TCL C655 / C69B (43" - 50") vs Samsung QN90F / QN92F

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 Samsung QN90F can truly shine with brightness. In our measurements, it achieved over 2200 nits, which directly translates to the viewing experience. In practice, this means that when a film features a very bright scene – for example, a sunrise in The Meg – the screen looks as if it is actually lit by natural light. This is not just a number from a chart, but a real sense of image intensity! However, the television may not always deliver this full power. With smaller details like reflections or lamps, brightness drops to 500–700 nits. This is a deliberate decision by the algorithms – it allows for better control of the contrast between large and small elements, preventing the image from losing balance. Importantly, this is still a huge improvement compared to last year's QN90D, where similar details were often almost invisible, shining at just 200 nits. Here, the HDR effect is much more consistent and credible. The only downside is the colours. The DCI-P3 coverage has stalled at 91%, which in this price bracket can be considered a rather average result.

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 colour reproduction of the QN90F was tested in Filmmaker mode and, as is often the case with Samsung televisions, this mode proves to be the best starting point straight out of the box. However, this does not mean that the image is free from flaws. The white balance in both SDR and HDR content was surprisingly good – the colours did not drift in any direction and even in its factory settings, it looked solid. A problem arose with the gamma curves and EOTF, which dictate how the television manages brightness. Here, the QN90F significantly brightened the entire image, causing blacks and colours to lose their intensity, and the overall effect resembled that of an applied milky filter. Fortunately, Samsung, unlike many competitors in the miniLED world, provides the user with plenty of tools to control the settings that we do not find with other manufacturers, such as Chinese producers. Therefore, we decided to see if we could squeeze the full potential out of the QN90F because we know that such a high-end series is capable of much more.

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.

After our adjustment of the settings, the QN90F displayed what it is truly capable of – and it must be admitted that this is one of the best images we have seen on a miniLED screen this year. As we mentioned earlier, the white balance was not a major issue even in its factory state, but only after gamma calibration did it manage to get close to reference values. The same is true for HDR content, where the EOTF curve post-adjustment presents mature and cohesive results. Indeed, in some films, it is noticeable that the smallest elements of the image are slightly brightened, and with a limited number of dimming zones, there is still a risk of halo effect. However, it should be remembered that such phenomena are characteristic of all miniLED televisions, and it is difficult to expect miracles even from the QN90F. The most important thing is that after calibration, the television delivers an image that, in terms of representing the director's vision, confidently competes with many OLED screens available on the market.

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.

QN90F handles upscaling very well. Materials in lower resolutions, even SD, are enhanced to a clear and sharp image, in which a lot of detail in the background can be seen. This is a significant advantage, as the television makes older content or everyday television look considerably better than on most budget screens. However, the issue of overscan remains, which is the trimming of the screen edges, and this cannot be turned off in Samsung TVs. This can cause some subtitles on the screen to disappear or Auntie's face from the wedding on the VHS tape to be slightly cut off. 😉

Digital image processing also works well. In the menu, we find a function called "noise reduction," which can smooth tonal transitions and improve the reception of lower quality materials, e.g. from YouTube. At the medium setting, the effect is most beneficial – it does not heavily interfere with details, while eliminating the problem of "stepping" in colours. However, it is worth remembering that the function can be quite aggressive and removes natural grain from older films, so it is best to use it in moderation.

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 QN90F is equipped with a panel that has a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz, and although this advantage will primarily be appreciated by PC gamers, it is still worth highlighting. In films or sports broadcasts, we are limited to the classic 120 Hz, but this is not a cause for concern. In practice, the additional motion smoother is of greater importance here. With the "Motion Clarity" setting, we can adjust the picture to our own preferences. The blur reduction option is responsible for fluidity and ghosting in sports. Meanwhile, the "judder reduction" function improves motion smoothness in productions shot at 24 frames, such as films and series. If we set it high, the film appears smoother and more fluid than it was actually shot. Lower values, on the other hand, preserve its cinematic "rawness" with a visible film frame.

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.

QN90F has almost everything to become the perfect television for gamers. Features such as four HDMI ports, VRR, ALLM, and refresh rates reaching up to 165 Hz hardly need reminding. It deserves high praise for the Game Motion Plus mode, which is an original motion smoother for games. Thanks to it, you can add a few “artificial” frames and make the image generated by the console look smoother than it should. This is a very unique solution in the world of televisions – competing systems usually do not offer this – and that is why Samsung has had a strong bargaining chip among gamers for years, even despite the lack of support for the still niche Dolby Vision in games.

So why do we refer to it as an “almost” perfect screen? Unfortunately, similar to recent Samsung models, we noticed a problem with the absence of the HGiG feature. This is a solution that allows the television to leave the control over tone mapping to the console, so that games look exactly as the creators intended. What’s worse, this feature was previously present and disappeared after software updates. Instead of minor improvements, we received a step backwards. It’s a shame, because without this deficiency, the QN90F could truly be the ideal choice for gamers in the miniLED category.