TCL C655 / C69B (55"-85") vs Sony X85L

Overall, the quality of the HDR effect in TCL C655 / C69B looks quite promising. The average value in the test patterns is around 450 nits, which already allows you to feel the light effects and better image dynamics. However, as mentioned earlier, this effect may be somewhat subdued by slight differences in bright and dark shades, resulting from the lack of local dimming technology. However, the DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 94% deserves high praise, and this is possible due to the use of a quantum dot (QLED) panel. This makes the colours vibrant and well-reproduced when watching HDR content.

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.

The TCL C655 / C69B television offers a film mode that has been tested for colour reproduction quality. Although this mode is called film mode, it unfortunately has quite a few errors that the director would certainly not want to see when filming their work. Starting with image analysis, it's worth looking at the white balance – both in HD content and 4K HDR, the white balance has significant issues. In both cases, the red colour dominates, resulting in colours that are too warm, with an overall pink or yellow tint. This can be seen in the image below from the film "Star Wars." The Colour Checker test confirms these errors – the colour samples stray into incorrect shades, affecting the overall colour fidelity. The brightness characteristics are a lesser issue. However, they are not without flaws either. The gamma chart shows a strong spike at the beginning, which can cause the image to be overly bright, and the EOTF curve responsible for brightness in 4K HDR content also has significant fluctuations – it's evident how the television tries to maintain appropriate brightness, but it doesn't always succeed effectively.

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.

After calibrating the movie mode of the television TCL C655 / C69B , the white balance has been adjusted, and the colours look as they should – which is confirmed by only slight deviations in the Colour Checker test. The gamma is really good, which ensures that the television shouldn't have any issues with brightness in low-resolution material. Unfortunately, a similar EOTF characteristic is still noticeable, which is a natural occurrence in televisions that do not have local dimming – they simply struggle to "shine" brighter in a given part of the screen. Despite this design limitation, which cannot be bypassed, we recommend making adjustments in the settings, as the overall colour presentation looks really very good.

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.

Television TCL C655 / C69B handles tonal transitions in low-quality materials fairly well. The "Gradual Smoothing" feature on low settings effectively smooths out tonal transitions, but it also blurs important details, such as the texture of objects. A positive aspect is that it does not negatively affect film grain, which helps to maintain the natural look of the image. In terms of digital processing, the television adds artificial sharpness, which some users who prefer a sharper image might appreciate. However, for those who prefer a softer look, this may be a drawback. Another downside is that the image has been significantly cropped due to the so-called overscan, which reduces the field of view and cuts off the edges of the image.

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.

The television C655 / C69B is equipped with a 4K@60 Hz panel, which means it's best suited for watching movies and less dynamic content. It also features a "Flicker Reduction" function, allowing users to adjust the smoothness of the image – they can choose whether they prefer smoother motion or a more cinematic, frame-like effect. The television can also adapt to lower resolutions, such as Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz, which will surely please gamers by offering a smoother image at the cost of resolution. It’s worth noting that this feature is available in sizes starting from 55"+. Additionally, the largest variant, 98", is equipped with a 144Hz panel with full motion smoothing.

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.

The TCL C655 / C69B TV offers an almost perfect set of features for gamers, supporting all the key technologies. It has an ALLM feature that automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, significantly improving responsiveness and minimising signal lag, which is especially important during dynamic gameplay. The VRR feature allows synchronisation of the screen refresh rate with the number of frames generated by the console, eliminating screen tearing and providing smoother gameplay.

The TV also supports Dolby Vision in gaming mode, ensuring better colour and contrast reproduction in games that support this format, and the Game Bar enables quick access to gameplay-related settings, such as response time, latency level, and other parameters. Unfortunately, the C655 / C69B does not support 4K resolution at 120 Hz (the 98" variant is the exception), which may be disappointing for more demanding gamers seeking the ultimate smoothness in high-resolution games. However, if we can forgo 4K, the TV offers support for Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz, providing a smoother image and serving as a great alternative for those who prefer higher refresh rates at the expense of resolution.

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.