Samsung QN990F vs TCL P7L / P79L

Samsung QN990F is one of the bright televisions, and this is immediately apparent in tests. In measurements, it achieved around 1300 nits, which in practice allows you to enjoy films as their creators intended. Bright scenes have the right strength, lights shine, and the impression is truly cinematic. In standard test patterns, sequences number 1, 3, and 5 performed the best – there, brightness remained around 800-1000 nits, and the image looked very natural. In more difficult segments, it could dip to around 600 nits, but the level was still sufficient for details to be clearly visible. However, it should be added that with such highly contrasted shots, the halo effect returns – the same one we mentioned regarding blacks. Bright elements can leave a glow on dark backgrounds, and this is immediately noticeable. As we are dealing with a QLED, the colour palette is expanded, and the colours present themselves impressively. The problem is that with such a flagship model, we expected better numbers. 91% coverage of DCI-P3 and about 67% BT.2020 are results that can be considered solid but not outstanding. This gives an image that is vibrant and appealing; however, the competition in this and lower price ranges can show even more.

The biggest limitation of the TCL P7L in HDR is simply brightness. The TV doesn't have much luminance headroom, so strong highlights, sunlight or small light sources can't clearly "pop" out of the image. As a result, even well-produced HDR material looks fairly restrained and, in terms of dynamics, is closer to good SDR than to what brighter models show. That doesn't mean the P7L completely fails at HDR; the issue is mainly a lack of sufficient backlight power. Looking at colours, the situation is a bit better. The TV covers roughly 91% of the DCI‑P3 gamut and about 68% of the wide BT.2020 space, so for its price class the colour range is quite decent. TCL markets this model as QLED, although the nature of the solution used is closer to a PFS phosphor‑based backlight than a classic quantum dot layer. What matters most to the viewer is the effect: more saturated colours are on offer.

We tested the QN990F in Filmmaker mode, which is the best out-of-the-box setting available. Right from the start, we noticed a few significant issues. The biggest problem was with white balance. Due to too little blue, as well as incorrect ratios between red and blue, the image—especially in scenes with a lot of white—appeared too yellow, and at times even orange. On the Color Checker palette, these errors didn't look dramatic as they hovered around a value of 4, but in everyday viewing, especially with strong whites, they were most noticeable. We also noticed problems with brightness management—the TV struggled to maintain details in the smallest parts of the image, mainly due to how it manages backlight zones. Fortunately, Samsung provides plenty of room for adjustment when it comes to setting corrections. We know that with proper calibration, much more can be extracted from this screen.

In Film mode the TCL P7L performs quite decently without major tweaks, especially with ordinary SDR material. The white balance is relatively even, although as brightness increases there’s a slight rise in red and blue and a bit too little green. That doesn’t create a strongly visible colour cast and most colours remain close to their reference points. The Colour Checker confirms this, with a large portion of errors falling below the level that should particularly bother during normal viewing. We have more remarks about the gamma response. In the darkest parts of the image the TV drives it noticeably above the reference, so some shadow detail may be a little too dim. The curve then settles and for much of the range it’s close to the intended targets. As a result SDR generally looks natural, but in dark scenes the P7L can lose some subtlety.

In HDR the factory setup is less precise. As brightness increases the excess blue becomes more pronounced, so the picture can look cooler than it should. The number of larger colour deviations also rises, especially in brighter colours. The EOTF curve itself is handled fairly conservatively, with the TV showing the image darker than the reference over much of the range. For such an inexpensive model, the factory Film mode settings are not bad.

After carrying out the calibration, we managed to bring the white balance into order and eliminate the earlier shortcomings in shades of blue. As a result, the picture no longer looked like it had a slight yellowish filter – the whites are cleaner, and the whole thing presents itself much more naturally. We also managed to tame the brightness characteristic in HDR content to some extent. The television now handles maintaining detail in blacks much better and does not lose them as much as before. However, when we look at the EOTF curve and how the QN990F reproduces brightness in films, it is evident that it still tends to accentuate details in dark areas more strongly. This is a characteristic feature of Mini-LED technology and, more specifically, how it is managed by the QN990F, which is practically impossible to eliminate completely. Despite this, after calibration, the picture looks significantly more natural, mainly due to the correct exposure of white light. The final effect is definitely more pleasant to the eye and closer to what we expect from a flagship television.

After calibration the TCL P7L can produce a genuinely pleasant picture, especially with conventional SDR material. We managed to even out the white balance very well, and the gamma curve now tracks close to the target value of 2.4. This is also evident in the colour measurements, as most errors have fallen significantly and in everyday viewing it’s hard to notice any major inaccuracies. Films, series, YouTube and regular TV therefore look more natural, without unnecessary warmth or a cool tint. For a model at this price point the SDR result is really very good.

