- Matching (Score) |
- Our verdict |
- Competing TVs |
- TV appearance |
- Where to buy |
- Contrast and black detail |
- HDR effect quality |
- 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 |
- TV features |
- Apps |
- Playing files from USB |
- Sound |
- Panel details
TCL P7L / P79L Review
P7L / P79L
Available screen sizes:
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Panel type: LCD VA Refresh rate: 60Hz Brand: TCL Resolution: 3840x2160 System: Google TV Model year: 2026
This review is an English translation of the Polish original. Read the original on Wybierz.tv.
The TCL P7L is one of the manufacturer's cheapest TVs in its 2026 lineup. Chinese brands have long competed fiercely on price, but in this case it matters especially, because we're talking about a genuinely budget model aimed mainly at people who simply want a large screen for as little money as possible. Despite the low price, TCL has tried to add a few elements here that look quite attractive on paper. The P7L is marketed as a QLED TV, and the manufacturer has also included several features aimed at gamers. So the key question is: how much do we actually get for such a low price, and where did TCL have to make compromises?
TCL P7L - Our verdict
6.3
Overall rating
TCL P7L is a successful budget television that shows you can get more than just a screen for basic viewing for a modest sum. It does not match pricier Mini LED or OLED models, but in its class it has a lot to offer. The VA panel delivers decent blacks and contrast, so during an evening session the picture does not look as flat as on many cheap IPS models. After calibration the colours are also good. For watching films and series it is a solid base, and Google TV provides access to a wide range of apps and streaming services. The biggest surprise is its gaming capabilities. The P7L responds quickly to controller input, supports VRR and switches automatically to game mode. There is even Dolby Vision Gaming and a Game Bar with settings at your fingertips. What is more, reducing the resolution to 1080p or 1440p allows you to play at 120 Hz. In 4K you are limited to 60 Hz, so you must choose between greater detail and smoother motion, but it is good that at this price you have that choice. TCL also handles lower-quality sources well. Lower-resolution material looks acceptable, and the tonal transition smoothing actually helps reduce visible banding between shades. The way it presents HDR is also commendable. The TV sensibly adapts content to its capabilities and tries to preserve highlight detail instead of turning it into blown-out whites. Dolby Vision helps here too, often delivering noticeably better results than HDR10. That does not mean the HDR effect itself is awe-inspiring. The biggest limitation of the P7L is brightness. Small highlights and reflections do not have the punch you see on more expensive screens, even if their detail remains visible. For the same reason the TV is less well suited to a very sunlit living room. It performs much better in a moderately lit room. So the P7L has its limitations, but it is hard to deny its strong value for money. It is suitable for everyday viewing, does not restrict you in app choice and offers surprising freedom in games. If you are looking for an inexpensive television and can accept its flaws, the TCL P7L is a model worth considering.
Advantages
Good contrast thanks to the VA panel
Rich colours: QLED (PFS)
Supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+
Supports audio formats Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
Extensive gaming features: VRR and ALLM
Low input lag
120 Hz support at lower resolutions
Google TV with a wide selection of apps
Disadvantages
Low brightness
Poor viewing angles
Average sound quality
Movies and series in UHD quality5.8
Classic TV, YouTube6.0
Sports broadcasts (TV and apps)5.7
Gaming on console7.3
TV as a computer monitor5.8
Watching in bright light5.2
Utility functions7.0
Apps9.6
Sound quality6.2
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TCL P7L - Competing TVs in this price range
TCL P7L - TV appearance
HDMI inputs: 3 x HDMI 2.0, 0 x HDMI 2.1 Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI) Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
Build quality: Average
Stand type: Legs
Bezel color: Graphite
Stand: Fixed
Flat design: No
Accessories: Stand
TCL P7L looks exactly as you would expect from an inexpensive TV. The build is simple and fairly budget, with no elements that particularly set it apart from the competition. A plus is the three slim bezels around the screen, which make the front look quite tidy. A neat detail is the small "Premium QLED" emblem in the right-hand corner of the screen. Apart from that, there are few stylistic attractions to be found. It's an ordinary TV where a low price is clearly more important than looks.
