TCL C75B vs Hisense E7Q PRO / E79Q PRO

During our test, the TCL C75B "spat out" around 380 nits of brightness. We recorded similar results while watching most of the films we tested. They can be considered average – the television does not perform poorly in this segment, but around 400 nits is definitely too low to fully experience the magic of HDR effects. Of course, these results are better than those of budget models, which can achieve almost half the brightness values. However, for HDR enthusiasts seeking stronger lighting effects and greater realism, the C75B may prove insufficient. On the positive side, it's worth mentioning the DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 95%. This is a very good result that easily suffices to enjoy a wide range of colours in content available on popular streaming platforms. Vivid and rich colours are definitely a strong point of this model.

When it comes to the quality of the HDR effect, the E7Q PRO is unfortunately not a television that can impress with brightness alone. In real film materials, we measured around 250–300 nits, which is simply too little for HDR to look spectacular. There is a lack of that "spark" in bright details, highlights, and light effects, and in many HDR scenes, it can resemble good SDR more than true cinematic HDR. The consolation in all this is the colours. We managed to confirm that the E7Q PRO is a PFS-type television, meaning it has an additional filter that improves colour gamut coverage. As a result, even if the brightness does not deliver, the colours in HDR content can be appropriately saturated and pleasing to the eye, without the feeling of a "washed-out" image.

TCL C75B offers several picture modes, but in our opinion, the best choice is the “Film” mode. Although its settings are quite decent, the television struggles with some colour reproduction issues. In our tests, we noticed that the image had a noticeably pinkish tint compared to what could be considered accurate. This effect was particularly evident in skin tones, which appeared unnaturally flushed. The main culprit for this phenomenon turned out to be the white balance, characterised by an excessive amount of blue and red in both HD and 4K HDR materials.

An additional problem was the way brightness was rendered. The gamma, which is responsible for the visibility of details in darker materials, was definitely boosted, causing details in the darkest parts of the screen to be invisible, disappearing into complete blackness (e.g., the lower part of the screen in the comparison photo - around the actress's ear). Similarly, the situation was reflected in the EOTF curve, which was below the correct value, suggesting that we might encounter a similar problem in 4K HDR content.

Thanks to our experience and the right tools, we decided to take matters into our own hands and see how much we could extract from this model after professional calibration. We describe the details in the next section.

In terms of colour reproduction, we tested the Hisense E7Q Pro in Movie mode, which turned out to be the best built-in preset without a doubt. This mode, unlike the Eco, Standard or Dynamic settings, offers the most natural colours straight out of the box. Although no factory mode is completely free of flaws, the E7Q Pro deserves high praise for its colour rendering in standard SDR content. The colour palette is very well tuned here, and the errors in the Color Checker tests often did not exceed a value of 3, which is an outstanding result rarely seen in such affordable televisions. The only drawback we noted in SDR is the tendency to darken some elements of the image, as indicated by the slightly raised gamma graph. The television performs slightly worse with colours in HDR mode. Here, colour errors become noticeable to the naked eye, mainly due to a lack of blue in the white balance. This causes the colours on the screen to be too warm, and for some viewers, they may even seem “too cinematic.” Of course, to improve these parameters, we proceeded with professional calibration.

After calibrating the TCL C75B, it has clearly improved in terms of colour reproduction. Although the television does not offer many options for adjusting the white balance, we managed to enhance its settings quite significantly. As a result, the image is no longer excessively pink, and the colours now look much more natural and harmonious.

The gamma jump, which was previously an issue, has not completely disappeared, but we have managed to reduce it considerably. This has made details in dark scenes more visible – both in HD and 4K HDR materials.

Unfortunately, the lack of local dimming is still noticeable. The "blooming black" effect remains, but that is a limitation of the display itself. Nevertheless, the colours after calibration look far better, and the image is much more enjoyable to watch.

