Compare: Sony Bravia 7 (XR70) vs TCL C855

Testing the Sony Bravia 7 quickly revealed that this television can really do quite a bit. Although it is the "lowest" model from the Japanese manufacturer in the new 2024 lineup, it doesn’t feel like a compromise at all. The picture impressed us with its depth of black and the detail in bright scenes – thanks to the Mini LED technology that makes a difference. When we watched movies in Dolby Vision, it was immediately evident how much HDR adds life to every scene. The intense colours and great dynamics made watching evening screenings a genuine pleasure for us. Using this television daily also surprised us positively. The Google TV system worked flawlessly, and the selection of apps was large enough that we easily found everything we wanted to watch. The backlit remote is a small but practical addition – in the evenings, we greatly appreciated not having to fumble around for the buttons. The older content we watched improved in quality thanks to advanced image processing. When we checked the TV for gaming, it also made a good impression on us. The 120 Hz refresh rate ensured smooth visuals, and the low input lag allowed us to enjoy fast-paced and dynamic gameplay. We particularly liked the Game Bar feature – easy access to settings during gameplay is something that every gaming enthusiast will appreciate. The television handled even more demanding titles excellently. However, not everything was perfect. Only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is designated for eARC, could be an issue if someone plans to connect multiple devices at once. Additionally, when we watched the television at an angle, we noticed that the picture quality was not as good as when viewed head-on – the lack of a layer improving viewing angles was noticeable here. Nevertheless, the Bravia 7 is a television that pleasantly surprised us. It combines excellent picture quality with functionality that works well both in everyday use and during evening screenings or dynamic gaming sessions. The minor limitations are noticeable, but they do not overshadow the whole package, which definitely deserves the attention of buyers.

Once again, the manufacturer shows that despite being a relatively young player in Poland (but not globally) when it comes to the RTV market, it certainly cannot be said that it is a second-rate choice. The TCL C855 is an incredibly versatile device that performs well in various applications and excels in its price range. Thanks to Mini LED backlighting, the results for contrast and black levels are very solid, allowing for a deep and vivid image. It is worth noting that the television's algorithm effectively manages to maintain uniformity of blacks, and the blooming effect is rarely noticeable. This backlighting is also a strong point for the television in HDR content, although with some reservations. The TCL C855 can achieve brightness levels of up to 1800 nits, which is an impressive result; however, brightness can drastically drop, even to around 200 nits, when a bright but small element appears on the screen. Another drawback is the boosted mid-tones, which can lead to a loss of contrast and reduce the image's alignment with the director's vision. The television also performs excellently when connected to a console or a powerful PC. In this category, the TCL C855 truly shows its strength, offering extremely low latency and high-quality gameplay, thanks to the full implementation of HDMI 2.1 features. The Google TV operating system is another advantage, providing the user with nearly unlimited possibilities for installing applications, even those outside the official store, thanks to support for APK files.

In summary, the TCL C855 is the ideal choice for those who know what they expect from a television. It is a good, versatile piece of equipment that, although not perfect, offers great picture quality, low gaming latency, as well as a flexible and expanded operating system.

The Sony BRAVIA 7 television with a VA panel and MiniLED backlighting technology offers excellent black quality. The tested 65-inch variant is equipped with 512 dimming zones, allowing for very good contrast, particularly during demanding movie scenes. Naturally, larger sizes of the television have more zones, which positively affects contrast and image depth. During tests, in scenes from the film "Oblivion," the BRAVIA 7 handled dark and bright areas exceptionally well, providing decent separation of lights (the light effect did not merge into a large blob) from deep blacks. However, as is often the case with televisions featuring local dimming, certain difficulties arise with small, bright light sources. In more challenging sections (e.g., scenes 4 and 5), it's noticeable that the television "struggles" to maintain high brightness for these elements, which impacts contrast – bright objects are either too dark (resulting in poor contrast) or exhibit a slight halo effect around them. In a scene from the film Sicario 2, the operation of the zones can be seen, causing the aforementioned effect, though it is minimal. Despite these minor imperfections, the overall impression is positive – the local dimming algorithm works quite well, ensuring that the picture maintains high contrast, and the quality of blacks and details is satisfactory.

