Compare: LG QNED80A6A (VA) vs TCL C7L

Looking at the QNED80A in the VA version as a whole, we are dealing with a television that has a very specific character. It's a piece of equipment that movie lovers seeking savings will appreciate, as long as... they accept certain shortcomings. We get really solid blacks and contrast here, but we pay for it with narrow viewing angles. There's no denying it: this is a TV for those who have their favourite spot in the middle of the couch. Of course, you can feel some budget cuts here – the 60Hz panel or edge dimming, which sometimes struggles with difficult scenes, are elements that remind you that this isn't the highest tier of televisions. However, LG cleverly makes up for these hardware shortcomings with excellent software. It's quite surprising how well this TV handles pulling out details in HDR or upscaling lower quality cable materials – the processor does a great job here, making the picture look more expensive than it is in reality. If we add to that the great WebOS system and gaming features that, despite the lack of 120Hz, manage to deliver, we get a very successful screen for home cinema. It requires some understanding, but in return, it rewards you with a really vibrant image at an affordable price.

TCL C7L is an incredibly successful Mini-LED television and a fully deserved successor to the hit model C7K. The list of advantages of this device is really long. At the top is the extremely high brightness of the panel. Thanks to this, the television handles brightly lit living rooms without any problems, offering a fantastic and dynamic image in HDR format. Huge applause is also due for the use of the new Super QLED coating – after professional calibration, the colours can be not only natural but also incredibly vibrant. The best part is that the screen does this regardless of what scene is displayed on the screen, which is often not the case for all TVs with RGB backlighting. C7L is also an excellent piece of hardware for gamers; you could even say it’s a true "multimedia powerhouse." It fully supports consoles and PCs, refresh rates up to 288 Hz, G-Sync, and low input lag that doesn’t increase even when enabling very demanding modes like Dolby Vision Gaming. The whole package is tied together by a well-optimised Google TV system, which in this generation of TCL devices runs noticeably smoother and more efficiently (at least that’s the impression we got during our tests). Of course, C7L is not a perfect device, and the manufacturer had to make certain compromises in this model. The biggest flaw of the C7L is the use of a less powerful image processor. Unfortunately, this translates to fairly mediocre digital processing and another construction limitation in the form of only two HDMI 2.1 ports. A more powerful setup has been reserved this year for the higher series, such as C8L. From a business perspective, this is fully understandable. Why? Because if TCL had put a better processor here, most people would probably see no sense in paying extra for the higher model. So even if some compromises exist here, the C7L series promises once again to be one of the most cost-effective Mini-LED televisions of the year. If you’re looking for a versatile, incredibly bright screen for movies, series, TV, or games – literally for everything – and at the same time don’t want to overpay for the top series, then yes... C7L is a brilliant choice that we can definitely recommend to you.

The model we tested, with a diagonal of 55 inches, is equipped with a VA-type panel. Here’s the great news: this is a huge advantage over the IPS version if you care about deep blacks and a vivid image. Our measurements showed that in typical movie scenes, the native contrast is really solid, exceeding values around 6000:1. In practice, this means that black is black, not grey, which works very well for occasional evening viewing and is not irritating. However, there are moments when our measuring devices indicated contrast levels over 20 000:1. Where does such a leap come from? The LG QNED80A is equipped with a Local Dimming system. However, this is an edge-lit system. This means that the TV can dim vertical strips of backlighting where the image is supposed to be dark. In theory, this sounds great and indeed allows for "better numbers" in tables than in a classic LCD screen. Unfortunately, practice can be brutal. The use of edge dimming is a double-edged sword that can disrupt the viewing experience in challenging scenes. An ideal example is the scene with the helicopter in the film Sicario 2. When there is a lot of black on the screen and small, bright points, the dimming system starts to operate very aggressively and... not very precisely. You can clearly see how entire vertical strips of the screen brighten and dim, trying to keep up with the object. Instead of deep blacks, we then see blooming, which simply looks bad and strongly distracts from the plot. Although the dimming system improves measurable contrast, in everyday use – especially with the lights off – its aggressive operation can be annoying. Often, a better option may be to... turn off this feature or set it to minimum, to enjoy stable, natural blacks from the VA panel itself.

TCL C7L is a Mini LED TV, which in the 65-inch variant we tested, is equipped with over 1000 local dimming zones. This, combined with the proprietary VA panel (called HVA 2.0 by TCL CSOT), delivers really decent results in terms of black levels and contrast. In most of the scenes we measured, the blacks and contrast looked really good, and in the easiest shots, the black was deep enough to almost resemble that seen on OLED screens. This is of course referring to the least demanding shots with a lot of black on the screen. However, when more bright elements appear on the screen, and black stops dominating as much, it is evident that TCL C7L – like most Mini LED TVs – has its issues with local dimming zone management.