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TCL P7L - Contrast and black detail
6.1/10
Local dimming function: No
Result
7,550:1
Result
7,350:1
Result
5,150:1
Result
6,600:1
Result
4,250:1
The TCL P7L can surprise with quite respectable black levels, mainly thanks to its VA panel. The panel itself offers contrast of around 4500:1, which is clearly better than in typical IPS screens. The TV also uses global backlight control, so in darker scenes it can push black levels even lower, and in our measurements it achieved results that exceeded the panel's own capabilities.
However, this is not the local dimming found on Mini LED TVs. The P7L cannot dim small parts of the image independently, so when a bright element appears on screen the entire backlight has to operate at a similar level. In more demanding scenes the difference compared with models that use zoned dimming becomes apparent quite quickly, and in a completely dark room blacks can tend towards navy tones. Despite these limitations, we assess the P7L's overall contrast positively, especially given the segment it occupies.
TCL P7L - HDR effect quality
4.5/10
Supported formats: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG
Luminance measurements in HDR:
Result
250 nit
Result
300 nit
Result
368 nit
Result
297 nit
Result
347 nit
The biggest limitation of the TCL P7L in HDR is simply brightness. The TV does not have much luminance headroom, so strong highlights, the sun or small light sources can't clearly 'pop' out of the picture. As a result, even well-produced HDR material looks fairly restrained and, in terms of dynamics, is closer to good SDR than to what brighter models show. That does not mean the P7L completely fails at HDR. The issue is primarily a lack of backlight power.
Looking at colours, the situation is a little better. The TV covers around 91% of the DCI-P3 gamut and about 68% of the wide BT.2020 colour space, so for this price class the colour range is quite respectable. TCL markets this model as QLED, although the nature of the solution used is closer to backlighting that uses a PFS phosphor than to a classic quantum-dot layer. What matters most to the viewer, however, is the effect: more saturated colours are on offer.
BT.2020 color gamut coverage and primary color luminance
| Data set | BT.2020 | P3 | R | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synthetic patterns | 68.5% | 90.6% | 52% | 52% | 57% |
| Film measurements | 68.3% | 90.7% | 52% | 54% | 60% |
BT.2020 BT.2020 and P3 – average color gamut coverage (percent of the target gamut).
R, G, B – average primary color luminance relative to target (percent).
Scene from the movie “Pan” (about 2800 nits)
Scene from the movie “Billy Lynn” (about 1100 nits)
By contrast, the brightness mapping itself fares much better. TCL handles content graded to 1000 nits, and even several thousand nits, quite sensibly. With dynamic tone mapping enabled and set to the "detailed priority description" mode, the TV can retain a lot of information in the brightest parts of the image instead of simply blowing them out. In scenes such as 'Pan' or 'Billy Lynn' details in the highlights remain visible, and the processing does not turn the whole scene into an artificially darkened picture. It's a genuinely sensible feature of this model. You just have to remember that even the best mapping won't make up for a lack of brightness. The details are there, but the overall effect is still rather dark.
HDR luminance chart:
The P7L also benefits from content with dynamic metadata. This was most evident with Dolby Vision, where the TV could extract noticeably more information from very bright highlights than from standard HDR10. A good example is snowy scenes, where static HDR more easily loses subtle tonal transitions in the whites, whereas Dolby Vision recovers more structure and fine detail. At such limited peak brightness this is particularly important, because the TV cannot compensate with luminance alone. That is why Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are more than just extras on the spec sheet here. They help the P7L squeeze noticeably more out of its modest HDR capabilities.
Static HDR10
Dynamic: Dolby Vision
Factory color reproduction
5.4/10
In Film mode the TCL P7L performs quite respectably without major changes to the settings, particularly with ordinary SDR material. White balance is relatively even, though as brightness increases there is a slight rise in red and blue and a touch too little green. This does not, however, produce a strongly visible tint and most colours remain close to their reference points. The Colour Checker confirms this, with a large portion of errors falling below the level that should be particularly noticeable during normal viewing. We have more reservations about the gamma response. In the darkest parts of the image the TV runs it noticeably above the reference value, so some shadow detail can be a little too subdued. The characteristic then calms down and across much of the range it is close to the intended behaviour. As a result SDR generally looks natural, but in dark scenes the P7L can lose some subtlety.
