LG OLED C4 vs TCL C7K / QM7K

The results of HDR materials are definitely among the better ones. Practically every film significantly exceeds the 700 nits barrier, which allows for a very realistic image. Of course, none of them surpasses the magical thousand, however, the combination of such results along with unlimited contrast and black effectively boosts the visual outcome. The last of the scenes, featuring a fullscreen sun burst, is indeed less bright than the others, although it still represents a respectable level. It's also worth mentioning the excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, which will enable the achievement of exceptionally vivid colours.

TCL C7K is one of the brightest MiniLED TVs in its price class. Under optimal testing conditions, the screen can achieve over 1200 nits, resulting in impressive, at times dazzlingly bright scenes. And most importantly – this isn’t just a theory from measurements. In practice, even the brightest moments in movies can shine with true cinematic grandeur. Home HDR cinema fans should be really pleased.

The impression is fantastic, especially in scenes with large areas of brightness – a white sky, explosions, sun reflections, or magical sunsets can surprise with an intensity of light that rarely appears in this price range.

However, things get a bit worse when more challenging scenarios appear on the screen, previously described in terms of contrast – that is, images full of details, with small bright elements on a dark background. In such cases, the C7K often opts to preserve black at the expense of brightness. An example? Scenes from movies like Sicario 2 or Life of Pi, where small light sources (like a distant lantern) may become less visible, and details in the lights are simply dimmed or blend into the background.

For many viewers, this may be an acceptable compromise – as we achieve deep blacks and pleasant image depth. Nevertheless, it’s important to recognise that the visibility of small details in bright areas is not this model's strong suit. It’s simply a technological limitation that still exists – even with over 300 zones.

The best factory mode implemented in the tested television was "Filmmaker". That was the one we used during all tests. This mode, in terms of colour reproduction, turned out to be quite decent, although other flaws effectively detracted from the enjoyment of the viewing experience. Starting with the most basic one, which is white balance, it was easy to notice that this was marked by a dominance of red, which completely altered the characteristics of the picture. We could see a strong yellowing of the whites and a shift of all colours to warmer tones. The gamma, which is a graph as equally important, if not more so, was quite severely reduced, resulting in a significant drop in contrast, except for the start of the graph, where the television insidiously lost details. That’s all regarding SDR materials. Looking closely at films with a wide dynamic range, we can observe exactly the same phenomenon of white balance yellowing as in films with a standard colour palette. The EOTF curve, which replaces the gamma chart for us, is practically perfect and cannot be faulted.

A new feature in TCL televisions 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 considered the most faithful to the original vision of the creators and is often recommended by enthusiasts of quality visuals. 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 faults. There are issues with inaccurate white balance, particularly a slight blue tint that resulted in cool, somewhat greyish skin tones. But that wasn’t the biggest problem. The main complaint was excessive brightness exposure, which is clearly visible on gamma and EOTF charts. The image was simply too bright, at times even blown out, which affected not only the texture of scenes but also the overall viewing experience. Some details were just lost, and the entire image looked as if someone had overdone the brightness slider. As always, we decided to see what could be squeezed out of it after calibration. And this is where things started to get really interesting…

As we mentioned earlier, LG televisions are equipped with advanced tools for carrying out the calibration process. We used them to model the picture in line with what the director envisioned. And without modesty, we must admit that we achieved this phenomenally. Both SDR and HDR materials present a level that clearly indicates this is how a film should look. It's worth taking a look at the colour errors on the "ColorChecker" palette, where practically none of them exceed "1", except for two samples.

After calibration, the TCL C7K showed itself in a really good light, especially when it comes to SDR content. We managed to precisely tune the white balance, colour gamut, and brightness characteristics so that the colour errors on the ColorChecker palette fell below a value of 2. For the uninitiated – this is nearly a perfect result, which means that the image is very close to what the creators intended. Unfortunately, it was a different story with 4K HDR content. While we were able to slightly calm down the white balance and correct its earlier errors, it was still evident that the TV has some "MiniLED traits", particularly in brightness management. When we checked how the C7K handled the EOTF curve on real film scenes, rather than just on synthetic test patterns, it turned out that the screen still had a tendency to slightly brighten the entire image. This affects the overall experience – the black loses some depth, and the image becomes less contrasty than it should be. Despite these minor issues with 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 colour tuning, natural skin tones, and pleasant brightness make movie watching and everyday content viewing more than satisfactory.

