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Tom's Guide
9 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
TCL QM7K vs TCL QM8K: Which Mini-LED TV is the better buy?
The TCL QM7K is a terrific mid-range Mini-LED TV with a bright, colorful picture and gaming-friendly features, but its performance isn't as impressive as the QM8K. The QM8K is TCL's flagship model in 2025, and as a result, you'll pay more for its performance and features compared to the QM7K. TCL's 2025 TV lineup just as much about value as it is performance. Even the brand's top Mini-LED this year, the TCL QM8K, is competitively priced within its class. With that in mind, it can be especially tricky to choose between TCL's top set and its mid-range offering, the TCL QM7K. Lucky for you, I've been tracking these TVs since their official debut at CES earlier this year. Here's how the flagship QM8K compares to the lower-priced QM7K. TCL QM7K TCL QM8K Sizes 55", 65", 75", 85", 98" 65", 75", 85", 98" Ports 2x HDMI 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.0 2x HDMI 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.0 Resolution 3,840 x 2,160p 3,840 x 2,160p Refresh rate 144Hz 144Hz HDR Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG Smart TV software Google TV Google TV ATSC 3.0 support? No Yes Processor AIPQ PRO Processor AIPQ PRO Processor Unsurprisingly, these sibling sets are quite similar. There are two major differences worth highlighting: size availability and ATSC support. If you're shopping for a 55-inch TV, you can stop reading. The TCL QM8K starts at a 65-inch size point. All other sizes in these series are shared. Additionally, the QM8K supports ATSC 3.0 while the QM7K does not. 4K broadcasts are still few and far between, but if you plan on pairing your next TV with one of the best antennas you can buy and you'd like to take advantage of 4K broadcasts, the QM8K will get you there. These sets are similar in their design approach, but there are a few things worth highlighting here. Pictured above is the backside of the QM7K. Its chassis bulges out around the center in order to accommodate the TV's internal hardware. As a result, the inputs sit along the side of the panel's thickest section rather than inside of a cutout, which might make connections easier while the QM7K is wall-mounted. Below is the backside of the QM8K. It's similar in nearly every way, but its inputs rest in a partial cutout. The QM8K is also slightly thinner than its younger sibling, though both TVs are about as svelte as other Mini-LED TVs in their respective classes. The only other design difference worth mentioning involves their remote controls. I'm happy to report that both models arrive with backlit buttons on their clickers, which helps immensely during dark-room viewing. However, I find the QM8K's remote to be a little classier. Its slim, silver-toned appearance catches the eye, feels nice to use and doesn't waste much real estate with unnecessary buttons. Nevertheless, there isn't enough of a gap between these two TVs to declare a winner in the design category. Winner: Draw Before we dive into which of these TVs delivers better picture quality, let's take a look at how their test results compare to one another. TCL QM7K TCL QM8K SDR Brightness (10%, in nits) 132 231 Delta-E (lower is better) 1.4 2.7 HDR Brightness (10%, in nits) 1,734 3,333 UHDA-P3 Gamut Coverage 96.98% 97.28% Rec. 2020 Gamut Coverage 79.22% 80.11% Input latency (milliseconds) 13.1 13 When you put this pair of Mini-LED TVs in a head-to-head performance matchup, one thing is glaringly obvious: The QM8K is a much brighter TV. Not only is its full-screen brightness higher during everyday content (like basic cable, over-the-air broadcasts and sports), the QM8K is substantially brighter during HDR movies, shows and games. Its HDR highlight brightness is nearly double what you'll see with the QM7K which means that small, concentrated areas of brightness will look truer to life on the QM8K, adding to the overall depth of the picture. The QM8K leverages a brighter, more-precise array of Mini-LED backlights. This benefit extends beyond specular highlight brightness, too, as the QM8K offers marginally better color volume (though the QM7K is slightly better tuned out of the box in its most-accurate picture mode). There's not much else to say about how these two sets compare. The QM8K leverages a brighter, more-precise array of Mini-LED backlights for a more impressive picture, and that is primarily what you're paying for if you opt for the brand's flagship model over its mid-range option. Winner: TCL QM8K Here's some good news: both of these TVs come with Google TV pre-installed. I appreciate the Google TV operating system for its simple, snappy interface, and most of my colleagues at Tom's Guide do, as plenty of sponsored and recommended content to contend with across the home screen, but this is the case with just about every smart platform. Plus, Google's app library is among the best in the game, so you're not at risk of running out of stuff to stream. Want some more good news? Both the QM7K and the QM8K deliver the most important features needed for current-generation consoles: HDMI 2.1 compatibility and support for 4K gaming at 120Hz. If you link them up to a gaming PC, they'll support 4K titles at up to 144Hz, too. Both sets offer Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), as well as AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. The only significant difference in features that might concern you is that the QM8K supports Wi-Fi 6 while the QM7K supports Wi-Fi 5. Winner: Draw TCL QM7K TCL QM8K Specs (25) 22 23 Design (25) 18 20 Performance (25) 21 23 Features (25) 22 23 Total Score (100) 83 89 Every single category in this face-off has either gone in favor of the QM8K or ended in a draw. While this might lead one to believe that the QM8K is the obvious choice, it's possible to wind up at the opposite conclusion: that the QM7K is a better pick. Yes, the QM8K is a sensationally bright TV — one of the year's brightest Mini-LED TVs, in fact. However, the QM7K is similar to its pricier sibling in almost every way. It supports the same smart features, arrives with almost all of the same gaming-related features and, from a design standpoint, looks almost identical. I'm not kidding when I say that the QM8K's swanky remote control is maybe the third or fourth most significant difference between these two models. With that in mind, let's talk about the the QM7K's most distinguishing feature: its sensationally low price compared to the QM8K. Right now, the 65-inch QM7K is just $898 at Amazon. On the other hand, the 65-inch QM8K is $1,499, which is still $300 below its MSRP. Folks with exceptionally bright living spaces should definitely consider the brighter, bolder performance associated with the QM8K. Ditto for viewers who are looking for the best possible picture. If you want to maximize your dollar, however, I have a hard time not recommending the QM7K.
Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Tom's Guide
LG C5 vs TCL QM8K — the OLED vs Mini-LED shoot-out
The C5 is LG's mid-range OLED in 2025. It delivers an incredible picture, a thorough collection of gaming enhancements and plenty of additional features. It also comes with a stand, while the LG G5 does not. TCL's 2025 flagship Mini-LED TV offers incredible brightness and color performance at a reasonable price with myriad gaming features for those who need them. LG's C-series has, year after year, proven itself as the best bang for your buck when it comes to OLED TVs. For that reason, among many others, the LG C5 OLED TV is one of the best OLED TVs you can buy right now. But TCL is known for its budget displays, too, and the 65-inch TCL QM8K Mini-LED TV — its flagship model in 2025 — comes in at just $1,597. That's just $100 more than the 55-inch C5 OLED. So which one should you buy? There's a lot to unpack when pitting the LG C5 vs the TCL QM8K. Here's how the two stack up and if it's worth shelling out a bit more for the OLED vs its Mini-LED counterpart. LG C5 TCL QM8K Sizes 42", 48", 55", 65", 77", 83" 65", 75", 85", 98" Ports 4x HDMI 2.1 2x HDMI 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.0 Resolution 3,840 x 2,160p 3,840 x 2,160p Refresh rate 144Hz 144Hz HDR Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, & HLG Smart TV software webOS Google TV ATSC 3.0 support? No Yes Processor Alpha a9 Gen8 AiPQ Pro Processor Design-wise, the QM8K and LG C5 couldn't be farther apart. They're built on two completely different panels and screen types, with the QM8K using an LCD screen with Mini-LED backlighting and the C5 running on LG's WOLED panel. Through these variances, you can also infer several aspects that make or break your decision when deciding between the LG C5 vs the QM8K. The biggest one is size and weight, as the OLED will be much thinner and less bulkier than its Mini-LED counterpart. In fact, the LG C5 OLED weights 10lbs lighter than the QM8K at 36.6lbs. Luckily, they both share a similar pedestal stand in the 65-inch configuration, which is sturdy enough and can fit on most surfaces. If you're worried about your sunny room becoming a problem, the QM8K might be the better option as it's equipped with an anti-glare coating. The C5 unfortunately doesn't have one, unlike the flagship LG G5 OLED TV, but LG does claim its "Bright Room Ready" feature diminishes glare just as well. One of the major downsides against the QM8K TV is its lack of extra HDMI 2.1 ports. That's a real shame. TCL aims to make the QM8K the gamers' TV with tons of gaming features but that's hard to do with so few HDMI 2.1 ports. Meanwhile, the LG C5 has a total of four HDMI 2.1 ports, which means you have more options to choose from even if you're connecting an eARC compatible soundbar, like the Sonos Arc Ultra. In terms of remotes, LG always proves the weakest link. The magic remote is an annoying gimmick that turns the clicker into a digital pointer. It's very annoying to use, but I still have to give LG some props for the redesign of its remote for 2025, as it's now less bulky and far easier to handle. That being said, it's still not perfect. There's no dedicated input button on the remote, just one that acts as an all-encompassing smart home hub. Plus, with the select button in the center also serving as a scroll wheel, I tend to fudge the control and scroll all across the screen when I'm just trying to open an app. No matter the case, both TVs will look just as good on a wall or stand in your living room. This really comes down to if you'd rather have a thin and light TV or something a bit heavier sitting on the wall of your house. Winner: Draw Before we ponder the overall performance on offer with these TVs, let's check out their test results to see how they stack up in a side-by-side comparison. LG C5 TCL QM8K SDR Brightness (10%, in nits) 344 249 Delta-E (lower is better) 1.2 2.7 HDR Brightness (10%, in nits) 1,179 4,437 UHDA-P3 Gamut Coverage 99.45% 97.28% Rec. 2020 Gamut Coverage 76.18% 80.11% Input latency (milliseconds) 9.1 13 There's a lot to consider when looking at these two TVs side by side in terms of metrics. The elephant in the room is brightness, which OLED TVs tend to lack. You can see here the C5 beats the QM8K in terms of SDR brightness, by just about 100 nits, but the Mini-LED TV blows the OLED out of the water with HDR content. This should come as no surprise and it's definitely nothing to scoff at. The QM8K hitting over 4,000 nits in a 10% window