LG OLED B5 vs TCL C7K / QM7K 55"-85"

LG B5 is a moderately bright OLED TV. Regardless of the scene – it can generate about 500 nits of peak brightness. And interestingly, it does this even in full-screen shots flooded with white, where most OLEDs usually struggle. So, is this screen suitable for HDR films? Yes – absolutely, because such brightness really allows you to feel the magic of HDR effects. However, it’s worth noting that compared to last year's B4 model, the new B5 is darker – by about 100 nits. It may seem like a small amount, but at such average peak values, it makes a significant difference. Fortunately, the TV makes up for it with another strength – excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 colour gamuts. This means HDR films look truly vibrant, lively, and impressive even in more demanding scenes.

In terms of brightness, the models ranging from 55 to 85 inches in the C7K series are truly impressive. Under optimal testing conditions, the 65-inch screen exceeded 1200 nits, which in practice means that the brightest scenes can dazzle with almost cinematic brilliance. These are not just dry figures from measurements – during screenings, bright skies, explosions, or reflections of light on water looked incredibly striking, often giving the impression that the television exceeds its price range. This is particularly effective in scenes with large areas of illumination, where the screen fills with intense brightness – for instance, in sun-drenched shots or during dynamic action sequences. Viewers looking for strong HDR will definitely be satisfied.

However, scenes that require precise backlight control – with tiny points of light against a dark background – prove to be more challenging. Here, the C7K, despite having over a thousand zones, can still dim brightness to maintain deep blacks. The effect is that in films like Sicario 2 or LIFE of Pi, some details, such as a distant lighthouse or single reflections, may appear less distinct or blend into the surroundings. This is a compromise inherent in MiniLED technology – it provides excellent image depth and blacks at a level not offered by standard LCDs, but this comes at the cost of limited visibility of the tiniest lights.

B5 was tested in Filmmaker mode and… we’d love to see more TVs like this right out of the box. Seriously. The white balance is very well set – there’s practically nothing to nitpick. Well, if you really want to, you might notice a slight deficiency in blue, which can make the overall picture have a slightly yellowish tint. But that’s just our editorial nitpicking. Most of you probably won’t even notice. We also have minimal reservations about brightness management in HDR format. The EOTF curve – which is responsible for how the TV distributes brightness across the scene – sits just below ideal. In practice, it may happen that the darkest parts of the image appear too dark and simply… disappear. But these are details that only come out in measurements. Generally: we are impressed. But we also know that LG TVs respond very well to professional calibration. You can extract nearly reference-quality picture from them, so – although it’s already very good out of the factory – we took the liberty to go a step further and fine-tune everything to the max.

The new feature in TCL TVs for 2025 is the long-awaited Filmmaker mode, which until now has been found in most competing brands. This is great news, as this mode is regarded as the one that best represents the original vision of the creators and is often recommended by enthusiasts of good picture quality. Unfortunately – as is often the case – the mere presence of it does not guarantee perfection. The Filmmaker mode in the TCL C7K is not without its flaws. One could critique the incorrect white balance, particularly the slight dominance of blue, which caused cool, slightly greyish skin tones. But that was not the biggest issue. The main complaint was the excessive brightness exposure, which is clearly visible on the gamma and EOTF graphs. The picture was simply too bright, at times even blown out, which affected not only the richness of the scenes but also the overall viewing experience. Some details were simply lost, and the whole image looked as if someone had overdone the brightness slider a bit. As always – we decided to see what could be squeezed out of this after calibration. And that’s where it started to get really interesting…

We have to admit that we didn't have much work with the LG B5. It's one of those TVs that look good right from the start, but after calibration… they can really impress. The white balance was nearly perfect – down to a level of errors invisible to the human eye, unless you're a professional colourist with a magnifying glass at the screen. We also managed to control the TV's tendency to slightly dim the darkest details, especially in HDR scenes. After proper tuning, everything looks cohesive: blacks remain deep but don't swallow information. Highlights maintain a natural sparkle, and colours are true to the director's vision. This is truly one of those models that show you don't have to spend a fortune to have an almost reference-quality image. If you can opt for professional calibration – it's definitely worth it for the B5.

After calibration, the TCL C7K put on a really good show, especially when it comes to SDR content. We managed to precisely tune the white balance, colour gamut, and brightness characteristics, resulting in colour errors on the ColorChecker palette dropping below a value of 2. For the uninitiated – this is an almost perfect score, meaning the image is very close to what the creators intended. Unfortunately, things didn’t look as good with 4K HDR content. While we managed to slightly calm down the white balance and correct its previous errors, it still shows that the TV has some "MiniLED traits," especially in brightness management. When we checked how the C7K handles the EOTF curve on actual movie scenes, rather than just synthetic test patterns, it turned out that the screen still has a tendency to slightly brighten the entire image. This affects the overall experience – blacks lose some depth, and the image becomes less contrasty than it should be. Despite these minor shortcomings in HDR content, the overall reception of materials – especially in SDR – is really very good. After calibration, the C7K can display an image that can successfully compete with much more expensive models. Good tuning of colours, natural skin tones, and pleasant brightness make movie sessions and everyday content viewing more than satisfying.

