TCL MQLED85 / C765 vs LG NANO81A / NANO80A

The TCL MQLED85/C765 television performs well with HDR handling. In the tested movie scenes, where the screen is covered at 100% brightness, the model achieves impressive results around 1000 nits, providing intense and realistic representation of HDR content. However, similar to contrast, the dimming algorithm may show some limitations. Despite the large number of Mini LED zones, the television does not always manage to "stun" the user with brightness in very challenging test scenes. For example, in a scene from "Life of Pi," where a bright moon appears against a dark background, and in another scene from "Sicario 2," where a very bright light effect is visible against a dark background, the television did not reach maximum intensity. For users expecting perfect HDR performance in such extreme cases, the TCL MQLED may be slightly disappointing. However, regarding colors, the television stands out with a very high color gamut coverage of DCI P3 at 95%, which is an impressive result comparable to much more expensive models. The TCL MQLED85 / C765 offers support for various HDR formats, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which is essential for cinema image enthusiasts. Although this model achieves brightness over 1000 nits, the TCL MQLED85 may struggle to reflect details in very high contrast scenes. For better HDR quality control, the C765 is equipped with dynamic tone mapping, making the image more realistic and natural depending on the content.

If you're counting on HDR in the NANO81A to bring tears to your eyes, I have to disappoint you. This TV is simply too dark to show what this format is really about. With a brightness of just 250 nits, HDR here essentially exists only on paper. In practice, during a viewing session, it's very hard to distinguish whether we're watching high dynamic range content or regular SDR – it simply lacks that "punch" of light in bright areas of the image. But, to not have all criticism, we do have a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel – and it’s quite clear. It's about color gamut coverage. Here, the NanoCell filter shows that it's not just marketing nonsense. Our measurements indicated that the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 88%. This is really a solid result that positions this model significantly above typical budget models based on regular white LED lights without any filters. Of course, it's still a bit lacking compared to the level of quantum dot TVs (QLED) or advanced panels with PFS filtering, but for this price range, the colors are surprisingly saturated and vibrant. It's just a shame that this low brightness doesn’t allow them to fully "spread their wings" with the Nano filter.

TheTCL MQLED85/C765 television was tested in movie mode, which, although it seems to be the best setting from the manufacturer, is not without flaws. The color reproduction in HD/SDR mode MQLED85 shows certain shortcomings. In the analysis of white balance, there is a significant lack of blue color, which can affect the overall picture quality, especially in bright scenes where blue hues are crucial for natural representation. The overall image may then seem too warm. As for gamma contrast, the graph shows a significant jump above the reference line of level 2.4 at the beginning, which may suggest significant dimming of brightness in darker areas, leading to a loss of detail in blacks. Then, for most of the time, the values are below this line, which can lead to a loss of detail in the brighter parts of the image. Such a distribution can negatively affect the perceived image quality, especially when watching regular HD television.

In the case of 4K HDR image quality of the TCL MQLED85/C765, there is a noticeable excess of red color in the analysis of white balance. Such an excess can significantly affect the viewer's experience, leading to several significant effects. First of all, too much red can make other colors, such as green or blue, appear muted or unnatural. This distortion of color balance can result in an overall impression of "oversaturation," which detracts from the image's naturalness and authenticity. Regarding contrast, the EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) graph indicates that most values are above the reference line, suggesting an intense boost in brightness in the bright areas of the image. However, the exception is the beginning of the graph, where the EOTF line is below the reference one, which may lead to excessive dimming of small light elements.

Users should be aware that despite using the best mode, which is movie mode, the television is not free from flaws in the context of picture settings, so it is worth considering adjusting the settings to achieve better results.

For every movie fan, the natural choice in LG televisions is the Filmmaker Mode. This mode is designed to display the image as the director intended – without unnecessary "enhancements." Unfortunately, in the case of our test unit NANO81A, the factory settings left something to be desired. The main issue turned out to be white balance. Measurements showed a clear deficiency of blue color, which practically translated to many scenes having a slightly yellowish, almost "too yellow" tint. The white was not perfectly clean, which detracted from the freshness of the image. Additionally, brightness management was not ideal either – the factory-set gamma was too low. The image often appeared oversaturated, as if it had been pulled too much from the shadows, losing its naturalness and depth. Fortunately, LG, even in this relatively low price segment, does not block access to advanced settings. The calibration capabilities of this model are immense, which is a big plus for those who like to "dig around" in the menu. We decided to approach the topic in our own way and see how much we could extract from this panel with professional calibration.

After professional calibration of the TCL MQLED85/C765 television, its color properties in movie mode have significantly improved, resulting in much more satisfying visual experiences. Both in SDR and HDR modes, the white balance shows no serious errors, and the graph appears much better harmonized. Users can now enjoy natural color reproduction, which is essential for achieving an authentic experience while watching movies. It is worth noting that in HDR content, there may be minor color reproduction errors at the end of the graph, but they are significantly smaller than before calibration. This makes characters and landscapes more realistic, enhancing the depth of immersion in the story.

Regarding contrast, the gamma curve, responsible for HD quality, has been completely free of drops below the reference line, which means better detail visibility in dark scenes. However, there is still a slight boost at the beginning of the graph, which may affect the perception of bright elements. For HDR content, the EOTF curve also shows smaller errors, although certain issues in reproducing midtones may still be noticeable. The EOTF curve measured on real film scenes still shows a significant brightness boost, making the image appear more intense but artificially brightened. This is a typical issue for TCL brand televisions, which may appeal to untrained viewers but can be annoying for those more familiar with the ideal picture.