TCL C855 uses a high-contrast VA panel. The ANSI contrast (without dimming) reached a very respectable 5238:1, which allows for at least very good black levels. Additionally, the panel is equipped with multi-zone Mini LED backlighting, which is divided into 1344 independent dimming zones for the 65-inch model. This number allows for very good results in our tests. It is worth noting that TCL, as one of the few manufacturers, offers such a panel specification without spending excessively, unlike the classic big four manufacturers. As you can see, in the vast majority of scenes we've prepared, the results are impressive, particularly in the first three scenes, as even in the third, with a result of 54,000:1, it cannot be said that the black levels and contrast are weak, as they are more than satisfactory. These worsen in two scenarios: scenes with film strips and when there are many elements surrounded by black on the screen. And just as the last of the test scenes still has excellent contrast, in the final tested scenario, a slight blooming of blacks can be noticed. The frame from the film "Oblivion" performed excellently on TCL C855, and the level of black can even be compared to OLED screens, which is no small feat. It is also worth noting the good separation of lights, which is not an easy thing to achieve. Our flagship scene from "Sicario 2" also performed well in terms of contrast, but it is evident that details are lost in the blacks on the first, second, and third planes. The operation of the backlight control algorithm, which minimizes halo/blooming effects to an absolute minimum, deserves praise as well. However, it is worth noting that very small elements, such as stars, can sometimes be completely dimmed by the TCL C855.

Now that we know the TV handles contrast well, let’s check how it performs in terms of HDR effects. The luminance graph shows very high capabilities for this model – 1500 nits is truly an impressive result. HDR effects are particularly striking in scenes where most of the screen is covered in light, such as in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th test scenes. Minor imperfections, typical of this technology, are still visible with very small light effects, as seen in the scene from the film "Sicario 2," where brightness drops to 500 nits. Although these aren't staggering results, they can be considered decent. Additionally, it's worth praising the TV for its high coverage of a wide colour gamut – DCI-P3 at 96%, which allows for vibrant, saturated colours.

TCL C855 delivers a highly varied HDR effect. On one hand, the television truly shines, while on the other, it resembles a lower model with FALD backlighting. Such a state of affairs is regularly observed with this brand, so it was not a surprise for us. The first and last scene, which has large light elements, looks phenomenal, "shining" with brightness levels of 1470 and 1820 nits respectively. Such effects will certainly make many people squint, while simultaneously feeling the extraordinary dynamism of the scene itself. You can truly feel as if you were inside the movie. The situation drastically changes when small or minor elements with high luminance surrounded by black appear on the screen. The TCL C855, to avoid the halo effect, significantly reduces brightness to a level of even 240 nits, which is a disappointing outcome, causing the film to not look like it was shot in HDR. The HDR effect in TCL C855 makes watching dynamic scenes more engaging, and the viewer can feel like they are part of the action. Even with smaller elements of high luminance, the television manages to maintain details without excessive dimming. Moreover, the TCL C855 test shows that the brightness of the image is adapted to scenes with a large amount of detail, increasing viewing comfort.

The IMAX Enhanced mode on the Sony BRAVIA 7 TV is definitely the best mode available on this model, although it is not without its flaws, as its name might suggest. The biggest issue is white balance – both in HD and 4K HDR content, there is a noticeable dominance of the red colour, which causes the image to take on pinkish hues. This is particularly evident on the test image with snow, where the pinkish tint becomes very noticeable. Errors in the Colour Checker test also confirm these deviations – although they are not catastrophic, there is a tendency to lean towards warmer tones. In terms of brightness characteristics, the gamma remains at a decent level with a slight spike but without major issues. However, the biggest challenge is with 4K material. It is clear that the EOTF curve is significantly above the reference graph, making the image appear overly bright.

The best factory mode for the TCL C855 is "Film," and it is on this mode that we conducted all our tests. However, like every mode predefined by the manufacturer, it had flaws that are worth correcting to achieve an image that is as close as possible to what the film producer intended. We will look at the colour characteristics in both SDR and HDR materials. Taking the former into account, we see a clear dominance of green in the white balance, which, as you might guess, gave an unpleasant greenish tint to the entire image. Examining a very important gamma chart, responsible for the contrast of the image, we see a significant deviation from the reference line marked at 2.4. From the left, we can observe a strong spike in the measured value, which at this point caused contrast exaggeration and blending of details into a dark blob. This state of affairs persisted for quite a while, up to 20% of the chart’s value, before then diving below the reference. This, in turn, meant that the image was brightened and contrast decreased significantly. The factory mode performed somewhat better in HDR materials, as the white balance looked quite good, except for the second half, where green again took over. Looking at the EOTF curve, which, unlike gamma, shows the rate of brightness increase, we see primarily two errors: the darkest scenes were too dark, and the brightest ones were overexposed. This, by the way, could be observed in the scene from the film "Pan" in the check paragraph for the TV's HDR.

