TCL C6K vs Samsung Neo QLED QN70F / QN74F / QN77F

TCL C6K is a moderately bright television that can showcase its full potential under the best cinematic conditions – the maximum brightness is around 600 nits. In scenes with large, intense light sources, the HDR effect can be truly satisfying, providing a sense of cinematic sparkle. However, it is important to remember that when managing backlight zones, there are occasions where some elements are dimmed, and at times become barely visible. It is clear that there is a lack of proper algorithm optimisation here, although looking at the technical parameters in this price range, the overall construction performs exceedingly well.

The QN70F is a television that can pleasantly surprise when it comes to brightness. In ideal testing conditions, it reaches up to 800 nits, which – for this price range – is a really solid figure. Of course, this result comes from measurement charts, so we decided to check how it performs in practice, with real films. Here, the television somewhat tempers its capabilities. In most tested scenes – for example, in "The Meg" – the actual HDR brightness hovered around 500 nits. This is still a decent result, allowing for enjoyment of HDR effects, although it is far from perfect. On the other hand, we have a QLED screen with a layer of quantum dots, which means very good colour reproduction capabilities. The colours are vibrant and saturated. The QN70F covers about 94% of the DCI-P3 colour space, and in the wider BT.2020 palette, it exceeds 75%, so in this respect, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

In this year's TCL televisions, the Filmmaker mode has appeared, and it must be admitted that it is definitely the best choice straight out of the box. This is the mode we recommend for daily watching of films and series. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the best does not mean perfect. In the case of SDR content, the image was too warm, as the red was quite pronounced in the white balance. Conversely, with HDR content, we had the opposite impression – the image became cooler than it should have been due to an excess of blue. Additionally, the brightness characteristics sometimes led to overexposure. In practice, this resulted in quite noticeable errors in colour tests, which are difficult to accept in a mode advertised as "from the creators."

We tested the QN70F in its best default picture mode, which is Filmmaker Mode. I must admit that in this particular test unit, the factory settings performed quite well. The image was calm, natural, and despite minor deviations – pleasant to watch. The biggest flaw was a slight dominance of red in the white balance, which caused a slight pinkish hue across the entire scene. However, this was not a glaring defect – rather subtle and only noticeable when directly compared to a properly calibrated screen. A somewhat larger issue arose in the brightness characteristic. The television tends to underestimate the brightness of parts of the image that should be displayed more brightly. As a result, some details can appear slightly muted – not so much lost completely, but not resonating as clearly as they should. Nonetheless, as far as televisions in this category and in these settings are concerned – we consider the result a good starting point for further calibration.

Thanks to the white balance adjustment, it was possible to significantly reduce the C6K's tendency to distort colours, which translated into a very good final result. After calibration, we will no longer observe the effect of excessive warmth in SDR scenes or overly cooling the image in HDR. However, it is worth taking a closer look at the brightness characteristics. In SDR content, it is difficult to have major objections – the image looks really good, especially in older films, television programmes, or materials from YouTube. It fares much worse in the case of HDR content. An analysis of the EOTF curve suggests that everything is fine, but in practice (EOTF in films), the limitations of the design become apparent. The television tends to over-brighten the smallest parts of the frame, and in other situations, it can dim an entire scene too much. The effect of calibration is therefore evident, and in terms of colour, the C6K has gained quite a lot, but certain limitations arising from local dimming and, in fact, from its management by the C6K simply cannot be overcome.

After calibration, the QN70F shows that it can offer a truly high level of colour reproduction. The white balance was nearly perfectly aligned, and the values in the Color Checker test dropped below level 3 – meaning below the threshold at which the average eye can perceive differences. The image looks natural, and the colours are faithfully rendered, without excessive saturation or the coolness known from factory settings. It must be admitted that Samsung provides very extensive calibration options – not only for enthusiasts but also for professionals. The QN70F takes advantage of this potential and, after proper adjustment, can come close to significantly more expensive models in terms of colour accuracy. The only thing that can still be nitpicked is the brightness characteristic. There is still a tendency to lighten the smallest areas of the image – particularly those that should remain darker. However, this is a design feature of this model, not a calibration error. Despite this, the final effect definitely deserves recognition.

TCL C6K performs quite well in terms of scaling. Lower quality materials look acceptable, and the absence of overscan issues means that the image is displayed in full, without cropping. However, one cannot expect miracles – very low-quality content will not gain a new life here, as the image processor has its limitations. On thin lines or details, there is a noticeable characteristic jerking, which reveals the lack of advanced image enhancement algorithms. It is also a pity that the C6K lacks the feature for smoothing tonal transitions – in older films or video materials, colour banding can be noticeable and can be distracting during longer viewing sessions.

