TCL C7L 85" SQD-Mini LED (85C7L) review

Full review

TCL's C7L pairs SQD-Mini LED, its name for a quantum dot Mini LED backlight, with an aggressive size-for-the-money approach. In 85 inches it is one of the largest screens you can buy from a mainstream brand without moving into premium territory. TCL says peak brightness reaches the HDR 3000 nits level on its 65-inch and larger sizes, so this size benefits from that.

HDR support includes Dolby Vision and Dolby Vision IQ, and the picture is processed by the TSR AiPQ engine. For gaming, TCL lists a 144 Hz native signal path, plus a 288 Hz VRR Game Accelerator on HDMI 1 and 2, with FreeSync Premium Pro and variable refresh rate. A retailer database lists ALLM and four HDMI inputs, but does not say which are HDMI 2.1.

Sound is tuned by Bang & Olufsen, with a built-in subwoofer and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding. The operating system is Google TV with Gemini, which brings a large app library and voice search. At around 37 kg with the stand and a 600 x 400 mm wall mount pattern, it needs a strong wall and two people to lift. TCL's pages disagree on the dimming zone count at this size, so we leave it out.