Not long ago, a 50-inch TV was considered "huge." But now you can get a set literally four times the size of that old 50-incher at a price that would have seemed ridiculous just a few years ago. It actually still seems a little ridiculous to me now.
With football season underway, NFL partner TCL has put two of its massive 98-inch TVs on sale. Both are 4K sets with the Google TV smart TV platform on board and the Google assistant built-in. The top of the line QM8 model is also available, though at a smaller discount.
The "entry-level" model is the company's S Class S550 4K Google TV. It was announced this summer with a list price of $4,999 but you can get it today on Amazon for $2999.99, with free delivery.
Note: this is an early Black Friday offer and is $500 lower than when we first posted this deal in October.
> Check out the TCL S550 S Class 4K TV on Amazon
The step-up model is the 98-inch R754, first released in 2022 but still current in the model line. The original list price in 2022 was $8,999, but it's now on sale for half that: $4499.99, also with free inside delivery.
> Check out the TCL R754 QLED 4K TV on Amazon
Both sets include Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos and Google Assistant built-in. They're also "Works with Alexa" certified in case you've got an Amazon-based smart home. Built on the Google TV platform, you'll find Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, MAX, Disney+ and all the usual streaming apps on board.
The more expensive R754 model includes two features that lead to big improvements in picture quality: local dimming and quantum dot color technology. So if you pony up the additional $1500 you'll enjoy improved contrast, better image uniformity, deeper black levels and richer more saturated colors.
A third 98-inch model, the company's top of the line QM8 98-inch Q Class TV also includes Quantum Dot color technology and local dimming as well as the latest version of the company's AIPQ video processor. The QM8's picture quality is superior even to last year's R754 QLED TV. But the new QM8 is still about twice the price of the S550 at $5998.
Pricing on Amazon may (and does) vary. But all three sets were in stock at the above listed prices as of November 12, 2023.
All Three of TCL's 98-inch 4K TVs are available on Amazon:
> TCL 98-inch S550 S Class 4K TV on Amazon
> TCL 98-inch R754 QLED 4K TV on Amazon
> TCL 98-inch QM8 Q Class QLED 4K TV on Amazon