Sony BRAVIA XR70 offers a wide range of tools that allow you to customise the image to your own preferences, enabling significant adjustments to the settings. White balance has been freed from the red colour dominance issue – snow no longer takes on pink hues, which was previously noticeable. Although there are slight deviations in the final part of the white balance chart regarding a drop in blue colour, they are acceptable and difficult to notice in everyday use. The Colour Checker test confirms that colour reproduction errors are no longer as pronounced and rarely exceed a value of 2, which is a very good result. As for brightness, gamma, although it didn't require major improvement, has been slightly adjusted. However, the most significant change has been noted in the EOTF curve – the television no longer has issues with excessively brightening the entire image in 4K materials. However, upon closer examination and incorporating the EOTF characteristics in film materials, some limitations of the television become apparent due to the previously discussed dimming algorithm. Some small elements may be slightly more illuminated, but these errors are minor enough that most users won't notice them. Overall, the calibration results are very, very positive.

TCL, just like the vast majority of manufacturers, provides advanced calibration tools in its televisions. Here we find 2- and 20-point grey scale adjustments as well as an advanced colour management system. The results, as you can see, are very good and in SDR materials we have significantly approached the reference image. We eliminated both the green tint and the gamma issue, although there is still a slight "kink" at the very beginning. It went a bit worse with HDR materials, which the television ChooseTV C855 did not allow us to model properly. We only managed to slightly adjust the EOTF curve and significantly improve the colours themselves.

The Sony XR70 TV handles gradation exceptionally well. In the test sequence, only a few scenes show slight problems with tonal transitions in darker areas, but most of these issues disappear when the gentle gradation option is activated. Overall, the TV offers excellent gradation that will satisfy even the most demanding users.

Nevertheless, an important aspect in assessing image quality are tonal transitions. To achieve a clear image free from posterisation effects, the television must demonstrate very good algorithms for smoothing out colour gradation. We must admit that the applied feature in TCL C855 called "Gradual Smoothing" is one of the better ones we have had the opportunity to test. Practically every scene performs very well here, and nothing can be faulted. The best example of this is the scene from "The Green Knight", which is the most demanding due to the vast number of fine and subtle transitions in the fog. The C855 effectively smooths everything present in the scene and allows the viewer to experience its entire suspense. The only moment where a slight posterisation can be noticed is in a frame from the film "The Green Knight", where the reds in the top left section of the screen contrast against each other.

Since we know that the television handles high-quality content very well, it's worth checking how it performs with lower-quality material. Here, the television shows its potential, and the graphics processor used works remarkably well. On the test screen with the light bulb, there are no issues with colour blending, and the gentle gradation function works very well – we recommend setting it to "Medium".

When it comes to digital processing, or the so-called upscaling, the television sharpens the image quite significantly, which leads to a slight jaggedness, for example on branches in the background, but it doesn't remove desired details. Despite this, the overall appearance is really attractive and may appeal to most users. However, if you prefer a softer, more plastic image, you can reduce this effect in the settings by adjusting the sharpness level to your liking.

Once again, we will look at the function of smoothing tonal transitions, but this time also image scaling. The latter is particularly important when watching materials of lower quality, such as some TV programs or older films. We will focus on the function responsible for tonal transitions. Interestingly, just like in the scenes in the previous test, it performed splendidly and smoothed out practically all the choppiness, but here it had problems. Using the menu responsible for the operation of this function, we found that none - not even the strongest - setting helped.

The image scaling in TCL C855 is characterised as one of the best we have had the opportunity to test so far. The image is sharp, but in a way that could be described as natural to our eye. Even small, fine branches do not have jagged contours, and there is no white halo around figures, which is characteristic of weaker scaling systems.

The Sony BRAVIA 7 TV with a 120 Hz panel will satisfy most users in terms of motion fluidity. Additionally, Sony offers a Motion Flow feature that allows for the selection of three different picture settings, adjusting them to personal preferences: Smoothness – Film: This setting improves motion fluidity, giving the image a more cinematic or theatrical quality. Smoothness – Camera: This setting provides even greater fluidity, useful for watching dynamic scenes like sports broadcasts. Clarity: This setting focuses on minimising noise and motion artifacts, resulting in a more stable and clear image.

The maximum refresh rate that we can set on TCL C855 is 144 Hz. Naturally, this is only possible when connecting the TCL C855 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 high level of motion dynamics. For those who require high fluidity of image, the manufacturer has implemented a multi-level motion smoother. It has been divided into two separate sliders that adjust the sharpness of moving images (Blur Reduction) and judder (Judder Reduction). Both sliders can be set in the range of 0 to 10, with each level affecting the degree of smoothing, so everyone can find their sweet spot. We present a setting that allows for slight smoothness without the soap opera effect.

