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Ryan Waniata/Insider
TCL's 65-inch QM8 is built to compete with some of the best TVs on the market, with the stats to back it up. The display offers top-notch brightness with searing HDR highlights, a Mini LED backlight with excellent contrast control, and a high-refresh-rate panel layered in quantum dots for vibrant colors. TCL tops things off with great gaming features and a nimble Google TV smart interface, all at a very competitive price.
That's not to say the QM8 is perfect. As a QLED display (powered by an LCD screen), it has some limitations you won't find in OLED TVs that can adjust their contrast at the pixel level. We also encountered a few quirks in our evaluation that could raise some caution, including an annoying but ultimately avoidable Wi-Fi issue.
Those points aside, this is a fantastic-looking TV loaded to the gills. And the fact that you can often snag the 65-inch model for well under $1,000 brings its already enticing value to a boiling point. If you're looking for videophile performance that won't deplete your finances, the QM8 should be high on your list.
The TV is stylish and easy to set up, with some caveats
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We had some hiccups while setting up the QM8 that put a slight damper on the experience. For starters, our review model's pedestal-stand base plate was missing a footpad, seemingly broken off by a previous reviewer. The plate is made of hefty metal, but the missing foot points to a potential design flaw, while the upper part of the stand feels a little cheap.
TCL offered to replace the stand, but we ended up simply mounting the display instead. The QM8 looks appropriately sleek on our console mount, with stylish charcoal edges and relatively slim bezels. The plastic-ridged backside is a little rough and ready compared to premium options from brands like Samsung and LG, but we appreciate other touches like the included covers for input ports and a mid-panel subwoofer to add some weight to the onboard audio performance.
The TV includes the same wand-style remote you'll find in the step-down TCL Q7 QLED TV. It's a bit large, but its backlit keys and a faux brushed-metal finish give it a more premium air than what you'll find in sets like Hisense's competing U8K.
The picture serves up premium performance at a killer price
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As any TV expert will tell you, a TV's ultimate performance depends on its picture processing as much as its display technology. TCL's third-gen AiPQ engine (also used in the excellent Q7) is particularly skilled, serving up gorgeous picture quality across a wide array of content. We just couldn't stop looking at this TV, enjoying everything we watched over several days.
Of course, the TV's mix of voluminous (if slightly overcooked) quantum dot colors and a potent Mini LED backlighting system with local dimming doesn't hurt. The backlight system deploys over 1,000 dimming zones for near-flawless control over the contrast between light and dark images, while serving up stunning brightness that meets or beats anything on the market. TCL claims a peak brightness of about 2,000 nits in HDR, while some measurements put the TV well past that number. That's double the maximum brightness that you'd get with TCL's step-down Q7 QLED, about 500 nits more than even the brightest OLED TVs, and even slightly higher than Samsung's more expensive QN90C QLED TV.
Just as importantly, the QM8 remains vividly bright for SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) video, alongside superb shadow detail. That means you can watch the murkiest scenes in bright rooms without the need to adjust the black level, even in the TV's more accurate Movie mode. We made only minor adjustments to the picture in general, though you'll want to disable Adaptive Brightness in the Intelligent Settings, as it's not very effective at reacting to ambient light and does some whacky things with the backlight.
Ryan Waniata
The QM8 has a little more trouble rendering shadow detail in HDR, especially in the Dolby Vision Dark setting (which we generally avoid), sometimes "crushing" or obscuring particularly dark content. But even with the toughest scenes in well-lit rooms, you can coax good detail from the QM8 by raising the Black Level setting or, as we did, lowering the Gamma from the default 2.2 to 2.1, while still getting relatively deep black levels.
The black levels are fantastic in general, matching nicely with the similar Hisense U8K and even much pricier QLED models. You'll also see almost zero blooming when brighter images pop across dark backgrounds, even in low lighting, helping to close the gap between the perfect black levels seen in self-emitting OLED displays.
But one place where the best OLED TVs still have a serious upper hand over QLEDs is in off-axis viewing, and that remains the case here. Though it's not as bad as cheaper models, the QM8 loses color vibrancy and shows a touch more blooming when viewed from far angles. If you have overhead lighting, its anti-reflective coating also creates a mild rainbow effect with direct reflections, though you'll see a similar effect on some of Samsung's QLED displays, including the extremely pricey QN900C 8K TV.