In the case of materials with a standard dynamic range (SDR), our actions in Filmmaker mode turned out to be largely cosmetic 😉. We mainly focused on a subtle adjustment of the white balance and equalising the gamma curve, which allowed us to recover details in the darker areas of the image that previously tended to get lost. However, it is worth noting that the E7Q Pro unit we tested was exceptionally well-made at the factory. We remind you that these parameters depend on the specific unit – with mass production, factory calibration can be random, so your unit may require slightly different intervention. The biggest beneficiary of professional calibration was undoubtedly HDR mode. This is where we did the most work, which brought spectacular results. We managed to effectively tame the excessive warmth of the image, caused by a factory deficiency in blue colour. After calibration, the colour errors were reduced to a significantly lower level, which will certainly please those who watch a lot of streaming content in HDR format, expecting faithful reproduction.

TCL C75B has a tone transition smoothing function, but unfortunately, we cannot commend it. Regardless of the selected level – low or high – tone transitions in older materials remained visible, as if the function wasn't working at all. It's hard to say anything positive about it, as in practice it seems completely useless.

The image scaling is better. The television performs quite decently, although on thinner elements, like branches in the background, you can notice slight jaggedness. However, this is not something that significantly interferes with daily viewing.

Unfortunately, a bigger problem turned out to be overscan, which is cutting off the edges of the image. In our tests, there were instances where news tickers or other elements near the edge of the screen were cut off. This is definitely something to pay attention to, especially if we use the television for watching news programmes or content with text on the screen.

When it comes to upscaling and digital image processing, the E7Q PRO deserves praise. The scaling performs really well and does not dramatically fall behind much more expensive, advanced televisions. Lower-quality materials can look clean and sensible, without the impression that the image is artificially "enhanced." However, the smoothing function presents a bit worse. Indeed, it can be effective and improve tonal transitions in poor quality materials, but at the same time, it can introduce undesirable effects. It sometimes removes grain or adds unwanted artefacts, giving the image a more "digital" character. Therefore, we mainly recommend it to those who prefer a smoother, less cinematic style of image.

The TCL C75B definitely has something to offer gamers. The television is equipped with a panel that can display images with a refresh rate of 144 Hz in 4K, and even 240 Hz in Full HD. These are really impressive results, especially for a model from the entry-level range.

In addition, there are features for improving fluidity and reducing motion blur in films. The "Motion" option allows precise adjustment of the effect on a 10-point scale, which offers great personalisation possibilities - everyone can set the fluidity as they like.

In the category of smearing and motion fluidity, the E7Q PRO has one very strong argument. At this price, Hisense has included a 120 Hz panel, and in PC mode, it can even operate at 144 Hz. This immediately provides greater possibilities in motion settings, as the menu offers more options for smoothing the image. Among other things, we have frame interpolation options, which allow us to adjust the fluidity for sports or films, depending on whether we prefer a more cinematic character or a "theatrical" smoothness.

The TCL C75B is undoubtedly a television designed with gamers in mind. It offers nearly everything that even the most demanding console users could need. With the implementation of fully capable HDMI 2.1, the television supports features like ALLM (Automatic Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) – operating within the full potential of the television, up to 240 Hz in Full HD resolution.

Additionally, the television supports advanced HDR technologies, including Dolby Vision and HGiG, allowing for even better detail reproduction in HDR-optimised games. The C75B is also equipped with a very convenient interface for gamers in the form of Game Bar, where all key parameters such as refresh rate, input lag, and image settings can be checked – all within a single click.

In a nutshell: the C75B is a great choice for gamers, offering a wide range of features that allow users to fully enjoy the capabilities of modern consoles and games.

The E7Q PRO is a phenomenal screen for gamers. Aside from the typical "ache" of Hisense, which is the lack of support for the HGiG format due to permanently active tone mapping, we get practically everything one can expect from a television that is to have a gaming label. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports, along with a full set of key features. We have variable refresh rates, automatic switching to game mode, and support for 4K at 120 Hz. Additionally, all the most important settings are at hand in a clear Game Bar. This tool not only looks modern but also has a typically "gaming" edge and truly makes life easier while gaming.