Once again, we will take a look at the feature responsible for gentle gradation, but we will also address the one that aims to enhance the quality of lower-quality materials. The default smoothing of tonal transitions, as we could see, was not the worst, but it can be improved further. The function has a slider that allows us to adjust its intensity. We recommend using the former, as it produces very good results and does not blur important details.

Image scaling on LG C4 is quite good, however, it cannot be said to be without flaws. The image is slightly sharper by default, although not in a very noticeable way. While jagged edges of trees can be seen, it is not a major issue when compared to other manufacturers.

TCL C7K has a feature that, according to the manufacturer, is meant to smooth out undesirable colour transitions – something like a rescue for less successful tonal shifts. 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. Worse still – the feature can cut out elements from the image that should remain. Fortunately, film grain remains untouched, so at least it doesn't smooth everything indiscriminately, but even so – it's better to simply 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 had the impression that the image loses sharpness and becomes too soft – as if something took 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.

The maximum refresh rate we can set on the LG G4 is 144 Hz. Naturally, this is only possible when connecting the TV to a very powerful PC. Otherwise, we will operate at a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, which is recommended if we primarily want to watch sports or content with a lot of motion dynamics. For those who require high fluidity of the image, the manufacturer has implemented a multi-level motion smoother called "TrueMotion". It has been divided into two separate sliders that adjust the sharpness of moving images (De-Blur) and judder (De-Judder). Both sliders can be set in the range of 0 to 10, with each degree affecting the level of smoothing, allowing everyone to find their sweet spot.

The panel of the LG OLED C4 features an average response time of less than 1 ms (which directly results from our measurements), enabling the achievement of an extremely clear image, unattainable for LCD TVs, which can have response times of up to several milliseconds. This is clearly evident in the images from the "UFO Test," which show no trailing blur behind the object.

TCL C7K handles motion fluidity really well. The panel it uses offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which suggests that this TV is more than just a standard "60 Hz" panel. Furthermore, if we connect the C7K to a computer and set the resolution to Full HD. But we will write more about this in the paragraph on gamers and PC compatibility. Returning to everyday use – both sports and movies look very good here. Thanks to the fast panel and the well-functioning motion smoother, the C7K is great for watching matches, but also for movie screenings. In the menu, we find two sliders – motion blur reduction and flicker reduction – that allow you to adjust the fluidity effect to your own preferences. At lower settings, we get a more cinematic effect, with slight judder. At higher settings – the image becomes more theatrical, fluid to the point of excess. Whatever your preference – everyone can set it their own way.

We can now say that LG C4, like practically every OLED television from the manufacturer, is exceptionally good in terms of cooperation with consoles and PCs. Thanks to the implementation of four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports at 48 Gbps, the manufacturer has embedded all the features that enhance gaming comfort, including simultaneous support for FreeSync and G-Sync technologies. With such a tandem, players with graphics cards from AMD or nVidia can safely choose C4. However, what should please gamers demanding the highest possible quality the most is the simultaneous implementation of HDR Dolby Vision and HGIG mode. The former is particularly important as it operates with extremely low input lag in all settings.

A standard feature in televisions from the Korean manufacturer is also the implementation of GameBar, allowing for quick adjustments of settings "on the fly," without the need to exit the game. It also allows for image adjustments for people with visual impairments, which is an incredibly nice touch. Another important piece of information is that when VRR technology is enabled, we won’t experience a drop in contrast. This is, of course, due to the design of the panel and the absence of conventional backlighting. It is, however, normal for shades of grey to flicker slightly, although this is a characteristic feature of this function regardless of the manufacturer and television.

In summary: LG C4, just like all the manufacturer's OLEDs equipped with high-refresh-rate panels and HDMI 2.1 connections, creates a harmonious whole with consoles. In practice, it is a complete television, and if we expect the highest possible efficiency in gaming, C4 will be an ideal choice.

TCL C7K is a television that on paper looks like the perfect equipment for gamers – and most importantly, it performs well in practice too. Here's some good news: we have two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, so we can easily connect both a console and a computer, using all their capabilities. The panel itself supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which provides a significant advantage in dynamic games. Additionally, it comes with a full set of gaming features: VRR (variable refresh rate), ALLM (automatic low latency mode), and support for Dolby Vision in games. There's also an HGiG mode that allows for HDR effects that align with the creators' intentions. GameBar, which is an information bar for gamers. It operates quickly, looks clear (like a Nintendo console👌), and shows what's most important: the current frame rate, VRR status, and even HDR parameters.