TCL C655 / C69B (43" - 50") vs Hisense E7Q PRO / E79Q PRO

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.

When it comes to the quality of the HDR effect, the E7Q PRO is unfortunately not a television that can impress with brightness alone. In real film materials, we measured around 250–300 nits, which is simply too little for HDR to look spectacular. There is a lack of that "spark" in bright details, highlights, and light effects, and in many HDR scenes, it can resemble good SDR more than true cinematic HDR. The consolation in all this is the colours. We managed to confirm that the E7Q PRO is a PFS-type television, meaning it has an additional filter that improves colour gamut coverage. As a result, even if the brightness does not deliver, the colours in HDR content can be appropriately saturated and pleasing to the eye, without the feeling of a "washed-out" image.

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.

In terms of colour reproduction, we tested the Hisense E7Q Pro in Movie mode, which turned out to be the best built-in preset without a doubt. This mode, unlike the Eco, Standard or Dynamic settings, offers the most natural colours straight out of the box. Although no factory mode is completely free of flaws, the E7Q Pro deserves high praise for its colour rendering in standard SDR content. The colour palette is very well tuned here, and the errors in the Color Checker tests often did not exceed a value of 3, which is an outstanding result rarely seen in such affordable televisions. The only drawback we noted in SDR is the tendency to darken some elements of the image, as indicated by the slightly raised gamma graph. The television performs slightly worse with colours in HDR mode. Here, colour errors become noticeable to the naked eye, mainly due to a lack of blue in the white balance. This causes the colours on the screen to be too warm, and for some viewers, they may even seem “too cinematic.” Of course, to improve these parameters, we proceeded with professional calibration.

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.

In the case of materials with a standard dynamic range (SDR), our actions in Filmmaker mode turned out to be largely cosmetic 😉. We mainly focused on a subtle adjustment of the white balance and equalising the gamma curve, which allowed us to recover details in the darker areas of the image that previously tended to get lost. However, it is worth noting that the E7Q Pro unit we tested was exceptionally well-made at the factory. We remind you that these parameters depend on the specific unit – with mass production, factory calibration can be random, so your unit may require slightly different intervention. The biggest beneficiary of professional calibration was undoubtedly HDR mode. This is where we did the most work, which brought spectacular results. We managed to effectively tame the excessive warmth of the image, caused by a factory deficiency in blue colour. After calibration, the colour errors were reduced to a significantly lower level, which will certainly please those who watch a lot of streaming content in HDR format, expecting faithful reproduction.

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.

When it comes to upscaling and digital image processing, the E7Q PRO deserves praise. The scaling performs really well and does not dramatically fall behind much more expensive, advanced televisions. Lower-quality materials can look clean and sensible, without the impression that the image is artificially "enhanced." However, the smoothing function presents a bit worse. Indeed, it can be effective and improve tonal transitions in poor quality materials, but at the same time, it can introduce undesirable effects. It sometimes removes grain or adds unwanted artefacts, giving the image a more "digital" character. Therefore, we mainly recommend it to those who prefer a smoother, less cinematic style of image.

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).

In the category of smearing and motion fluidity, the E7Q PRO has one very strong argument. At this price, Hisense has included a 120 Hz panel, and in PC mode, it can even operate at 144 Hz. This immediately provides greater possibilities in motion settings, as the menu offers more options for smoothing the image. Among other things, we have frame interpolation options, which allow us to adjust the fluidity for sports or films, depending on whether we prefer a more cinematic character or a "theatrical" smoothness.

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.

The E7Q PRO is a phenomenal screen for gamers. Aside from the typical "ache" of Hisense, which is the lack of support for the HGiG format due to permanently active tone mapping, we get practically everything one can expect from a television that is to have a gaming label. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports, along with a full set of key features. We have variable refresh rates, automatic switching to game mode, and support for 4K at 120 Hz. Additionally, all the most important settings are at hand in a clear Game Bar. This tool not only looks modern but also has a typically "gaming" edge and truly makes life easier while gaming.