Compare: TCL MQLED85 / C765 vs Sony BRAVIA 7 II

TCL MQLED85, or model C765, is a television that can truly surprise, especially in this price range. It is one of the cheapest models with mini-LED technology, which is immediately evident from the picture quality. The blacks are deep, and the brightness is sufficient even in a brightly lit room. Thanks to the large number of dimming zones, watching films in the evening is a pure pleasure – the blacks are genuinely deep, and the image in dark scenes appears clear. However, it is not perfect – in some shots, you can notice minor issues with small bright elements, but this is really a trifle compared to what this model offers. Google TV works excellently here – there are plenty of applications, and using the system is simply convenient. Voice control in Polish operates flawlessly, which can be particularly useful if you don’t want to type film titles using the remote. Of course, there are minor shortcomings, like the lack of recording features, but these are not things that hinder everyday use. For gamers, it is also a great option. Support for HDMI 2.1, VRR, and low input lag make the television handle consoles well and compete effortlessly with more expensive models from Korean or Japanese manufacturers. It's hard to find something better in this price range concerning smooth and responsive gameplay. During testing, we encountered a few minor software issues, but it's difficult to say if this is a significant drawback. We hope that TCL will release updates, so there is a chance this issue will be resolved quickly. TCL MQLED85/C765 is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a television with good picture quality and modern features at a reasonable price. This model combines accessible mini-LED technology with a convenient Google TV system, while also performing exceptionally well in gaming. The minor software shortcomings are something you can live with, especially considering what this television offers in its class.

The Sony Bravia 7 II is a TV that shows RGB Mini-LED doesn't have to be reserved just for the wealthiest customers. Although in some areas it's clearly positioned below the Bravia 9 II, in everyday use it doesn't feel like a severely stripped-down model. What really makes the difference is the combination of very good black levels, high brightness and Sony's excellent algorithms. As a result the picture is striking, yet it stays very true to how a film should look. HDR performs particularly well, with the Bravia able to show a lot of light without losing detail. The True RGB backlight itself also has its advantages. It gives the TV a wide colour gamut and improves viewing angles, which for a VA panel are really good. That doesn't mean, however, that RGB Mini-LED suddenly solves all the limitations of LCD TVs. We can still see haloing around small bright elements, and the backlight's colour capabilities are not used to their full extent in every scene. Nonetheless, Sony controls all this very well, and the way the picture is managed is one of the Bravia 7 II's greatest strengths.

Image processing also remains a considerable advantage over many competitors. Upscaling, smoothing weaker tonal transitions and HDR mapping are among this model's strengths. Add Google TV, a good feature set, very low input lag and a practically complete set of features for gamers. However, there are things in a TV of this class that are hard to understand. The most notable gripe is the presence of only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is also eARC. Sony also sticks with 120 Hz, while the competition increasingly offers 144, 165 or 180 Hz. Ultimately the Bravia 7 II defends itself primarily as a very complete TV. It doesn't try to win on a spec sheet and in a few areas the competition will offer more. Sony makes up for that where the specifications don't tell the whole story, with image processing, very good HDR tuning, backlight control and the overall picture quality in films. That's exactly what makes the Bravia 7 II one of the more interesting Mini-LEDs of 2026, especially for people looking for a bright, all-purpose TV for films, television, sport and gaming, but who don't necessarily want to go for OLED.