This can be clearly seen, for example, on the black bars in films shot in the 2.35:1 panoramic format. Then, on the black bars or around small, bright objects, a pronounced halo effect, or a bright light glow, can appear. The contrast then drastically dropped – from laboratory values of around 200,000:1 to about 10,000:1, which is quite noticeable in a completely dark room. It’s worth remembering that this shouldn’t be treated as a flaw of the TV but rather as a characteristic of mini-LED technology. Of course, this effect becomes much less bothersome when we turn on at least some light in the room… which I definitely recommend doing during screenings on any LCD TV.

Let's talk now about how this TV shines. If you’re expecting dazzling light effects, we need to cool your enthusiasm. The LG QNED80A is a moderately bright television. Our measurements in most film scenes indicated values around 350-400 nits. That’s not enough to speak of a full, cinematic HDR experience and the feeling of that famous “high dynamic range” that flagship products offer. However, brightness is not everything. Although the QNED80A is not a “light monster,” it makes up for it in another key category: colours. This is where PFS technology comes into play, which LG marketers hide under the name QNED/NanoCell. With this trick, the TV offers a significantly wider colour palette than classic LCD constructions. In our tests, the coverage of the cinematic DCI-P3 palette reached a solid 93-94%. What does that mean for you? That even at lower brightness, when watching films in HDR, the colours will be vibrant, deep, and properly saturated. The image is not washed out but juicy, which is a significant advantage in this price range.

TCL C7L is undoubtedly an extremely bright television. In synthetic tests on static patterns, it can achieve peak brightness of around 2800 nits. This is a phenomenal result, considering the price range it occupies. Unfortunately, tests with real movie scenes are not as spectacular as measurements of white squares. Brightness in real HDR footage drops in the C7L model to around 1200 nits. This is still a very good result, as this is the value at which the vast majority of contemporary films are mastered. However, when small, point-like elements appear on the screen, the brightness of these details drastically drops – even to around 400 nits – which somewhat diminishes the HDR effect. The television does this intentionally to maintain a better black level and to avoid a huge light bloom. This is somewhat explainable, but it also shows that Mini LED technology is not completely uncompromising in this regard. As for the HDR effect itself – alongside brightness, colours are of course key here. And these, thanks to the use of new, “super” quantum dots, are simply outstanding and among the best on the market. The television can achieve around 90% coverage of the ultra-wide colour gamut BT.2020 and 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut, easily matching the best RGB MINI-LED screens. Best of all, the C7L can maintain such high colour saturation regardless of the scene being displayed, which can often be problematic in competing RGB Mini-LED televisions.

It might seem that since the QNED80A is one model, it should offer the same picture regardless of the version. However, practice shows something completely different. Analyzing the variant with the VA panel in the best factory setting – that is, in Filmmaker Mode – we noticed a specific characteristic. This TV "out of the box" delivers a picture with a clear dominance of red and a deficiency of blue. Overall, it is very warm, almost hot. Many users might describe it as an "overly cinematic" picture, leaning towards sepia. Additionally, there is the issue of gamma curve – the TV has a tendency to slightly and artificially brighten scenes (gamma is too low), which causes the picture to lose some of its plasticity. The good news is that these are not panel errors, but merely software issues. As always in our tests, we performed professional calibration, which completely eliminated these drawbacks, restoring natural white balance and correct saturation.

When it comes to out-of-the-box colours, a new feature in TCL TVs – including the C7L model – is the presence of a new picture mode called Filmmaker Mode. This is significant news, as such a mode was not previously available from this manufacturer. By design, as the name suggests, the picture in this setting is intended to be delivered with the full intent of the film's creator. After our tests, we can confirm that it is undeniably the best built-in mode in this TV if you value true-to-life colour reproduction straight out of the box. However, we certainly wouldn’t say it is perfect. Like most devices on the market, this C7L also had its factory faults. The white balance in Filmmaker Mode leaned towards a slightly greenish-yellow hue, mainly due to an excess of green component and a noticeable lack of blue. Of course, for the average viewer, this won’t be a drastic flaw, but if you value perfect whites, natural skin tones, and harnessing the full potential of these new "super" quantum dots from the structure, then the TV is begging for professional calibration.

