TCL C855 vs Samsung Neo QLED QN70F / QN74F / QN77F

The TCL C855 delivers a highly varied HDR effect. At times, the television truly excels, while at other moments, it appears reminiscent of a low-end model equipped with FALD backlighting. Inconsistency is frequently found with this brand, so it didn’t come as a surprise. The first and last scenes, which feature large light elements, are nothing short of spectacular, boasting brightness levels of 1470 and 1820 nits, respectively. Such brightness can make viewers squint their eyes, allowing them to feel the extraordinary dynamism of the scene. It genuinely immerses the audience, creating a sensation of being inside the movie itself. However, the situation shifts dramatically when small or subtle elements with high luminance appear against a dark background. In these instances, the TCL C855 significantly reduces brightness to levels as low as 240 nits to mitigate halo effects. This reduction is disappointing, as it can make the movie appear as if it was not filmed in HDR. Despite these shortcomings, the HDR effect on the TCL C855 enhances the viewing experience during dynamic scenes, making it feel more engaging and allowing the viewer to feel part of the action. Even with smaller high-luminance elements, the television retains details without excessive dimming. Additionally, the TCL C855 adjusts image brightness according to scenes with rich detail, further enhancing viewing comfort.

QN70F is a TV that can positively surprise when it comes to brightness. In ideal test conditions, it reaches even 800 nits, which – for this price range – is really solid. Of course, that's a result from measurement test patterns, so we decided to check how it performs in practice, with real movies. Here, the TV somewhat tones down its capabilities. In most of the tested scenes – for example, in "The Meg" – the actual HDR brightness was around 500 nits. That's still a good result that allows you to enjoy HDR effects, although it is far from perfect. On the other hand, we have a QLED screen with a quantum dot layer, which means very good color reproduction capabilities. The colors are vivid and saturated. QN70F covers about 94% of the DCI-P3 color space, and in the wider BT.2020 gamut, it exceeds 75%, so in this regard, there's nothing to be ashamed of.

The best factory mode for the TCL C855 is the "Film" setting, and all our tests were conducted using this mode. However, like many predefined modes, it has flaws that should be addressed to achieve an image closer to the producer's original vision. In our examination of the colour characteristics for both SDR and HDR materials, issues were found.

Focusing first on SDR content, there is a noticeable dominance of green in the white balance, which leads to an unpleasant greenish tint across the entire image. The gamma chart, crucial for image contrast, shows a significant deviation from the reference line marked at 2.4. Initially, there is a pronounced spike in the measured value, resulting in an over-contrasted image where details can merge into a dark blob. This condition persists for nearly 20% of the chart before it dips below the reference line, causing the image to brighten and resulting in a substantial drop in contrast.

In HDR materials, the factory mode performs somewhat better; the white balance appears more balanced overall, although the green tint resurfaces in the latter half of the spectrum. When we look at the Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) curve—unlike gamma, which reflects contrast—we identify two main errors: the darkest scenes are too dark, while the brightest ones become overexposed. This discrepancy was evident in our review of the scene from the movie "Pan," further illustrating the TCL C855's HDR performance issues.

We tested the QN70F in the best default picture mode, which is Filmmaker Mode. It must be said that in this particular test unit, the factory settings performed quite well. The picture was calm, natural, and despite minor deviations, pleasant to perceive. The biggest flaw was a slight dominance of red in the white balance, which caused a slight pinkish tint to the entire scene. However, this was not a glaring flaw – rather subtle and only noticeable when directly compared to a properly calibrated screen. A somewhat larger issue appeared in the brightness characteristic. The television tends to understate the brightness of parts of the image that should be displayed more brightly. As a result, some details can appear slightly dimmed – not so much lost entirely, but not as clearly pronounced as they should be. Nevertheless, as far as a television in this category and in these settings goes, we consider the result to be a good starting point for further calibration.

TCL, like most manufacturers, offers advanced calibration tools within its televisions. These include both 2-point and 20-point adjustments for grayscale, as well as a comprehensive colour management system. As a result, we achieved impressive results in SDR materials, bringing the image significantly closer to the reference standard. We successfully eliminated both the green tint and the gamma issue, although a slight "kink" at the very beginning of the gamma curve still persists.

In contrast, the situation with HDR materials was less favourable, as the TCL C855 did not allow for precise modelling. We were only able to make minor adjustments to the EOTF curve while significantly enhancing the overall colour accuracy. This limitation suggests that while calibration tools are effective, they may require further refinement for optimal HDR performance.

After calibration, the QN70F shows that it can offer a really high level of color reproduction. It nearly perfectly balanced the white point, and the values in the Color Checker test dropped below 3 – that is, below the threshold at which the average eye can perceive differences. The image looks natural, and the colors are accurately represented, without excessive saturation or the coolness known from factory settings. It must be said that Samsung provides very extensive calibration options – not only for enthusiasts but also for professionals. The QN70F takes advantage of this potential and, after proper adjustment, can come close to much more expensive models in terms of color accuracy. The only thing one could still criticize is the brightness characteristics. There is still a tendency to brighten the smallest parts of the image – particularly those that should remain darker. However, this is a design feature of this model, not a calibration error. Despite this, the final effect definitely deserves recognition.

