TCL P7K / P79K vs Dreame S100

When it comes to assessing HDR performance, we need to be clear and straightforward without any marketing fluff: the P7K/P79K is not and never was meant to be a champion in this area. The maximum peak brightness that this panel can generate hovers around just 300 nits. This represents a threshold, a sort of thin red line between what can be considered barely satisfactory HDR signal and what is, in reality, only slightly better than standard dynamic range (SDR), unfortunately leaning towards the latter. Synthetic tests confirmed this harsh reality – our measurements taken during movie sessions showed that the luminance in key bright scenes rarely exceeded 200-250 nits. Therefore, this is not a TV that would allow content created in a wide tonal range to truly shine, and that must be openly acknowledged.

Unfortunately, the issue of colour reproduction is presented just as conservatively. Although the manufacturer positions this model within the "QLED" family, owing to the use of a PFS LED filter, the results do not match the heightened expectations. The coverage of the wide DCI-P3 colour gamut reaches only 86%. Compared to the market, this is at best an average result, since most devices that utilise additional layers to expand the colour spectrum easily achieve values at a minimum of 90-92%.

The Dreame S100 is a relatively bright television. In movie mode, the brightness we measured reached around 600 nits. This is a really good result, although not the highest considering the competition in this price range. In full-screen scenes, it's clear that the television can generate an image that hits the mark in terms of brightness. Unfortunately, when more complex scenes appeared on the screen, the local dimming algorithm in this model tried above all to maintain the deepest blacks. However, this came at the expense of the HDR effect – and in a drastic way. In such scenes, the brightness of the bright elements fell below 100 nits, which is a downright tragic result, far from any HDR effect. This aspect can be improved, but there are caveats. You just need to change the local dimming setting in the television's menu; however, then the blacks in such scenes simply turn grey. It's a pity that Dreame wasn't able to refine the local dimming algorithms better, and the S100 is another example that the number of local dimming zones doesn't always translate into a better picture. As a consolation, it's worth noting that the Dreame S100 is marketed as a 'QLED' type television, although it actually uses a PFS LED filter. As a result, the colours are appropriately saturated, and our measured DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage exceeded 94%.

Every reliable assessment of image quality must start with selecting the most optimal, factory preset mode. In the case of the tested P7K/P79K model, the choice was made without hesitation for the "Film" mode. It is the mode that presents an image closest to the intentions of its creators, avoiding both the exaggerated brightness of the dynamic mode and the excessive dimming known from eco settings. And it must be admitted that, for a device in this price range, the factory calibration is surprisingly decent, although it is not without a few stumbles. The most noticeable shortcoming turned out to be the not entirely correctly set white balance. A slight dominance of the blue component gives the image a subtly cool, frosty character, straying from the ideal neutrality that the director intended to show us. The television handles the reproduction of greyscale in the standard dynamic range much better – the gamma curve is almost exemplary. The only slight reservation can be made for the darkest parts of the image, where a delicate deviation from the norm causes a loss of some detail in the shadows. The most significant challenge, however, for the TCL software was interpreting the HDR signal, as illustrated by the EOTF curve. The television follows its own, rather free path here – the darkest details are disproportionately brightened, followed by a noticeable slowdown in brightness increase for mid-tones. Fortunately, most of these imperfections are of a software nature, which can be eliminated. With that thought in mind, we proceeded to the process of professional calibration.

We tested the Dreame S100 in "movie" mode and definitely recommend using this setting for watching all kinds of content. Interestingly, in the deeper settings of the TV, we also find a dedicated "Filmmaker" mode, which is now available from almost every manufacturer. However, in the case of the Dreame S100, we do not recommend using it – it blocks all settings related to the picture and does not allow for any configuration in the menu - not even a motion smoother. So how do the factory colours fare in the S100? Not too bad, but not great either. The TV itself had a noticeable blue tint, which is clearly evident in our white balance measurements. As a result, the picture was artificially brightened, and the colours had a slight bluish tint. This is also confirmed by the Color Checker palette, which showed how the colour samples leaned towards blue, generating quite significant colour errors. On the other hand, the picture looked definitely better in HDR mode, where the colour errors were not as prominent, although they were still far from ideal. Here, the white balance was also too heavily skewed towards blue, causing quite significant errors in color reproduction.

