TCL P89K / TCL P8K vs Haier M90E

The maximum brightness of the TCL P8K is around 300 nits, although in real film scenes, the television maintains more of a level of about 250 nits. These values cannot be considered sufficient to achieve a full HDR effect – they are closer to a solid base for SDR content. Therefore, we will not see spectacular flashes, bursts of light, or moments in which the screen actually "blinds," as is the case with more expensive models. This makes the image somewhat flat, and the differences between light and shadow are more symbolic than realistic. Fortunately, TCL has a few aces up its sleeve that save the overall reception. One of these is the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at around 93–94%. Thanks to an additional QLED layer (PFS LED), the colours gain depth and intensity, clearly surpassing standard LCD panels. As a result, although there is a lack of the typical "wow effect" associated with HDR brightness, the image itself can impress with its saturation and vibrant tones, making film scenes pulse with colours and not appear strongly washed out.

Haier M90E is a television that does not lack brightness. In most film scenes, the peak luminance exceeds 1000 nits, which gives the image a distinct 'kick' and high dynamics. It performs really well in typical bright HDR materials. However, one must take into account the aforementioned dimming algorithm. In scenes that are not uniformly bathed in light – for example, when displaying single stars on a black sky – the high brightness highlights imperfections in zone control. Instead of a precise point of light, we often see a pronounced halo effect around bright objects. Despite these shortcomings, the overall image presentation can be pleasing, largely due to the colour reproduction. The manufacturer used a phosphor PFS coating, which allows for a wide coverage of the colour palette. In our measurements, the coverage of the DCI-P3 space reached a solid 95%.

In Filmmaker mode, the TCL P8K revealed certain imperfections in image reproduction from the outset. We noticed that the television had a tendency to slightly brighten scenes – its gamma was somewhat low, causing the image to appear slightly "washed out", lacking depth, as if the contrast had slipped out of control. This was most evident in HDR content, where the EOTF brightness graph clearly deviated from reference values. As a result, darker areas of the image appeared too gloomy, while brighter areas did not always reach the correct level of luminance. Another noticeable issue was a slight overemphasis on blue – the television stubbornly boosted this colour, causing certain parts of the image, especially skin tones and reds, to have a subtle purple tint. This is not a major flaw, but it is noticeable to a trained eye. Fortunately, most of these errors could be corrected during calibration. You can see the results of this adjustment in the graphs and photos below.

For the measurements, we selected the Film mode, which is supposed to offer an image closest to the creators' intentions. Unfortunately, in the case of the M90E, its characteristics – apart from the reduced brightness – differ little from the Dynamic mode. Both in SDR and HDR materials, the image is distinctly tinged with a cool blue hue. The white balance is heavily skewed towards blue, which resembles typical, aggressive 'store' settings. This results in an unnatural representation of skin tones and makes the image fatiguing to the eyes over extended viewing periods. The management of brightness also negatively impacts colour fidelity. The television struggles to maintain proper levels – small details are often too dim, while larger, bright areas of the image suffer from clipping. These deviations in the brightness curve, combined with the cool white balance, lead to very significant colour reproduction errors (DeltaE) in the factory settings.

After calibration, the TCL P8K showed a completely different face. It managed to achieve nearly perfect, even reference-level color reproduction in both SDR and HDR content. The screen no longer had a tendency towards a cool tint, and the white balance was perfectly balanced. The gamma values for SDR material also finally look as they should – the image has the proper depth and no longer appears washed out. The only remark that can still be made about the P8K concerns its "Chinese" traits, known from most TCL models. The TV still likes to manipulate saturation in HDR content in its own way – sometimes slightly boosting it, sometimes smoothing it out, which means the effect is not always fully predictable. Nevertheless, after calibration, the colors look stunning, and their accuracy is truly surprising. In most cases, measurement errors dropped below values of 1-2, which is a result that significantly more expensive models would not be ashamed of.

Haier M90E clearly benefits from professional calibration, particularly with SDR content. The television's menu offers a sufficient number of tools to effectively correct factory errors. We managed to 'tame' the white balance and eliminate the dominant blue tint. We also corrected, though to a lesser extent, the brightness curve (gamma), which allowed us to recover some detail in the shadows that were too heavily dimmed out of the box. The final effect in SDR is a picture that is significantly more natural and pleasant to watch. In HDR mode, the success is only partial. Although we were able to improve the white balance here as well, colour reproduction errors (Color Checker) remained at a high level. Analysis of the EOTF curve (responsible for brightness in HDR) indicates the cause of the problem: the television imposes its own interpretation of the signal and does not provide tools for modifying this curve. The source of the high errors is not the calibration itself, but the specific characteristics of the device – aggressive and imprecise zone dimming interferes with measurements and is 'firmly' embedded in the characteristics of this model.