TCL MQLED85/C765 stands out due to its use of a VA panel and Mini LED backlighting, which makes a significant difference compared to traditional backlighting systems. Mini LED, with its considerably smaller diodes, allows for more precise control of the screen's backlighting, resulting in much better contrast and deeper blacks. The 55-inch model we are testing has an impressive number of over 700 local dimming zones, providing exceptional precision in image display. However, it is worth noting that the number of backlighting zones may vary depending on the screen size – for larger diagonals, the number of zones naturally increases due to the larger screen area, allowing larger displays to achieve better results in terms of contrast and black levels. Thanks to the vast number of zones, the TCL MQLED85/C765 achieved a performance comparable to OLED screens on our first test scene from the film "Oblivion," offering nearly reference-level contrast. But what happens when we test this model in even more demanding conditions? How will the television perform in more challenging scenarios? Overall, the TCL MQLED85/C765 performs very well in displaying blacks, but in some cases, the local dimming algorithm is not perfect. On dark backgrounds, smaller bright elements can lose clarity and brightness, as confirmed by our recent test scene from the Pioneer Kuro test disc. Despite some imperfections in the local dimming algorithm and the slight occurrence of the HALO effect (which is a bright halo around bright objects on a dark background caused by screen local dimming deficiencies), the results achieved by the TCL MQLED85/C765 are impressive, especially considering its price. This television offers contrast and black depth that can compete with models that are even half again as expensive.

The Sony Bravia 7 II, in the 65-inch variant we tested, uses a VA panel and an RGB Mini-LED backlight divided into 432 local dimming zones. That already provides a solid foundation for achieving very good black levels, although one thing is worth noting. There are fewer zones here than in last year’s Bravia 7, which had 512 in the same size. Has this affected contrast? Interestingly, no. The Bravia 7 II handles blacks even better than its predecessor and clearly shows how much depends on the algorithms themselves. Sony controls the backlight very well and in many scenes can achieve truly deep blacks, while at the same time not losing detail in the dark areas of the image. There are no instances where the TV tries to force perfect black at all costs, cutting out some details in the process.

The smaller number of zones only becomes noticeable in the most demanding scenes. A starry sky, text on a black background or many small bright elements displayed at once can already cause a halo effect. What’s interesting, however, is how that halo looks. Thanks to the RGB backlight, the glow can take on the colour of the displayed object. So if there is a small red object on a black background, the glow around it will also have a red tint. It does not disappear completely, but as a result it contrasts less with the object itself and the image looks more consistent than on conventional Mini-LEDs that use white backlights.

The television TCL MQLED85/C765 handles HDR well. In the tested movie scenes where the screen is covered with 100% brightness, the model achieves impressive results of around 1000 nits, providing intense and realistic rendering of HDR content. However, similar to contrast, the dimming algorithm may exhibit certain limitations. Despite a large number of Mini LED zones, the television does not always manage to "wow" the user with brightness in very challenging test scenes. For example, in the scene from the film "Life of Pi," where a bright moon appears against a dark background, and in another scene from "Sicario 2," where a very bright light effect is visible on a dark background, the television did not reach maximum intensity. For users expecting perfect HDR performance in such extreme cases, the TCL MQLED may be slightly disappointing. However, in terms of colours, the television stands out with very high coverage of the DCI P3 colour palette at 95%, which is an impressive result, comparable to much more expensive models. TCL MQLED85 / C765 offers support for various HDR formats, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which is significant for cinema image enthusiasts. Although this model achieves brightness over 1000 nits, TCL MQLED85 may struggle to reflect details in very high-contrast scenes. For better HDR quality control, C765 is equipped with a dynamic tone mapping option, making the image more realistic and natural depending on the content.

The Sony Bravia 7 II handles HDR very well and, above all, is simply a bright television. In the correct viewing mode, Professional, we measured around 2,000 nits of peak brightness, so the panel’s capabilities are truly significant. Of course, with Mini-LEDs a test pattern result is only part of the story, because a lot still depends on how the TV controls the backlight in real scenes. Here Sony’s algorithms perform very well. Depending on the scene, the brightness we measured in films ranged from roughly 1,100 to as much as 1,700 nits. That’s already a level at which HDR has proper punch and bright highlights can be genuinely impressive. It isn’t perfect in every situation, though. With small bright elements on a very dark background the Bravia 7 II clearly favours maintaining good blacks, which can cause their brightness to drop to around 500 nits. It still looks good, but you can see the TV does not always manage this without compromise.

