| Resolution | 4K UHD | ||||
| Display Technology | LED | ||||
| Upscaling Technology | YES | ||||
| Color Technology |
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| Contrast Technology |
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| HDR Support | HDR10, Dolby Vision | ||||
| Refresh Rate Technology | 120Hz CMI | ||||
| Processor | Dual Core CPU/GPU | ||||
| Smart TV Platform | Roku TV | ||||
| Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa | Compatible | ||||
| Remote Control | RC580 | ||||
| Built-in Wifi | 802.11ac dual band | ||||
| Speaker System | 2Ch 16W | ||||
| HDMI/USB | 3/1 | ||||
| Price |
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What are Their Key Differences?
The specs & features table of TCL S525 and S517 that we can find above shows us that there are few differences between TCL S525 and S517. What are their key differences? The first key difference between TCL S525 and S517 comes from their HDR support. Both of TCL S525 and S517 already support HDR10 and Dolby Vision so that they can deliver enhanced details and expanded contrast from those two HDR formats. Additionally, TCL S525 also supports HLG so that It can deliver enhanced details and expanded contrast from our favorite HLG content format. The second key difference of TCL S525 and S517 comes from Auto Game Mode that integrated with TCL S525. While 120Hz CMI of TCL S525 and S517 can deliver fluid motion images, Auto Game Mode that integrated with TCL S525 is able to bring more responsive gaming scenes. The third key difference comes from the remote control that included with TCL S525 and S517. TCL S525 only comes with RC280 remote control, while TCL S517 comes with RC580 remote control. RC580 is more advanced remote control that comes with microphone for voice control. While you can control TCL S517 with your voice using RC580 Voice remote, we can also control both TCL S525 and S517 with our voice using google Assistant and Amazon Alexa since they are already supported.
When we look at the price of TCL S525 and S517, we can find that TCL S525 is usually offered at the higher price for similar screen size option. Since TV prices often change from time to time, it’s recommended that we check the price of TCL S525 and S517 before we can find their latest price difference.
We can summarize the key differences between TCL S525 and S517 with the table below.
| TCL S525 | TCL S517 | |
| Introduced | 2019 | 2018 |
| HDR Support |
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| Auto Game Mode | YES | NO |
| Remote Control | RC280 | RC580 |
| Price | More Expensive | Less Expensive |
Conclusion : TCL S525 or S517
Most of the specs and features of TCL S525 and S517 are basically similar. As the newer model, TCL S525 comes with additional HLG support and Auto Game Mode while it’s usually offered at the higher price. So if you are looking for affordable 4K UHD TV with HLG support and more responsive gaming scenes while you don’t mind to spend higher for that, then TCL S525 is the model that you should choose.
| TCL S525 Price | |
| 65-Inch (65S525) | Check Today’s Price (Walmart) |
| 55-Inch (55S525) | Check Today’s Price (Walmart) |
| 50-Inch (50S525) | Check Today’s Price (Walmart) |
| 43-Inch (43S525) | Check Today’s Price (Walmart) |
TCL S517 is the older model that usually offered at the lower price. It’s one of the most affordable 4K UHD TV with Dolby Vision that we can find in the market. So if you are looking for 4K UHD TV model with Dolby Vision support and you have more limited budget, then TCL S517 is the one that you should consider. Although It doesn’t support HLG and not completed with Auto Game Mode, TCL S517 already supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision while it also basically comes with similar 120Hz CMI. We can also get RC580 remote control with voice control as additional bonus. So if you have less budget, then TCL S517 is the model that you should consider.
| TCL S517 Price | |
| 65-Inch (65S517) | Check Today’s Offer (Ebay.com) |
| 55-Inch (55S517) | Check Today’s Offer (Ebay.com) |
| 49-Inch (49S517) | Check Today’s Offer (Ebay.com) |
| 43-Inch (43S517) | Check Today’s Offer (Ebay.com) |