IFFALCON U85X vs TCL C8L / QM8L

iFFALCON U85 handles HDR in a rather twofold manner – on one hand, it can surprise with solid peak brightness of around 650 nits, which places it well above average in this price segment. This is especially evident in bright, full-screen scenes. Examples from films such as Life of Pi or the final test sequences from The Meg prove that the television can maintain the power and essence of HDR effect when the entire panel needs to "ignite," delivering truly satisfying experiences. However, problems arise in high-contrast scenes, where smaller, bright details appear on the screen; the dimming algorithms prioritize black depth to such an extent that they can stifle the brightness of small light points to just 100 nits, which drastically reduces image dynamics and deprives us of the true "bite" we expect from HDR standards. On a brighter note, however, the colours remain impressive, as the use of the PFS phosphor filter (marketed as QLED by the manufacturer) showcases them very well, achieving nearly 94% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, allowing for a vibrant and rich image in most content.

In terms of HDR, the TCL C8L turns out to be a hellishly bright television – quite literally. On a synthetic test pattern sized at 5%, our measurement equipment indicated a result exceeding 4500 nits. This is a truly astronomical result, considering that reference monitors used by directors, which we often refer to in our materials, typically operate around 4000 nits. Does this mean that the C8L breaks barriers and climbs to the technological peak of Mini-LED? Not quite. Dry synthetic tests are one thing, while real cinematic images are another. In real, varied scenes, the C8L peaks at around 1600 nits. This is still a very good result, ensuring a very high level of HDR dynamics, but it is also clearly lower than what the manufacturer boasts in the specifications. The problems begin with very small bursts of light – at that point, brightness can drastically drop to around 600 nits. The algorithm tries at all costs to maintain deep blacks and minimise the halo effect, but this comes at the expense of HDR impact. This is perfect evidence that laboratory test patterns rarely align with what we ultimately see on the screen.

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

We tested the factory colours on the iFFALCON U85X model in 'Film' mode, which is definitely the most reliable among all available settings, although it is still far from perfect. The main issue that stands out in both SDR and HDR content is the incorrect white balance – an excess of blue and red components gives the image a slight purple tint, which disrupts the naturalness of the film scenes. An even greater challenge is the way the television manages its brightness. Analyzing the gamma chart for the SDR signal, we noticed significant instability: instead of adhering to the standard value of 2.4, the device oscillates around 2.2, only to suddenly make an unnatural jump towards 3.0. In practice, this leads to confusing effects – large, bright areas on the screen appear too dark, while smaller elements are unnecessarily brightened. A similar characteristic can be found in the EOTF curve, which makes the image unpredictable and loses its cinematic authenticity.

We tested the TCL C8L in the best factory mode available in the TV’s menu for image fidelity. That’s of course Filmmaker Mode, which only arrived in this brand’s software relatively recently (a year ago in the "K" series). It allows the average user to achieve quite decent colour reproduction straight out of the box, though it is certainly not perfectly tuned. Looking at the unit’s out-of-the-box white balance — in both SDR and HDR material — the red component was clearly lacking, which made the image noticeably cooler and slightly shift towards blue‑green tints. The issue of brightness management also looks ambiguous, as we mentioned earlier. While the gamma linearity in SDR content is really good and stays steadily at the reference value of 2.4, the situation in HDR is much worse. Tracking the EOTF curve clearly shows the TV has a noticeably boosted brightness across the entire range, so the final image can be excessively bright and inconsistent with the creators’ intent, and this is in a mode that by definition should avoid that. Of course, as with every sample in our lab, we subjected this one to professional calibration, and you can find the results below.

After professional calibration of the movie mode, we must admit that the result is more than satisfactory – the iFFALCON U85X undergoes a true transformation. Colour errors in SDR content have dropped to a level below 2, which makes them virtually imperceptible to the human eye. We have managed to set the white balance almost perfectly, and brightness management (gamma) has become nearly exemplary. As a result, with standard quality materials, the television simply looks perfect and it is difficult to fault it.

In the case of HDR signal, the situation has also significantly improved, although here the nature of the device becomes a bit more evident. Colour errors have been reduced to around 3, which is an outstanding result in this price range. However, it is worth taking a look at the EOTF graph (available on the right side of the screen in the filters: 4K HDR, gamma / EOTF) to notice what is not immediately visible regarding the brightness management by the U85. Although the reference line looks decent, in real film scenes, the television still interprets the signal “in its own way” due to very aggressive local dimming algorithms. Does this disqualify this model for watching HDR content? Absolutely not. It's simply a typical affliction of almost every Mini-LED, which must reconcile high brightness with the attempt to maintain deep blacks. One simply needs to be aware of these technical limitations, which are unavoidable in this segment.

As you can see, the results of a professional calibration of the TCL C8L are truly promising, thanks to the comprehensive calibration controls the manufacturer has provided in the menu. Above all, we managed to fully correct the white balance, eliminating the red deficiency, so the image finally stopped drifting into unwanted cool tones. After that adjustment, the errors in the ColorChecker test fell to near-reference values, consistently sitting below a Delta E threshold of 2, i.e. below the visibility threshold for the human eye.