Colours

The second thing that has a huge impact on HDR is, of course, colour. And this is precisely where True RGB technology was meant to bring one of the biggest changes. Looking at the panel’s capabilities alone, the Bravia 7 II performs very well. We measured about 98% DCI-P3 coverage and 88% BT.2020, so the potential to show strongly saturated colours is really large. In RGB TVs, however, the situation is a bit more complex. When we repeated the same measurements with a film background applied, palette coverage fell to around 92% DCI-P3 and 78% BT.2020. Those are still good figures, especially for an RGB Mini-LED TV, but they clearly show that the final result largely depends on how the algorithms control the three backlight colours. In most scenes the Bravia 7 II handles this well and colours retain high saturation. The biggest differences are visible in shades of blue, where samples begin to deviate more noticeably from reference values and coverage is weaker than for the other primary colours. True RGB therefore offers genuinely greater potential here, but, as with brightness, much depends on what is happening on screen.

The television TCL MQLED85/C765 was tested in movie mode, which, although it seems to be the best setting from the manufacturer, is not without flaws. The colour reproduction in HD/SDR mode MQLED85 shows some shortcomings. In the analysis of white balance, there is a significant lack of blue, which can affect the overall image quality, especially in bright scenes where blue shades are crucial for natural representation. The overall shape of the image may then appear too warm. Regarding gamma contrast, the graph shows a large jump above the reference line of 2.4 at the beginning, which may suggest significant dimming of brightness in darker areas, leading to loss of detail in black. Then, for most of the time, the values lie below this line, which may lead to loss of detail in brighter parts of the image. Such a distribution can negatively impact perceived image quality, particularly when watching regular television in HD quality.

In the case of 4K HDR image quality of the TCL MQLED85/C765, there is a noticeable excess of red in the analysis of white balance. This excess can significantly affect the viewer's experience, leading to several significant effects. Firstly, an excessive amount of red can make other colours, such as green or blue, appear muted or unnatural. This distortion of colour balance can result in an overall impression of "over-saturation," which detracts from the naturalness and authenticity of the image. As for contrast, the EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) graph indicates that most values are above the reference line, suggesting an intense boost in brightness in bright areas of the image. However, there is an exception at the beginning of the graph, where the EOTF line is below the reference line, which can lead to excessive dimming of small light elements.

Users should be aware that despite using the best mode, which is movie mode, the television is not free from flaws in terms of image settings, so it is worth considering adjusting the settings to achieve better results.

To evaluate the factory colours we chose the Professional mode, because it performs best among the available settings. However, it is not perfect. In SDR the white balance drifts slightly towards magenta, making some scenes look a little warmer and less neutral than they should. A bigger problem is the gamma, which sits closer to 2.5 than to 2.4. This makes the image a bit too dark in places, particularly in the midtones. In HDR the situation is better. As brightness increases a little too much red appears, but this is not an issue that is highly noticeable during viewing. Overall the Professional mode is a good starting point, although you can get a bit more out of it after calibration.

After the professional calibration of the television TCL MQLED85/C765, its colour properties in movie mode have significantly improved, resulting in a much more satisfying visual experience. Both in SDR and HDR modes, the white balance shows no serious errors, and the graph appears much better harmonised. Users can now enjoy natural colour reproduction, which is crucial for obtaining an authentic experience when watching films. It is worth noting that in HDR content, there may be slight colour reproduction errors at the end of the graph, but these are much smaller than before calibration. As a result, characters and landscapes become more realistic, enhancing the depth of immersion in the story.

In terms of contrast, the gamma curve, responsible for HD quality, has been completely free of drops below the reference line, meaning better detail visibility in dark scenes. Nevertheless, there is still a slight boost at the beginning of the graph, which may affect the perception of bright elements. For HDR content, the EOTF curve also exhibits smaller errors, although certain issues with medium tone reproduction may still be noticeable. The EOTF curve measured on actual movie scenes still shows a significant brightness boost, making the image appear more intense but artificially brightened. This is a typical problem for TCL televisions, which may appeal to inexperienced viewers, but can be irritating for those more familiar with an ideal image.

