How I Turned a 98-inch TV into an Immersive Home Theater System and an Exceptional Gaming Experience

The 98-inch TCL S5 Series TV is one of the largest and most affordable televisions available. With some fine-tuning and precise enhancements, this TV transforms into an amazing home entertainment system, made even more appealing by special Black Friday offers that make it an unbeatable choice for anyone seeking a giant screen.

An Immersive Cinematic Viewing Experience at Home

Watching movies and TV shows on a screen this colossal provides an experience as close to a cinema hall as you can get in the comfort of your home. With a 98-inch screen, the biggest challenge lies in finding a suitable spot for it in your home, as it measures 85.7 inches wide and 49.1 inches tall, with a distance of 68.5 inches between its feet. If you have a large enough wall to mount it on, you won't have a problem. However, if not, you might find yourself searching for an entertainment center large enough to accommodate this giant.

I faced this challenge myself. With the help of my brothers, we unboxed the TV (which seemed impossible due to our low ceilings preventing us from lifting the cover directly). After getting rid of all the packaging materials, we had to find a place to set it up in our relatively small living room. My first thought was to leave it on the floor, but who wants to watch TV looking down? Then we considered ditching our current entertainment center and moving our 65-inch LG TV to another corner (again, on the floor), but that meant we'd have to rearrange the entire living room. So, we came to a compromise: we set up two folding tables, pushed the couch and beloved armchair against the wall, and placed this 98-inch behemoth in front of our fireplace. Is it perfect? Not exactly, but it works for the purpose of this review and provides an immediate viewing experience.

Exceptional Picture Quality and Unparalleled Immersive Experience

We weren't quite ready for the sheer size of this television. Sure, I had an idea of its dimensions before plugging it in, but once the 98-inch screen lit up, we were all taken aback. Many dream of owning a home theater to enjoy their favorite movies and games. Buying a TV like the TCL 98S550G will get you as close to that reality as possible. Perhaps it's because we sit too close to it, or maybe it's the transition from watching on a 65-inch TV for so long, but whatever the reason, the sense of immersion you get from watching this 98-inch TV never fades. Everything you watch will feel more realistic than you imagine, whether it's movies like "Oppenheimer" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" or TV shows like "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."

I genuinely mean that your jaw could drop at any moment while watching this TV. If you have a favorite movie or TV show, it simply makes it better because it's so massive. It's easy to see, no matter where you are in the room, ensuring there's no bad seat in the house.

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Standard Specifications and Powerful Performance Focused on User Experience

Beyond its impressive 98-inch size, the rest of the TCL 98S550G's specifications are fairly standard, at least compared to high-end luxury TVs. This TV uses a QLED panel, which helps deliver brighter colors and better contrast, and I can confidently say it's one of the best LED TVs I've ever seen in its price range. However, you won't get the same premium features found in OLED or Mini LED TVs, such as precise local dimming, richer contrast, and increased brightness, which are technologies that offer deeper blacks and more controlled illumination. On the bright side, since it uses one large backlight, you won't notice any halo effects around your content, a problem that can appear with some local dimming technologies.

“Benefits of Using Knowledge Graphs” — Source: Pixabay. License: Pixabay License.

The TV features 4K resolution and supports refresh rates of up to 120Hz, which is a fantastic feature for gaming that wants to enjoy an incredibly smooth gaming experience on the big screen. However, I must say that 4K resolution on a 98-inch screen doesn't feel as sharp as it does on a 65-inch screen; the pixel density isn't nearly as high because it's spread across a much larger panel, and if you get close to the TV, you can certainly see individual pixels. It's not a problem at all when viewing from an appropriate distance, but I found it interesting to note.

“Building a Knowledge Graph” — Source: Pixabay. License: Pixabay License.

The overall picture quality is very good. "Oppenheimer" in 4K HDR looked fantastic, while TV shows upscaled to 1080p were also decent, maintaining acceptable detail. You have many options to control how everything looks in the settings menu, and once set up, I highly recommend turning off motion smoothing. On a 98-inch TV, the extra frames often fail to do most content justice, which can result in the undesirable "soap opera effect."

“Challenges in Building Knowledge Graphs” — Source: Pixabay. License: Pixabay License.

TCL made sure to include plenty of specifications and features that might interest customers in the 98-inch S5 series, including comprehensive HDR Ultra support (consisting of Dolby Vision IQ, Open HDR, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG), which provides a wide dynamic range and enhanced image detail. For gamers, the TV comes equipped with Game Accelerator 240, supporting a variable refresh rate (VRR) of up to 240Hz, ensuring a smoother, more responsive gaming experience without lag or screen tearing, helping you maintain your edge in any competition.^[1] The TV also supports Dolby Atmos for an immersive surround sound experience, and connectivity features like AirPlay and Chromecast, voice assistant integration, and even dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi for a stable and fast connection. The device has four HDMI ports for connecting multiple devices, as well as optical audio and Ethernet ports.

The sound quality is also surprisingly good for a TV of this size. At higher volume levels, mids and highs might start to screech a bit, but the built-in subwoofer helps anchor everything with a surprising amount of bass, which can be adjusted in the settings if you want more or less boom during your movies. I still recommend opting for a dedicated sound system if you want a true, complete home theater setup, but my family and I were very happy with the TV's satisfying audio performance.

“Future Trends in Knowledge Graphs” — Source: Pixabay. License: Pixabay License.

Buying Advice: A Smart Investment for an Exceptional Entertainment Experience

At its current price, the 98-inch TCL S5 Series TV is hard to ignore for long, especially with discount offers. If you have a place in your home that can accommodate a TV of this size and grandeur, and you don't mind spending around $2000, I can see this TV being very suitable for an immersive and stunning entertainment setup.

It's true that you won't get the best picture quality available on the market compared to the most expensive TVs, but it's important to remember that anything better than what TCL offers in this price range will cost you $5000 to $10000, and possibly more. Ultimately, I had a lot of fun reviewing this massive 98-inch TV, but I'm ready to return it. For our home, it's too intrusive and often obstructs movement. (Let's remember it completely blocks my fireplace.) But if you have the space for it, a part of me wants to tell you to hurry and grab one while the offer lasts. I think you'll love it, and all your family members will become addicted to looking at it and enjoying its unique experience. And in the end, isn't that what we all seek when buying a new TV?