In HDR the situation becomes more complicated. Calibration improved the white balance and corrected some deviations, but here the panel’s limitations become increasingly apparent. The P7L has relatively limited brightness and can’t sustain appropriate luminance for more saturated colours, so some errors remain even after careful tuning. In other words, settings can improve how the TV interprets the signal, but you can’t overcome its physical capabilities. That’s why calibration is most worthwhile for SDR on this model.

The QN990F deserves the highest praise for its upscaling capabilities. The processor responsible for 'lifting' classic TV to 8K resolution does a really decent job. Watching footage in 576p, we had no illusions that we would suddenly see a miraculous transformation like in an advertisement, where the image magically turns into crystal-clear 8K. Nevertheless, the final effect was surprisingly good; the picture looked clean and sharp. It's just a shame that the TV, like most Samsung models, has an overscan issue, which slightly cuts off the edges of the screen from the left side.

When it comes to image processing, Samsung offers a feature called "noise reduction," which in theory should improve tonal transitions in older materials, where they are usually more noticeable. Unfortunately, here we felt quite disappointed. The feature performs poorly – it struggles with unwanted banding and can even introduce its own artifacts. On the plus side, it’s worth noting that the TV doesn’t remove film grain when using this feature, but in practice, that’s a poor consolation when the noise reduction itself turns out to be practically useless.

In this respect the TCL P7L performs surprisingly well, especially for such an inexpensive TV. The banding reduction feature, which in many budget models does little or nothing, actually manages to improve the picture here. It doesn't remove all banding completely, but it can noticeably reduce posterisation and make trickier gradients look more natural. In this price segment that's a genuinely pleasant surprise.

The upscaling itself also looks good. Lower-resolution material is upscaled properly, without excessive sharpening or adding artificial edges around objects. Of course the P7L won't turn a very poor source into a 4K-quality picture, but for regular TV the result is simply solid. For a model at this price point there are few major complaints to make.

QN990F can easily be called one of the fastest TVs in the world. In 4K mode, it can display images at a frequency of up to 240 Hz, which until now was more associated with gaming monitors than with living room TVs. However, in everyday viewing, what's more important is how it handles an 8K signal at 120 Hz – and it performs very well here too. Motion remains smooth, and the TV handles even the most demanding content without breaking a sweat. Additionally, there's the motion smoother, or "Image Clarity." Thanks to this, you can adjust the picture to your preferences – leave it slightly cinematic with a bit of judder or switch to maximum smoothness, which works brilliantly for things like sports broadcasts.

TCL P7L uses a native 60 Hz panel at 4K resolution, and that's how it should be treated in everyday use. For movies the TV mainly offers frame interpolation, so it can smooth motion and reduce noticeable judder, but it doesn't deliver the smoothness typical of true 120 Hz panels.

It has to be said straightforwardly – the QN990F is one of those televisions that scream they were designed with gamers in mind. Samsung has been developing its gaming solutions for years, but here we have a true package. Sure, it lacks Dolby Vision support in games, which is a downside that will always come up in discussions. However, aside from that, the list of features is truly impressive. To start, we have the Game Bar – a handy menu that allows you to quickly check and change game-related settings. You can see things like VRR enabled, frame rate, or aspect ratio settings there. It's like a little “dashboard” so you don’t have to dig deep into the menu to fix something. Since the word VRR was mentioned: yes, variable refresh rate is present here and works flawlessly. Plus, there's ALLM, which automatically switches the television to game mode as soon as the console is turned on. These may seem like small details, but together they make using the QN990F simply convenient and hassle-free.

However, the greatest impression comes from the number of ports. Four wireless HDMI 2.1 ports as standard is already great news, as there's no need to choose whether to connect the console, the receiver, or maybe even the PC. There's comfortably enough room for everything here. And if we add another micro HDMI (which we recommend connecting directly to the console), hidden within the casing, then in practice we have five inputs in full 2.1 standard. Let’s also add support for high refresh rates – 120 Hz in 8K or even 240 Hz in 4K – and we get a television that not only keeps up with the new consoles but also feels ready for consoles that aren’t even out yet.

For such an inexpensive TV, the P7L has quite a lot to offer gamers. It has ALLM, VRR and Dolby Vision in games, and TCL also includes its Game Bar, where you can quickly check key information or change some settings without leaving the game. Not everything is perfect, though, because HGiG doesn't work here as it should, but at this price point it's hard to complain much about the feature set. The most interesting part comes when you give up 4K. At that resolution the TV runs at up to 60 Hz, but at 1440p and 1080p it can already display at 120 Hz. And that's not just a spec-sheet curiosity. In fast-paced games that support that frame rate the difference in smoothness is genuinely noticeable, so if you care more about smoother motion than maximum image sharpness, that mode can make a lot of sense. Of course, that doesn't make the P7L a true 120 Hz TV. Still, it's precisely these extra modes that make the P7L perform really well for gaming.