In HDR the factory calibration is less precise. As brightness increases the excess of blue becomes more pronounced, which can make the image look cooler than it should. The number of larger colour deviations also grows, particularly in brighter hues. As for the EOTF curve itself, it is handled fairly conservatively, with the TV showing the image darker than the reference across much of the range. For such an inexpensive model, the factory Film mode settings are not bad.
Color reproduction after calibration
7/10
After calibration the TCL P7L can deliver a genuinely pleasant picture, especially with conventional SDR material. We managed to even out the white balance very well, and the gamma curve now tracks close to the target value of 2.4. This is also reflected in the colour measurements: most errors have fallen noticeably, and in everyday viewing it is hard to point to any obvious inaccuracies. Films, series, YouTube and ordinary broadcast TV therefore look more natural, without unnecessary warmth or a cool tint. For a model in this price bracket the SDR performance is really very good.
With HDR the situation becomes more complicated. Calibration helped improve the white balance and tidy up some deviations, but here the panel's limitations become increasingly apparent. The P7L has relatively low brightness and cannot maintain adequate luminance for more saturated colours, so some errors remain even after careful tuning. In other words, settings can improve the way the TV interprets the signal, but they cannot overcome its physical limits. That is why calibration makes most sense for this model primarily in SDR.
TCL P7L - Smoothness of tonal transitions
7/10
The smoothness of tonal transitions on the TCL P7L is quite good, but not in every scene. In brighter scenes the television performs very well, because changes between successive shades are gentle, and on the sky, bright walls or subtle gradients it's hard to spot anything that would noticeably disrupt viewing. It becomes worse in the darker areas of the image. It is there that visible joins between colours and successive grey levels appear more often. In dark scenes you can therefore notice characteristic banding or more pronounced 'steps' where the transition should be smoother. It's not an issue all the time, but with weaker source material or scenes with lots of mid-tones it can stand out.
Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions
7/10
Smooth transition function
Image without overscan on the SD signal
In this respect the TCL P7L performs surprisingly well, especially for such an inexpensive TV. The banding-reduction feature, which in many budget models does little or nothing, actually manages to improve the picture here. It does not remove all banding entirely, but it can noticeably reduce posterisation and make more challenging gradients look more natural. At this price point that’s a genuinely pleasant surprise. Upscaling itself also performs well. Lower-resolution material is scaled correctly, without over-sharpening or adding artificial outlines around objects. Of course the P7L won’t turn a very poor source into a 4K-quality image, but for regular TV the result is simply solid. For a model in this class there is little to criticise.
TCL P7L - Blur and motion smoothness
5.5/10
Maximum refresh rate of the panel: 60Hz
Film motion smoothing option: Yes
Blur reduction option: No
BFI function 60Hz: No
BFI function 120Hz: No
The TCL P7L uses a panel with a native 60 Hz refresh rate at 4K resolution, and that's how it should be regarded in everyday use. When watching films the TV mainly offers frame interpolation, so it can smooth motion and reduce the characteristic judder, but it does not deliver the fluidity typical of true 120 Hz panels.
Blur (native resolution, maximum refresh rate):
Blur (1440p@120Hz):
A plus is the ability to achieve 120 Hz by lowering the resolution to 1080p or 1440p. This option is aimed mainly at gamers and can be useful when connecting a console or PC, especially for fast-paced titles. However, it does not change the fact that when watching films, sport or television the P7L remains a classic 60 Hz model.
