A big, bright and very affordable Mini LED TV

Verdict

This mid-range marvel is a winner thanks to its choice of huge screen sizes, Mini LED backlight with thousands of independent zones, comprehensive HDR support, and cutting-edge game play. It’s local dimming and HDR tone mapping could be better, and the sound doesn’t match the big screen pictures, but you won’t find another 4K HDR TV that offers this much for the same price.

Introduction

The TCL 85C855K is the brand’s latest mid-range Mini LED TV, with a choice of screen sizes that goes from 65-inches up to a massive 98-inches.

Behind these huge panels are Mini LED backlights with thousands of local dimming zones, combined with quantum dot filters for wider colours, and support for every version of HDR. Other features include an Onkyo sound system, Google TV smarts, and support for all the latest gaming features.

If that wasn’t enough the C855 is so competitively priced that you won’t find another 4K TV that offers more for less.

Availability

The TCL C855 is widely available and comes in screen sizes ranging from 65- to 98-inches At the time of review, the 85-inch TCL 85C855K I tested retails for £1,999, although if you shop around you may be able to buy it for even less. All of which makes this 4K HDR TV incredible value for money.

Design

• Surprisingly slim design
• 2 x HDMI 2.1 inputs

The TCL 85C855K follows the standard design template of today’s TVs with minimalist styling, a black finish and bezel-less frame. The build quality is good, and while the 85-inch version is surprisingly slim at 36mm from top to bottom, it weighs 45.3kg so bear that in mind if you plan on wall mounting.

If you’d rather stand mount there’s a pair of feet that match the styling and offer sufficient room to fit a decent-sized soundbar between them. While both 85- and 98-inch models come with these attachable feet, the 65- and 75-inch versions of the C855 use a metal central stand instead.

The included remote is finished in matte silver and has its volume control located on the side, which could be annoying if you’re left handed. All the other buttons are on the front but only identified with icons that aren’t always obvious, along with direct access keys for Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and TCL TV.

Operating System

• Intuitive and responsive interface
• Built-in Google Assistant
• No UK TV Catch-up apps

The TCL 85C855K employs the Google TV operating system, which results in a responsive, well-designed, and intuitive user interface. Unsurprisingly the platform is very Google-centric, but the full-screen home page provides plenty of options for recommendations and customisation.

The initial setup of the TV is relatively quick and easy, especially if you already have a Google account. Simply follow the instructions in the Google Home app, and the TV will automatically setup an internet connection, tune in the broadcast channels and load all your favourite apps.

All the main video streaming services are on offer, with support for 4K, HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and DTS where available. Unfortunately due to ongoing Google issues, TCL TVs are still missing all the UK TV catch-up services – which is a shame but easily addressed.

Naturally Google Assistant is built in, turning the C855 into a fully-functioning smart assistant with voice control, plus the smart system includes access to an EPG (electronic programme guide) that’s sensibly laid out and easy to navigate, making it easy to find your favourite live TV shows.

Features

• Mini LED backlight with 2,304 zones
• AiPQ Pro AI-enhanced processor
• Gaming at up to 144Hz

The TCL 85C855K offers plenty of features, including a VA panel for deeper blacks, along with quantum dot filters for wider colours, and a Mini LED backlight with 2,304 independent zones. As a result, TCL claims the 85-inch model has a peak brightness of 3,500nits on a 10% window.

The C855 supports every version of high dynamic range, with HDR10, hybrid log-gamma (HLG) and HDR10+ Adaptive, and Dolby Vision IQ. The latter two combine dynamic metadata with a built-in light sensor to adjust the tone mapping based on the amount of ambient light in the room.

TCL’s AiPQ Pro AI-enhanced processor upscales lower resolution content while also optimising the picture for contrast, clarity, and colour. There are also settings designed for film-based motion, along with frame interpolation modes for smoother movement with fast-paced sports content.

The Onkyo sound system sports a 2.2.2-channel system with full-range speakers, including a pair of upfirers, and 120W of powerful built-in amplification. There’s also on-board Dolby Atmos decoding and DTS Virtual:X processing, with the latter still something of rarity on TVs these days.

The gaming features are second to none, with VRR support for consoles at up to 4K/120Hz, along with AMD Freesync Premium Pro for PC gaming at up to 4K/144Hz. There are multiple game modes including a Dolby Vision Game mode, so the input lags are kept to an absolute minimum.

I measured the C855K’s input lag at 15ms for 4K/60Hz, which is very good, and the lag will drop even lower when gaming at higher frame rates like 120 or 144Hz. Overall game play is pleasingly smooth and responsive, with motion handling that shows no signs of tearing or other artefacts.

TCL’s Game Master Pro 2.0 adds all the latest gaming-specific features, while the pop-up Game Bar provides information on the TV’s gaming status, such as ALLM, VRR, HFR and HDR. You can also take screenshots, adjust the shadow detail in dark areas, and pull up a useful aiming aid.

The connections are comprised of four HDMI inputs, a USB 2.0 port, terrestrial and satellite tuners, a CI (common interface) slot, optical digital output, Ethernet port, an AV adapter, and a headphone jack. There’s also Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and Chromecast for wireless connectivity.

