LG NANO82T6B vs TCL C7L

The brightness of the LG NANO82T is rather average, especially compared to other TVs in a similar price range. With a peak brightness of approximately 280 nits, it falls short of many competitors offering levels exceeding 400-500 nits. This limitation impacts the viewing experience, particularly for HDR content. Bright areas of the image may lack definition, and the HDR effect fails to deliver the dramatic impact expected from higher-end displays, making the overall image less striking in well-lit scenes.

TCL C7L is undoubtedly an extremely bright television. In synthetic tests on static images, it can achieve peak brightness levels of around 2800 nits. This is an absolutely phenomenal result, considering the price range it falls into. Unfortunately, the tests with real film scenes are not as spectacular as the measurements of white squares. The brightness in actual HDR shots drops to around 1200 nits in the C7L model. This is still a very good result, as the vast majority of contemporary films are mastered at such a value. However, when small, pinpoint elements appear on the screen, the brightness of those details drastically drops – even to about 400 nits – which diminishes the HDR effect somewhat. The television does this intentionally to maintain a better level of black and prevent a huge glare of light. This is somewhat explainable, but it also shows that Mini LED technology is not completely uncompromising in this regard. As for the HDR effect itself – alongside brightness, colors are obviously key here. And these, thanks to the use of new, "super" quantum dots, are simply outstanding and among the best on the market. The television can achieve around 90% coverage of the ultra-wide color gamut BT.2020 and 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut, easily matching the best RGB MINI-LED screens. Best of all, the C7L can maintain such high color saturation regardless of the scene being displayed, which is often problematic in competing RGB Mini-LED televisions.

The colour reproduction in the LG NANO82T in Filmmaker mode, while the best factory setting available, does have flaws. The primary issue lies in white balance, where measurements reveal a drop in the level of blue. This shifts towards yellow hues, making the image warmer than intended. Such deviations prevent natural colour reproduction, especially in scenes with white or neutral backgrounds. For instance, in Star Wars, where numerous elements should appear white, the colours deviate noticeably. The Color Checker test corroborates this, showing some shades "escaping" into others, further highlighting the lack of accurate colour rendering.

In terms of contrast, the gamma graph analysis showed a drop to 2.1, falling short of the optimal 2.4. This leads to darker parts of the image appearing brighter, reducing depth and dynamism. Additionally, the EOTF curve, which governs brightness reproduction, shows a slight spike at the start. This can result in an excessive brightness boost in the brightest areas, causing a loss of detail in very bright scenes.

When it comes to colors straight out of the box, what's new in TCL TVs, including the C7L model, is the addition of a picture mode called Filmmaker Mode. That's significant because until now that mode wasn't available from this manufacturer at all. In theory, as the name suggests, the image in this setting is meant to represent the filmmaker's full intent. From our tests we can confirm that it's without a doubt the best built-in mode on this TV if you care about faithful color reproduction right out of the box. However, we wouldn't say it's perfect. Like most devices on the market, this C7L also had some factory issues. The white balance in Filmmaker Mode tended toward a slightly greenish-yellow tint, caused mainly by an excess of the green channel and a noticeable lack of blue. For the average viewer this won't be a drastic flaw, but if you care about perfect whites, natural skin tones, and getting the full potential out of the structure of these new "super" quantum dots, the TV really begs for professional calibration.

After calibration, the colour reproduction in SDR content on the LG NANO82T is impressive. The white balance has been effectively corrected, resulting in natural, balanced tones across various scenes. Gamma adjustments ensure more precise rendering of details in shadows and bright areas, enhancing the viewing experience. These improvements allow the television to perform well in everyday use, delivering solid colour accuracy and well-balanced images in SDR mode.

Unfortunately, the situation with HDR content is less satisfactory. The TV lacks support for a wide colour gamut, limiting the depth and richness that HDR can achieve. The EOTF curve deviates from the ideal, leading to overemphasis on details in brighter areas. This causes noticeable colour reproduction errors, as confirmed by Colour Checker tests. Additionally, the panel's low brightness further hampers HDR image quality, diminishing dynamic range effects and causing colours to appear washed out.

Overall, the TV significantly improves after calibration, particularly in SDR mode. The enhancements to white balance and gamma elevate image quality, offering more natural and cohesive colour reproduction. Compared to its pre-calibration state, the difference is evident, and the television now performs noticeably better in standard dynamic range scenarios.

After a professional calibration we were able to greatly improve the out-of-the-box Filmmaker Mode. After our adjustments, errors in the ColorChecker test and across the wide color gamut fell below the threshold of human perception, that is below a value of 3, which is a very good result. The TCL C7L definitely benefits from this treatment in terms of color accuracy, and that's hard to argue with. A bit worse, however, is the issue of brightness management in HDR content after calibration. As I described earlier, even though we set this model up correctly, when you play real movie scenes on the TV it can manage its brightness in a rather peculiar way. It often brightens certain elements on the screen contrary to the creator's intent, which can be clearly seen on EOTF charts measured in particular films. Despite this flaw, or rather a specific quirk of this TV, you can't take away one thing: after calibration the C7L was able to reproduce colors accurately.

