TCL C655 Pro vs Sony X90L

In the HDR effect quality category, the television TCL 655 PRO shows decent capabilities, achieving 550 nits of peak brightness. This allows for enjoying HDR effects, which can be clearly seen in scenes such as the first one from the movie Life of Pi or the final shot from The Meg. However, the limited number of dimming zones causes some issues. While in bright scenes the television performs better than its lower model, in more demanding scenes, such as the second and fourth scenes from Sicario 2, it struggles more. The dimming algorithm aims for deep blacks, but at the cost of brightness – which at those moments can cause a drop in brightness of even half. In these more challenging scenes with small elements, it's hard to find any praise, and the HDR effect resembles SDR. Nevertheless, the coverage of the colour palette deserves recognition, which, like in the version without the PRO suffix, is at a very good level.

HDR on the Sony X90L television looks promising. The luminance chart indicated that the TV has a solid power reserve, achieving a maximum of 1000 nits in synthetic tests. But how does this perform in real-world scenarios? In scenes such as the opening of Life of Pi or the final sequence from The Meg, the TV is capable of delivering that power on HDR content, reaching around 800 nits. Unfortunately, displaying small light elements on a black background, like in the scene from Sicario 2, presents greater challenges for the X90L – here the results reach around 600 nits. Nevertheless, when looking at competitive models with mini-LED technology, the effect looks very good and can shine enough to impress us. The colour gamut coverage is also noteworthy, with a result of 96% for DCI-P3 and 76% for BT.2020, which indicates good colour reproduction in HDR content.

Each of our TV tests is conducted in movie mode, which usually offers the best colour reproduction. However, even this mode is not free from issues, as we noted in the TCL 655 PRO model.

In the case of HD content, the white balance clearly shifts towards red, and this effect becomes particularly noticeable in a scene from Star Wars, where the white elements of the scenery take on a pink hue. For 4K HDR material, the situation looks better, but there is a tendency to overly emphasise the colour blue. As a result, the image can give a sense of artificial sharpness, which proves to be uncomfortable for the eyes over a longer period. The brightness characteristics also leave much to be desired. The Gamma chart indicates serious difficulties with excessive brightening, making the overall presentation appear washed out. Additionally, the EOTF curve reveals significant problems with reproducing very small elements – they are overly dimmed, as we have detailed in the paragraph regarding HDR effects.

The best mode on Sony televisions is the IMAX Enhanced mode. Although IMAX is mainly associated with the cinema experience, the colour reproduction out of the box is average here. In the case of lower quality materials, such as HD – regular television or YouTube – it's worth paying attention to the white balance. It suffers from a shortfall in red and excessive dominance of blue, which gives the image a pinkish hue. The brightness characteristic, or gamma, for HD content is quite acceptable, but a slight boost can cause the image to appear washed out and look as if it’s behind a light fog.

For 4K HDR content, the situation is somewhat different. The white balance shows a significant boost in blue, which makes the image unnaturally sharp and gives it an artificial feel. Such an exaggeration in colour reproduction may not appeal to everyone, especially if one prefers more realistic tones. Additionally, the EOTF curve in Sony X90L looks quite acceptable at first glance. However, at the end of the graph, there are certain fluctuations that suggest the television is trying to maintain the correct brightness to avoid overexposing larger elements.

After calibrating the TCL 655 PRO television, there is a noticeable improvement in white balance, where the tendency for the screen to be overly pink has been completely eliminated, which was previously noticeable in factory mode. The picture has taken on more natural tones, especially in white and bright elements, which positively affects the overall image perception. Regarding brightness characteristics, the Gamma chart has also improved – the screen is no longer excessively bright, which previously made the image appear washed out. Nevertheless, there are still some issues with the EOTF curve, which are difficult to eliminate due to the television's construction and its limited number of backlight zones. These limitations prevent achieving perfect results in this regard. However, despite this minor fault, the overall effect after calibration is truly outstanding, providing high picture quality and very good colour reproduction.

Sony offers many tools for improving picture quality, including two extra picture modes that we decided to use during testing and apply calibration to. This solution greatly simplifies the calibration process and is very effective, provided you have the right tools. In the case of HD content, white balance was almost perfectly aligned – only one shade of grey exceeds an error value of "1", which is a great result. The same can be said for the brightness characteristic (gamma), which presents almost perfectly, with microscopic deviations of around 0.01.

