Haier M90E vs TCL C7L

Haier M90E is a television that does not lack brightness. In most film scenes, the peak luminance exceeds 1000 nits, which gives the image a distinct 'kick' and high dynamics. It performs really well in typical bright HDR materials. However, one must take into account the aforementioned dimming algorithm. In scenes that are not uniformly bathed in light – for example, when displaying single stars on a black sky – the high brightness highlights imperfections in zone control. Instead of a precise point of light, we often see a pronounced halo effect around bright objects. Despite these shortcomings, the overall image presentation can be pleasing, largely due to the colour reproduction. The manufacturer used a phosphor PFS coating, which allows for a wide coverage of the colour palette. In our measurements, the coverage of the DCI-P3 space reached a solid 95%.

TCL C7L is undoubtedly an extremely bright television. In synthetic tests on static images, it can achieve peak brightness of around 2800 nits. This is an exceptionally phenomenal result, considering the price range it occupies. Unfortunately, tests of real film scenes are not quite as spectacular as measurements of white squares. Brightness in actual HDR shots drops to around 1200 nits in the C7L model. This is still a very good result, as this is the value to which the vast majority of contemporary films are mastered. However, when small, point-like elements appear on the screen, the brightness of these details drastically decreases – even down to around 400 nits – which diminishes the HDR effect somewhat. The television does this deliberately to maintain a better level of black and to avoid a giant light bloom. This is somewhat explainable, but it also shows that Mini LED technology is not entirely uncompromising in this regard. As for the HDR effect itself – alongside brightness, colours are of course key here. And those, thanks to the use of new "super" quantum dots, are simply outstanding and among the best on the market. The television can achieve about 90% coverage of the ultra-wide BT.2020 colour gamut and 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut, easily matching the best RGB MINI-LED screens. Best of all, the C7L can maintain such a high saturation of colours regardless of the scene being displayed, which often poses a challenge for competing RGB Mini-LED televisions.

For the measurements, we selected the Film mode, which is supposed to offer an image closest to the creators' intentions. Unfortunately, in the case of the M90E, its characteristics – apart from the reduced brightness – differ little from the Dynamic mode. Both in SDR and HDR materials, the image is distinctly tinged with a cool blue hue. The white balance is heavily skewed towards blue, which resembles typical, aggressive 'store' settings. This results in an unnatural representation of skin tones and makes the image fatiguing to the eyes over extended viewing periods. The management of brightness also negatively impacts colour fidelity. The television struggles to maintain proper levels – small details are often too dim, while larger, bright areas of the image suffer from clipping. These deviations in the brightness curve, combined with the cool white balance, lead to very significant colour reproduction errors (DeltaE) in the factory settings.

When it comes to colours straight out of the box, a new feature in TCL televisions – including the C7L model – is the presence of a new picture mode called Filmmaker Mode. This is significant news, as such a mode was not available from this manufacturer before. By design, as indicated by the name itself, the image in this setting is meant to be presented with the full intention of the film's creator. After our tests, we can confirm that it is undoubtedly the best built-in mode on this television if you care about faithful colour reproduction straight out of the box. However, we certainly wouldn't say it is perfect. Like most devices on the market, this C7L also had its factory flaws. The white balance in Filmmaker Mode tended to shift towards a slightly greenish-yellow hue, primarily caused by an excess of green and a clear deficiency of blue. Of course, for the average viewer, this won't be a drastic flaw, but if you care about perfect whites, natural skin tones, and unlocking the full potential of those new "super" quantum dots, then the television is crying out for professional calibration.

Haier M90E clearly benefits from professional calibration, particularly with SDR content. The television's menu offers a sufficient number of tools to effectively correct factory errors. We managed to 'tame' the white balance and eliminate the dominant blue tint. We also corrected, though to a lesser extent, the brightness curve (gamma), which allowed us to recover some detail in the shadows that were too heavily dimmed out of the box. The final effect in SDR is a picture that is significantly more natural and pleasant to watch. In HDR mode, the success is only partial. Although we were able to improve the white balance here as well, colour reproduction errors (Color Checker) remained at a high level. Analysis of the EOTF curve (responsible for brightness in HDR) indicates the cause of the problem: the television imposes its own interpretation of the signal and does not provide tools for modifying this curve. The source of the high errors is not the calibration itself, but the specific characteristics of the device – aggressive and imprecise zone dimming interferes with measurements and is 'firmly' embedded in the characteristics of this model.

After conducting a professional calibration, we were able to significantly improve the situation in the factory mode Filmmaker Mode. Following our adjustments, errors in the ColorChecker test and across the entire wide colour gamut fell below the threshold of human perception – that is, below a value of 3, which is truly an excellent result. The TCL C7L definitely benefits from such an operation in terms of colour fidelity, and this is difficult to dispute. However, the management of brightness in HDR content post-calibration does not look as good. As I described earlier – even though we set up this model appropriately, when we turn on real film scenes on the television, it manages its brightness in quite a peculiar way. It often highlights certain elements on the screen contrary to the creator's intention, which can be clearly seen in the EOTF graphs measured in specific films. Despite this defect – or rather the specific trait of this television – one cannot deny that after calibration, the C7L was able to reproduce colours completely accurately.

