TCL QM8 (2024) Review: Mini LED TV Gets Brighter, Richer Picture

Pros

• Bright screen
• Punchy, cinematic images
• Great for gamers

Cons

• LG C4 only a few hundred more
• Occasional grey-blue blacks
• Last year's TV is similar and much cheaper

With the introduction of mini-LED technology -- not to be confused with MicroLED -- modern LCD-based TVs have been able to offer better, more dynamic pictures than ever before. As a result, televisions such as the TCL QM8 -- specifically, the QM851 model from 2024 that I'm reviewing here -- feature not only exceptionally bright images but backlights precise enough for the subtlety of shadow detail in dark scenes. 

The TCL QM8 isn't just bright. It's one of the the brightest we have yet tested, and this translates to excellent contrast and a cinematic wallop with your favorite movies. The TCL features colors that pop out of the screen, and this is especially noticeable in today's blockbusters, with the TV's support for Dolby Vision and HDR10. The display also includes plenty of ways to stream them, with the built in Google TV interface.

The TCL QM851 is an excellent TV, but it's still not perfect. For instance, all that tech leads to a higher-than-most price which is currently close to the OLED-based LG C4, and for only $300 more, you can get its even-better picture. Also, depending on the scene, the TV's black levels can sometimes be inconsistent -- being blue-black instead of dark grey or black, for instance -- in a way that OLED simply never is. In contrast (ahem), the TCL is bright in a way that OLED just can't be.

If you want a TV that offers dynamic pictures and is simply fun to use, the TCL QM851 is a really great example of what an LCD television can do. That said, be aware that the QM850 from 2023 is very similar and up to $500 cheaper, and so it may still be the one to buy instead.

The home screen of the QM8, powered by Google TV, features content suggestion and app shortcuts.

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TCL QM851 series TV sizes

I performed hands-on testing of the 65-inch TCL QM851, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have similar specifications and should exhibit similar picture quality.

65QM851G (65-inch)

75QM851G (75-inch)

85QM851G (85-inch)

With the introduction of the 115-inch 115QM891G, the QM851 is no longer the official TCL flagship. While I haven't formally reviewed the 115-inch, I have used that TV over the last few months in CNET's TV lab and it's especially fun for immersive gaming. However, as you would expect, the much-cheaper QM851 is the better value by a huge margin. No one needs to buy a 115-inch TV, not just yet.

Meanwhile, the less-expensive QM751 series has fewer local dimming zones -- 1,500 versus 5,000 on the QM851 -- and this would likely have a noticeable effect on picture quality, especially on dark scenes. In addition, the QM751 dispenses with add-on features like an ATSC 3.0 tuner and the Onkyo 2.1.2 Speaker System, plus it uses Wi-Fi 5 instead of the much-newer Wi-Fi 6.

Putting your movies on a pedestal

The QM8 series' pedestal stand

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Like its predecessor, the QM851 uses a pedestal stand that makes situating the TV on a media unit easier -- especially if the AV stand is a little smaller than the TV. The stand has two settings -- flush with the bottom of the unit, or elevated by 2.5 inches -- that could help provide clearance for a soundbar. The TV features a subtle silver accent around the bezel, and I particularly like the Mini-LED "tab" on the right hand side.

The plastic remote is rounded, and perhaps it's because Halloween is around the corner, but the vertical "brushed" look reminds me of a mummy's bandages. Or even an unwrapped Twix.

The QM8 remote

Ty Pendlebury

Content-first is the Google TV way

While some smart TV interfaces opt for an apps-first approach -- Apple TV and Roku -- there are others that prioritize content like Fire TV and Google TV. Yet, the problem with the latter approach is two-fold: they can be very busy to look at, and they don't always give users a choice as to which content is served up. Google's Android-based system has become increasingly locked down, especially in the transition from Android TV to Google TV. While in the past you could add content rows from services such as Netflix and move these rows around, users' home screens are now locked into whatever categories the search giant deems best. The only exception to this lack of customization is that you can reorder the app shortcut bar at the bottom though you can also do this on competitor's app drawers.   

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

If you use Google Assistant or have a Nest-based smart home, the Google TV ecosystem will integrate very well. You can ask your Nest mini to play the latest episode of Agatha All Along, for example, and it will play on the TCL.

Using the TCL's Google TV interface I didn't experience any sluggishness at all and found loading individual apps to be relatively zippy. If you want more power or customization, you could add a separate set-top from Apple or Roku though most users won't need to.

If you long for the simplicity of Apple TV or Roku, there is an apps only mode, but sadly this is the most restrictive of all. It looks super simple with a main carousel image and rows of apps, but search is weirdly disabled.

The TCL's apps-only mode provides a cleaner look but it is severely locked-down

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Features

As I mentioned in the introduction, the QM8 uses a mini-LED backlight, and it's the small size of these LEDs that allows the TV to have 5,000 local dimming zones -- a far cry from the dozens or even fewer zones of some TVs. Full-array local dimming allows the screen to dim and brighten different areas simultaneously and this ultimately increases contrast and therefore picture quality.