is pretty impressive, especially when you consider its next closest rival, the Hisense U8QG, tops out at 3,916 nits. But better brightness isn't what's selling TVs. Overall picture quality is the big ticket item, and the QM8K definitely will suffer when it comes to shadows and highlights. While we didn't note any blooming concerns on the QM8K, a real letdown was viewing angles, a problem that plagues most Mini-LED TVs. If you're wanting richer blacks and finer details in darker environments, the LG C5 is definitely the one to go with. It also has incredible upscaling thanks to its Alpha 9 Gen8 processor, which can boost 720p to 4K with minimal artefacting. Overall, it's simply hard to beat an OLED in the picture performance game. The QM8K definitely has some strong performance metrics and its brightness in HDR is some of the best we've ever tested, but the LG C5 is just too hard to topple with its inky blacks and improved contrast. Winner: LG C5 In the world of smart TV platforms, Google TV tends to reign supreme. It offers an incredible list of features, many of the best streaming services, in tandem with tons of free channels to enjoy. It's genuinely hard to beat. But LG's webOS has seen some major enhancements. While game streaming is still in its infancy, having easy access to Xbox Game Pass and Nvidia GeForce Now through webOS is a huge win in my eyes. No matter which interface you end up choosing, you will have to deal with ads. It's important to note that LG is taking some steps to make webOS even more debilitating (and frightening) to use with ads served dictated by your emotions, but we're not quite there just yet. For now, LG's webOS is a worthy compromise if you're hankering for a new OLED screen. Even if it's not up your alley, you can always tack on one of the best streaming devices, like a Roku Ultra, but given how snappy and easy-to-use webOS is, you might be fine living with webOS (for the time being). What you might not be willing to live without is an ATSC 3.0 tuner. LG's axed the spec from its lineup since 2023, meaning none of its newer models have access to NextgenTV and 4K broadcasts. The TCL QM8K, on the other hand, does have one, so if you've got an antenna and want to watch live 4K TV, the Mini-LED TV might be the better pick. Winner: TCL QM8K You really can't go wrong with either TV when it comes down to gaming. While neither option here has that 165Hz refresh rate seen on several other 2025 models, their 144Hz support is more than enough for most gamers, especially when modern consoles top out at just 120Hz in 4K via VRR. If you're planning on running a PC with your TV for gaming purposes, I'd recommend going with the QM8K. Unlike other TVs, it lets you drop the resolution to reach higher refresh rates, in this case 288Hz at 1080p. It's highly unlikely you'll find any games that run anywhere close to that, but it's an option if you're willing to sacrifice resolution. Despite the higher refresh rate of the QM8K, games will look far better when played on the LG C5 OLED. Not only are OLEDs generally better for gaming, but LG TVs tend to be the best choice for the pastime. Plus, the C5 OLED can hit a low input latency of 9.1ms, which beats the QM8K's 13ms by quite a bit. The QM8K has some neat gaming tools and features, but I'd still be buying the C5 to get the best possible picture performance. Winner: LG C5 LG C5 TCL QM8K Specs (25) 23 21 Design (25) 23 23 Performance (25) 24 21 Features (25) 23 23 Total Score (100) 93 88 There's a reason we typically recommend OLED TVs over their Mini-LED TV counterparts. They simply offer the best possible picture performance in the market and come with a range of features that suit most users. The LG C5 is the poster boy for OLED TVs. It's a value proposition that's made better each year and the price will only diminish as we continue further into 2025. While you definitely could save yourself $400 by going with the 65-inch QM8K that's $1,597 right now, I would go with the more expensive option here. Not only is the LG C5 OLED far superior in terms of picture quality and features, but we gave it a perfect score in our official review. It's one of the few TVs we've tested so far in 2025 to get that perfect rating, and not just among OLEDs. If price is a concern, you can always go with the 65-inch LG C4 OLED TV that's currently $1,396 ($200 less than the TCL). Overall, the TCL QM8K is a great TV and one that delivers great performance for the price. But if you want the best possible performance, you want the C5 OLED.
