TCL C7K / QM7K vs Sony Bravia 3 50' (VA)

TCL C7K is one of the brightest MiniLED televisions in its price range. Under the best testing conditions, the screen managed to achieve over 1200 nits, resulting in impressive, at times almost blindingly bright scenes. And most importantly – this is not just a theory based on measurements. In practice, the brightest parts of films can shine with true cinematic grandeur. Fans of home HDR cinema should be truly satisfied.

The impression is excellent, especially in scenes with large areas of brightness – a white sky, explosions, sun reflections, or magical sunsets can surprise with an intensity of light that is rarely seen in this price range.

However, it gets a bit worse when more challenging scenarios appear on the screen, as described when discussing contrast – that is, images full of details, with small, bright elements on a dark background. In such cases, the C7K often decides to preserve black levels at the expense of brightness. An example? Scenes from the films Sicario 2 or Life of Pi, where small light sources (like a distant lantern) can become less visible, and details in the lights are simply dimmed or blend into the background.

For many viewers, this may be an acceptable compromise – as we achieve deep black levels and a pleasing plasticity of the image. Nevertheless, it is worth being aware that the visibility of small details in bright areas is not this model's strongest suit. It is simply a technological limitation that still exists – even with over 300 zones.

Interestingly, the 50-inch version of the Bravia 3 performs slightly better in terms of brightness than its larger variants. In measurements, it achieved around 370 nits, which still does not compete with top-tier televisions, but is sufficient to suggest a semblance of HDR effect. For some users, this level will be acceptable, while others will view it as typical for SDR content, where striking highlights or strong contrasts are not expected. It must be clearly stated that the Bravia 3 is not a television for those looking to extract the maximum quality from the most challenging film materials.

This does not mean, however, that everything performs averagely. Sony has equipped this model with an additional PFS filter, which works similarly to solutions used in QLED televisions. As a result, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut has increased to over 91 percent. In everyday use, this means more vivid, saturated colours and also a more pleasing image texture. Even though it lacks strong lighting effects, films and series can look significantly more appealing than with its predecessor, the X75WL.

A new feature in TCL televisions for 2025 is the long-awaited Filmmaker mode, which until now has been found in most competing brands. This is great news, as this mode is considered to be the truest to 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 this mode does not guarantee perfection. The Filmmaker mode in the TCL C7K is not without its flaws. There can be criticism of the incorrect white balance, particularly a slight dominance of blue, which resulted in cool, somewhat greyish skin tones. But that was not the biggest issue. The main complaint was the excessive brightness exposure, which is clearly visible on the gamma and EOTF graphs. The image was simply too bright, at times even blown out, which affected not only the texture of scenes but also the overall viewing experience. Some details were simply lost, and the entire image looked as if someone had slightly overcooked the brightness slider. As always, we decided to check what could be extracted from this after calibration. And that’s where it started to get really interesting…

Sony Bravia 3 was primarily tested in film mode, which immediately proved to be the best choice among the factory settings. It is not an ideal picture, but compared to the eco mode that the television offers right out of the box, the difference is clear and it is a positive one. In film mode, one can notice a certain issue: the image appears too warm, which results from the lack of blue in the white balance. Nevertheless, in SDR content, the final effect can still be regarded as quite decent and satisfying for everyday viewing. Much more serious errors occur in HDR materials. The Color Checker analysis showed significant deviations, and poor brightness management, combined with limited colour gamut coverage, further exposes the shortcomings of the image in this mode. All of this means that HDR in the Bravia 3 edition is unconvincing and can spoil the impression left by a quite decent SDR content setup. Fortunately, this is not a hopeless situation. Various errors can be mitigated to some extent, and some can even be completely corrected through professional calibration. Therefore, we decided to check how the television would perform after such adjustments.

After calibration, the TCL C7K showcased 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 to the point that colour errors on the ColorChecker palette dropped below a value of 2. For the uninitiated – this is nearly a perfect result, which means that the image is very close to what the creators intended. Unfortunately, the situation was worse with 4K HDR content. Although we managed to gently stabilize the white balance and correct its previous errors, it was still evident that the television has certain "MiniLED traits," especially in brightness management. When we checked how the C7K handled the EOTF curve on actual film scenes, rather than just on synthetic test patterns, it turned out that the screen still tends to slightly brighten the entire image. This impacts the overall experience – blacks lose 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 can display an image that can compete successfully with much more expensive models. Good colour tuning, natural skin tones, and pleasant brightness make movie sessions and everyday viewing of content more than satisfactory.

