I'll admit it: when I used to think of premium televisions, I'd default to big brands like LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic. It's not that I wasn't aware of the many alternative brands out there but, in my mind, if you wanted premium pictures, those mainstream brands were the ones to go for. That's no longer the case.
Increasingly, brands like TCL and Hisense have been taking the fight to the industry giants, often delivering sets that can rival them for color, clarity and brightness for less money. That piqued my curiosity, so when I saw my colleague and TV Hardware Staff Writer James Davidson had given TCL's 65-inch mini-LED screen 4.5 stars in his TCL C8K review, I decided I had to check it out.
My last TV purchase was firmly from a mainstream brand. I bought the Panasonic HX800 back in 2020 â despite a list price of ÂĢ899 (around $1,200 / AU$1,810) for the 50-inch version, it was reduced down to around ÂĢ650 (around $870 / AU$1,310), making it a real steal. Conversely, when I recently picked up the 65-inch TCL C8K (or TCL QM8K as its known in the US), it had a list price of $2,499.99 / ÂĢ1,599 / AU$2,495, making it much pricier in terms of outlay. However, Iâd argue itâs crammed with upgrades that make it worth the extra spend, especially as similar quality would cost me significantly more.
TCL C8K vs Panasonic HX800: bright spark
Naturally, as this was my first time owning a mini-LED TV, the first thing I noticed was that screen. Calling the TCL C8K âbrightâ hardly does it justice â itâs incandescent. Out of the box, it can hit an HDR peak brightness of 4,500 nits. While thatâs with its Boost peak brightness mode enabled,…