TCL C7K / QM7K 55"-85" vs Samsung Q6F (IPS)

In terms of brightness, the models ranging from 55 to 85 inches in the C7K series are truly impressive. Under the best testing conditions, the 65-inch screen reached over 1200 nits, which in practice means that the brightest scenes can shine with almost cinematic brilliance. These are not just dry numbers from measurements – during viewings, the white skies, explosions or reflections of light on water looked extraordinarily striking, often giving the impression that the television exceeded its price class. This is particularly effective in scenes with large areas of brightness, where the screen is filled with intense light – such as in sunlit shots or during dynamic action sequences. Viewers seeking strong HDR will definitely be satisfied.

However, scenes that require precise control of the backlighting – with small points of light on a dark background – prove to be more challenging. Here, the C7K, despite having over a thousand zones, still dims the brightness to maintain deep blacks. The effect is that in films like Sicario 2 or Life of Pi, some details, like a distant lantern or single reflections, can be less distinct or blend into the surroundings. This is a compromise inherent in MiniLED technology – it provides excellent image depth and blacks at a level that ordinary LCDs do not offer, but this comes at the cost of limited visibility of the finest lights.

The Samsung Q6F is, unfortunately, a very dark model. Its peak brightness in HDR does not exceed 250 nits, which is a value that is decidedly too low to even talk about any effect of “high dynamic range,” or HDR. In practice, it’s better to stick to content in SDR format, which simply looks more predictable on this television. Another problem is the global dimming technique – in scenes with a lot of black, the television drastically dims the entire panel to artificially improve the black levels. This causes the image to become even darker, and the brightness can drop below 100 nits. The only consolation is supposed to be the QLED technology, but even here it is average. The layer of quantum dots used is not of the highest quality, as the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette does not exceed 90%. As a result, the colours in HDR content may simply appear under-saturated.

A new feature in TCL televisions for 2025 is the long-awaited Filmmaker mode, which until now could be found in most competing brands. This is great news, as this mode is considered the one that most accurately represents the original vision of the creators and is often recommended by enthusiasts of good picture quality. Unfortunately – as is often the case – the mere presence of it does not guarantee perfection. The Filmmaker mode in the TCL C7K is not without its flaws. One can point out the incorrect white balance, particularly the slight dominance of blue, which resulted in cool, somewhat greyish skin tones. But that was not the biggest issue. The main complaint was excessive brightness exposure, which was clearly visible on gamma and EOTF charts. The image was simply too bright, at times even overexposed, which affected not only the texture of the scenes but also the overall viewing experience. Some details were simply lost, and the entire image looked like someone had slightly overdone the brightness slider. As always, we decided to see what could be squeezed out of it after calibration. And that’s where it started to get really interesting…

We tested the television in Filmmaker mode, which showed us two completely different facets of this model. Looking at SDR content, we were genuinely shocked at how good this television looks straight out of the box. It was really difficult to find fault with anything here. Despite a slight 'muddiness' in the white balance or somewhat brightened details in the blacks (which directly stem from the design of the IPS panel), the colour errors hovered around a level of '2'. This result is not only surprisingly good but downright amazing, considering the price of this device.

On the other hand, what the Q6F displayed in terms of colours after switching to HDR mode was a very unpleasant surprise. The errors in colour reproduction and palette were so enormous that our charts literally ran out of scale. Of course, since Samsung even in such an affordable model offers very extensive calibration options, we decided to approach the issue professionally and see what could be done during calibration.

After calibration, the TCL C7K presented itself in a really good light, especially when it comes to SDR content. We managed to precisely tune the white balance, colour gamut, and brightness characteristics so that the colour errors on the ColorChecker palette fell below a value of 2. For the uninitiated – this is nearly a perfect result, indicating that the image closely resembles what the creators intended. Unfortunately, it looked worse with 4K HDR content. While we slightly managed to calm the white balance and correct its previous errors, it still shows that the TV has some “MiniLED traits”, particularly in brightness management. When we checked how the C7K copes with the EOTF curve on real film scenes, rather than just synthetic test patterns, it turned out that the screen still tends to slightly brighten the entire image. This affects the overall impression – the black loses some depth, and the image becomes less contrasty than it should be. Despite these minor shortcomings in HDR content, the overall reception of materials – especially in SDR – is truly very good. After calibration, the C7K is capable of displaying an image that can successfully compete with much more expensive models. Good colour tuning, natural skin tones, and pleasant brightness ensure that movie sessions and everyday content viewing are more than satisfactory.

