TCL C855 vs LG OLED C5

TCL C855 delivers a highly varied HDR effect. On one hand, the television truly shines, while on the other, it resembles a lower model with FALD backlighting. This situation is, however, regularly observed in this brand, so it was not a surprise to us. The first and last scenes, featuring large elements of light, look almost phenomenal, "shining" with brightness levels of 1470 and 1820 nits respectively. Such effects will certainly cause more than one person to squint, while simultaneously feeling the extraordinary dynamism of the scene itself. You can truly feel as if you are inside the film. The situation changes dramatically when small or minor elements with high luminance surrounded by black appear on the screen. The TCL C855, in order to avoid the halo effect, significantly reduces brightness to a level of even 240 nits, which is a disappointing result, causing the film to not appear as if it was recorded in HDR. The HDR effect in the TCL C855 makes watching dynamic scenes more engaging, allowing the viewer to feel as though they are part of the action. Even with smaller elements of high luminance, the television manages to maintain details without excessive dimming. Moreover, the TCL C855 test shows that the brightness of the image is adjusted for scenes with a large amount of detail, which enhances viewing comfort.

LG C5 finally does what we have been waiting for years in the C series – it exceeds 1000 nits of brightness! This is a significant change compared to previous models in the series, and it is very important – because most HDR content on streaming platforms is now created around such luminance. The image finally has the proper "shine," and the details in the highlights look as they should even without the use of dynamic metadata. However, there are scenes where the C5, like most OLED televisions, has certain issues. Especially when the screen needs to light up completely. In our test sequences, such as the bright shot from the film The Meg, the brightness clearly drops. Don't get us wrong, this result is not bad; it's more a reminder that OLED technology still has its limitations. Year by year they are becoming smaller, but still.

As for the colours? They are very good. Although the C5 does not match OLEDs with QD-OLED or Tandem RGB panels, the DCI-P3 coverage of 97% and 73% BT.2020 will satisfy even the more demanding viewers. The colours are saturated, natural, and very consistent in HDR material.

The best factory mode for the TCL C855 is "Film," and it is on this mode that we conducted all our tests. Like any mode predefined by the manufacturer, it had its drawbacks that are worth correcting to achieve an image as close as possible to what the film producer intended. We will examine the colour characteristics in both SDR and HDR materials. Looking at the first, we see a noticeable dominance of green in the white balance, which, as you might imagine, resulted in an unpleasant greenish tint across the entire image. Observing the very important gamma chart, which is responsible for the image's contrast, we see a significant deviation from the reference line marked at 2.4. From the left, we can observe a strong spike in the measured value, which at this point caused the image to be overly contrasted, merging details into a dark blob. This situation persisted for quite some time, up to 20% of the chart's value, before then dipping below the reference. This, in turn, meant a brightening of the image and a significant drop in contrast. The factory mode performed slightly better in HDR materials, as the white balance looked quite good, except for the second half, where green once again took precedence. Looking at the EOTF curve, which, unlike gamma, shows the rate of brightness increase, we see primarily two errors: the darkest scenes were too dark, and the brightest ones were overexposed. This was something we could also observe in the scene from the film "Pan" in the paragraph checking the TV's HDR.

LG C5, like other televisions we have tested, has been checked in the best possible factory mode – which remains the Filmmaker Mode. And here we have good news: in SDR materials, LG has once again done a solid job. The white balance and colour reproduction right out of the box are at a very high level. Most errors – both in balance and in the colour test (Colour Checker) – did not exceed a ΔE value of 3, which is the threshold above which differences become visible to the naked eye. Such factory settings would be desirable in a significantly larger number of televisions!

However, the situation looks different for HDR content, which is precisely what the C series was created for. Here, the C5 performs somewhat worse. The excessive presence of blue in the white balance causes the image to appear distinctly cooler – which affects, for instance, unnaturally pale skin tones or a slightly shifted tone of the entire scene. Fortunately, LG provides very precise calibration tools, and we – as always – made use of them.

TCL, like the vast majority of manufacturers, provides advanced calibration tools in its televisions. Here we find 2- and 20-point adjustments for greyscale as well as an advanced colour management system. The results, as you can see, are very good, and in SDR materials we have significantly approached the reference image. We eliminated both the green tint and the gamma issue, although there is still a slight "kink" at the very beginning. The performance with HDR materials was somewhat poorer, as the TCL C855 did not allow us to model them adequately. We were only able to slightly adjust the EOTF curve and significantly improve the colours themselves.

We must honestly admit – in the case of the LG C5, very little was needed to achieve nearly perfect picture quality. After calibrating, we managed to reach compatibility with reference screens at a level that impresses even when compared to significantly more expensive models. The image after our adjustment looks exactly as filmmakers and series creators would want it – without colour distortions, with natural depth and subtle texture. LG has done a great job this year regarding factory settings and calibration potential. Chapeau bas!