What benefits does professional calibration bring for movie enthusiasts? Thanks to it, watching becomes even more realistic and immersive, allowing every scene to be experienced fully, maintaining details and natural colors.

After calibrating the NANO81A, it's a completely different television. What LG offers in terms of image enhancement tools even in such an inexpensive model deserves a big plus. We were able to completely eliminate that annoying yellowing of whites and make the colors natural, juicy, and simply "true." In SDR content (such as regular TV, YouTube, or older films), the picture now looks infinitely better – it's clear, well-balanced, and no longer strains the eyes with strange hues. It's evident that this panel has considerable potential, which is simply wasted by poor presets out of the box. However, we have one serious reservation that calibration cannot fully overcome – it's about brightness management in HDR mode. The algorithm LG uses in this model is designed very conservatively. The television deliberately dims the image in HDR to avoid overexposing an already weak black from the IPS panel. The developers faced a choice: either provide more light and accept that black will turn light gray, or reduce the brightness to maintain any contrast. They chose the latter. Nevertheless, after our adjustments, watching anything on the NANO81 is significantly better.

We will now take another look at the tone transitions in the TCL MQLED85/C765 television, but in the context of poorer image quality. Despite the presence of the "Gradual Smoothing" option, when set to "low," the effects are practically invisible, disappointing users expecting an improvement in image quality. On the other hand, setting it to "high" brings minimal results, and worse, it can blur significant details, negatively affecting the sharpness and clarity of the displayed image. However, in terms of image scaling, the television successfully displayed the image without overscan, which means we do not lose any part of the view. The image looks quite decent, and details such as tree branches or the outlines of models do not show significant fraying, which positively influences the visual quality.

It often happens that cheap 4K panels mercilessly bring all the "dirt" and imperfections of lower resolution materials to light. However, in the case of the LG NANO81A, the situation is quite different. It’s a really solid performer when it comes to handling content that is far from ideal. The built-in processor does a great job with upscaling. Even older recordings look quite decent on this screen – the image is coherent, cleaned of digital noise, and simply pleasant to the eye. A big plus is the gradation reduction feature that you will find in the settings. It is exceptionally effective in combating color banding, which is a lifesaver when watching low bitrate materials, for example from some streaming services or older files from the internet. However, it is worth maintaining a certain vigilance. Since we are dealing with a less efficient chip than in LG's top models here, too aggressive an adjustment of this option can sometimes result in minor artifacts or a slight blurring of details. Despite this risk, I definitely encourage experimentation with this feature – in many cases, it can save the viewing experience and make low-quality material fully watchable.

TCL MQLED85/C765 is equipped with a standard refresh rate matrix of 120 Hz, with the possibility of increasing it to 144 Hz when connected to a powerful computer. The television also offers a multi-stage motion smoother, which mainly serves users who want to improve motion smoothness in films. It allows for the adjustment of the effect's intensity on a scale from 0 to 10, enabling precise matching of image smoothness to individual preferences. The matrix's response time is decent but not perfect. We can observe ghosting occurring behind both dark and medium objects.

In terms of motion fluidity, the NANO81A unfortunately has a few drawbacks. The TV is based on a panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. If you're looking for perfect sharpness in dynamic football matches or fast-paced action games, you might feel somewhat unsatisfied. With such a low native refresh rate, fast-moving objects on the screen will always be a bit blurry.

TCL MQLED85/C765 has received an impressive rating in the gaming features category, making it an excellent choice for gaming enthusiasts. The television supports all the latest technologies that significantly enhance the gaming experience. Among the key gaming features is ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which automatically switches the television to low latency mode, minimizing response time and ensuring smooth gameplay. VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) supported in the range from 48 to 144 Hz eliminates stuttering and screen tearing in dynamic gaming scenes. Additionally, the television supports Dolby Vision Game Mode, which provides better image quality in games with exceptional color depth and contrast. TCL MQLED85/C765 also features a decent but not the best implementation of HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group), optimizing HDR game display, but in the case of TCL, it causes bright details in white, resulting in some elements blending into a white spot - we can read more about this in the color reproduction section. It supports various resolutions such as 1080p@120Hz, 1440p@120Hz, and 4K@120Hz, allowing gamers to take advantage of higher image quality and better fluidity. The Game Bar feature allows for easy switching between game settings and quick control of parameters, significantly facilitating the adjustment of the television to individual needs. With support for G-Sync and FreeSync technologies, users of NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards will be pleased with the synchronization of refresh rates, eliminating tearing and stuttering issues, providing a smoother and more immersive gameplay experience.

MQLED85/C765 is a television that combines advanced technologies and excellent support for gamers, making it an ideal choice for those who want to maximize their gaming experiences.

NANO81A is unfortunately not a device designed for e-sports. The lack of support for a 120 Hz signal is a fact that users planning to purchase this model must simply come to terms with. Nevertheless, LG engineers have worked hard to squeeze the maximum capabilities out of this 60 Hz panel, offering a set of features that genuinely enhance the gaming experience. Above all, the television supports VRR technology (in the range of 48–60 Hz) and ALLM. As a result, the image remains stable and does not "tear," and the device automatically switches to low-latency mode as soon as it detects a signal from the console. Managing these settings is incredibly simple thanks to a dedicated system overlay that allows for a quick overview of parameters without leaving the game. A significant advantage is the support for the HGiG format. This solution is crucial for owners of modern consoles, as it enables the TV to correctly "understand" the intentions of game developers regarding HDR tone mapping. In practice, this helps avoid the effect of "blown out" bright spots, such as clouds or light sources, which unfortunately is a common issue in budget LCD televisions.