HD PICTURE QUALITY HD picture quality was Very Good, overall. Reproduction of fine HD image detail was generally Excellent, but image detail was notably exaggerated, despite our attempts to minimize this with the sharpness control. Edges of objects in the image were over-enhanced which visibly reduced image fidelity. Color accuracy was acceptable, but below that of most models. Very Good contrast—the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites—gave images convincing depth and dimension. Black levels were Very Good, and delivered fairly deep blacks that helped the contrast in darker scenes. TCL's full-array local-dimming feature helped. But the quality appeared worse as we viewed from the sides—see our Viewing Angle results, below. Black levels were fairly deep, just shy of the very best models, which gave dark scenes better depth. This was among the brightest models we've tested (with the backlight control turned up), so the picture was well suited for a very sunny room—a lower setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. There was slight display non-uniformity in our test sample—it appeared as brighter cloudy areas which were most noticeable on very dark scenes (or in the black bars of a letterboxed movie)—the severity can vary from model to model. Its reproduction of smooth edges on image content was generally Excellent and free of "jaggies" (jagged edges), whether for "up-converted" HD-to-UHD images, deinterlacing of 1080i video, or film mode detection from 1080i content.
4K UHD PICTURE QUALITY Overall 4K UHD picture quality was Very Good, overall. In our UHD testing, we played native-4K movies and test videos (non HDR) thru the TV's HDMI input, and found their image detail was all there. For color, contrast and black level, the TV performed similarly to its HD picture quality.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE HDR performance had limited effectiveness. In our tests, the display's high peak brightness capability was Very Good, and helped reproduce the realism of our HDR 4K content. But it revealed only a little contrast between moderately bright and very bright highlights, while the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, were preserved. It did a good job reproducing a greater range of nuanced shadow detail, from black to white, with no obvious banding within the gradually shaded areas, but we noted some loss of detail within the highlights of the brightest areas. Brightly colored objects were not as vibrant, lacking in saturation.
VIEWING ANGLE This TCL model has a moderate viewing angle overall, decent, but not quite as good as the better-performing TVs we've tested. The optimal seating position for best picture quality is directly in front of this model. We examined the picture at various viewing angles, and saw the image quality was not consistent. In our tests, the picture did show moderate dimming from the sides. When we viewed the TV from the sides, image quality got worse. The picture showed a moderate loss of color, so flesh tones looked a bit washed out. Black levels visibly brightened, and reduced the contrast especially on dark scenes. Halo effects around objects in darker scenes (a side effect of the local dimming feature) also become more prominent at off angles. Lastly, we viewed the image from above and below center screen, and noticed Good vertical viewing angle performance, with only slight changes in color, contrast, and black level.