What benefits does professional calibration bring for film enthusiasts? Thanks to it, viewing becomes even more realistic and immersive, and each scene can be fully experienced, preserving details and natural colours.

After calibration the Bravia 7 II can look decidedly better. Above all, we managed to set the white balance very well, both in SDR and HDR. Gamma can also be improved, which after correction runs very close to the reference value. And in fact, for most users these changes will have the greatest impact on the picture. There is, however, a limitation when it comes to the colours themselves. In the Bravia 7 II Sony does not provide access to a classic CMS that would allow us to correct individual hues separately. A lot is therefore left in the hands of the algorithms controlling the True RGB backlight. If the TV misrepresents a particular colour, we are not always able to do anything about it. In our measurements this is most visible in certain reds and blues, where errors can still be quite large. This does not, however, undermine the point of calibration itself. Correctly setting the white point and gamma strongly affects the whole picture, so even without the ability to precisely correct every colour the difference compared with the factory settings is noticeable.

The fluidity of tonal transitions in the television TCL MQLED85/C765 is quite decent, although some issues are noticeable in both bright and dark test scenes. In particular, colour blending is evident in the scene from the film "The Green Knight", where the red colour of the water transitions to black. Despite these imperfections, the overall quality of gradation is acceptable and does not overly detract from the visual experience. The television handles most scenes well, offering satisfactory tonal transitions, which contributes to an overall pleasing visual experience that will not spoil our cinema enjoyment.

Colour gradation on the Bravia 7 II is very good and there is little to criticise. Transitions between individual shades are smooth, both in bright and darker scenes. You can notice minor imperfections, but they are subtle enough that during normal viewing they hardly attract attention. It looks a little worse with the same material when played back using Dolby Vision. In that mode the TV has more difficulty maintaining equally smooth transitions, particularly in darker tones. Banding and unevenness then become somewhat easier to spot, so Dolby Vision fares worse in this respect than standard HDR10.

Let’s take another look at the tonal transitions in the TCL MQLED85/C765 television, but in the context of poorer image quality. Despite the presence of the "Gradual Smoothing" option, when set to "low," the effects are practically invisible, disappointing users expecting an improvement in image quality. On the other hand, the "high" setting produces minimal results, and worse still, it can blur significant details, negatively affecting the sharpness and clarity of the displayed image. However, in the context of image scaling, the television successfully displayed the image without overscan, meaning we do not lose any part of the view. The image looks rather decent, and details such as tree branches or the outlines of models do not exhibit significant jaggedness, which positively impacts the visual quality.

Scaling and digital processing are among the strongest points of the Bravia 7 II and one of the bigger reasons to choose Sony over the competition. The manufacturer has been handling digital image processing well for years, and it shows here too. First and foremost, the 'Smooth Gradation' function works very well and can smooth out weak tonal transitions in lower-quality material. The safest setting is Low, but we would comfortably recommend Medium as well. The effect is stronger then, yet the TV still treats details very gently. Some fine details may be slightly smoothed, but Sony does this much more subtly than many other brands. The upscaling itself also performs very well. Lower-resolution material is well upscaled to 4K, the image looks clean and retains a lot of detail. Of course the TV will not magically turn native HD material into true 4K, but what can be extracted from such a source is handled really well by the Bravia 7 II.

TCL MQLED85/C765 is equipped with a panel featuring a standard refresh rate of 120 Hz, with the capability to increase to 144 Hz when connected to a powerful computer. The television also offers a multi-level motion smoother, primarily aimed at users wishing to enhance motion fluidity in films. It allows for the adjustment of effect intensity on a scale from 0 to 10, enabling precise tuning of image smoothness to individual preferences. The response time of the panel is decent, but not perfect. We can observe blurring occurring behind both dark and medium objects.

