TCL C7K / QM7K vs TCL C6KS / C69KS / Q6CS

TCL C7K is one of the brightest MiniLED TVs in its price class. Under optimal testing conditions, the screen can achieve over 1200 nits, resulting in impressive, at times dazzlingly bright scenes. And most importantly – this isn’t just a theory from measurements. In practice, even the brightest moments in movies can shine with true cinematic grandeur. Home HDR cinema fans should be really pleased.

The impression is fantastic, especially in scenes with large areas of brightness – a white sky, explosions, sun reflections, or magical sunsets can surprise with an intensity of light that rarely appears in this price range.

However, things get a bit worse when more challenging scenarios appear on the screen, previously described in terms of contrast – that is, images full of details, with small bright elements on a dark background. In such cases, the C7K often opts to preserve black at the expense of brightness. An example? Scenes from movies like Sicario 2 or Life of Pi, where small light sources (like a distant lantern) may become less visible, and details in the lights are simply dimmed or blend into the background.

For many viewers, this may be an acceptable compromise – as we achieve deep blacks and pleasant image depth. Nevertheless, it’s important to recognise that the visibility of small details in bright areas is not this model's strong suit. It’s simply a technological limitation that still exists – even with over 300 zones.

And what about HDR? Here the C6KS performs quite well and – as is becoming the theme of this review – just like in the C6K model. The maximum brightness generated by this television is around 600 nits. In bright scenes, this translates to a really solid, cinematic effect and generally, video materials look good here. However, it's important to keep in mind the specifics of the dimming algorithm in this model. When very small, bright points (e.g. stars) appear on a dark background, the television can quite significantly dim them. The goal is simple: to eliminate blooming and maintain the best possible black. It's a reasonable compromise. Most viewers will definitely appreciate deep, “true black” more than additional microscopic details, the display of which could cause the screen to appear greyed out. Such is the nature of local dimming technology in this price range, and one must be aware of this. It’s also worth noting that the TCL C69KS (C6KS) has an additional PFS coating, which is marketed under the QLED technology slogan. Thanks to this, the colours are saturated and vibrant – our measurements showed that the coverage of a wide colour gamut reaches as much as 92%.

A new feature in TCL televisions 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 considered the most faithful to the original vision of the creators and is often recommended by enthusiasts of quality visuals. 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 faults. There are issues with inaccurate white balance, particularly a slight blue tint that resulted in cool, somewhat greyish skin tones. But that wasn’t the biggest problem. The main complaint was excessive brightness exposure, which is clearly visible on gamma and EOTF charts. The image was simply too bright, at times even blown out, which affected not only the texture of scenes but also the overall viewing experience. Some details were just lost, and the entire image looked as if someone had overdone the brightness slider. As always, we decided to see what could be squeezed out of it after calibration. And this is where things started to get really interesting…

In contrast to the more expensive C6K model, in the tested C6KS we don't find an option in the menu labelled as Filmmaker Mode. Is this a reason to cry? Absolutely not. Our tests showed that in practice, in terms of colour reproduction, the lack of this specific label makes virtually no difference. The best available Film/Cinema mode here offers an almost identical picture profile to the aforementioned Filmmaker in the more expensive model. So we get a very similar image, just under a different name. Therefore, if you were wondering whether paying extra for the C6K would give you better colours – the answer is: no, in both cases the base is the same and requires slight adjustments.

After calibration, the TCL C7K showed itself in a really good light, especially when it comes to SDR content. We managed to precisely tune the white balance, colour gamut, and brightness characteristics so that the colour errors on the ColorChecker palette fell below a value of 2. For the uninitiated – this is nearly a perfect result, which means that the image is very close to what the creators intended. Unfortunately, it was a different story with 4K HDR content. While we were able to slightly calm down the white balance and correct its earlier errors, it was still evident that the TV has some "MiniLED traits", particularly in brightness management. When we checked how the C7K handled the EOTF curve on real film scenes, rather than just on synthetic test patterns, it turned out that the screen still had a tendency to slightly brighten the entire image. This affects the overall experience – the black loses some depth, and the image becomes less contrasty than it should be. Despite these minor issues with 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 colour tuning, natural skin tones, and pleasant brightness make movie watching and everyday content viewing more than satisfactory.

