A record-low price for a surprisingly good 32-inch TCL TV

32-inch TVs are not everyone's cup of tea, but they're perfect for home cinema fanatics, but they are a great option for people short on space, or looking for a bedroom or kitchen set.

Outside of this the obvious benefit of 32-inch TVs is their price, especially when they're discounted from £179 all the way down to only £109. That's the case for the TCL 32SF540K, which is on sale at Amazon right now.

Sure, it's not the best TV on the market, but it's got a surprisingly full feature set that includes the Fire TV smart platform.

TCL 32SF540K 32-inch Fire TV: was £179 now £109 at amazon.co.uk

This is a perfect TV for smaller living spaces or those who don't want their tele dominating the room. It's true that you'll have to forfeit flagship performance, but surprisingly you'll get solid and balanced Full HD picture quality. We also love the integrated smart Fire TV platform, which features every streaming app that most people will ever need. The sound is weak, but you could always invest in one of the best soundbars as well.

Read the full TCL 32SF540K review

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While expectations need to be tempered at this price (and because this is a 'small' TV), the TCL SF540K offers a surprisingly stacked feature set and a very likeable picture performance.

The headline is the inclusion of Amazon's Fire TV operating system, which means the whole user experience is rather like that of a Fire TV Stick.

It's colourful and intuitive, and it grants access to pretty much every streaming app you're likely to need, including all of the major UK-specific catch-up apps, which are neatly wrapped up in the Freeview Play wrapper.

You can use the mic built into the remote to chat to Alexa, too, essentially turning the TV into a big Amazon Echo device – albeit one that requires a button press to operate.

Unlike most TVs at this level, which have an 'HD Ready' 720p resolution, the SF540K has a 'Full HD' 1080p resolution.

It also boasts VA panel technology and a direct LED backlight, and it supports HDR in the HDR10 and HLG formats. And while the TV isn't packed with gaming features, it does offer ALLM switching and a low input lag of 15.3ms, so it's a good option if you need a very affordable gaming TV.

In action, the TCL SF540K isn't super-bright or vibrant, but it is balanced and controlled, which is more than can be said for most rivals.

Black levels are reasonable and there's plenty of shadow detail, bright highlights are free of nasty 'clipping', and colours are fairly warm and natural. It's sharper and more detailed than the other 32-inch TVs we've tested recently, too, and motion is handled well.

Our only real criticism of the picture performance (taking into consideration the price, of course) is that it has fairly limited viewing angles, which means those sitting substantially off-axis from the TV will find the picture looks a bit washed out.

The sound quality is unfortunately worse than the picture. The thin and limp delivery won't be a huge problem for daytime TV, but it will be a frustration for movies and games.

This isn't unusual for TVs at any level, though, and certainly not at this size and price, so it shouldn't put you off too much. But do budget for a cheap soundbar if you're able.

Ultimately, this is a very solid-performing and smart TV. We awarded it four stars at £149, but it actually launched for £179, making it a real bargain at the new price of £109.

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Read the full TCL 32SF540K review

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You might also want one of the best soundbars to go with this TV