Philips OLED820 vs TCL C69K / Q6C

When it comes to HDR quality, the Philips OLED820 uses the same class of WOLED panel found in its biggest rivals – the LG C5 and Samsung S90F. This means we can expect really solid results. This year, mid-range OLED panels can exceed the threshold of a thousand nits, and the tested model reaches around 1300 nits in some films. This is an outstanding result, allowing the director's vision to be conveyed with immense precision, as this is the brightness range in which contemporary productions are mastered. Of course, there are situations where even the OLED820 has to compromise. Full-screen scenes filled with white, like those in the film The Meg, can drop brightness to 400–500 nits, which clearly weakens the effect. This is a characteristic of OLED technology that has yet to be fully eliminated. Despite this limitation, it is hard not to appreciate the HDR in this model – high luminance and a wide DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 99% make the image simply look fantastic.

In terms of brightness, TCL C69K / Q6C is a moderate model. In optimal film conditions, it shows its full potential, achieving a maximum of around 600 nits. In scenes with large, intense light sources, the HDR effect can be truly satisfying, providing a cinematic shimmer. However, it should be noted that when managing backlight zones, there are situations where parts of the image become dimmed, and sometimes they are barely visible. This suggests that there is still a lack of proper optimisation of the algorithms; however, considering the technical parameters in this price range, the design itself still presents very well.

The colour reproduction in the factory settings really surprised us, and positively so. The Philips OLED820, switched to Filmmaker mode, immediately showed that it was quite well tuned in terms of colour. The white balance was relatively accurate, though there was a slight deficiency in the blue hue, which occasionally gave the image a slightly yellowish tint. However, this is not a flaw that particularly detracts from everyday viewing. A bigger issue arose with the brightness characteristics. The gamma curve clearly deviated from the ideal, with the line below the expected values, causing the image to be excessively brightened, and the colours looked as if they were covered with a light milky filter. This effect was also noticeable in tests using the Colour Checker pattern, where more pronounced errors appeared.

The Filmmaker mode, which has made its debut in this year's TCL televisions (including the C69K / Q6C), is definitely the best choice "to start with." This is the mode we recommend for daily film and series viewings. Unfortunately, as is often the case, best does not mean perfect. In SDR material, the image proved to be too warm, with a pronounced red tint in the white balance. We had the opposite impression with HDR content – here the image became cooler than it should, due to an excess of blue. Additionally, there is the characteristic of brightness, which at times resulted in overexposure. In practice, this translated into quite noticeable errors in colour tests, which is difficult to accept in a mode branded as "from the creators."

After calibration, both the Filmmaker mode and the gaming mode gained a lot. A slight adjustment of the white balance and an improvement in brightness characteristics produced excellent results in SDR content – the image looked almost perfect, natural, and very close to reference. In the case of HDR materials, the situation was similar, the colours were presented wonderfully, and it was hard to find anything to criticise. However, we noticed a certain feature, which we already pointed out when comparing scenes from the film Billy Lynn. The analysis of the EOTF curve showed that the television has a slight tendency to dim details in the blacks, so the darkest parts are not always displayed exactly as intended by the director. Nevertheless, the effect after calibration is stunning, and the OLED820 is emerging as one of the more interesting screens in its class. It just needs a little pampering, and there really is nothing to worry about.

Through white balance correction, we were able to significantly reduce the tendency of C69K / Q6C to distort colours, which yielded a very good final result. After calibration, the issue of excessive warming of scenes in SDR and excessive cooling of the image in HDR disappeared. However, it is worth analysing the brightness characteristics more closely. While in SDR content it is hard to have major objections – the image looks really good, especially in older films, TV programmes or on YouTube – it performs significantly worse in the case of HDR content. Analysis of the EOTF curve suggests that everything is fine, yet in practice (EOTF in films) the limitations of the design itself become apparent. This model has a tendency to excessively brighten small parts of the frame, only to overly dim the entire scene in other situations. The effect of calibration is therefore undeniable, and in terms of colour reproduction, C69K / Q6C gains a lot. Unfortunately, certain limitations arising from local dimming management simply cannot be bypassed.