Thanks to the white balance adjustment, the C69KS's tendency to distort colours has been effectively limited, leading to a very good final effect. After calibration, we will no longer see excessive warmth in SDR scenes or overly cool tones in HDR. However, it is worth noting the brightness characteristic. In SDR content, there are hardly any objections – the image looks very good, especially in older films, TV shows, or YouTube materials. Evaluating the television's performance in HDR is much more difficult. Analysis of the EOTF curve suggests correct behaviour, but its practical variant shows certain limitations. The C69KS can overly brighten the smallest elements of the frame, while at other times it can dim the entire scene. Calibration has therefore brought clear benefits in terms of colour, but certain limitations resulting from local dimming and the way it is controlled by the C69KS cannot be avoided, which we also observed in the C6K test.

TCL C7K has a feature that, according to the manufacturer, is meant to smooth out undesirable colour transitions – something like a rescue for less successful tonal shifts. 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. Worse still – the feature can cut out elements from the image that should remain. Fortunately, film grain remains untouched, so at least it doesn't smooth everything indiscriminately, but even so – it's better to simply 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 had the impression that the image loses sharpness and becomes too soft – as if something took 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.

The C69KS handles upscaling quite well. The tested 576p content looks surprisingly decent – a considerable amount of detail is preserved, and the algorithm adds a subtle ‘rounding’ effect to sharp edges, making the image appear more cohesive. However, it doesn't perform as well when it comes to smoothing tonal transitions. The television practically cannot improve them, leaving the image in a rather raw state. With older materials, this can be simply exhausting, as the lack of additional processing highlights all imperfections.

TCL C7K handles motion fluidity really well. The panel it uses offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which suggests that this TV is more than just a standard "60 Hz" panel. Furthermore, if we connect the C7K to a computer and set the resolution to Full HD. But we will write more about this in the paragraph on gamers and PC compatibility. Returning to everyday use – both sports and movies look very good here. Thanks to the fast panel and the well-functioning motion smoother, the C7K is great for watching matches, but also for movie screenings. In the menu, we find two sliders – motion blur reduction and flicker reduction – that allow you to adjust the fluidity effect to your own preferences. At lower settings, we get a more cinematic effect, with slight judder. At higher settings – the image becomes more theatrical, fluid to the point of excess. Whatever your preference – everyone can set it their own way.

C69KS offers a simplified motion enhancement panel in movies, allowing users to adjust the intensity of the effect using a slider. This makes it easy to tailor the smoothness to personal preferences. It also deserves credit for the ability to utilise higher refresh rates – even though the panel operates natively in 4K at 60 Hz, by lowering the resolution to 1440p, modes of 120 and 144 Hz can be enabled, on both consoles and PC. This sounds like great news, however, in practice, the image at these settings trails exceptionally badly. The effect is so pronounced that the overall experience simply appears mediocre and loses its appeal in everyday use.

TCL C7K is a television that on paper looks like the perfect equipment for gamers – and most importantly, it performs well in practice too. Here's some good news: we have two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, so we can easily connect both a console and a computer, using all their capabilities. The panel itself supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which provides a significant advantage in dynamic games. Additionally, it comes with a full set of gaming features: VRR (variable refresh rate), ALLM (automatic low latency mode), and support for Dolby Vision in games. There's also an HGiG mode that allows for HDR effects that align with the creators' intentions. GameBar, which is an information bar for gamers. It operates quickly, looks clear (like a Nintendo console👌), and shows what's most important: the current frame rate, VRR status, and even HDR parameters.

If we overlook the smudging and lack of native 4K at 120 Hz, the C69KS is impressive in how well it performs for gaming. You get everything you would expect from a gaming TV: Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Dolby Vision Gaming mode, and a consistently functioning HGiG. The TV can also operate at 120 or even 144 Hz at lower resolutions, making gameplay on console or PC smoother. Additionally, there's a clear Game Bar that allows you to quickly check key settings while gaming. As a result — despite a few limitations — the C69KS can be a genuinely successful screen for gamers.