IFFALCON U85X vs Dreame Q100

iFFALCON U85 handles HDR in a rather dual manner – on one hand, it can surprise with a solid peak brightness of around 650 nits, which places it significantly above average in this price segment. This is particularly evident in bright, full-screen scenes. Examples from movies like Life of Pi or the final test sequences from The Meg prove that the television can maintain the power and essence of the HDR effect when the entire panel needs to “ignite,” providing truly satisfying experiences. However, problems arise in high-contrast scenes, where smaller, bright details appear on the screen; the dimming algorithms prioritise black depth so much that they can crush the brightness of small bright points down to just 100 nits, drastically lowering the image dynamics and depriving us of the real “bite” we expect from HDR standards. However, the question of colours remains a sweetener, as thanks to the use of the PFS phosphor filter (marketed as QLED by the manufacturer), they look very good, achieving nearly 94% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, which allows for a rich and vivid image in most content.

The Dreame Q100 is unfortunately too simple, and above all too dim, to really deliver a true HDR effect. Our measured peak brightness reaches at most around 300 nits, which is definitely too low for bright parts of the image to really "hit" you with light. In fact, this is a level we more often associate with SDR material than with HDR. It therefore lacks the brightness headroom offered by more expensive TVs, which makes highlights, reflections and the sun look noticeably more impressive.

HDR colours

Fortunately the Q100 makes up for some of that elsewhere. The manufacturer markets it as a QLED TV, although in practice a PFS filter is responsible for widening the colour palette. Our measurements show coverage of about 92% of DCI-P3 and around 67% of BT.2020. These are not top-tier numbers, but still clearly better than basic LCD TVs without an extra layer to expand the gamut. That means HDR material can at least offer more saturated and varied colours, even if the brightness alone does not yet allow you to speak of a fully convincing HDR effect.

We tested the factory colours in the iFFALCON U85X model in “Film” mode, which is definitely the most accurate among all available settings, although it is still far from perfect. The main issue that catches the eye in both SDR and HDR content is the improper white balance – an excess of blue and red contributes to a slight purple tint in the image, detracting from the naturalness of the film scenes. An even greater challenge is how the television manages its brightness. Analysing the gamma chart for SDR signal, we noticed significant instability: instead of adhering to the standard value of 2.4, the device oscillates around 2.2, then suddenly makes an unnatural jump to around 3.0. In practice, this leads to confusing effects – large, bright surfaces on the screen appear too dark, while smaller elements are unnecessarily brightened. A similar characteristic can be found in the EOTF curve, which makes the image unpredictable and loses its cinematic authenticity.

For testing we chose the "Film" mode and we think it’s by far the best of the available presets. There are none of the heavily boosted, unnatural colours you see in Vivid/Dynamic mode. The picture looks quite reasonable straight away, although it falls short of perfect. In SDR material the most noticeable issue was a slight warming of the image. The white balance had too much red, which made whites lean towards a warmer tint, and a similar cast was visible in the greys. In HDR the situation was a little different. Here blue had a slight advantage, making the image a touch cooler. These are not major faults. For such an inexpensive TV the factory settings on our unit were pretty decent, and the "Film" mode already delivers a relatively natural picture without much fiddling with the settings.

After professional calibration of the movie mode, we must admit that the effect is more than satisfactory – the iFFALCON U85X undergoes a true transformation here. Colour errors in SDR content have dropped to a level below 2, making them practically undetectable to the human eye. We managed to set the white balance almost perfectly, and brightness management (gamma) has become almost exemplary. As a result, with standard quality materials, the television simply looks perfect and it's hard to fault it.

In the case of HDR signal, the situation has also improved significantly, although here the nature of the device is a bit more noticeable. Colour errors have been reduced to around 3, which is an outstanding result in this price range. It's worth taking a look at the EOTF chart (available on the right side of the screen in filters: 4K HDR, gamma / EOTF) to see what is not immediately apparent regarding brightness management by the U85. Though the reference line looks decent, in actual film scenes the television still interprets the signal “in its own way” due to very aggressive local dimming zone algorithms. Does that disqualify this model for watching HDR content? Absolutely not. It’s simply a typical issue with nearly every Mini-LED that has to balance high brightness with the attempt to maintain deep blacks. One just needs to be aware of these technical limitations, which are unavoidable in this segment.

Contrary to appearances, the Dreame Q100 is actually quite well prepared for picture calibration. The menu contains plenty of advanced picture settings that allow fairly precise adjustment of its characteristics. In our case the white balance required the most work, both in SDR and HDR. After correction SDR material looked very good. We managed to achieve an almost neutral white balance and natural colours, with the main limitation remaining the black level itself, stemming from the panel design and the lack of local dimming.

