TCL C6K vs TCL C7L

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.

TCL C7L is undoubtedly an extremely bright television. In synthetic tests on static images, it can achieve peak brightness of around 2800 nits. This is an exceptionally phenomenal result, considering the price range it occupies. Unfortunately, tests of real film scenes are not quite as spectacular as measurements of white squares. Brightness in actual HDR shots drops to around 1200 nits in the C7L model. This is still a very good result, as this is the value to which the vast majority of contemporary films are mastered. However, when small, point-like elements appear on the screen, the brightness of these details drastically decreases – even down to around 400 nits – which diminishes the HDR effect somewhat. The television does this deliberately to maintain a better level of black and to avoid a giant light bloom. This is somewhat explainable, but it also shows that Mini LED technology is not entirely uncompromising in this regard. As for the HDR effect itself – alongside brightness, colours are of course key here. And those, thanks to the use of new "super" quantum dots, are simply outstanding and among the best on the market. The television can achieve about 90% coverage of the ultra-wide BT.2020 colour gamut and 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut, easily matching the best RGB MINI-LED screens. Best of all, the C7L can maintain such a high saturation of colours regardless of the scene being displayed, which often poses a challenge for competing RGB Mini-LED televisions.

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."

When it comes to colours straight out of the box, a new feature in TCL televisions – including the C7L model – is the presence of a new picture mode called Filmmaker Mode. This is significant news, as such a mode was not available from this manufacturer before. By design, as indicated by the name itself, the image in this setting is meant to be presented with the full intention of the film's creator. After our tests, we can confirm that it is undoubtedly the best built-in mode on this television if you care about faithful colour reproduction straight out of the box. However, we certainly wouldn't say it is perfect. Like most devices on the market, this C7L also had its factory flaws. The white balance in Filmmaker Mode tended to shift towards a slightly greenish-yellow hue, primarily caused by an excess of green and a clear deficiency of blue. Of course, for the average viewer, this won't be a drastic flaw, but if you care about perfect whites, natural skin tones, and unlocking the full potential of those new "super" quantum dots, then the television is crying out for professional 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 conducting a professional calibration, we were able to significantly improve the situation in the factory mode Filmmaker Mode. Following our adjustments, errors in the ColorChecker test and across the entire wide colour gamut fell below the threshold of human perception – that is, below a value of 3, which is truly an excellent result. The TCL C7L definitely benefits from such an operation in terms of colour fidelity, and this is difficult to dispute. However, the management of brightness in HDR content post-calibration does not look as good. As I described earlier – even though we set up this model appropriately, when we turn on real film scenes on the television, it manages its brightness in quite a peculiar way. It often highlights certain elements on the screen contrary to the creator's intention, which can be clearly seen in the EOTF graphs measured in specific films. Despite this defect – or rather the specific trait of this television – one cannot deny that after calibration, the C7L was able to reproduce colours completely accurately.

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.

This point could be called, in a sense, the Achilles' heel of the C7L model. Unfortunately, this television uses an older chipset from MediaTek – the Pentonic 700 – which has never been known for outstanding digital picture processing. This is clearly visible in the performance of the smoothing function, which is responsible for reducing jagged edges and removing digital noise. It simply works very poorly – when set to a low level, its effectiveness is practically nonexistent. A small credit should perhaps be given here for the fact that the algorithm does not additionally ruin the picture or blur details forcibly. The upscaling, which is the scaling of the image from lower resolutions to 4K, fares a bit better. It is simply adequate and does not stand out in any particular way against the competition. However, it cannot be denied that the C7L would greatly benefit in this aspect if the manufacturer decided to use the newer Pentonic 800 processor, which is now found in an increasing number of competing models.

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.

TCL C7L features a native 4K panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which at lower resolutions – when using a PC – can even ramp up to 288 Hz. These are, of course, very high values and commendable on paper, but in everyday life, it is worth remembering that almost all dynamic content you display on this television will still rotate around a maximum of 120 Hz. To tame this dynamism, the television's menu includes a motion smoothing system called "Motion Clarity." It offers several predefined modes, including a user mode, which we definitely recommend setting manually using our tried-and-tested guides on our YouTube channel. There, we have two key sliders at our disposal. The first one, "Motion Blur Reduction," is responsible for reducing blurring and improving sharpness in dynamic 60-frame materials, such as sports broadcasts. Meanwhile, the second slider, "Flicker Reduction," allows for the addition of artificial frames in films and series recorded at cinematic 24 or 30 frames per second. This certainly eliminates the irritating stutter in images during camera movement shots.

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.

When it comes to gaming, the TCL C7L is simply an outstanding television for gamers. With the presence of two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports at 48 Gbps, it provides access to all the key features that console and high-end PC owners require. It has a well-functioning ALLM mode with very low input lag and VRR frame synchronization that operates in an impressive range from 48 up to 288 Hz. Importantly, unlike some competitors, TCL has ensured a proper implementation of the console HDR10 HGIG profile and support for Dolby Vision in games. This is complemented by a very well-designed player panel, known as the Game Bar, which even allows you to customise its appearance and change the theme to perfectly match the style of your console.

The only thing that can – and indeed should – be critiqued here is the fact that the television offers only two full HDMI 2.1 ports, while the other two are older HDMI 2.0. This creates quite a significant logistical problem. Why? Because one of those fast ports also supports the eARC audio return channel. In practice, this means that if you connect a soundbar or home cinema system to the television, you will only have one free HDMI 2.1 port left. If you have two consoles or a console and a powerful computer at home, unfortunately, you'll have to give something up or frequently juggle cables at the back of the unit while maintaining convenient control over your audio system.