Sony BRAVIA 5 (XR5) vs TCL C7K / QM7K 55"-85"

Looking at similar results in terms of black levels and contrast, we expected the same stable performance as last year's model when it comes to HDR content. Unfortunately – and this must be said plainly – there has been a regression here that is hard to overlook. The paradox is that the peak brightness of the Bravia 5 can be impressive: in our synthetic tests, the television reached around 1000 nits in HDR. Sounds great, right? The problem is that this power does not always translate effectively to all movie scenes. When small, pinpoint elements appear on the screen, something that was usually refined with surgical precision in the case of Sony clearly falters this time. The algorithms try to maintain deep blacks around small objects, but the side effect is that details can be dimmed to the point of becoming barely visible. A case in point is the movie Sicario 2 – there, in some scenes, small light sources practically vanished as if someone had covered them with dark film.

Of course, not everything looks so dramatic. In simpler, brighter scenes, where the image is filled with a greater amount of light, the Bravia 5 shows that it can shine: literally and figuratively. At that point, the television achieves values in the range of 600–800 nits, which we observed in both synthetic tests and during movie screenings. The impression is truly positive; the brightness adds dynamism, and the colors appear vivid and fresh. However, there remains a certain dissonance. We feel a slight confusion because it is evident that something has gone the wrong way. Technological advancement – more zones, greater backlight power – has not been supported by the refined image management we usually associate with Sony. Fortunately, there are elements that have not been worsened and are instead at a very high level. We are talking about color reproduction. Thanks to the use of the PFS filter, the color gamut coverage is excellent – about 97% of DCI-P3 and 75% of BT.2020. These values allow for a truly wide color reproduction, giving films a natural and cinematic character.

In terms of brightness, the models from 55 to 85 inches in the C7K series are truly impressive. In the best testing conditions, the 65-inch screen achieved over 1200 nits, which practically means that the brightest scenes can dazzle with almost cinematic brilliance. These are not just dry numbers from measurements – during screenings, white skies, explosions, or light reflections on water looked incredibly striking, often giving the impression that the television exceeds its price class. This is particularly effective in scenes with a large area of illumination, where the screen is filled with intense brightness – such as in sun-drenched shots or during dynamic action sequences. Viewers looking for strong HDR will definitely be satisfied.

However, scenes requiring precise control of backlighting – with small points of light on a dark background – are more challenging. Here the C7K, despite having over a thousand zones, can still dim brightness to maintain deep blacks. The effect is that in films like Sicario 2 or Life of Pi, some details, such as a distant lantern or single reflections, can be less defined or blend in with the surroundings. This is a compromise inherent to MiniLED technology – it provides excellent image depth and blacks at a level that ordinary LCDs do not offer, but this comes at the cost of limited visibility of the smallest lights.

Sony Bravia 5 was of course tested in the best possible mode, which is the Cinema mode. Right out of the box, it offers the most natural colors, definitely better than anything provided by the "eco" or "dynamic" modes, which are more suitable for a store display than a living room. However, the Cinema mode itself does not guarantee that we can always expect cinematic image quality. In SDR content, we had practically no major complaints – the slightly warm white balance made the scenes take on a somewhat golden tone, but it was nothing that was glaringly obvious. However, the problem arose with HDR materials. Here, the color reproduction simply looked poor. The white balance was severely off – with an excess of blue and a noticeable lack of red. At times, it even resembled the store "super vivid image" mode, where everything is overexposed and artificially boosted.

This state of affairs made managing brightness seem too aggressive as well. The EOTF graph clearly showed that the television had issues with overexposing many scenes right out of the box. And while we know what Sony televisions are usually capable of, it was hard to remain indifferent here – which is why we quickly decided to go for calibration.