Tom's Guide
22-07-2025
- Tom's Guide
This can't be real! We just gave this new TCL Mini-LED TV 4 stars in our review and it's $900 off right now
If you're in the market for a new display, I think I've found the perfect model slashed to all-new lows, one we just reviewed — and gave a four-stars. Right now, you can get the 65-inch TCL QM8K Mini-LED TV for $1,597 at Amazon. That's $900 slashed on this 2025 set we gave a recommended score to, but you better act fast. Amazon only has 9 left, so you don't have long before they're all gone. (For more sales, check out our guide to this week's best TV deals). The TCL QM8K is the flagship Mini-LED TV in its 2025 lineup, offering incredible brightness and superb color performance. Like most of TCL's models, it's also built on Google TV, netting you access to all the best streaming apps, and comes equipped with a range of gaming features that make it stand out. VRR is the big ticket item, but the QM8K can also play games up to 288Hz when playing in 1080p. Price check: Best Buy @ $1,599 We were stunned with the results for the TCL QM8K, especially against the competition. It's one of TCL's most advanced Mini-LED TVs to date, exemplified by its incredible color performance, motion processing, and higher brightness specs. In our review of the TCL QM8K, we gave it a recommended score at four stars, highlighting these advancements in tandem with its exceptional gaming prowess. One thing that allows the QM8K to stand out is its leveraging of Google TV. That means it comes equipped with some of the best streaming services and, most importantly, tons of free content. Google's always adding new shows and channels to its lineup, and TCL itself just added a more free content with a partnership with AMC. What excited me most about the QM8K was its gaming features. While it might skimp out on the coveted 165Hz refresh rate that other rivals are taking up in an effort to wrangle more gamers, including LG and Hisense, it does have a neat feature that allows it to hit 288Hz in 1080p. It does this via VRR, and it's a sick feature if you're a PC gamer, but don't expect to hit those highs on a Nintendo Switch 2. Even with our enthusiasm, the TCL QM8K isn't without some mishaps. It's biggest blunder is its rather middling audio, which is to be expected with most TVs these days and why we always recommend pairing them up with one of the best soundbars. The neat thing is the QM8K does have Dolby Atmos support and offers an ATSC 3.0 tuner, netting you access to Nextgen TV. But if the QM8K isn't quite what you're looking for in a new display and want something a little on the cheaper side, might I recommend this Panasonic Mini-LED TV from 2024. It's also a four-star-recommend from us and is loaded with tons of features at just $500!
Tom's Guide
21-07-2025
- Tom's Guide
TCL QM8K QD-Mini LED TV review
Price: $2,499.99Screen size: 65 inchesModel: TCL 65QM8KResolution: 3,840x2,160HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HLGRefresh rate: 144Hz native, 288Hz VRRPorts: 2 HDMI 2.1, 2 HDMI 2.0, 2 USBAudio: 85WSmart TV software: Google TVSize (without stand): 56.5x32.4x2 inchesWeight (without stand): 46.5 pounds If you're shopping for a good TV but aren't a hardcore videophile who won't tolerate even the slightest picture imperfection, it's getting harder with each generation to tell the difference between high- and low-end TVs. Take the TCL QM8K, for example. This QD–Mini LED set is fairly priced, and it produces good enough brightness and color, as well as picture processing and gaming features, to catch the eye of even someone who sees a lot of TVs (like me). It earns its pride of place at the top of TCL's catalog, and is worth consideration by someone who wants that level of TV but doesn't want to shell out the kind of money they might for an equivalently positioned TV from the likes of LG, Sony, or Samsung. The biggest problem with this good-looking TV is the market surrounding it, as hefty competition from Hisense makes this TCL's overall value proposition less certain, at least on paper. Still, the QM8K makes a compelling case for itself as one of the best TVs. Should prices drop further, Hisense will have a real fight on its hands. The QM8K is the highest-end model in TCL's 2025 TV lineup, which also includes the lower-end TCL QM6K and the midrange TCL QM7K. The QM8K is available now and comes in four sizes: We evaluated the smallest (65-inch) version of the QM8K. The larger sizes all use the same technology for picture processing, but reportedly have different numbers of dimming zones (up to more than 3,000 on the 98-inch), so performance may not precisely scale among all sizes. One other difference: The 98-inch model's stand consists of two feet that connect at the lower corners of the set, as opposed to a single, centrally positioned wedge. As of this writing, three of the four sizes may be easily found online at discounted prices at outlets such as Best Buy. Only the 85-inch version was not available at a reduced price (though this could well change in the future). Measuring 56.5x32.4x2 inches and weighing 46.5 pounds (in both cases, without its stand), the QM8K is on the 'big and heavy' side, so you will