In HDR we were also able to improve white balance and colour reproduction, but here the TV’s electronics reveal their limitations more quickly. Even after very precise EOTF curve adjustment, the Q100 doesn't always stick to it properly during real-world scenes. In some content it can also brighten the image, making some parts look brighter than they should, and some detail in bright areas can be lost as a result.

When it comes to scaling images to 4K resolution, the iFFALCON U85X performs solidly. The device effectively boosts low-quality signals, making even older materials look clean and clear on the 4K panel. At extremely low resolutions, such as 480p, you can notice slightly jagged edges (especially on thin lines), but let’s be honest – this is a scenario you'll only encounter while watching very old recordings, so in everyday use, it’s not a real issue.

On the other hand, the digital processing aimed at smoothing tonal transitions performs significantly worse. Although the menu features a function called “Gradual Smoothing”, its effectiveness is at least debatable. In practice, it does not effectively eliminate banding (colour stepping) and, worse yet, can cause more harm than good. This filter can be too aggressive where it shouldn’t be, artificially smoothing out details that shouldn’t be touched, such as the natural texture of the face or the fine details of skin texture. Instead of improving quality, this function can give the image an unnatural, “plastic” look, so it’s best to use it with caution or, preferably: leave it turned off.

The weakest point of the Dreame Q100 is its digital image processing. The processor used does a fairly average job of improving weaker material, and the menu offers no function that effectively smooths ugly tonal transitions or reduces visible posterisation. The upscaling itself is also unimpressive. With low-resolution material the image is rather soft and lacks better reproduction of fine detail. Additionally, the Q100 tends to overscan, meaning it slightly crops the edges of the image with very poor sources, for example 480p material. In everyday viewing of HD or 4K content this won’t be a major issue, but with older recordings the processor’s limitations are clearly visible.

Unlike budget constructions that can resemble a slideshow in dynamic sports scenes, the iFFALCON U85X is a heavyweight player equipped with a panel featuring a native refresh rate of 144Hz. It's worth remembering that in the realm of movies, series, or sports, we'll predominantly operate at 120Hz due to the specifics of image enhancement systems. Such a fast panel is excellent news for gamers and sports fans, as it opens the door to advanced motion settings that simply aren't available in cheaper 60Hz models.

Everything is managed from the menu “Motion Clarity”, where instead of using ready-made, often overly aggressive modes, we strongly recommend a custom configuration based on two sliders. The most important of these, Flicker Reduction, is responsible for fluidity in films – here, it's best to aim for a value around 4, which helps maintain the natural, cinematic character of motion without falling into the artificial “soap opera effect.” Meanwhile, the first slider, Motion Blur Reduction, is key to success in sports broadcasts. In this case, it's worth going all out and setting it to maximum, ensuring that the image remains sharp during fast-paced action on the field, while annoying ghosting is eliminated.

The VA panel in the Dreame Q100 has a native refresh rate of 60 Hz, so right from the start it's not a television built for the most demanding sports fans or gamers. The manufacturer does note the option to run at 120 Hz and that mode is indeed available, but it's primarily intended for a gaming mode. In everyday use the Q100 should therefore be treated as a standard 60 Hz TV. That means less smooth motion during fast sports broadcasts or quick gameplay than in models with 120 Hz or higher panels. One positive is the panel's response time. The VA panel doesn't smear excessively, so motion stays fairly clear and doesn't leave strong, blurred trails behind objects. For films we can also use a simple motion smoothing system. The manufacturer has prepared several presets that help reduce the characteristic judder in material shot at 24 frames per second.

iFFALCON U85X is an outstanding piece of gear for gamers that has pretty much everything you could ask for from a modern screen for console or PC. It features two full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports with a full bandwidth of 48 Gbps, which opens the door to key technologies such as VRR and ALLM, ensuring smooth gameplay without screen tearing and with minimal lag. The TV effortlessly handles high refresh rates at various resolutions, and a real curiosity is the mode that allows for up to 240Hz when dropping down to Full HD quality. Everything is managed by the Game Bar (which is a faithful copy from TCL), allowing for instant switching of picture modes, personalization of the interface appearance, or even adding a virtual crosshair in the middle of the screen.

Dreame Q100 is not strictly a gaming device, but for console use it offers a pretty sensible package. You get VRR to eliminate screen tearing and ALLM, which automatically switches the TV to a low-latency mode when it detects a console signal. An interesting compromise is support for 120 Hz. The panel won't reach that refresh rate in 4K, but drop to 1080p and you can play at 120 frames per second. If a title prioritises smoothness over resolution (and the game offers such a mode), it's worth using. It also includes a handy Game Bar that lets you quickly change screen settings, switch the refresh mode or add a virtual crosshair. The HGiG implementation is a bit weak, but credit is due for Dolby Vision Gaming support on Xbox Series X and S. This isn't a panel for tech purists, but for casual console gaming, especially when trading 4K for smoother Full HD, it performs very well.