The calibration process turned out to be spot on, especially in the context of standard dynamic range (SDR) content. We successfully managed to eliminate the tendency of the television to showcase cool tones, restoring white to its natural neutrality. Moreover, the precise adjustment allowed us to correct a slight error in the gamma curve, enabling the darkest parts of the image to regain proper depth, without any signs of unnatural brightness. The results are measurable and impressive – in the ColorChecker test, the vast majority of colour reproduction errors fell below the perceptual threshold, achieving a deltaE value of below 2. This is a result that more expensive models would not be ashamed of. Unfortunately, in the case of HDR content, we encounter a wall in the form of the panel's structural limitations. And although we managed to bring the colours into line, the software's specifics mean that the television still adapts brightness in its own way, as evidenced by the persistent, non-standard EOTF curve. To summarise, calibration adds tremendous value, but it is important to be aware that it won't overcome certain physical barriers. The slightly elevated blacks, resulting from the lack of local dimming, and limited peak brightness mean that HDR content won't always be able to showcase its full potential. This is simply not the main task of this display; its true strength, especially after professional tuning, lies in viewing SDR material.

The Dreame S100 has proven to be a device very amenable to professional calibration. In its menu, we found a plethora of advanced options that allowed us to effectively correct factory errors. Thanks to the advanced white balance correction – both in SDR and HDR content – we completely eliminated excess blue components. The image instantly became much more natural and pleasant to view. After fully tuning the colours, the errors in the Color Checker test dropped below a Delta E value of 2-3. For the average viewer, this means that any colour distortions became almost impossible to see with the naked eye. It's really a nice surprise, as often new brands in the TV market have significant problems with the correct implementation and functioning of sliders in the calibration menu. Here, everything worked as it should. The only thing we need to criticise is the way the TV manages its brightness in HDR. Due to the specific nature of the local dimming algorithms, our measured EOTF curve shows anomalies. In places where high highlights should appear, there is a slight bump in the curve above the reference line. In practice, this results in unnatural brightening of certain, the brightest elements in movies or games. Despite this minor flaw, professional calibration brings a huge, very positive change to this model.

After a series of harsh evaluations, thankfully, it’s time for some praise, and this is deserved by the TCL AiPQ image processor for its work in the field of digital processing and content scaling. It should be noted right away that we are not talking about the level known from flagship models; nonetheless, in the price segment represented by the P7K/P79K, the results achieved are more than solid. The function that smooths tonal transitions performs particularly well, effectively eliminating posterization, which are the characteristic bands often visible in materials with higher compression, for instance, from choose.tv. The algorithm can elegantly remove unwanted gradients, which ultimately looks really good. The television also handles upscaling competently, which means the task of raising low-resolution materials to 4K standard. The resulting image, although it may seem a bit too sharp out of the box, is fortunately not a problem. The software allows for free adjustment of this parameter using a sharpness slider, allowing the final appearance to be easily tailored to personal preferences.

For scaling and digital processing in the Dreame S100, the technology used is proudly called Dreamind™ Pro AI by the manufacturer. However, it must be clearly stated that this is not a proprietary processor but rather a marketing term for a chip from MediaTek – specifically, the model MT5889. Unfortunately, we are talking about a rather outdated unit from a time when MediaTek lagged significantly behind the competition in terms of performance. This, unfortunately, has a direct impact on the image, as this chip also handles that. The upscaling in the S100 is fairly average, and the processor has a tendency to artificially over-sharpen edges (fortunately, this can be somewhat tempered with the sharpness slider in the menu). In the options, we also find a feature called "Contour Smoothing," which theoretically is supposed to improve tonal transitions. In practice, it contributes almost no improvement – setting it to any level rarely eliminates visible colour banding, but it can unnecessarily blur elements of the image that should remain sharp.

