LG UT8100 (IPS) vs TCL P89K / TCL P8K

Unfortunately, the LG UT8100 television does not meet expectations in the HDR effect category. With a peak brightness of only 300 nits on the luminance chart, it is well below the required value to fully enjoy the HDR effects. In practice, the image resembles SDR quality more than true HDR, which is particularly evident in demanding high-contrast scenes. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette is only 82%, further limiting the ability to present vibrant and rich colours. Instead of impressive visual experiences, we receive a muted and lacklustre image. For those looking for a television to fully utilise HDR content, the LG UT8100 model proves to be quite disappointing.

The maximum brightness of the TCL P8K is around 300 nits, although in real film scenes, the television maintains more of a level of about 250 nits. These values cannot be considered sufficient to achieve a full HDR effect – they are closer to a solid base for SDR content. Therefore, we will not see spectacular flashes, bursts of light, or moments in which the screen actually "blinds," as is the case with more expensive models. This makes the image somewhat flat, and the differences between light and shadow are more symbolic than realistic. Fortunately, TCL has a few aces up its sleeve that save the overall reception. One of these is the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at around 93–94%. Thanks to an additional QLED layer (PFS LED), the colours gain depth and intensity, clearly surpassing standard LCD panels. As a result, although there is a lack of the typical "wow effect" associated with HDR brightness, the image itself can impress with its saturation and vibrant tones, making film scenes pulse with colours and not appear strongly washed out.

The Filmmaker Mode in LG UT8100, although theoretically the best for watching films, has significant flaws. The biggest problem is the white balance – drops in blue colour cause a noticeable yellowing of the image, evident in both HD and 4K content. These errors are confirmed by the measurement results in the Colour Checker test, which indicate significant deviations in colour reproduction.

Regarding brightness characteristics, both HD and 4K content feature a substantial tonal boost. The gamma curve in both cases remains significantly below the reference value of 2.4, leading to excessive brightening of darker elements of the image. A similar issue is noticeable in the EOTF curve – for 4K content, the television struggles with properly managing brightness, which results in problems with screen brightness. This means that the factory settings of this model require significant adjustments to achieve better image quality.

In Filmmaker mode, the TCL P8K revealed certain imperfections in image reproduction from the outset. We noticed that the television had a tendency to slightly brighten scenes – its gamma was somewhat low, causing the image to appear slightly "washed out", lacking depth, as if the contrast had slipped out of control. This was most evident in HDR content, where the EOTF brightness graph clearly deviated from reference values. As a result, darker areas of the image appeared too gloomy, while brighter areas did not always reach the correct level of luminance. Another noticeable issue was a slight overemphasis on blue – the television stubbornly boosted this colour, causing certain parts of the image, especially skin tones and reds, to have a subtle purple tint. This is not a major flaw, but it is noticeable to a trained eye. Fortunately, most of these errors could be corrected during calibration. You can see the results of this adjustment in the graphs and photos below.

After calibrating the Filmmaker Mode, the gamma has been aligned to practically ideal, reference values, which has significantly improved the overall tonal characteristics of HD content. 4K HDR content also looks better, although certain issues are still visible at the extreme ends of the graph, where the curve deviates from perfection. The EOTF curve performs worse, as the television has difficulty maintaining appropriate brightness values. As a result, the image in some scenes may be overly bright or slightly dimmed, which is due to the very design of the device. Nevertheless, the calibration has brought considerable improvement, especially for HD content, where tonal balance and colour reproduction are now at a much higher level.

After calibration, the TCL P8K showed a completely different face. It managed to achieve nearly perfect, even reference-level color reproduction in both SDR and HDR content. The screen no longer had a tendency towards a cool tint, and the white balance was perfectly balanced. The gamma values for SDR material also finally look as they should – the image has the proper depth and no longer appears washed out. The only remark that can still be made about the P8K concerns its "Chinese" traits, known from most TCL models. The TV still likes to manipulate saturation in HDR content in its own way – sometimes slightly boosting it, sometimes smoothing it out, which means the effect is not always fully predictable. Nevertheless, after calibration, the colors look stunning, and their accuracy is truly surprising. In most cases, measurement errors dropped below values of 1-2, which is a result that significantly more expensive models would not be ashamed of.