TCL P7L - Console compatibility and gaming features
6.7/10
- ALLM:
Yes
- VRR:
Yes
- VRR range:
48 - 120Hz
- Dolby Vision Game Mode:
Yes
Correct implementation of HGIG:
No - 1080p@120Hz:
Yes
- 1440p@120Hz:
Yes
- 4K@120Hz:
No
- Game bar:
Yes
For such an inexpensive TV, the P7L has quite a lot to offer gamers. It has ALLM, VRR, Dolby Vision for gaming, and TCL also includes its Game Bar, which lets you quickly check the key information or change some settings without leaving the game. Not everything is perfect, though, because HGiG doesn’t work here as it should, but at this price point it’s hard to complain about the feature set. The most interesting part starts when you give up 4K. At that resolution the TV runs at up to 60 Hz, but at 1440p and 1080p it can display at 120 Hz. And that’s not just a line in the specs. In fast-paced games that support that frame rate you can really notice the improvement in smoothness, so if you value smoother motion more than maximum image detail, that mode can make a lot of sense. Of course, that doesn’t turn the P7L into a proper 120 Hz TV. Even so, those extra modes are exactly what make the P7L perform very well for gaming.
TCL P7L - Input lag
10/10
In terms of latency the TCL P7L performs very well. With a 60 Hz signal the input lag is about 13 ms, regardless of whether you’re playing in SDR, HDR or Dolby Vision. That’s already a level at which the delay should be practically imperceptible during normal gameplay. It gets even better when you switch the TV to 120 Hz mode at a lower resolution. Then the input lag falls to about 9 ms, which nicely complements the modes described earlier. For gamers, that’s another argument that, despite the P7L’s budget nature, it is fairly well prepared in this respect.
| SDR | HDR | Dolby Vision |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p60: 13 ms | 2160p60: 13 ms | 2160p60 DV: 13 ms |
| 1080p120: 9 ms | ||
| 2160p60: 13 ms |
TCL P7L - Compatibility with PC
5.8/10
Chroma 444 (max. resolution and refresh rate): Yes
Font clarity: Good
Readability of dark text and shapes: Average
Input lag in PC mode (4K, max. refresh rate): 13ms
Matrix subpixel arrangement: BGR
Max refresh rate: 60Hz
G-Sync: Yes
The TCL P7L is probably not the first choice for office work. The TV correctly supports 4:4:4 chroma, so text itself remains fairly sharp, but the BGR subpixel layout causes some issues with its appearance. On the vertical edges of letters you can notice small artefacts and characteristic "dots" that can be distracting when sitting close to the screen. For occasional browsing or working with documents this isn't a major problem, but as a monitor for daily text work the P7L performs rather averagely.
It looks much better for PC gaming. Low input lag, support for G-Sync and VRR mean the TV works well with the graphics card, and at lower resolutions you can also make use of 120 Hz. In 4K we're still limited to 60 Hz, but if the computer is intended mainly for gaming the P7L makes much more sense in that role than as a typical work monitor.
TCL P7L - Viewing angles
3.2/10
Brightness drop at an angle of 45 degrees: 84%
Viewing angles on the TCL P7L are rather poor, which is typical for a VA panel. It is precisely because of that panel that the TV offers higher contrast and better blacks, but the price for that is a noticeable fall in image quality when you view the screen from the side. You only have to move a little off axis for colours to start losing saturation and for blacks to turn greyer. For that reason the P7L performs best when you are sitting as directly in front of the screen as possible. On a larger sofa and when watching with several people, the seats at the sides will be noticeably less comfortable.
TCL P7L - Daytime performance
5.2/10
Panel finish: Satin
Reflection suppression: Decent
Black levels during daytime: Good
By day the TCL P7L copes quite well, although much depends on the TV’s position relative to windows. The screen’s satin coating disperses reflections fairly effectively, so under normal living-room lighting the picture stays readable and doesn’t immediately turn into a mirror. Black levels also look good, and in daylight the blacks don’t lose too much depth. The limitation, however, is brightness. Around 360 nits is enough for normal viewing in a moderately bright room, but with strong sunlight falling directly on the screen the P7L starts to lose out to its surroundings. It will therefore be fine for a typical living room, but if the TV is to sit opposite a large window or you mainly watch in a very bright room, it’s worth bearing that in mind.
