TCL C655 / C69B (55"-85") vs LG QNED80A6A (VA)

Generally speaking, the quality of the HDR effect on the TCL C655 / C69B looks quite promising. The average value in the test charts is around 450 nits, which already allows one to feel the light effects and better image dynamics. However, as previously mentioned, this effect may be partially subdued by slight differences in bright and dark colours, resulting from the lack of local dimming technology. However, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at 94% deserves high praise, and this is made possible by the use of a quantum dot (QLED) matrix. As a result, colours are vivid and accurately represented when watching HDR content.

Let's now talk about how this television shines. If you are expecting dazzling light effects, we need to temper your enthusiasm. The LG QNED80A is a moderately bright television. Our measurements in most movie scenes indicated values around 350-400 nits. This is not enough to speak of a full, cinematic HDR experience and the sense of that famous "high dynamism" offered by flagship products. However, brightness is not everything. Although the QNED80A is not a "light monster," it makes up for it in another crucial category: colours. This is where PFS technology comes into play, which LG marketers disguise under the name QNED/NanoCell. Thanks to this approach, the television offers a much wider colour palette than classic LCD designs. In our tests, coverage of the cinematic DCI-P3 palette reached a solid 93-94%. What does this mean for you? That even with lower brightness, when watching movies in HDR, colours will be vivid, deep, and appropriately saturated. The image is not washed out but rather juicy, which is a significant advantage in this price range.

The television TCL C655 / C69B offers a film mode that has been tested for colour reproduction quality. Although this mode is called film mode, it unfortunately has several errors that a director would surely not want to see when recording their work. Starting with image analysis, it is worth examining the white balance – both in HD and 4K HDR content, the white balance has significant errors. In both cases, the red colour dominates, causing the colours to be too warm, and the overall result takes on a pink or yellow tint. This can be seen in the image below from the film "Star Wars". The Colour Checker test confirms these errors – the colour samples veer into incorrect shades, affecting the overall colour fidelity. A less significant issue is the brightness characteristic. However, this is also not without its flaws. The gamma graph shows a strong peak at the beginning, causing the image to be excessively brightened, and the EOTF curve responsible for brightness in 4K HDR material also has substantial fluctuations – it is noticeable how the television tries to maintain the appropriate brightness, but it does not always succeed effectively.

It might seem that since the QNED80A is one model, regardless of the version, it should offer the same picture. However, practice shows something completely different. Analyzing the variant with a VA panel in the best factory setting – that is, in Filmmaker Mode – we noticed a specific characteristic. This television, “out of the box,” serves us a picture with a clear dominance of red and a deficiency of blue. Overall, it is very warm, even hot. Many users may describe this as a picture that is “too cinematic,” leaning towards sepia. Additionally, there is the issue of the gamma curve – the television has a tendency to slightly artificially brighten scenes (gamma is too low), causing the picture to lose some depth. The good news is that these are not panel errors, but merely software issues. As always in our tests, we conducted professional calibration, which completely eliminated these shortcomings, restoring the natural white balance and correct saturation.

After calibrating the television's film mode TCL C655 / C69B , the white balance has been adjusted, and the colours are presented as they should be – confirmed only by slight deviations in the Colour Checker test. The gamma is really quite accurate, which means the television should not have issues with brightness in low-resolution materials. Unfortunately, a similar EOTF characteristic is still visible, which is a natural phenomenon in televisions that do not have local dimming – they simply struggle to "shine" more in a given area of the screen. Despite this inherent limitation that cannot be bypassed, we recommend adjustment in the settings, as the overall colour presentation looks really very good.

Was it worth spending time on calibration? Definitely yes. We managed to tame the initial, too warm white balance and, most importantly, correct the gamma curve. The television stopped artificially brightening scenes, which gave the image depth. The greatest improvement is noticeable in SDR content, that is, while watching regular television, YouTube, or playing games without HDR. Here the QNED80A shows its class – colour reproduction errors (DeltaE) have dropped below a value of 2. In technical terms, this means that the errors are virtually unnoticeable to the human eye. The image in everyday use has simply become very attractive, natural, and correct. The difficulties begin with HDR content. Although we managed to improve the white balance, the EOTF curve graph (responsible for brightness at various levels) shows that the television still "interprets" the image in its own way. This stems from the nature of the edge-lit backlight with local dimming and the fact that LG gives the calibrator very little control over this parameter. In short: the television struggles to hide its hardware shortcomings, sometimes ignoring our commands. Nevertheless, the final image is significantly more accurate and pleasant to behold than with factory settings, even if it falls a bit short of studio perfection.

