TCL C8L / QM8L vs Samsung OLED S95H (S99H) (QD-OLED)

When it comes to HDR, the TCL C8L turns out to be a hellishly bright television – and I mean that literally. On a synthetic test pattern of 5%, our measuring equipment indicated a result exceeding 4500 nits. That's an almost cosmic result, considering that reference director's monitors, which we often refer to in our materials, usually operate around 4000 nits. Does this mean the C8L breaks barriers and climbs to the technological peak of Mini-LED? Not quite. Dry synthetic tests are one thing, and real film images are another. In real, varied scenes, the C8L hits around 1600 nits at its peak. That's still a very good result, ensuring a very high level of HDR dynamics, but it's clearly lower than what the manufacturer boasts in the specifications. The trouble begins with very small bursts of light – then the brightness can drastically drop to around 600 nits. The algorithm does everything it can to maintain deep blacks and minimise halo effect, but it does so at the cost of HDR impact. This is ideal evidence that laboratory test patterns rarely correlate with what we ultimately see on the screen.

Huge applause is due for colour reproduction, all thanks to the new generation of SQD (Super Quantum Dot) quantum dots. The coverage of the DCI-P3 palette reaches 97%, but the jaw-dropping measurements come from the notoriously demanding BT.2020 space. The C8L achieves an impressive 90% in this area, placing it alongside today’s top screens that feature RGB backlighting. Importantly, unlike some screens with Micro/Mini RGB backlighting, this effect is stable regardless of the scene being displayed. Of course, it’s important to remember that content mastered for such a wide gamut in films or series is still a rarity. However, the very fact that the panel has such a "reserve of colours" deserves huge admiration.

When it comes to pure brightness, the S99H is an astronomically bright TV. Its peak brightness in film scenes can exceed 2,800 nits. Whatever the scene, you can expect powerful HDR effects that are almost blinding, which is exactly what we want from a top‑tier display. By nature, an OLED panel can't maintain that extreme brightness in very bright, full‑screen frames the way it can with small bright highlights, but the results are still excellent. In a bright scene from The Meg the sun still exceeded 2,200 nits. That means the S99H was able to hold a higher brightness than most Mini LED screens on the market. In terms of brightness the S99H is currently the best OLED TV we've tested.

Colour gamut coverage

The S99H also handles colours exceptionally well, thanks directly to the QD‑OLED panel used here. Whether the test used synthetic test patterns or measurements with film material in the background, the results remained very high. The S99H easily covers almost 100% of the DCI‑P3 gamut, and in the most demanding space, BT.2020 it reaches nearly 90%. That's absolute top‑tier performance. These results match what we saw in the new SQD‑Mini‑LED displays, and in real film scenes they even surpass RGB Mini LED displays.

We tested the TCL C8L in the best factory mode available in the TV's menu for picture fidelity. I’m of course talking about Filmmaker Mode, which was introduced into this brand’s software relatively recently (a year ago in the K series). Thanks to it, the average user can get pretty good colour reproduction straight out of the box, although it’s certainly not perfectly tuned. Looking at the factory white balance of our unit, in both SDR and HDR content, there was a clear lack of the red component, which made the picture noticeably cooler and slightly shifted towards bluish‑green hues. The issue of brightness management is also ambiguous, as we mentioned earlier. While in SDR content the linearity of the gamma parameter is really good and consistently holds the reference value of 2.4, things are much worse in HDR. Tracking the EOTF curve clearly shows the TV’s brightness is considerably boosted across the range, which can make the final image overly bright and inconsistent with the creators’ intent, and that is in a mode that by definition should avoid this. Of course, like every unit in our lab, this one was also subjected to professional calibration, and you can find the results below.

Samsung offers a whole host of picture modes and features, but we traditionally recommend choosing FILMMAKER mode, especially if you want the most faithful rendering of the creators' intent. Out of the box the TV is tuned very well, though it has minor flaws. These are mainly a slight deviation in white balance in SDR content and a slightly low gamma. As a result, the picture in a dark room can be a little too bright compared with the reference value of 2.4, which is the standard for watching films with the lights off. These are, of course, small issues, because overall colour reproduction remains very good and the errors in ColorChecker measurements are not large. However, we know that for a screen of the S99H's calibre you can and should expect even more, so we subjected it to professional calibration.

As you can see, the results of a professional calibration of the TCL C8L are genuinely promising, thanks to the extensive adjustment tools the manufacturer made available in the menu. Most importantly, we were able to fully correct the white balance, eliminating a lack of red so the image finally stopped drifting into unwanted, cool tones. After this step, errors in the ColorChecker test fell to near-reference values, regularly sitting below a Delta E threshold of 2, which is under the level noticeable to the human eye.

Since the test patterns look so perfect, you might ask: why then the lower final score in this category? The answer lies in the brightness management discussed earlier. Although the menu includes sliders that let you precisely straighten the EOTF curve on synthetic signals, when confronted with real film material (I recommend turning the EOTF filter on when watching films), it becomes clear that the TV in most scenarios still responds to HDR metadata in its own way. As a result, the image can be a touch too bright and not in line with the creators' intent, and it was precisely for this lack of repeatability with real-world films that we had to dock the C8L a few points.

