TCL P755 vs Sony X90L

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.

HDR on the Sony X90L television looks promising. The luminance chart showed that the TV has a solid power reserve, reaching a maximum of 1000 nits in synthetic tests. But how does it perform in real scenarios? In scenes such as the first one from Life of Pi or the final sequence from The Meg, the TV can deliver this power on HDR content, achieving around 800 nits. Unfortunately, displaying small light elements on a black background, as in the scene from Sicario 2, poses greater challenges for the X90L – here the results reach about 600 nits. Despite this, when looking at competitive models with mini-LED technology, the effect looks very good and can shine enough to impress us. The color gamut coverage is also noteworthy, with a result of 96% for DCI-P3 and 76% for BT.2020, indicating good color reproduction in HDR content.

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.

The best mode in Sony televisions is the IMAX Enhanced mode. Although IMAX is mainly associated with the cinematic experience, here the color reproduction right out of the box is average. In the case of lower quality materials, such as HD – regular TV or YouTube – it is worth paying attention to the white balance. It is characterized by a deficit in red and an excessive dominance of blue, which gives the image a pinkish hue. The brightness characteristic, or gamma, for HD content is quite decent, but a slight boost may cause the image to become washed out and appear as if it is behind a light fog.

In 4K HDR content, the situation looks a bit different. The white balance shows a significant boost in blue, which makes the image appear unnaturally sharp and gives it an artificial feel. Such an exaggeration in color reproduction may not appeal to everyone, especially if one prefers more realistic shades. Additionally, the EOTF curve in Sony X90L looks quite decent at first glance. However, at the end of the graph, there are certain fluctuations that suggest the television is trying to maintain the appropriate brightness to avoid overexposing larger elements.

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.

Sony offers many tools to improve image quality, including two additional image modes that we decided to use during testing and apply calibration to them. This solution significantly facilitates the calibration work and is very effective, provided that the right tools are available. In the case of HD content, the white balance has been almost perfectly aligned – only one shade of gray exceeds the error value of "1", which is an excellent result. The same can be said about the brightness characteristic (gamma), which looks nearly perfect, with microscopic deviations of around 0.01.

In the case of 4K HDR content, the situation is not as ideal. Although the white balance has been significantly improved, it has not been possible to completely eliminate the dominance of blue color. Nonetheless, errors in the Colour Checker test only occasionally exceed the value of "2", which means that image distortions are practically unnoticeable. As for the EOTF curve, it is worth activating the filter in the upper right corner "EOTF in Movies" – the graph looks correct, but the television encounters difficulties illuminating very small elements, which results from the limited number of backlight zones. Despite these minor flaws, it is thanks to the calibration carried out that the IMAX Enhanced mode in the Sony X90L makes watching movies resemble a true cinema experience.

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.

The Sony X90L TV features a tone transition smoothing function known as Smooth Gradation, which is incredibly effective. Even at the "low" setting, the effects are satisfactory, but at the "medium" setting, it works like a dream – we recommend using this option for the best results. The image scaling on the Sony X90L is simply excellent. The image is not overly sharpened, which gives a natural effect and makes everything look cohesive. It is evident that the engineers really put effort into this aspect, creating a solution that impresses and works well in everyday use. Because of this, even when watching content like regular television or YouTube, where the image is not inherently stunning, one can enjoy a smooth, cohesive, and visually pleasing experience.

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.

Sony X90L with a 120 Hz panel is a great choice for both gamers and movie enthusiasts. The TV is equipped with the Motion Flow smoothness feature, which allows you to adjust motion smoothness using two sliders: "smoothness" and "clarity." The "smoothness" slider controls the level of motion fluidity, which helps reduce image stuttering, while "clarity" is used to reduce blurring and improve motion sharpness, which is especially useful in dynamic scenes.

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.

Sony X90L is a television that performs well in terms of compatibility with consoles and features for gamers. Its 120 Hz panel and two HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 48 Gb/s allow for smooth play in high resolution and at a high frame rate. Gamers can also take advantage of the ALLM feature, which automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, and VRR, which provides smooth gameplay without screen tearing. Game Bar is an additional advantage – an intuitive tool that allows for quick access to the most important settings and gaming features, making it easier to control gameplay.

Unfortunately, in terms of HDR in games, the Sony X90L has its limitations. There is no support for HGiG, a standard that many gamers consider essential for precise HDR reproduction in games. Although the TV supports Dolby Vision, which theoretically could improve image quality in games, the practical application of this feature is problematic. Dolby Vision in game mode is associated with very high input lag, making gameplay less comfortable and precise movements more difficult. Additionally, it is not possible to enable Dolby Vision along with VRR. This means that despite numerous advantages, gamers seeking perfect HDR in games may feel a sense of disappointment.