For the past few years, TCL’s flagship TVs have strived to deliver the highest picture quality at a price well below Sony, Samsung and LG. The TCL QM8 series improves upon this formula, offering sensational performance at a significantly lower price point than the competition. The QM8 is one of the best competitively priced 2023 TVs TCL has ever made.
Mini LED backlight provides brightness with the highest contrast, making the image look stunning and clear even in a well-lit room. In addition, with accurate color levels and 4K resolution, the QM8 is a strong contender for those looking for a superb picture TV on a mid-range budget. In the review of TCL 65QM850G 4K Mini LED QLED HDR as a representative of the series, we will discuss in detail all its pros and cons.
TCL QM8 Review
Design
The design of the TCL 65QM850G TV doesn’t break anything new, offering a sleek, minimalist look that’s unobtrusive and fits well with any entertainment system. The screen frame is ultra-thin and black, and at the bottom on the wider part is the TCL logo – everything is like in TCL C845 . There is also a power indicator, as well as a microphone and an infrared sensor built into the QM8.
The TV is supported by a square dark metal base and a plastic bracket to connect it to the cabinet. This support arm is adjustable to two different heights, either close to the base or raised a few centimeters. Those with soundbars will definitely want to use the latter option. The 98-inch model uses wide-spaced legs as a stand.
On the right side of the TV at the back is a panel where users can find wired connections. The power cable is connected to the rear left side of the TV. QM8 comes with removable plastic doors for both cable panels to keep wires neatly tucked away. All connectors are directed sideways, without interfering with the maximum allowable approach of the TV to the wall with this installation option.
The TCL 65QM8 TV remote is long and thin, with rounded edges and a shiny black finish. At the top is the Google Voice assistant button, just below the input and power selection buttons, between the settings and profile buttons. Below the voice assistant is a circular panel and the OK button, these are the main navigation controls for the TV. There are several dedicated buttons for various streaming services including Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, AppleTV, TCL Channel, and TCL Home.
Image quality
One of the distinguishing features of the TCL QM8 TV is its brightness. With an impressive 2,000 nits in HDR mode, the TV is great even in very bright environments. This is enough to compete with other premium models such as the Samsung QN90C series . The mini-LED backlight with local dimming in the QM8 works great and has no problem glowing around bright objects against dark backgrounds.
Black color on this TV is displayed very well, almost perfectly. It may not reach the depth of more expensive models like the Samsung QN95C , but it’s still very good. The QM8’s contrast ratio is fantastic too. The QM8 also offers good color volume. It covers about 96% of the HDR (DCI-P3) color gamut and 75% of BT.2020. This is on par with high-end quantum dot mini LED TVs.
The QM8’s color reproduction is also pretty accurate out of the box. The average value of DeltaE (an indicator that determines a noticeable color error) is about 2.5. This is below the threshold that most people will notice. The white color of the QM8 is slightly colder, which is also imperceptible without comparison. The combination of brightness and precision is one of the most enticing aspects of the QM8, a real treat for cinephiles.
As is the case with many TVs that use a VA panel , the QM8’s picture doesn’t look its best when you’re seated on the side, away from a straight position. As you increase the viewing angle, the corners of the panel tend to light up (although this effect is relatively minor and only noticeable when there are black bars on the screen), contrast and color saturation tend to drop as you move about 30° off center.
Game Mode
The QM8 TV is a great option for owners of next generation consoles. The two HDMI ports supporting 4K 120Hz gaming are separated from the eARC port. This means that an eARC- enabled soundbar will not rule out one HDMI 2.1 port when using two gaming devices. These two gaming-optimized inputs also support a 144Hz refresh rate with VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro) enabled, which is sure to appeal to those who want to use the TV for PC gaming.
With the help of some software algorithm, the QM8 can also reportedly play 1080p at 240Hz. Like many high-end gaming-focused TVs, the QM8 offers a dedicated gaming settings menu when Game Mode is enabled. This menu, vaguely reminiscent of the display in a first-person shooter, displays the current frame rate, as well as the status of VRR, ALLM and HDR.
Unfortunately, this Game Master is more difficult to interact with compared to similar features from LG and Samsung. First, it’s hidden in the TV’s system settings, and the low latency auto mode can be set to either “On” or “Auto.” for each input. If you set it to On, this input will always be fixed in game mode, whether the connected device is a console or not. A little strange. However, the QM8 is one of the best gaming TVs of the year, especially at its price point.
TCL QM8 has an impressively low response time at 4K@60 – no more than 9ms. The model uses PWM to dim the backlight. Because the overall flicker is very fast (4000 Hz), most people won’t notice it. There is a backlight strobing feature commonly known as black frame insertion. It is designed to reduce blur caused by the finite response time of the sensor. There is also a switchable motion interpolation up to 120 Hz.
Smart TV
Like a number of Sony, Hisense and some TCL TVs, QM8 is based on Google TV (version 11). It offers a wider selection of settings, making it similar to competing TVs. Unfortunately, the home screen is littered with recommended content, and you’ll probably have to swipe a bit to get to your favorite apps, since the top page is filled with an ad banner.
But it has no more ads than any other Google-powered TV, and basic navigation is fairly easy to master. Google TV also offers a comprehensive selection of downloadable software if the preinstalled apps aren’t enough. TV TCL QM8 has many interesting features, including Google Assistant.
The voice assistant can be useful for a wide variety of purposes, including uploading music or videos to YouTube, or even more general things like checking the weather or showing feeds from security cameras. The 65QM8 also supports almost all major streaming platforms. It is possible to broadcast from a mobile device for both Apple users and Android users.
Sound
The QM8 comes with a built-in 20W subwoofer that adds a bit more bass to the 10W stereo speakers. However, if you need a strong bass range, it is better to use a separate audio system, complete with an external subwoofer. The built-in design may offer a slight advantage in sound depth over similarly priced competitors, but overall the base sounds flimsy and weak.
However, this does not detract from the value of QM8. Bass aside, sound clarity for flat TV speakers is good. Dialogue and other high-mid frequencies are reproduced very well, even at relatively low volumes, and never sound muddy. Still, for the best viewing experience, we recommend having an accompanying sound system to make up for the lack of built-in speakers.
Connections
The TCL QM850G TV doesn’t offer as wide a range of connectivity options as other flagship TVs on the market, but there’s a lot to work with here. Here’s what you’ll find in the side recess on the back. These are 2 HDMI 2.1 ports (4K @ 120Hz / 144Hz VRR), 2 HDMI 2.0 ports (4K @ 60Hz, 1x HDMI ARC / eARC), and 1 USB 2.0 port. This is followed by an antenna jack, an Ethernet (LAN) input, a composite input (with a mini 3.5 mm adapter) and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Wireless communication is represented by dual-band WiFi6.
Conclusion
All in all, the TCL QM8 is a great TV if it fits your budget. It has an increased cost compared to previous lines, but this increase is due to flagship-level performance. The mini LED panel is amazingly bright and makes viewing very enjoyable even in adverse lighting conditions.
The image quality is also high, with accurate and brilliant colors and brightness that captures a lot of detail. The high refresh rate and built-in game mode also make the QM8 a great option for gamers. The excellent quality and reasonable price are more than enough to give this TV a buy recommendation.