The QM8 has a true 120Hz refresh rate, which leads to better motion performance than 60Hz TVs. Like most TVs in its class, QM8 uses quantum dots that help improve color performance. The TCL supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range formats (these days, basically the only manufacturer that doesn't is Samsung). The QM8 also adds Dolby Vision IQ, which works with an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust the picture. The TCL's speaker system is based on Dolby Atmos and features a 2.1.2 configuration, though based on a quick listen to its onboard audio any budget soundbar will sound better.

Four HDMI ports and two accept 4K/120Hz or more

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Connections include:

• Four HDMI inputs (one with eARC).
• Analog (composite) AV input. 
• 2 x USB 2.0 port (2.0), 1 x USB 3.0.
• Ethernet.
• Headphone jack.
• Optical digital audio output.
• RF (antenna) input.

The biggest step-up in connections compared with the earlier TCL 6-Series Roku TVs is the ability to accept 4K/120Hz input signals, from an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, for example. The TV features both a 120Hz and a 144Hz input actually capable of accepting a 144Hz input, according to TCL. Yet, only some PCs are capable of using those extra hertz, and this ability is worth discounting for now. Other gaming extras are par for the course, namely VRR, or variable refresh rate, and ALLM (auto game mode). 

The QM851 makes up for its predecessor's lack of built-in ATSC 3.0 by providing a NextGen TV over-the-air tuner. However, given the format's glacially slow rollout it's possible that many buyers of this TV will never use nor even need it. 

TCL QM8 vs. Hisense U8N vs. Roku Pro: Picture quality compared

For this review, I set up a shootout of three 2024, 65-inch LED TVs at various price points -- the TCL QM851 at $1300, the $1,100 Hisense U8N and the $900 Roku Pro. I tested them with a procession of both HD and 4K content, as well as in in a darkened room and with the lights on.

TV and movies

I watched a number of test scenes from movies, including It, Oppenheimer and Mission Impossible 3, and in both HD and 4K HDR. Of the three TVs, though, it was the bold colors and cinematic feel of the TCL that kept my attention regardless of the movie played.

As half of last year's Barbenheimer juggernaut, Oppenheimer proved to be a great test of these TVs' capabilities with its grimy black-and-white scenes and literally explosive colors. For instance, at dawn, on the day of the Manhattan Project test (1.51.26) the camera lingers on the "launchpad" of the explosive device. With both the Roku and the TCL I could make out the hills in the background, as well as a number of lights around the test area. On the Hisense, however, I couldn't see the pre-dawn sky -- it looked like midnight instead -- and a shining light in the top third of the screen was also obscured. The Hisense was simply too dark for this and other shadow-detail heavy scenes, even in a dark room.

In general, I found that the TCL had the best shadow detail of all three TVs, though on the very odd occasion the shadows showed a bluish tinge. This was evident in the scene immediately before the launchpad as Oppenheiner (Cillian Murphy) and Leslie "Dick" Groves (Matt Damon) enter the barracks and there was a dark blue strip down the left hand side of the screen, but this was a dark grey shadow on the Hisense and the Roku.

It was skin tones that were the most impressive thing about the TCL -- like most of the TV's images they tended to pop. At the other end of the scale the Hisense looked a green at times or eye-poppingly red in caucasian skin tones. Though it's shadow detail and black levels were poor, the Roku did exhibit accurate colors during my testing.

Gaming 

With its dedicated Gamemaster screen and separate Gaming mode it's easy to connect a console and set the TCL up so you can enjoy low-lag gaming. A quick test with the Xbox Series X also confirmed that the TV is able to do 4K/120Hz resolution and I was soon playing one of the supported games -- Ori and the Will of the Wisps -- without lag or tearing issues. Furthermore, the image simply burst from the TV with the Ori character getting the full, eyeball searing benefit of HDR. The game looked better than on any system I'd played it on ever before.  

Bright lighting

The TCL has one of the highest light outputs of any TV we've measured, and this isn't simply a data point on a graph -- this translated to real-world picture quality improvements, especially in HDR. While it was only a couple of points higher on the graph than the Hisense it translated to noticeably better highlights.

While the coating on the TV isn't completely matte, it was able to reject light in a lit room effectively, and it provided distraction free images -- especially when combined with its high light output. 

Settings and picture mode notes

Despite its head-turning picture, the TCL isn't the most accurate TV we've tested. The closest modes to "true" were either Filmmaker Mode or Movie and they each featured a gamma of 2.27, which is close to the ideal 2.2 for mixed lighting conditions. The grey scale test rated as only "average," while the "average" color checker measurements would seem to translate some of the hyper-real colors I saw in real-world testing. Meanwhile, the Hisense had its gamma set to 2.4 and I found this to be be too dark for most environments -- it lead to crushing of much of the shadow detail.

Geekbox

Portrait Displays Calman calibration software was used in this review. 

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