The Bravia 7 II uses a 120 Hz panel, so in terms of motion handling it delivers everything you would expect from a TV of this class. With sport or games at 120 fps, the picture is suitably smooth, and for films Sony provides an extensive motion interpolation system. You can therefore adjust the interpolation level separately and decide whether you want to preserve a more cinematic character to the motion or obtain noticeably smoother movement. The issue of motion blur itself is a little worse. The VA panel used is not among the fastest, and you can notice a slight trail behind moving objects, particularly on darker backgrounds. It is not at a level that greatly bothers during normal viewing, but last year’s Bravia 7 fared better in this respect and had a noticeably faster panel.

TCL MQLED85/C765 has received an impressive rating in the gaming features category, making it an excellent choice for gaming enthusiasts. The television supports all the latest technologies that significantly enhance the gaming experience. Among the key gaming features is ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which automatically switches the TV to low-latency mode, minimising response time and ensuring smooth gameplay. VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) functioning in the range of 48 to 144 Hz eliminates stuttering and screen tearing in dynamic game scenes. Additionally, the TV supports Dolby Vision Game Mode, which provides better image quality in games with exceptional colour depth and contrast. TCL MQLED85/C765 also features a decent if not the best implementation of HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group), optimising HDR game display; however, for TCL, it causes detail in whites to be brightened, resulting in some elements merging into a white blob - we can read more about this in the colour reproduction section. It supports various resolutions, such as 1080p@120Hz, 1440p@120Hz, and 4K@120Hz, allowing players to enjoy higher image quality and better fluidity. The Game Bar feature allows easy switching between game settings and quick parameter control, greatly simplifying the adjustment of the television to individual needs. With support for G-Sync and FreeSync technologies, users of NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards will be pleased with the refresh rate synchronisation capabilities, eliminating tearing and stuttering issues, thereby providing a smoother and more immersive gaming experience.

MQLED85/C765 is a television that combines advanced technologies and excellent support for gamers, making it the perfect choice for those who wish to maximise their gaming experiences.

Bravia 7 II has basically everything you’d expect today from a good console TV. It supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR from 48 to 120 Hz and ALLM, so when you start a game the TV automatically switches to a low-latency mode. It also has properly working HGiG, which means that after configuring HDR on the console the TV won’t try to brighten the image further on its own. You just need to remember to turn off tone mapping in the TV’s menu. Dolby Vision in game mode is also a plus, especially useful for Xbox owners. Sony adds its own Game Menu. From it you can quickly check key signal information, verify VRR operation or change gaming-related settings without digging through the whole TV menu. The only thing missing from the feature list is support for 1440p at 120 Hz.

Our biggest reservation is not really about the functions themselves, but about the connectors. The Bravia 7 II has four HDMI ports, but only two of them support full HDMI 2.1 at 48 Gbps. One of those is also an eARC port. So if you connect a soundbar or AV receiver to the TV via HDMI, in practice you’re left with only one full HDMI 2.1 for a console or PC. With a single console that’s no problem, but with a PS5, an Xbox and an audio setup it starts to get tight. And this is hard to excuse for Sony. In cheaper TVs two HDMI 2.1 ports can still be acceptable, but in a model of this class, especially in 2026, we would expect a full set of four such ports.

The latency time on the TCL MQLED85 television reaches impressively low levels in all conditions. Even the most demanding gamers will surely appreciate the minimal input lag of just 8 ms at 4K 120 Hz settings with HDR. Moreover, the latency remains at the same level even with Dolby Vision HDR turned on, which is not the case for many competing models.

Input lag on the Bravia 7 II is excellent. With a 60 Hz signal we measured about 13–14 ms, while at 120 Hz the delay drops to just 8–9 ms. Those values are low enough that the response to controls is practically instantaneous and even more demanding gamers should have no reason to complain. Dolby Vision also deserves praise. A few years ago Sony TVs had some issues with that format in games, and enabling it could mean higher input lag. On the Bravia 7 II this issue has effectively disappeared. In Dolby Vision we measured 14 ms at 60 Hz and 8 ms at 120 Hz, practically exactly the same as in standard HDR.