Calibration allowed us to extract significantly more from the ChooseTV 3 than we could have expected at first. Firstly, it was possible to address the lack of blue, which had previously caused a noticeable warming of the image. After a slight adjustment to the white balance, most of the errors in the Color Checker measurements for SDR content practically disappeared. The shades of white became more natural, and the brightness management in gamma stabilised to a nearly perfect level, not exceeding the threshold of human eye perception. Therefore, it can confidently be said that in SDR content, after a few adjustments in settings, the ChooseTV 3 performs really brilliantly. Much worse, although still definitely better than before calibration, are the HDR contents. The white balance was brought into order, but the limitations of the IPS panel are insurmountable. The lack of local dimming means that even the smallest elements can be overexposed, which is immediately noticeable. Colour-wise, the effect is also improved, although far from ideal – many errors still exceed the threshold of four, or even five delta E units, meaning they remain visible to the human eye. It was already clear earlier that the ChooseTV 3 is not a television designed to impress with HDR quality. Nonetheless, it is pleasing to note that in SDR content, after calibration, the image can look truly excellent, and in this category, the television positively surprised us.

TCL C7K is equipped with a feature that, according to the manufacturer, is meant to smooth out unwanted colour transitions – a sort of rescue for less successful tonal shifts. It is called "Gradual Smoothing" and… well, it sounds ambitious, but in practice it works very poorly. Regardless of whether we set it to a low or high level, the difference is minimal. Worst of all, the feature can cut out elements from the picture that should be there. Fortunately, 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 is somewhat better. SD and HD materials look quite decent, although at times we had the impression that the image loses sharpness and becomes too soft – as if something took away its definition. Fortunately, with very low sources (e.g. 576p), there was no overscan effect, meaning the picture was not artificially cropped – everything fit on the screen as it should.

Bravia 3 brings something more than just a shared name to the Sony television family. It stands out primarily for its ability to enhance the quality of inferior materials thanks to the processor used. Of course, we won't find the advanced XR chip known from more expensive models here, but nevertheless, it's worth noting that the image at lower resolutions looked surprisingly good. The upscaling worked effectively, and most parts of the screen were free from the typical excessive edge tearing characteristic of budget constructions. The feature enhancing the smoothness of tonal transitions is also noteworthy. In the high setting, it performs really well, effectively masking gradation imperfections without significant loss of detail. It does happen, however, that the algorithm overly smooths elements that should remain sharp – for example, faces – but overall, the effect is beneficial. The best results were achieved precisely at the highest setting, and this option could be recommended to those watching lower-quality content.

The TCL C7K handles motion fluidity really very well. The matrix used in it offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which in itself suggests that this television is more than just a regular "60 Hz" panel. Furthermore – if we connect the C7K to a computer and set the resolution to Full HD. But we'll write more about this in the paragraph about gamers and PC collaboration. Returning to everyday use – both sports and films look very good here. Thanks to the fast panel and well-functioning motion smoothing, the C7K is great for watching matches, but also for movie screenings. In the menu, we find two sliders – motion blur reduction and flicker reduction – which allow us to adjust the fluidity effect to our own preferences. At lower settings, we get a more cinematic effect, with slight stuttering motion. At higher settings – the picture becomes more theatrical, fluid to the point of excess. Everyone has their own preferences – anyone can set it to their liking.

The fluidity of motion has never been a strong point of televisions equipped with 60 Hz panels, and the Bravia 3 is no exception. Nevertheless, Sony has added something that may appeal to those more sensitive to the way images are displayed. This refers to the proprietary motion smoother, Motion Flow, which offers users a considerable amount of adjustment options. With it, one can make the image smoother, even theatrical, or stick to a more cinematic style with the characteristic judder that many associate with a filmic atmosphere. These functions work with content shot at lower frame rates, such as films and series recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second, which is the kind of material we encounter daily. It is precisely at this point that the motion smoother turns out to be one of the most important features in everyday use of the television, and here the Bravia 3 performs quite well.

The TCL C7K is a television that on paper appears to be the dream equipment for gamers – and most importantly, it holds up in practice too. To start with good news: there are two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, so we can easily connect both a console and a computer, taking advantage of all their capabilities. The panel itself supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which gives a significant advantage in dynamic games. There is also a complete set of gaming features: VRR (variable refresh rate), ALLM (automatic low-latency mode), and support for Dolby Vision in games. There is also the HGiG mode, which allows for HDR effects consistent with the creators' intentions. GameBar, an information bar for gamers. It works quickly, looks clear (like a Nintendo console👌), and shows what matters most: the current frame rate, VRR status, and even HDR parameters.

Bravia 3 is not a device for e-sports enthusiasts or fans of late-night marathons with a controller in hand. The lack of 120 Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 ports puts an end to that discussion before it can even begin. This is a television for casual gamers who, after work, will fire up FIFA or racing games, not for someone who measures every frame in a spreadsheet. Nevertheless, Sony has included a few nice extras so that it isn't all so bare. ALLM works as it should, automatically switching the television to game mode (low latency). There's even a simple Game Bar, which is clear and straightforward. However, the biggest curiosity here is the PlayStation Portal app. Thanks to it, you can launch games from the PS5 wirelessly and see them immediately on the television screen. It sounds great, but it only takes a few minutes to feel significant delays. In our opinion, it is more of a showcase of capabilities than something you can use on a daily basis. If someone really wants to play, it is better to connect the console with an HDMI cable and forget about wireless issues.