If test patterns look so perfect, you may ask us why the final score in this category is lower. The answer lies in the brightness management described earlier. Although the menu includes sliders that let you precisely straighten the EOTF curve on synthetic signals, when faced with real film material (I recommend enabling the EOTF filter 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 picture can be slightly over-bright and not faithful to the filmmakers' intent, and it is precisely for this lack of consistency with real films that we had to take a few points off the C8L's score.

When it comes to upscaling the image to 4K resolution, the iFFALCON U85X performs well. The device efficiently enhances low-quality signals, making even older materials look clean and clear on the 4K panel. At extremely low resolutions, such as 480p, one can notice slightly jagged edges (especially on fine lines), but let's be honest – this is a scenario that you will encounter only when watching very old recordings, so in everyday use, it is not a real problem.

Much worse is the digital processing aimed at smoothing tonal transitions. Although in the menu we find the “Gradual Smoothing” function, its effectiveness is at least questionable. In practice, it does not effectively eliminate banding (colour banding), and worse, it can cause more harm than good. This filter can be too aggressive in areas where it shouldn’t, artificially smoothing details that should not be altered, such as the natural texture of the face or fine details of skin texture. Instead of improving quality, this function can give the image an unnatural, “plastic” appearance, so it is best to use it with great caution or, preferably, leave it switched off.

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 concerns digital picture processing. The C8L is the entry-level model in the manufacturer's line-up that has been equipped with the latest flagship chip MediaTek Pentonic 800 (listed in the menu as MT9655). It is thanks to its computing power that the feature called "Gradual Smoothing" finally works as it should. The algorithm effectively removes unwanted posterization (ugly tonal transitions / colour banding) from the image, 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 assessing this element can be largely academic, because the differences between today’s TVs in this class are very subtle. The most important takeaway is that TCL finally has nothing to be ashamed of compared with the competition.

In contrast to budget constructions, which in dynamic sports scenes can resemble a slideshow, the iFFALCON U85X is a heavyweight contender equipped with a panel that has a native refresh rate of 144Hz. However, it is worth noting that in the world of films, series, or sports, we will primarily operate at 120Hz due to the specifics of how image enhancement systems function. Such a fast panel is excellent news for gamers and sports fans as it opens the door to advanced motion settings that simply do not exist in cheaper 60Hz models.

We manage everything from the menu “Motion Clarity”, where instead of using pre-set, often overly aggressive modes, we definitely recommend our own configuration based on two sliders. The most important of these, motion blur reduction, is responsible for fluidity in films – here, it’s best to aim for a value of around 4, which will maintain a natural, cinematic character of motion without falling into the artificial “soap opera effect.” Meanwhile, the first slider, motion blur reduction, is the key to success in sports broadcasts. In this case, it’s worth going all out and setting it to maximum, ensuring that the image during fast actions on the field remains sharp, while troublesome trailing is eliminated.

The TCL C8L is equipped with a fast panel with a native refresh rate of 144 Hz. This specification will be most appreciated by demanding PC gamers, while most users, who rely on consoles or TV broadcasts, will make use of a stable 120 Hz. It is at 120 Hz that the motion-processing algorithms take care of image processing (in films, series and sports). In the TV menu you'll find a "Motion Clarity" tab that allows you to tailor the motion smoothing to your own preferences. The algorithms cope well with both cinematic productions at 24 or 30 frames per second and with fast-paced sports broadcasts at 50 or 60 frames per second, ensuring appropriate smoothness.

iFFALCON U85X is an outstanding piece of equipment for gamers that has just about everything one can expect from a modern screen for consoles or PCs. We find here two full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps, which opens the door to key technologies such as VRR and ALLM, ensuring smooth gameplay without tearing the image and with minimal latency. The television handles high refresh rates in various resolutions without any problems, and a real curiosity is the mode that allows for achieving up to 240Hz when dropping down to Full HD quality. The whole thing is managed by the Game Bar (which is a faithful copy from TCL), allowing for instant switching of picture modes, customising the interface appearance, or even adding a virtual crosshair in the middle of the screen.

For gamers – and especially for owners of powerful PCs and several consoles simultaneously – the TCL C8L is a true monster. It is the first model in this manufacturer's lineup to feature as many as four full HDMI 2.1 ports with a maximum bandwidth of 48 Gbps. This is directly attributable to the use of the new Pentonic 800 processor, which we discussed earlier. Additionally, the television seamlessly supports practically every gaming feature. We have an automatic game mode (ALLM) that reduces latency to minimal levels, and full frame synchronization (VRR) operating in an impressive range of up to 288 Hz. There's also talk of standards such as G-Sync or FreeSync from Nvidia and AMD. When it comes to display standards, there are no compromises either: the C8L offers complete support for HDR formats in games, including gaming Dolby Vision and the HGiG profile. We can conveniently manage all of these features from a very readable player bar (Game Bar), which we can personalise to our own preferences. From a purely gaming perspective, there's really nothing to fault the C8L on – well, maybe aside from the previously mentioned slight blurring. But other than that? It's a no-nonsense machine for gamers.