LG B5 really surprised us positively in terms of handling lower quality content. Thanks to the enhancement and smoothing features, HD or even SD materials come to life. Importantly – when this option is turned on at the "low" or "medium" level, we don’t get the impression that the image is artificially softened or overly smoothed. Details remain in place, film grain doesn’t disappear, and the edges of objects don’t look washed out 😉. It’s a really useful tool – especially if you’re watching free-to-air TV, archival materials, or content from YouTube in lower resolutions. The picture is clear, consistent, and simply pleasant to the eye.

Upgrading as such works very well – even low-quality content is reproduced with surprising fidelity. Unfortunately, it’s not without a minor hiccup. Although the menu has an option to turn off overscan, the television still has issues correctly displaying very low-resolution images. It’s a minor detail, but when watching older materials – it can be annoying.

TCL C7K comes with a feature that, according to the manufacturer, aims to smooth out unwanted colour transitions – something like a rescue for less successful tonal changes. It's called "Gradual Smoothing" and... well, it sounds ambitious, but in practice, it works very poorly. Regardless of whether we set it to low or high, the difference is minimal. And worse still – the feature can cut out elements from the image that should remain. Fortunately, film grain is left untouched, so at least it doesn't smooth everything indiscriminately, but even so – it's best to just turn this option off.

When it comes to upscaling lower resolution content, it's already better. SD and HD materials look quite decent, although at times we felt that the image loses sharpness and becomes too soft – as if something had taken away its clarity. Fortunately, with very low sources (e.g. 576p), there was no overscan effect, meaning the image wasn't artificially cropped – everything fit on the screen as it should.

LG B5 is a TV with a 120 Hz OLED panel. It may not sound as impressive as the marketing terms "144 Hz" or "165 Hz" commonly found in gaming monitors, but honestly? The smoothness is still excellent. The picture is sharp, fluid, and simply enjoyable to watch – even when there’s a lot happening on screen. The organic panel does its job – the pixel response time is almost instantaneous, which means there’s no risk of ghosting or blurring that can ruin dynamic shots. Sports, fast-paced games – everything looks clear and distinct.

We also have the classic LG motion smoother, TruMotion. It allows you to smooth out movies shot at 24 frames – in other words, most of what you watch on Netflix or from Blu-ray discs. If you set lower values on the “De-Judder” slider, you’ll get a picture closer to the cinematic experience – with a slight judder, but without artificiality. Higher settings? Soap opera effect guaranteed. Fortunately, LG gives you the choice, and you can tune everything to your liking.

TCL C7K handles motion smoothness really well. The panel used in it offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which alone suggests that this TV is more than just a regular "60 Hz" panel. Moreover, if we connect the C7K to a computer and set the resolution to Full HD. But we will write more about this in the section for gamers and PC compatibility. Returning to everyday use – both sports and movies look very good here. Thanks to the quick panel and the well-functioning motion smoothening feature, the C7K is great for watching matches as well as for movie screenings. In the menu, we find two sliders – blur reduction and flicker reduction – that allow adjusting the smoothness effect to personal preferences. At lower settings, we get a more cinematic effect, with a slight judder. At higher settings – the image becomes more theatrical, smoothly even to excess. Whatever your taste, everyone can set it to their liking.

There are already a few TVs on the market with the "for gamers" label that don't really understand what that means. The LG B5 is not one of them. Everything here is spot on – there are four HDMI 2.1 ports, 120 Hz, there’s VRR and ALLM, and there’s also a Game Bar that's actually useful, not just looking good in the brochure. You plug in a console – it works. You set it to 4K at 120 Hz – it works. You have an Xbox and want to play in Dolby Vision – it works too. And it's not just "theoretically supports," it actually turns on, looks good, and you don't have to fiddle with settings for half an hour. Plus, there’s the HGiG picture mode, which LG has implemented correctly – meaning HDR in games doesn't turn the screen into a strobe light, but shows exactly what it should. There are no surprises, no strange limitations, no "buts." And you know what? That's how it should be. Cheers to the LG B5!

TCL C7K is a TV that on paper looks like the dream gear for a gamer – and most importantly, it also holds up in practice. First, the good news: we have two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth, so we can easily connect both a console and a computer, making use of all their capabilities. The panel itself supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which gives a considerable advantage in fast-paced games. On top of that, it comes with a full suite of gaming features: VRR (variable refresh rate), ALLM (automatic low latency mode), and Dolby Vision support in games. There’s also an HGiG mode that provides an HDR effect aligned with the creators' intentions. GameBar, which is an information bar for gamers. It operates quickly, looks clear (like a Nintendo console👌), and displays what matters most: the current frame rate, VRR status, and even HDR parameters.