While there are only two HDMI 2.1 inputs, the other two being 2.0b, all of them support 4K/60Hz, HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HDCP 2.3, and CEC. In addition the HDMI 2.1 inputs can also handle up to 4K/144Hz, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode).

TCL has sensibly allocated one of the 2.0b inputs on the C855K as the eARC (enhanced audio return channel) connection. This allows you to simultaneously connect two gaming consoles or a gaming console and PC for higher frame rates, while also attaching a soundbar or AV receiver.

Picture Quality

• Incredibly bright HDR performance
• Comprehensive support for HDR
• Some blooming with bright images
• Tone mapping clips 4,000 and 10,000 nits

The TCL 85C855K generally proved very capable in testing, and got all the basics right in its more accurate Movie mode. SDR was especially impressive, with all the greyscale, gamma and colours errors measuring well below the visible threshold. Unfortunately the HDR accuracy isn’t as good, with some visible errors particularly when it comes to delivering an accurate wide colour gamut.

The Mini LED backlight with its 2,304 independent zones generally delivers the goods, while the VA panel produces a native contrast ratio of 4,350:1. While this is good for an LCD TV, the optimal viewing angles of the VA panel are unsurprisingly fairly narrow. However, in SDR it’s certainly capable of delivering deep blacks and bright highlights that are largely free of any distracting blooming.

The screen uniformity is patchy in places, but given the amount of real estate on the C855’s 85-inch panel that’s hardly surprising. Thankfully the screen filter is quite effective, rejecting most of the ambient light in the room and ensuring the TCL is a solid performer regardless of whether you’re watching your favourite TV shows and movies during the day or at night with the lights on.

In HDR I measured the peak brightness at over 3,000 nits on a 10% window and 750 nits on a full-field pattern. This is seriously bright, especially on a screen this big, and as result watching movies or gaming both feel fantastically immersive. The TCL also covers 95% of the DCI-P3 colour space, which means that it’s capable of producing a massive colour volume with HDR content.

TCL’s AiPQ Pro AI-enhanced processor is generally effective, and if you feed the C855K a high quality image the results often appear excellent. However, with lower resolution or heavily compressed images the upscaling and image processing aren’t as accomplished as more established brands, resulting in a number of visible artefacts – especially on a screen this big.

The motion handling tends to fall into the same category as the image processing – capable but nothing special. While movement is generally smooth and clean there are definitely signs of judder on certain content, and particularly with lateral motion and camera pans. As a result the overall motion handling suffers from occasional artefacts like stuttering, which can be distracting.

Despite the thousands of independent zones at the 85C855’s disposal, there’s still some blooming around brighter objects in HDR. This is partly due to the incredibly bright picture, but also a function of TCL’s less capable local dimming algorithms. Unfortunately the narrow viewing angles mean this blooming is more apparent off-axis, and there’s also some loss of detail in shadows. 

This trade-off between the peak brightness and the local dimming is most obvious during the nighttime scenes in 1917 or the arrival in lunar orbit in First Man. In both cases there is some slight blooming around bright objects against a dark background. Conversely the sun-bleached deserts of Dune or the snowy vistas of The Revenant look stunning on the C855K’s big screen.

The tone mapping tracks the target PQ curve very closely with content graded at 1,000 nits, resulting in an HDR image that’s largely free of any black crush or loss of detail in the highlights. However, there is clear clipping when watching HDR10 content graded at 4,000 or 10,000 nits, and while this is obvious in specialist demo footage, it’s also apparent in real world content.

Aquaman uses a 4,000 nits grade, and during the scene where he is chained up in Atlantis the environment is mostly white with bright lighting. Here the more aggressive tone mapping of the C855 results in clipping in the highlights. The same is true of Mad Max: Fury Road, which also uses a 4,000 nits grade, and again detail is lost in the centre of bright flames and explosions.

In reality most content these days is graded at 1,000 nits, especially when it comes to streaming, and here the C855K looks superb. Its inherent brightness means there really is no need to tone map most HDR content, and whether you’re watching your favourite movie or indulging in a marathon gaming session this massive 85-inch screen delivers a visceral and immersive visual experience.

Sound Quality

• Onkyo 2.2.2-channel sound system
• Dolby Atmos decoding
• DTS Virtual:X processing

The TCL 85C855K sounds good on paper, with its huge 85-inch panel, 2.2.2-channel Onkyo audio system, and 120W of built-in power. Despite this the sound sometimes lacked presence, even if the full-range speakers and plentiful grunt meant it could actually go quite loud without distorting.

The width of the screen means there’s some decent stereo separation, but the delivery lacks the scale and depth to fully complement a panel this big. Bass in particular is lacking despite the built-in woofers at the rear, and I struggled to hear any overhead effects or even find the speakers.

On the plus side the overall clarity remains good and dialogue is always clear and focused on the screen. The C855 correctly detected and decoded Dolby Atmos tracks, but the format can’t work magic and while it did add more ambience to the soundstage the experience never felt immersive.

Dune Part Two might enjoy eye-popping visuals on the 85-inch screen, but the soundscapes were far from epic, especially at the low end. if you want the kind of audio that really complements this TV’s big screen you owe it to yourself to invest in a decent soundbar with a separate subwoofer.

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