TCL C75B vs Philips OLED811

During our brightness test, the TCL C75B "spat out" around 380 nits of brightness. We recorded similar results while watching most of the films we tested. These can be considered average – the TV performs decently in this segment, but around 400 nits is definitely too low to fully experience the magic of HDR effects. Of course, such results are better than those of budget models, which can achieve nearly half the brightness values. However, for HDR enthusiasts seeking stronger lighting effects and greater realism, the C75B may prove insufficient. On the plus side, it's worth mentioning the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 95%. This is a very good result that easily suffices to enjoy a wide range of colours in content available on popular streaming platforms. Vivid and rich colours are definitely a strong point of this model.

Philips OLED811 uses the new generation WOLED EX panels, also found in models like the LG C6 and Samsung S90H. After calibration we measured about 1500 nits, which is a very good result for an OLED TV. You can see that clearly in films and series. Flashes of light have the right punch, especially when they appear on a dark background. In those scenes the OLED811 can deliver really impressive HDR. Of course this doesn't mean you'll see that level of brightness in every shot. When the screen is filled with a large area of white or a wide explosion, brightness falls to around 600 nits. That's still a good result, but such scenes don't have the same impact as small bright elements on a dark background. That's a known limitation of OLEDs and the OLED811 is no exception.

Colours

Aside from HDR brightness, colours also matter and here Philips also performs very well. It covers almost the entire DCI-P3 gamut, which contains most of the colours used in HDR films and series. So you get rich reds and lush greens, and while watching it's hard to fault it in that regard. It looks a bit worse with the much wider BT.2020 gamut — its most saturated shades are already beyond the reach of this panel. There's also the issue of the white subpixel that the WOLED panel uses to help boost brightness. With very bright colours you can see a certain "washout": the colour is bright but loses some of its intensity. It's in exactly these situations that Samsung Display's QD-OLED panels have the advantage. In most films and series, though, this won't be something that immediately jumps out at you.

TCL C75B offers various picture modes, but in our opinion, the best choice is the “Film” mode. Although its settings are quite decent, the TV struggles with certain colour reproduction issues. In tests, we noticed that the image had a noticeably pinkish hue compared to what could be considered correct. This effect was particularly evident in skin tones, which appeared unnaturally flushed. The main culprit of this phenomenon turned out to be the white balance, characterised by an excess of blue and red in both HD and 4K HDR materials.

An additional problem was the way brightness was reproduced. The gamma, which is responsible for the visibility of details in darker materials, was definitely boosted, causing details in the darkest parts of the screen to be invisible, disappearing into complete black (e.g., the bottom part of the screen in the comparison image - the area around the actress's ear). The situation was similar on the EOTF curve, which was below the correct value, suggesting that a similar issue may be encountered in 4K HDR content.

Thanks to our experience and the appropriate tools, we decided to take matters into our own hands and check how much could be extracted from this model after professional calibration. The details are described in the next section.

The film mode on the Philips OLED811 is sensibly set up straight out of the box. Most colour errors remain minor in both SDR and HDR, so you can comfortably sit down to watch without adjusting the settings first. There are no large inaccuracies that would immediately distract from the film.

It’s not quite perfect, though. The white balance shows a slight lack of red relative to green, so whites and greys can have a faint greenish tint. It’s not a strong colour cast, but measurements clearly show it. There are also small luminance deviations in SDR: some parts of the image are slightly brightened, and the deepest tones aren’t always reproduced evenly. In HDR the TV stays much closer to the reference, although it occasionally lifts detail from the shadows. These are generally things that can be refined. The factory film mode provides a good starting point, and calibration will reveal how much more you can get out of it.

After calibration, TCL C75B has clearly improved when it comes to colour reproduction. Although the TV doesn't offer too many options for adjusting the white balance, we managed to improve its settings quite a bit. As a result, the image is no longer overly pink, and the colours now look much more natural and harmonious.

The gamma jump that was previously an issue hasn't completely disappeared, but we were able to significantly reduce it. This has made details in dark scenes more visible – both in HD and 4K HDR content.

Unfortunately, the lack of local dimming is still noticeable. The 'blooming black' effect remains, but that's a limitation of the display itself. Still, the colours post-calibration look significantly better, and the image is much more pleasant to watch.