Once again, we will take a look at the function of smoothing tonal transitions, but this time also at image scaling. The latter is particularly important when watching lower-quality materials, such as certain television programmes or older films. We will focus on the function responsible for tonal transitions. Interestingly, just like in the scenes of the previous test, it performed excellently and smoothed out practically all the inconsistencies; however, here it had problems. Using the menu responsible for this function, we found that no setting - even the strongest - was of any help.

Image scaling in TCL C855 is described as one of the best we have had the opportunity to test so far. The image is sharp, but in a way that could be described as natural for our eyes. Even the small, fine branches do not have jagged edges, and there is no white halo around figures, which is characteristic of inferior scaling systems.

LG C5 handles lower quality materials really very well. One of the main problems older WOLEDs faced was posterisation – that is, unwanted “stair stepping” in colour transitions. The C5 utilises a system feature that smoothens these transitions, which works surprisingly effectively. The banding effect is nearly completely eliminated, and the picture gains in coherence. Compared to last year's model, we have the impression that this feature works slightly less effectively – but the good news is that it does not undermine the structure of the image. Film grain, textures, and details remain on the screen – nothing is unnaturally smoothed out.

The C5 also excels at enhancing the quality of older recordings. Thanks to the α9 Gen6 processor (8th gen), the "scaling to 4K" performs really solidly. The image is clear, the details are sharp, and the only minor downside might be slightly noticeable edge sharpening on some borders. However, there is no issue with overscan here – the image is neither artificially cropped nor shifted, which is a significant plus and still not a given.

The maximum refresh rate we can set on the TCL C855 is 144 Hz. Naturally, this is only possible by connecting the TCL C855 television to a very powerful PC. Otherwise, we will be operating at a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, which is recommended if we primarily want to watch sports or content with a lot of motion dynamics. For those requiring high image fluidity, the manufacturer has implemented a multi-stage motion smoother. This has been divided into two separate sliders regulating the sharpness of moving images (Motion Blur Reduction) and flicker (Flicker Reduction). Both sliders can be set in the range from 0 to 10, with each increment affecting the level of smoothing, so everyone can find their sweet spot. We present a setting that allows for slight smoothing without the soap opera effect.

The panel of the TCL C855 features a very good response time. This is particularly important as VA panels often have issues with so-called ghosting, which is the effect where a black halo can be seen behind a fast-moving object.

The LG C5 is equipped with a 144 Hz display, and this, combined with the virtually zero response time of the OLED pixels, makes it one of the best screens for watching dynamic content. It doesn't matter whether it's sports, fast-paced games, or just action – the image is razor-sharp.

And what about movies at 24 frames? LG thought of that too. The built-in "TruMotion" smoother allows you to adjust the picture to your own preferences. The "de-judder" slider increases fluidity in films, while "de-blur" gently reduces motion blur – though to be fair, it is nearly invisible here anyway.

The TCL C855 television is equipped with full HDMI 2.1 connectors with a full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s. During our tests, we confirmed the seamless operation of all functions that are part of this standard. As can be seen, all checkboxes light up green, which will certainly be appreciated by gamers, both console and those using the television as a monitor for their computer. Additionally, the TCL C855 supports both AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA's G-Sync, which can be easily activated in the graphics card settings. Those with a very powerful setup can send a 144 Hz signal to the C855, which this television handles effortlessly. It is also worth mentioning the implementation of the HGIG mode, which, however, due to the flaw of the “Game” mode, is overly brightened, making it difficult to configure properly on screen. Fortunately, the television performs excellently with the Dolby Vision format.

The TCL C855 is one of the first manufacturers to equip its televisions with a special GameBar, which allows for extensive setting changes on the fly, without the need to exit the game. It features functions such as an additional crosshair grid, black level correction, and settings for people with disabilities. In the picture, we can see the next generation of this solution.

In summary, the TCL C855 television will be an ideal solution for those seeking a screen for all sorts of electronic gaming. Thanks to all the features supporting such entertainment, it is incredibly engaging. It is also important to highlight the very low input lag, regardless of the selected settings, including with the HDR Dolby Vision format.

LG C5 is a television designed with gamers in mind – and there isn't a hint of exaggeration in that. It's hard to find anything to criticise here. We have a refresh rate of 144 Hz, full support for VRR, ALLM, and as many as four HDMI 2.1 ports with a full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s. For those who have an Xbox, PS5, Nintendo, and a gaming PC all in one room – there are no limitations, everything can be connected without any hassle.

The HDR configuration for games also poses no problems. The television correctly handles the HGiG mode, which allows for an image that matches the creators' intentions. For those interested, there is also Dolby Vision in Gaming mode, although we still recommend HGiG as the most predictable and "pure" version of HDR in games.

It also features Game Bar, which serves as a "command centre" for gamers. Everything important, from VRR settings, to picture modes, to frame rate information – is at our fingertips. The interface is simple and clear. It may look like it’s from a spaceship simulator, but it serves its purpose and just works; as it should.

C5 is truly a complete set for any gamer.