Was it worth spending time on calibration? Definitely yes. We managed to tame the initial, overly warm white balance and, most importantly, correct the gamma curve. The television stopped artificially brightening scenes, resulting in a deeper image. The biggest gains are visible in SDR content, such as when watching regular television, YouTube, or playing games without HDR. Here, the QNED80A shows its class – colour reproduction errors (DeltaE) fell below a value of 2. In technical terms, this means the errors are essentially invisible to the human eye. The image in everyday use has simply become very attractive, natural, and correct. The difficulties start with HDR content. Although we managed to improve the white balance, the EOTF curve (responsible for brightness at various levels) shows that the television still "interprets" the image in its own way. This results from the nature of the edge-lit backlighting with local dimming and the fact that LG gives the calibrator very little control over this parameter. In short: the television struggles to hide its hardware shortcomings, sometimes ignoring our commands. Nevertheless, the final image is significantly more accurate and pleasant to view than the factory settings, even if it still lacks a bit compared to studio perfection.

After conducting a professional calibration, we were able to greatly improve the situation in the factory Filmmaker Mode. Following our adjustments, the errors in the ColorChecker test and across the entire wide colour gamut dropped below the threshold of human perception – that is, below a value of 3, which is indeed a very good result. The TCL C7L definitely benefits from such a treatment in terms of colour fidelity, and it's hard to deny that. However, the management of brightness in HDR content after calibration appears to be a bit worse. As I described earlier – even though we set this model up properly, when we turn on real film scenes on the television, it can manage its brightness in quite a peculiar way. It often brightens certain elements on the screen in a manner inconsistent with the creator's intent, which is visibly apparent on the EOTF graphs measured in specific films. Despite this flaw – or rather, this specific characteristic of the television – one cannot take away from it: after calibration, the C7L was able to reproduce the colours flawlessly.

We've also got excellent news for those sensitive to digital artifacts. Regardless of which version of the panel you get, the LG QNED80A excels at gradation, or the smooth blending of colours. In this price range, it's common to see ugly, separated bands instead of a smooth transition (e.g., from bright sky blue to navy). Here, this problem hardly exists. In our tests, both in very bright parts of the image (like sunsets) and in challenging, dark shades of grey, the picture remained uniform and natural. We didn't notice the annoying effect of "banding" or distinct lines connecting colours.

The next element worth discussing is the fluidity of tonal transitions. Here, it must be honestly acknowledged that in the TCL C7L, it simply looks good. In most scenes – especially in those brighter shots – there are absolutely no issues with gradients. In native 4K HDR content, the image is clear, and the transitions between shades are very smooth. It looks just as good in Dolby Vision mode, where during testing we noticed no digital defects or ugly colour banding. One could nitpick about very dark shots where a heavily compressed signal is displayed on the screen. In such conditions, the C7L can sometimes show minor imperfections, but in this model, it's not something that stands out significantly. Especially during regular movie viewings.

In this category, the QNED80A turns out to be a true "dark horse". It's a fantastic, affordable television for those who often watch lower quality content – for example, from traditional cable TV. The processor used here handles upscaling incredibly well, enhancing low resolutions to native 4K. The image after processing is natural, smooth, and most importantly – it is not overly jagged or artificially sharpened. In the menu, we also find a dedicated option for smoothing tonal transitions in low-quality content. This feature works really effectively, eliminating the annoying "banding" of colours during heavy video compression. However, we must remain vigilant. Remember, we are not dealing with the top-tier processor known from flagship OLED models. In more challenging scenes, the system might struggle and introduce minor artefacts or distortions. Nevertheless, it's definitely worth giving this feature a chance, because in the majority of cases, the quality improvement is visible to the naked eye.

This point could be called in a sense the Achilles' heel of the C7L model. Unfortunately, this television uses an older chipset from MediaTek – the Pentonic 700 – which has never been known for outstanding digital image processing. This is clearly visible in the functioning of the gradual smoothing feature, which is responsible for reducing jagged edges and removing digital noise. It simply works very poorly – when set to a low level, its effectiveness is practically none. The only small plus here is that the algorithm doesn't mess up anything else in the image and doesn't forcefully blur details. The upscaling, that is, the scaling of the image from lower resolutions to 4K, performs a bit better. It is simply adequate and does not stand out in any particular way against the competition. However, it cannot be denied that the C7L would greatly benefit in this aspect if the manufacturer decided to use the newer Pentonic 800 processor, which is now being found in an increasing number of competitive models.