The novelty in TCL televisions for 2025 is the long-awaited Filmmaker mode, which until now could be found in most competitive brands. This is great news because this mode is considered the most faithful to the original vision of the creators and is often recommended by enthusiasts of good picture quality. Unfortunately – as is often the case – the mere presence of this mode does not guarantee perfection. The Filmmaker mode in the TCL C7K is not free from flaws. One could point out the incorrect white balance, particularly the slight dominance of blue, which led to cool, somewhat grayish skin tones. But that was not the biggest problem. The main complaint was excessive brightness exposure, which is clearly visible in the gamma and EOTF charts. The image was simply too bright, at times almost blown out, which affected not only the depth of scenes but also the overall viewing experience. Some details were simply lost, and the whole image looked as if someone had slightly overdone the brightness slider. As always – we decided to see what could be squeezed out of this after calibration. And that’s when things started to get really interesting…

After calibration, the situation changed drastically. We managed to tune the white balance so that entire scenes began to look more natural, and the image gained coherence and elegance. In HDR, we finally got rid of that unwanted blooming effect that had previously ruined some shots. Suddenly, it turned out that the Bravia 5 can extract much more from films than the first contact "straight out of the box" suggested. Yes, if we take a look at the graphs and compare them with the reference patterns, we can see that the start of the EOTF curve slightly deviates from the reference line. However, this is not so much a calibration error as a natural limitation of Mini-LED technology, which cannot be bypassed. Sony, instead of clinging to perfect black, prefers to prioritize the visibility of details – and in practice, it’s hard to disagree with that. We prefer to see the texture of the material on the screen rather than a pitch-black blob that obliterates all nuances.

The calibration itself made a significant difference. After about an hour spent on adjustments, we felt that the picture resembled that from the best cinema halls – of course on a home scale, but with the same sense of quality and refinement. And in such moments, we remember why we love Sony televisions: because once we fine-tune them, they can reward us with an image that captivates for long hours.

After calibration, the TCL C7K showed itself in a really good light, especially when it comes to SDR content. We managed to tune the white balance, color gamut, and brightness characteristics so precisely that color errors on the ColorChecker palette dropped below a value of 2. For the uninitiated – this is almost a perfect result, which means that the image is very close to what the creators intended. Unfortunately, it looked worse with 4K HDR content. Although we were able to slightly calm the white balance and correct its previous errors, it is still evident that the television has some "MiniLED traits," especially in brightness management. When we checked how the C7K handles the EOTF curve on actual film scenes, and not just on synthetic test patterns, it turned out that the screen still tends to slightly brighten the entire image. This affects the overall experience – black loses some depth, and the image becomes less contrastive than it should be. Despite these minor shortcomings in HDR content, the overall reception of materials – especially in SDR – is really very good. After calibration, the C7K can display an image that can successfully compete with much more expensive models. Good color tuning, natural skin tones, and pleasant brightness make movie sessions and everyday content viewing more than satisfactory.

Bravia 5 carries within it the genes of Sony, which remain intact – and thank goodness for that, because we are talking about absolutely remarkable digital image processing. There is a reason that for years it has been believed that it is this brand of television that sets the standard for how a screen should handle lower-quality materials. If someone is still watching classic television, old movies, or YouTube in lower resolution, here they get equipment that can turn such content into a surprisingly pleasant experience. On board, we find several tools worth activating. The first of these is "digital noise reduction." Set to a medium level, it works almost flawlessly – smoothing tonal transitions that usually pose the biggest challenge with low-quality materials, while not introducing any artificial artifacts. Importantly, it also does not remove the filmic character, or the natural grain that is an intentional element in many productions. Another advantage of Bravia 5 is the upscaling capabilities of the XR processor. The image presented after scaling is soft yet sharp and clear. The contours of characters are well-defined, and backgrounds retain their structure without excessive artificial sharpening. It’s hard to find a better television for watching lower-quality content – Bravia 5 only confirms why Sony is regarded as the benchmark in this field.

