TCL C75B vs Panasonic W85

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.

Unfortunately, we don't have good news here. The Panasonic W85B is rather dim – its peak brightness does not exceed 300 nits, so it's hard to talk about any true HDR effect. In practice, this means that scenes which on other screens can "shine" and make an impression, here look simply like regular SDR with a slight boost in colors. Our measurements and film tests confirmed this – regardless of the content, the W85B won't extract anything more from HDR. So if someone is looking for a TV specifically for HDR, it's better to look towards other models. As a consolation, the fact remains that in terms of colors, the W85B performs quite well. It's a QLED TV, so its color gamut coverage is wide, and most films and series look natural, without a distinct "washed out" effect. The colors are saturated, so during regular viewing, there is no sense that something is quite wrong.

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.

While testing the Panasonic W85B, we of course started with the Filmmaker mode, as it is the gold standard today for watching content "as the director intended." The problem is that this TV is quite far from those intentions. The biggest issue turned out to be an excess of red – in both SDR and HDR. The picture often looked overly warm, and in some scenes, it appeared almost "blazing." Additionally, there’s the issue of brightness management. When we looked at the gamma and EOTF charts, it was clear as day that in most scenes, the TV brightens the image more than it should. The effect was easy to predict. Details can get lost, leading to flattening and clipping across the entire screen. Of course, we know how to improve this, but it must be said honestly that it requires quite a bit of work in calibration. Out of the box, the W85B does not provide a reference-level picture – it is rather a TV that will always interpret colors and brightness a bit "its own way" without professional adjustments. Unfortunately, this is to the detriment of the viewer.

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.

Fortunately, calibration made a significant difference for the Panasonic W85B, especially in SDR content. Here, the improvement was really noticeable – we managed to balance the white and reasonably tame the TV's tendency to excessively brighten the entire image. The picture became more coherent, and the colors gained a naturalness that was lacking in the factory settings. Admittedly, the results from the Color Checker are not perfect, as the W85B has visible issues with green saturation, but overall, we assess the post-calibration effect in SDR very positively. The situation with HDR is a bit different. Here, we were also able to limit the tendency to warm up the entire scene, so the image turned out much better than in the factory settings. However, the same problem we mentioned earlier is still evident – the TV interprets the image too "in its own way" and brightens the entire frame. The lack of local dimming only exacerbates this effect. In summary, briefly in SDR content, the W85B performs really well after calibration and is perfectly suitable for everyday viewing. However, in HDR, even after adjustments, it is still hard to unequivocally recommend it for serious viewing sessions.

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.

With native SDR content, the Panasonic W85B performs very well – tonal transitions are smooth and natural, without artificial bands or clear contours. However, the situation looks worse with lower resolution materials. This is where the television has the biggest problem with "beautifying" the image. The lack of any option in the menu that would allow for improving gradation means that with older films or materials from YouTube, one can sometimes notice slight issues with color blending.

Fortunately, upscaling, or increasing the quality of lower resolution content, performs much better. This is definitely a strong point of this model – the image is scaled cleanly and in detail, and the television handles this better than one might expect from such an affordable device. This is thanks to the HCX processor, which Panasonic has been developing for years, and it shows that even in the lower series, it can do a good job.

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.

At first glance, everything looks good – the Panasonic W85B has a 120 Hz panel and even a 144 Hz mode, so it seems that it should handle smooth motion well. The problem begins when we look into the settings. The options for improving fluidity are supposedly present in the menu, but in practice… they change nothing. No matter what we choose, the image looks the same. On top of that, there's a lack of BFI, which is the black frame insertion mode that helps sharpen motion in many TVs. And suddenly, it turns out that despite having a strong panel, the W85B doesn't give us any real tools to adjust that motion to our needs. It only works well when the source itself operates at a higher frequency – for example, games at 120 Hz. But when it comes to movies or sports, we just have to take what the TV shows us, because there's nothing more we can do about it.

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.

On paper, the Panasonic W85B looks really solid. Here we have two full HDMI 2.1 ports, support for ALLM, variable refresh rate, Dolby Vision in games, and of course, a high refresh rate for the panel itself. Additionally, there’s the characteristic Panasonic game bar that allows you to check key parameters with one click and quickly change them if necessary. Sounds great, but the problem arises when we activate HDR. Here, the W85B significantly falters because it lacks proper HGiG implementation – the TV manages brightness poorly, and instead of faithful image rendering, we get scenes that are too bright, sometimes even blown out. The solution? The simplest – turn off HDR in the console settings and leave everything in SDR. And here it gets really interesting, because in this scenario, the W85B shows its better side. Low input lag, high smoothness thanks to 120 Hz – all of this makes gaming look phenomenal. Yes, HDR can be sacrificed, but if responsiveness and smooth gameplay are priorities, the W85B provides a lot of fun.