The TCL P8K performs somewhat worse when it comes to the fluidity of tonal transitions in lower-quality materials. The television does offer a function to smooth out unwanted bands; however, its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. Even at the highest setting, it's hard to talk about any real improvement – at times the effect is almost the opposite of what is intended, as the function can introduce small artifacts and unnatural blurring on the screen.

On the other hand, upscaling – that is, scaling the image to 4K resolution – looks significantly better. The P8K handles this task surprisingly well – HD content, and even SD, is enhanced in an aesthetically pleasing manner without excessive loss of sharpness. While there are slight "hard" edges typical of this class of equipment, this can be easily adjusted with the sharpness slider to suit personal preferences. The final effect is more than satisfactory, especially considering the price range in which this model is situated.

The evaluation of the image processor must be divided into two separate aspects, as the Haier M90E behaves inconsistently here. The first issue is the upscaling itself, that is, scaling lower resolution content to 4K. In this task, the television performs quite decently. The algorithms effectively enhance detail, resulting in a relatively sharp, clear, and legible final image. In this regard, it is hard to have major objections to the device.

The situation is completely different with materials that have a high degree of compression, as encountered in older recordings or on platforms like YouTube with lower bitrate. Here, the processor "struggles" with smoothing tonal transitions and masking imperfections in the source. The television fails to hide compression blocks, resulting in a very harsh, "digital" character of the image. The lack of effective artifact reduction can severely discourage viewing lower quality content on this screen.

TCL P8K is one of the cheapest televisions offering a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which in itself is quite an advantage in this price segment. Thanks to the fast panel, this model can confidently be recommended to both sports fans and video gamers – the image is smooth, and the movement of the ball or dynamic actions look natural. However, this does not mean that the P8K is suitable solely for sports. On the contrary – it can also maintain appropriate dynamics in films without introducing the artificial effect of "theatricality", as long as we set the parameters wisely. The television is equipped with a motion smoother called "Motion Clarity", which features two sliders: blur reduction and judder reduction. The first is responsible for smoothing the image by generating additional frames, which increases fluidity, but may cause a slight soap opera effect. The latter, on the other hand, reduces judder and improves sharpness during movement, although it can slightly darken the screen. Properly adjusting these two parameters allows for a really good balance between natural motion and fluidity. It has a 60 Hz refresh rate, but it is hard to say that it is a top-tier panel in terms of response speed. It will perform well for dynamic content, although more demanding users will notice that it is not a screen from the highest class in terms of motion clarity.

The Haier M90E is equipped with a simple yet functional motion smoothing system (MEMC). In the settings menu, the user will find a three-level adjustment scale: low, medium, and high. This allows for the adjustment of the degree of intervention in the image to one’s own preferences – from gentle smoothing of 24p films to maximum fluidity (the soap opera effect). The system operates stably and fulfills its purpose in typical applications.

Although the TCL P8K is a budget television, it cannot be said that it is unsuitable for gaming. On the contrary – it is a screen that can pleasantly surprise any gamer. It features two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing for 4K output at 120 Hz without any issues. For those gaming on a PC, they will also be pleased to know that the television can operate with a refresh rate of up to 240 Hz at a lower resolution – a small thing, but it delights. Additionally, it comes with a full set of gaming features: automatic game mode, Game Bar with quick parameter previews, VRR, HGiG, and support for Dolby Vision in games. All of this makes gaming on the P8K a truly enjoyable experience – the picture is smooth, the response is quick, and the television communicates well with next-generation consoles. The TCL P8K shows that a cheap screen doesn't have to mean giving up on fun. Certainly not in terms of gaming.

From a hardware perspective, the Haier M90E is a solid proposition. The television is equipped with two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, which supports key technologies: VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). It is also worth noting the proper implementation of the Dolby Vision mode for gaming, which maintains a relatively low input lag. Problems arise with the software configuration. The biggest drawback is the forced, continuous dynamic tone mapping by the television’s processor. This prevents correct HDR calibration from the console using system test patterns (HGiG) – the television ignores source settings and processes the image on its own terms. We also noted shortcomings in the interface: the M90E does not have a typical "Game Bar" (overlay with parameters), which is standard among competitors. Collaboration with Xbox consoles proved problematic with unusual parameters – the device struggles to correctly display a resolution of 1440p at a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Despite the aforementioned software shortcomings, the Haier M90E remains a very appealing screen for gamers. The overall reception is saved by the solid hardware base. The native refresh rate of 144 Hz and the presence of full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports are advantages that are crucial for everyday use. If we are looking for a television that ensures high fluidity and supports 4K signal, this model will fulfil its task.