From a performance standpoint, there are few angles to nitpick here. Providing vivid colors and luscious picture processing matched by superb contrast and eye-popping brightness, the QM8 is a high-performance TV in nearly every respect.
The Google TV smart interface is simple and smooth
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The QM8 shares many similarities with the Hisense U8K, its most competitively priced rival, including a loaded smart TV interface powered by Google TV.
We generally enjoy Google's smart system, which dominates the TV space over rivals like Roku and Amazon's Fire TV. That said, while it's easy to use, we've found multiple implementations from both premium and more budget-friendly brands to be somewhat laggy and spasmodic in daily use. We're happy to say that's not the case with the QM8, which serves up buttery smooth navigation across apps and settings.
As usual, Google's Home mobile app makes software setup a breeze, especially if you already have a Google account. You can lock in streaming apps, optimize Google Assistant voice control, and run through the other settings in minutes. Google is no stranger to the industry-standard parade of ads at the top of its home screen, but the personalized viewing options generally work well, and you can always choose the app-only home screen if desired.
Once again, however, we ran into an issue that gave off a budget vibe. After experiencing zero snags during network setup, the QM8 seemed to think the TV wasn't connected to Wi-Fi multiple times while streaming, even as it showed excellent network strength. We experienced multiple "Wi-Fi Not Connected" followed by "Connected" pop-up warnings during daily use. To avoid the pop-ups, we ended up connecting the TV to Ethernet.
Thankfully, this doesn't appear to be a widespread problem with other customers. We reached out to TCL and the company sent us this response: "The TCL team has not experienced this issue before, and are working diligently to identify the root cause of the issue to best provide a solution through an update to any users experiencing the issue."
The TV is loaded with features, especially for gamers
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As we've come to expect from even mid-tier TVs like the Hisense U7K, the QM8 is well-stocked in the gaming features department. That starts with dual HDMI 2.1 inputs, one of which is capable of matching gaming PCs at frame rates of up to 144Hz, while the other is capped at 120Hz.
Some rivals, like the Hisense U8K and U7K, offer two HDMI ports that extend to 144Hz, but in practice, we're not sure how many folks have dual gaming PCs. Unlike those models, the QM8 also saves its HDMI eARC port for its lower-bandwidth HDMI inputs, meaning you can connect a soundbar or audio receiver without squandering one of your next-gen inputs.
You'll also get ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), which puts the TV in its optimal gaming mode when you fire up your next-gen device, and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) to make sure the TV's motion response stays in sync with your gaming source. Tapping the triple-line key on the remote calls up more gaming options, while holding it down reveals a gaming bar so you can adjust settings on the fly.
Speaking of motion, the TV's default motion response is solid, with relatively minor instances of jerky motion or blurring with tricky camera pans or stuttering objects, while its motion smoothing can push the panel to a claimed 240Hz response rate at 1080p resolution with select gaming PCs.
The TV is also loaded with smart features, including intuitive search via Google Assistant, support for Amazon Alexa and Apple's Homekit via separate devices, and streaming over AirPlay 2 and Chromecast.
Should you buy it?
Ryan Waniata/Insider
Yes, especially if you're after a high-quality QLED TV for under $1,000. While not without its quirks, the QM8's picture performance speaks for itself, offering sizzling brightness, incredible contrast and black levels, and lovely picture processing for a gorgeous overall presentation.
If you're worried about the Wi-Fi issue we encountered, the Hisense U8K is an equally dazzling QLED TV that stacks up well in virtually every category. The one drawback is, in our experience, its Google TV interface isn't as smooth to operate as the QM8's. If you're willing to up your budget, there's also Samsung's similarly bright QN90C to consider, which offers wider viewing angles but costs quite a bit more.
That said, it's hard to beat the overall value you get with the QM8. Just a few years back, this kind of performance was unheard of even for premium QLED TVs, let alone a 65-inch option that's often on sale for under $1,000. It's a glorious time to be a TV fanatic, where even those on a relatively tight budget can land a top TV in its class at a killer price. TCL's QM8 is a prime example that's well worth consideration.
from All Content from Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/tcl-qm8-qled-4k-tv-review
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