Another issue is the phenomenon of overscan (cropping the edges of the frame), which is practically visible all the time. Although there is the possibility to set the screen to display the full frame in low-resolution materials, it requires activating the aforementioned Filmmaker mode. And as you may know, this mode completely blocks any changes to other sliders in the picture menu. In our test tables, we noted that the television offers an option to disable overscan, as such a function technically exists in the system – however, in everyday use, while maintaining reasonable picture settings, you will not be able to take advantage of it.

The issue of fluidity and sharpness of motion image is inextricably linked to the fundamental parameter of the panel, and in the case of the TCL P7K/P79K, we are dealing with a panel that has a native refresh rate of 60 Hz. This specification at the outset defines its capabilities and makes it hard to unequivocally recommend it to enthusiasts of dynamic sports broadcasts. During quick camera movements, the image loses sharpness, and the panel also shows a slight tendency to smudge, which may be noticeable to more sensitive viewers. Fortunately, not everything in this aspect has been left to chance. The manufacturer has implemented a simple motion smoothing system, which is primarily used in film materials recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second. Thanks to a dedicated slider, the user can decide on the final nature of the motion – from maintaining a fully cinematic, slightly jerky image, to achieving a very smooth, almost theatrical effect. It is a simple yet effective tool that allows one to adjust the viewing experience to their own preferences.

When it comes to motion fluidity, the Dreame S100 performs really well. It features a 144 Hz refresh rate panel, although in reality, the vast majority of people using it in a conventional way will still be limited to 120 Hz (as this is what today's hardware allows aside from PCs). Thanks to the high refresh rate, the image in motion remains really sharp, largely due to the well-functioning MEMC motion smoother. In the menu, we find predefined modes that enable the TV to efficiently generate artificial frames, which effectively enhances the fluidity of dynamic sports shots, but also helps eliminate motion judder in film and TV series material recorded at 24 frames.

Although on paper the native 4K@60Hz matrix might suggest that the TCL P7K/P79K is not a TV tailored for gamers, the reality turns out to be surprisingly different. On the contrary, the manufacturer has ensured a rich set of features that make it a very friendly companion for next-generation consoles. Onboard, we find key technologies such as ALLM, which provides automatic switching to low-latency mode, and VRR, or variable refresh rate, which eliminates screen tearing. The list is rounded off with support for Dolby Vision Gaming and a simple yet functional Game Bar. However, the real and extremely pleasant surprise is something else. It turns out that the TV effortlessly supports a high refresh rate signal of 120Hz, but at lower resolutions – 1080p and 1440p. This is fantastic news for console owners, who know how rarely games run in native 4K at a full 120 frames per second. The option to choose between higher resolution and doubled smoothness is therefore an incredibly sensible compromise.

In summary, while the P7K/P79K may not be the target screen for the most passionate, tournament gamers, it offers a package of options for casual or occasional console users that is hard to find among many competitors at this price point.

The Dreame S100 seems almost like the ideal screen for gamers. The television is equipped with 2 HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 40 Gbps, allowing features such as automatic game mode (ALLM) or VRR frame synchronization in the range of 48-144 Hz to work seamlessly on consoles. On board, we also find a well-designed gaming panel (Game Bar). It allows you to continuously preview the most important parameters - from the activated picture modes, to the number of frames rendered by the console, right through to the option of adding a crosshair in the centre of the screen. All of this looks great on paper; however, the biggest issue with the S100 is its implementation of HDR in games. The television does not have a correctly implemented HGiG format. This means a clueless user may misconfigure the console during the initial setup of the screen. Poor configuration can result in an image that is too dark or overexposed (as a guideline: we suggest setting the brightness in the Xbox console menu to around 600 nits, and in the PS5 to 12 clicks). The Dolby Vision format also proves problematic, as it often did not activate at all on the XBOX – Dreame S100 line. And when it was eventually activated, playing was impossible due to the very high input lag often exceeding 100ms. If the manufacturer manages to improve the HDR gaming experience with an update, the S100 will be truly outstanding hardware for gamers. For now, however, compromises must be accepted.