After calibration the Philips OLED811 delivers an image very close to the reference. We managed to even out the white balance and remove the slight colour cast visible in the factory settings. ColorChecker errors for SDR and HDR fell to around 1 to 2, with many samples even below 1. That's a level at which differences from the reference are hard to spot with the naked eye. We also improved the gamma, with only a slight lift remaining in the brightest whites. In HDR the EOTF curve also stays close to the reference, although the TV still tends to slightly boost the brightness of small details, such as stars or subtitles. That gives the picture a bit of extra brightness that shouldn't be there, but otherwise it's hard to find fault. It was already good out of the box, and calibration allowed us to iron out most of the remaining issues.

TCL C75B has a feature for smoothing tonal transitions, but unfortunately, we cannot praise it. Regardless of the selected level – low or high – tonal transitions in older materials remained visible, as if the feature wasn’t working at all. It’s hard to say anything positive about it, as in practice it seems completely useless.

Image scaling is better. The TV handles it quite decently, although on thinner elements, like branches in the background, you can see slight jaggedness. However, this is not something that significantly hinders everyday viewing.

Unfortunately, a bigger problem turned out to be overscan, or cropping of the image edges. In our tests, it happened that news ticker or other elements close to the edge of the screen were cut off. This is definitely something to pay attention to, especially if we use the TV for watching news programs or content with text on the screen.

The OLED811 handles processing lower-quality material reasonably well, though it's far from perfect. The "Banding reduction" function helps smooth tonal transitions and on the low setting gives a pretty good effect. It doesn't remove banding between shades as effectively as similar solutions from some competitors, but at least it doesn't introduce new artefacts. It's a sensible setting for everyday viewing. Still, there's a bit of a letdown, because the MediaTek Pentonic 800 chipset used here can, in other manufacturers' hands, deal with the effects of heavy compression more effectively even at similarly low settings. A lot therefore depends on how a given manufacturer uses its capabilities.

We have a few more comments about the upscaling to 4K. There's plenty of detail, but overall the image looks rather soft. Edges are heavily smoothed, so the picture lacks some sharpness and clarity. You can partially correct this with the sharpness slider in the menu, though that will be extra edge enhancement rather than recovering detail. On the plus side, there's no overscan, and even with an SD signal the TV doesn't crop the edges of the picture.

TCL C75B definitely has something to offer gamers. The television is equipped with a panel that can display images with a refresh rate of 144 Hz in 4K, and even 240 Hz in Full HD. These are really impressive results, especially for a model from the budget range.

On top of that, there are features for improving smoothness and reducing motion blur in films. The "Motion" option allows for precise adjustment of the effect on a 10-point scale, providing significant personalisation possibilities – everyone can set the smoothness to their liking.

In terms of motion handling the OLED811 performs superbly. At 120 Hz, which is useful for console gaming and watching sport, the image remains clear and moving objects don't leave noticeable trails. The OLED's fast pixel response helps here. You can see it clearly in the UFO test, even on a dark background. There are also controls for motion smoothing. In movies you can adjust the strength of smoothing to your taste, from preserving a cinematic feel to much smoother motion. A separate blur-reduction control is useful for fast-paced content like live sports broadcasts.

TCL C75B is undoubtedly a television designed with gamers in mind. It has almost everything needed for even the most demanding console users. With the implementation of full bandwidth HDMI 2.1, the TV supports features like ALLM (automatic low latency mode) and VRR (variable refresh rate) – operating within the full capabilities of the TV, up to 240 Hz in Full HD resolution.

Additionally, the television supports advanced HDR technologies, including Dolby Vision and HGiG, which allows for even better detailing in HDR-optimised games. C75B is also equipped with a very convenient interface for gamers in the form of Game Bar, where you can check all key parameters such as refresh rate, input lag, or picture settings – all just a click away.

In one sentence: C75B is a great choice for gamers, offering a wide range of features that fully enable enjoyment of the capabilities of modern consoles and games.

The OLED811 has almost everything you’d expect from a TV for gaming. It supports 120 Hz at Full HD, 1440p and 4K, and when connected to a PC it can reach up to 165 Hz. It also offers VRR to help avoid screen tearing when frame rates fluctuate, and ALLM, which automatically switches to game mode. So you don’t have to go into the settings every time you start your console.

Another plus is the properly working HGiG, which ensures that once HDR is set on the console the TV doesn’t apply its own changes to image brightness. The Game Bar is also available, letting you check signal parameters and quickly change settings useful while gaming. The list even includes Dolby Vision for games, but there’s a significant catch here, which you’ll read about below.