After our calibration, the colours in SDR mode looked even better – the result is truly surprising, as colour errors at the '1' level are something generally seen in devices costing several thousand pounds. In this regard, the Q6F is really an excellent screen for everyday television, less demanding series or films. Unfortunately, our intervention in the HDR mode did not bring a noticeable improvement. The television, due to its poor blacks and low coverage of a wide colour gamut, still has significant issues with proper colour saturation, especially reds. This is an example of a device where HDR exists mainly as a label on the box – for everyday use, we definitely recommend watching content in SDR format.

The TCL C7K features a function that, according to the manufacturer, is designed to smooth out unwanted colour transitions – a sort of rescue for less successful tonal shifts. It's called "Gradual Smoothing" and... well, it sounds ambitious, but in practice, it works very poorly. Regardless of whether we set it to low or high, the difference is minimal. What's worse, the function can cut out elements from the image that should remain. Fortunately, the film grain remains untouched, so at least it doesn't smooth everything indiscriminately, but still – it's better to simply turn this option off.

When it comes to scaling lower resolution content, it’s much better. SD and HD materials look quite decent, although at times we had the impression that the image was losing sharpness and becoming too soft – as if something was detracting from its clarity. Fortunately, with very low sources (e.g. 576p), there was no overscan effect, meaning the image was not artificially cropped – everything fit on the screen as it should.

Q6F performs very well in upscaling lower-resolution content to native 4K. The scaling here is surprisingly good, even for such an inexpensive television from the QLED series. The only downside is the situation where we are watching very low-resolution materials, such as 576p (typical for old DVD players) – in which case the image may be slightly cropped. This is due to the fact that the television does not allow the Overscan function to be turned off, which is a typical issue with Samsung devices.

The situation is completely different when it comes to digital processing, specifically the attempt to smooth the image of unwanted artifacts. Here the television completely fails. Although there is a function in the menu called "Noise Reduction," it yields no visible results regardless of the slider setting. The only thing it manages to do is introduce undesired errors in the image. Despite its presence in the system, we definitely do not recommend using it.

The TCL C7K handles motion smoothness really very well. The matrix used in it offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which in itself suggests that this television is something more than a regular "60 Hz" panel. What's more – if we connect the C7K to a computer and set the resolution to Full HD. But we will write more about this in the section for gamers and cooperation with PCs. Returning to everyday use – both sports and films look very good here. Thanks to the fast panel and well-functioning motion smoother, the C7K is great for watching matches, as well as for film screenings. In the menu, we find two sliders – blur reduction and flicker reduction – which allow you to adjust the smoothness effect to your own preferences. At lower settings, we get a more cinematic effect, with a slight choppy motion. At higher settings – the image becomes more theatrical, overly smooth. Everyone can set it to their liking.

The 60 Hz panel in the Samsung Q6F is standard for this price range, making it rather average for dynamic sports or gaming. However, when it comes to films, the television performs quite well thanks to the motion smoothing feature. The "Motion Reduction" option allows you to adjust the smoothness of movement to your own preferences – from maintaining a cinematic character to complete fluidity.

The TCL C7K is a television that on paper appears to be the dream equipment for gamers – and most importantly, it also holds up in practice. To start with the good news: there are two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, so we can easily connect both a console and a computer, making full use of their capabilities. The panel itself supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which provides a significant advantage in fast-paced games. Additionally, it comes with a complete set of gaming features: VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), and support for Dolby Vision in games. There is also an HGiG mode that allows for an HDR effect in line with the creators' intentions. GameBar, which is an information bar for gamers. It works quickly, looks clear (like a Nintendo console👌), and shows the most important information: the current frame rate, VRR status, and even HDR parameters.

We're not going to beat around the bush – the Q6F is not a television designed for gamers. Although it features additions like ALLM (automatic low latency mode) and VRR frame synchronisation for consoles, the list of advantages basically ends there. Aside from these basics, the television offers nothing more that would satisfy those who spend a lot of time in front of a console. It’s a great shame that such a useful tool as Game Bar, which allows for quick control of game parameters in Samsung's higher models, is missing here. In terms of gaming, this model is absolutely basic and is only suitable for "casual" gamers.