TCL C655 / C69B (43" - 50") vs LG UA75006LA (IPS)

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 version with an IPS panel looks even more modest, where the peak brightness barely reaches 250 nits. In practice, this means that a real sense of HDR effect is out of the question, and the materials viewed resemble rather ordinary SDR. Similar to VA panels, the image behaves stably on most test patterns, but in demanding scenes with fine details, the television has a tendency to slightly dim the image. This allows for slightly better blacks; however, this comes at the expense of losing detail in bright elements. The absence of additional colour filters is also noticeable here. The UA7500 with an IPS panel does not belong to QLEDs or PFS LED panels, and the DCI-P3 colour gamut is limited to 80%, meaning that HDR films lack significant colour depth and appear quite flattened.

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.

The Filmmaker mode on the LG UA7500 performs better than one might expect from such a budget television, but let's not get carried away with praise. The picture is quite well put together and does not irritate at first glance, but its weaknesses soon start to show. This is most evident in scenes with bright points – lamps in the background or reflections of light on the skin are distinctly overemphasised. Characters' faces often appear unnatural, as if they have been 'overexposed'. Additionally, the default gamma setting brightens even the smallest details, causing the image to lose subtlety in darker areas. However, it remains true that for its price bracket, the UA7500 in factory mode offers a fairly decent starting point. It is clear that without additional adjustment, it will not be possible to avoid these issues, which is why – as with other televisions – we decided to see what could be achieved after 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.

The greatest improvement we noticed was during the calibration of the mode intended for everyday SDR content. We managed to smooth out the white balance in an acceptable way and control the issue of excessive brightening of fine details due to the gamma characteristics. As a result, the image gained the consistency and naturalness that was lacking in the factory settings. After this correction, we can confidently state that for everyday television content, programmes, or materials from YouTube, the LG UA7500 performs really well – especially after professional calibration. The situation is somewhat different for HDR content. Here, calibration allowed us to tame the white balance and slightly improve brightness management, but the limitations of the design are immediately evident. The lack of additional filters expanding the colour palette means that the most vibrant colours appear flat, and the image does not have the intensity one would expect from good HDR. Therefore, in SDR, the UA7500 performs quite well, but in HDR – despite the corrections – it remains far behind, and this is a feature one must accept when choosing this television.

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.

The version with the IPS panel performed noticeably worse here. Image scaling was uneven – this was particularly evident in lower quality materials, where edges became jagged and the image appeared less detailed. At times, there was also a slight blur that diminished sharpness and made the overall impression seem less refined than in the VA version. The solution proved to be the tonal transition smoothing function. On the medium setting, it worked very well – it did not spoil the image with excessive softening, while simultaneously smoothing colours in such a way that everyday content gained coherence. The difference was particularly noticeable with television programmes or streaming materials with poorer compression quality, where the television with the function on presented itself much better. This is one of those additions that are worth keeping active, as they significantly enhance the experience of daily content.

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).

LG UA7500 is a television with a 60 Hz panel, so it is difficult to expect much excitement in this category. It is rather a screen designed for everyday content or an evening film screening rather than for following dynamic sports events or playing action games. It is clear that the manufacturer aimed this model at this group of consumers – and in this regard, it performs adequately. We have the TruMotion function available, which is a motion smoother. It is simple, has only one slider, but can make a noticeable difference. At the lower range, the picture looks more raw and cinematic, while at higher values, the motion becomes smoother and more pleasant to the eye.

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.

LG UA7500 is a television that can be confidently recommended to "casual" gamers. While it lacks a 120 Hz panel and HDMI 2.1 ports, so fully utilising the potential of modern consoles is out of the question. However, the manufacturer has included a few features that can enhance the gaming experience. Noteworthy is the Game Bar – a very well-designed panel where you can quickly preview and change the most important settings. From this panel, we have access to various features, including the ALLM mode (automatic switching to game mode) and frame synchronisation, namely VRR. The range of VRR is limited – it operates from 48 to 60 Hz – but the mere presence of this feature in such an affordable television leaves a positive impression.

Additionally, there is support for HGiG, which is the HDR calibration mode for gaming. This sounds good, but from our testing experience, we know that in the case of the UA7500, this option is not particularly useful. The television does not perform very well with HDR, so paradoxically better results were achieved with this mode turned off. This is another signal that the UA7500 is more of a screen for occasional gamers who value simplicity and convenience rather than for those seeking a full immersion experience with the latest consoles.