TCL V6C vs TCL C8L / QM8L

When it comes to HDR, the TCK V6C clearly shows that it is not its strong suit. Peak brightness around 200 nits makes it difficult to talk about true HDR effects – the image simply remains too dark to extract details in bright scenes or convey the appropriate dynamics. Although the TV formally supports many HDR formats, in practice it is not adapted for such demanding content. The lack of additional coatings that enhance colors, such as QLED or PFS LED, further limits the appeal of the image – in more spectacular productions, colors may seem washed out compared to more expensive models. Therefore, the V6C will primarily serve as a television for everyday TV, YouTube, or SDR materials, rather than as equipment for high-quality cinematic experiences.

In terms of HDR, the TCL C8L turns out to be a hellishly bright television – and I mean literally. On a synthetic chart of 5%, our measuring equipment indicated a result exceeding 4500 nits. This is a result that is downright cosmic, considering that reference director monitors, which we often refer to in our materials, typically operate around 4000 nits. Does this mean that the C8L breaks barriers and climbs to the technological peak of Mini-LED? Not exactly. Dry synthetic tests are one thing, and real movie images are another. In real, varied scenes, the C8L achieves a peak of around 1600 nits. This is still a very good result, ensuring a very high level of HDR dynamics, but also clearly lower than what the manufacturer boasts in the specifications. The trouble starts with very small flashes of light – then brightness can drastically drop to around 600 nits. The algorithm tries at all costs to maintain deep black and minimize halo effect, but it does so at the expense of HDR impact. This is perfect evidence that laboratory charts rarely correspond to what we ultimately see on the screen.

Huge applause is due for color reproduction, all thanks to the new generation of SQD (Super Quantum Dot) quantum dots. The coverage of the DCI-P3 palette reaches 97%, but the true jaw-dropper is the measurement of the extremely demanding BT.2020 space. The C8L achieves as much as 90% in it, placing it alongside today's top screens that boast RGB backlighting. Importantly, unlike some screens with Micro/Mini RGB backlighting, this effect is stable regardless of the scene displayed. Of course, one must remember that content mastered for such a wide gamut in films or series is still a rarity. However, the mere fact that the panel has such a "color reserve" deserves immense admiration.

We started the color reproduction tests with the Filmmaker mode, which in theory should be the best choice right after taking the television out of the box. It certainly performs better than the Eco or Dynamic modes, which heavily interfere with the image and spoil its natural character. As you can see in the charts, the factory tuning of the V6C is not ideal, although it’s not a disaster either. The biggest problem turned out to be a lack of red – the television clearly "cools" the image, which is particularly noticeable on human faces, giving a "corpse skin" effect. This issue was the most bothersome in daily viewing. Looking at the color palette in HDR content, the deficiencies in red are also noticeable, and their source is the relatively narrow coverage of the color space. Of course, every television can be calibrated, so we decided to check how the V6C would perform after such an adjustment.

We tested the TCL C8L in the best factory picture mode available in this TV’s menu for image fidelity. That, of course, is Filmmaker Mode, which appeared in this brand’s software relatively recently (a year ago in the "K" series). Thanks to it, an average user can get a pretty good color reproduction straight out of the box, although it is certainly not a perfectly tuned mode. Looking at the factory white balance of our unit, both in SDR and HDR material, the red component was clearly lacking, which made the image noticeably cooler and caused a slight shift toward bluish-green tints. The issue of brightness management is also ambiguous, as we mentioned earlier. While for SDR content the gamma linearity is actually correct and holds steadily at the reference value of 2.4, in HDR things look much worse. Tracking the EOTF curve clearly shows the TV has a significantly boosted brightness across the range, which can make the final image overly bright and inconsistent with the creators’ intent, and that in a mode that by definition should avoid that. Of course, like every sample in our lab, this one also underwent professional calibration, and its results are shown below.

My dear friends – we haven't had such a difficult "calibration battle" in years. The V6C turned out to be one of the most stubborn TVs we've dealt with in the editorial office. The calibration trials alone took us several working hours and required a lot of patience. We finally managed to slightly warm up the skin tones, which made the faces stop looking like they were straight out of a horror film, a flaw in the factory settings. Unfortunately, that's not the end of it – the TV reacted to our adjustments in white balance in a completely unpredictable way. Where we expected image stabilization in a given area, new errors appeared, and the Color Checker measurements showed deviations that couldn't be rationally explained. It's hard to say whether the software or the construction itself was to blame, but one thing is certain – the V6C offered exceptionally strong resistance. In the end, the calibration brought improvement, especially in SDR content, where the image became more pleasant and natural. However, it must be clearly stated that the design limitations remained. The TV still flattens the image in HDR material and has significant deficiencies in color reproduction. This is equipment rather intended for everyday TV watching or SDR materials than for cinematic screenings in the highest quality.

As you can see, the results of a professional calibration of the TCL C8L are really promising, thanks to the extensive adjustment tools the manufacturer put at our disposal in the menu. Above all, we were able to completely correct the white balance — we eliminated the red deficiency, so the image finally stopped drifting toward unwanted cool tones. After that adjustment, errors in the ColorChecker test fell to near-reference levels, regularly landing below a Delta E of 2, which is below the threshold of human perception.