Samsung QN70F offers a distortion reduction feature that enhances the smoothness of tonal transitions. In "Standard" mode, it works quite well – it smooths out problematic transitions without significantly interfering with the structure of the image. Film grain is somewhat reduced, but details such as texture and skin structure remain visible. The "High" mode is much more aggressive. The smoothing is stronger, but it comes at the cost of a noticeable loss of detail. Therefore, in practice, we recommend sticking with the "Standard" setting or completely turning this function off. The improvement in gradation may be less spectacular, but the image retains more naturalness.

When it comes to scaling low-quality content, the QN70F performs very well. Tests with lower resolution images were really very good. Despite slight edge ringing, everything looks clean and clear, even if the original content was very poor. It’s just a pity that the television has an issue with overscan, which cannot be completely turned off. As a result, images with very low resolution may be slightly cropped, which is mainly noticeable on subtitles or interfaces.

The TCL C6K utilises a 144 Hz panel, which is a significant advantage in this price range. This is an important step forward compared to the previous model, the C655 PRO, which only offered 60 Hz in 4K. The difference is especially noticeable when watching sports or gaming – the ball, players, or fast action in a game are shown more clearly and without losing details. Interestingly, the panel can also operate at 240 Hz, which the manufacturer does not mention in the official materials. We will return to this topic when discussing the PC gaming mode.

TCL has also added a feature for those watching films: "Motion Clarity", which allows users to adjust the image to their liking using two simple sliders. One can either keep the film frame visible or opt for a very smooth, almost theatrical effect. This way, everyone can find settings tailored to their taste.

The QN70F is a television with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which in itself places it among the top when it comes to image fluidity. Whether we are watching dynamic sports broadcasts or playing on a console – the picture looks very good. There is no sense of stuttering, choppiness, or the typical "tearing" associated with weaker models during fast motion. Samsung also allows you to adjust the fluidity to your own preferences. In the picture clarity settings, we find options such as blur reduction and judder reduction – each of which we can adjust independently. This is especially useful when watching content with a lower frame rate and wanting to give it a smoother, more theatrical character – or conversely, to maintain the natural cinematic "feel" of 24 frames.

The TCL C6K is a television that can confidently be described as equipment designed with gamers in mind. Here we have 4K at 144 Hz, VRR support, automatic game mode (ALLM), and Dolby Vision Gaming. Additionally, there is a practical Game Bar, which is a panel with the most important settings easily accessible – useful when we want to quickly change something during gameplay (e.g. screen aspect ratio: Yes, it can be done!). The wide range of VRR is also noteworthy, reaching up to 240 Hz. However, this option is primarily for PC gamers who will drop the resolution below native 4K. At that point, the television can spread its wings and demonstrate extra fluidity, especially in fast-paced esports titles. In the case of consoles, we stick to the classic limit of 120 Hz, but the possibilities are still really broad. The only drawback might be slight ghosting, which can sometimes be seen in dynamic scenes. Apart from that, though, the C6K offers everything that gamers expect from a television.

The Samsung QN70F is truly a solid choice for gamers. Here, we find as many as four HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps, meaning full support for gaming in 4K at a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Additionally, it includes all the essential features we expect today: automatic game mode (ALLM), variable refresh rate (VRR), and a very well-designed, intuitive Game Bar showing information about mode, resolution, and frame rate.

Also noteworthy is the Game Motion Plus feature, which allows artificial frames to be added to games running at 60 fps or less. This works surprisingly well and in many titles – particularly those where consoles struggle to maintain a stable framerate – it improves the fluidity of gameplay without significant delay.

Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks. The lack of support for Dolby Vision mode is not surprising – it’s a standard with Samsung. However, the absence of the HGiG feature is much more disappointing. Worse still, it was removed with a software update, which may leave users who previously relied on it quite puzzled. Without HGiG, it is impossible to manually set the maximum HDR brightness from the console, resulting in some games appearing slightly washed out – especially if the television misinterprets the tonal range. Why Samsung, a brand that has set standards for gaming features for years, decided to take such a step is hard to say. At the time of writing this review, the tested television was running on software version 1110 – and frankly, if you care about full support for gamers, it’s better to hold off on updates for the time being.