I've just tested four new TCL Mini LED TVs, and I'm amazed at the step forward the Chinese brand has taken this year
At this point, we all know that TCL is capable of producing the occasional excellent TV, particularly once price is taken into account, but in recent years it has struggled for consistency.
Previously on Adventures in AV
The new LG C5 OLED is a fantastic five-star TV – but here's why I won't be upgrading
There have been standout crackers (2023's C845K springs to mind), but we've deemed most of its models to be worthy of a maximum of four stars rather than five (and there are a few threes in there as well).
2025 is very much looking like the year that changes.
Earlier this week, my esteemed colleague John Archer and I sat down for a mammoth testing session that included four new TCL TVs, and I was struck not only by how much of a step up they are over last year's models, but also by the consistency the brand seems to have suddenly achieved.
We have so far published just one of the reviews from that testing session (check out our new TCL C8K review), but I've already gone on record to say that I really like the 98-inch C7K, too.
Well, at the risk of spoiling our upcoming reviews of the other two models, the 65-inch C7K and 50-inch C6KS, they are also very impressive.
These are all Mini LED TVs, with the C7K sitting below the C8K that we have reviewed.
Both models feature something that TCL calls 'Halo Control Technology'. This is a snazzy name for a whole suite of technologies designed to improve contrast while reducing the flaws we often encounter with backlit TVs, such as blooming or 'halos' of light around bright objects on black backgrounds.
On the evidence of the C8K and the two C7K models we looked at, that Halo Control Technology works a treat. I've seen very few Mini LED TVs that can go as bright and contrasty as these TCLs while remaining controlled and composed.
But almost as important is how TCL seems to have matured in the way it tunes its TVs.
Across the board, these TVs combined superb punch, vibrancy and sharpness with a level of balance and control I haven't typically associated with the brand before.
The Filmmaker Mode has been particularly well implemented, delivering a less processed and more cinematically authentic picture without the sort of drab flatness that's all too common from the Filmmaker Modes of many rival backlit TVs.
The smaller, much cheaper CK6S doesn't feature the new Halo Control Technology, yet its contrast and composure are still very good for the low asking price (just £400 in the UK at the time of writing). Again, though, it's the TV's general balance of punch and authenticity that really appealed to me.
What's perhaps most impressive, though, is how alike all of the TVs are. While there are naturally performance downgrades as you drop from the C8K to the C7K and then to the C6KS, the general approach to picture quality is very consistent, indicating careful, considered tuning.
The best TV brands have a sort of picture quality DNA that you can see across their models – I can instantly tell a Samsung from a Sony, for example – and it appears that TCL may have now settled on its own.
There are still plenty of TCL models we haven't looked at, and perhaps they will contradict what I've seen so far.
But on the evidence of these four TVs, it looks like TCL has taken a big step forward this year, and if I were a rival brand that still makes lots of money from sales of backlit TVs, I'd be very worried.
MORE:
These are the best TVs you can buy right now
And here are the best TVs under £1000
TCL's new Mini LED TV range comes with huge brightness gains, reduced blooming and souped-up sound
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