The LG NANO82T features a "Smooth Gradation" option for handling tonal transitions in low-quality materials. The "Low" setting improves the most problematic transitions, providing a noticeable and helpful enhancement. However, the "High" setting, while further smoothing tonal transitions, sacrifices some detail in the process. This can be a compromise that not all viewers will appreciate.

The image scaling on the LG NANO82T has some limitations, particularly when displaying lower-resolution content. The TV applies a subtle artificial sharpening, which makes the image appear sharper, but this effect is mainly due to artificial contours. Some users may find this beneficial, as it highlights details more prominently, but for others who prefer a more natural image, it may appear overly processed and artificial. This is a subjective preference that varies from viewer to viewer.

This point could, in a sense, be called the Achilles' heel of the C7L. Unfortunately, this TV uses an older MediaTek chipset, the Pentonic 700, which was never known for outstanding digital image processing. You can clearly see this in the operation of the gradual smoothing function, which is responsible for reducing jagged edges and removing digital noise. It simply performs very poorly; when set to low, its effectiveness is practically nonexistent. The only small plus is that the algorithm doesn't further degrade the image or forcefully blur details. Upscaling itself, meaning the scaling of lower-resolution content to 4K, performs a bit better. It's simply adequate and doesn't stand out compared with the competition. That said, there's no denying the C7L would gain a lot in this area if the manufacturer decided to use the newer Pentonic 800 processor, which is now appearing in an increasing number of competing models.

LG televisions, including the NANO82T, come with an interesting motion smoother called TruMotion providing users with control over the quality of films they watch. The TruMotion feature allows adjustment of the motion fluidity on a 10-point scale, offering a personalised visual experience.

However, when it comes to more dynamic content, such as games or action films, the performance falls short. With its 60Hz panel and relatively slow pixel response, motion fluidity is less than ideal. This results in noticeable trailing and less smooth playback during fast-paced scenes.

Overall, the LG NANO82T is a good option for those who primarily watch movies and prefer more subdued content. Viewers who prioritise fast, dynamic motion, may prefer an alternative model.

The TCL C7L uses a native 4K panel with a 144 Hz refresh rate, which, at lower resolutions when using a PC, can even reach up to 288 Hz. Those are obviously very high numbers and look impressive on paper, but in everyday use it's worth remembering that almost all dynamic content you play on this TV will still run at around a maximum of 120 Hz. To tame that motion, the TV's menu includes a motion smoothing system called "Motion Clarity." It offers several predefined modes, including a user mode that we strongly recommend setting manually using our tried-and-true guides on our YouTube channel. There are two key sliders available there. The first, "Blur Reduction," reduces smearing and improves sharpness in dynamic 60-fps material, such as sports broadcasts. The second slider, "Flicker Reduction," lets you add artificial frames to movies and TV series shot at cinematic 24 or 30 fps. This, of course, allows you to completely eliminate the annoying image judder during camera motion.

When playing on the console, the LG NANO82T offers several features that can enhance the gaming experience, though it also has some limitations. Notably, the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature stands out, automatically adjusting picture settings to switch the television to low latency mode, which is especially beneficial for gamers requiring quick reactions. Another advantage is the support for HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group), ensuring HDR games are displayed as intended by the creators and providing vibrant and realistic visuals. These features contribute to a solid gaming experience, but there are some drawbacks, particularly in fast-paced scenes.

The LG NANO82T has limitations when it comes to advanced gaming features. It lacks support for variable refresh rate (VRR), which affects gameplay smoothness, especially in more dynamic games. The TV's 60Hz panel restricts the ability to use higher refresh rates, a significant downside for gamers seeking smoother gameplay at higher resolutions. Additionally, the absence of G-Sync technology limits image synchronisation, potentially leading to tearing and stuttering during gameplay.

These limitations mean that while the LG NANO82T offers a good gaming experience for casual gamers, it may not meet the expectations of more demanding players seeking advanced features and maximum image fluidity.

These shortcomings may mean that the LG NANO82T does not meet the expectations of the most demanding gamers looking for advanced features and the highest image fluidity.

When it comes to gaming, the TCL C7L is simply an outstanding TV for gamers. Thanks to two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports at 48 Gbps, you get access to all the key features required by console owners and users of powerful PCs. It has a well-implemented ALLM mode with very low input lag and VRR frame-sync that works in an impressive range from 48 to 288 Hz. Importantly, unlike some competitors, TCL implemented the console HDR10 HGIG profile correctly and added support for Dolby Vision in games. Rounding out the package is a very well-designed player panel, the Game Bar, which even lets you edit its appearance and change the theme to perfectly match your console’s style. The only thing you can — and should — criticize is that the TV offers only two full HDMI 2.1 ports, while the other two are older HDMI 2.0. That creates a fairly significant logistical problem. Why? Because one of those fast ports also supports eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel). In practice, that means if you connect a soundbar or a home theater system, you’ll only have one free HDMI 2.1 port left. If you have two consoles at home, or a console and a powerful PC, you’ll unfortunately have to give something up or constantly juggle cables at the back while trying to maintain convenient control of your audio system.