Fortunately, the earlier effects of the mentioned posterisation can be quite effectively mitigated. The "distortion reduction" function set to a medium level deals with unwanted colour banding, improving the smoothness of tonal transitions. It does happen that it works a bit too aggressively and also smooths out some details – such as minor skin imperfections of the actors – but nevertheless, it can be considered worth using without substantial compromises. The upscaling in the OLED820 also performs quite well. The test image with the model is exceptionally soft, sometimes even too much so, although this can be rectified by slightly boosting the sharpness in the picture menu – this is really a matter of individual preference. The absence of overscan issues with very low-resolution content is also commendable, meaning we don't have to worry that the image will be unnecessarily cropped.

In terms of image scaling, TCL C69K / Q6C performs quite well. Lower quality content appears acceptable, and thanks to the lack of overscan issues, the image is displayed in full without any cropping. However, one should not expect miracles – very low-quality materials will not gain a second life here, as the image processor has its limitations.

Thin lines and details exhibit characteristic tearing, which reveals the absence of more advanced image enhancement algorithms. It is also a pity that the C69K / Q6C lacks a tone transition smoothing feature. As a result, in older films or video materials, banding of colours can be visible and may become distracting during prolonged viewing.

The fluidity of motion is an area where OLEDs always shine, and the Philips OLED820 confirms this rule. The panel itself offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which primarily benefits PC gamers, but even with standard television sources or consoles, where it operates at 120 Hz, the motion is fast, sharp and simultaneously smooth, without signs of blurring. This is thanks to the remarkable response time between pixels, which maintains image clarity in every dynamic scene. The manufacturer has also added its own smoother called "Motion Style". In the menu, we find two sliders – the first, responsible for fluidity, allows adjustments to the number of artificially added frames in films. This way, we can choose a raw, cinematic character with a distinctly visible film frame or a more theatrical image with smooth motion. The second slider is for motion blur reduction, particularly useful in sports broadcasts. Here, we definitely recommend setting it to the maximum value, as the effect is truly excellent.

The use of a 144 Hz panel in TCL C69K / Q6C is a significant advantage in this price range. It represents an important step forward compared to its predecessor (C655 PRO), which only offered 60 Hz in 4K. The difference is particularly noticeable when watching sports or playing games – the ball, players, or dynamic action in games are displayed more clearly and without loss of detail. Another interesting feature is the panel's ability to work at 240 Hz (which the manufacturer does not officially mention) – we will return to this topic in relation to the PC gaming mode. TCL has also added a feature for movie fans: “Motion Clarity”. This allows users to adjust the picture to their preferences using two simple sliders. We can either keep the visible film frame or opt for very smooth, "

The Philips OLED820 is one of the most complete televisions for gamers. On board, we find practically everything one could expect: two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps (it's a shame there aren't four), variable refresh rate VRR, automatic game mode ALLM, support for Dolby Vision in games, and a good implementation of the HGiG mode. The television handles lower resolutions at 120 Hz with ease, so one can count on considerable flexibility when choosing different picture modes on the console. Philips also includes a Game Bar – a panel that allows changing picture modes, adding a crosshair, or previewing parameters. Although it looks rather clunky and is less polished than that of the competition, it does its job. In practice, therefore, the OLED820, in addition to a full set of four HDMI 2.1 ports, offers nearly everything a gamer could need.

TCL C69K / Q6C is a television that can confidently be described as equipment created with gamers in mind. Here we have 4K at 144 Hz, VRR support, automatic game mode (ALLM), and Dolby Vision Gaming. Additionally, there is a practical Game Bar, which is a panel with the most important settings conveniently at hand – useful when we want to change something quickly during gameplay (e.g. screen aspect ratio: Yes, it can be done!). The wide range of VRR, reaching up to 240 Hz, is particularly noteworthy. However, this option is mainly for PC gamers who will operate below the native 4K resolution. In that case, the television can spread its wings and show additional smoothness, especially in fast-paced e-sports titles. For consoles, we stick to the classic limit of 120 Hz, but even so, the capabilities are truly extensive. The only downside is a slight ghosting that can occasionally be seen in dynamic scenes. Other than that, C69K / Q6C offers everything that gamers expect from a television.