probably want help setting it up and positioning it. It has an attractive premium look, with a shiny brushed-metal bezel surrounding the screen on all sides. The bottom bezel is the thickest, allowing the design to accommodate the IR emitter in the bottom center, under which is located a physical button that gives you instant access to Power, Channel, Volume, and Input controls. The stand is a three-piece design that connects to the center. Setting it up is as easy as screwing a riser into the rectangular brushed-metal foot, screwing the entire thing into a TV, then applying the black plastic backplate to even out the look and hide the helpful cable organizers beneath. If you would rather mount the QM8K on the wall, there are 300x300mm VESA holes on the rear panel for this purpose. The power connector is on the left side of the TV (though the cable can be easily routed down through the center) and all the other ports are on the right. There's a standard collection here: two USB, one Ethernet, coaxial cable, and S/PDIF optical audio out, in addition to the HDMI ports. Although the QM8K has a native 144Hz panel, only two of the four HDMI ports support the HDMI 2.1 standard that lets you take full advantage of it; the other two are limited to 60Hz. (One of the 60Hz ports has eARC for connecting a soundbar.) Over time, advances in technology always make it possible for LED TVs to look brighter and better than they did before, but the combination of quantum dots and Mini LEDs has done even more to accelerate the process and TVs like the QM8K are the primary beneficiaries of it. In the default Filmmaker Mode (designed for maximum fidelity with movies, and thus typically the most accurate out-of-the-box picture setting), a variety of content played very well on it. Color-drenched movies like Barbie and Wicked were beautifully candy-saturated. Dune Part Two, which has a more muted color palette, was vivid and easy to watch throughout its many contrast-heavy scenes. And though the animated films The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Spider-Man: Across the Universe derive their unique looks from radically different styles, both were satisfying. Heavy action scenes in Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning unfolded with a minimum of skips or other distortion, which is a testament to how far TCL's motion processing has come. In every case, the picture especially popped with HDR content. And given that the QM8K supports all four major HDR formats (Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG), you'll have plenty of opportunities to discover this for yourself. As is typical of LED sets, the QM8K's picture suffers a bit when viewed from off-center. The picture loses a bit of distinction and appears slightly grayer the farther away you move from the middle. But the effect is minimal, making the set still highly viewable from more extreme angles, and its screen can get bright enough that glare and reflections are only significant problems at the brightest times of the day. We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom's Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set's performance across a series of key metrics that are likely to matter most to you. For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker Mode and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 150-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays's Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester for determining the TV's gaming capabilities. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our 'How we test TVs' page. TCL QM8K Hisense U8QG Sony Bravia 7 TCL QM7K SDR Brightness (10%, in nits) 231 1527 101 132 Delta-E (lower is better) 2.71 2.44 1.58 1.44 Rec. 709 Gamut Coverage 99.03 99.31 99.62 99.18 HDR Brightness (10%, in nits) 3,333 3,685 1,355 1,734 UHDA-P3 Gamut Coverage 97.28 97.53 97.09 96.98 Rec. 2020 Gamut Coverage 80.11 83.98 78.61 79.22 Input Lag (ms) 13 9.7 17.1 13.1 Our technical tests largely backed up what my eyes had told me. With HDR content, I saw brightness as high as 3,300 nits, again in Filmmaker Mode, though the Standard and Movie modes at their default settings were able to display brightness upwards of 4,400 nits, in any event ensuring the TV is nice and bright when you want it that way. The QM8K's HDR brightness is on par with that of the new Hisense U8QG and nearly twice what we saw from TCL's own QM7K, showing that one upgrade step could make a real difference if you crave a bright picture. SDR content is generally tuned much lower — I saw just 231 nits. It's important to note, though, Vivid (which I never use if I can help it) does get up past 3,400 nits. Still, it's not worth the oversaturation of colors and over-processed motion settings compared to Filmmaker. The QM8K doesn't have the best color performance out there, but that also offers little to complain about: It covered a respectable 97.28% of the UHDA-P3 color gamut (about the same as the Hisense U8QG) and an even more impressive 80.11% of the much wider Rec. 2020 gamut — quite a bit higher than most TVs can manage, if still a bit behind the Hisense set. The (SDR) Rec. 709 gamut was just a hair worse: The set