TCL MQLED85 will perform well as a computer monitor. With support for chroma 4:4:4, the text on the screen is sharp and legible, which is important for those working with word documents or spreadsheets. One of the greatest assets of this model is its exceptionally low input lag in "PC" mode, which is just 8 ms. This is a reference-level result that ensures fluidity and responsiveness, crucial for both gamers and those engaged in video editing. However, it is worth noting that there is a certain issue related to font display on dark backgrounds. When zooming in on the tested font image, one can see that the horizontal lines are darker compared to the vertical ones. This means that the sub-pixels in the television do not fully illuminate in this case, which can affect the quality of the displayed text. Nevertheless, the overall performance of TCL MQLED85 as a computer monitor is very good and will certainly meet the expectations of many users.

The Bravia 7 II also works very well as a large computer monitor. The TV correctly handles chroma 4:4:4, and thanks to the classic RGB subpixel layout fonts are very legible and do not have the characteristic coloured fringing. So for everyday work with the desktop, browser or documents it performs very well.

PC gamers also get most of the features familiar from consoles, including VRR and low input lag. The only thing to complain about is the maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. A few years ago that would have been an excellent result, but today some rivals already offer 4K at 144, 165 or even 180 Hz, and in Full HD they can exceed 300 Hz. For most people 120 Hz is still more than enough, but owners of powerful PCs might expect a bit more here.

The viewing angles on the TCL MQLED85 television are not its strong suit. The use of a VA panel means that the picture loses a significant amount of brightness when viewed at an angle. Changing the viewer's position, especially when watching with a larger group, can cause colours to appear less saturated and the contrast to become less pronounced. For this reason, it is recommended to sit directly in front of the screen to fully enjoy the picture quality. Although the television offers excellent colour reproduction from a direct view, the loss of brightness and detail at an angle can be problematic for those planning to use the television in a larger room or from different locations.

The viewing angles on the Bravia 7 II are really good, thanks in large part to the RGB Mini-LED backlight. Unlike conventional TVs with VA panels and white or blue backlighting, when viewed off-axis the image here does not lose brightness and colour saturation so quickly. It's a noticeable improvement, because viewing angles are usually one of the bigger compromises of VA panels. Of course it still doesn't reach the level of the best IPS panels, let alone OLEDs, but the difference compared with a typical Mini-LED with a VA panel is clear. Even sitting slightly to the side, the picture still looks good and the colours don't immediately become washed out.

MQLED85 performs reasonably well in daytime conditions, and it is worth noting the satin finish of the panel. Although it doesn't handle reflections perfectly, it offers decent performance in various lighting conditions. An average brightness level of over 600 nits is an impressive achievement, allowing for comfortable viewing even in well-lit rooms. As a result, the television performs well both during the day and during evening movie sessions, providing satisfactory picture quality.

The Bravia 7 II is also very well suited to a bright living room. This is largely down to its high brightness, which reaches around 1,250 nits in SDR. The TV therefore has enough power to keep the picture clear and vivid even when a lot of light enters the room. However, compared with the higher-end Bravia 9 II there is one notable difference. The Bravia 7 II does not have a fully matte screen, but a coating with a more satin finish. It still copes with reflections quite well, but glare from windows or lamps is more noticeable. On the other hand, blacks hold up well during the day and do not become noticeably grey under ambient light. Overall it is still a very good TV for bright rooms, although in terms of reducing direct reflections the Bravia 9 II has the edge.

