TCL C655 / C69B (55"-85") vs Haier K85F

Overall, the quality of HDR performance in TCL C655 / C69B looks quite promising. The average value in test patterns is around 450 nits, which already allows one to feel the effects of lighting and better image dynamics. However, as mentioned earlier, this effect may be partially suppressed by slight differences in bright and dark colors, resulting from the lack of local dimming technology. However, the DCI-P3 color gamut coverage of 94% deserves high praise, and this is made possible by the use of a quantum dot (QLED) panel. As a result, colors are vibrant and well-reproduced when watching HDR content.

Now let's move on to one of the hottest topics in the world of televisions, which is the quality of HDR effect. In the case of the Haier K85F model, we must unfortunately make it clear: if you are looking for equipment to watch content in a wide dynamic range, you should steer clear of this model. The main issue is its very low peak brightness, which during our tests barely reached 250 nits. To give you a better idea of what this means – such a value is okay for watching standard SDR materials, but it is absolutely insufficient to show any real benefits of HDR. The image simply lacks the "power" to generate bright, striking bursts. All our measurements and tests on specialist patterns only confirmed this. As if that weren't enough, the television also struggles with color reproduction. In this budget model, we won't find any technologies that expand the color palette, such as quantum dot layers (known in marketing as "QLED"). As a result, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, which is crucial for HDR materials, is only about 80%. In practice, this means that the image will not only be dark but also devoid of vibrant, saturated colors that the director wanted to show us.

The TCL C655 / C69B television offers a movie mode that has been tested for color reproduction quality. Although this mode is called movie mode, unfortunately, it has quite a few errors that a director would certainly not want to see while recording their work. Starting with image analysis, it's worth looking at the white balance - both in HD and 4K HDR content, the white balance has significant errors. In both cases, the red color dominates, making the colors too warm, and overall it has a pink or yellow tint. This can be seen in the picture below from the movie "Star Wars." The Colour Checker test confirms these errors - the color samples stray into inappropriate shades, affecting the overall color fidelity. A minor issue is the brightness characteristic. However, it is also not free of flaws. The gamma chart shows a strong spike at the beginning, causing the image to be overly bright, and the EOTF curve responsible for brightness in 4K HDR material shows significant fluctuations as well – it is visible how the television tries to maintain proper brightness, but it does not always succeed effectively.

Well, how does the television perform with colors straight from the factory, without any intervention from our side? The Haier K85F offers a full range of picture modes, such as Dynamic or Eco, but for anyone who wants to watch movies according to the creators' intentions, only one really matters: Film mode. This is the mode we focused our tests on, and unfortunately, its name has little to do with reality. The picture in the factory settings is far from what we could call cinematic fidelity and requires many adjustments. Let's start with the white balance, which has a clear lack of red color. In practice, this means that the whole picture has a cool, bluish tint. The situation is even worse when it comes to brightness management, specifically gamma curves (for SDR) and EOTF (for HDR). Their graph resembles a real rollercoaster, which has a disastrous effect on the viewing experience. This results in unnatural dimming of SDR content, causing details in the shadows to get lost, and in the case of HDR – excessive brightness, which further exacerbates the issue of highlights. This combination, meaning too cool white combined with chaotic brightness and excessive blue color saturation, causes enormous errors in color reproduction. Our measurements on a specialized ColorChecker chart showed errors (Delta E) regularly reaching and exceeding values of 8-9. In simpler terms: errors above the threshold of 3 are easily noticeable to the naked eye, so such a result means that the colors on the screen are simply heavily distorted.

After calibrating the movie mode of the TCL C655 / C69B television, the white balance has been equalized, and the colors look as they should – which is confirmed by only slight deviations in the Colour Checker test. The gamma is really accurate, which means the television should not have issues with brightness in low-resolution materials. Unfortunately, a similar EOTF characteristic is still visible, which is a natural phenomenon in televisions that do not have local dimming – they simply struggle to “shine” more brightly in a given part of the screen. Despite this structural limitation that cannot be overcome, we recommend adjustments in the settings, as the overall color representation looks really very good.

Well, is there anything we can do about this image? Can professional calibration save the situation? The answer is: both yes and no. It must be clearly stated that there are certain things we cannot overcome. The limitations of the construction itself, namely a poor panel and its narrow color coverage, mean that you can forget about achieving meaningful HDR – we won’t sugarcoat it for you. The biggest beneficiary of our adjustments is undoubtedly the SDR mode, and it is precisely for watching such content, after calibration, that this television begins to make sense. We managed to tame the white balance in our own way. Although the TV only offers basic 2-point adjustment (instead of precise 20-point), it’s not perfect, but we successfully eliminated that unpleasant, cold "chill" in the image. Above all, however, we recorded a significant improvement in brightness management. The gamma curve, which previously resembled a rollercoaster, looks like an almost perfectly straight line after calibration. This is a sign that the TV can finally display images without artificially dimming or brightening them. The conclusion is simple: even in the case of such a cheap television, professional adjustment of the settings can achieve a lot and draw out its maximum potential.