After professional calibration, FILMMAKER mode looks practically perfect. Because Samsung offers a rich set of advanced calibration controls, we were able to tune the colours to an almost perfect level. Above all, we managed to even out the white balance and the gamma curve, which resulted in noticeably improved contrast and correct image modelling. In a profile prepared like this there really isn't a single thing to pick apart or call a fault. After calibration, the S99H can deliver an essentially reference-quality picture.

This year the C8 series and the higher-end models have probably received the biggest and most eagerly awaited upgrade in TCL's history, and it's to do with digital image processing. The C8L is the entry-level model in the manufacturer's line-up to be fitted with the latest flagship MediaTek Pentonic 800 chipset (shown in the menu as MT9655). It is thanks to its processing power that the feature called "Gradual Smoothing" finally works the way it should. The algorithm effectively removes unwanted posterization (ugly tonal transitions / colour banding) from the picture, doing so intelligently enough that it does not degrade the sharpness of other details.

The processor also handles upscaling lower-resolution content to 4K very well. Although judging this element can be purely academic, because the differences between today's TVs in this class are very subtle. The most important point is that TCL finally has nothing to be ashamed of compared with the competition.

Upscaling and digital image processing are handled by Samsung's proprietary NQ4 Gen3 processor. It copes very well with scaling lower-resolution content to 4K. The picture is clear without looking artificial or overly sharp. The only fairly specific drawback appears with very old material recorded at 480p or lower. In such cases the TV can slightly crop the edges of the image.

The processor also does a decent job with artefacts visible in low-bitrate material, for example in heavily compressed YouTube videos. The noise reduction function effectively smooths the picture and reduces posterisation, but it works quite aggressively. It can remove not only unwanted artefacts but also some fine detail, and even natural film grain. We, wanting to preserve maximum fidelity to the source material, chose not to use it. However, if someone values a clean, as-smooth-as-possible image more than keeping every detail, it may prove useful.

The TCL C8L is equipped with a fast panel with a native 144 Hz refresh rate. That spec will be most appreciated by demanding PC gamers, while most users, relying on consoles or TV broadcasts, will use a steady 120 Hz. And it is at 120 Hz that the motion-processing algorithms take care of image processing for films, series and sports. In the TV's menu you'll find a "Motion Clarity" option that lets you customise the motion smoothing to your preferences. The algorithms handle both cinematic productions at 24 or 30 frames per second and fast-paced sports broadcasts at 50 or 60 frames per second, maintaining the right level of smoothness.

Another major advantage of organic panels is very good motion handling. Thanks to the pixels' near-instant response time, the Samsung S99H shows virtually no smearing. Fast-moving objects don't produce visible halos or trailing artefacts, so the TV performs very well for both sport and gaming. One quirk of OLED screens compared with LCD is the way they render low-frame-rate material. With very slow camera movement the picture can appear noticeably more juddery. This can be quite effectively mitigated using frame interpolation. Samsung lets you adjust judder reduction and motion blur reduction separately, so it's easy to find a compromise between a smoother picture and preserving the cinematic feel of the content.

For gamers – especially for owners of powerful PCs and multiple consoles simultaneously – the TCL C8L is a true beast. This is the first model in this manufacturer's lineup that is equipped with four full HDMI 2.1 ports with a maximum bandwidth of 48 Gbps. This is directly due to the use of the new Pentonic 800 processor, which we've mentioned before. Additionally, the TV seamlessly supports practically every gaming feature. It has an automatic game mode (ALLM) that reduces latency to minimal levels, as well as full variable refresh rate (VRR) operating in an impressive range of up to 288 Hz. It also supports standards such as G-Sync and FreeSync from Nvidia and AMD. When it comes to image display standards, there are no compromises either: the C8L offers complete support for HDR formats in gaming, including gaming Dolby Vision and the HGiG profile. We can conveniently manage all these features from a very readable gamer bar (Game Bar), which we can customise according to our own preferences. From a purely gaming perspective, the C8L really has no flaws – well, maybe apart from the previously mentioned slight ghosting. But other than that? It’s a no-nonsense machine for gamers.

Samsung S99H is also a top TV for gamers. It offers almost every possible and useful feature... well, perhaps except the obvious lack of Dolby Vision for the Xbox console. It’s equipped with four full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports with the full 48 Gbps bandwidth. That makes it easy to use frame-rate synchronization VRR or automatic low-latency mode (ALLM). This year Samsung also has no issues with proper HGiG support, so HDR setup on a console is quick and free of unnecessary complications. Samsung is also known for interesting extras in its TVs. In the Game Bar menu you’ll find options to add an on-screen crosshair, enlarge the minimap, or change the aspect ratio of the displayed image (PC).

Particularly noteworthy is Samsung’s feature: Game Motion Plus. It’s Samsung’s proprietary motion-smoothing system that uses interpolation to boost smoothness in games. Input lag then rises to around 40 to 50 ms (depending on the strength of the setting), which, compared with the competition, is an excellent result. The system makes gameplay noticeably smoother. So if someone has their eye on a demanding game (e.g. GTA 6 😉) that runs on a console at only 30 fps, the S99H can display it much more smoothly than competing models.