TCL MQLED85 television offers many features that enhance user comfort, with the centrepiece of its functionality being the Google TV system. This modern interface allows for easy content searching as well as access to applications available in the Google Play store. Users can utilize voice search in Polish, which greatly facilitates navigation and allows for the quick discovery of interesting programmes, films, or applications. It is also worth noting that Google TV is currently the only system on the market that does not restrict Polish users in accessing applications, offering the greatest availability among all platforms. However, in the context of traditional television viewing, this television has its limitations. It does not offer recording functionality, which may be a significant drawback for those who would like to save their favourite programmes. Additionally, the absence of the Picture-in-Picture (PIP) option limits the ability to simultaneously follow several video sources. On the other hand, the television features the "MultiVision" function, which allows for screen division between the television and a mobile device. This enables users to use applications on their phone while simultaneously watching a television programme. This solution will certainly appeal to those who enjoy multitasking and want to watch television while using social media or browsing the internet on their smartphone. Despite certain limitations, the TCL MQLED85 presents itself as a solid option for users who value modernity and functionality.

Classic features

Sony in the Bravia 7 II still approaches the TV a little more "old school" than some of the competition, and here that’s a plus. It’s not just a screen for streaming apps, because the manufacturer has kept many traditional functions that a lot of people still use every day. You can record programmes to USB, schedule recordings and use the TV with Bluetooth headphones without having to switch off its built-in speakers. The whole gives the impression of a well-finished set for everyday TV viewing rather than merely a "monitor with apps". The control layout is also worth praising. Two remotes are included. One is more modern and simplified, the other is a classic design with more buttons. This way everyone can choose the control method they find more comfortable. The main remote works via radio, so you don’t need to point it directly at the TV, and the backlit buttons are particularly handy in the evening.

Google TV

Google TV handles the Smart features, and here the Bravia 7 II performs as you would expect from a TV of this class. The system runs quickly, menus respond smoothly and you don’t get the impression that the set needs a moment for every simple task. The biggest advantage remains the vast selection of apps, meaning practically everything we use on a TV today is immediately at hand. Google TV also works well when the TV is part of a larger ecosystem. You can cast video from your phone or computer, use AirPlay and Miracast, and perform voice searches in your native language. In practice the Bravia 7 II therefore offers a lot of freedom, and it’s unlikely you’ll come across a situation where a basic Smart TV feature is missing.

Thanks to the built-in player, the television is capable of playing most file formats found on external storage devices, making it a versatile tool for consuming multimedia. However, there may be certain limitations in supporting some formats, which could be annoying for more demanding users. Fortunately, the Google TV system allows the installation of other media players from Google Play, which helps eliminate compatibility issues. As a result, users have the option to choose applications that best meet their needs, significantly enhancing the functionality of the television.

The built-in media player in the Bravia 7 II performs well and has no major problems with most common content. The TV handles the most frequently encountered video files and codecs, so when using a hard drive or USB stick in a typical way you are unlikely to face significant limitations. What is mainly lacking is broader support for subtitle formats and image files. For photos the TV opens JPEG and HEIC, but it cannot cope with, for example, PNG, WebP or TIFF. We would not consider this a serious drawback, however, because many of the missing formats are fairly niche. And if the built-in player proves insufficient, Google TV simply allows you to install an external app and largely work around those limitations.

The sound of the television TCL MQLED85 can be described as decent, making it sufficient for daily viewing of films, television programmes, and games. The speakers branded by Onkyo offer surprisingly good audio quality, and the sound does not screech or distort even at higher volumes.

Sony has made significant changes to the sound system of the new Bravia 7 II, and you certainly can't say the TV lacks bass. There's plenty of it, and the whole setup can also play very loudly. In our measurements it reached around 94 dBC. That said, we find the low end is at times almost excessive. The bass can mask other parts of the frequency range, causing dialogue and some sounds to lose a little clarity. Overall it sounds powerful and impressive, but it could do with slightly more balanced tuning. One plus is its support for audio formats. Sony supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS, so in that respect the Bravia 7 II doesn't impose major limitations.

TCL MQLED85 / C765 vs Sony BRAVIA 7 II

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Colours

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

Daytime performance

Panel details

TV features

Classic features:

Smart features:

Sound connection options

Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):

Senior accessibility

Classic features

Google TV

Apps

Playing files from USB

Sound

Sound Quality Test

Acoustic Measurements