TCL P755 vs Hisense E7Q PRO / E79Q PRO

The TCL P755 delivers an average HDR experience, with a maximum brightness of just under 300 nits. This limitation affects the intensity of bright areas in HDR content, reducing the contrast impact, as bright elements may appear less pronounced. However, the TV compensates with an impressive 93% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, which brings vibrant, saturated colours that enhance the quality of HDR content. Despite the brightness cap, the extensive colour range enriches hues, providing a more lifelike and visually engaging viewing experience.

If it comes to the quality of the HDR effect, the E7Q PRO is unfortunately not a television that can impress with brightness alone. In real film materials, we measured about 250–300 nits, which is simply too little for HDR to look spectacular. It lacks that "spark" in bright details, flashes, and light effects, and in many HDR scenes, it can resemble better SDR than true cinematic HDR. A consolation in all of this is the colors. We managed to confirm that the E7Q PRO is a PFS type television, meaning it has an additional filter that enhances color gamut coverage. As a result, even if the brightness doesn't deliver, the colors in HDR content can be adequately saturated and pleasant to the eye, without the feeling of a "faded" image.

In Cinema mode, the colour reproduction on the TCL P755, while set to the best factory configuration, falls short of ideal accuracy. The primary issue is the white balance, where the red component is notably elevated and the green is reduced. This imbalance shifts colours towards red, making them appear unnatural, particularly in scenes featuring white or neutral tones. This issue is highlighted in the Colour Checker test, which shows a discernible red bias affecting the realism of the image and diminishing the perception of colour depth.

Examining contrast performance, the gamma graph analysis reveals notable inconsistencies, especially in darker areas, where values dip below the target level of 2.4. Consequently, shadows and darker sections are displayed brighter than intended, impacting overall contrast. Furthermore, the EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) curve, essential for accurate brightness representation, veers slightly above the reference curve. The data shows a boost in brightness up to around 50% before a gradual levelling off. This creates excessive mid-tone brightness, which can lead to loss of detail and some distortion in brighter scenes, ultimately affecting the clarity and immersion of the viewing experience.

In terms of color reproduction, we tested the Hisense E7Q Pro in Movie mode, which proved to be the best built-in preset without a doubt. This mode, unlike the Eco, Standard, or Dynamic settings, offers the most natural colors right out of the box. Although no factory mode is completely free of flaws, the E7Q Pro deserves high praise for its color representation in standard SDR content. The color palette is very well tuned here, and errors in Color Checker tests often did not exceed a value of 3, which is an exceptional result rarely seen in such inexpensive TVs. The only drawback we noted in SDR is a tendency to darken some image elements, as indicated by a slightly raised gamma chart. The TV performs somewhat worse with colors in HDR mode. Here, color errors become noticeable to the naked eye, mainly due to a deficiency of blue in the white balance. This causes the colors on the screen to appear too warm, and for some viewers, they may seem “too cinematic.” Of course, to improve these parameters, we proceeded with professional calibration.

Post-calibration, the TCL P755 delivers a markedly improved colour performance for SDR content. The colour curves now align closely with ideal values, with a more consistent gamma stability across the range. While a slight drop at the beginning of the gamma curve persists, the accuracy in colour reproduction is significantly enhanced. The Colour Checker test reveals most colour samples are now under an error threshold of 2, showcasing much-improved colour fidelity with only minimal deviations, resulting in colours that feel notably more authentic to life.

HDR content benefits from these calibration adjustments as well. White balance corrections lend a more natural tone, with colours appearing more balanced overall. The EOTF curve, while nearer to the ideal reference line, still features a mild brightness elevation at the start, which can cause minor distortions in exceptionally bright scenes. However, overall tonal quality and detail resolution have both improved. Tone mapping also performs more effectively, enhancing detail in bright regions while maintaining better image accuracy.

In summary, while calibration does not bring flawless performance, it makes a substantial difference in the P755’s visual quality. Following these adjustments, the television provides a more accurate, realistic viewing experience in both SDR and HDR content, smoothing out many of the previous colour inconsistencies for a more visually engaging result.