We move on to a topic that may be crucial for many. Unfortunately, here we must point out the biggest "Achilles' heel" of the QNED80A model. This television is equipped with a panel that has a native refresh rate of 60Hz. There’s no denying it – at this price, we were hoping for more as we know that Chinese manufacturers can offer 120Hz screens for similar money. Due to this parameter, dynamic scenes in sports or fast-paced games are not the strongest point of this screen. Fortunately, LG has equipped the television with a proven smoothing system called TruMotion. It works quite well with film material (24 frames). We suggest playing around with the De-Judder slider – from our experience, setting it in the range of 2-4 provides the best compromise: motion becomes smoother, yet still looks natural, without the artificial "television theatre" effect.

TCL C7L features a native 4K panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which can even ramp up to 288 Hz at lower resolutions when using a PC. These are certainly very high and commendable figures on paper, but in everyday life, it's worth remembering that almost all dynamic content you display on this television will still revolve around a maximum of 120 Hz. To tame this dynamism, the TV menu includes a motion smoothing system called "Motion Clarity." It offers several predefined modes, including a user mode, which we highly recommend setting manually using our tried-and-true guides on our YouTube channel. You’ll find two key sliders available. The first one, "Motion Blur Reduction," is responsible for reducing blurring and improving sharpness in 60fps dynamic content, such as sports broadcasts. The second slider, "Flicker Reduction," allows for the addition of artificial frames in movies and shows recorded at cinematic 24 or 30 frames per second. This naturally allows for the complete elimination of the annoying stutter effect during camera movement shots.

Since we've already established that the QNED80A is a 60Hz TV, we must say it straight: we won't be gaming here at 120 frames per second at any resolution. Does this disqualify the device in the eyes of gamers? Not necessarily, especially for those "casual" players. LG decided to sweeten this technical limitation by packing in quite a few useful features. We have support for VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) in the range of 48-60Hz and an automatic game mode ALLM, which instantly reduces input lag upon detecting a console. We manage all of this via a very convenient, purple Game Optimizer menu (Player Panel), which has become LG's hallmark. The manufacturer deserves big points for consistency regarding HDR. Although the TV does not support Dolby Vision in games on Xbox consoles, LG adds a well-implemented HGiG standard. Thanks to this, even on a screen with moderate brightness, playing in HDR is clear, and the details in shadows and highlights are accurately rendered, rather than being "clipped".

When it comes to gaming, the TCL C7L is simply an outstanding television for gamers. With the presence of two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports at 48 Gbps, it provides access to all the key features that console and high-end PC owners require. We have a well-functioning ALLM mode with very low input lag and VRR frame synchronization, which operates within an impressive range from 48 to 288 Hz. Importantly, unlike some competitors, TCL has ensured a proper implementation of the console HDR10 HGIG profile and support for Dolby Vision in games. This is complemented by a very well-designed gamer panel, known as Game Bar, which even allows for editing its appearance and changing the theme to perfectly match the style of your console.

The only thing that can – and should – be critiqued here is the fact that the television only offers two full HDMI 2.1 ports, while the other two are older HDMI 2.0. This creates quite a significant logistical problem. Why? Because one of those fast ports also supports the eARC audio return channel. In practice, this means that if you connect a soundbar or home theatre system to the television, you’ll only have one available HDMI 2.1 port left. If you have two consoles or a console and a powerful computer at home, unfortunately, you’ll have to give something up or constantly juggle cables at the back of the unit while maintaining comfortable audio system control.

At the end of the gaming section, let's take a look at how quickly the TV responds to our commands. The input lag measured by us in the QNED80A model is approximately 15 ms (at 60Hz signal). These may not be values that will revolutionise the market or amaze professional e-sports players fighting for every millisecond. However, for the typical console gamer, this result is more than sufficient. During gameplay testing, we did not experience any annoying "float" of the reticle or delay between pressing the button on the controller and the reaction on the screen. The entertainment is smooth and comfortable, and that is the most important thing in home gaming.

It’s worth taking a look at the dry numbers here, because in terms of signal delay, the TCL C7L is absolutely top of the market. Our measurements showed that the input lag is extremely low, and for a 60 Hz signal, it’s only around 10 ms. When we step it up and fire up a game at 120 Hz, the lag drops to an almost imperceptible 6 to 7 ms. However, what’s even more important is that these values are maintained even after activating the Dolby Vision format in games.