The panel of TCL C855 features a very good response time. This is especially important, as VA panels often have issues with so-called ghosting, which is the effect where a black halo can be noticed behind a fast-moving object.

Sony Bravia 7 has significantly improved its capabilities in terms of compatibility with consoles compared to earlier models. The TV supports variable refresh rate (VRR), which eliminates screen tearing, and it syncs with graphics cards to ensure smooth display. The automatic low latency mode (ALLM) effectively reduces input lag, which is crucial in dynamic games. Dolby Vision with low latency further delivers impressive HDR effects that look great during gameplay.

Sony Bravia 7 also offers a Game Bar feature, providing quick access to settings and monitoring parameters while gaming. An interesting option is the ability to enable a virtual on-screen reticle, which can give a slight advantage in shooter games. However, compared to the Bravia 9 model, the HGIG feature in the Bravia 7 doesn't perform as well, which may be noticeable for more demanding gamers – particularly as the HGIG mode is becoming increasingly popular among gamers as the preferred method for reproducing HDR effects.

A downside is the lack of support for 1440p@120 Hz resolution, which could make gaming easier for users with less powerful graphics cards. Additionally, the Sony Bravia 7 is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is often used to connect an audio system via eARC, limiting the number of available ports for connecting next-gen consoles.

The TCL C855 television is equipped with full HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 48 Gb/s. During our tests, we confirmed the seamless operation of all functions that come with this standard. As you can see, all the checkboxes light up green, which will certainly be appreciated by gamers, both console and those using the television as a computer monitor. Additionally, the TCL C855 supports both AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA's G-Sync, which can be easily activated in the graphics card settings. Users with very powerful setups can provide a 144 Hz signal to the C855, which the television handles effortlessly. It's also worth mentioning the implementation of the HGIG mode, which, due to the shortcomings of the "Game" mode, is overly bright, making it difficult to configure properly on-screen. Fortunately, the television performs excellently with the Dolby Vision format.

The TCL C855, as one of the first manufacturers, has equipped its televisions with a special GameBar feature that allows extensive setting changes on the fly, without the need to exit the game. It includes functions such as an additional crosshair grid, black level correction, and settings for individuals with disabilities. In the photo, we see the next generation of this solution.

In summary, the TCL C855 television will be an ideal solution for those looking for a screen for any kind of electronic gaming. With all the features supporting such entertainment, it is incredibly engaging. It should also be emphasized that it has very low input lag, regardless of the selected settings, including with the Dolby Vision HDR format.

Sony BRAVIA 7 delivers outstanding results in terms of input lag, especially with 120 Hz materials, where the delay is around 11 ms – this is an excellent result that will satisfy even the most demanding gamers. The Dolby Vision mode also deserves recognition, as it is usually associated with higher input lag, yet here it performs really well, providing a comfortable gaming experience. However, we deducted 0.3 points for results above 20 ms for 60 Hz content, although we believe that for most users, this difference is more of a placebo effect.

The lag time of the TCL C855 is astonishingly low in every scenario. Even the most passionate gamers will surely appreciate the very low input lag at demanding 4K 120 Hz settings with HDR, clocking in at just 7 ms. Furthermore, the lag at these same settings, but with Dolby Vision HDR enabled, remains at the same level, which isn't so obvious with competing models. Therefore, the TCL C855 deserves the highest rating and recommendation.

The Sony BRAVIA 7 television works well with computers, providing clear and legible fonts. An input lag of 11 ms is also an excellent result that will satisfy users using the television for gaming and work. However, it should be mentioned that in the case of grey letters, some slight fading of certain pixels can be observed, which somewhat affects the readability of darker fonts, for which we deducted a few points.

TCL C855 when connected to a computer as a monitor performs very well. This is thanks to the very low latency between the mouse-eye-screen and the excellent readability of fonts, which comes from the proper implementation of chroma 4:4:4 at all resolutions, including 4K@144Hz. The subpixel layout is BGR, which does not negatively impact usage in Windows. However, the situation may change when using macOS or other software that may not be able to adjust fonts to this subpixel layout. Additionally, the TV has minor issues displaying fonts on a black background, for which we deducted some points.

The Sony BRAVIA 7 TV has poor viewing angles, which is typical for VA panels. The picture quickly loses quality when viewed from a greater angle – colours become washed out and contrast decreases. Considering the price of the device, it's a shame that a coating wasn't applied to enhance the viewing angles, which would certainly improve the viewing experience from different spots in the room.

