TCL C75B vs LG QNED80A6A (VA)

During our luminance test, the TCL C75B "spat out" about 380 nits of brightness. We recorded similar results while watching most of the films we tested. These can be considered average – the television does not perform badly in this segment, but around 400 nits is definitely too low to fully experience the magic of HDR effects. Of course, such results are better than those of budget models, which can achieve nearly half as low brightness values. However, for HDR enthusiasts seeking stronger light effects and greater realism, the C75B may prove insufficient. On the plus side, it's worth mentioning the 95% coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette. This is a very good result that easily suffices to enjoy a wide range of colors in content available on popular streaming platforms. Vivid and rich colors are definitely a strong point of this model.

Let's talk now about how this TV shines. If you expect dazzling light effects, we need to cool your enthusiasm. The LG QNED80A is a moderately bright television. Our measurements in most movie scenes indicated values around 350-400 nits. That's not enough to speak of a full, cinematic HDR experience and the sense of that famous "high dynamic range" that flagship products offer. However, brightness is not everything. Although the QNED80A is not a "light monster," it makes up for it in another key category: colors. Here, the PFS technology comes into play, which LG marketers hide under the name QNED/NanoCell. Thanks to this process, the TV offers a significantly wider color palette than classic LCD designs. In our tests, the coverage of the cinematic DCI-P3 palette reached a solid 93-94%. What does this mean for you? That even at lower brightness, when watching movies in HDR, the colors will be vivid, deep, and properly saturated. The image is not washed out but lush, which is a significant advantage in this price range.

TCL C75B offers many picture modes, but in our opinion, the best choice is the "Film" mode. Although its settings are quite good, the television struggles with certain color reproduction issues. In tests, we noticed that the image had a noticeably pinkish tint compared to what could be considered correct. This effect was particularly noticeable in skin tones, which appeared unnaturally warm. The main culprit of this phenomenon turned out to be the white balance, characterized by an excessive amount of blue and red in both HD and 4K HDR materials.

Another issue was the way brightness was reproduced. The gamma, which is responsible for the visibility of details in darker materials, was definitely boosted, causing details in the darkest parts of the screen to be invisible, lost in total blackness (e.g., the bottom part of the screen in the comparative photo - the area around the actress's ear). Similarly, the situation was reflected in the EOTF curve, which was below the correct value, suggesting that a similar problem may be encountered in 4K HDR content.

Thanks to our experience and the appropriate tools, we decided to take matters into our own hands and see how much could be extracted from this model after professional calibration. Details are described in the next section.

It might seem that since the QNED80A is one model, it should offer the same picture regardless of the version. However, practice shows something completely different. Analyzing the variant with a VA panel in the best factory setting – that is, in Filmmaker Mode – we noticed a specific characteristic. This TV “out of the box” serves us a picture with a clear dominance of red and a deficiency of blue. The overall image is very warm, almost hot. Many users might describe this as a “too cinematic” image, approaching sepia. Additionally, there's the issue of the gamma curve – the TV tends to slightly, artificially brighten scenes (the gamma is too low), causing the picture to lose some of its plasticity. The good news is that these are not flaws of the panel, but merely of the software. As always in our tests, we carried out a professional calibration, which completely eliminated these shortcomings, restoring the natural white balance and correct saturation.

After calibrating the TCL C75B, it has clearly improved in terms of color reproduction. Although the TV does not offer many options for adjusting the white balance, we were able to refine its settings significantly. As a result, the image has stopped being overly pink, and the colors now look much more natural and harmonious.

The gamma jump, which was previously a problem, has not disappeared completely, but we managed to significantly reduce it. This has made the details in dark scenes more visible – both in HD and 4K HDR material.

Unfortunately, the lack of local dimming is still noticeable. The "glowing black" effect remains, but that's a limitation of the display itself. Despite this, the colors after calibration look vastly better, and the image is much more enjoyable to watch.

Was it worth spending time on calibration? Definitely yes. We managed to tame the initially too warm white balance and, most importantly, correct the gamma curve. The TV stopped artificially brightening scenes, which added depth to the image. The biggest improvement is visible in SDR content, meaning when watching regular television, YouTube, or in games without HDR. Here, the QNED80A shows its class – color reproduction errors (DeltaE) dropped below a value of 2. In technical terms, this means that the errors are practically unnoticeable to the human eye. The image in everyday use has simply become very attractive, natural, and correct. The difficulties begin with HDR content. Even though we managed to improve the white balance, the EOTF curve graph (responsible for brightness at various levels) shows that the TV still "interprets" the image in its own way. This is due to the nature of the edge-lit local dimming used and the fact that LG gives the calibrator a very limited range of control over this parameter. In short: the TV struggles to hide its hardware shortcomings, sometimes ignoring our commands. Nevertheless, the final image is much more accurate and pleasant to the eye than in factory settings, even if it still falls short of studio ideal.