Is the QNED80A suitable for connecting a computer? For the version with a VA panel, the answer is: absolutely. If you plan to use this TV as a massive monitor for work, you won’t be disappointed. The readability of the fonts is very high – text is sharp, clear, and doesn’t strain the eyes, which isn’t always a given with large screens. Added to that is the low input lag we mentioned earlier. This makes mouse work precise, and you won’t feel that characteristic “floating” of the cursor. Of course, due to the 60Hz refresh rate, it’s not the ideal gear for e-sports players on PC, but for text work, browsing the web, or occasional strategy gaming, it will perform brilliantly.

When it comes to playing on PC, as I mentioned earlier, it's really seamless. The TV handles high refresh rates with ease: full 4K at 144 Hz, and at Full HD resolution, it can even ramp up to 288 Hz. Synchronisation systems like G-Sync and FreeSync work flawlessly here as well. So, for PC gamers, the C7L can serve as a great, massive monitor.

However, typical office work with text is a bit less impressive, all due to the panel behaving rather strangely in these conditions. When the highest refresh modes are activated, namely 144 Hz and 288 Hz, the clarity and sharpness of dark text on a light background are fairly average – the fonts become slightly blurred and jagged. Fortunately, this can be easily remedied by changing the screen refresh rate to a stable 120 Hz in the graphics card settings. Then, the text becomes perfectly sharp again, which is definitely worth remembering if you plan to use the C7L as a work screen.

Deciding on the VA panel version, you need to be aware of a certain compromise. You get great blacks and contrast, but you pay for it with narrow viewing angles. This is a typical feature of this technology, and the QNED80A is no exception. If you sit perfectly straight in front of the screen, the picture will be brilliant. However, simply moving to the side of the sofa or stepping away to the kitchenette will reveal image degradation. Colours begin to lose their saturation, becoming washed out, and the deep black that we praised starts to grey. Therefore, this variant of the television is best suited for those who have their favourite spot in the middle of the sofa and rarely watch TV in a large group spread out across the living room.

Unfortunately, the powerful native contrast of the HVA 2.0 panel comes at a cost. We're talking about viewing angles, which in the C7L model are simply poor. This is, of course, due to the use of the aforementioned VA panel. It is a completely natural characteristic of this technology and something to consider when making a purchase. If you sit directly in front of the screen, the picture will impress you with its depth, but just shifting a few dozen degrees to the side on the couch will cause the colours to immediately begin to fade. By choosing this model, you're opting for a classic market compromise: you get brilliant blacks and fantastic contrast, but you lose out on viewing angles.

How does the QNED80A perform when we don’t have the curtains drawn? Let’s be clear: it’s not the brightest TV on the market, so if your living room resembles a glasshouse at noon, this screen may struggle against the intense sunlight. For extremely challenging lighting conditions, we would suggest looking for something with higher brightness (e.g. Mini LED). However, the TV excels in another way – the type of coating used on the panel. The manufacturer has opted for a satin finish (semi-matte). This is a great decision. Unlike glossy coatings that act like mirrors, this coating effectively dampens and diffuses light reflections. As a result, in typical, moderate lighting conditions, a lamp beside it or a window to the side won’t be distracting, and the viewing experience will remain enjoyable.

It's also worth mentioning how the TCL C7L performs during everyday viewing in a sunny lounge. As we've established, it's an extremely bright television, and it's this powerful luminance reserve (up to 2400 nits in SDR!) that allows it to perform brilliantly in very bright rooms – the picture simply cuts through the incoming light effortlessly. The only thing to be cautious about here is the direct reflections on the screen. The coating used this year on the panel is definitely more glossy than what we saw in last year's C7K model. The screen does a significantly poorer job of reducing point light reflections, which in unfavorable conditions – for example, when the window is directly opposite the television – can be quite annoying for some users. Nonetheless, in terms of raw brightness, the C7L is simply a powerhouse for bright lounges.

Smart TV System and WebOS

A major plus for LG TVs – even those in the lower or mid-price range – is that the manufacturer does not treat them "shabbily" regarding software. The QNED80A runs on the latest version of the WebOS system, which performed excellently during our tests. The interface operated smoothly, responded quickly to commands, and most importantly – was very intuitive. Much of the credit goes to the famous Magic Remote control, which acts like a computer mouse – we control the cursor on the screen with wrist movements. However, there’s a surprise in store for you. In the 2025 model, the controller underwent quite a drastic transformation. It has been minimised and slimmed down. Modern users are likely to appreciate this change, as the remote fits nicely in the hand and looks more "premium". However, traditionalists may feel disappointed – miniaturisation has come at a cost, including the removal of the classic numerical keypad, which may make quickly selecting channels more difficult.