covered 99.03% and demonstrated a Delta E (a number measuring the difference in color between the source and the screen, with lower numbers better) of 2.71, a bit on the high side (and a trifle behind the Hisense), but still a good result. Generally speaking, a Delta E of 3.0 or lower is not perceptible to the human eye. Good as this set may look, the TCL QM8K's audio is significantly weaker. Although the set boasts an 85W Bang & Olufsen sound system and supports Dolby Atmos, it rarely got very loud to my ear. I had to set the TV to close to 50% volume for the levels to be acceptable most of the time, and cranking it up too high resulted in more noticeable distortion. Even at lower volumes, bass sounded metallic and artificial, especially when listening to The Knife's 'Silent Shout,' and high trebles were uninspiring and prone to screechiness at higher volume levels. The good news is that when my listening was relegated to typical movie audio, with basic mixes of music, dialogue, and sound effects, the sound was much more acceptable…if still never thrilling. If you need or want more than that, you should definitely supplement the QM8K with one of Tom's Guide's best soundbars. Gaming was just fine on the QM8K. Our Leo Bodnar lag tester, which measures the difference between when an image is generated and when it appears on the screen, registered an even 13ms on the QM8K. This is just above the 10ms threshold we suggest for the smoothest gaming experience (and some less-pricey TVs, like the Hisense U8QG, can get below that mark), but I encountered no problems or noticeable lag issues when playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The pop-up gaming bar, which you can raise when the TV is in 'Game Master' mode, provides a wealth of performance information and features that can supplement your play, such as crosshairs and a screen magnifier. Additional gaming features include Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which switches to the proper game mode when you start playing, and support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. Although the QM8K's Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) capabilities can go up as high as 288Hz, that's only when you're playing in 1080p. At 4K, you're limited to 144Hz (though that's still higher than you'll see from many sets on the market). Like an increasing number of TVs these days, the QM8K uses Google TV as its operating system. This powerful OS connects your TV to the entire Google ecosystem, which makes it easier to find and resurface things you're most interested in watching (or have previously searched for). The home screen interface is clean and easy to navigate, and there's a broad selection of default apps you can easily add to by selecting others from the Google Play Store. In addition to searching by typing on the screen, you can push a button on the remote (see below) to activate voice search. To further expand your viewing options, the QM8K is equipped with an ATSC 3.0 tuner — a rarity in TVs these days, as many companies have abandoned them due to licensing issues — that lets you watch over-the-air 4K broadcasts. As far as other features: You can cast video from your mobile device using Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay. If you own a smart home speaker, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant are available for linking the TV to your pre-existing smart home setup. The QM8K's remote uses a newer design for TCL TVs this generation. It's matte silver, with a basic, trimmed-down button layout featuring only four shortcut keys (for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, and TCLtv) — two fewer than on the QM7K's similar remote. It is not as small or as eye-catching as other remotes out there (particularly from Sony and Samsung), but there's very little wasted space, and it has backlit keys. The only thing I don't like about the remote is the beveling on its underside, which can give the edges a sharp feeling in the hand. Otherwise, it's as well considered as it is easy to use. In another year with less competition or at a more competitive price, the TCL QM8K would be a top-class TV. It has a great picture and a solid feature set. Problematically, however, it's price is still high for what it offers. Despite offering a richer slate of features and somewhat better picture processing than the Hisense U8QG, the QM8K at its most affordable can still run you hundreds of dollars more. That means you have to really want the modest performance gains you get over the Hisense set. If you don't even care that much about having the brightest TV on the block, the less-expensive QM7K (also a 2025 model) is a tempting value proposition, too, offering comparable performance in most every other area and easily available for $800 less than the QM8K. That might make the TCLC QM8K less than a perfect choice for everyone, but it's still a strong jack-of-all-trades QD-Mini LED TV that provides a good balance of performance and price.
Business Insider
23-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
TCL is known for great value TVs, but its new flagship QLED rivals premium brands. Here's why it's so impressive.