Panel brightness
TCL P7L / P79L: 364 cd/m2
TCL P7L - TV features
7/10
System: Google TV
System performance: Decent
- HDMI inputs: 3 x HDMI 2.0, 0 x HDMI 2.1
- Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI)
- Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
- TV reception: DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-S, DVB-S2, DVB-C
Classic features:
- Recording to USB (terrestrial TV): No
- Recording programming: No
- Picture in Picture (PiP): No
- RF remote control (no need to aim): RF
- Backlit remote control: No
- Teletext: Yes
- Audio only mode: Yes
- Bluetooth headphones support: Yes
- Simultaneous Bluetooth headphones & TV audio: Yes
Smart features:
- AirPlay: Yes
- Screen mirroring (Windows Miracast): Yes
- Voice search: Yes
- Voice search in native language: Yes
- Ability to connect a keyboard and mouse: Yes
Smart TV
The TCL P7L runs on Google TV and that is definitely one of this model’s stronger points. The system provides access to virtually all popular streaming apps, and it also supports AirPlay, casting from other devices and voice search, including Polish. The interface itself performs decently, it isn’t as fast as on more expensive sets, but for everyday use it shouldn’t be particularly irritating.
TV features
When it comes to more traditional features the P7L is clearly a simpler television. It lacks recording to USB, scheduling recordings and picture-in-picture, so people used to those extras on older TVs may miss them. What remains are the basics: such as teletext, an audio-only mode, Bluetooth headphone support and the option to play audio simultaneously through the TV speakers and headphones. The remote uses radio signals, so you don’t have to point it directly at the screen, which is simply handy in everyday use.
Sound connection options
HDMI audio:
Other audio outputs:
- Toslink: Yes
Wireless audio:
- Bluetooth: Yes
Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):
- Dolby Digital Plus 7.1: Yes
- Dolby True HD 7.1: No
- Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC): Yes
- Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD: No
- DTS:X in DTS-HD MA: Yes
- DTS-HD Master Audio: Yes
Senior accessibility
- Numeric keyboard on TV: Yes
- Font size adjustment: No
- Audio description: Yes
TCL P7L - Apps
9.6/10
TCL P7L - Playing files from USB
8.7/10
| Maximum photo resolution: | Supported photo formats: |
|---|---|
| 4 Mpix | JPEG |
| 6 Mpix | HEIC |
| 8 Mpix | PNG |
| 10 Mpix | GIF |
| 12 Mpix | WebP |
| 16 Mpix | TIFF |
| 20 Mpix | BMP |
| 24 Mpix | SVG |
| 28 Mpix | |
| 32 Mpix |
The built-in media player in the TCL P7L performs quite well. The TV handles most common video and subtitle formats and also easily plays 4K content encoded with newer codecs. It's perfectly adequate for occasional viewing of videos from a USB flash drive or external drive, and in that respect there's little to complain about. What proved most annoying, however, was displaying photos. The P7L did not always open higher-resolution files correctly and behaved somewhat selectively: some large photos worked, others did not. So if you plan to frequently browse photos on the TV straight from a camera or phone, it's worth bearing in mind.
TCL P7L - Sound
6.2/10
89dB
Maximum volume
Supported codecs (TV speakers)
Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Dolby True HD 7.1
Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC)
Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD
DTS:X in DTS-HD MA
DTS-HD Master Audio
The sound on the TCL P7L is fairly conventional for a budget TV. The speakers can get quite loud and dialogue is clear, but they lack depth and, above all, bass. For regular TV, YouTube or news that setup is more than adequate, but in films and music you’ll quickly notice the sound is rather flat and thin. On the plus side, it supports a wide range of formats, including Dolby Atmos and DTS. However, the TV itself can’t turn those into a full surround effect, so if you want a more powerful sound, especially in the low end, a soundbar is definitely the better option.
Acoustic Measurements
89dBC (Max)
75dBC
TCL P7L - Panel details
Software version during testing: v8-0008t01-lf1v534.002065
Panel uniformity and thermal imaging:
Backlight Type: PFS LED
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