TCL MQLED85 / C765 vs Samsung Q6F (IPS)

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.

Unfortunately, the Samsung Q6F is a very dark model. Its peak brightness in HDR does not exceed 250 nits, which is definitely too low to even speak of any "high dynamic range" effect, or HDR. In practice, it's better to stick to content in SDR format, which simply looks more predictable on this TV. Another problem is the global dimming technique – in scenes with a lot of black, the TV drastically dims the entire panel to artificially improve the black levels. This causes the image to become even darker, and brightness can drop below 100 nits. The only consolation is the QLED technology, but even here it's average. The applied quantum dot layer is not top-notch, as the coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut does not exceed 90%. As a result, colors in HDR content may just seem under-saturated.

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.

We tested the television in Filmmaker mode, which showed us two completely different faces of this model. Looking at SDR content, we were honestly shocked at how good this TV looks straight out of the box. It was really hard to nitpick anything here. Despite a slight “haze” in the white balance or somewhat brightened details in the blacks (which directly results from the IPS panel's design), color errors hovered around the “2” level. This is surprisingly good, even outstanding, considering the price of this device.

On the other hand, what the Q6F displayed in terms of colors after switching to HDR mode was a very unpleasant surprise. The errors in color reproduction and palette were so huge that our charts literally ran out of scale. Of course, since Samsung even in such an inexpensive model offers very advanced calibration possibilities, we decided to approach the subject professionally and check what could be done about it during 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 our calibration, the colors in SDR mode looked even better – the result is quite surprising, as color errors at level "1" are something usually seen in devices costing several thousand dollars. In this regard, the Q6F is really a great screen for everyday television, less demanding series, or movies. Unfortunately, our interference in HDR mode did not bring about a noticeable improvement. The television, due to its poor black levels and low coverage of a wide color gamut, still has significant problems with proper color saturation, especially red. This is an example of a device where HDR mainly exists as a label on the box – for everyday use, we definitely recommend watching content in SDR format.

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.

The Q6F handles upscaling lower resolution content to native 4K very well. The scaling is surprisingly good here, even for such a budget TV from the QLED series. The only downside is when we watch very low-resolution material, like 576p (typical for old DVD players) – then the image may be slightly cropped. This is because the TV does not allow for the Overscan feature to be turned off, which is a common issue with Samsung devices.

The situation is completely different when it comes to digital processing, which is the attempt to smooth the image from unwanted artifacts. Here, the TV completely fails. Although we find a function in the menu called "Noise Reduction", it yields no visible results regardless of the slider setting. The only thing it seems to do is introduce unwanted errors into the image. Despite its presence in the system, we definitely do not recommend using it.

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.

The 60 Hz panel in the Samsung Q6F is the standard in this price range, which makes it a rather average model for dynamic sports or gaming. However, in the case of movies, the TV performs quite well thanks to the smoothing feature. The "Motion Smoothing" option allows you to adjust the fluidity of motion to your own preferences – from maintaining a cinematic feel to full fluidity.

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.

We won’t beat around the bush – the Q6F is not a television designed with gamers in mind. While it does have features like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR frame synchronization for consoles, the list of benefits pretty much ends there. Besides these basics, the TV offers nothing more that might satisfy those who spend a lot of time in front of a console. It’s a real shame that such a useful tool as Game Bar is missing here, which in Samsung’s higher models allows for quick control of game parameters. In terms of gaming, this is an absolutely basic model and is only suitable for "casual" gamers.