Once again, we will take a look at the function of smoothing tonal transitions, but this time also image scaling. The latter is particularly important when watching materials of lower quality, such as some television programs or older films. We will focus on the function responsible for tonal transitions. Interestingly, just like in the scenes from the previous test where it performed excellently and smoothed out practically all the inconsistencies, here it had issues. Using the menu responsible for the operation of this function, we found that no setting—even the strongest—was helpful.

Image scaling in TCL C855 is defined as one of the best we have had the opportunity to test so far. The image is sharp, but in a way that could be described as natural to our eye. Even small, fine branches do not have jagged edges, and there is no white halo around figures, a characteristic of weaker scaling systems.

Samsung QN70F offers a distortion reduction feature that improves the smoothness of tonal transitions. In "Standard" mode, it works quite well - smoothing problematic transitions without significantly interfering with the image structure. Film grain is partially removed, but details such as texture or skin structure still remain visible. The "High" mode operates much more aggressively. The smoothing is stronger, but it comes at the cost of a noticeable loss of detail. Therefore, in practice, we recommend sticking with the "Standard" setting or completely turning off this feature. The improvement in gradation may be less spectacular, but the image retains more naturalness.

When it comes to scaling low-quality content, the QN70F performs very well. Tests with lower resolution images were really impressive. Despite slight aliasing of contours, everything looks clean and clear, even if the original content was very poor. It's just a shame that the TV has an overscan issue that cannot be completely turned off. As a result, the image from very low resolution may be slightly cropped, which is mainly visible on subtitles or the interface.

The maximum refresh rate you can set on the TCL C855 is 144 Hz. Naturally, this is only possible after connecting the TCL C855 TV to a very powerful PC. Otherwise, we will be operating at a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, which is recommended if we want to watch primarily sports or materials with a lot of motion dynamics. For those who require high image fluidity, the manufacturer has implemented a multi-stage motion smoother. It is divided into two separate sliders which control the sharpness of moving images (Motion Blur Reduction) and flicker (Flicker Reduction). Both sliders can be adjusted from 0 to 10, with each level affecting the degree of fluidity, so everyone can find their sweet spot. We present a setting that allows for slight smoothing without the soap opera effect. The matrix of the TCL C855 features a very good response time. This is particularly important since VA panels often struggle with the so-called ghosting effect, where a black halo can be observed behind a fast-moving object. where a black halo can be observed behind a fast-moving object.

The QN70F is a television with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which puts it at the forefront in terms of image smoothness. Whether we are watching dynamic sports broadcasts or playing on a console, the picture looks very good. There is no feeling of stuttering, chopping, or the typical "tearing" in fast motion that is common in lower-end models. Samsung also allows you to adjust the smoothness to your own preferences. In the picture clarity settings, we find options such as blur reduction and motion smoothing – each of which can be adjusted independently. This is especially useful when watching content with a lower frame rate and we want to give it a smoother, more cinematic character – or on the contrary, maintain the natural film "feeling" of 24 frames.

The TCL C855 TV has fully-featured HDMI 2.1 ports, boasting a full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s. During our testing, we confirmed the seamless operation of all functions included in this connection standard. As highlighted, all checkboxes are illuminated in green, a feature that will undoubtedly be appreciated by gamers, whether on consoles or those using the TV as a computer monitor. Additionally, the TCL C855 supports both AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA's G-Sync, which can be easily activated in the graphics card settings. Those with powerful configurations can feed a 144 Hz signal to the C855, which handles this effortlessly. It is also worth noting the implementation of the HGIG mode, which can be excessively bright due to the shortcomings of the "Game" mode, making proper configuration on the screen challenging. Fortunately, the TV excels with the Dolby Vision format.

TCL, as one of the pioneering manufacturers, has equipped its televisions with a special GameBar, allowing for extensive adjustment of settings "on the fly" without the need to exit the game. This feature includes options like an additional crosshair grid, black level correction, and settings designed for individuals with disabilities. The image showcases the next generation of this solution.

In summary, the TCL C855 TV is an ideal choice for those seeking a screen for all forms of electronic gaming. With comprehensive features supporting such entertainment, it provides an extremely engaging experience. It is also important to emphasise that it maintains very low input lag, regardless of the selected settings, including when using the Dolby Vision HDR format.

Samsung QN70F is truly a solid choice for gamers. Here we have as many as four HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps, which means full support for gaming in 4K at 144 Hz refresh rate. In addition, we have all the basic features we expect today: auto low latency mode (ALLM), variable refresh rate (VRR), and a very well-designed, intuitive Game Bar with information about the mode, resolution, and frame count.

It's also worth highlighting the Game Motion Plus feature, which allows you to add artificial frames to games running at 60 fps or less. It works surprisingly well and in many titles – especially those where consoles struggle to maintain a stable framerate – it improves gameplay smoothness without significant lag.

Unfortunately, there are also some drawbacks. The lack of support for Dolby Vision mode is not surprising – it's a standard for Samsung. But the much bigger disappointment is the absence of the HGiG feature. What's worse, it was removed in a software update, leaving users who previously used it quite shocked. Without HGiG, you can't manually set the maximum HDR brightness from the console, which results in some games looking slightly washed out – especially if the TV misinterprets the tonal range. Why did Samsung, a brand that has set standards in gaming features for years, decide to take such a step? It's hard to say. At the time of writing this review, the tested TV was running on software version 1110 – and frankly, if you care about full support for gamers, it's better to temporarily hold off on updates.