Philips 43PUL6673/F6 43"

The most damning number is its 5th percentile connectivity—you get barely any HDMI ports and no eARC, which is a real headache. Picture quality sits in the 36th percentile, so even by budget TV standards, it's below average. At $190, the Philips 43PUL6673/F6 is cheap, but a TCL or Amazon rival gets you a much more livable TV for barely any more money.

At $190, the Philips 43PUL6673/F6 sounds like a 43-inch 4K steal, but the numbers tell a rougher story. Its picture quality sits in the 36th percentile among TVs we've tested, and HDR performance is even worse at the 34th percentile. Connectivity is essentially the worst we've ever logged, landing in the 5th percentile. With a 3.1-star owner average and only 52 reviews, the social proof is a measly 20th percentile—meaning buyers aren't exactly lining up to brag about this one.

The one bright spot is motion handling. Gaming clocks in at the 61st percentile, which is slightly above average for budget TVs, but don't let the 120Hz label fool you. It's a 60Hz panel with Philips' motion smoothing trick, not true high refresh rate. If a dirt-cheap screen for casual living room duty is all you need, it exists. But almost every other area we measure—audio, smart platform speed, connectivity—comes up short, and for many people that'll be a dealbreaker.

Under the hood, the 43PUL6673/F6 uses a Direct LED backlight with no local dimming, so black levels are decent but far from deep. The 4K resolution keeps things sharp at this screen size, and in a bright room the picture is passable for sitcoms and YouTube. Switch to HDR content, though, and the TV just can't deliver. Peak brightness and color volume are too low to make HDR look anything more than a slightly punchier SDR image, reflected in that 34th percentile HDR score.

Where it surprises a little is motion. Perfect Motion Rate 120 does a fair job smoothing 24fps panning shots and sports, which helps bump the gaming score to 35.7/100—enough to land in the 61st percentile. Input lag isn't officially listed, but we'd peg it as okay for a few rounds of Rocket League, not for competitive shooters. Just keep expectations in check: there's no VRR, no ALLM, and no real 120Hz. Audio is where things get rough. It scored in the 13th percentile, meaning you'll hear dialogue clearly enough but bass is practically nonexistent. A soundbar becomes almost mandatory if you care about movie soundtracks.

A $190 43-inch 4K TV is undeniably cheap, and that alone will make the 43PUL6673/F6 tempting for a guest bedroom or temporary setup. But when you look at what you give up—usable HDR, decent built-in sound, and enough HDMI ports for a basic streaming box and console—the savings start to feel false. Spending $20-40 more on a TCL 4-Series or an Amazon Fire TV Omni often gets you a brighter panel, better build, and a Roku or Fire TV experience that isn't held back by an 18th percentile smart platform score. The Philips only makes sense if every dollar truly counts and you have zero expectations beyond a simple display.

Place this next to a Hisense U7, Samsung QN85D, or LG QNED 82 series, and it's not even a fair fight—those are much higher-tier TVs costing multiples more. A more realistic comparison is against budget 43-inch models like the TCL 4-Series or Amazon Fire TV Omni. In our database, those alternatives routinely beat the Philips in picture quality and audio, and they don't suffer from bottom-of-the-barrel connectivity. For example, the TCL 43S450G typically offers three HDMI ports, a voice remote, and a more responsive Roku experience for only a small premium. If you need a cheap TV and a Roku interface, that TCL is a safer bet. The Philips only wins on absolute sticker price, and even then, it's a narrow victory.

If you need more than a single streaming stick and maybe a console connected at once, look elsewhere—the connectivity is way too limited. Anyone wanting decent HDR for movies or shows should skip this, because the 34th percentile HDR score means you'll barely notice a difference. Home theater enthusiasts who care about audio will immediately need a soundbar, given the 13th percentile sound. And if you have kids or pets, the reported fragility is a real concern; that 1-star review about a screen that broke from a light bump isn't an outlier in our data.

The 43PUL6673/F6 is a case of 'you get what you pay for,' taken to a disappointing extreme. At $190, it physically gives you a 4K screen, Roku TV, and a watchable picture in a well-lit room. But with connectivity that borders on unusable for a modern setup, audio that demands a soundbar, and HDR that's practically nonexistent, the compromises pile up fast. We can only recommend it if your budget is rigidly capped at under $200 and you're okay with a no-frills secondary TV that you won't rely on for movies or gaming.