In the case of materials with a standard color range (SDR), our efforts in Filmmaker mode turned out to be largely cosmetic 😉. We mainly focused on gentle white balance correction and gamma curve adjustment, which allowed us to recover details in the darker parts of the image that previously tended to get lost. It is worth noting, however, that the E7Q Pro unit we tested happened to be exceptionally well-made from the factory. We remind you that these parameters depend on the specific unit – with mass production, factory calibration can be random, so your unit may require slightly different adjustments. The biggest beneficiary of professional calibration was undoubtedly the HDR mode. This is where we did the most work, which yielded spectacular results. We managed to effectively tame the excessive warmth of the image, caused by a factory deficiency of blue color. After calibration, color errors were reduced to a significantly lower level, which will certainly please those who watch a lot of streaming content in HDR format, expecting faithful reproduction.

The "Gradual Smoothing" function on the TCL P755 performs effectively, reducing visible boundaries between shades of the same colour and creating smoother tonal transitions. Unfortunately, this feature is unavailable in HDR mode, which can impact the quality of tonal gradations in high dynamic range content.

In terms of image scaling, the television shows some limitations. There are visible edge cut-offs, especially noticeable around figures and tree branches, which result in some detail blurring and a reduction in overall image sharpness. This is particularly noticeable when viewing lower-resolution content. Additionally, SD-quality images display a slight crop at the top and bottom, which may further impact viewing for standard-definition content.

When it comes to upscaling and digital image processing, the E7Q PRO deserves praise. The scaling performs really well here and does not fall drastically behind much more expensive, advanced televisions. Lower-quality materials can look clean and sensible, without the impression that the image is artificially "overdrawn." However, the smoothing function presents a bit worse. It can indeed be effective and improve tonal transitions in low-quality materials, but at the same time, it can introduce unwanted effects. Sometimes it removes film grain or adds unwanted artifacts, giving the image a more "digital" character. Therefore, we mainly recommend it to those who prefer a smoother, less cinematic style of image.

The TCL P755 delivers satisfactory, though not flawless, motion smoothness. It includes a "Flicker Reduction" feature for films, allowing users to fine-tune motion smoothness on a scale from 1 to 10. This setting offers flexibility in tailoring the image to cinematic or more theatrical preferences, adjusting for a slower or faster appearance according to personal viewing taste.

In the category of motion blur and fluidity of movement, the E7Q PRO has one very strong argument. At this price, Hisense has added a 120 Hz panel, and in PC mode, it can even operate at 144 Hz. This immediately provides greater possibilities in motion settings, as the menu displays more options for smoothing the image. Among other things, we have frame interpolation options, which allows us to adjust the fluidity for sports or for movies, depending on whether we prefer a more cinematic character or a "theatrical" smoothness.

The TCL P755 comes equipped with gamer-oriented features like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), Dolby Vision for gaming, and a Game Bar. ALLM automatically activates low latency mode to enhance response times and reduce input lag, while VRR syncs the screen refresh rate with the console's frame output, minimising screen tearing for a smoother gaming experience. Dolby Vision for gamers brings improved colour and contrast for compatible games, and the Game Bar allows easy access to essential settings like response time.

However, the 60 Hz panel limits the display to this refresh rate across resolutions, which may impact the fluidity in high-motion games. The absence of G-Sync also affects PC gamers, as gameplay on computers lacks this technology's extra smoothing. Notably, HGiG mode, meant to optimise HDR game visuals, is not fully functional on this model, which slightly detracts from the HDR gaming experience.

The E7Q PRO is a phenomenal screen for gamers. Aside from the typical "thorn" of Hisense, which is the lack of support for the HGiG format due to the constantly active tone mapping, we practically get everything one might expect from a television that is supposed to have a gaming label. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports, along with a full set of key features. We have variable refresh rates, automatic switching to game mode, and support for 4K at 120 Hz. On top of that, all the most important settings are at hand in a clear Game Bar. This tool not only looks modern but also has a distinctly "gaming" edge and actually makes life easier while playing.