The fluidity of tonal transitions is also correct, although the effect depends on the settings. The update has improved the performance of the smooth gradation function, smoothing transitions better than before, but it has introduced minor issues with detail loss, e.g. on textures.

The image scaling on LG UT8100 performs very well. The image looks decent, without significant issues with edge aliasing. Details are preserved at a satisfactory level, which makes lower resolution materials look truly solid on this television. This allows users to enjoy watching older content without noticeable flaws in quality.

The TCL P8K performs somewhat worse when it comes to the fluidity of tonal transitions in lower-quality materials. The television does offer a function to smooth out unwanted bands; however, its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. Even at the highest setting, it's hard to talk about any real improvement – at times the effect is almost the opposite of what is intended, as the function can introduce small artifacts and unnatural blurring on the screen.

On the other hand, upscaling – that is, scaling the image to 4K resolution – looks significantly better. The P8K handles this task surprisingly well – HD content, and even SD, is enhanced in an aesthetically pleasing manner without excessive loss of sharpness. While there are slight "hard" edges typical of this class of equipment, this can be easily adjusted with the sharpness slider to suit personal preferences. The final effect is more than satisfactory, especially considering the price range in which this model is situated.

LG UT8100, equipped with a 60 Hz panel, is particularly suited for those watching films. The television offers the TruMotion system with de-judder effect adjustment, allowing you to customise the smoothness of the image – from more choppy to exceptionally smooth, resembling a soap opera effect, depending on the user's preferences.

TCL P8K is one of the cheapest televisions offering a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which in itself is quite an advantage in this price segment. Thanks to the fast panel, this model can confidently be recommended to both sports fans and video gamers – the image is smooth, and the movement of the ball or dynamic actions look natural. However, this does not mean that the P8K is suitable solely for sports. On the contrary – it can also maintain appropriate dynamics in films without introducing the artificial effect of "theatricality", as long as we set the parameters wisely. The television is equipped with a motion smoother called "Motion Clarity", which features two sliders: blur reduction and judder reduction. The first is responsible for smoothing the image by generating additional frames, which increases fluidity, but may cause a slight soap opera effect. The latter, on the other hand, reduces judder and improves sharpness during movement, although it can slightly darken the screen. Properly adjusting these two parameters allows for a really good balance between natural motion and fluidity. It has a 60 Hz refresh rate, but it is hard to say that it is a top-tier panel in terms of response speed. It will perform well for dynamic content, although more demanding users will notice that it is not a screen from the highest class in terms of motion clarity.

LG UT8100 offers basic features for gamers, such as ALLM and Game Bar, which makes access to settings easier. The television also supports HGiG, which improves image quality in HDR games. Unfortunately, the lack of support for Dolby Vision and VRR limits the capabilities of the device, as does the 60 Hz panel, which excludes support for 120 Hz resolution. This model is more suitable for less demanding gaming applications.

Although the TCL P8K is a budget television, it cannot be said that it is unsuitable for gaming. On the contrary – it is a screen that can pleasantly surprise any gamer. It features two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing for 4K output at 120 Hz without any issues. For those gaming on a PC, they will also be pleased to know that the television can operate with a refresh rate of up to 240 Hz at a lower resolution – a small thing, but it delights. Additionally, it comes with a full set of gaming features: automatic game mode, Game Bar with quick parameter previews, VRR, HGiG, and support for Dolby Vision in games. All of this makes gaming on the P8K a truly enjoyable experience – the picture is smooth, the response is quick, and the television communicates well with next-generation consoles. The TCL P8K shows that a cheap screen doesn't have to mean giving up on fun. Certainly not in terms of gaming.