For the last few years, TCL and Hisense have been going head-to-head for supremacy in the midrange TV market. The two companies have proven that they understand what's needed to offer a value-driven television that doesn't skimp on image quality. But with the release of its new flagship QM8K TV, TCL isn't competing just with Hisense anymore. It's going after high-end offerings from Sony, Samsung, and LG — and the QM8K QLED 4K TV has the performance chops to pull it off. Compared to last year's QM8, the 2025 QM8K delivers significantly improved Mini LED backlight control, wider viewing angles, and an even brighter screen. But with that step up in performance comes an increased price. The QM8K's list price is $500 more than the QM8 was when it launched in 2024. This puts the TV just under the suggested list price of Samsung's latest flagship QLED, the QN90F. Considering its capabilities, the QM8K's cost isn't unreasonable at all, and it's already getting great deals. Compared to other 2025 TVs I've seen, the QM8K holds its own as one of the best, particularly for bright room performance at its price. However, the biggest knock against the QM8K has nothing to do with rival options from other brands. Instead, it's the fact that the 2024 QM8 is still available at an incredible discount. This new model is a better TV, but given the current price difference, the older QM8 remains an enticing option. The QM8 will eventually sell out, though, and I expect the QM8K to get even better deals as the year goes on. Once that happens, the QM8K will become one of the easiest TV recommendations of 2025. The TV's design is more premium and comes with some welcome features The QM8K comes in four sizes, ranging from 65 inches (the sample size provided by TCL) to 98 inches. There isn't a new 115-inch model this year; instead, the older QM891G will carry over to 2025. The pedestal stand, which I prefer over wide-set feet, is solid and supports the TV well. It's a slight change in design from last year's QM8, and it isn't quite as heavy, which I appreciate. There are two height options (for the 65-, 75-, and 85-inch models) at 2.94 inches or 1.8 inches, although the stand is quite deep, at 14.5 inches. If you're planning to put a soundbar in front, make sure your console depth can accommodate both. At two inches, the TV is slightly slimmer than last year's model but still thicker than OLEDs from LG and Samsung. That said, TCL has made some strides regarding the panel's border. On most TVs, the frame of a display consists of a bezel and a black border that runs along the edge of the screen. This thin black border is visible even when a TV is on, so the entirety of its screen isn't used to display its picture. However, the QM8K uses TCL's new ZeroBorder panel, which virtually eliminates that black space. This means that nearly the entire screen is used to display the TV's picture. The remote has also been redesigned. It has a silver face with squared-off corners instead of the curved edges of previous iterations, and the button organization and sizing have adjusted slightly. Thankfully, it is still backlit. When picked up, the buttons glow just enough to be seen easily in a dark room and stay unobtrusive. On the downside, TCL has stuck with just two HDMI 2.1 ports for this model. HDMI one and two are 2.1, while ports three and four (also the eARC port) are HDMI 2.0. This means that if you route your game console or computer through an AVR or soundbar connected to the eARC port, you won't be able to get 4K/120Hz (or 144Hz with your PC). Instead, you'll have to use the HDMI one or two ports to unlock higher refresh rates. The QM8K has a built-in Bang & Olufsen sound system that includes up-firing Dolby Atmos speakers and some rear-firing woofers to handle the lower frequencies. While I always recommend adding a soundbar or an AVR with a surround sound setup to get the best audio performance, the QM8K's sound is pretty good for a TV. Dialogue is clear, and the TV is capable of a high volume without added distortion. You won't get a cinematic rumble, but that's a physics limitation you'll run into on any TV's built-in speakers. A notable audio feature that I was unable to test is the QM8K's support for Dolby Flex Connect. This allows multiple compatible speakers to be connected wirelessly to the QM8K to create a fuller, surround sound experience. The first Flex Connect speaker scheduled to be released is the TCL Z100, expected later this summer. I heard a demo of the system with four Z100 speakers connected and placed around a room. These speakers also work alongside the TV's built-in speakers. The TV runs a setup process, determining the location of the speakers and setting the levels. It was an impressive demo, and I'm optimistic about Flex Connect's potential to make surround sound setups easier and more accessible. The QM8K has exceptional brightness with fantastic backlight control The TV world is in the midst of a brightness battle, and even though OLED displays continue to boost their outputs, QLED TVs with Mini LED backlights like those used on the QM8K still lead by a decent margin. In fact, the QM8K is one of the brightest TVs available, able to reach a peak HDR luminance of around 5,000 nits — nearly 500 nits higher than I measured on last year's QM8. With my X-Rite i1 Pro 3 spectrophotometer, I recorded 4,999 nits from a 5% HDR window (a white box taking up 5% of the screen on a black background). Now, that measurement does require some qualification. It was in the TV's Vivid mode with the color temperature set to Normal. Though blazingly bright, that mode isn't very accurate as it creates an image that's way too blue. To get the most accurate image out of the box, you should use the TV's Filmmaker mode. The QM8K's grayscale still leaned slightly blue using this preset, but this error wasn't visible to the eye. In Filmmaker mode, the TCL was still able to achieve an impressive 3,648 nits on a 10% window (the brightest window in that mode), and with a far more accurate image. For comparison's sake, the brightest OLED available right now maxes out at around 2,400 nits using the same test and settings. This makes the QM8K an excellent TV for bright-room viewing where you need to overcome glare. It also allows the TV to produce HDR highlights (like explosions) in high-brightness content with the intensity that the filmmakers intended. For HDR, the TV supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG. You can learn more about these formats in our HDR TV guide. When watching movies and TV shows, skin tones look natural, green plants and trees are lush, and colors have a wonderful vibrancy. This is easily seen in colorful films like "La La Land," where the TV exhibits rich yet accurate saturation on the vivid hues of various cars during the opening number and Emma Stone's bright yellow dress in the dance scene at night later in the film. If you do decide to use a preset other than Filmmaker mode, such as Gaming mode, I suggest changing the color temperature to Warm 5. Other settings are less accurate and too blue. Like other TVs in TCL's QM series, the QM8K uses a Mini LED backlight with local dimming. This feature allows the TV to dim and brighten specific areas across its screen, called zones, to achieve better contrast and deeper black levels. However, even the most expensive Mini LED models can't match the infinite contrast provided by an OLED TV, since OLEDs can dim each individual pixel, and Mini LEDs are restricted to a more limited number of zones. You can learn more in our QLED vs. OLED comparison. In practice, this makes Mini LED TVs susceptible to an issue called blooming. Image blooming is caused when light spreads from a bright portion of an image into the darker zone surrounding it, creating a halo effect that shouldn't be there. Each year, companies make progress in containing blooming, usually by increasing the number of dimming zones and improving the processing used to control them. The QM8K makes a big leap in this regard, offering an impressive upgrade over its predecessor. This improved performance comes from a suite of backlight optimizations that TCL is calling its Halo Control System. A new lens enables better control over the directionality of the light, and the optical distance between the backlight and the diffuser plate is smaller than before, which means there's less opportunity for unwanted light scatter before hitting the screen. A 23-bit backlight controller allows for greater granular control over levels of brightness (TCL says it's up to 65,000 levels of brightness). This degree of backlight control is similar to what Sony offers on its premium Bravia 9 Mini LED TV, which costs notably more than the QM8K. The result is some of the best delineation between light and dark portions of the screen that I've seen on a Mini LED TV. The backlight doesn't cause the halos that can typically be seen around subtitles. I also didn't notice blooming in a scene around bright parts of a spaceship cruising through space, which is normally prone to halos. I moved directly from my LG C5 OLED review to the QM8K, and while the TCL's contrast control still isn't quite at the level of an OLED, it's exceptionally close. I probably wouldn't have noticed much of a difference between the two TVs if I hadn't just been using the C5 for a few weeks. Another area where the QM8K rises above its predecessor is with its viewing angles. QLED TVs have always struggled with off-axis viewing, causing image quality to noticeably fade when sitting to the side of the screen rather than right in front. The QM8K has wider viewing angles than many competitors. There isn't a dramatic color shift off-axis, but brightness does still decrease (although not to an amount that makes the TV look washed out). The Google TV OS is reliable, and the gaming interface is easy to use Google TV has become the dominant name in smart TV operating systems over the past couple of years, since Roku has seemingly fallen out of favor with the major TV manufacturers. And there's good reason behind it. Google TV navigation is fast and smooth, and its catalog of streaming apps is robust, including options like F1 TV, which isn't supported on LG's webOS or Samsung's Tizen OS. If you're in Google's ecosystem, the TV integrates easily. (The QM8K also has Apple HomeKit integration and supports Amazon Alexa.) Setting the OS up is simple, especially if you have an existing Google account, and signing into apps can be done by scanning QR codes on the screen and signing in with your device (with a few exceptions). Including adding and signing into a half dozen apps, I moved through setup and updates in less than 10 minutes. TCL also includes its Game Master UI on the QM8K. Thanks to Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), the QM8K automatically switches into game mode when it senses the signal from a gaming console. This also allows for the Game Master UI to be called up on screen, where you can adjust any gaming settings, including VRR (the QM8K supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro), a Shadow Enhancer to improve shadow detail by lifting the brightness a little bit, an Aiming Aid, and a frame rate display. The QM8K supports a refresh rate of up to 144Hz at 4K resolution when connected to a compatible gaming PC. This is toward the high end of what TVs offer right now, but it's not quite as fast as the 4K/165Hz mode that some top-tier LG and Samsung models have. Should you buy the TCL QM8K QLED 4K TV? The QM8K is an impressive TV and a notable step forward for TCL. It rightfully stands toe-to-toe with the best TVs of the year so far. It has exceptional brightness and backlight control, improved HDR and color accuracy, and some nice quality of life tweaks. But with all of those upgrades comes a higher price, with the 65-inch QM8K listing at $500 more than the 2024 model cost at launch. This puts it near the price range of OLED competitors, like the LG C5 and Samsung S90F. While neither of those TVs can match the QM8K's brightness, both handle black levels and overall contrast better. However, there's a big caveat to my criticism about the QM8K's list price. Historically, TCL TV prices drop significantly a couple of months after release, and indeed, the 65-inch QM8K is already seeing deal prices under $2,000. That makes it a much better value. Still, it's important to remember that last year's 65-inch QM8 remains available for only $900. The QM8K is certainly the better TV — and by a good bit — but that is a steep price difference. If the QM8K's improved contrast control and better viewing angles aren't huge selling points for you, the cheaper 2024 QM8 is a better option while it's still in stock. But the QM8K is unquestionably one of the year's top new TVs, especially for bright rooms.
