I've optimized the cheapest 98-inch TV available today to make it look and sound amazing. Here's how

ZDNET's key findings

• TCL's 98-inch Class S5 Series TV is the cheapest option for its size and is currently selling at over $1,000 off.
• Watching movies and TV shows on such a big screen is the closest thing to a cinema experience at home.
• Setting up your TV can be difficult, especially if you don't have a large enough console or wall space.

TCL makes some impressive TVs that use advanced display technologies, specs, and optimizations for the best possible picture quality. But sometimes they put all that aside and say, “Hey, let's just make a really big TV for the sake of making a really big TV.” And that's exactly what this 98-inch set is all about.

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This TV, a member of TCL's lower S5 series, is currently on offer for $1,000 off its normal price of $2,999, bringing the cost down to $1,998. TCL was kind enough to inform me of this offer in an email a few weeks ago, and I was incredibly intrigued, to say the least. “A 98-inch TV for under $2,500?” I thought to myself. That seemed impossible.

I have been living with the TCL S5 Series 98-inch TV for the past three weeks and this has been my experience.

Setting up a 98-inch TV

The biggest challenge with this TV is fitting it into your home. This thing is gigantic: It's 85.7 inches wide, 49.1 inches tall, and the feet are 68.5 inches apart. If you have a wall big enough to mount it on, anything is doable. If not, you may need to look into an entertainment center big enough to accommodate this behemoth.

The latter was me, by the way—I was the one who struggled. My brothers helped me unpack the TV (which seemed impossible since we couldn't lift the lid due to our dropped ceilings), and after ripping open all the Styrofoam and plastic wrap, we had to figure out a place in our relatively small living room to put it. My first thought was to leave it on the floor, but who wants to look down to watch TV? We then considered throwing out our current entertainment center and moving our 65-inch LG TV to a corner somewhere else (on the floor again), but that meant we would have to take our entire living room apart.

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So we came up with a compromise: We set up two folding tables, pushed our sofa and love seat against the wall, and placed the 98-inch Mammoth right in front of our fireplace. Is that perfect? ​​Not really, but for this review, it works.

The most intense experience there is (unless you can find a greater one)

None of us were prepared for how big this TV is. Sure, I could already imagine how big it is before we plugged it in, but when the 98-inch screen lit up, we were all stunned. Many people dream of having a movie theater at home to enjoy their favorite movies, TV shows, and games, and purchasing a TV like the TCL 98S550G brings you as close to that reality as possible.

Maybe it's because we're sitting so close to it, maybe it's because we haven't sat in front of a 65-inch TV in so long, but whatever the reason, the feeling of immersion you get when watching TV on this 98-inch TV never seems to go away. Everything you turn on will seem more lifelike than you can imagine – that goes for films like Oppenheimer And Spider-Man: No Way Home to cable television such as Diners, drive-ins and pubs. I just wish I could have watched Super Bowl LVIII on it. Other than that, I can already say that this TV is perfect for anyone using Multiview via NFL Sunday Ticket.

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I mean it when I say that your jaw can drop at any time while watching TV. If you have a favorite movie or TV show, it just makes it better because it just so big. It is clearly visible from anywhere in the room and ensures that there is no bad seat in the house.

Ordinary specifications, but still solid image quality

Aside from its great 98-inch size, the rest of the 98S550G is pretty basic, at least when it comes to high-end TVs. It uses a QLED panel, which delivers brighter colors and better contrast, and I can safely say it's one of the best LED TVs I've seen. However, you don't get the same luxuries as you would with an OLED or Mini LED TV, with local dimming, richer contrast, and increased brightness. On the plus side, you won't have a halo around your content, as it uses a huge backlight.

The TV has a 4K resolution and supports refresh rates of up to 120Hz, which is a nice touch for any gamers who want to enjoy silky smooth gameplay on the panel. I will say, though, that 4K on a 98-inch panel doesn't feel the same as it does on a 65-inch panel; the pixel density isn't nearly as high, with pixels scattered across a much larger screen, and if you get close to the TV, you can definitely see individual pixels. This isn't a problem by any means, but I still found it interesting.

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The image quality is overall decent. Oppenheimer Playback from the 4K HDR DVD I bought looked great, and the upscaled 1080p cable shows weren't too bad either. You have a lot of options in the settings menu to control the appearance, and once you've got it set up, I'd strongly recommend turning off motion smoothing. On a 98-inch TV, the extra frames don't do most content justice.

With the 98-inch S5, TCL has made sure to include many specs and features that might be of interest to customers, including HDR Ultra (consisting of Dolby Vision IQ, Open HDR, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG), a dedicated Game Accelerator 240 for 240 VRR support, Dolby Atmos, AirPlay, Chromecast, voice assistant integration, and even dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi. There are four HDMI ports, as well as optical audio and Ethernet ports.

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The sound quality is solid too. At higher volumes, the mid and high tones can start to screech, but the built-in subwoofer keeps things going with a surprising amount of bass. This can be adjusted in the settings if you want more or less thumping during your movies. I would still opt for a dedicated sound system if you want a true cinema setup, but my family and I were happy with what the TV put out.

Buying advice from ZDNET

At $1,998, it's hard to ignore TCL's 98-inch S5 Series TVs for a very long time. If you have a place in your home where you can fit a TV of this size and scale — and you don't mind spending $2,500 — I can see this TV making a lot of sense for an immersive entertainment setup. Granted, you won't get the best picture quality, but it's important to remember that anything better than what TCL gives you will get you at least $5,000 to $10,000.

Ultimately, I had a lot of fun testing out this massive 98″ TV, but I'm ready to send it back. It's a bit too intrusive for our home and mostly gets in the way. (Let's remember, it blocks my entire fireplace.) But if you have the space for it, part of me wants to tell you to run out and get one while the deal is still going. I think you'll like it and your whole household will be addicted to watching it. And isn't that ultimately what we all want when we buy a new TV?