Sony X85L vs TCL C7K / QM7K 55"-85"

The Sony X85L TV offers solid HDR performance with a brightness of 750 nits, which is sufficient to enjoy vibrant effects. In scenes of moderate difficulty, such as the first, third, or fifth test scenes, a brightness of around 600 nits allows you to fully experience the HDR effect. Unfortunately, in more demanding segments, like the scene from the film Sicario 2, the TV reveals its limitations. Drops in brightness to 250 nits make the HDR effect lose its impressive quality and resemble ordinary SDR. Nonetheless, it is worth highlighting the very good coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at 95%, which definitely deserves praise and positively impacts the overall image quality.

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.

The television Sony X85L has been tested in IMAX Enhanced mode, which, while associated with world-class cinema, does not guarantee an image consistent with the director's intent. The main issue is the white balance – there is a noticeable strong dominance of blue and significant deficiencies in red. As a result, the image becomes unnaturally cool and looks artificial. Errors in colour reproduction were confirmed by the Colour Checker test, which showed significant discrepancies – colours were "scattered" like shots from a rifle, and only a few samples hit the target values. This clearly shows that the precision of colour reproduction leaves much to be desired.

The brightness of the image is one of the positive features of the television. The gamma for HD content is at an acceptable level, although minor errors occur, but generally it is quite good. However, the issue remains the brightness characteristic for 4K materials, controlled by the EOTF curve. It is evident here that very small, bright elements of the image are too dim, which is the result of the limited number of backlight zones due to the design of the television.

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…

Thanks to the use of calibration tools offered by Sony X85L, it has been possible to significantly improve the image quality. After calibration, the white balance for HD content is much more stable, making colours look more natural and enhancing the authenticity of the image. Although it's not perfect, these changes allow viewers to enjoy a more realistic representation of colours, eliminating the earlier cool tone. The gamma, which already performed reasonably well, has been adjusted to an even better version. As a result, tonal transitions and brightness are more consistent, positively impacting the depth and detail of the image.

As for 4K content, despite efforts, the white balance still struggles with a lack of red, which can cause overly warm colours in some scenes. Synthetic tests showed that the EOTF curve in HDR is fairly stable, with a slight boost in mid-bright scenes. However, in actual film material, the TV can still be too bright with fine, light details, which is a result of the limitations of large local dimming technology.

Nonetheless, the calibration has brought significant benefits, particularly in terms of colour accuracy, improving overall image quality and providing a more natural and consistent directorial vision.

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.

In terms of smoothing tonal transitions, the Sony X85L television doesn’t offer any dedicated enhancement options, which is a bit of a downside. On the other hand, the image scaling performs quite well – the television adds a touch of artificial sharpness, which can make details such as tree branches more pronounced, although sometimes with visible jagged edges. This type of effect may appeal to some viewers who prefer a more detailed image.

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.

Sony X85L, equipped with a 120 Hz panel, will meet the expectations of a wide range of users – from sports and gaming fans to movie enthusiasts. Movie lovers will surely appreciate the presence of one of the best motion smoothing systems, known as Motionflow. This system offers adjustment using smoothness and clarity sliders – smoothness is responsible for fluid motion, eliminating the stuttering effect, while clarity enhances the sharpness of fast scenes, reducing blur.

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.

Sony X85L offers a fairly solid set of features for gamers, making it an attractive choice for gaming enthusiasts. First and foremost, the television has a 120 Hz panel, which translates to smooth and dynamic image display, ideal for both fast-paced action games and more demanding sports titles. It is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, allowing for the full capabilities of next-generation consoles to be utilised. Additionally, Sony X85L supports VRR (variable refresh rate) technology, which helps reduce stuttering and artifacts during gameplay, ensuring a smooth experience. The television also supports G-Sync, which is particularly beneficial for gamers using NVIDIA graphics cards, allowing for screen refresh rate synchronization with GPU performance, eliminating screen tearing. It’s worth mentioning the Game Bar feature, which facilitates quick access to important game-related settings, such as VRR, brightness levels, or display modes, making it convenient and useful during gameplay.

However, there are some limitations. The television does not support HGiG, which may be a downside for some gamers, as HGiG optimises HDR effect rendering in games, providing a more authentic visual experience. Additionally, the Dolby Vision mode, although available, is not practical for gaming due to very high input lag.

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.