A widely known drawback of VA panels without an angle coating is their poor performance regarding viewing angles. The same is true for the TCL C855, where even a slight off-axis shift leads to significant image washout and colour degradation.

BRAVIA 7 performs exceptionally well in bright surroundings. The satin finish effectively reduces reflections, while causing minimal side blur, resulting in very good visibility during the day. A brightness level of 1000 cd/m² in SDR mode is astonishing and ensures that the picture remains clear even in brightly lit rooms.

The glossy finish of the panel on the TCL C855 prevented it from achieving the highest rating for TV performance during daytime viewing, although it is precisely due to this that the blacks during the day are very good. Thanks to the high brightness in SDR content, the actress's face strongly stands out through reflections. However, a downside of the panel is that light hitting directly on the TV "spills" out rather than being contained in one spot. Generally speaking, if sunlight doesn't hit the panel, the TCL C855 will be a very good choice for brightly lit rooms.

Sony Bravia 7 runs on the Google TV system, which offers an intuitive and fast interface, providing easy access to a plethora of applications. Google Assistant supports Polish language, making the use of the television even more convenient and personalised. The interface is clear, and access to features and applications is quick and seamless. It's worth mentioning the remote, which is rechargeable via USB-C port. Additionally, the remote is backlit, making it significantly easier to use at night.

Sony Bravia 7 offers a wide range of capabilities that will satisfy most users. The ability to record programs and easily connect devices via Bluetooth are major pluses. Unfortunately, it lacks the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) feature, which could be useful for watching two video sources simultaneously.

XR70 stands out with its practical and elegant design. The television is equipped with a 4-position stand, allowing it to be adapted to various spaces and settings – this is particularly useful when flexibility in interior arrangement is desired. Additionally, the slim aluminium frame gives the device a modern and stylish appearance. Although it is not as slim as some competing Korean models, it still looks very attractive and sturdy.

TCL C855 operates on the Google TV system, which is a significant advantage compared to TVs equipped with proprietary systems from manufacturers, where installing applications from a USB drive can be challenging or often downright impossible. With Google TV, we have the option to install almost any application, both from the official store and directly from internet repositories via APK files.

This system also offers many conveniences in terms of control. We can connect a keyboard with a touchpad, which significantly simplifies entering queries. Additionally, thanks to integration with Google, we can utilise voice control features using the remote, which works very well, although there can be minor issues with translating functions and options. It’s worth mentioning that Google TV regularly receives updates that improve functionality and introduce new options. We can also confirm that according to reports from users of older models, the software can have its off days, and sometimes it does have its "bad day".

In summary: Google TV is currently one of the most popular systems on the market. Thanks to its powerful CPU, it runs very smoothly, does not freeze, and has no issues with stuttering for a significant part of its usage. This is definitely the best option for those who want to make the most of the TCL C855 TV’s capabilities and appreciate the openness of the system.

The built-in player handles most popular video and audio formats, allowing you to enjoy a wide range of content without any issues. Although there are minor shortcomings when displaying photos, thanks to the Google TV system, you can easily install other apps that effectively solve this problem and expand the multimedia capabilities of the television.

The default media player on the TCL C855 handles practically all the media we've prepared for it very well. Almost every video format is supported. However, an important downside may be the lack of a font colour change feature. There are hardly any issues with photos and their maximum resolution. It's definitely worth noting the absence of support for Apple's HEIC and SVG files. On the other hand, we can play audio files without any problems, and we don't think many of you are using AIFF or DSD64. One undeniable advantage of the C855 and its operating system is that at any time we can download another player from the app store that will play anything.

Although the Sony Bravia 7 TV is only equipped with a 2-channel speaker system (2.0), each channel has two speakers with a total power of 40 W. This results in really good quality sound, and the bass is noticeable, making watching movies and listening to music more enjoyable.

When assessing the sound on the TCL C855, we pay attention to several key aspects, such as whether the tones are clearly audible and do not interfere with each other, as well as whether none of them dominates the others. In the case of the TCL C855, the sound performs well – it is balanced and does not evoke any negative feelings. Generally, the sound is simply good.

For those with a home theatre system, the TCL C855 offers a wide range of audio codecs, including the two most important ones: DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Atmos. This ensures high sound quality that will satisfy users seeking better audio experiences.

Sony Bravia 7 (XR70) vs TCL C855

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

TV efficiency during daytime

Details about the matrix

TV features

Playing files from USB

Apps

Sound