The TCL C75B has a tonal transition smoothing feature, but unfortunately, we can't praise it. Regardless of the selected level – low or high – tonal transitions in older materials remained visible, as if the feature didn't work at all. It's hard to say something positive about it because, in practice, it seems completely useless.

The image scaling is better. The TV performs quite decently, although on thinner elements, like branches in the background, you can notice slight halos. However, this is not something that significantly interferes with daily viewing.

Unfortunately, a bigger problem turned out to be overscan, which is the trimming of the image edges. In our tests, it happened that news tickers or other elements close to the edge of the screen were cut off. This is definitely something worth paying attention to, especially if we use the TV for watching news programs or content with text on the screen.

In this category, the QNED80A proves to be a real "dark horse." It's a fantastic, affordable television for those who often watch lower quality materials – for example, from traditional cable TV. The processor used here handles upscaling exceptionally well, meaning it enhances low resolution to native 4K. The image after processing is natural, smooth, and most importantly – not overly jagged or artificially sharpened. In the menu, we also find a dedicated option for smoothing tonal transitions in low-quality material. This feature works really effectively, eliminating the annoying "banding" of colors in heavily compressed video. However, we must remain vigilant. Remember that we are not dealing with a top-tier processor known from flagship OLED models. In more challenging scenes, the system may struggle and introduce minor artifacts or distortions. Nevertheless, it's definitely worth giving this feature a chance, as in most cases, the improvement in quality is noticeable to the naked eye.

TCL C75B definitely has something to offer gamers. The TV is equipped with a panel that can display images with a refresh rate of 144 Hz in 4K, and even 240 Hz in Full HD. These are really great results, especially for a model from the budget range.

Additionally, there are features for improving smoothness and reducing motion blur in films. The "Motion" option allows for precise adjustment of the effect on a 10-step scale, providing a lot of customization options – everyone can set the smoothness to their liking.

We move on to a matter that may be decisive for many. Unfortunately, here we must point out the biggest "Achilles' heel" of the QNED80A model. This TV is equipped with a panel that has a native refresh rate of 60Hz. There's no point in hiding it – at this price, we expected more because we know that Chinese manufacturers can offer 120Hz screens for similar money. Due to this parameter, dynamic scenes in sports or fast-paced games are not the strong suit of this screen. Fortunately, LG has equipped the TV with a proven smoothing system called TruMotion. It works quite well with film material (24 frames). We suggest playing around with the De-Judder slider – from our experience, setting it in the range of 2-4 provides the best compromise: motion becomes smoother while still looking natural, without the artificial "TV theater" effect.

The TCL C75B is undoubtedly a television designed for gamers. It offers almost everything that the most demanding console users need. With the implementation of full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1, the television supports features such as ALLM (automatic low latency mode) and VRR (variable refresh rate) – operating across the full capabilities of the TV, up to 240 Hz in Full HD resolution.

Additionally, the television supports advanced HDR technologies, including Dolby Vision and HGiG, which allows for even better detail representation in HDR-optimized games. The C75B is also equipped with a very convenient interface for gamers in the form of a Game Bar, where you can check all key parameters, such as refresh rate, input lag, or picture settings – all within one click's reach.

In a nutshell: the C75B is an excellent choice for gamers, offering a wide range of features that allow for fully enjoying the capabilities of modern consoles and games.

Since we have established that the QNED80A is a 60Hz panel television, we must say it directly: we will not be playing here at 120 frames per second in any resolution. Does this disqualify the device in the eyes of gamers? Not necessarily, especially for "casual" gamers. LG has decided to sweeten this technical limitation by packing in quite a few useful features. We have support for VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) ranging from 48-60Hz and an automatic game mode ALLM, which quickly reduces input lag upon detecting a console. We manage all of this through a very convenient, purple Game Optimizer menu (Player Panel), which has already become LG's trademark. The manufacturer deserves big credit for consistency regarding HDR. Although the television does not support Dolby Vision in games on Xbox consoles, LG adds a well-implemented HGiG standard. Thanks to this, even on a moderately bright screen, HDR gaming is clear, and details in shadows and highlights are accurately reproduced, rather than "cut off."