The evaluation of the image processor must be divided into two separate aspects, as the Haier M90E behaves inconsistently here. The first issue is the upscaling itself, that is, scaling lower resolution content to 4K. In this task, the television performs quite decently. The algorithms effectively enhance detail, resulting in a relatively sharp, clear, and legible final image. In this regard, it is hard to have major objections to the device.

The situation is completely different with materials that have a high degree of compression, as encountered in older recordings or on platforms like YouTube with lower bitrate. Here, the processor "struggles" with smoothing tonal transitions and masking imperfections in the source. The television fails to hide compression blocks, resulting in a very harsh, "digital" character of the image. The lack of effective artifact reduction can severely discourage viewing lower quality content on this screen.

This point could be called, in a sense, the Achilles' heel of the C7L model. Unfortunately, this television uses an older chipset from MediaTek – the Pentonic 700 – which has never been known for outstanding digital picture processing. This is clearly visible in the performance of the smoothing function, which is responsible for reducing jagged edges and removing digital noise. It simply works very poorly – when set to a low level, its effectiveness is practically nonexistent. A small credit should perhaps be given here for the fact that the algorithm does not additionally ruin the picture or blur details forcibly. The upscaling, which is the scaling of the image from lower resolutions to 4K, fares a bit better. It is simply adequate and does not stand out in any particular way against the competition. However, it cannot be denied that the C7L would greatly benefit in this aspect if the manufacturer decided to use the newer Pentonic 800 processor, which is now found in an increasing number of competing models.

The Haier M90E is equipped with a simple yet functional motion smoothing system (MEMC). In the settings menu, the user will find a three-level adjustment scale: low, medium, and high. This allows for the adjustment of the degree of intervention in the image to one’s own preferences – from gentle smoothing of 24p films to maximum fluidity (the soap opera effect). The system operates stably and fulfills its purpose in typical applications.

TCL C7L features a native 4K panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which at lower resolutions – when using a PC – can even ramp up to 288 Hz. These are, of course, very high values and commendable on paper, but in everyday life, it is worth remembering that almost all dynamic content you display on this television will still rotate around a maximum of 120 Hz. To tame this dynamism, the television's menu includes a motion smoothing system called "Motion Clarity." It offers several predefined modes, including a user mode, which we definitely recommend setting manually using our tried-and-tested guides on our YouTube channel. There, we have two key sliders at our disposal. The first one, "Motion Blur Reduction," is responsible for reducing blurring and improving sharpness in dynamic 60-frame materials, such as sports broadcasts. Meanwhile, the second slider, "Flicker Reduction," allows for the addition of artificial frames in films and series recorded at cinematic 24 or 30 frames per second. This certainly eliminates the irritating stutter in images during camera movement shots.

From a hardware perspective, the Haier M90E is a solid proposition. The television is equipped with two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, which supports key technologies: VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). It is also worth noting the proper implementation of the Dolby Vision mode for gaming, which maintains a relatively low input lag. Problems arise with the software configuration. The biggest drawback is the forced, continuous dynamic tone mapping by the television’s processor. This prevents correct HDR calibration from the console using system test patterns (HGiG) – the television ignores source settings and processes the image on its own terms. We also noted shortcomings in the interface: the M90E does not have a typical "Game Bar" (overlay with parameters), which is standard among competitors. Collaboration with Xbox consoles proved problematic with unusual parameters – the device struggles to correctly display a resolution of 1440p at a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Despite the aforementioned software shortcomings, the Haier M90E remains a very appealing screen for gamers. The overall reception is saved by the solid hardware base. The native refresh rate of 144 Hz and the presence of full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports are advantages that are crucial for everyday use. If we are looking for a television that ensures high fluidity and supports 4K signal, this model will fulfil its task.

When it comes to gaming, the TCL C7L is simply an outstanding television for gamers. With the presence of two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports at 48 Gbps, it provides access to all the key features that console and high-end PC owners require. It has a well-functioning ALLM mode with very low input lag and VRR frame synchronization that operates in an impressive range from 48 up to 288 Hz. Importantly, unlike some competitors, TCL has ensured a proper implementation of the console HDR10 HGIG profile and support for Dolby Vision in games. This is complemented by a very well-designed player panel, known as the Game Bar, which even allows you to customise its appearance and change the theme to perfectly match the style of your console.

The only thing that can – and indeed should – be critiqued here is the fact that the television offers only two full HDMI 2.1 ports, while the other two are older HDMI 2.0. This creates quite a significant logistical problem. Why? Because one of those fast ports also supports the eARC audio return channel. In practice, this means that if you connect a soundbar or home cinema system to the television, you will only have one free HDMI 2.1 port left. If you have two consoles or a console and a powerful computer at home, unfortunately, you'll have to give something up or frequently juggle cables at the back of the unit while maintaining convenient control over your audio system.