Classic Functions and Multimedia

When it comes to so-called classic functions, the QNED80A does not attempt to be a revolutionary device. It is simply solid equipment that does what it was designed to do. There are no hidden "gizmos" here, but we also didn’t feel like anything was missing. The traditional Teletext works flawlessly, and the wireless connectivity modules (like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) are stable and quickly pair with external devices, such as headphones or a soundbar. In this regard, the TV doesn’t throw any obstacles in our way – it functions as we expect, not standing out in any particular way from the competition, but also not giving us any reasons to complain.

Google TV and Smart TV

The heart of the TCL C7L multimedia system is, of course, the Google TV operating system, which provides access to a gigantic library of apps and all the most popular streaming platforms on the market. The Smart TV in this model works flawlessly, offering full support for useful networking features such as Apple AirPlay and Chromecast. However, a huge and pleasant surprise is the overall performance of the software. We noticed that Google’s system on the new C7L operates much more smoothly, fluidly, and quickly than on TCL models from last year. A lot of this is thanks to better optimisation at launch. Unnecessary stalls and minor interface stutters, known from older models, seem to have been forgotten.

TV Features

When it comes to traditional antenna or cable television, the TCL C7L does not offer many additional advanced features. It is simply a basic receiver. The manufacturer did not attempt any revolutionary solutions here, so aside from the traditional program guide, you won't find anything special. A great nod to traditional viewers is the classic remote control, which defies the prevailing trend towards minimalism by still being equipped with a full numeric keypad, greatly facilitating quick channel switching.

How does the QNED80A perform as a home multimedia centre? After connecting an external drive or USB stick, the television effortlessly recognises and plays the vast majority of popular video and audio formats. One can confidently say that in everyday use, you will rarely encounter a file that refuses to play. However, we must point out a certain catch resulting from the software architecture. WebOS is a closed system. What does this mean for you? It means that if the built-in player cannot handle some exotic format, we do not have a "lifebuoy." We cannot just go to the store and download an external application like VLC that "plays everything," as is the case with Android or Google TV. The specific shortcomings we managed to identify mainly concern graphic files. The television does not support the HEIC format, which is a standard in Apple devices (iPhone/iPad). Photos with very high resolution (in the range of 20-28 Mpix) also proved problematic – when trying to open them, the system often faltered. It is worth keeping this in mind if you plan to view holiday photos directly from the drive.

At the very end of the multimedia section, it’s worth mentioning the playback of files from external USB drives. During our tests, we didn’t encounter any unpleasant surprises here – the factory player handles all popular video and audio formats just as it should. Interestingly, the TCL C7L had no trouble playing photos saved in Apple’s native format, HEIC. This is an extremely rare feature in the factory apps of television manufacturers. And while the Google TV system obviously gives you unlimited capability to install external media playback programs, in the case of the C7L, the built-in tool is refined enough that installing additional software will probably not be necessary for anyone.

When it comes to audio, the LG QNED80A doesn't try to enchant us. It simply performs like... a typical flat-screen TV. The built-in speaker system with a total power of 20W isn't the strongest aspect of this set. If you're expecting a cinematic punch or depth known from pricier models equipped with subwoofers, you'll feel a bit shortchanged. There's simply a lack of bass here, and the sound is quite flat. However, we must give this model credit in one aspect: clarity of transmission. When scenes based on conversations appear on the screen, the QNED80A handles it quite well. Dialogues are clear, separated, and – importantly – undistorted. There’s no crackling effect at higher volumes. It's sufficient for everyday TV, but for films, we definitely recommend purchasing at least a basic soundbar.

TCL C7L performs quite well and correctly. In terms of sound quality, there has been virtually no change compared to last year's model C7K. The manufacturer still uses a speaker system branded Bang & Olufsen in a 2.2 configuration. The only thing that can be quite annoying during viewing is the fact that after increasing the volume to higher levels – around above 50% on the scale – the volume no longer matches the scale visible on the screen. The audio system from B&O works great for daily watching of news or series at moderate volume, but if you're looking for good sound, it's worth getting at least a basic soundbar for the C7L.

LG QNED80A6A (VA) vs TCL C7L

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

Daytime performance

Panel details

TV features

Classic features:

Smart features:

Sound connection options

Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):

Senior accessibility

Smart TV System and WebOS

Classic Functions and Multimedia

Google TV and Smart TV

TV Features

Apps

Playing files from USB

Sound

Sound Quality Test

Acoustic Measurements