Perhaps we should conclude that while the TCL is a stellar TV, the rating is based on price and while the Sony and Hisense cost more, they are in fact better TVs.

The TCL C935 is way better than the QNED, looks and sounds better, cheaper too. It gets super bright, not that I’d have it at max brightness, but it’s better to have it and not use it than need it and it’s not available. The local dimming works well, no complaints. And don’t have to worry about babying the thing, can leave it running no problems and also do as much gaming as necessary too without having to worry about burn in from HUD’s or anything like that. When it comes to operating systems, TCL hedges its bets. One each of these three TVs runs Android TV, Google TV and Roku OS. Across all of them, you’ll get familiar features like VESA mounting, HDR, Dolby Audio, virtual assistant support, and more. Under the hood, the C835 still uses a quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 with 3GB RAM and Mali-G52 MP GPU that are sufficiently powerful for a smooth user experience. The C835 runs on Android 11 and is now also equipped with the Google TV interface. You can largely perform the installation using the Google Home app, which is more convenient than with the TV remote. However, during the last part of the installation, we notice that TCL asks you to log in with a TCL account. That in itself is not surprising, every manufacturer asks this, but optionally. At TCL this is now mandatory. As a user, you do not get any real benefit from this, the only difference is that you can place your device in the TCL Home app. While you do have to create an account again. So here’s a call to TCL to keep this optional. For smart features and the main UI, TCL has turned to Android TV. The 65C825K currently runs Android 9.0, but will shift to 11.0 later in the year. European versions of the TV are already on to the Android 11.0 OS, and will upgrade to Google TV, but apparently that's not possible on this UK version due to localisation issues.The C815 features both the major dynamic metadata HDR formats Dolby Vision and HDR10+ as well as normal HDR10 content. There is also an Onkyo 2.1 soundbar at the bottom of the screen and the TCL supports Dolby Atmos decoding with ARC support via HDMI 1 and the C815 also supports DTS audio.

Some high-end (AKA more expensive) mini LED rivals provide far more dimming zones than that, it has to be said. Experience suggests, though, that it's not always how many zones you've got that counts, but what you do with them. Also, some mini LED rivals, such as the Samsung QN85A and LG's QNED ranges, use IPS LCD panels that typically deliver weaker contrast than VA designs. The various picture strengths we have talked about so far help to make the C845K an engagingly spectacular gaming TV too. Especially as the game mode delivers a decently low input lag measurement of 15.3ms with 60Hz content. This figure more than halves in 120Hz mode. There are a number of unusual elements to the 65C815K’s reasonably attractive design. First, it features a very obvious, blue-tinted soundbar hanging from its bottom edge. This wears the branding of renowned Japanese audio brand Onkyo, raising hopes this might be the rarest of things: an affordable TV with a built-in sound system that doesn’t sound horrible. The main function of the processor (CPU) is to interpret and carry out instructions, thus allowing the functioning of the operating system and the software applications.I should stress that these colour issues only crop up with bright HDR10 scenes/image areas. Dark HDR10 shots and scenes look pretty normal where colours are concerned – although, ultimately, this just makes the excesses with bright scenes all the more glaring. For those of the alternate voice service persuasion, the C835 can also be connected to Alexa smart devices. I could have gone for the C2 or the G2, but not worth it for me just for a little bit more brightness compared to my own Sony LED TV. And then having to baby the thing too, even though burn in risk is lessened these days compared to older models. The most widely used panels are those with 6, 8, and 10 bits for each of the RGB components of the pixel. They provide 18-, 24-, and 30-bit color, respectively. You’ll be getting HDR10, Dolby Vision and HLG alongside HDMI eARC instead of just ARC; plus, you’ll get the Google TV platform and virtual assistant support, too. All told, this is about what you’d expect from a relatively basic, modern 4K TV in 2023, but you might not expect the 4-Series’ pricing.

Particularly welcome is how well the sound swells forward and out from the built-in soundbar. This provides far more impact and detail than the more ‘swallowed’ effect you typically get with TVs that house all their speakers behind their screens.so good for its money that it pretty much redefines the whole TV market in a single blaze of ultra-bright glory." Upscaling of HD sources is a touch disappointing given the promises of ‘Deep Learning’ intervention, leaving things looking a little soft and undetailed versus the sort of results we are now accustomed to getting from the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony. The C845K’s upscaling at least doesn’t look noisy or ‘rough’, though, so we would say it remains good enough for such an affordable TV capable of such heroics with native 4K.