TCL C855 vs Xiaomi S Pro 2026

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.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is undoubtedly a really bright TV. On our synthetic measurement charts, we were able to generate a peak brightness of around 1400 nits. This is not only a very good result but even spectacular, considering the price of this model. However, as we always repeat, for our editorial team, measurements and experiences from the content we watch every day—movies and series—are more important. So let's analyze how Xiaomi handles film material. Unfortunately, the result is somewhat mixed. When very bright scenes appear on the screen, the S Pro 2026 truly shows its full potential and can achieve real brightness of 800-1000 nits on bright elements. Moreover, even smaller objects can "burn" the eyes— in scenes from the movie Sicario 2, small metallic elements of the helicopter were really bright. The problem is this—and here the story comes full circle back to our assessment of contrast—that in such scenes, we cannot count on absolutely cinematic black. In our opinion, this compromise is too significant; high visibility of details in bright areas should not come at the expense of such a substantial boost in black levels. And even though the HDR effect itself can be striking here, it is important to remember that when very difficult, mixed scenes appear on the screen, we may feel a slight disappointment. Exactly the one we mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding dimming issues in HDR mode. On a positive note, it is worth adding that the S Pro 2026 is equipped with an additional PFS filter (which works similarly to a QLED layer), effectively broadening the color palette coverage. As a result, measurements showed a DCI-P3 color gamut coverage of up to 94%. This gives us the confidence that in most colorful scenes, the image will look rich and appropriately saturated.

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.

Of course, we conducted all our measurements in "Film" mode, which is usually the best and most accurate choice you get straight out of the box. And we have to say it bluntly: even though this is the best mode, it is still very far from ideal. First of all, the television has a clear tendency to give the image a cool, bluish tint – this is due to a poorly set white balance. Additionally, there is a problem with how the S Pro 2026 manages its brightness right after being taken out of the box, which results in an overly bright image. These two flaws contribute to really huge colorimetric errors (Delta E). In HDR content, they were able to exceed our expected error scale of "10" (meaning values close to 20). For reference – the threshold of perceivable error by the human eye is a Delta E value of around 3. Results at the level of 20 mean that the image significantly deviates from what the director intended.

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.

So how does the S Pro 2026 perform after our calibration treatment? We must admit that after calibration, the television becomes a really pleasant device for watching everyday content. As you can see in the graphs, we managed to bring both white balance and gamma values to nearly perfection in HD (SDR) material. Most importantly, the colorimetric errors have become practically invisible to the human eye. In this scenario, the S Pro 2026 is simply a great television that, after professional calibration, can provide a lot of enjoyment while watching. However, it is worth noting clearly – our efforts helped little in 4K HDR mode. Despite calibration, the television still interprets the image rather strongly "in its own way," which is clearly seen in the measurement of the EOTF curve (luminance tracking). It's a bit of a shame, because this shows that the problem lies not in the panel itself, but in the software. Underdeveloped image management algorithms in HDR content can, unfortunately, disqualify this television for many more discerning users.

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.

Let's start with the issue we addressed in the previous paragraph: can a TV even fix the problem of poor tonal transitions in dark scenes? Theoretically, yes – in the menu, we find a feature with the promising name "Color Contour Removal." Well, "theoretically." Unfortunately, in practice, this setting – regardless of which of the three power levels is selected – yielded absolutely no real results. So we have a feature that, in practice, only exists in the menu. Moving on to the quality of upscaling (scaling the image from a lower resolution to 4K), unfortunately, we have more bad news for you. The S Pro 2026 handles this task very poorly. Interestingly, the phenomenon of "overscan" (slight image cropping) is not a big issue here. The problem is that the TV simply displays a very raw, unprocessed image. Its attempt to upscale the signal to a higher resolution looks simply poor and lacks any "smart" enhancement. There is no denying it – the whole digital image processing is the true Achilles' heel of this model.

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.

On paper, the specification of the S Pro 2026 looks impressive. The television is equipped with a native 144 Hz panel, capable of displaying images up to 288 Hz in a dedicated gaming mode. These are amazing results, but what interested us the most, in the context of everyday use, was how the television handles motion blur and how the image looks at 120 Hz. After all, this is the frequency used today by consoles like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and it is desired by sports fans. Generally speaking, the panel "holds up." The matrix is fast enough to meet these challenges, and objects displayed at native 120Hz fluidity are shown correctly. As for the software, the television is equipped with a motion smoothing system, but with a key caveat – it only works for input signals up to 60 Hz. This means it is mainly suitable for classic television, movies, and series. Thanks to this, we can adjust the fluidity of the image to our own preferences – from a very smooth, "theatrical" approach to setting the slider to "zero" and maintaining a fully cinematic character.

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.

For gamers, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is, on paper, an almost ideal proposition. It is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing us to unlock (although these options are somewhat hidden in the menu) the full suite of features: ALLM, VRR, and, crucially, the ability to work in 4K at 144 Hz. This last feature should particularly please owners of powerful PCs. The TV also has something akin to a gaming panel – and while it’s hard to call it a full-fledged "Game Bar," it does its job by displaying key information. It’s just a shame that in its default form, it covers a relatively large part of the screen.

However, our biggest issue with this model concerns how the S Pro 2026 handles gaming in HDR mode. To put it bluntly: it doesn’t handle it well. Due to the poorly implemented HGiG function (the HDR tone mapping standard for games), during the initial HDR calibration on the console, it’s very easy to "blow out" the image. If someone is unaware of this software flaw and follows the on-screen instructions, they will simply set the image incorrectly, with burnt-out details in bright areas. Another major problem is the Dolby Vision mode for gaming. While it does work, it generates such a high input lag that it becomes noticeable in dynamic titles. (All our latency measurements can be checked in the paragraph below). In summary: generally, it’s a really good screen for gamers, but with one small caveat. We would rather avoid HDR mode on it – unless we decide to manually adjust the brightness bar on the console "by eye," completely ignoring the instructions from the console's pictogram.