The TCL C655 / C69B television handles tonal transitions in low-quality materials pretty well. The "Gradual Smoothing" feature at a low setting effectively smooths tonal transitions, but at the same time, it blurs important details, such as the texture of objects. On the positive side, it does not negatively affect film grain, allowing for a natural look of the image. As for digital processing, the television adds artificial sharpness, which may appeal to some users who prefer a sharpened image. However, for those who prefer a softer look, this may be a disadvantage. A downside is also that the image has been quite heavily cropped by so-called overscan, which reduces the field of view and cuts off the edges of the image.

Let's move on to digital processing and image scaling, that is, how the Haier K85F handles lower resolution signals, for example, from standard television. Right from the start, we encounter an extremely annoying and completely incomprehensible issue – the overscan feature is enabled by default. This means that the television artificially enlarges the image, cropping its edges, and this occurs on every source, even 1080p. To see the full frame, you have to dig into the screen settings every time and manually switch the format to "stretch to 16:9." It's a detail, but incredibly frustrating. The scaling of content to 4K resolution can be described in one word: acceptable. And that's basically it. The image processor does not strip the image of details, nor does it generate jagged edges or other artifacts. It simply does its job, without any fireworks. It's fine, but nothing more. The biggest and most noticeable shortcoming in the digital processing section is the absence of a banding smoothing function. This is an algorithm that could significantly reduce the annoying banding effect we mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not implement such a solution, condemning us to watch the imperfections of the panel and low-quality materials in all their glory.

The C655 / C69B TV is equipped with a 4K@60 Hz panel, which means it performs best when watching movies and less dynamic content. It also has a "Flicker Reduction" feature that allows for adjusting the fluidity of the image – users can choose whether they prefer smoother motion or a more cinematic, frame-by-frame effect. The TV can also adapt to lower resolutions, such as Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz, which will definitely please gamers by offering a smoother image at the cost of resolution. It is worth noting that this feature is available in sizes from 55"+. Additionally, the largest variant, 98", is equipped with a 144Hz panel with full motion smoothing.

The panel in the K85F model operates at a native refresh rate of 60 Hz, which already sets certain expectations for smoothness of the image right from the start. However, we must admit that we were very positively surprised when we found not one, but two separate sliders for motion control in the settings menu: one labeled "Blur Reduction" and the other "De-Judder." Such generosity in this price segment is an absolute rarity, as usually manufacturers offer at most one common option. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm quickly dwindled as fast as it appeared. It soon became clear why Haier was so "generous" – the slider responsible for blur reduction is simply a dummy. Moving it does not produce any visible effect on the screen; thus, only one of the two options actually works.

The television TCL C655 / C69B offers an almost perfect set of features for gamers, supporting all the most important technologies. It has an ALLM feature that automatically switches the television to low latency mode, significantly improving responsiveness and minimizing signal delays, which is particularly important during dynamic gameplay. The VRR feature allows for synchronizing the screen refresh rate with the number of frames generated by the console, eliminating the tearing effect and ensuring smoother gameplay.

The television also supports Dolby Vision in game mode, providing better color reproduction and contrast in games that support this format, and the Game Bar enables quick access to gameplay-related settings such as response time, delay level, and other parameters. Unfortunately, C655 / C69B does not support 4K resolution at 120 Hz (with the exception of the 98" variant), which may be disappointing for more demanding gamers who expect the highest fluidity in high-resolution games. However, if we are willing to forgo 4K, the television offers support for Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz, providing a smoother image and being a great alternative for those who prefer a higher refresh rate at the expense of resolution.

Let's move on to the features for gamers, although we must point out right away that this is more of a proposal for "casual" players. The manufacturer boasts in the specifications about the presence of HDMI 2.1 ports, which looks impressive on paper, but in reality, it is largely a marketing gimmick. What good is a modern port when the heart of the television is a panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz? It physically cannot display a signal at 120 frames per second, even at lower resolutions, which takes away HDMI 2.1's most important advantage. That's a shame. (That’s why we mark it as HDMI 2.0 ports in our tests). Another oddity is the television's response to attempts to calibrate HDR from the console. Changes in brightness settings cause very unnatural behavior of the image, which might suggest an incorrect implementation of the HGiG standard. To be honest, however, you shouldn't worry too much about this, because as we have mentioned multiple times, we simply do not recommend using any HDR content on this screen. However, to make it not so bitter, the Haier K85F also has two significant and unexpected advantages. The first is the presence of ALLM, or Auto Low Latency Mode, which switches the television to low latency mode as soon as it detects a connected console. The second, even bigger surprise is support for VRR, or Variable Refresh Rate. Although it works in a very modest range of 48-60 Hz, its very presence is commendable. Thanks to this, the image in games can stutter less, which truly improves the gaming experience.