For 4K HDR content, the situation is not as ideal. Although white balance has been significantly improved, it was not possible to completely eliminate the dominance of blue. Nevertheless, errors in the Colour Checker test only occasionally exceed the value of "2", which means that picture distortions are practically unnoticeable. When it comes to the EOTF curve, it's worth activating the filter in the top right corner "EOTF in Films" – the graph looks correct, but the TV struggles with illuminating very small elements, which is due to the limited number of backlight zones. Despite these minor errors, it's thanks to the calibration that the IMAX Enhanced mode in the Sony X90L makes watching movies feel like a true cinema experience.

The TCL 655 PRO television handles tonal transitions quite well in lower-quality material. The "Gradual Smoothing" feature at low settings effectively smooths tonal transitions, but this comes at the cost of losing some essential details, such as the texture of objects. On the plus side, it doesn't negatively affect film grain, which helps maintain a natural look to the image.

In the context of digital processing, the television adds artificial sharpness. This may appeal to users who prefer a bolder image. However, individuals who favour a softer, more subtle look may find this a drawback. Additionally, a downside is the image cropping due to overscan, which limits the field of view and cuts off the edges of the frame. This can be problematic in certain scenes - for example, news tickers.

The Sony X90L television features a smooth tonal transition function known as Gentle Gradation, which is incredibly effective. Even at the "low" setting, the effects are satisfactory, but at the "medium" setting, it works like a dream – we recommend using this option for the best results. The image scaling on the Sony X90L is simply excellent. The image is not overly sharpened, which gives a natural effect and makes everything look cohesive. It's clear that the engineers have really put effort into this aspect, creating a solution that impresses and performs well in everyday use. This means that even when watching content like regular television or YouTube, where the image is by nature not stunning, you can enjoy a smooth, coherent, and visually pleasing experience.

The TCL C655 PRO television is equipped with a 4K display with a refresh rate of 60 Hz, making it ideal for watching movies. Additionally, the "Flicker Reduction" feature allows for adjusting the smoothness of the picture, giving the user the choice between smoother motion and a cinematic, frame-by-frame effect. Furthermore, the television performs well with lower resolution content, such as Full HD and 2K, offering a refresh rate of 120 Hz, which will surely appeal to gamers who can enjoy a smoother image, albeit at the cost of lower resolution.

Sony X90L with a 120 Hz display is an excellent choice for both gamers and film enthusiasts. The television is equipped with the Motion Flow smoothing feature, which allows for adjusting motion smoothness using two sliders: "smoothness" and "clarity". The "smoothness" slider controls the level of motion fluidity, which affects the reduction of image stuttering, while "clarity" is used to reduce blurriness and enhance motion sharpness, which is especially useful in dynamic scenes.

The TCL C655 PRO TV offers an almost perfect set of features for gamers, supporting all key technologies that significantly enhance gameplay comfort. The ALLM feature automatically switches the TV to low-latency mode, improving responsiveness and minimising signal delay – particularly important in fast-paced titles. VRR synchronises the screen refresh rate with the frame rate generated by the console, eliminating screen tearing and ensuring smoother gameplay.

Support for Dolby Vision in game mode enables more detailed colour and contrast representation in games that support this format, while the Game Bar provides quick access to essential settings, such as response time and latency level. Unfortunately, the model does not support 4K resolution at 120 Hz, which may disappoint the most demanding gamers. However, for those willing to forgo 4K, support for Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz offers exceptionally smooth visuals, making it an attractive alternative for high refresh rate enthusiasts.

Sony X90L is a TV that performs well in terms of compatibility with consoles and features for gamers. Its 120 Hz panel and two HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 48 Gb/s allow for smooth playback of high-resolution games at high frame rates. Gamers can also take advantage of the ALLM feature, which automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, and VRR, which ensures smooth gameplay without frame tearing. The Game Bar is an added bonus – an intuitive tool that provides quick access to essential settings and gaming features, making it easier to control the gameplay.

Unfortunately, when it comes to HDR in games, the Sony X90L has its limitations. It lacks support for HGiG, a standard that many gamers consider crucial for accurate HDR representation in games. While the TV supports Dolby Vision, which theoretically could enhance image quality in games, the practical implementation of this feature is problematic. Dolby Vision in game mode comes with very high input lag, making gameplay less comfortable and precise movements more difficult. Additionally, Dolby Vision cannot be enabled alongside VRR. This means that despite numerous advantages, gamers seeking the perfect HDR in games may feel unsatisfied.