TCL C7K features a function that, according to the manufacturer, is supposed to smooth out unwanted color transitions – something like a rescue for less successful tonal changes. It's called "Gradual Smoothing" and... well, it sounds ambitious, but in practice, it works very poorly. Regardless of whether we set it to low or high, the difference is minimal. Worse still – the function can cut out elements from the image that should remain. Fortunately, film grain remains untouched, so at least it doesn't smooth everything indiscriminately, but still – it's better to just turn this option off.

When it comes to scaling lower-resolution content, it's already better. SD and HD materials look quite decent, although sometimes we felt that the image loses sharpness and becomes too soft – as if something took away its clarity. Fortunately, with very low sources (e.g., 576p), there was no overscan effect, meaning the image was not artificially cropped – everything fit on the screen as it should.

Bravia 5 has a 120 Hz panel, which in itself sounds like an invitation to watch sports, fast matches, or spectacular action movies. However, the real magic begins only when MotionFlow comes into play – Sony's proprietary smoothing technology. Thanks to it, we can adjust the character of the image to our own preferences. The “smoothness” slider allows us to transition from a cinematic vibe with a slight “jitter” of the film frame to an almost theatrical fluidity, where every ball in the game glides across the screen like on a string. The higher the value, the smoother and more fluid it is; the lower – the more cinematic and natural. In the options, we also find an additional setting that Sony has called “clearness.” This is nothing more than the BFI function (which stands for black frame insertion), which aims to improve motion clarity. It sounds great in theory, but in practice, you need to use it with great caution. Why? Because all higher settings cause brightness drops of up to half, and in some cases, there can also be contour doubling. Therefore, if we want to use it, we recommend the lowest possible level – “1” out of the available ten. This way, we gain a little better motion clarity without risking a loss of half the image brightness.

The TCL C7K handles motion fluency really well. The panel used in it offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which in itself suggests that this TV is something more than just an ordinary "60 Hz" panel. Moreover, if we connect the C7K to a computer and set the resolution to Full HD. But we'll write more about that in the paragraph about gamers and PC collaboration. Back to everyday use – both sports and movies look very good here. Thanks to the fast panel and well-functioning motion smoother, the C7K is great for watching matches, but also for movie screenings. In the menu, we find two sliders – blur reduction and flicker reduction – which allow you to tailor the smoothness effect to your own preferences. At lower settings, we get a more cinematic effect, with a slight stutter in motion. At higher settings – the image becomes more theatrical, smooth to the point of exaggeration. Everyone can set it up according to their liking.

In the Bravia 5, there is significant progress compared to the X90L model from two years ago. The television offers literally everything that its predecessor had, but this time the issues that could irritate gamers have been fixed. The problems with setting up variable refresh rate (VRR) have disappeared, and there are no longer any issues with configuring HDR content in HGiG mode. In short: we get a device that simply works as it should without any fuss. The Bravia 5 thus has everything one could expect from a modern gaming television – and it could be advertised with the slogan "ready for PS5" without exaggeration. This is a statement we couldn't make about the X90L model. Hats off, Sony!

It's just a shame that in such a relatively high-priced model, a complete set of four HDMI 2.1 ports is missing. In everyday use, this won't be a problem for most people, but if someone has a console, soundbar, and additional equipment connected via HDMI, at some point there will be a need to either choose or juggle cables.

TCL C7K is a television that on paper looks like the dream equipment for gamers – and most importantly, it holds up well in practice. First, the good news: we have two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, so we can easily connect both a console and a computer, taking full advantage of their capabilities. The panel itself supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which provides a significant advantage in dynamic games. Additionally, it comes with a full suite of gaming features: VRR (variable refresh rate), ALLM (automatic low latency mode), and support for Dolby Vision in games. There's also an HGiG mode that allows for HDR effects consistent with the creators' intentions. GameBar, which is an informative bar for the gamer. It operates quickly, looks clear (like the Nintendo console👌), and shows what’s most important: the current frame count, VRR status, and even HDR parameters.