If the test patterns look this perfect, you might ask: why then the lower final score in this category? The answer lies in the brightness management discussed earlier. Although the menu includes sliders that let you precisely straighten the EOTF curve on synthetic signals, when confronted with actual movie material (I recommend enabling the EOTF filter when watching movies), you can see that in most scenarios the TV still reacts to HDR metadata its own way. As a result, the picture can be slightly over-brightened and not faithful to the creators' intent, and it was precisely this lack of consistency with real films that cost the C8L a few points.

When it comes to upscaling, the V6C does not bring anything groundbreaking. Lower quality content is heavily sharpened, making the image look very unnatural, sometimes even artificially. This can be partially mitigated by lowering the sharpness level in the settings, but the effect is not spectacular. The image still remains far from ideal. The digital processing itself performs better. The function responsible for smoothing tonal transitions works quite effectively, especially at the medium setting, where the image indeed appears smoother. Unfortunately, its operation is quite aggressive – it heavily interferes with the overall scene, causing the actors in the foreground to start looking like characters from super smooth telenovelas. Therefore, we would not recommend using this option if natural reception of the image is important to us.

This year the C8 series and higher models received probably the biggest and most anticipated upgrade in TCL’s history, and it specifically concerns digital image processing. The C8L is the lowest-end model in the manufacturer's lineup to be equipped with the latest flagship chip, the MediaTek Pentonic 800 (listed in the menu as MT9655). Thanks to its processing power, the feature called "Gradual Smoothing" finally works as it should. The algorithm effectively eliminates unwanted posterization (ugly tonal transitions/color banding), doing so intelligently enough that it does not degrade the sharpness of other details.

The processor also handles upscaling lower-resolution content to 4K very well. Although evaluating this element can be mostly academic, because the differences between today's TVs in this class are very subtle. The most important takeaway is that TCL finally has nothing to be ashamed of compared to the competition.

Motion smoothing and motion fluidity is an area where the V6C quickly reveals its limitations. It is a 60 Hz TV, so it was hard to expect miracles here. In dynamic sports scenes, the picture comes off rather average. This is most noticeable in darker scenes, where clear smears and blurry "halos" trail behind moving objects, which can be quite distracting. This is definitely a weaker point of this model. Fortunately, there is also a small plus. The V6C is equipped with motion interpolation, which works while watching movies. Thanks to it, productions recorded at 24 frames per second, meaning practically all cinematic titles as well as series, can look smoother than they were actually recorded. Importantly, the intensity of the effect can be adjusted to personal preferences – from slight smoothing to full "soap opera effect."

The TCL C8L is equipped with a fast panel that has a native 144 Hz refresh rate. That spec will be most appreciated by demanding PC gamers, while most users, who rely on consoles or TV broadcasts, will use a steady 120 Hz. It is at 120 Hz that motion processing algorithms handle image rendering for movies, series, and sports. In the TV’s menu you’ll find a "Motion Clarity" option that lets you adjust the motion smoothing to your preferences. The algorithms handle cinematic material at 24 or 30 frames per second (fps) as well as dynamic sports broadcasts at 50 or 60 fps, maintaining appropriate smoothness.

Although the V6C is not a television designed with avid gamers in mind, TCL has included a few features that may appeal to more casual users. There is no 120 Hz panel or HDMI 2.1 ports, but there is an ALLM mode that automatically switches the TV to low-latency mode. Additionally, there is a quite practical Game Bar – a simple panel that allows you to view basic parameters, change the picture mode, or even enable a virtual crosshair on the screen. An interesting feature is also the support for Dolby Vision Gaming, intended for Xbox Series S/X consoles – a nice addition, though in practice it doesn't offer as much as in more expensive models. However, the biggest problem remains HDR configuration. The HGiG feature, which adjusts the brightness and contrast of games to the panel's capabilities, does not respond as we would expect – the image can end up being overly dark or too flat. As a result, a better solution turns out to be simply playing in SDR mode, where the V6C performs stably and does not try to pretend to be an HDR TV.

For gamers – especially for those with powerful PCs and several consoles at the same time – the TCL C8L is a true beast. It’s the first model in the manufacturer’s lineup equipped with four full HDMI 2.1 ports with a maximum bandwidth of 48 Gbps. This is directly thanks to the new Pentonic 800 processor we wrote about earlier. Additionally, the TV seamlessly supports virtually every gaming feature. It has an automatic game mode (ALLM) that reduces latency to minimal levels and full frame synchronization (VRR) operating in an impressive range of up to 288 Hz. We’re also talking about standards like G-Sync or FreeSync from Nvidia and AMD. When it comes to image display standards, there are also no compromises: the C8L offers complete support for HDR formats in games, including gaming Dolby Vision and the HGiG profile. All of these features can be conveniently managed from a very readable game bar (Game Bar), which we can customize according to our preferences. From a purely gaming perspective, there really isn’t anything to complain about in the C8L – well, maybe aside from the previously mentioned slight ghosting. But other than that? It’s an unflawed machine for gamers.