The television TCL C655 / C69B handles tonal transitions fairly well in low-quality materials. The "Gradual Smoothing" feature at a low setting effectively smooths out tonal transitions; however, it simultaneously blurs significant details, such as the texture of objects. On the plus side, it does not negatively impact the film grain, allowing the natural appearance of the image to be preserved. As for digital processing, the television adds artificial sharpness, which may appeal to some users who prefer a sharpened image. However, for those who prefer a softer look, this could be a disadvantage. A notable downside is that the image has been quite significantly cropped due to what is known as overscan, which reduces the field of view and trims the edges of the image.

In this category, the QNED80A proves to be a true "dark horse." It is an excellent, affordable television for those who frequently watch lower-quality content – for example, traditional cable TV. The processor used here handles upscaling, that is, enhancing low resolution to native 4K, exceptionally well. The image after processing is natural, smooth, and, most importantly, not overly jagged or artificially sharpened. In the menu, we also find a dedicated option for smoothing tonal transitions in low-quality content. This feature works really effectively, eliminating annoying "banding" of colours under heavy video compression. However, we must remain vigilant. Remember that we are not dealing with a top-tier processor known from flagship OLED models. In more challenging scenes, the system may struggle and introduce minor artefacts or distortions. Nonetheless, it is definitely worth giving this feature a chance, as in most cases the quality improvement is visibly apparent.

The television C655 / C69B is equipped with a 4K@60 Hz panel, which means it works best for watching films and less dynamic content. It also features a "Flicker Reduction" function that allows for the adjustment of image smoothness – the user can choose whether they prefer smoother motion or a more cinematic, frame-by-frame effect. The television can also adapt to lower resolutions, such as Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz, which will surely please gamers by offering a smoother image at the cost of resolution. It is worth noting that this feature is available in sizes from 55"+. Additionally, the largest variant, 98", is equipped with a 144Hz panel with full motion smoothing.

We move on to a matter that may be decisive for many. Unfortunately, here we must point out the biggest "Achilles' heel" of the QNED80A model. This television is equipped with a panel featuring a native refresh rate of 60Hz. There is no denying it – at this price, we expected more as we know that Chinese manufacturers can offer 120Hz screens for a similar price. Due to this parameter, dynamic scenes in sports or fast-paced games are not the strongest aspect of this display. Fortunately, LG has equipped the television with a proven motion smoothing system called TruMotion. It works quite effectively with film material (24 frames). We suggest playing around with the De-Judder slider – from our experience, setting it in the range of 2-4 provides the best compromise: the motion becomes smoother, yet still looks natural, without the artificial "television theatre" effect.

The TCL C655 / C69B television offers nearly the perfect set of features for gamers, supporting all the most important technologies. It has an ALLM feature that automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, significantly improving responsiveness and minimising signal lag, which is especially important during dynamic gameplay. The VRR feature allows the screen refresh rate to synchronise with the frame rate generated by the console, eliminating screen tearing and providing smoother gameplay.

The television also supports Dolby Vision in game mode, which ensures better colour and contrast rendering in games that support this format, and the Game Bar provides quick access to settings related to gameplay, such as response time, latency level, and other parameters. Unfortunately, the C655 / C69B does not support 4K resolution at 120 Hz (the exception here is the 98" variant), which may be disappointing for more demanding gamers who expect the highest fluidity of image in high-resolution games. However, if we can forgo 4K, the television offers support for Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz, providing a smoother image and is a great alternative for those who prefer a higher refresh rate at the expense of resolution.

Now that we have established that the QNED80A is a television with a 60Hz panel, we must say it plainly: we will not be playing here at 120 frames per second at any resolution. Does this disqualify the equipment in the eyes of gamers? Not necessarily, especially those "casual" ones. LG has decided to sweeten this technical limitation by packing quite a few useful functions inside. We have support for VRR (variable refresh rate) in the range of 48-60Hz and automatic game mode ALLM, which instantly reduces input lag upon detection of a console. All of this is managed from a very convenient, purple Game Optimizer menu, which has already become LG's hallmark. A big plus goes to the manufacturer for consistency regarding HDR. Although the television does not support Dolby Vision in games on Xbox consoles, LG adds a well-implemented HGiG standard. Thanks to this, even on a moderately bright screen, playing in HDR is clear, and the details in shadows and highlights are accurately reproduced, rather than "cut off".