Samsung DU7192 (IPS) vs TCL C655 / C69B (43" - 50")

The maximum luminance in HDR materials is 245 nits, which is often surpassed by even lower results. Such values will definitely not be sufficient for comfortable viewing of HDR materials due to the lack of appropriate image dynamics and colour inaccuracies caused by the low brightness of the unit. Although the manufacturer has equipped its device with HDR format offering dynamic metadata, HDR10+, which is what we are referring to, is very rarely used compared to Dolby Vision, which Samsung has not yet introduced in its televisions. It is also worth mentioning that Samsung DU7192 offers only 82% coverage of the wide DCI-P3 colour gamut, which is another reason we should not supply a signal in wide dynamic range, as colour losses will be very noticeable. Samsung DU7192 provides high-quality images that will satisfy most users.

The quality of the HDR effect in the TCL C69B / C655 television is quite average. With a brightness level of 350 nits, although not the worst, it still doesn't allow for a full enjoyment of HDR effects, which require higher luminance to showcase their power. Additionally, despite the application of a quantum dot coating (QLED), the television offers an average coverage of the wide DCI-P3 colour gamut at 91%, which may limit its richness of colours in HDR content.

The best factory mode we used throughout the testing process was "Filmmaker". This, like the vast majority of modes, had its drawbacks. Starting with the most basic chart, which is the white balance, we can notice a pronounced dominance of red, both in SDR and HDR modes. Although there was also some green in the latter, it did not significantly affect the overall impression. A chart with such results, in both cases, gives us an image characterised by strong yellowing, clearly visible on whites and on the faces of the actors. Another important chart, if not more important, is gamma. This, which is meant to control contrast in materials with a standard colour palette, was quite good in factory mode with one caveat regarding the low end. In the darkest scenes, it was significantly lowered, which led to strong brightening, resulting in the film lacking contrast and all suspense. As we mentioned, HDR materials in terms of white balance remained at a similar level. The main change is the EOTF curve chart. At the very beginning, we can observe a bulge, which, just like in the case of gamma, significantly brightened the darkest scenes. However, the chart then changed its characteristics significantly and the measured result dipped below the reference line, causing the film to lose even more dynamics.

The television TCL C69B / C655, tested in movie mode, unfortunately does not meet expectations in terms of colour accuracy. Although movie mode suggests better representation, it has almost nothing in common with film. There are many errors evident, particularly in white balance – for both HD and 4K HDR content – where the dominance of the blue colour is very noticeable. For the viewer, this means that the image becomes unnaturally cool, affecting the overall perception of colours and the visual impression. The colour checker confirms these errors, showing that colours shift towards cooler shades.

As for brightness characteristics and the related contrast, gamma is very unstable for the material, which can make the image slightly darker. The EOTF curve for the 4K material shows some errors, with significant deviations towards the end of the graph, which negatively impacts the reception of darker parts of the image.

Samsung has equipped even its lowest-end televisions with advanced tools for the calibration process. So we got to work, and the results of our efforts are more than satisfactory. The white balance, which previously had a strong yellow tint in both scenarios, now looks much, much better, even if there are slight deviations from the norm. The image will still look significantly cleaner than it did before the calibration process. We managed to model the gamma in SDR materials very well, ensuring that the image will be as contrasty as the television allows. The EOTF curve has also changed its face and no longer brightens or darkens the image in such a drastic way. However, it's worth mentioning that in the case of HDR materials, deltaE errors are still very high, but this is due to the insufficient brightness of the unit.

After calibration, the movie mode on the TCL C69B / C655 television improves in quality. The greatest improvement can be seen in tonal quality, and the white balance presents itself much better – with no major errors. We will no longer see an excessive dominance of cool tones. Gamma has also been improved, leading to a more stable representation of brightness and contrast. However, due to limitations in the form of the television's average colour palette, Colour Checker tests for 4K materials did not achieve remarkable results. Despite these technological limitations, the image has become more authentic, positively affecting the reception of film content.

Let's return for a moment to the feature of smoothing tonal transitions. We can set it in only two ways - off and auto. As one can easily guess, the former causes significant problems with gradation. However, if we set the latter, both films and series will offer us smooth transitions of colours. It is worth mentioning, though, that this feature has its drawbacks. It greatly interferes with the director's intent, softens the film grain effect, and, what’s worse, often misinterprets small details, also blurring them. In light of this, we conclude that the feature does not exist and do not recommend using it, as this is exactly how the tests of smoothness of tonal transitions were conducted on the tested display.

The next thing we will check in this paragraph is the image scaling process, which is extremely important when watching materials in a lower resolution. Unfortunately, as this is the manufacturer's lowest model, this function does not work very well. All details are heavily blurred, and a characteristic white halo surrounds the characters.

The "Gradual Smoothing" function works very well on the TCL C69B television and, surprisingly, does not remove desirable effects such as film grain – unlike some solutions from other manufacturers. When it comes to image scaling, unfortunately, it looks poor. The television artificially sharpens the image, causing the edges of objects to be quite jagged. This state of affairs may appeal to some users who prefer a more "hard" look to the image, but it is not an ideal solution for those who value naturalness and fluidity of details.

Despite the fact that Samsung DU7192 is the lowest model in the manufacturer's portfolio, it has been implemented with a motion smoothing system. Although it is quite limited in features compared to higher models, its existence is a considerable advantage in the context of competition from similar price ranges. The maximum refresh rate we will provide to the tested television is 60 Hz, which is entirely sufficient for movies and series, although not for sports. In the motion smoothing menu, we find two functions responsible for improving fluidity. These are "Motion Blur Reduction" and "Clear Motion (LED)". We will discuss the latter a bit later. Let us focus on the former, as it is quite puzzling. Unfortunately, despite its presence, we did not find any usefulness. On each of the settings, the image looked the same, with the characteristic judder known from materials recorded at 24 fps.

The matrix of Samsung DU7192 features an average response time. It is worth mentioning that due to this particular type of matrix, it is better than VA matrices in a similar price range. Therefore, it can be exceptionally said that it will not be the worst in the context of watching sports.

The TCL C69B / C655 television in its smallest variants offers decent, though not perfect, results in terms of motion smoothness. For films, the television features a "Flicker Reduction" function that allows adjustment of motion smoothness on a scale from 1 to 10. With this option, we can tailor the appearance of the image to our cinematic or more theatrical preferences (with either lower or higher speed).

The Samsung DU7192 television is equipped only with HDMI 2.0 ports, which is not surprising given the price of the device and its consumer profile. Therefore, it’s also logical that we won’t achieve maximum quality on the latest generation consoles. Thus, it only has the most basic feature for gamers, which is ALLM. It's a pity that the manufacturer didn’t implement at least GameBar, as it is currently a standard, even in lower-end televisions, and could introduce significant conveniences regarding quick changes to settings.

The TCL C69B / C655 television in its smallest variants offers a range of features dedicated to gamers, such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), Dolby Vision for gamers, and Game Bar. ALLM automatically switches the television to low latency mode, improving responsiveness and minimising delays in control. VRR allows the screen refresh rate to synchronise with the number of frames generated by the console, eliminating screen tearing and providing smoother gameplay. Dolby Vision for gamers ensures better colour and contrast reproduction in games that support this format, resulting in enhanced picture quality. Meanwhile, Game Bar provides quick access to game settings and monitors key parameters such as input lag.

However, the television has certain limitations that may affect gaming comfort. The 60 Hz panel does not allow for displaying signals with higher refresh rates, which may impact the smoothness of the image in fast-paced games. The lack of support for G-Sync technology for PCs may also be noticeable when gaming on a computer, especially in demanding, fast-paced titles.